Cannabis in Islam

Cannabis in Islam - Friday Sermon by Sh. Abdullah Hakim Quick

Opening Supplications and Praise

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And surely the best reward is ultimately for those who have taqwa. And surely there is no animosity except for the oppressor. And I bear witness that Allah is one and has no partners. And that Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, is his servant and his last messenger. May Allah always constantly send peace and blessings to Muhammad, to his family, his companions, to all those who call to his way and establish his sunnah to the day of judgment.

"[O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.]"

The Importance of Taqwa and Direct Speech

As to what follows, I begin by reminding myself, by cautioning myself of the importance of taqwa. The importance of the consciousness of God, that this consciousness guides us in everything that we do. And Allah has revealed to us in his mighty book, O you who believe, have the consciousness of Allah and speak a straightforward word. So it's not enough just to have the consciousness of Allah (قُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا - qooloo qawlan sadeedan) speak a straight word. And that Allah said, he will forgive you of your sins, he will release you of your evil deeds. And whoever obeys Allah and his messenger has surely gained a mighty triumph.

And so in that spirit of qawlan sadeeda, we again look at the example of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And through his example, through his qawlan sadeeda, straight, direct words. And he would say, (خير الكلام ما قل ودل - khairul kalaam maa qalla wa dalla). The best of words is that which is short and to the point.

The Path to Paradise and Hellfire

And so with this consciousness, with this understanding, we look at the miracle of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who has given us guidelines. Guidelines to keep in our minds as we move through life, especially as we are nearing the day of resurrection. And it is reported,

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2004)

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked on one occasion, what is the main reason why people will enter paradise? And he answered, (تَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ - taqwaa Allahi wa husnul khuluq). This is a direct answer. Taqwa Allah, the consciousness of Allah, and good character. That is the main reason. Not your family lineage, not your clothing, not your wealth, but this taqwa, this consciousness of Allah, this fear and hope, this conscience and good character.

And then he was asked about what is the main reason why people would enter hellfire. And he said, the mouth and the private parts. This is straightforward speech. And what this gives us is four categories. And we want to look at two of the categories today in relationship to what is happening around us. We want to look at taqwa and the mouth.

Understanding Taqwa Through the Example of the Companions

These are four categories. In terms of taqwa, we have a beautiful example, and it is reported that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Ubay ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) about taqwa. So these are two great sahabas, and one asked the other, give me an example of taqwa. What do you think, what is taqwa? And Ubay said, have you ever walked on a path that has thorns on it? Umar answered yes. Ubay then said to him, he asked him, then what do you do then? And then Umar said, I rolled up my sleeves and I struggled.

Okay, so the question is, you're on a path, there's thorns on the path. What do you do, Umar said, I rolled up my sleeves and I struggled. And Ubay answered, he said, that is taqwa. To protect oneself from sin throughout life's dangerous journey, so that one can successfully complete the journey unharmed. Beautiful example. That is the essence of what taqwa is. And taqwa is that fear, it is that hope, it is a consciousness, it is a way of approaching things. That we approach things with the consciousness of the creator. So whether it be not only in the masjid, in your business, at school, in the normal society, you approach this with the consciousness that there is a mighty creator above everything. And that we first have to relate to the pleasure of Allah before the pleasure of the creation.

The Two Aspects of the Mouth

And in terms of the mouth itself, the mouth we could say is divided into two parts. One is that which comes out of the mouth, but the other is that which goes inside. And normally people think of the mouth, those things that come out of the mouth, that we need to be aware of this, because again it is one of the main reasons why people would enter hellfire. Lying, scandal, backbiting, hurting people with your mouth, swearing, insult. But what about the other part? What is it that goes in the mouth?

And we know that food goes in the mouth, drink goes in the mouth. Now there are all types of things going in the mouth. Smoke is going in the mouth, chemicals are going in the mouth. Remember, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said this is one of the main reasons why people would enter hellfire.

The Legalization of Cannabis in Canada

This Wednesday, October 17th, Canada became the first major world economy to legalize recreational marijuana. Many look at this not just as a little amendment, this is a national experiment. This is an experiment. And this is going to have profound effect upon our social life, our cultural life, our economic life. And out in British Columbia, Mike Farnworth, who is the Minister of Public Safety, he put out a warning to his people.

And British Columbia may have one of the highest levels of the use of drugs in the country. And so Mike Farnworth said, amongst the words he said, he said, it is an octopus. He's talking about marijuana. He said, it's an octopus with many tentacles. And there are many unknowns. There's many things unknown about this.

Allah's Mercy in Revealing the Prohibition of Intoxicants

Allah جل جلاله is so merciful to the Muslims. So merciful that in the last revelation, the basis of life in different societies in different parts of the world was dealt with. The religion was complete. And in the early part of the prophethood of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم when he was in Mecca, he was raised amongst a people who enjoyed intoxication. They enjoyed what is called khamar. And it was mainly in a liquid form. And there are at least a hundred words in Arabic to describe wine, to describe the goblets for the wine, wine parties. It was part of their life. And this is the way it was in many parts of the world. Some people gained some social benefit out of it. Some people may relax when they did it. But it was something that was pervaded all over the society.

The Stages of Prohibition

And so Allah جل جلاله in His infinite mercy and wanting this door to be totally closed, prohibited khamar in stages. And so it went in stages. The first stage came about, we find Surah al-Baqarah verse 219:

So within this verse, Allah reveals, They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, in both of them is great sin and benefit. But the sin is greater than the benefit. This is stage one. There's sin in it, ithm. And there is manafia, nafa. You can benefit from it, some profit is in it. But the sin is more. So it's easing the Muslims toward a prohibition. And these are the first two issues that come in.

The Second Stage: Prohibition During Prayer Times

The second stage now comes in, and you will see in the great tafsirs, Fath al-Qadir and many of the other great ones, you'll see discussions about what was happening to the Muslims. Because surprisingly enough, and we have to speak a straightforward word, drinking of alcohol, Muslims drank alcohol in the Meccan period. And going into the Medina period, they also drank. It was more of a social thing. But they did drink. But the effects of it, there's some unknowns in this. It can affect you sometimes in ways that you don't know.

And it is reported in a number of hadith, and one of a companion who was leading Salat, he had been drinking, and he led Salat, and he said in the prayers:

He said, O you kafirun, disbelievers, I worship that which you worship. Imagine being in back of him. So the Sahaba said, (سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ - subhanAllah, la a'budu ma ta'budun). He forgot the "", because the mind was changed. His memory was affected.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed in Surah al-Nisa verse 43:

Allah then revealed, O you who believe, do not approach the prayer when your mind is intoxicated, befogged, until you know that which you say. So that's another stage. And in that stage, it is saying very clearly, do not have any drinking, social, anything, around the time of the prayer. It's easing them now. But that wasn't enough.

The Final and Complete Prohibition

That was not enough. And as time went on, and then leading into after the battle of Uhud, this decisive battle in Islam, 3 AH, after the hijrah. After this, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then closed the door, telling the believers in the 5th chapter verse 90 to 91:

O you who believe, intoxicants, gambling, idol worship, drawing lots for fortune, they are all an evil abomination from the handiwork of the devil. Stay away from it, in order that you would be successful. And so in this clear discussion came, no more doubt at all as to how you drink, when you drink, what you actually do. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to them clearly, if you're a believer, you'll get rid of it.

The Response of the Believers

And it is reported, that they took their jugs of wine, because it was mainly a liquid form, they took the jugs of wine and they broke them until the streets of Medina were running with the liquid. They broke it, they ended it. And by ending it in that point of time, with this clear definition from the Qur'an, from the mouth of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم it closed the door of taking intoxicants until Yawm al-Qiyamah. The door was closed, and there's no difference amongst the ulema. But when they look at the other verses, the verses are there, we understand there is even a category of the Qur'an which is called Mansukh. And that is that there are verses that were time-based and they were superseded by other verses. And it shows the stages in it.

The Prophet's Clear Statement on All Intoxicants

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had to make it clear. And so he said:

Made it clear. Every form of intoxication is khamar, and khamar is prohibited. And then he said:

So whatever will get you drunk in large amounts, then small amounts also is prohibited. Closing the door.

The Entry of New Forms of Intoxicants

And it is reported sometime later on after a few hundred years, there was a big discussion that went on amongst the Muslim ulama. Because when the Mongol hordes were coming out of the east, and they had passed through India, and they picked up hemp with them, they were carrying hashish. And so it entered into the Muslim world in a way that never been before. Now new forms had entered in. Hashish and opium, and marijuana. All these forms entering in. This is not the regular intoxication which is liquid form. It is not the kind that necessarily makes you drunk so you can't walk straight. It's something different. It is affecting the mind.

Umar's Definition and the Scholarly Debate

Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in one of his famous statements dealing with this, he said:

He said, khamar is that which covers up your intelligence. It veils you over. So he took it a stage further now. So that which is covering it up. But they debated, and especially in the Hanafi school they debated because they said, we understand it's supposed to be wet. We understand that it's supposed to flow. Opium doesn't flow.

The Hadith That Settled the Matter

And the ulama in the great debate brought the hadith reported in Abu Dawood on Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her):

(Sunan Abu Dawood 3686)

This is authentic in Abu Dawood, Umm Salama, who is the great wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him, known as the hidden advisor. She made it clear reporting on behalf of the Prophet that he prohibited مُسْكِر and مُفَتِّر. مُسْكِر is that which make you sakran. It is the intoxicating that makes you drunk, alcoholic beverages. But مُفَتِّر is what gives you the head. It gives you, it changes your consciousness, what we would call today narcotics.

So clearly in the tradition, all forms were prohibited, wet form, dry form, all of it. And the ulama closed the door. And so hashish and opium were stopped and they were seen as part of the corruption in the destruction of the society.

Our Test in Modern Times

We are now under a test. Our young people are under a test. We are part of a society that has given us, in most cases, freedom. It has given us employment, safety and we appreciate this. But part of being Canadian is that you have the right to choose things that you do. That you are not forced to do everything that everybody does. And you should respect your religion, respect your culture. That is very Canadian.

The Clear Islamic Position on Marijuana

And we have to understand now that it is clear that the khamr, all forms and marijuana now falls in this category. And you can call it Mary Jane if you want or anything. It's still the same. It falls in that category because it has mind altering effects. It will alter your mind. It is psychoactive. So it will literally change your mind. It weakens senses. Your senses become weakened. In some cases with different forms of marijuana it is also, it will give you hallucinations. It is also addictive. And these things will take us away from dhikrullah, from the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the ulema are clear in its prohibition.

The Exception: Medicinal Marijuana

However the question is raised medicinal marijuana. What about if it's medicine? From the words of many of the ulema because this is an area called al-tadawi bil-haram. You are taking medicine with something that's haram. And they spoke about this. So our position is very clear that we are using a haram substance.

Number one, a qualified pious Muslim doctor or a non-Muslim who is sensitive to Islam knows that we care about our Islamic law. That doctor has to prescribe this medicine has to say that I cannot find any other medicine to treat your illness. And normally it would be a psychological, psychiatric illness. I cannot find any other medicine to treat your illness. And so you can take it, this thing with near certainty will give you a cure.

Number two, no alternative medicine should be available. Homeopathic medicine, Chinese medicine different forms of medicine we need to try different forms before we go to al-tadawi bil-haram using a haram substance in order to cure.

Number three, if it is prescribed to somebody in a limited way it should only be used for the cure and nothing else.

The Distinction Between Recreational and Medicinal Use

Remember what is legal in Canada is recreational marijuana. Recreation, that means when you play, sport and play. That's not what we're talking about. It's a limited door that is open and we should try our best to stay away from that which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has clearly prohibited.

The Social Reality of Substance Abuse

Because really if we look at our society and many societies in the world if you look at the hospitals if you look at the mental institutions if you look at the accidents on the highways if you look at abuse in the family if you look at violence you will see that in most cases there are drugs and alcohol in back of it. So it is a blessing from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that we are a drug-free society and alcohol-free society.

Closing Advice and Prayer

Allah blessed us. Let us not throw away the blessing of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and let us speak with wisdom to our younger generation so they will be protected inshallah from this fitna and from all of the trials and temptations as we move to the day of resurrection.