Prohibition

From 1919 to 1933 alcohol became illegal to sell, produce and consume in the United States. It was called the "Noble Experiment". Over that period of time the government spent millions trying to enforce this law. Over a half a million people were arrested for crimes associated with alcohol and organized crime had a new outlet for it's mischievous ways. Finally, they had to give up and repeal the law.

Now lets go back about 1400 years. The ayat of the Quran is revealed:

They ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought.

Once the companions heard this revelation they immediately stopped drinking. Some of them had wine in their hands, they threw it. Some had it in their mouths, they spit it out. Some even went as far as to induce vomiting to get any out of their stomachs. The streets of Medina were reported to have flowed with wine because everyone was throwing it away. Subhannallah! They did not need to question one thing. They did not complain or argue they just obeyed.

The reaction of the companions is very noteworthy because it shows how dedicated they were to their religion. They followed the law set fourth by Allah subhannah wa t'ala. The Prophet salalahu alayhi wa salam, did not need to spend millions enforcing it, he did not need to worry about the companions sneaking alcohol around the City. He only had to reveal the ayat to them, and they obeyed. If only the Ummah would do that now.

As an Ummah we find excuse after excuse to do what we want. To dress as we want, to behave as we want, to entertain ourselves as we want. We pretend that we don't know whats right, when we really do. The message of Islam is clear. There is no confusion. As I do my blog travels and read articles on sites, I find myself becoming more and more disappointed with the kind of information being put fourth. There is more of a focus on changing and twisting Islam to fit a modern society than there is on simple tawheed and obedience to our creator.

When I find stories like this one, about the companions being so obedient, it makes me want to be a better Muslim. Inshallah it does the same for all of you.