“Knowing your WHY is not the only way to be successful, but it is the only way to maintain a lasting success. When a WHY goes fuzzy, it becomes much more difficult to maintain the growth, loyalty and inspiration that helped drive the original success.
When a WHY is clear, those who share that belief will be drawn to it and maybe want to take part in bringing it to life. If that belief is amplified it can have the power to rally even more believers to raise their hands and declare, “I want to help.””
(Simon Sinek, “Start with Why”)
Did you know?
In 1920 – only a mere hundred years ago – America constitutionally BANNED alcohol on a national scale in a historical period called "The Prohibition". This decision came about as a result of a long-fought campaign of some organizations and Christian groups, who considered alcohol to be America's "National Curse" - the cause of crime, corruption, social problems, and health and hygiene issued across the country.
But this prohibition only lasted 13 years, with the country being in a state which many considered "worse than ever".
What happened?
The country was in chaos. The Prohibition resulted in a massive blow on national economy - thousands of jobs lost, entertainment sales and revenue lowered, tax revenue declined, and over $300 million++ expediture required to enforce prohibition.
Now, this 18th Constitutional Amendment banned the "manufacture, sale, distribution" of alcohol - but not the drinking. So, desperate for alcohol, citizens started brewing their own alcohol at home - bootlegging. An unhealthy toxic process, this resulted in over 1,000 Americans dying every year because of contaminated liquor.
Due to the increasing 'desperate demand', crime rates greatly increased, paved the way for alcohol smuggling and black market, resulting in the rise of the mafia and organized crime led by crime lords such as Al Capone.
The lucrative and profitable business eventually also led to rampant corruption amongst police force and government officials; this resulted in nationwide chaos of disorder as court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point.
Compounding the problem sideways, many drinkers eventually switched to opium, marijuana, cocaine, and other dangerous substances which were not as widespread prior to the Prohibition.
Problems after problems!
In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt ran for presidency with a presidential campaign promise to "End Prohibition". Guess how that went?
He won! Of course he did… That was what the people wanted!
The people never really believed in the evil of alcohol. So in 1933, the prohibition was repealed, as the "National Curse" is lifted. The "Prohibition" (1920 - 1933), dubbed the "noble experiment", was deemed as a massive failure in the books of history, with criminal ramifications that echo until this day. It was literally one step forward, two steps back – and after 13 years, even that step forward was cancelled altogether!
Now, contrast this to what happened during the prohibition of alcohol in Madinah, in the year 626, 1300 years before America’s “National Curse” of the Prohibition.
Prior to the coming of Islam, in the period of Jahiliyyah (ignorance), Arabs have always had a strong attachment to intoxicants, especially wine. Since tribal pride was the most important trait of the period of Jahiyliyyah, wine and alcohol would be the primary 'showcase' of their generosity and tribal strength. Companions such as Umar ibn Al-Khattab were alcoholics, before they embraced Islam.
When the message of Islam first came, it didn't ban alcohol outright. In fact, it was done gradually, after the Hijrah to Madinah - 13 years after the First Revelation. First, the Qur’an revealed that “intoxicants had some benefit and some harm, but the harm was greater” (Ref Surah Al-Baqarah 2:219). Later, the Qur’an revealed “do not approach the prayer in a state of drunkenness” (Ref Surah An-Nisa, 4:43).
Finally, in the 4th year after Hijrah, Allah Revealed the legislation in surah Al-Maidah, verse 5:90 - total prohibition of intoxicants altogether.
So, how did the Arabs react? This nation whose culture was so deeply rooted in alcoholism and intoxicants?
Anas ibn Malik, the companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ narrated:
“I used to serve alcoholic drinks to the people at the residence of (my stepfather) Abu Talha. Then the order of prohibiting Alcoholic drinks was revealed in the Qur’an:
“O you who believe! Khamr (intoxicants), gambling, and Al-Ansab, and Al-Azlam are an abomination of Shaytan’s handiwork. So AVOID all of them, so that you may be successful!” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:90)
Then the Prophet ﷺ ordered somebody to announce it. (My stepfather) Abu Talha said to me, "Go out and investigate what this voice (this announcement) is."
I went out and (upon confirmation) said, "This is somebody announcing that alcohol is now prohibited!"
Abu Talha said to me, "Go and spill it (i.e. the wine),"
Then, (as I was spilling the wine), I could see alcoholic drinks was FLOWING through the streets of Medina.
Then they neither asked about it (alcoholic drinks) NOR RETURNED to it after the news from that man.”
(Narrated by Al-Bukhari)
Observe what happened here: The people themselves went the extra mile to chuck out all of the alcohol they had IMMEDIATELY without question, to the extent that the streets of Madinah was flowing with wine.
Aside from a handful of companions struggling to quit (Such as Abu Mihjan ath-Thaqafi and An-Nu’ayman bin Amir), the entire nation quit immediately.
And they never returned to it.
So, let’s compare the two nations. What makes them so distinctively different. One, a massive failure on a national scale, and the other, an instantaneous sustainable success story. There are four distinct factors: Clear-cut Purpose, Gradual changes, comprehensiveness without ambiguity, and attitudes of the citizens.
1. Sustainable change must come from clear-cut purpose and principles
The first question: What was their WHY? WHY was alcohol prohibited to their societies in the first place?
Let’s look at America. Why did they prohibit alcohol? Their WHY was never clearly established since Day 1.
They executed the prohibition out of political pressure of a few loud, influential groups. But this didn’t necessarily represent the masses. The masses at large didn’t fully embrace WHY alcohol had to be banned in the first place: they weren’t fully onboard with the idea.
The love of alcohol and demand for it was still deeply ingrained in their hearts. And where there is a desire, there is a will. And where there is a will against the law, the Mafia and drug dealers make a way: opening the floodgates for organized crime in a scale never seen before.
13 years later, with crimes reaching catastrophic heights, the American leaders have lost the plot: what is the point? Eventually, their WHY to stop the prohibition grew so much stronger – national budgets, social concerns, political pressure from the masses – and eventually they pulled the plug.
Let’s look at what happened in Madinah. Why did they quit alcohol?
Because Allah made it haram.
That’s it.
It was simple. Because the Muslims of Madinah had a clear WHY – a clear PURPOSE – in their life. And that was to Worship Allah Alone and to obey His commands, even if they go against what we personally love.
When Allah legislates it to be haram… What was their response?
We listen and we obey: وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا
The second that the legislation was revealed to prohibit that which they loved, they recognized their purpose, and how this tied into their identity and values, hence put aside their self-interests and desires, khalas: that was it.
For a sustainable change to happen in society, the WHY has to be established – then the HOW and the WHAT. Listen to this interesting statement from Aisyah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ :
“If the first thing to be revealed was: 'Do not drink alcoholic drinks.' people would have said, 'We will never abandon alcohol!'
Instead, the first verses revealed were verses explaining matters (of faith) of Paradise and Hellfire. When the people (truly) embraced Islam (and had faith firmly established in their hearts) – then the verses of halal and haram were revealed” (Narrated in Al-Bukhari)
For the first 13 years in the revelation of Islam, the core teachings centered around iman: worship Allah Alone, do not associate partners. It focused on the ultimate destination: the day of judgment, and the eventual endings of Paradise and Hell. Once this faith has been clearly ingrained in their hearts – the WHY being firmly established – then everything else fell into place.
When the legislation came from Allah to ban something – alcohol – even if it was something they love, they didn’t question anything – Their hearts were polished and conditioned to wholeheartedly accept that this was what the Creator deemed best for them. They weren’t biased to reject the ruling because of their desires, because of their ‘justifications’ or intellectual reasonings to bypass the ruling – “God knows best” was a life principle they truly lived by.
Madinah never faced any issues of ‘black market’ gangsterism or corrupt officials at all, nor did they face any health backlash from production of bootlegged alcohol – because the demand was completely severed altogether.
2. Gradual changes
Allah recognizes that human nature requires tarbiyah (gradual, step by step, personal development), beginning first with the principles, values and purpose of life (essentially Aqidah).
And out of His Divine wisdom, recognizing the alcohol was such an important aspect of Arabic culture and these laws of human nature, He instituted a 100% effective step-by-step prohibition to get to the end goal of total prohibition.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, "There were three stages to prohibiting Khamr (intoxicants). When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Al-Madinah, the people were consuming alcohol and gambling, so they asked the Messenger of Allah about these things, Allah revealed,
“They ask you about alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men.'' (2:219)
The people said, `They (intoxicants and gambling) were not prohibited for us. Allah only said,
"In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men."
So they went on drinking Khamr until one day, one of the emigrants lead his companions in the Maghrib prayer and mixed up the Ayat in his recitation. Thereafter, Allah sent down a tougher statement,
“O you who believe! Approach not the Salah (the prayer) when you are in a drunken state until you know (the meaning of) what you speak” (Surah An-Nisa 4:43)
Then, the people would drink before the time of the prayer so that they would attend the prayer while sober. Then, finally, total prohibition (Musnad Ahmad).
What America did was to completely go “cold turkey” and prohibited it outright (without even establishing the principles in the first place) - hence the nation collapsed
Is it possible to go “cold turkey”, then?
Yes, exceptions do indeed happen; but for most people, this is a difficult process that may take years of gradual changes. Even some companions such as Abu Mihjan ath-Thaqafi, still continued struggling with alcoholism until the caliphate of Umar ibn Al-Khattab; years after the death of the Prophet ﷺ !
Yet on the other hand, there are the exceptionally strong willpower and discipline enough to kick the habit, despite their addictions and deep-rooted long-time habits. One such person was the companion, Umar ibn Al-Khattab. Despite being an alcoholic in his early years in jahiliyyah, once he became a Muslim, he recognized the evils and harms of alcohol, understood the importance of sobriety, and was “pushing” for alcohol to be completely prohibited in the shari’ah altogether.
Even before any verse of the Qur’an was revealed, Umar made du’aa saying “O Allah, give us a clear ruling on khamr!” When the first phase of the ban occurred (when Allah says, “the harm outweighs the benefits”), Umar made the same du’aa. When the second phase of the prohibition took place (“do not approach the prayer while you aredrunk), Umar continued to ask Allah, “give us a clear ruling!”
Finally, when the total prohibition was revealed in surah al-Maidah 5:90, Umar said, yes, “we abstain, we abstain” (Narrated in Musnad Ahmad, also in At-Tirmidzi and An-Nasa’ee)
3. Comprehensive prohibition: No backdoor for loopholes
When the verse of prohibiting intoxicants was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ further clarified the ruling of Alcohol to include every form of comprehensive prohibition to remove any form of ambiguity.
Firstly, he clarified the terminology. Although the Qur’an uses the term “khamr” – meaning wine (manufactured from fermented grapes), the Prophet ﷺ clarifies that EVERYTHING that causes drunkenness and intoxication is included under this heading of “khamr”:
كُلُّ مُسْكِرٍ خَمْرٌ وَكُلُّ مُسْكِرٍ حَرَامٌ
"Every intoxicant is Khamr and every intoxicant is haram” (Muslim)
And secondly, in case people wanted to get smart that they “drink but don’t get drunk”, he ﷺ further clarified that small quantities – even taking small sips – are also haram!
كُلُّ مُسْكِرٍ حَرَامٌ وَمَا أَسْكَرَ مِنْهُ الْفَرْقُ فَمِلْءُ الْكَفِّ مِنْهُ حَرَامٌ
Every intoxicant is forbidden; if a large quantities of anything causes intoxication, a handful of it is also forbidden. (Abu Daud)
Thirdly, and most importantly – the Prophet placed an airtight complete total prohibition from every single point in the supply chain, free from any ambiguity or room for loopholes. He ﷺ said:
“Allah has cursed intoxicants – the one who drinks it, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who purchases it, the one who produces it, the one for whom it is produced, the one who transports it, and the one to whom it is transported to.”
(Narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud, graded “sahih” by Al-Albani)
This is a stark contrast to America’s prohibition, when they banned the "manufacture, sale, distribution" of alcohol. But not the drinking! Meaning: you can still drink it, if you can get your hands on it, somehow. They practically left the backdoor open.
Hello, organized crime.
4. Citizen’s attitudes: A conducive environment for change
Finally, to quote Simon Sinek from his book, “Start with WHY”:
When a WHY is clear, those who share that belief will be drawn to it and maybe want to take part in bringing it to life. If that belief is amplified it can have the power to rally even more believers to raise their hands and declare, “I want to help.”
In the narration about the prohibition of alcohol in Madinah, notice here that when the verse of prohibition of revealed, the companions immediately sprung to action – to the point where the streets of Madinah were flowing with wine.
Even if a person did have that attachment of alcohol in his heart, that small hint of resistance to obey, the response of the masses – the environment around him – would have induced a severe peer pressure to blend in. It was a community of upright citizens, ready to go the extra mile to do the right thing.
In America, legislation only made things difficult. People still wanted to devise clever tricks to get their booze, and boy did they. Those who weren’t quite onboard with the idea, continued to promote the demand for the organized crime to bring in the supply, and the downward spiral of social problems continued escalating towards severe consequences to the country.
I am reminded of similar situation in our country, Malaysia in the movement control order (MCO) throughout Hari Raya. Not so long ago, when the government put strict rulings against crossing borders, many stubborn citizens still attempted to seek loopholes to bypass the roadblocks. And many of them – and their family members – did indeed pay the price.
If we want the people around us to change, it starts with us.
“Allah will not change the state of a people, until they first change what is in themselves.” (Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:11)
Allahu a'lam - Allah Knows best.
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