TOBACCO ADDICTION

Assalam oalaikum,

The topic of tobacco addiction does not find a direct mention in the Holy Quran or the ahadith. Topics such as life insurance and credit cards are also not directly mentioned in the Islamic religious texts. However, we know that when the lift is out of order people have to use stairs. Likewise, when a particular topic is not mentioned in the Holy Quran directly we need to make efforts through research and analysis so that we can reach a perfect solution, in the light of Islam.

Scientific research has proved that a long term use of nicotine, (which is a chemical found in tobacco) can be addictive like morphine, cocaine and alcohol. Besides the addiction factor, the nicotine can also affect the body in numerous other ways such as:
Increasing the blood pressure
Causing nausea and diarrhea
Decreasing the appetite
Creates more phlegm

There are thousands of other chemicals found in tobacco also. A group of such chemicals named tar can cause lung cancer, bronchial ailments and emphysema. Moreover, tobacco has been also linked to cataracts and leukemia. Smoking causes discoloration of the teeth and affects the sense of taste and smell. Smoking can also harm the non-smokers through inhalation of the secondhand smoke, which is a poisonous and unfiltered waste that emanates from cigars, cigarettes or pipes. In other words, a smoker does not only harm himself but also those around him. Infants who are exposed to such secondhand smoke are prone to severe asthma, sudden infant death syndrome and severe respiratory infections. Last but not the least when the smokers drop lit cigarettes, by chance, it causes hundreds of deaths through fire accidents.

After having enumerated the harms caused by tobacco addiction let us now analyze this topic in the light of Islam.
Allah says in the Holy Quran: ‘..make not your hands contribute to your destruction..”(TMQ-2:195)

Allah says in the Holy Quran that the Prophet (pbuh) ‘enjoins upon them that which is good and pure and forbids them that which is unwholesome’. (TMQ-7:157)

Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) is reported to have said, ‘Do not harm yourself or others”. (Hadith)

The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Whoever has eaten from such greens as garlic, onions or leek should keep away from our mosque’.

Since the unwholesome nature and the destructive effects of tobacco addiction (on the smoker as well as on others around him) are out in the open and so is the fact that cigarette smoke smells bad, therefore, it can be deduced from the above mentioned Quranic verses and ahadith that tobacco usage is against the teachings of Islam. This is just another plot of Satan to harm mankind.

In one of my earlier blogs: HYPERLINK "http://www.shaitankihakikat.com/2010/05/shaitan-insan-ko-sharab-jowa-or-dosare.html" http://www.shaitankihakikat.com/2010/05/shaitan-insan-ko-sharab-jowa-or-dosare.html   I have shown how Satan entices people into smoking cigarettes and soon enough, Satan succeeds in making people hooked on to this vice. Those who are not aware of Satan’s cunning tactics and his evil agenda, easily fall into his trap, oblivious of the fact that they are making a rod for their own back.

If somehow a tobacco addict makes up his mind to give up smoking then withdrawal symptoms such as depression, headaches, frustration, tension to name a few become visible within a few hours. At this point the need of replacement therapies such as patches, gum and inhalers arise for alleviating the effects of withdrawal.
However, if a person has a strong will power and if he has not become a serious tobacco addict only then can he avail all these replacement therapies. This is because Satan, who plays an active role in making a person an addict in the first place, will definitely leave no stones unturned in making his victim a lifelong addict.

Keep Me In Your Prayers,
Amel Soname
Amel_soname@yahoo.com