Rise of drug addiction amongst Youth
By: Dr. Ashraf Amin
The harmful substance use or drug addiction by whatever name you may call it, is consuming our younger generation as termites consume the wood. Our youth are chasing bad adventures and illusions andquickly succumb to the plans and designs of drug peddlers and drug mafia. And above all, they are unable to reconcile with the reality and ignore the fact thatlife is a precious gift given by Allah.
When Allah created Ādam (Alaihe Salaam), He advocated for his competency and capability against the apprehensions of Angels who expressed pessimistic view about Adam (Alaihe Salaam). Allah ensured them that human beings would be capable of doing extraordinary things bearing tremendous sacrifices for the righteousness and virtue. One could safely say that Allah showed a tremendous confidence in humans who would excel in their limited life span and create astonishing wonders and awe-struck discoveries and inventions.
The steeping of humans into the vices harming their life is in fact the deviation from the purpose with what Allah has created existence. Life is about achieving maximum as human mould is capable of achieving! Life is to stick to the reality and real things and making a difference to the world. Allah has willed it for humans to reap the enjoyments of life but never at the cost of health and intellect. Those youths among our ranks who have embraced drugs have moved away from the real blessings of life.
The question then is that what compels us to smoke, sniff or inject the poison in our bodies! We must realize that drugs are not always taken for adventure purposes only as we often blame a drug abuser; it is sometimes resorted to out of frustration, meaninglessness, and under the pressure of expectations [for example a student preparing for a high profile examination and is scared of poor performance]. Children who witness family feuds and destabilization of families are equally prone to substance abuse, the unemployed youth are also vulnerable to the peril of drugs.
Unfortunately, we, as a community, wake up only when something ugly has taken place. We are far from nipping the evil in the bud. Allah in His Last Testament revealed on Muḥammad (Peace be upon him) has instructed us to block the ways leading to the ultimate disaster. To curb the evil at the grassroots level is the hallmark of Qur’ ān and Sunnah. Our youth opting for drugs or led into it is because they don’t find the right guidance at the right time. When they are ripening in their age, we as a community fail to channelize their potentials and energies. We perhaps are unable to provide them better alternatives.
Before lamenting upon the rising cases of drug usage, we must look into the factors leading to such catastrophe. Those factors are not hard to found. We have pushed our youth to cut throat competitions, material pursuits on one hand. On the other, we have not taught them to handle failures. They severely lack emotional intelligence. We have not trained them in Tawakkul of Allah. They can’t see beyond the bundle of atoms. We have not tamed their egos, their anger, passions, and their emotions. As parents, teachers, friends, relatives, as smaller and larger institutions, we are far from shielding our youth from falling into the worst of hazards.
Else we don’t have the social consciousness of rescuing the youth who have fallen into the vicious trap of drugs. We are better at stereotyping, humiliating and disgracing the victim than looking into our collective failures!
Instead of extending our compassion and mercy towards the victim, we are engaged in denigrating him, disowning him. In the Dīn of Allah repentance or returning to the original state is never underestimated. A chronic drug addict can come back and live a normal social life provided a sincere attempt is made. As a fellow human being, it is our foremost duty to help a drug victim in defeating the menace of drug dependence.
The law enforcing and implementing agencies are also no less responsible for the existence of such grim situation in our society! The severity and swiftness of action against the drug peddlers seems softened. The police and the authorities at the helm of affairs must show least mercy to the drug dealers and traders. The mafia must be exposed to the core. Above and all our youth must by themselves value their lives and step in to do something concrete in life. The best of the adventures is in improving one’s life, that of society and environment.
Allah has ingrained tremendous qualities in a human being; they are to be unlocked by looking at real things not the pastimes of utopia and illusions. The best of the adventures is to rise above challenges and take lead in social activism and compassion. Allah has emphasized honor of human life and has warned every soul to not harm itself. Allah has strictly forbidden those actions that invite one’s own doom. Rasūl Allah (Peace be upon him) has time and again reminded us of the value of youth compared to the old age and helplessness. Let us pledge to teach our youth that life matters more than anything. No pleasure, no adventure, no future apprehension is above health, above life. Let the will to defeat the drug menace remain firm! Aamīn!
