Opium

Forbidden

Eschew use of opium

"Gambling and the use of opium have been forbidden unto you. Eschew them both, O people, and be not of those who transgress. Beware of using any substance that induceth sluggishness and torpor in the human temple and inflicteth harm upon the body. We, verily, desire for you naught save what shall profit you, and to this bear witness all created things, had ye but ears to hear."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 155)

Opium is prohibited

Concerning the use of alcoholic drinks and drugs the Guardian wishes you to know that they have been explicitly forbidden in the "Kitab-i-Aqdas". Opium is, undoubtedly, prohibited. But smoking, though allowed, is discouraged. Various other points which may be raised in this connection and which have not been explained in the Holy Writings have to be carefully considered and acted upon by the future International House of Justice which is the body empowered by Baha'u'llah to legislate in all matters which have not been explicitly revealed in the Sacred Writings of the Faith.

(On behalf of? Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, December 27, 1933)

Forbidden to smoke opium with a most binding interdiction; one who does is not of God

"It hath been forbidden you to smoke opium. We, truly, have prohibited this practice through a most binding interdiction in the Book. Should anyone partake thereof, assuredly he is not of Me. Fear God, O ye endued with understanding!"

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 190)

From Lights of Guidance (uncategorized)

The Renouncing of Tobacco, Alcohol and Opium--Purity and Sanctity Should Distinguish the People of Bahá

"O ye, God's loved ones! Experience hath shown how greatly the renouncing of smoking, of intoxicating drink, and of opium, conduceth to health and vigour, to the expansion and keenness of the mind and to bodily strength. There is today a people[+F1 (Possibly Abdu'l-Bahá was referring to the Sikhs)] who strictly avoid tobacco, intoxicating liquor and opium. This people is far and away superior to the others, for strength and physical courage, for health, beauty and comeliness. A single one of their men can stand up to ten men of another tribe. This hath proved true of the entire people: that is, member for member, each individual of this community is in every respect superior to the individuals of other communities.

"Make ye then a mighty effort, that the purity and sanctity which, above all else, are cherished by Abdu'l-Bahá, shall distinguish the people of Bahá; that in every kind of excellence the people of God shall surpass all other human beings; that both outwardly and inwardly they shall prove superior to the rest; that for purity, immaculacy, refinement, and the preservation of health, they shall be leaders in the vanguard of those who know. And that by their freedom from enslavement, their knowledge, their self-control, they shall be first among the pure, the free and the wise."

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sec. 129, p. 150, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1188)

Opium Destroys the Conscience, the Mind and the Perceptions; supplication to God to protect all against an act as hideous as opium smoking which fastens onto soul/conscience/mind and turns living into dead

"As to opium, it is foul and accursed. God protect us from the punishment He inflicteth on the user. According to the explicit Text of the Most Holy Book, it is forbidden, and its use is utterly condemned. Reason showeth that smoking opium is a kind of insanity, and experience attesteth that the user is completely cut off from the human kingdom. May God protect all against the perpetration of an act so hideous as this, an act which layeth in ruins the very foundation of what it is to be human, and which causeth the user to be dispossessed for ever and ever. For opium fasteneth on the soul, so that the user's conscience dieth, his mind is blotted away, his perceptions are eroded. It turneth the living into the dead. It quencheth the natural heat. No greater harm can be conceived than that which opium inflicteth. Fortunate are they who never even speak the name of it; then think how wretched is the user."

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Wilmette, 1982, sec. 129, pp. 148-149, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1186; also cited in Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

To have total abstinence from opium and similar habit-forming drugs

"This prohibition of the use of opium is reiterated by Bahá'u'lláh in the final paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. In this connection, Shoghi Effendi stated that one of the requirements for "a chaste and holy life" is "total abstinence ... from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs". Heroin, hashish and other derivatives of cannabis such as marijuana, as well as hallucinogenic agents such as LSD, peyote and similar substances, are regarded as falling under this prohibition.

(Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

Opium is foul, accursed, and utterly condemned

"As to opium, it is foul and accursed. God protect us from the punishment He inflicteth on the user. According to the explicit Text of the Most Holy Book, it is forbidden, and its use is utterly condemned."

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Wilmette, 1982, sec. 129, pp. 148-149, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1186; also cited in Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

Smoking opium is a kind of insanity and cuts the user off from the human kingdom

"Reason showeth that smoking opium is a kind of insanity, and experience attesteth that the user is completely cut off from the human kingdom."

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Wilmette, 1982, sec. 129, pp. 148-149, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1186; also cited in Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

No greater harm than opium; fortunate never to even speak its name

"No greater harm can be conceived than that which opium inflicteth. Fortunate are they who never even speak the name of it; then think how wretched is the user."

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Wilmette, 1982, sec. 129, pp. 148-149, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1186; also cited in Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

Any means whatsoever (including force) may be used to prevent the use of opium and woe and misery to those who fall short in this duty

"O ye lovers of God! In this, the cycle of Almighty God, violence and force, constraint and oppression, are one and all condemned. It is, however, mandatory that the use of opium be prevented by any means whatsoever, that perchance the human race may be delivered from this most powerful of plagues. And otherwise, woe and misery to whoso falleth short of his duty to his Lord." [cf. Qur'an 39:57]

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Wilmette, 1982, sec. 129, pp. 148-149; also cited in Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

The user, buyer, and seller are all deprived of the bounty and grace of God

"In one of His Tablets 'Abdu'l-Bahá has stated concerning opium: "the user, the buyer and the seller are all deprived of the bounty and grace of God"."

(Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

Opium extinguishes the mind, freezes the spirit, petrifies the soul, wastes the body, and leaves man frustrated and lost

"In yet another Tablet, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written:

...

"Alcohol consumeth the mind and causeth man to commit acts of absurdity, but this opium, this foul fruit of the infernal tree, and this wicked hashish extinguish the mind, freeze the spirit, petrify the soul, waste the body and leave man frustrated and lost."

(Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

May be prescribed by qualified physicans as part of a medical treatment

"It should be noted that the above prohibition against taking certain classes of drugs does not forbid their use when prescribed by qualified physicians as part of a medical treatment."

(Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 170)

Man begins to accustom himself to poisons like opium little by little until he cannot live without a gram every day

"...capacity is of two kinds: natural capacity and acquired capacity. The first, which is the creation of God, is purely good--in the creation of God there is no evil; but the acquired capacity has become the cause of the appearance of evil. For example, God has created all men in such a manner and has given them such a constitution and such capacities that they are benefited by sugar and honey and harmed and destroyed by poison. This nature and constitution is innate, and God has given it equally to all mankind. But man begins little by little to accustom himself to poison by taking a small quantity each day, and gradually increasing it, until he reaches such a point that he cannot live without a gram of opium every day. The natural capacities are thus completely perverted. Observe how much the natural capacity and constitution can be changed, until by different habits and training they become entirely perverted."

('Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 214)

Prayer for freedom from addiction including opium

"O Divine Providence! Bestow Thou in all things purity and cleanliness upon the people of Baha. Grant that they be freed from all defilement, and released from all addictions. Save them from committing any repugnant act, unbind them from the chains of every evil habit, that they may live pure and free, wholesome and cleanly, worthy to serve at Thy Sacred Threshold and fit to be related to their Lord. Deliver them from intoxicating drinks and tobacco, save them, rescue them, from this opium that bringeth on madness, suffer them to enjoy the sweet savours of holiness, that they may drink deep of the mystic cup of heavenly love and know the rapture of being drawn ever closer unto the Realm of the All-Glorious. For it is even as Thou hast said: `All that thou hast in thy cellar will not appease the thirst of my love--bring me, O cup-bearer, of the wine of the spirit a cup full as the sea!'"

('Abdu'l-Bahá: Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sec. 129)

To-dos for this page

• Integrate Star of the West, vol. 4, issue 2, pp. 39-40