Umar's advice to an alcoholic

ditta

Alhamdu'Lillaah
Staff member
As-salaamu'alaykum,

There was a man from Ash-Sham (Syria and surrounding regions) who used to frequent Umar's gatherings. When Umar (radiyAllahu anh) did not see him for a number of successive days, he asked others about him. Someone said to Umar,

"He has become addicted to drinking alcohol."

Upon hearing this sad news, Umar said to his scribe,

"Write down the following:

From Umar ibn al-Khattab to so and so.

Peace be upon you, I say to you that all praise is for Allah and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him. In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful."

Umar then recited the following verse:

Ha, Meem.

The revelation of the Book is from Allah , the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.

The forgiver of sin, acceptor of repentance, severe in punishment, owner of abundance. There is no deity except Him; to Him is the destination.

(Qur'aan, 40: 1-3)

Having dictated the contents of the letter, Umar said to his messenger,

"Do not hand him this letter until you find him to be completely sober."

Umar then ordered those who were with him to supplicate for the forgiveness of the alcoholic man.

Upon being given Umar's letter, the alcoholic man proceeded to read it; and having reflected on the meaning of the verse that Umar quoted in the letter, he said,

"Verily, my Lord has promised to forgive me, and He has warned me about His punishment."

As he continued to repeat those phrases to himself, tears began to flow from his eyes. He asked for forgiveness from his Lord, and had thus successfully completed an important step in the process of repentance. And he was determined not to stop there, but to go further by making his repentance complete: he did so by vowing to never again imbibe even a drop of alcohol. In fulfilment of that vow, he went cold turkey, turning away from his addiction both abruptly and completely. First and foremost because of Allah's help, and then because of his own determination and sincere repentance, the man made a smooth and complete and immediate transition from the state of alcoholism to that of total abstinence.

When Umar heard the good news, he said to his companions,

"That is what you should do: If you see that one of you has fallen into error, then help him to correct himself, and supplicate for him - but (whatever you do) do not be a helper of the Devil against him (i.e., by shunning him, by condemning him, by being judgemental in a non-helpful way, or by doing anything to discourage him from repenting)."

(Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 15/256)

Umar was an ideal leader - this much most Muslims know through his reputation as a rightly guided Khaleefah. But he was a wonderful teacher as well, being aware that, while some teaching methods might work on one student, they might be harmful on another. Or in other words, he went from being harsh, to being merciful, to being commiserating, to being gentle, to being serious with people, not randomly, but based on what he felt would be the most effective way of teaching and guiding each individual. So his method of teaching changed based on the needs and the situation of each person he dealt with.

There is another important lesson that we should learn from this story. If one is in a position of authority - as an Imam, a teacher, a counsellor, etc. - one should care for all of the individuals for whom one is responsible. For despite being a leader with great responsibilities and with very little, if any, free time, Umar cared enough about his people to notice the absence of a single individual from his gathering. He then inquired about that individual and made the effort to help him in his time of need. These days, if a Muslim stops attending a gathering, hardly anyone notices that he is missing. And even if others do notice his absence, it is unlikely that they will inquire about his well being, never mind take any actual steps to help him. Certainly the indifference that we show one another is contrary to the true meaning of Islamic brotherhood. And we ask Allah to guide us, to make us care for one another, and to instil into our hearts the realisation that, as Muslims, we are truly brothers unto one another, and that we should treat one another accordingly. Ameen.

(Shaheed Al-Maihraab, pg. 208)
 
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