I used not to pray, but now I am keeping up with it, and I have committed myself to the religion and am maintaining the regular voluntary prayers, but I smoke and have tried many times to quit
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The questioner : This questioner, Badr from al-Majma'ah, says that he is a young man of twenty-three years old. He says, "I used not to pray, but now I am careful to pray at its appointed times, and praise be to Allah, and I have committed myself to everything and am maintaining the regular voluntary prayers, but I smoke and have tried many times to quit this habit without success. What do you advise me to do? May Allah reward you with good."
The Shaykh : I say, praise be to Allah who guided him so that he now prays. In reality, he is a Muslim after apostasy, so he should thank Allah the Exalted for this blessing.
As for what concerns smoking, there are means that help him to quit smoking. One of them is to quit smoking gradually by reducing his consumption first until the effects of this tobacco are removed from his body.
Second, he should use some medications, under the advice of a doctor, that prevent him from desiring to smoke.
Third, he should stay away from sitting with smokers, because if a person sits with them, he may long to smoke with his companions whom he has sat with.
Fourth, he should strive to keep the company of good people, because if he keeps their company, he will refrain from smoking as long as he is with them, and this helps him to quit.
Fifth, and this is the strongest, is that he should have a strong determination to leave smoking. A man was traveling with one of the righteous, and this man was smoking. When he took out a pack of cigarettes to smoke, the righteous man said to him, "O so-and-so, we did not travel to acquire sin. And if we join you in sitting while you are smoking, we become sinners like your sin. So either you leave this smoking, or we leave the journey." The smoker became agitated, then he took the pack of cigarettes, tore it up, and threw it away. The smoker said, "I did not return to it after that, because I resolved and determined, and I said, 'What is this drink that prevents me from being accompanied by the righteous?' So he criticized himself, and that became one of the reasons for his quitting smoking, with the help of Allah Mighty and Majestic and His guidance. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you for this blessed guidance, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : I say, praise be to Allah who guided him so that he now prays. In reality, he is a Muslim after apostasy, so he should thank Allah the Exalted for this blessing.
As for what concerns smoking, there are means that help him to quit smoking. One of them is to quit smoking gradually by reducing his consumption first until the effects of this tobacco are removed from his body.
Second, he should use some medications, under the advice of a doctor, that prevent him from desiring to smoke.
Third, he should stay away from sitting with smokers, because if a person sits with them, he may long to smoke with his companions whom he has sat with.
Fourth, he should strive to keep the company of good people, because if he keeps their company, he will refrain from smoking as long as he is with them, and this helps him to quit.
Fifth, and this is the strongest, is that he should have a strong determination to leave smoking. A man was traveling with one of the righteous, and this man was smoking. When he took out a pack of cigarettes to smoke, the righteous man said to him, "O so-and-so, we did not travel to acquire sin. And if we join you in sitting while you are smoking, we become sinners like your sin. So either you leave this smoking, or we leave the journey." The smoker became agitated, then he took the pack of cigarettes, tore it up, and threw it away. The smoker said, "I did not return to it after that, because I resolved and determined, and I said, 'What is this drink that prevents me from being accompanied by the righteous?' So he criticized himself, and that became one of the reasons for his quitting smoking, with the help of Allah Mighty and Majestic and His guidance. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you for this blessed guidance, O Shaykh.