"Narcotics are more destructive to societies than nuclear weapons!"

His Eminence the Muftee, may Allaah preserve him:
Reported by Lutfee Abdul-Lateef for the "al-Madeenah" newspaper in Riyaadh

The eminent Shaykh Abdul-Azeez bin Abdullaah Aal as-Shaykh, Grand Muftee of Saudi Arabia, President of the Panel of Major Scholars, and President of the Permanent Committee of Verdicts, Allaah preserve him, declared that:

"Narcotics in their various forms, from heroine, cocaine, to hashish, are more harmful and destructive to human societies than nuclear weapons!"

Said his eminences, Allaah preserve him: "If the nuclear weapon threatens mankind, then surely narcotics are a destructive force that demolishes human societies. They corrupt people, remove their intellects, cause the spilling of blood, cause a horrendous array of diseases, cause memory loss to those who indulge in them, cause great harm to families, they rob a person of motivation, ruin a person's Islaam, and they are the source of many crimes and evil consequences; hence their being labeled as the 'Mother of All Filth'."

The Grand Muftee, Allaah preserve him, insisted upon the turning in of drug dealers, the pursuit of them, and lowering upon them the strictest of deterrents. (He also urged) that no muslim be lenient or merciful to them because they are corrupt criminals.

His eminences the Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Aal as-Shaykh, Allaah preserve him, said:

"Neither is the defense nor the mediation on the part of one proved to be engrossed or involved in the trafficking of narcotics allowed. This is because they are a depraved criminal mob that fall into the generality of Allaah's, the Blessed and the Sublime's statement,

'The only reward for those who make war upon Allaah and His Messenger and cause corruption in the earth is that they are executed, crucified, their hands are cut on the opposite side of their body that their foot is cut, or that they are exiled from the land.'"

His Eminence added that: "The enemies of al-Islaam attempt wreck the Muslim countries with the use of narcotics, and their colonization of the Muslim lands is now through this murderous blight whose access and distribution they allow for the subversion of the Muslim world."

He, Allaah preserve him, continued: "All Muslims are obliged to maintain a tough unyielding stance in combating narcotics and its traffickers, as protectors of the Muslim lands and their peoples from this disastrous problem." He went on to say, "Al-Islaam has forbidden narcotics because of their extreme harms and grave nature. Furthermore, trade in narcotics has been prohibited, and the moneys made from the narcotics trade is forbidden and counted as dirty and impure."

Finally, he stated, "It is not permitted for the Muslim who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to participate in the distribution, sale, trade, or the trafficking of narcotics. Neither is it permissible to conspire with the traffickers, defend the conspirators in drug cases, to advocate for them, or to grant them leniency."

Newspaper "al-Madeenah"