Intoxicants: science catching up with Quran
The more humans learn, the more they recognize God’s system is the truth. A recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that binge drinking cost the U.S. economy $249 billion. Researchers believed actual costs were even higher because data on alcohol is frequently under-reported or unavailable. The corresponding cost to the economy from illicit drugs, as estimated by the US government, is about $193 billion. The costs relate to crime, lost work productivity and healthcare. As a reference point—the federal deficit was $439 billion in 2015.
That is in terms of dollars. To put the cost in terms of human life, government statistics estimate that alcohol and illicit drugs cause about 88,000 and 17,000 deaths respectively annually. Alcohol is also the leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities in children, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) study published in 2015. AAP cautioned mothers that they should completely abstain from alcohol during pregnancy, i.e., no amount of alcohol was safe to drink. While these statistics pertain to the USA, it is by no means the country with the highest consumption of alcohol. According to a World Health Organization report published in 2014, there are more than 45 countries with a higher per capita consumption of alcohol than the United States.
Intoxicants have serious effects on the lives of the abuser and their families. A large number of cases of domestic violence involve a family member who is an alcoholic. Children of alcoholic parents are also prone to psychological and social problems, and more likely to turn to alcohol abuse themselves.
God has instructed Submitters to avoid consuming any intoxicants (including alcohol). The Quran calls intoxicants an “abomination of the devil”
and tells us that we must avoid it in order to succeed (5:90). While there may be some benefits to alcohol (e.g., jobs to those employed in the industry), the sinfulness far outweighs the benefits (2:219).
We know God’s wisdom far exceeds our own. The best thing for our souls and our bodies is to completely avoid illicit drugs and alcoholic beverages. Some day, God willing, scientific research will reach the same conclusions as taught in the Quran.
Intoxicants and Gambling Prohibited*
[2:219] They ask you about intoxicants and gambling: say, "In them there is a gross sin, and some benefits for the people. But their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit." They also ask you what to give to charity: say, "The excess." GOD thus clarifies the revelations for you, that you may reflect,
*2:219 The world now recognizes that the economic benefits from manufacturing alcoholic beverages and illicit drugs are not worth the traffic fatalities, brain damage to children of alcoholic mothers, family crises, and other disastrous consequences. Check with "Alcoholics Anonymous" and "Gamblers Anonymous" for more information. See also 5:90-91.
Intoxicants and Gambling Prohibited
[5:90-91] O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed. The devil wants to provoke animosity and hatred among you through intoxicants and gambling, and to distract you from remembering GOD, and from observing the Contact Prayers (Salat). Will you then refrain?
References
http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix35.html
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p1015-excessive-alcohol.html
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/features/alcoholconsumption/
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/136/5/e1395
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/21/health/aap-no-alcohol-during-pregnancy/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita
http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/effects-of-alcoholism.html
https://ncadd.org/family-friends/there-is-help/family-disease
http://allpsych.com/journal/alcoholism/
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/
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In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
New Title Available
Development of the Christian Doctrine
By Lisa Spray
Christianity is a very diverse religion, and the development of its most basic doctrines has not always been straightforward nor peaceful.
Lisa Spray takes a look at that development, using the scripture as her main source, supplemented with scholarly research.
Using her initial research for Jesus: Myths and Message as her starting point, Spray focuses now on the basic doctrines of Christianity. Incorporating recent research by numerous scriptural scholars, she gives us a new, wide-ranging look at an old subject.
