al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala Hurmat al-Tadkhin

al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala Hurmat al-Tadkhin (Evidences and Proofs for the Prohibition of Smoking) is an Islamic legal and medical treatise by Ibrahim Muhammad Sarsiq, a lecturer at the Faculty of Hadith and Islamic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1. The work argues for the categorical prohibition (tahrim) of tobacco consumption in Islamic law by synthesizing scriptural texts, rulings of prominent jurists, and contemporary medical and scientific findings al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala….

Scope and Core Arguments

The treatise establishes that tobacco use violates the preservation of life and wealth, which are among the five essential universal necessities (al-jawahir al-khams) protected by Islamic jurisprudence al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. Sarsiq structures the legal rationale for prohibition around five primary foundational arguments (al-usul al-ula):

1. Wasting of Health (Ida'at al-Sihha): Maintaining bodily health is an obligatory duty in Islamic law, supported by the Prophetic command: تَدَاوَوْا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَضَعْ دَاءً إِلَّا وَضَعَ لَهُ دَوَاءً، غَيْرَ دَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ: الْهَرَمُ ("Seek medical treatment, O servants of God, for God Almighty has not made a disease without appointing a remedy for it, except for one disease: old age") al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. Sarsiq incorporates the fatwa of the former Saudi Grand Mufti Muhammad ibn Ibrahim regarding the empirical certainty of tobacco's physical harms, including tuberculosis, heart failure, and constriction of peripheral blood vessels al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala….
2. Destruction of Wealth (Itlaf al-Mal): The financial expense of smoking constitutes squandering (israf) and extravagance (tabdhir), which falls under the Quranic censure: إِنَّ الْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوا إِخْوَانَ الشَّيَاطِينِ ("Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils") [Al-Isra: 27] al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. The text also details broader economic harm, citing British data (Common Sense About Smoking, 1963) and reports by the United States Department of Health advisory committee regarding residential and commercial fires caused by smokers al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala….
3. Foul Odor (al-Ra'iha al-Muntina): Tobacco odor causes distress to people and angels in congregational prayers and public spaces al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. Drawing an analogy to the Prophetic prohibition on attending mosques after consuming raw garlic and onions, Sarsiq argues that smoking is far worse, as garlic and onions are lawful foods with beneficial medicinal properties described by Ibn al-Qayyim, whereas tobacco produces persistent stench without utility al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1.
4. Bodily Sedation and Intoxication through Nicotine (Takhdir al-Jism bi-Maddat al-Nikotin): Tobacco is categorized as a languor-inducing agent (mufattir) and sedative (mukhaddir), falling under the Prophetic prohibition against every intoxicant and languor-inducing substance al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1. Sarsiq presents the pharmacological history of nicotine, noting its isolation in 1828 by the German scientists Posselt and Reimann, and quotes Muhammad ibn Ibrahim regarding tobacco's addictive hold over users and its physiological effects on the digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1. Citing al-Shawkani's exegesis of فَتَعَاطَى فَعَقَرَ ("And he took [the sword] and hamstrung [her]") [Al-Qamar: 29], Sarsiq notes criminal psychology studies showing that intoxicants reduce inhibitions to committing illicit acts al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala….
5. Exposure to Lung Cancer (Ta'rid al-Jism lil-Tahluka bi-Saratan al-Ri'a): Medical consensus links smoking to fatal lung malignancies, violating the prohibition against self-destruction in وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ("And do not kill yourselves") [Al-Nisa: 29] al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1. Sarsiq references historical milestones including Percivall Pott's 1775 chimney sweeps' cancer observations and the 1957 British Medical Research Council findings on smoking-induced lung cancer al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala….

Social Analysis and Cessation Guidance

The author examines the root causes of smoking adoption among youth, attributing it primarily to parental modeling and familial imitation, supported by a 1968 Newsweek study and British Royal College of Physicians reports (Smoking and Health) al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1. He also cites statistical data linking student smoking to academic decline and decreased athletic performance al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…+1.

To overcome tobacco addiction, Sarsiq outlines practical strategies centered on reliance on God, sheer willpower, changing social environments, avoiding negative peer influences, and adopting active hobbies al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. He cites statements by Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab on adhering strictly to revelation over personal opinions, as well as the Maliki jurist Khalid ibn Ahmad regarding the impermissibility of trading in tobacco or being led in prayer by a tobacco user al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. Sarsiq notes that persistent indulgence in minor infractions elevates them to the status of major sins (kaba'ir), particularly when practiced openly by community leaders or religious figures al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala…. The treatise concludes with an address urging Muslim youth to safeguard their health and intellect for worship and religious obligations al-Adilla wal-Barahin ala….