Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
There are five things that Islam aims to maintain and keep safe from any danger, namely the soul, mind, property, lineage, and religion. For this reason, Islam penalizes murder, theft, alcohol drinking, adultery and apostasy.
The present-day data show that the dangers of alcohol are so many and the mortality rates stemming from drinking alcohol are alarming. Here are some:
Alcohol contributes to 100,000 deaths annually, making it the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., after tobacco and diet/activity patterns.
Alcohol is a nervous system depressant that can affect virtually every organ in the body, since it goes directly into the bloodstream.
It lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment, leading to unsafe behaviors, and eventually even death. Alcohol has many side effects including altering your perceptions, dulling your senses, hindering coordination, and blocking memory functions.
If you continue to use alcohol heavily, you could experience stomach ailments, sexual impotence, heart and central nervous system damage, loss of appetite, and blackouts.
When alcohol accumulates in your bloodstream, your errors will increase. Your reaction time slows down drastically, and you find that you are unable to control your vehicle, or other items, as you did prior to drinking. In addition, it creates a false sense of confidence, so you may not realize that you are out of control.
Drinking, even at moderate levels, can put you at risk for serious health and social problems. Alcohol interacts negatively with more than 150 medications.
The more heavily you drink, the greater the strain will be on your relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. It could even lead to the loss of your job, or committing or being the victim of an act of violence. If you have to ask yourself if you have a problem with alcohol, the chances are that you do.
Source: www.drinksmixer.com
The prominent Muslim scholar, Dr. Mahmoud `Akkam, Professor of Shari`ah at the University of Halab, Syria, adds:
Scientists have discovered lots of hazards that are caused by alcohol and drugs. These hazards affect the brain, the heart and all other bodily organs. More dangerous is its effect on the ability to reproduce. It weakens a person’s ability to reproduce and causes many birth defects in the fetus.
Besides its financial effects, it has another awful effect on the social scale. It destroys the family, demolishes the bases of truthfulness and affinity and nobility.
Source: http://www.akkam.org
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.