Commentary on the Book: (The Clear Proofs Regarding the Prohibition of Intoxicants and Relaxants)
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Question:
Your Eminence, we begin first with a letter from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Humayzi from the town of al-Qasab, al-Washm.
The listener Abd al-Rahman says: Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy. I am sending you this letter, and I hope to the Almighty that it reaches you while you are in good health and well-being. My letter contains an inquiry about the book "The Clear Proofs Regarding the Prohibition of Intoxicants and Relaxants." He says: I have read it and was impressed by it, but what caught our attention in the images attached to my letter—he attached eight pages in this letter, Your Eminence—from this book with the title mentioned above, and especially what was mentioned regarding the harms of smoking, including that if its user dies without repenting from it, his face is turned away from the qiblah. If the book and its contents advise us to read it, I hope that every person, and especially those who smoke this, will do so. I am writing my letter for his sake. May Allah preserve you and care for you. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy.
He says: I hope that the honorable Shaykh will comment on the harms of smoking as illustrated in these images. The image, Your Eminence, I cannot display at this point because it is eight pages, but I summarized what the author wrote in the following matters:
He says: Smoking shares with hashish many of the harms and detriments, and each has its own unique harms. Smoking corrupts the intellect, it intoxicates, it numbs, it relaxes, it begets humiliation and degradation, it destroys honor and dignity, it corrupts the temperament, it corrupts the intellect and begets stupidity and recklessness, it begets a lack of jealousy (protectiveness), it turns one away from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer, it harms health, it begets sudden death, it is a cause of a bad ending, and he cited stories told to him by some people. It is a cause of the deceased being turned away from the qiblah before entering the grave and after, and it blackens the heart. We hope, as Abd al-Rahman hopes, that you will comment on this.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
I say first: The author, who is our brother the distinguished scholar Shaykh Hamud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwajiri, writes with knowledge and insight, and based on the questions of people of expertise in these matters and their like. Smoking, without doubt, has many harms and severe consequences. The doctors who have studied it and known it have informed us of its many harms, as have those who are accustomed to smoking informed us of many other harms. It is, without doubt, of extreme harm, among which:
It causes sudden death, death by stroke, and as a group of doctors have mentioned, it causes cancer, may Allah protect us.
And among them: It may lead to intoxication if its user delays [quitting] and then smokes, he may be affected by it and become intoxicated.
And among them: If one consumes a lot of it, he may be harmed more from the aspect of intoxication and heavy numbing.
These are known things that many doctors have informed us of, and people have written about them. Among them: It also causes the blackening of the heart, for sins blacken the heart, as in the authentic hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Likewise, if one repents from sins, there will be many spots in the heart until the heart becomes black and dark, and until one does not recognize what is right or deny what is wrong. This is not specific to smoking but encompasses all sins.
So smoking has many harms, among which: It is harmful to health with great harm, and it destroys wealth and wastes wealth in what is not right and without benefit. It is truly of many harms, and a person of intellect should beware of it and stay away from it, for it is harmful to his health, harmful to his reputation, harmful to his intellect, and harmful to his Hereafter. It may cause many evils, and cause much distress, anxiety, much anger, and quickness of emotion. A believer should stay away from it and beware of it with the utmost caution.
Then it also causes harm to the offspring, for the offspring imitate their father, their grandfathers, and their brothers. So if a person uses it, he thereby causes his offspring to use this vile thing, and they become slaves to its evil and its many harms.
Many people have informed that its user may be turned away from the qiblah, as Shaykh Hamud mentioned. These are incidents that necessitate caution, for people’s awareness of some incidents and their reporting of them causes caution. It requires caution from this thing that those who witnessed it and it happened to them reported, that it necessitated such and such that harms the servant. Its being turned away from the qiblah was reported by some who witnessed smokers. It does not follow that every smoker will have this calamity, but this necessitates that this matter may cause this repulsive state, which is being turned away from the qiblah in the state after his death, before he is buried and after he is buried. This undoubtedly necessitates caution from it and necessitates the dislike of using it, because it contains the many harms of which this is one.
The conclusion is that it is forbidden without doubt, and it is obligatory to leave it without doubt because of its many harms. As for enumerating them, it requires the attention of doctors and the insight of those who are accustomed to it, for they are more knowledgeable about it and more capable of enumerating its harms. The doctors and those who were afflicted with its smoking and its evil and its fire are the most knowledgeable people about its many harms.
So my advice to every Muslim: Beware of this vile thing, and stay away from it. I also advise that every Muslim should beware of all intoxicants, all types of alcohol, all types of smoking, all types of relaxants, and likewise hashish, for its harms are many and vile, so it is necessary to beware of it to the utmost. These matters that the questioner mentioned and that Shaykh Hamud mentioned in the book, a believer must stay away from them to preserve his health, to preserve his intellect, to preserve his honor, and to stay away from the harms that harm his religion, his intellect, his body, his reputation, and his offspring. We ask Allah for guidance and success for everyone.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Your Eminence, we begin first with a letter from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Humayzi from the town of al-Qasab, al-Washm.
The listener Abd al-Rahman says: Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy. I am sending you this letter, and I hope to the Almighty that it reaches you while you are in good health and well-being. My letter contains an inquiry about the book "The Clear Proofs Regarding the Prohibition of Intoxicants and Relaxants." He says: I have read it and was impressed by it, but what caught our attention in the images attached to my letter—he attached eight pages in this letter, Your Eminence—from this book with the title mentioned above, and especially what was mentioned regarding the harms of smoking, including that if its user dies without repenting from it, his face is turned away from the qiblah. If the book and its contents advise us to read it, I hope that every person, and especially those who smoke this, will do so. I am writing my letter for his sake. May Allah preserve you and care for you. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy.
He says: I hope that the honorable Shaykh will comment on the harms of smoking as illustrated in these images. The image, Your Eminence, I cannot display at this point because it is eight pages, but I summarized what the author wrote in the following matters:
He says: Smoking shares with hashish many of the harms and detriments, and each has its own unique harms. Smoking corrupts the intellect, it intoxicates, it numbs, it relaxes, it begets humiliation and degradation, it destroys honor and dignity, it corrupts the temperament, it corrupts the intellect and begets stupidity and recklessness, it begets a lack of jealousy (protectiveness), it turns one away from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer, it harms health, it begets sudden death, it is a cause of a bad ending, and he cited stories told to him by some people. It is a cause of the deceased being turned away from the qiblah before entering the grave and after, and it blackens the heart. We hope, as Abd al-Rahman hopes, that you will comment on this.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
I say first: The author, who is our brother the distinguished scholar Shaykh Hamud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwajiri, writes with knowledge and insight, and based on the questions of people of expertise in these matters and their like. Smoking, without doubt, has many harms and severe consequences. The doctors who have studied it and known it have informed us of its many harms, as have those who are accustomed to smoking informed us of many other harms. It is, without doubt, of extreme harm, among which:
It causes sudden death, death by stroke, and as a group of doctors have mentioned, it causes cancer, may Allah protect us.
And among them: It may lead to intoxication if its user delays [quitting] and then smokes, he may be affected by it and become intoxicated.
And among them: If one consumes a lot of it, he may be harmed more from the aspect of intoxication and heavy numbing.
These are known things that many doctors have informed us of, and people have written about them. Among them: It also causes the blackening of the heart, for sins blacken the heart, as in the authentic hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
When the servant commits a sin, a black spot is marked in his heart. If he repents and turns back, it is polished. If he commits a sin again, it becomes another black spot.
أن العبد إذا أذنب نكتت في قلبه نكتة سوداء، فإن تاب وأناب صقلت، وإن أذنب مرة أخرى صارت نكتة أخرى سوداءSo smoking has many harms, among which: It is harmful to health with great harm, and it destroys wealth and wastes wealth in what is not right and without benefit. It is truly of many harms, and a person of intellect should beware of it and stay away from it, for it is harmful to his health, harmful to his reputation, harmful to his intellect, and harmful to his Hereafter. It may cause many evils, and cause much distress, anxiety, much anger, and quickness of emotion. A believer should stay away from it and beware of it with the utmost caution.
Then it also causes harm to the offspring, for the offspring imitate their father, their grandfathers, and their brothers. So if a person uses it, he thereby causes his offspring to use this vile thing, and they become slaves to its evil and its many harms.
Many people have informed that its user may be turned away from the qiblah, as Shaykh Hamud mentioned. These are incidents that necessitate caution, for people’s awareness of some incidents and their reporting of them causes caution. It requires caution from this thing that those who witnessed it and it happened to them reported, that it necessitated such and such that harms the servant. Its being turned away from the qiblah was reported by some who witnessed smokers. It does not follow that every smoker will have this calamity, but this necessitates that this matter may cause this repulsive state, which is being turned away from the qiblah in the state after his death, before he is buried and after he is buried. This undoubtedly necessitates caution from it and necessitates the dislike of using it, because it contains the many harms of which this is one.
The conclusion is that it is forbidden without doubt, and it is obligatory to leave it without doubt because of its many harms. As for enumerating them, it requires the attention of doctors and the insight of those who are accustomed to it, for they are more knowledgeable about it and more capable of enumerating its harms. The doctors and those who were afflicted with its smoking and its evil and its fire are the most knowledgeable people about its many harms.
So my advice to every Muslim: Beware of this vile thing, and stay away from it. I also advise that every Muslim should beware of all intoxicants, all types of alcohol, all types of smoking, all types of relaxants, and likewise hashish, for its harms are many and vile, so it is necessary to beware of it to the utmost. These matters that the questioner mentioned and that Shaykh Hamud mentioned in the book, a believer must stay away from them to preserve his health, to preserve his intellect, to preserve his honor, and to stay away from the harms that harm his religion, his intellect, his body, his reputation, and his offspring. We ask Allah for guidance and success for everyone.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.