Sabil al-Dawa al-Islamiyya lil-Wiqaya min al-Muskirat wal-Mukhaddarat
- Author died
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- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
Sabil al-Dawa al-Islamiyya lil-Wiqaya min al-Muskirat wal-Mukhaddarat (The Path of Islamic Da'wah for the Prevention of Intoxicants and Narcotics) is a treatise by the Egyptian scholar Jumaa Ali al-Khouli, written during his tenure as head of the Department of Da'wah at the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din. The work examines the legal rulings, medicinal aspects, and educational strategies employed by Islamic da'wah to prevent the consumption of intoxicants and illicit drugs.
Definitions and Classifications
The treatise opens with linguistic and legal definitions of intoxicants (muskirāt) and narcotics (mukhaddirāt). An intoxicant is defined in Islamic jurisprudence as anything that clouds or impairs the intellect, regardless of its raw substance—whether derived from grapes, dates, wheat, barley, or honey—and whether consumed in liquid or solid form. Al-Khouli affirms the stance of the majority of jurists against the narrower Kufan view, noting that the general prophetic declaration كل مسكر خمر، وكل خمر حرام ("Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is forbidden") applies universally, alongside the legal maxim that whatever intoxicates in large quantities is forbidden even in small amounts.
Narcotics are defined as substances causing bodily lethargy, numbness, and mental clouding without the euphoric agitation typical of alcohol. The author divides them into two main categories:
- Natural narcotics: Raw botanical substances and extracts, including opium, cocaine, marijuana, henbane (banj / saykaran), hashish (cannabis leaf), khat, banqu, nutmeg, and datura.
- Synthetic narcotics: Laboratory-manufactured substances consumed as pills, capsules, or injections, including hallucinogens such as LSD, often sought as substitutes due to scarcity, high cost, or legal avoidance.
Legal Rulings and Juristic Consensus
Al-Khouli substantiates the prohibition of narcotics through three primary legal avenues:
- The Sunnah: The report recorded by Abu Dawud al-Sijistani from Umm Salamah stating that the Prophet ﷺ forbade every intoxicant and relaxant ( نهى رسول الله ﷺ عن كل مسكر ومفتر ), cited by Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami as evidence that non-liquid and non-euphoric stupor-inducing substances are unlawful.
- General legal maxims: The foundational principle لا ضرر ولا ضرار ("There shall be no harm nor reciprocating harm"), supported by classical scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah and corroborated by modern medical data detailing neurological, psychological, and physical devastation.
- Consensus of later jurists: Documented statements from Hanafi, Maliki, and Shafi'i authorities—including Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi, al-Hattab, and Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani—affirming the prohibition and penalization of hashish and opium. The author clarifies that the four eponymous imams did not explicitly rule on hashish because it became widespread only in the late 6th and early 7th centuries AH following the Tatar invasions.
Regarding medicinal use (al-tadāwī), the treatise distinguishes between alcohol and drugs: seeking medical cure through intoxicants is prohibited because prophetic traditions explicitly declare wine to be an ailment rather than a cure. However, classical Hanafi, Maliki, and Shafi'i jurists permitted the localized or surgical administration of certain anesthetics and sedatives (such as henbane or opium) for necessary medical procedures, provided there is no intoxicating pleasure involved.
Preventive Methodology and Sanctions
Al-Khouli analyzes the historical approach taken by early Islam in eliminating alcohol from Arabian society through gradual legislative stages across Surah al-Baqarah, Surah al-Nisa', and Surah al-Ma'idah. He outlines four core pillars for contemporary prevention:
- Internal spiritual compliance: Cultivating reverence for divine revelation, contrasting the immediate compliance of early Muslims pouring wine into the streets of Medina with the failure and eventual repeal of the 1930s United States alcohol prohibition law despite extensive financial expenditure.
- Scientific and educational awareness: Communicating verified medical evidence concerning systemic bodily damage, neurological impairment, and psychological addiction without hyperbole.
- Community oversight: Mobilizing social accountability through the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding wrong (al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-l-nahy ʿan al-munkar) and the institution of ḥisbah.
- Penal sanctions: Applying legal punishments (ḥudūd) and discretionary penalties (taʿzīr). The author details the juristic positions regarding alcohol consumption (forty versus eighty lashes) and notes that while several jurists assign discretionary penalties (taʿzīr) to narcotic users, others—including Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Hajar al-Haytami—equated it with the prescribed punishment for drunkenness.
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