Translation
O People of Faith: Do not deprive yourself of all that God has gifted you of good things, but stay within limits of its use (consumption, extraction, accumulation, etc.). Surely God loves not those who exceed limits. Benefit from all that is lawful and pure that God has blessed you with, and be conscious of your role and responsibility, if you believe in God. God will not hold you accountable for minor and casual oaths you might make, but He will call you to account for deliberate oaths that you make, in which case you can expiate such oath (1) by feeding ten needy people in the same measure that you feed your family or (2) by clothing them or (3) by freeing a person from bondage, and if you do not have the means or access to such remedy, then fast for three days. This is the expiation for oaths that you take (but can’t keep or should not keep). Be faithful to your oaths when you make them. This is how God makes His message clear to you so that you can give thanks. 318
O People of Faith: Intoxicants, games of chance, the practice of idolatry, fortune-telling, etc., are loathsome and the Devil’s work. Stay clear of these, that you may be successful. The Devil only desires to keep you from remembrance of God and your worship of God by such means as intoxicants and games of chance. Will you not then refrain from such? Attend to God’s message and His Messenger and be ever cautious against evils; but if you fail to heed, then know that the Messenger is only trusted to convey the message (and not to make you pay attention—that is your job). Those who believe and do good, they incur no blame to eat (take advantage of what they are gifted with) as long as they are mindful of their responsibilities, have faith, and do good and continue to increase in their commitment to their responsibilities, faith and good work. God certainly loves those who do good. 319
Interpretation
318 Islam makes broad allowances for all that is good and pure to be lawful, and one should seek benefit from such without committing excess or depriving others. Whether it is a matter of eating what is lawful, conducting business and making a profit, or extracting natural resources for the benefit of society—one should engage in all these activities, which bring about good for individuals and societies, but ensure that one does not overconsume, make excessive profit, or transfer natural resources to benefit one party at the expense of all other stakeholders. An equitable and just basis for all resource allocation and consumption is a cornerstone of Islamic tradition and laws—both at a personal level, where a personal sense of responsibility is the main gatekeeper, and in social norms and socials laws that ensure that everyone’s interest is adequately protected and not harmed by individuals or groups through abuse of power or wealth or even by legal means that may have unfairly been put into the law.
319 This verse clearly prohibits a broad set of practices and consumption that is harmful at individual level as well for societies. Any kind of mind-altering drug, chemical, drink, and so on is forbidden if it may affect immediately our level of consciousness and might have similar longer-term implications. In a similar vein, chemicals that are being produced, consumed, and dumped into our land and air, causing serious environmental pollution and contaminating our food supply, need to be examined for this prohibition. Genetic manipulations that are altering the character of naturally evolving organisms, plants, animals, and so on also need to be scrutinized. Games of chance and gaming on foretelling such gambling, financial tools such as derivatives and options, which rely on chance and future speculation, many of risk insurance industry practices and provisions need to be examined, especially when the burden is shifted to consumers from the providers by design and by law and creates incentives for manipulation and excessive control. The proliferation of media and social adoration for fashion icons, movie stars, media personalities, singers, political figures, business tycoons, and even some clerics is distorting social values and leading to practices that are unhealthy for social consciousness, human development, and societal priorities. As repeated in these verses, our sense of human responsibilities, faith in God, and social good has to override all other trends if we want to be successful as a human race and as individual human beings.
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REFLECTION
If we truly reflect on these verses and extract the underlying principles to apply them to our current societal and legal norms, rules and regulations, and social practices, then we will have to reexamine our business roles, industrial and political practices, societal values, and priorities. In a consumer-focused world driven by industrial greed and inept political leadership fed by special interests, average citizens are being left behind, as evidenced by ever-increasing income inequality, a diminishing middle class, environmental degradation, pollution of our food supply, drugs that are more harmful than beneficial, man-made financial crises that shift wealth to the wealthy, the rise in corruption around the world, the loss of human dignity and privacy in the name of security, the unending cycle of terror and counterterror, and so on are putting a heavy burden on human consciousness and making it increasingly difficult for new generations to prosper and live a healthy and dignified life.
ACTION
These trends are very alarming, and we all need to address the imploding situation with urgency, a sense of humility, consciousness of our common humanity, goodwill, and deepening faith in God. Particularly, the educated citizens, business owners and operators, and political leaders who share a common faith in God and in our humanity have a significant and urgent role to play in assessing and reversing these alarming trends that are compromising human dignity, equality, and human progress.
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Key Arabic Term
97. al-khamru, al-maisiru, al-ansabu, al-ajlamu (intoxicant, gambling, idolatrous practices, and fortune-telling)