❞ كتاب ARE YOU READY FOR ISLAM ❝ ⏤ مركز الحق الإسلامي للموارد

are living in a time unlike any other period in the history of mankind. We have mastered
technology to a degree unimaginable just fifty years ago. Various technological achievements have
gradually transformed the way human beings perform day to day routines as well as how we interact
with one another. However, despite these accomplishments, we have never lived in a more
tumultuous time than now. We have simultaneously become the most capable and the most confused
generation in history. We are living in times of extreme uncertainty and in an age of extreme
opposites. The wealth that certain societies have amassed today dwarfs any past civilizations’ at their
most prosperous. Yet at the same time the divide between those who possess such wealth and the
poor of the world has never been wider. Even with the advances in medicine and agricultural science,
epidemic disease and wide spread famine are approaching record numbers. Most of the technological
advances we see have been transformed into the most awe inspiring destructive forces the world has
ever known. If there was ever a time in the history of the Earth that man could bring about what
certain people call ‘Armageddon’ or the ‘apocalypse’ , it is indeed now. The nuclear family has

become a victim of these times. Drugs, drunkenness, lewdness, and an all-around atmosphere of self-
destructiveness abound and our societies are suffering from the consequences of such behavior.

People do not feel safe in their homes, whether it is the threat of an intruder who is desperate to get
money for drugs or the fact that any minute their homes could be incinerated by falling missiles. The
ideals of a ‘liberal’ society have opened the door to all things detrimental to human survival. Children
are exposed to things that they never should see at such young ages. Yet in the ‘liberal’ society, the
desires of the individual take precedence over what is most beneficial to the human family as a
whole. People have become slaves to their lower passions because of what is fed to them by the
society as ‘liberation’. The result is decadence with no parallel in history. Never have there been more
alcoholics, serial killers, rapists, and child molesters than now. This is considered to be a ‘civilized’
society. People are desperate for a solution. A solution that is neither a quick fix nor a band-aid but a
solution that goes to the core of what plagues mankind and provides a lasting cure. That solution is
Islam.

ISLAM: THE CURE

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (U.S.A.), alcohol related vehicle
crashes kills someone every 32 minutes and non-fatal injuries occur every two minutes. Fatalities
involving alcohol accounted for 40% of all traffic deaths in 2000 and drugs other than alcohol were
factors in an additional 18% of all deaths. Alcohol related accidents totaled a cost of over $51 billion
dollars in 2000 alone. The negative effect of alcohol and drugs in our ‘civilized’ society cannot be
denied. Everyone in our so-called advanced societies has in some way been affected by the evils of
these vices. The National Crime Victimization Survey (U.S.A) reports that 28% of the victims of
violence reported that their attacker was under the influence of alcohol alone or in combination with
other drugs. Alcohol related acts of workplace violence accounted for 35% of all incidents and 25%
of jail inmates said that they were under the influence while arguing with family, friends, spouse, etc.
Think of the countless incidents of senseless violence that could have been avoided had neither
alcohol nor drugs been involved. Islam is the only world religion that addresses the evils of alcohol
and drugs in its texts and removes any ambiguity as to the position of Islam on the issue.

O you who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, Al-Ansaab, and Al-Azlaam (arrows for seeking
luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitaan's (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all)
that (abomination) in order that you may be successful. (The Noble Qur’an, 5:90)
Shaitaan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and
gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from As-Salaat (the
prayer). So, will you not then abstain? (5:91)
What is evident is that not only does the Qur’an address the purpose of alcohol and drugs as a means
of causing hatred between people and as a distraction from worship but also in the same verses
condemn the destructive vice of gambling as well. Name one other system that has inspired almost
23% of the Earth’s population to completely turn away from alcohol, drugs, and gambling. Of course
in every religion there will be those who do not adhere to some principles of their doctrines but the
percentage of alcohol/drug related crimes, deaths, etc. in even the most unrestricted Islamic societies
are insignificant when compared elsewhere.
The economy of our world is changing so fast, one can not keep pace with the fluctuations of
whether we are in periods of growth or constriction. At present the world economy is reeling and
individuals, institutions, and even entire nations are being crippled by the weight of debt. Debt is a
true measure of wealth. If the masses of the people are kept in insurmountable levels of debt, they
are not a threat to those who control where wealth actually ends up. The economic systems
employed by ‘modern’ societies are designed to keep a large portion of the population in some form
of debt by allowing them to use things that they cannot really afford, enriching the corporations who
provide these products and stifling the growth and creativity of the purchaser with an ever present
amount owed. This is made possible by the use of charging ‘interest’ on loans. This system is further
criminalized when one considers the fact that the lower the income of an individual or institution, the
higher the rate of interest one has to pay. This system has been used by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund to wreak havoc in the so-called developing nations by loaning large
sums of money to nations that can not possibly pay it back, forcing these nations to relinquish
control of its own natural and human resources. Allah, in the Qur’an, speaks directly to the evils of
this institution and provides mankind with the solution.
Those who eat Ribaa (interest) will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the
standing of a person beaten by Shaitaan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because
they say: "Trading is only like Ribaa (interest)," whereas Allah has permitted trading and
forbidden Ribaa (interest). So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops
eating Ribaa (interest) shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allah (to judge); but
whoever returns [to Ribaa (interest)], such are the dwellers of the Fire - they will abide
therein. (2:275)
O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from Ribaa
(interest) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers. (2:278)
Acts of kindness with regards to the debtor is a command from Allah and the manners of how to
justly deal with one who is in debt is given by Allah.
And if the debtor is in a hard time (has no money), then grant him time till it is easy for him
to repay, but if you remit it by way of charity, that is better for you if you did but know.
(2:280)

 Book author : ElHaqq Islamic Resource Center