Whenever there is a discussion amongst the scholars, about the drugs epidemic that plague the community ,the discussions always revolve around the disastrous effects of it and the solution they propose is to highlight the benefits of abstaining from drugs. Unfortunately this is an incorrect solution and calling for such solutions may even reinforce the thought process which actually push people to take drugs and commit other vile acts. By educating people against the dangers of drugs campaigners are hoping to paint a picture in which the dangers outweigh the benefit. The argument is easily overcome if the 'benefit' can be seen to outweigh the risk. Many soft drug users will often cite that it is statistically safer to take the softer variety of drugs and that you have a greater chance of being hit by a motor bike than you do of dying from taking drugs. Therefore the risks would appear to be low compared to the euphoric feeling of being high. Relying on scare tactics is intellectually shallow and such arguments will even backfire as demonstrated earlier. The only reason why we should abstain from drugs and other intoxicants is because Allah has prohibited them. End of story.

''It may be that you hate something and it is good for you and it may be that you like something and it is bad for you, Allah knows and you do not know'' [Al-Baqarah: 216]

''It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.'' [ Al-Ahzab:36]

''Say: 'Not equal are Al-Khabith [all that is evil and bad] and At-Tayyib [all that is good], even though the abundance of Al-Khabith may please you.' So fear Allah, O men of understanding in order that you may be successful '' [Al-Ma'idah: 100]

Furthermore, these are the laws of Allah (swt), and we submit to them totally. The very fact that these laws are from Allah (swt) is enough to make them correct. We should not fall into the trap of using human logic and reasoning to justify the Shariah; otherwise, we automatically accept defeat because we implicitly acknowledge that the Shariah must be justifiable to the human logic. One of the reasons why we say Islam is correct is the fact that human logic and reasoning cannot be used as a reference for right/wrong and a source for laws and legislation in the first place. That being said, there are many benefits to the Islamic laws, and there is nothing wrong with pointing out these benefits, so long as they do not become the basis for our submission to these laws. 

Perhaps one may perceive some benefits that arise out of implementing a certain Islamic rule, but these perceived benefits are NOT the reason why the rule exists. Otherwise, if we think in this way, then I ask the question: What if the reason or perceived benefit no longer exists? Do we stop implementing the rule? Many people argue that pork is haram because it is not clean, but suppose that genetic engineering makes it possible to produce disease-free pork? If this happens, pork is still haram, because the reason for pork being haram is because Allah (swt) made it haram. There is no way of determining what was on ''Allah's Mind'' when He made this rule. We use our minds only to understand what the rules are, and not to try and figure out what are the reasons behind these rules. Once we understand the rule, our attitude should be: We listen and obey.
 
Similarly the ONLY reason for complying with the Islamic dress is not because it offers protection or modesty. The reason why we adhere to the Islamic dress is because it is a Hukm Sharii (Islamic ruling) from Allah (swt). The protection and modesty are possible by-products of adhering to this rule, which may or may not exist depending on the situation. For some sisters, the Islamic dress offers protection, but in certain situations, it may actually invite danger ( being labelled as a fundamentalist). That is why we need to look at Islam comprehensively. The Islamic dress alone will not offer protection, but rather the Islamic dress as well as the correct Islamic concepts, the Islamic norms and values, and the Islamic system that will apply all of these concepts, norms and values in all aspects of the society.

In conclusion, the effects of a problem and the related statistical data (of drug addicts or crime rate) should be used as analysis tools to understand the exact the problem, its severity, and grasp the dichotomy of underlying issues by building thoughts upon thoughts. This process can be classified as intellectual thinking which should be clearly distinguished from legislative thinking. The outcome of intellectual thinking will establish the fact there is a problem and a solution is needed. Once the problem is thoroughly understood, legislative thinking is employed to extract a legislation, derive a concept, formulate a maxim or to draft a policy based on the evidences (daleel) from the Islamic legislative sources (Quran, Sunnah and others). The purpose of legislative thinking is to seek an opinion about issue without any preconceived notions and the entire focus in this process is on rules and parameters (Arabic language, Usul-ul Fiqh, and above all, the Islamic Aqeedah) of  ijtihad rather than effects of the problem. Unfortunately these 2 thinking processes no longer exist in the ummah and if there is any thinking at all it is very erratic. However in the West a consistent thinking pattern exist, but based on the erroneous foundation. 

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The Role of the Mind in Islam