Cii Radio|Maulana Khalid Dhorat|31 May 2016|24 Sha’baan 1437

Legend has it that when Iblees, the supreme devil, was expelled from the skies and when he fell from grace of Allah Ta’ala, he landed upon a certain portion of the earth. After a while, he had an urge to relieve himself, and he did so somewhere. Lo and behold, after a while, a plant grew at exactly the same spot where he had urinated. This plant was the tobacco plant! Tobacco may have been the first vice of Iblees which he introduced to mankind which till today is blackening and poisoning the insides of millions of people worldwide.

The Dangers of Smoking
Smoking is a fashionable way of gradually committing suicide. Instead of taking a hosepipe and attaching it to the exhaust of your motor vehicle, and then directly inhaling the carbon monoxide and killing yourself in 30 minutes, you attach a cigarette to your mouth, a through a filter, inhale toxins and poisons that will kill you in 20 years. There is no better and more apt way of describing the despicable act of smoking.

There is absolutely no social appeal or common sense in the idiotic act of smoking. It pollutes the atmosphere, kills you and the people around you, and reliefs some of your stress temporarily until you light up another. Besides, it’s a universally accepted and indisputable fact that smoking has many serious health and life hazards, for example, lung cancer, to the smoker as well as to those non-smokers in the smoker’s environment. Our beautiful Shari’ah has explained in great length the importance of good health to the extent that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) even advised to maintain a balance in eating and drinking as an imbalance could be harmful to health. He advised having dates, being hot in nature with cucumber, as the cucumber has a cooling effect. On one occasion, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) even stopped Hadhrat Ali (Radhiallaahu Anhu) from eating dates upon recovering from an illness and advised him to have vegetables instead.

Although dates is not only nutritious but also a means of obtaining blessing, but it could be harmful in certain conditions, so Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) advised against it. From this, one can gauge the extent of abstaining from cigarettes which contain many harmful ingredients, for example, carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar and benzene vapour.

Muhammad Abdul Ghaffaar, in his book, ‘Ninety Nine Harms of Smoking’ has said that smoking results 99 documented sicknesses. He quotes Dr. Salahuddeen Abdur-Rabbi Nabiy, a Neuro Surgeon in Cairo: “When a person becomes enslaved to the habit of smoking, it has a very harmful effect on the smoker’s health, especially to his heart. As a result his heart beat and blood circulation becomes unstable and he experiences drowsiness from time to time due to the shrinking of his brain arteries.

Sometimes during old age, he suffers from high blood pressure and angina. Similarly, his digestive and respiratory systems are harmed and the smoker loses his appetite. He is also afflicted by a cough which is known as the smoker’s cough. When his nervous system is affected the smoker feels a prickly sensation, numbness in his limbs and also a pain in the nerves.”

In the annual conference of the American Doctors Council which took place in Chicago in 1966, doctors became alarmed when they heard that the least harm smoking causes is that it arouses anxiety. The following is stated in the ninth edition of “World of Knowledge” magazine under the heading, “Cancer Caused by Smoking”:

“This fatal illness is the culmination of many illnesses which are the result of thin blood and other sicknesses which are related to the blood vessels. All these are connected to this loathsome substance. However, lung cancer is the most likely outcome of smoking.”

Proof for the prohibition of smoking
Smoking did not exist in the time of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam), but our magnificent Deen has laid down general principles from which many laws are derived. From these principles, the Ulama (Allah’s mercy be upon them) have come to the conclusion that due to the fact that the harms of smoking has been scientifically proven and beyond doubt, it is completely Haraam (prohibited).

A verse of the Noble Qur’aan states: “And do not throw yourself into destruction with your own hands.’ (Baqarah: 195). Our Noble Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam said): “Whosoever drinks poison, thereby killing himself, will sip this poison forever and ever in the fire of Jahannum.”

Allah Ta’ala has divided the things in the world into two: good or permissible (al-tayyibaat, al-halaal) and evil or prohibited (al-khabaa’ith, al-haraam). There is no third type.
Allah says in Surat al-A’raaf (7:157): “And He makes good things halaal for them and bad things haraam.”

Considering this fact, smoking can either be permissible and good or prohibited and evil. Which is it?
1. There is no disagreement among scientists and physicians that smoking is harmful for health. It is one of the major causes of lung cancer and other diseases. It is also one of the major causes of death. Since, it is known that the Islamic law prohibits everything that is harmful for a human being. Allah said: “Do not kill yourself. Allah is Merciful unto you.” (Surat al-Nisaa’ 4:29)

In addition, our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) 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.”

Smoking also goes against the saying of our noble Prophet (SAW): “Your body has a right on you.”

2. There is also no disagreement among the physicians that smoking is injurious to the health of others who inhale the polluted breath of the smoker.

3. The offensive smell caused by smoking is a source of inconvenience and hindrance to the worshippers of Allah, both among humans and angels. Allah said: “Those who cause harm to believing men and women without any reason do a great sin.” (Surat al-Ahzaab, 33:58)

4. The money that is spent on cigarettes is used to purchase a harmful thing and is therefore an extravagance.Allah said “… and do not be extravagant wasters. Those who are extravagant are kinsmen of Satan.” (Surat al-Israa’ 17:26-27) Extravagance (in Islam) means spending on something haraam.

Considering all of the above, it can be clearly seen that smoking is a great evil and a monstrous addiction. It is incumbent on a person who is addicted to it that he makes all efforts and gets whatever necessary treatment to stop it immediately. As Muslims, our insides should not only be physically clean, but spiritually clean as well.

We ask Allah, the Almighty, to cure everyone indulging in this evil and help him in giving it up. And Allah is the Best Guide.