Should smoking be halal?

[sepok]

Hi all.

I am seriously considering becoming a muslim to help me get closer to God.

How do people get away with smoking. I no longer smoke all the time but still have the occasional smoke. When people have Their first cigar or cigarette it makes their head spin and they feel happy or different for a while. Even constant smokers feel this in the morning. Other smokers say it calms them down, or they must have one to relax, so how can we say that it is not mood altering?
Smoking is also an addictive substance which causes great harm to your body and others around you while you do it..

My question is also related to alcohol. As I want to become a muslim I have just read that I will have to give up alcohol. One glass of alcohol every once in a while would have very little harmful effects on the body and would not really alter my mind that much. So would this be bad? I will obviously not convert if it is bad as I want to be true to the faith.

But how can it be ok to smoke but not drink, with inteligent moderation.. At least serious drinkers (which I am not) unless they have an accident, at least they only harm themselves. Smoking affects everybody in the same room as the smoker, possibly giving them cancer etc..

I would be grateful for any help on understanding this ..Thank you all.

[Tahiyah]

u can read about the harms of alcohol and smoking here:
http://www.inter-islam.org/Prohibitions/alcohol2.htm

[Te'oma]

Insha allah you will come to understand the reasons behind these prohibitions. Smoking is not halal either. I find it sad that you would be considering becoming muslim but would refuse the opportunity to spend eternity in paradise for the love of an occasional drink here.:eek3:
That must be some drink for it to be worth that much to you:rubeyes:

[Proud_2B_Muslim]

My question is also related to alcohol. As I want to become a muslim I have just read that I will have to give up alcohol. One glass of alcohol every once in a while would have very little harmful effects on the body and would not really alter my mind that much. So would this be bad? I will obviously not convert if it is bad as I want to be true to the faith.

Hello sepok,

You are correct in your understanding that alcohol is prohibited in Islam. First, I would like to address the issue of not converting due to the desire of being true to the faith.

If you are convinced that Islam is from the One True God--and it is--then, by all means, accept the faith and do not let any other issues come in between you and the truth.

If you are afraid of not being the perfect Muslim, allow me to inform you that each and every single Muslim has sinned in some respect and not one of us is perfect.

However, this is not to say that you should continue to drink while claiming to follow Islam on the premise that everyone makes mistakes.

No, rather, if you genuinely realize that Islam is from our Creator, then you will strive to follow Him in all what He has ordained for us. Some things may make sense right away, some things may take a while to understand, and some things we humans may never understand.

But don't let that lack of understanding or comprehension hold you back in acknowledging the truth when you see it. Learning, implementing, and practicing Islam is a life-long process as we progress to different levels of understanding and spirituality.

You have already studied the religion and you seem to be on the brink of accepting this faith as a way of your life. So I urge you to take that step because one never knows when death will overtake him/her and if you see the truth in Islam, then it is best you profess it with your heart and tongue so that you may return to your Creator with belief.

As regards to alcohol, I want to say that Islam believes in prevention of societal problems as opposed to dealing with negative consequences that arise from unchecked freedom and liberty to do as one wishes.

We can see that alcohol has a very negative impact on society, i.e. drunk driving causing accidents, injuries, and deaths; addiction to alcohol which ruins individuals and families; alcohol-related rapes and sexual assaults, etc. All these problems stem from the use of alcohol and what Western society tries to do is deal with the consequences and/or create ways to make drinking "safer."

Now, you're right that not everyone who drinks will do any or all of the things listed above. Yet, if anyone felt he/she would not do anything "bad" while drinking, and that if that personal belief was used as the criteria for consumption of alcohol, would that not be a very arbitrary judgement?

Would people even be honest in their own assessments? How much could each person drink? Would it take one--or a few--negative experience(s) before someone could arrive to the conclusion that he/she should not drink? How could we be fair in our judgements of ourselves or each other?

Instead of leaving such a tremendous decision to the whims and desires of individuals, we are told by the Creator that alcohol is completely prohibited for everyone with no exceptions. He knows us better than we know ourselves--after all, He did create us!--and so His rules and laws are for the betterment of individuals and society as a whole.

Anyways, I hope I have helped in some way. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to ask away as there are many brothers and sisters here who would be delighted to help you out.

Also, there are Muslims on this forum who embraced Islam from different backgrounds and who have faced similar problems to what you stated. Hopefully, they'll be able to help you out greatly in this regard and share their own experiences of dealing with obstacles.

I wish you the best of luck and hope Allah guides you soon to His path. :)