~By Sheikh Khalid Hafiz
Date: 28 June 1996
IbadAllah, recently we have been asked again about 'kava' or 'yagona'. The earlier question was asked in Auckland, but unfortunately, at that time we were unable to receive some basic information about the nature of kava, and its effect on the human body. When we began seeking information from some people and Ulema we became a little confused as many points were not clear. Anyhow, kava is derived from a plant in the family of 'pepper plant'. It was first discovered in the South Pacific by the army of Captain Cook.
According to the scientific research and library reports kava is:
* Monawwim: sleep and numbness inducing
* Mohaddi: calming and quieting
* Musakkir: intoxicating and drunkenness like
* Morakhkhi: tranquillising or decreases ones muscular responses, lethargy
* Mudmin: addictive or habit forming, thus difficult to resist and abandon
* Mokhaddir: anaesthetising
* Moqashshir: skin drying, so that it cracks and peels
IbadAllah, some addicted persons have described the effect of the drink as causing:
* the tongue to become heavy and wishing to remain silent
* weakness in the body; premature ageing
* cracking of the skin of the hands and hardening of the soles of the feet
* inducing laziness due to difficulty of movement
* temporarily paralysis of the joints making crawling preferable to walking
* vomiting in the case of excessive drinking
* prohibition of this drink in some countries
* numbness and intoxicated
However, the latest report from Fijian official sources has confirmed that yaqona has iskar or intoxicants in it. If that is so then drinking kava or yaqona has all three reasons which is more than enough to make any drink unlawful and prohibited. In other words, there are three things that make anything unlawful:
* Iskar: or drunkenness or intoxication
* Takhdeer: or anaesthetic and numbness
* Tafteer: or lassitude and slowing down body movements
The lowest stage tafteer, which creates weakness and softness in the parts, such as inability to open ones eyes, sometimes leads to takhdeer -numbness or to sleeplessness, or to iskar-drunkenness; in short all muskir is muftir, and all mukhaddir is muftir. But all mofattir is neither muskir nor mukhaddir .
IbadAllah, muskerat or a thing which creates iskar-drunkenness includes all kind of alcoholic drinks, all wines, liquor, spirits and beverages. These are completely and strongly haram and prohibited, as the Prophet SAW has said:
"Every drink that makes a person drunk is haram or prohibited " (Mughni)
He SAW also said:
" Every intoxicating drink is khamar (wine) and every intoxicating drink is haram-prohibited".
He SAW further said:
"I am preventing you from every intoxicating drink".
As well as mokhadderat or a things creating takhdeer-numbness, including opium, morphine, coca, cocaine, hashish and hemp, and all their products. These items are sometimes in dry or liquid form, sometimes in powdered or capsule form. These are a kind of poison, but if used as medicine under the instruction of a doctor it may give good result, but if used as a drug it affects the body and drains it of energy and brings about weakness in the mind, and leads to madness. However, mufatterat or a thing creating tafteer include alqat, dhatora, hemp, ganja, charas, zafaran and smoking items.
IbadAllah, Muslim scholars have differentiated between sukr, khidr and fatr. According to a famous Muslim scholar Ibn-o-Daqiqileid drunk is a person whose speech is confused, and his secret is spread and he does not know the difference between the earth and sky, or between length and width. So sukr is neither khidr nor fatr. Khidr means weakness in the body while fatr means softness in the parts of the body, such as inability to open ones eyes, for instance.
However, our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW has given us some guidelines and warned us against mofatterat, preventing us from every muskir or drink that makes one drunk and from every muftir or drink that makes one weak (Ahmad & Abu Dawood). Again it will be remembered that this muskir and muftir items, which when consumed are addictive and intoxicating, in liquid, solid, powder or loaf form or in its own natural form, it makes no notable difference.
IbadAllah, today in the modern society we know that alcoholic drinks are lawful and drugs are illegal while in Islamic law-Shariah the first one is (khamar) is haram-prohibited or unlawful, and also najis-impure and those who drink it will receive hadd punishment (40/80 lashes). In the case of drug users they receive tazeer punishment - this is divided into two parts, mukhaddir and mufattir as has been explained before. However, if yagona or kava has been considered as muskir, mukhaddir and mufattir, then drinking it will be surely haram or prohibited. If it had been considered as mukhaddir and mufattir it again remains haram as supported by scholars. Had it been considered as mufattir only it will still remain unlawful in accordance with the Prophet SAW telling us to avoid every muskir and muftir things. The doctors and scholars also advise that muftir is damaging to the body as well as distorting of the senses, therefore, for these and many other good reasons it is unlawful.
IbadAllah, apart from opinions and views of muftis and mashaeikh about drugs we wish to present a fatwa from Darul Ifta of Jamiatul Ulomul Islamia, Karachi, Pakistan about yagona. It says:
"Yagona gives intoxication which causes other damages, for that reason this drink is haram (unlawful). For example, ganja, opium, bhang, etc are haram... such as referred in the book of Durre-Mukhtar, which says: These are declared haram: Ganja, opium, bhang, etc, because these affect and damage the brain cells, and keep one away from remembrance of Allah and prayers (vol 6, p 458). Yagona produces intoxication like other alcoholic drinks therefore this drink is also haram (unlawful). Any person who declares this drink as halal is sinful and commits a big sin. Any person who drinks yagona cannot lead prayer (become Imam)". (End of Fatwa).
For more details see the booklet "Hellfire in your Belly" by M T Qasmi.
May Allah give us tawfeeq to act in accordance with Islamic law and avoid everything that is against the Shariah. Ameen
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