SMOKING: The Islamic Perspective

[Miswak Association for health and Environment Researchs]

Notes of Dr Rami ( www.addictioncontrolconsultations.com ) :
1- Ramadan still away of Muslems attention as a season of Health
marketting more details : ( Ramadan free smoking campaign ) on our web
site soon
2- sewak is a great key word of reaching final solution of global
addiction pandemics ( 17 years research coclusion in one word)
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commenting on the following article :
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SMOKING: The Islamic Perspective


The Islamic Ruling
Many Ulama (Islamic scholars) are of the view that smoking is harâm.
This view is substantiated by those verses of the Holy Qur'ân and
Ahâdith of Rasûlullâh Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam which prohibit
harming one's physical well being, causing distress to others and
squandering wealth.



Harms

The primary basis of this ruling is that a smoker slowly destroys the
body that Allah has granted him. The human body is a trust from Allah
and has to be safeguarded and protected at all costs. A strong healthy
believer is better than a weak one. One who smokes, inevitably
destroys one's good health. Rasûlullâh Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
said that one should cherish one's good health before one's illness.
The harms of smoking are very well-known today, especially when every
cigarette advertisement warns of the harms of smoking.

Allah states: "And do not throw yourself into destruction with your
own hands." (Qur'ân 2: 195)

Most medical authorities agree that smoking is a major cause of lung
cancer among men and women. Smoking also causes cancer of the larynx,
lip, oesophagus and urinary bladder. Smoking greatly increases die
risk of dying from chronic bronchitis and emphysema. in another verse
of the Holy Qur’ân, Allah says: "And do not kill yourselves. (Qur'ân
4: 29)

Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: "Whoever drinks poison, thereby
killing himself, will sip this poison forever in the fire of
Jahannam."

Cigarettes consist of many poisonous substances. Furthermore, the
smoker indulges in a slow suicidal act by smoking this poison.



Composition of Cigarettes

Cigarettes comprise of many poisonous ingredients of which nicotine is
not the only poisonous ingredient as many people misconceive, but
includes other harmful ingredients as well. From amongst its poisonous
ingredients are:


Carbon monoxide which prevents oxygen from reaching the brain and the
heart and other muscles.
Poisonous lead which accumulates and the body fails to break it up.
Nicotine: This is a very poisonous substance. A mere 50 mg of it can
kill a person if it is injected into the arteries. A typical cigarette
contains one milligram of nicotine. Nicotine raises the blood
pressure, increases the heart rate and contracts blood vessels near
the skin.
Tar: This is a sticky yellowish substance which makes the teeth
yellow, causes tooth decay and inflammation of the gums. A single
cigarette may contain from 3 to 40 milligrams of tar.

During smoking, the larger particulates (tiny particles) get deposited
on the mucus lining of the lungs. Over time, the large particulates
and certain gases in the cigarette smoke scar the lungs and damage the
cillia, thousands of little hairs that line the airways. In heavy
smokers, the cillia are paralysed, and the pollutants remain in the
lungs. As a result, a smoker's chances of developing bronchitis and
influenza increases. Deposits of small particulates in the smaller
airways of the lungs can lead to a lung disease called emphysema. 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, a numbness in his
limbs and also a pain in the nerves.


Allah Ta'aala describes the mission of Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam: "He commands them to do good and stops them from evil and
makes halâl for them that which is pure and makes harâm upon them that
which is impure." (Qur’ân 7:157)

This verse clearly shows pure things to be harâm and impure things to
be harâm. An intelligent person would no doubt regard smoking to be
from among the impure things.

Squandering of Wealth

Allâh says in the Holy Qur'ân:

"And do not squander (your wealth). Indeed those who are extravagant
are the brothers of Shaytân." (Qur’ân 17:27)

Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam states: "And disliked for you is
hearsay, excessive questioning and the squandering of wealth."

Causing Distress

Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam also said: "Whoever eats garlic or
onion (raw) should keep away from us, keep far from our masâjid and he
should sit at home."

One partaking of these two vegetables was prohibited because of the
foul odour caused by them, so what about the repulsive stench of
cigarettes which harms the smoker and irritates other people? Its foul
smell is more aggravating than the smell of garlic and onion.

Increasing evidence indicates that cigarette smoke also harms non-
smokers. Research shows that non-smokers who for many years have
worked closely with smokers suffer decreased lung efficiency.

Smoking is also an act that wastes one's precious time. Smokers are
ill more often and miss more days of work than do non-smokers.

Some Ulama are of the opinion that it is makruh-tahrîmî which in
reality implies that it is harâm in practice. Furthermore, to persist
in doing something that is classified as makrûh also renders it as
harâm.

Published by: Madrasah Arabia Islamia, Azaadville, Krugersdorp, South
Africa.

Taken from: www.jamiat.co.za

jam...@islamsa.org.za
011 373 8000