SMOKING

 

WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BODY WHEN I SMOKE?

When you smoke, you can become addicted to, or not able to function without nicotine. By definition: nicotine is a colorless, poisonous alkaloid, derived from the tobacco plant and used as an insecticide. It is the substance in tobacco in which smokers can become addicted.  Nicotine is as habit-forming as the drugs heroin and cocaine.  Over time, you may have problems with your teeth and gums; staining on your teeth, fingers, and fingernails; bad breath; and wrinkling skin. There are also other, more serious health problems caused by smoking, such as:

·     Lung cancer and other lung diseases, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis

·     Other kinds of cancer, such as cancer of the throat, mouth, esophagus (food pipe), pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix (opening to the uterus or womb)

·     Atherosclerosis - clogged and narrowed arteries

·     Heart disease

·     Heart attack

·     Stroke

·     Early menopause - the stopping of menstrual periods

·     Osteoporosis - the thinning and weakening of bones

·     Infertility - problems getting pregnant

·     Problems during pregnancy like miscarriage, early or premature birth, having an infant born with low birth weight, stillbirth, and even infant death

SMOKING

is a habit. Is it good or bad, allowed (halaal) or prohibited (haraam)? Let us see the ruling of Allah Almighty and what medicine said about it, this “evil weed, cancer stick, coffin nails.”

Allah said in the Quran:

]æóÃóäÝöÞõæÇ Ýöí ÓóÈöíáö Çááøóåö æóáÇó ÊõáÞõæÇ ÈöÃóíÏöíßõã Åöáóì ÇáÊøóåáõßóÉö æóÃóÍÓöäõæÇ Åöäøó Çááøóåó íõÍöÈøõ ÇáãõÍÓöäöíäó[

“Spend your wealth for the way of Allah, and do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction. and do good; indeed Allah loves the doers of good ” surah 2 verse#195

Allah also said:

 ]íóÇ ÃóíøõåóÇ ÇáäøóÇÓõ ßõáõæÇ ãöãøóÇ Ýöí ÇáÃóÑÖö ÍóáÇóáÇð ØóíøöÈðÇ æóáÇó ÊóÊøóÈöÚõæÇ ÎõØõæóÇÊö ÇáÔøóíØóÇäö Åöäøóåõ áóßõã ÚóÏõæøñ ãõÈöíäñ[

 “O Mankind! Eat from whatever is on earth that is lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy” surah 2 verse#168

SMOKING KILLS

Every year, more than 400,000 American deaths are attributed to smoking. It’s banned in restaurants, workplaces and other public areas. It’s illegal for cigarettes to be sold to anyone under 18. Yet even with all the loss of customers by death, tobacco companies still manage to make a profit.

How do they do it? There are numerous laws against smoking. In 1998, a law passed that made it illegal to smoke in bars. An internal Philip Morris document states, "[The] financial impact of smoking bans will be tremendous three to five fewer cigarettes per day per smoker will reduce annual manufacturer profits a billion dollars plus per year." In an effort to keep their customers smoking, the companies trick the public with lies and loopholes. Their goal is to slow the anti-smoking movement and keep people smoking to get more profits.

We as Muslims are advised to cherish our health before our wealth.  Allah has given us our bodies to house the soul and worship him without partners.  Cigarette addiction is a device to shorten life. Nicotine consumption is habit forming to say the least. It is an anti-depressant and mild sedative, As old folks say: “It calms my nerves.” But actually the opposite. Smoking is a waste of time and money.

The Islamic Scholars have said that Cigarette Smoking is prohibited (Haraam).We are instructed in Qur’an & Hadith not to imbibe anything harmful to the body. In the same manner that we abhor Drugs and Alcohol, We should view cigarette smoking in the same light. Allah said in the Quran:

]ÇáøóÐöíäó íóÊøóÈöÚõæäó ÇáÑøóÓõæáó ÇáäøóÈöíøó ÇáÃõãøöíøó ÇáøóÐöí íóÌöÏõæäóåõ ãóßÊõæÈðÇ ÚöäÏóåõã Ýöí ÇáÊøóæÑóÇÉö æóÇáÅöäÌöíáö íóÃãõÑõåõã ÈöÇáãóÚÑõæÝö æóíóäåóÇåõã Úóä ÇáãõäßóÑö æóíõÍöáøõ áóåõã ÇáØøóíøöÈóÇÊö æóíõÍóÑøöãõ Úóáóíåöã ÇáÎóÈóÇÆöËó... [

 “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil. ” surah 7 verse#157

Let us calculate how much Muslims spend yearly for smoking. If every Muslim spends two dollars a day for cigarettes, we would waste two billion dollars a day. This big money would build houses, mosques, schools, hospitals, factories, etc.., and you would not see any poor Muslim in the world; unfortunately, we do not follow the real teaching, of Islam.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT:

  1.    Total World Population: 6.5 Billion

  2.    Total Muslims in the world: 2 Billion

  3.    Total Smokers in the world: 1.15 billion

  4.    Total Muslim smokers in the world: 400 million

  5.    Largest Cigarette maker is Phillip Morris

  6.    Phillip Morris donates 12% profits to Israel

  7.    Total Muslim money to Morris $800 million DAILY

  8.    Average profit margin is 10%

  9.    Average profit for Morris is $80 million DAILY

10.  Thus $9.6 million of Muslim money goes to Israel every single DAY

CIGARETTE SMOKING

It is a nuisance to others; the second hand smoke is foul smelling. We should not stand in prayer lines smelling bad. It offends our brother/sister Muslims and the angels; in short, it’s a bad habit. How many friends/relatives do we know that have expired due to smoking?  Think about it the next time you light up: is it really worth the harm it brings?

If you wouldn’t drink poison or shoot yourself to commit fast suicide, then why smoke cigarettes and commit slow suicide? Smoking causes high blood pressure, impotency, heart disease, and Birth defects in Fetuses. The Cigarette companies added stronger chemicals to make the “smoke” stronger. It also makes the cigarettes better tasting and more addictive. 

You must know that Smoking makes people very nervous and decreases one’s ability to worship, remember Allah, and work productively.

Overall smoking is prohibited by law in all indoor facilities such as hospitals, airplanes, factories, and offices.

Please, do not kill yourself and your children.  Replace the cigarette with the siwak; keep your teeth and gums clean and fresh.  Islam saves lives and prohibits all types of evil or slow suicide.   Allah said in the Quran:

]... æóáÇó ÊóÞÊõáõæÇ ÃóäÝõÓóßõã Åöäøó Çááøóåó ßóÇäó Èößõã ÑóÍöíãðÇ[

"…do not kill (or destroy) yourselves, verily Allah has been to you the most merciful " surah 4 verse#29 

Abandon smoking for the sake of Allah Almighty

 

 

With the compliments of www.rememberAllah.com

Collected and Prepared by

by

Hamadi Al-Aslani

Manager of Editing and Translation
  Jeddah Dawah Center