Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 156
156 islam’s response to contemporary issues Both drinking and gambling are socio-economic evils. The amount spent on drinking in one day in Great Britain is enough to feed the famine-stricken multitudes of Africa for many weeks. Yet, in the most poverty-stricken countries of Africa and other continents, drinking is not considered a luxury that people cannot afford. Having failed to provide for the basic necessities of life and their children’s education, there are millions of Africans who would still have access to the consumption of alcohol. In the poor south of India where factory- made wine is not available to all, homemade toddy serves as a substitute. However, poverty does deter the spread of the ‘mother of all evils’ to a degree. If the per capita income rises, so does the expenditure on drink. Until someone becomes an alcoholic, nobody seems to care much about it. One may wonder why drinking and gambling should be treated as problems of the contemporary world while, in fact, they are as ancient as the records of human history go. Indeed, wine and gambling have been found in every age and part of the world; yet, by their very nature of being timeless, they can be considered as problems of all ages. In economics, gambling is more objectionable than drinking. In gambling, money changes hands without pushing the wheel of economy just as money is exchanged for money without an underlying exchange of commodity in the money markets. In gambling, money changes hands without participating in the process of economic development and production of wealth. Though some economic purpose is served in the money markets, almost none is served in gambling. Under a free trade and industry environment, money does not change hands without serving the economy in material form. In trade and commerce, the exchange of value, more often than not, is beneficial for all concerned. It is inconceivable that the majority of