A vow with the intention of binding oneself to quit smoking
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Fatwa number ( 18668 )
Q: One day I went to a man who is said to treat people with the Noble Qur'an. After we had a conversation, he asked me if I smoked.
I answered him yes, and he said: I have a method that will make you quit smoking, if Allah wills. Do you want to quit smoking? I told him yes, because I had previously tried several times to quit but to no avail. The man then said to me: You will put your hand in my hand, and then two angels will descend from the sky whom you will not see, but they will witness what takes place between us. Then you will repeat what I say to you, and after that you will not return to smoking, if Allah wills. Then I put my hand in the man's hand, and he began to say: I have vowed to quit smoking from this moment, and if I return to it, I am obligated to fast two consecutive months, and it is not permissible for me to give charity in their place. I repeated what the man said. After three weeks, I returned to smoking again, because I was unable to quit for more than that. I have now been searching for a way out for about four years without success, as I work at a company until three-thirty, and I do not return home until four o'clock. My annual leave is one month, so I am unable to take two months off. I should also mention that during these four years, many bad things have happened in my life. Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good, about this oath.
A: It is obligatory for you to quit smoking; because it is forbidden, and its harms are numerous in religion, worldly life, and the body, and Allah will help you if your intention to quit is sincere.
It is obedience to Allah. May Allah make your affairs easy and protect you from its evil. As for the vow you made intending to bind yourself to quitting smoking, but you violated it and returned to it, you are required to pay an expiation for an oath, which is: feeding ten poor people, with each poor person receiving one and a half kilograms of the local food, or clothing them, with each poor person receiving a garment, or freeing a believing slave. If you are unable to do any of these three, then you must fast for three days. And as for what you mentioned about the state of the man who told you to put your hand in his hand, it is false and a lie; it is not permissible for you to believe him or to go to him. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: One day I went to a man who is said to treat people with the Noble Qur'an. After we had a conversation, he asked me if I smoked.
I answered him yes, and he said: I have a method that will make you quit smoking, if Allah wills. Do you want to quit smoking? I told him yes, because I had previously tried several times to quit but to no avail. The man then said to me: You will put your hand in my hand, and then two angels will descend from the sky whom you will not see, but they will witness what takes place between us. Then you will repeat what I say to you, and after that you will not return to smoking, if Allah wills. Then I put my hand in the man's hand, and he began to say: I have vowed to quit smoking from this moment, and if I return to it, I am obligated to fast two consecutive months, and it is not permissible for me to give charity in their place. I repeated what the man said. After three weeks, I returned to smoking again, because I was unable to quit for more than that. I have now been searching for a way out for about four years without success, as I work at a company until three-thirty, and I do not return home until four o'clock. My annual leave is one month, so I am unable to take two months off. I should also mention that during these four years, many bad things have happened in my life. Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good, about this oath.
A: It is obligatory for you to quit smoking; because it is forbidden, and its harms are numerous in religion, worldly life, and the body, and Allah will help you if your intention to quit is sincere.
It is obedience to Allah. May Allah make your affairs easy and protect you from its evil. As for the vow you made intending to bind yourself to quitting smoking, but you violated it and returned to it, you are required to pay an expiation for an oath, which is: feeding ten poor people, with each poor person receiving one and a half kilograms of the local food, or clothing them, with each poor person receiving a garment, or freeing a believing slave. If you are unable to do any of these three, then you must fast for three days. And as for what you mentioned about the state of the man who told you to put your hand in his hand, it is false and a lie; it is not permissible for you to believe him or to go to him. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.