Village Journals
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
With Alcohol, Cons Outweigh Pros
Finger Lake Times (NY) February 22, 2008
With Alcohol, Cons Outweigh Pros
by Anees Ahmad
?Beer is the cause and solution to all of life's problems.? A poet? A politician? A philosopher? No. These are Homer Simpson?s words. As comical as it may be, Homer?s observation is equally daunting. Today, ~2 billion people consume alcohol worldwide. And despite it?s harm, alcohol consumption grows.
Proponents of alcohol consumption often highlight its significant health benefits. Moderate consumption of alcohol does lower the risk of: heart attack, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and stroke. But the key word is ?moderate.? Not only is defining ?moderate? impossible, practicing moderation is even more difficult. There is no alcoholic who was not at one time a moderate drinker. Ultimately, less alcohol is still too much. In Arabic, the word for alcohol is ?khamr? ? literally, any intoxicating substance that clouds the intellect. Thus whatever benefits alcohol offers, its harm trumps them; a fact the Quran observed 1400 years ago, ?They ask thee concerning wine and games of chance. Say, 'In both there is great sin and harm and also some advantages for men; but their sin and harm are greater than their advantage?? (2:220).
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes, ?a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and more than 60 types of disease and injury.? A subdivision of the WHO classifies alcohol as a carcinogen. Other health organizations believe alcohol is a co-carcinogen, meaning it can enhance the carcinogenic effect of other chemicals. The WHO estimates that ~140 million people throughout the world suffer from alcohol dependence. The WHO further states, ?Worldwide alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths (3.2% of total) and 58.3 million (4% of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years.? It is estimated that nationally, ~40% of mental hospital admissions and 50% of arrests are alcohol related. In 2004 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, ?Excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.? Sadly, alcoholism plays a role in ~30% of all completed suicides. A significant number of children of the ~5 million alcohol-dependent/abusing parents exhibit signs of behavioral disorders and emotional disturbance. Moreover, youngsters who drink are 50 times more likely to use cocaine versus those who never drink.
To defend alcohol consumption, a new fad has emerged, describing alcoholism as a disease. What a disease! The only disease that: is sold in bottles, is legal to promote, produces significant government revenue, and has no bacterial or congenital cause. Indeed, the Bible states, ?And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:18).
Establishing it?s heinous effects, one wonders if society has ever opposed alcohol consumption. Canada, Iceland, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Russia, and America all instituted some form of prohibition for short periods in the early 1900?s. All efforts miserably failed, resulting in the ultimate repeal of prohibition.
Indeed, Prophet Muhammad remains the only religious and/or political leader to totally eradicate alcohol?s consumption from society. The pre-Islamic period found Arabs stooped in every vice, including excessive alcohol consumption. No meeting was considered complete without the drinking of alcohol. There were five appointed times in the day set aside for drinking. In its place, Islam implemented the observation of five daily prayers. How beautifully Muhammad personified the Quranic injunction, ?And when thou seest evil, remove it with goodness? (11:115; 13:23; 23:97; 28:55; 41:35).
When the Quranic verse (5:91) prohibiting alcohol was revealed, Muhammad, who had himself never taken a sip of alcohol in his life, instructed a companion of his to relay this message. When those Muslims who drank alcohol heard the message they, without verifying the messages veracity, smashed their drinking vessels. It is recorded that alcohol was seen flowing in the streets of Medina that day. Years of indulging in a severely addictive habit, and the tradition of generations of Arabs gone before, were all wiped away with one command of Muhammad. Such obedience is the sole property of a prophet of God.
Ultimately, we must understand that alcohol only offers a loss of self-respect, violence, and broken homes. It has claimed the lives of American hero?s Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Poe, et al. When will we agree, ?Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise? (Proverbs 20:1)?
1http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5337a2.htm
2 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
3(Sahih Jami? Bukhari, Tafsir Surah Al-Maidah)
With Alcohol, Cons Outweigh Pros
by Anees Ahmad
?Beer is the cause and solution to all of life's problems.? A poet? A politician? A philosopher? No. These are Homer Simpson?s words. As comical as it may be, Homer?s observation is equally daunting. Today, ~2 billion people consume alcohol worldwide. And despite it?s harm, alcohol consumption grows.
Proponents of alcohol consumption often highlight its significant health benefits. Moderate consumption of alcohol does lower the risk of: heart attack, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and stroke. But the key word is ?moderate.? Not only is defining ?moderate? impossible, practicing moderation is even more difficult. There is no alcoholic who was not at one time a moderate drinker. Ultimately, less alcohol is still too much. In Arabic, the word for alcohol is ?khamr? ? literally, any intoxicating substance that clouds the intellect. Thus whatever benefits alcohol offers, its harm trumps them; a fact the Quran observed 1400 years ago, ?They ask thee concerning wine and games of chance. Say, 'In both there is great sin and harm and also some advantages for men; but their sin and harm are greater than their advantage?? (2:220).
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes, ?a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and more than 60 types of disease and injury.? A subdivision of the WHO classifies alcohol as a carcinogen. Other health organizations believe alcohol is a co-carcinogen, meaning it can enhance the carcinogenic effect of other chemicals. The WHO estimates that ~140 million people throughout the world suffer from alcohol dependence. The WHO further states, ?Worldwide alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths (3.2% of total) and 58.3 million (4% of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years.? It is estimated that nationally, ~40% of mental hospital admissions and 50% of arrests are alcohol related. In 2004 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, ?Excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.? Sadly, alcoholism plays a role in ~30% of all completed suicides. A significant number of children of the ~5 million alcohol-dependent/abusing parents exhibit signs of behavioral disorders and emotional disturbance. Moreover, youngsters who drink are 50 times more likely to use cocaine versus those who never drink.
To defend alcohol consumption, a new fad has emerged, describing alcoholism as a disease. What a disease! The only disease that: is sold in bottles, is legal to promote, produces significant government revenue, and has no bacterial or congenital cause. Indeed, the Bible states, ?And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:18).
Establishing it?s heinous effects, one wonders if society has ever opposed alcohol consumption. Canada, Iceland, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Russia, and America all instituted some form of prohibition for short periods in the early 1900?s. All efforts miserably failed, resulting in the ultimate repeal of prohibition.
Indeed, Prophet Muhammad remains the only religious and/or political leader to totally eradicate alcohol?s consumption from society. The pre-Islamic period found Arabs stooped in every vice, including excessive alcohol consumption. No meeting was considered complete without the drinking of alcohol. There were five appointed times in the day set aside for drinking. In its place, Islam implemented the observation of five daily prayers. How beautifully Muhammad personified the Quranic injunction, ?And when thou seest evil, remove it with goodness? (11:115; 13:23; 23:97; 28:55; 41:35).
When the Quranic verse (5:91) prohibiting alcohol was revealed, Muhammad, who had himself never taken a sip of alcohol in his life, instructed a companion of his to relay this message. When those Muslims who drank alcohol heard the message they, without verifying the messages veracity, smashed their drinking vessels. It is recorded that alcohol was seen flowing in the streets of Medina that day. Years of indulging in a severely addictive habit, and the tradition of generations of Arabs gone before, were all wiped away with one command of Muhammad. Such obedience is the sole property of a prophet of God.
Ultimately, we must understand that alcohol only offers a loss of self-respect, violence, and broken homes. It has claimed the lives of American hero?s Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Poe, et al. When will we agree, ?Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise? (Proverbs 20:1)?
1http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5337a2.htm
2 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
3(Sahih Jami? Bukhari, Tafsir Surah Al-Maidah)