By Asma bint Shameem
Subhaan Allaah we live in a time when good is mixed with bad, evil is everywhere and temptations surround us day and night. Knowledge is for the fortunate few and ignorance is rampant.
At times like these, there is also confusion…confusion about our deen, confusion about what is right and what is wrong, confusion about halaal and haraam. And so it is vital that the correct knowledge be spread so that confusions are dispelled and the Truth becomes clear.
One such issue that needs clarification is the issue of smoking.
So what does our deen say about smoking?
You may hear people telling you that its not so bad or at most it is ‘makrooh’. But the fact of the matter is that smoking is absolutely haraam. It is prohibited on account of the harm that it causes to one’s religion, well-being and finances. Here are the proofs.
Allaah has prohibited all harmful things
Allaah subhaanahu wa Ta’ala has divided things in this dunya into two types, good or permissible and evil or prohibited, and there is no third type. And out of His Infinite Mercy, Allaah has prohibited anything and everything that is khabeeth (evil) and causes harm. It is clear and bright as day, and there is no doubt in any sane person’s mind that cigarette smoking is bad for you.
Allah says:
وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَآئِثَ
“And He makes good things halaal for them and bad things haraam.” surat al-A’raaf
(7:157):
And in the Sunnah we see that any kind of harm is completely prohibited. The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) said:
“There is not to be any causing of harm nor is there to be any reciprocating of harm.”
(Ibn Majah–hasan)
You are not allowed to kill yourself
Allaah says:
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا
“And do not kill yourselves. Allah is the Most Merciful to you.”
(Nisaa’:29)
There is proof beyond doubt that smoking is a slow killer. It is one of the major causes of death.
Smoking is committing suicide!
One cigarette will not kill you right then and there but it is a gradual poison that we put in our body. It is as if you are committing a slow suicide. According to a research done by the University of California:
“Every cigarette a man smokes reduces his life by 11 minutes. Each carton of cigarettes thus represents a day and a half of lost life. Every year a man smokes a pack a day, he shortens his life by almost 2 months.” {University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter, April 2000}
Subhaan Allaah! If that isn’t that suicide, then what is?!!
Do you know what the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) said about the one who commits suicide?
“Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills himself, will be in Hellfire falling down into it and abiding therein perpetually forever; and whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon, will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in the Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever.”
(Bukhaari)
Imagine! A person who dies because of smoking…carrying his cigarette, the ‘weapon’ that he killed himself with, in his hand….and smoking it in the Hell fire??!!
Yaa Allaah, protect us ameen!!!
You have an ‘Amaanah’
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Your body has a right on you.” (Bukhaari)
This body that we have, this health that we enjoy is an irreplaceable blessing from Allaah. We are supposed to take care of it and we will be asked by Allaah about this ‘amaanah’ that He has bestowed on us, on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) said:
“A person will not be able to move on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about … his body as to what he engaged it in.”
(Tirmidhi–saheeh)
All physicians agree it is extremely harmful
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and wreaks havoc on a person’s overall health. There is no disagreement among the physicians that smoking is one of the major causes of multiple types of cancer, heart diseases, strokes, pulmonary diseases, hip fractures, cataracts, premature births, birth defects, premature deaths and many, many other diseases. Just search about it and the list of diseases caused by smoking is pretty long! May Allaah protect us ameen.
Whenever we get sick, we take rest, we take medicine, we go to the doctor. Then why is it that when it comes to smoking, some of us totally ignore what the doctors are saying? Why do we disregard all the evidence and all medical data and act as if none of the scientific proofs exist??
It is so strange that even intelligent people, educated people, people who call themselves ‘civilized and smart’, continue to smoke, even though they know very well, of its irreparable harm and are aware of the detrimental effects on health, mind and body! It doesn’t make any sense!
Smoking is addictive
Smokers are addicts, addicted to smoking and any kind of addiction is haraam.
Not only does smoking cause chemical dependance, it is a reason for psychological dependance as well. People who smoke are so dependent on their smoking that they cannot stay away from it, even if they want to.
During Ramadhaan, you see these smokers wanting, wishing, craving their cigarettes and that ‘nicotine rush’ so much so that it makes them extremely irritable, cranky, jittery and short tempered. Sometimes, it is so difficult for them to stay away their evil habit, they even smoke while they are ‘fasting’, although it is clearly forbidden!
Some even smoke while in Ihraam during Hajj, the journey of a lifetime!!
Subhaan Allaah! What kind of evil is this that it takes you away even from fulfilling a fardh such as fasting? Or away from Hajj, when you are the guest of Allaah?
Just think about it.
Disobeying the Very One Who invited you to His House and honored you and doing something that is ugly and hated to Him? Surely it is a loss indeed.
It is a tremendous waste of money
Smoking costs money as well as your health. Statistics show that at today’s prices, if a person smokes one pack of cigarettes each day for ten years, he’ll spend over $58,000 – easily enough to buy a new car! Imagine all that hard earned money going up in smoke!
Smoking is also a form of extravagance and wasting money. Extravagance in Islaam, means spending on something haraam. Allaah is clearly telling us NOT to waste money.
وكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
“And eat and drink, and do not waste. He does not love the wasteful.”
(al-Aaraaf: 31)
In fact, the ones who are extravagant and squander money, Allaah calls them ‘brothers of Shayaateen’! Subhaan Allaah! Just imagine! What kind of position does such a person have with Allaah?!!
وَلاَ تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا إِنَّ الْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُواْ إِخْوَانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ
“… and do not be extravagant wasters. Those who are extravagant are brothers of the Shayaateen (devils).”
(Surat al-Israa’:26-27)
We will be asked about the money we spent on smoking!!
We will be asked about this money that we earned and how we spent it. The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) said:
“The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters) about his life – how he spent it; about his youth – how he took care of it; about his wealth – how he earned it; and where he spent it and about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired.”
(at Tirmidhi and others–Saheeh)
How will we be able to answer Allaah regarding smoking? What will we say? How would we be able to justify ourselves and our actions?
How could you kill your own loved ones??
Those around the smoker inhale what is known as “second-hand smoke” – the unfiltered, poisonous waste that goes in the air around the smoker. Would we want to harm the ones we love…our very own parents, spouses, children, friends?
Of course not. In act we do everything we can to protect them. Then why would someone who smokes expose his little daughter or son, his spouse, his family to the harms of second-hand smoking?
Studies show that tobacco smoke (that a smoker would blow out) contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. More than 250 of these chemicals are known to be harmful, and at least 69 are known to cause cancer!
Let me ask you this? Would you want to kill the very ones you love?
How will you answer Allaah for the harm you caused them?
Allaah says:
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُّبِينًا
“Those who cause harm to believing men and women without any reason do a great sin.”
(al-Ahzaab: 58)
It’s repulsive and nasty to ALL…humans, angels and even Allaah Himself!
The nasty smell of smoke that permeates the clothes, the breath, the skin and even the hair of the smoker is ugly and repulsive. It just becomes part of the smoker. Even if he tries to wash it away, he can’t. Every where he goes, the stink goes with him and nauseates everyone around him. And if a smoker goes to the masjid, the overpowering stink sickens everyone and takes away the khushoo’ of many around him. Subhaan Allaah! If the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade eating garlic and onions before someone goes to the masjid, what about the strong overwhelming stink of smoke?!
The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Whoever causes distress to a Muslim has caused me distress, and whoever causes me distress has caused distress to Allaah.”
(at-Tabaraani–hasan)
Read that hadeeth again.
Just think about it. Causing distress to the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) and causing distress to Allaah?!!
What could be worse than that??!
That smell is so bad that even the angels can’t bear it and depart. How can I say that?
The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“The angels are irritated by whatever the humans are irritated by.”
(Bukhaari, Muslim)
Bad example
In the end, if all these proofs aren’t enough, what kind of an example do you want to set for your kids? Do you want them to become smokers just like you? Do you want to see them hurt their health, their Imaan, their families? A child will usually follow the example of his father or mother. They are his ‘role models’. He looks up to them and wants to be ‘like them’. The responsibility of upbringing a child is a HUGE one. It is put upon us by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’ala and He will ask us about it.
The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The ruler of the people is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of his household and is responsible for his flock. A woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and children and is responsible for her flock. The slave is the shepherd of his master’s wealth and is responsible for it. Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock.”
(Bukhaari, Muslim)
And he (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“There is no slave to whom Allaah has entrusted the care of people, and he dies neglecting his flock, but Allaah will forbid Paradise to him.”
(Bukhaari, Muslim)
May Allaah protect us and our families from the evils of smoking and everything else that’s Haraam Ameen.