Friday Khutbah: The Scourge of Drugs

This is the official Friday Khutbah (sermon) issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf) of the UAE for June 26, 2026, delivered across mosques throughout the Emirates. This week's topic: The Scourge of Drugs.

First Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, who has made lawful for His servants all that is good and wholesome, and has forbidden for them all that is impure and intoxicating. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah send His prayers, peace, and blessings upon him, his family, his companions, and all who follow his guidance.

To proceed:I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself, to be mindful of Allah, who says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنْظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

“O you who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul consider what it has sent forth for tomorrow. And fear Allah; indeed Allah is fully aware of what you do.” (Qur'an 59:18)

O believers:Allah Most High legislated His noble and merciful law for His servants as a mercy to them. Through it He preserves their religion, their lives, their intellects, their wealth, and their honour. Among the gravest threats to all of these are narcotic drugs. They are a deadly poison and a devastating affliction. Whoever surrenders to them is led toward destruction until he becomes forgotten and lost. Allah Most High says: وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا * وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا

“Do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is ever Merciful to you. And whoever does that out of aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into a Fire.” (Qur'an 4:29–30)

This is a severe warning to anyone who causes his own destruction by consuming what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ further emphasized this when he said: مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ بِسُمٍّ؛ فَسُمُّهُ بِيَدِهِ، يَتَحَسَّاهُ -أَيْ: يَتَنَاوَلُهُ- فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ، خَالِدًا مُخَلَّدًا فِيهَا أَبَدًا

“Whoever kills himself with poison, his poison will remain in his hand, and he will continue swallowing it in the Fire of Hell, abiding therein forever.” (Musnad Ahmad/Tirmidhi)

Drugs are among the most dangerous forms of poison. How astonishing it is that a person may withhold his wealth from his family and children, yet willingly spend it on that which destroys and ruins him! How will he answer before Allah when he is asked: “عَنْ عُمُرِهِ فِيمَا أَفْنَاهُ... وَعَنْ مَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ، وَفِيمَ أَنْفَقَهُ؟

About his life and how he spent it... and about his wealth, how he earned it and how he spent it.” (Tirmidhi)

Has he prepared an answer for that questioning? How can a person be content to extinguish the light of the intellect with which Allah honoured him? Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “If intellect could be bought, people would compete fiercely in paying its price. How astonishing then is the one who spends his wealth on that which corrupts it!” How can a person surrender the reins of his soul to drugs and become among the losers—one who: لَا يَعْرِفُ مَعْرُوفًا، وَلَا يُنْكِرُ مُنْكَرًا، إِلَّا مَا أُشْرِبَ مِنْ هَوَاهُ

“No longer recognizes what is right, nor rejects what is wrong, except that which conforms to his desires.” (Muslim)

Drugs overpower a person until they make him forget the remembrance of Allah. They burden his family with hardship and misery, replacing happiness with anxiety, and love with hostility and resentment. Allah says: إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَاةِ

“Satan only wishes to sow enmity and hatred among you through intoxicants and gambling and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer.” (Qur'an 5:91)

Therefore beware, beware, O servants of Allah. A rational person does not seek his own destruction, damage his reputation, squander his wealth, neglect his children, and tear apart his family, especially after hearing the words of the Prophet ﷺ: كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ إِثْمًا أَنْ يُضَيِّعَ مَنْ يَعُولُ

“It is sufficient sin for a person that he neglects those whom he is responsible to support.” (Abu Dawud)

Servants of Allah:The family is a fortified stronghold and a place of safety. If children do not find within the home an example that inspires them, affection that fills their hearts, and meaningful conversation that satisfies their minds, they will become attached to bad companions. The Prophet ﷺ said: الرَّجُلُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ

“A person follows the religion of his close friend.” (Abu Dawud)

Therefore, care for your children. Monitor their behaviour. Listen to them attentively. Fill their free time with beneficial pursuits. Do your utmost to educate and guide them. They are a trust upon your shoulders and a responsibility entrusted to you. Prevention is better than cure. Allah says: “O you who believe! Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those entrusted with authority among you.” (Qur'an 4:59). I say these words of mine, and I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you.

Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah alone, and may peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet.

To proceed: O believers: Protecting society from drugs is a shared responsibility, for the Prophet ﷺ said: كُلُّكُمْ رَاعٍ، وَكُلُّكُمْ مَسْؤُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ

“Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

For this reason, the National Anti-Narcotics Agency has adopted the slogan: “United Ranks... to Eradicate the Scourge.”  Let us cooperate with it conscientiously and responsibly. And whoever has been afflicted by this scourge should know that the door of repentance remains open, treatment is available, and abandoning drugs marks the beginning of a new life and a path to salvation in this world and the Hereafter.

O Allah, send Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon our Master and Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.

O Allah, be pleased with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, and with all the noble Companions.

O Allah, perpetuate for the United Arab Emirates its honour, victory, stability, prosperity, goodness, and well-being.

O Allah, protect Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the President of the State, with Your protection. Be for him a helper and supporter and bless his life and his work.

O Allah, grant success to him, his deputies, his brothers, the Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince in all that You love and are pleased with.

O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the departed rulers of the Emirates who have returned to Your mercy. By Your grace, admit them into the vastness of Your gardens of Paradise.

O Allah, encompass the martyrs of the nation with Your mercy and forgiveness.

O Allah, have mercy on the Muslim men and women, the living among them and the deceased. Servants of Allah:

Remember Allah, the Magnificent and Majestic, and He will remember you. Thank Him for His blessings, and He will increase you therein. And establish the prayer.