{"id":594,"date":"2015-02-26T15:48:30","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T15:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azmi.co\/cust\/ngba-wp\/?page_id=594"},"modified":"2016-06-05T16:48:09","modified_gmt":"2016-06-05T16:48:09","slug":"alcohol-gambling","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/?page_id=594","title":{"rendered":"Alcohol & Gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the name of All\u0101h,<\/span>
\nthe Beneficent, the Merciful.<\/span>
\nPeace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad.<\/span>
\nDEDICATED TO<\/span>
\nAll\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High,<\/span>
\nLord of the worlds<\/span>
\nAND TO<\/span>
\nMohammad\u2013who brought the world<\/span>
\nto our feet and eternity to our arms
\n<\/span>*<\/span><\/p>\n

ALCOHOL<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Males and females who have, or are considering having, friendship with alcohol may want to read the Toronto<\/i> Star\u2019s<\/i> article <\/span>\u201cATKINSON SERIES: WOMEN AND ALCOHOL<\/strong>\u201d<\/span> published in November, 2011 <\/span>(this series of articles can probably be accessed by requesting it from the Star\u2019s<\/i> archives).<\/span> The benefits from wine and beer could also be had from non-alcoholic<\/i> sources\u2013grapes and blueberries (readily available in juice-form) that are rich in antioxidant, protects the heart and combats cancer (see <\/span>FOOD & CHART<\/span><\/a>)<\/span>, and melatonin and hops (which is used in beer-making) offer relaxation and sleep; (from what I was told alcohol-free beer tastes better than regular beer). <\/i>Why then risk addiction and injury with alcohol? Alcohol does NOT give a \u201cgood time.\u201d People will not invest time and money in Alcoholics Anonymous<\/i> to be rid of a \u201cgood time.\u201d <\/span>Everything is better sober.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

All\u0101h, the All-knowing and the Wise, alarms us about the perils of intoxicants and gambling:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn both of them is a great sin and <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(some) advantage for men, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

and their sin is greater than their advantage;\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cintoxicants and gambling\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

are only an uncleanness, the devil\u2019s work; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

so shun it that you may succeed\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Qur\u2019an 2:219; 5:90).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Alcohol may gladden the heart as the Psalmist says\u2013Psalm 104:15. Alcohol also saddens the liver and loins, and dulls the head. And many have lost loved ones to this \u201cDevil\u2019s brew\u201d \u2013through drinking and drunk driving.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 While the grapes (and other fruits) in its natural form is wholesome to us \u2013a goodly provision\u2013 when we ferment it into intoxicants it becomes mostly harmful to us. (Apart from the fact that alcohol is beneficial as an antiseptic and preservative)<\/i> it\u00a0 has some benefits for human consumption; but as a regular drink its harm to man way outstrips its benefit \u2013its indulgence can lead to addiction, temporary loss of clear thinking and judgment, and various diseases. It may also lead to thievery (to support the habit). <\/span><\/p>\n

Alcohol does not <\/i><\/strong>give a \u201cgood time\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Alcohol causes loss of mind, money, and manhood. <\/span>Alcohol thrusted Lot into incest with his daughters and waylaid Jesus \u2013who Christians say is \u201cGod\u201d and \u201cson of God\u201d\u2013 as \u201cwine-bibber,\u201d as the Bible says\u2013(Gen. 19:30-38; Matt. 11:19); causes cirrhosis of the liver and a host of other problems as medical research has shown. (<\/span>Sadly, some Muslims, against the clear injunctions of All\u0101h, also swallow this \u201ccorrosive\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Seemingly, women who drank \u201ceven a little alcohol while pregnant had a higher chance of their child having conduct dis-order symptoms (aggressiveness, delinquency) as a teen.\u201d1<\/span><\/sup> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 People may drink to escape reality. Being intoxicated: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 -not knowing what you are doing or what is being done to you is not a \u201cgood time;\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 -vomiting, and saying thing(s) you would not normally say is not a \u201cgood time;\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 -doing thing(s) you would not normally do, and getting into situation(s) you would not normally get into is not a \u201cgood time\u201d\u2013there are stories of women having compromised themselves while drunk and later regretting it; not knowing whose baby you are carrying and who is carrying your baby is not a \u201cgood time\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 -in a drunken or drugged state, a woman may not know if she was violated or by whom or by how many, only realizing a few weeks afterwards that she was violated upon discovering being pregnant: this is perhaps the paramount reason young girls and women should avoid environments of drugs and alcohol<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 -waking up and feeling as if a brick wall was slammed into your head, and with your mouth tasting like sewer is not a \u201cgood time;\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 -children may make fun of the drunk, and dogs are known to have sprayed on the drunk as he lay senseless at the side of the street, these are not \u201cgood\u201d times.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 People would not spend precious hours and even days or weeks or months in Alcoholics Anonymous<\/i> to be rid of a \u201cgood time.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 As stated, alcohol may also lead to theft to support the habit. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Contrary to some opinions, this world is not a prison to Muslims. The regimentation of five daily prayers, yearly fasting for a month, restriction from intoxicants, gambling and non-marital sex is not a \u201cstrait-jacket\u201d for Muslims. Engaging in non-marital sex \u2013with the possibility of your partner having another or multiple partners, and running the risk of contracting dreaded diseases such as AIDS, syphilis, and gonorrhea\u2013 could not be a \u201cgood time.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Gambling away your wallet, and perhaps your dependent(s) livelihood, and ending up broke and penniless, could not be a \u201cgood time,\u201d (there are the occasional winners, but the ratio of losers to winners is staggering). <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i>Intoxication, gambling and non-marital sex could not then be said to be a \u201cgood time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0One does not need intoxicants to have a \u201cgood time.\u201d The best of times are had in sobriety. \u201cEverything is better sober.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 The five daily prayers are like the regimentation of employ-ment \u2013working eight hours a day five days a week, fifty weeks a year for some fifty years of life. Muslims pray at dawn (10 mins.), noonday (15 mins.), late afternoon (10 mins.), sunset (15 mins.) and at night-time (25 mins.). While some non-Muslims also pray during the day, what do others do at these times\u2013sleep, drink, work, entertain or engage in illegal acts? There is nothing more spiritually beneficial for humans than to intersperse his day with prostrations \u2013the highest expressive form of glorification\u2013 to his Creator.\u00a0 This is no \u201cstraitjacket\u201d: this is spiritual bliss!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Fasting helps to cleanse the system \u2013perhaps there are those who skip lunch to control weight, and for other reason(s). The benefits of fasting are fourfold\u2013physiological, physical, moral and spiritual:\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

(a) Physiological <\/i>benefit\u2013regenerate organs, eliminate toxins and purify the blood, improve health.<\/span><\/p>\n

(b) Physical <\/i>benefit\u2013it makes us experience the hunger of the starving; it conditions us to endure long periods without food, drink, and to control carnal passions.<\/span><\/p>\n

(d) Spiritual<\/i> benefit\u2013because of one\u2019s constant remembrance of All\u0101h, God, it brings (or should bring, depending on one’s sincerity) him\/her closer to All\u0101h, God.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Muslims are enjoined to pray for good in this world and for good in the Hereafter and to be saved from the Fire of Hell\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:201, 202); to seek the bounties of Allah\u2013(Qur\u2019an 62:10); and to eat and drink of the good things\u2013(Qur\u2019an 2:168; 16:115). By abstaining from intoxicants, gambling and non-marital sex Muslims are not missing out on any \u201cgood time;\u201d Muslims enjoy sobriety, economy and morality, and are risk free from acquiring sexually transmitted diseases (through sexual promiscuity). This world is not a prison or straitjacket for Muslims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 All\u0101h tells us that the Qur\u2019an gives success\u2013(Qur\u2019an 20:1-2); and has promised to Muslims: \u201cHe will surely make them rulers in the earth as He had made those before them rulers\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 24:55).<\/span> Being successful and rulers could not be imprisonment for Muslims. Being bound by laws of justice and being free from inebriation, immorality and harmful habits are not imprisonment: it is liberty \u2013physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritual.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 All\u0101h also tells us: \u201cFor those who do good in this world is good. And certainly the abode of the Hereafter is better.\u00a0 And excellent indeed is the abode of those who keep their duty\u2013Gardens of perpetuity which they enter, wherein flow rivers: they have therein what they please. Thus does Allah reward those who keep their duty\u201d\u2013(Qur\u2019an 16:30-31). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Muslims can have Paradise<\/span>
\nin the ephemeral and in the Eternal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 To those who have lost a precious member to this \u201cDevil\u2019s brew,\u201d may All\u0101h, God, give you patience and comfort in your loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 It is not the \u201clast\u201d drink that is the danger. It is the \u201cfirst\u201d drink that is the danger: the \u201cfirst\u201d drink leads to another, and to another, and to\u2026\u2026. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We have \u201calcohol free\u201d beer, \u201calcohol free\u201d champagne and \u201calcohol free\u201d wine; let us also strive to make our millennium \u201calcohol free\u201d driving.<\/span>Or best yet, heed the wisdom of All\u0101h and live our lives alcohol and gambling \u201cfree.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/p>\n

NOTES<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/span> Jennifer Walker, Best Health<\/i>, magazine, March\/April 2009; p. 23. Ms. Walker cites a \u201crecent study.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the name of All\u0101h, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Peace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad. DEDICATED TO All\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High, Lord of the worlds AND TO Mohammad\u2013who brought the world to our feet and eternity to our arms * ALCOHOL Males and females who have, or are considering having, friendship with alcohol […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-594","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1853,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/594\/revisions\/1853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}