Drinking and progress do not go hand in hand
Al-Risala (English), April-May 1994, p. 8
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
Drinking and progress do not go hand in hand
1994 4-5 April-May 8-10 Drinking and progress do not go hand in hand (711) While western civilization has taken so long to appreciate the enormity of the morass into which society can be led by alcohol, Islam has all along taught us its evils, and all intoxicants, even in small quantities, are strictly prohibited by it.
On the 3rd of May, 1980, a thirteen-year old girl called Cari was walking along the side-walk of a street in California when a car came hurtling down the road and hit her with such force that she was thrown upwards for a distance of 35 metres. Within one hour, she was dead! When the driver was arrested, it was found that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol.
Accidents of this nature are an everyday occurrence in the United States, latest statistics showing an annual toll of almost 50,000. Of this figure, no less than half of the accidents are due to drunken driving – the prime cause of death today in America.
In recent years, people have been awakened to the dangers of drunken driving, the principal champion of the cause being Cari’s mother, Candy Lightner, who could not bear her daughter’s death to remain an incident devoid of all meaning. Throwing herself wholeheartedly into working for this cause, she left her job, sold her property, gathered together some likeminded mothers and in 1980, formed the M.A.D.D. organisation – Mothers Against Drunken Driving. She set about gathering all possible information on this issue, making a special study of the rules and regulations against drunken driving. With the help of the media, in particular, newspapers, television and radio, she brought to the notice of the American public the yearly death toll – 25,000 – due to drunken driving. She also made the point that even those few who escape death are generally left permanently incapacitated.
Every day, seventy people die in road accidents, which means an average of one death every twenty minutes. Candy was so successful in shaking up the American public with figures of this kind that even the government had to take notice, and on the 17th July, 1984, President Reagan passed a law against drunken driving.
The American magazine, Span (September, 1986) makes an apt comment on drunkenness plus mobility: Until the 20th century drunkenness was a relatively minor social problem in the United States, because drunkards were rarely in any position to cause serious damage to anyone but themselves. Drinkers might brawl in the bars and public houses, or cause family strife, or upset an applecart on a wild horseback ride through town, but for the most part a chronic drinker was more to be pitied than scorned, and certainly was not cause for government concern. With the introduction of the automobile, however, the drunkard became a menace to everyone within reach of his desire to travel.
On the 30th of March, 1981, an attempt was made on the life of President Reagan. He survived, although seriously injured. Investigations at the time showed that the would-be assassin was under the influence of alcohol. Subsequent investigations have brought to light the very close link that exists in general between crime and alcoholism.
Normally a man’s conscience coupled with his fear of the law restrains him from criminal acts, but after a bout of drinking, his finer sensibilities are suppressed, and he feels free to turn to crime. Even premeditated crime is closely associated with the consumption of alcohol. In America, a large number of prominent citizens, one of them being America’s First Lady, Mrs. Nancy Reagan, have, therefore, taken it upon themselves to launch a crusade against alcohol.
While western civilization has taken so long to appreciate the enormity of the morass into which society can be led by alcohol, Islam has all along taught us its evils, and all intoxicants, even in small quantities, are strictly prohibited by it. Nearing the culminating point in its progress, modern civilization is beginning, quite surprisingly, to understand the value of a religious tenet which has held true, although intermittently flouted, for so many centuries. Its negligence of this truth, in the face of life’s sordid realities, had taken a heavy toll in human life, broken homes and, reduced productivity. It is, indeed, tragic that it has come to acknowledge this vital truth with such extreme and costly tardiness.
