His second question asks: Is shamma haram or halal? Shamma. Is shamma haram or halal? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is shamma haram or halal? Please inform us, may Allah reward you. He says it is what a person puts in his mouth and spits out. This, O honorable Shaykh, is one of the types used by some people, especially in the south, the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a collection of powders that a person places under his tongue, and it remains in his mouth for a long time. He collects his saliva and then spits it onto the ground. It is, so to speak, similar to smoke or tea, because it affects a person or causes him a headache when he delays using it.
The Shaykh : We must know a rule mentioned by Allah the Exalted in the Qur'an, which is His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:29] So everything on earth is halal for us except what the Shari'ah has prohibited. And among what the Shari'ah has prohibited is what is foul and harmful, as Allah the Exalted said in describing the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): [Al-A'raf 7:157] I do not have knowledge that allows me to rule specifically on this shamma.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, I say that if it is established that it is harmful, meaning that this shamma is harmful to the body or the mind, whether it harms the body through incurable diseases or by weakening it, relaxing it, and disrupting its thinking, then it is forbidden. And if there is no concern in it, the original ruling is permissibility, so it is permissible.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : As we know here in Riyadh, those who use it show a great yellowness on their teeth, and it affects the teeth. Also, it is like smoke in that money is spent on it and there is no benefit in it. Then it also causes anxiety in a person when he delays placing it under his tongue.
The Shaykh : Yes, in any case, if it is established that it harms the teeth, this is harm that necessitates its prohibition.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : His third question says.
The Shaykh : We must know a rule mentioned by Allah the Exalted in the Qur'an, which is His saying:
It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth
هو الذي خلق لكم ما في الأرض جميعاًmakes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil
يحل لهم الطيبات ويحرّم عليهم الخبائثThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, I say that if it is established that it is harmful, meaning that this shamma is harmful to the body or the mind, whether it harms the body through incurable diseases or by weakening it, relaxing it, and disrupting its thinking, then it is forbidden. And if there is no concern in it, the original ruling is permissibility, so it is permissible.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : As we know here in Riyadh, those who use it show a great yellowness on their teeth, and it affects the teeth. Also, it is like smoke in that money is spent on it and there is no benefit in it. Then it also causes anxiety in a person when he delays placing it under his tongue.
The Shaykh : Yes, in any case, if it is established that it harms the teeth, this is harm that necessitates its prohibition.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : His third question says.