The Mother of All Evils

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says, “Alcohol is the mother of all evils.” All kinds of wickedness stem from it. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla commands us to stay away from it in Qur’ān ‘Aẓīmu sh-Sha’n. Its evil is greater than anything else, because things that cloud the mind are sinful.

It’s not just alcohol; anything that dulls the mind falls under the category of intoxicants. Sometimes people say, “A little weed or smoke won’t harm.” It’s the same thing; they also cloud the mind. They’re nothing but harm.

Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla has made humans superior to other creatures with their mind and has given them reason. Humans must use that mind. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla did not give it to them to be lost or nullified. Mind is an adornment, the ornament of humanity.

Without mind, we would be no different from animals, for animals do not have mind. They only know two things: eating and drinking. They understand nothing else besides eating and drinking. What they eat benefits them.

Mankind is not like that. Mankind is responsible. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla has made him responsible because he possesses a mind. Without mind, man is not responsible. That is, away from alcohol, for a person who has lost his mind, is in a mental asylum, has gone mad, and doesn’t know what he is doing, accountability is lifted.

It is said, “إِذَا أَخَذَ مَا أَوْهَبَ أَسْقَطَ مَا أَوْجَبَ”, “If He took what He has granted, He drops what He has obligated.” Allāh ﷻ has given mind as a gift. If that mind is lost and man cannot use it, then nothing is obligatory upon him.

A person who is naturally insane and not in their right mind is not obligated to perform prayers, fasting, ḥajj, or zakāt. There are no obligations or commands directed at them. However, a person who loses their mind due to alcohol or other drugs has a punishment, and a severe one at that.

May Allāh ﷻ protect us, such a person doesn’t even know what they are doing. Now there are some absurd laws that lighten the punishment by saying, “He was drunk, he didn’t know what he was doing.” Whereas, the punishment should be much more.

If you drank alcohol and caused harm, you should normally receive double the punishment. But people don’t want Allāh’s ﷻ law; they act according to their own laws. And those laws don’t prevent people from doing evil.

Therefore, may Allāh ﷻ protect us. May Allāh ﷻ keep us away from these evils. In a ḥadīth, our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam mentions seven cursed things, including those who serve alcohol, those who cultivate it, and those who harvest it. The same applies to other drugs.

Those who cultivate weed and drugs, and those who deal with them, are cursed. Therefore, these substances are never permitted, and their use is never allowed.

May Allāh ﷻ protect us, the situation in the world has become very bad. Children and adults alike are acquiring all kinds of evil from these things. When mind leaves one’s head, one becomes involved in all kinds of filth, and this becomes a habit.

A person becomes addicted, and once addicted, they can never quit. It is necessary to never start, in shā’a Llāh. May Allāh ﷻ protect everyone, children and adults alike, from this evil.

May Allāh ﷻ protect us. It is the mother of all evils. May Allāh ﷻ protect us from both the mother and father of all evils, in shā’a Llāh.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

•⁠ ⁠Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbaniق

7 July 2026/ 22 Muharram 1448

Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul

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