Ruling on taking alertness pills (“uppers”)

Question

Praise be to Allah.

The general principle is that it is haraam to take anything
that may harm one either physically, mentally or both, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There should be
neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Majaah
(2341); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Majaah.

Alertness pills and energy-giving pills have harmful and
dangerous effects on the body, including those that are called amphetamines.
Unfortunately these pills are frequently used among students – under various
names – on the basis that they enable them to resist sleep and study more at
exam time, and they are also used by some sportsmen and truck drivers, so
that they can carry on without sleeping or feeling tired. Even if we assume
that these benefits are real, they are still accompanied by harmful effects.
Indeed, these pills cause a great deal of damage such as hyperactivity,
depression and a rise in blood pressure, which may expose the one who takes
them to severely high blood pressure which may kill him at any moment. The
one who takes them may also experience feelings of aggression and paranoia,
and if he continues taking them for a long time, he may become addicted, and
addiction to amphetamines may cause the addicted person to withdraw from
life and feel more depressed and paranoid, and he may end up becoming more
violent and losing the ability to think properly.

Allaah says with regard to alcohol and gambling
(interpretation of the meaning):

“They ask you (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم)
concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and
(some) benefits for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit”

[al-Baqarah 2:219]

Allaah disregarded the benefits that there may be in alcohol
and gambling because of the harms, evils and sins that are in them and
result from them. Hence the basic principle in sharee’ah is that warding off
harm takes precedence over bringing benefits.

The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: What is
the ruling on medicines that help students stay up to study and help drivers
keep awake on long journeys?

They replied:

The harm they cause is greater than the benefits they bring,
and anything that is like that is haraam. And one can do without these
medicines by using things that are more beneficial than them and free of
side effects. Students can spread out their study time and this is more
effective in making the information stick in their minds and helping them
understand it more deeply, so they are less likely to forget it. Drivers can
take rests at intervals during their long trips, and even if it takes them a
little longer to cross the distance, it will be safer for them and their
passengers and those who share the road with them, and it will be better for
the traffic system. End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(25/32).

And Allaah knows best.