Smoking Can Be Hazardous to Your
Health
by Kashif Ahmed Shehzada

Out of the three states of matter, Solid, Liquid and Gas, Oxygen as a gas, is one of the most vital
ingredients for the preservation of life.The Air we breathe comprises 21 % Oxygen, 78 % Nitrogen
and other gasses + water vapors.

Fresh Air and oxygen are very important for the existence of life.If the percentage of oxygen
decreases in the Air we breathe then that results in harmful effects for us.Deliberately inhaling a
substance which we know has a negative effect on ourselves is foolishness and a result of looking at
some short term aspect of such a practice only and ignoring the long term consequences.

According to a report Smoking costs the US Public over $ 100 Billion per year. And it is no hidden secret that smoking is hazardous to health.Almost every pack of cigarettes has this printed on it.

Now coming to the Qur'anic injunctions, we observe that Allah enjoins that those things should beconsumed as sustenance that are "Halal" (Permissible) and "Tayab". "Tayab" means that which is
good and has positive implications for us rather than negative ones.

Take the following Ayat in consideration:

"Spend your wealth for the cause of Allah, and be not cast by your own hands to ruin; and do
good. Lo! Allah loveth the beneficent." 2:195

The words worth reflection in above verse are translated as:

"...and be not cast by your own hands to ruin..."

Now smoking fits exactly in the above category.People are aware of its harmful effects but still
indulge in it.Wouldn't this lead to physically destroying oneself by his own hands (conduct)?

The Society is also aware of the destructiveness of the practice of smoking: In his Testimony before
the U.S.Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Treasurey Dept.Secretary
Lawrence.H.Summers said:

"Smoking is by far the largest preventable cause of premature death in the U.S. As Dr. David
Satcher noted in his testimony last week, over 400,000 Americans die each year of
tobacco-related diseases. This toll exceeds the deaths from AIDS, homicide, suicide, alcohol
use, illegal drug use, fires and auto accidents combined. Recent estimates suggest that on
present patterns of tobacco-use, an estimated 25 million of today's Americans will die
prematurely from a smoking-related disease."

Isn't the above sufficient to say that smoking leads us to destruction by our own hands and doesn't
this come under the Divine Verdict in Sura 2:195?

In Sura al-Araaf we are reminded:

"O children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and
drink: but waste not by excess for Allah loveth not the wasters." 7:31

The words which should be reflected upon with considering the subject under discussion are
translated as:

"..but waste not by excess for Allah loveth not the wasters."

Compare the above Qur’anic injunction to what Lawrence.H.Summers further says:

"Behind these heavy human costs of smoking lie equally heavy economic costs for our nation:

We spend about $60 billion each year treating smoking related illnesses. On its own,
smoking during pregnancy -- which results in 2500 fetal deaths and doubles the odds of
being born with low birth weight and potentially suffering problems later in life as a
result -- costs the country some $3-4 billion every year;

Fires caused by smokers cost another $500 million -- and 2000 lives -- per year;

Smokers with group life insurance push up the premiums of the non-smokers in their
insurance pool by about $4 billion dollars per year;

We must also consider the enormous cost to our economy from all the premature retirements
and premature deaths of productive workers that are caused by smoking -- amounting to $60
billion or more in lost wages." [Presented before a senate Panel,03/24/98]

Now isn't smoking a waste of such precious resources and lives? And compare this with what Allah said in 7:31:

"..but waste not by excess for Allah loveth not the wasters."

In Sura Al-Isra we are reminded;

"And render to the kindred their due rights as (also) to those in want and to the wayfarer: but
squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift." 17:26

Wasteful spending of resources is abhorred in above verse, and I think you'll agree that smoking
does come under this category, i.e. wasteful spending, what is called <Tabzeer> in Arabic.Along
with ordering that we should not waste our resources on futility, Allah also identifies those who do so as;

"Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the Evil Ones; and the Evil One is to his Lord (Himself)
ungrateful." 17:27

In the light of the above it should be evident to us that what is a cause of our own destruction by our
own hands is not liked by Allah and wasting our resources and un necessary spending is detested in
the Qur'an.

Real Life examples from a technologically advanced Nation such as The United States of America
were provided above and we can judge whether Smoking or Tobacco consumption falls in the
category of the Qur'anic injunctions or not. It is no hidden secret that smokers are at a high risk of
heart disease and fatal diseases like Cancer. In case a person suffers from such a smoking related
illness, then is he being just and kind to his dependents and near ones? After all, it isn’t the patient
who suffers in such cases but his family and near one’s also undergo the tension and hardship in the
process.

In the light of above, it is a wise decision to quit smoking as early as possible.Not only for one’s own self but for our near and dear one’s as well, and in turn revert our lives to the guidance of Allah in His Book, Qur’an. The above Qur’anic injunctions are very clear in detesting the use of Tobacco and a person who claims to accept the Book of Allah as guidance should refrain from such a habit by all means.

If the Qur'anic orders are implemented in Society, then that would result in saving humanity from
many of its losses and misgivings. Human beings arrive at the truth after trials and errors but the
Marvel of Allah’s Revelation is that it comes to the Absolute Truth straightaway and objective
investigation will confirm that what Qur'an suggests is beneficial for Mankind.

"We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those
who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss."17:82