Fariq Naik – Can I Work in a Tobacco Company
AI: Summary ©
Aather's potential harm to health comes from smoking and its health consequences, including lung-related diseases and respiratory damage. The prevalence of tobacco use and its impact on health is discussed, including the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its health consequences. Different ways of tobacco consumption, including cigarette, hookah, and paans, are also discussed, and advice is given against working in tobacco-based companies and avoiding smoking in general.
AI: Summary ©
As-salamu alaykum, Sheikh Fariq.
My name is Alois Ubair Ahmed from Malaysia,
and I'm a degree student about to graduate,
inshallah.
Is tobacco halal or haram?
If it is haram, can I still work
in a tobacco-based company such as in
the marketing department or human resource department?
The salary or the benefits that I get
from this company, is it haram?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the
glorious Qur'an, in Surah Al-Baqarah, chapter
number 2, verse number 168, يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ
كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا
فُطْوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ O you who believe, eat of
the good things that we have provided for
you, and do not follow the footsteps of
the devil.
So whatever is good for us, we should
eat.
Whatever is good for us, we should eat.
And certain things Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
has prohibited for us.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in
the glorious Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah, chapter
number 2, verse number 195, وَأَنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ
اللَّهِ وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ And do
not let your hands be a cause of
your own destruction.
We know tobacco, it is harmful and injurious
to health.
According to WHO, that is the World Health
Organization, it states and it says that every
year 8 million people are killed due to
the consumption of tobacco.
Out of these 8 million people, majority of
them, it is due to smoking, which is
one of the main uses of tobacco.
And out of these 8 million people, 1
.3 million people, they are passive smokers, not
active smokers.
So when a person is smoking, besides harming
and injuring, causing injury and damage to his
body, he is even harming those around him
when he is smoking in a public place.
And passive smoking is more harmful than active
smoking.
And there are various diseases that a person
can get because of cigarette smoking.
It can cause lung cancer, it can damage
the internal organs, it can damage the mouth,
it causes blackening of the lips, blackening of
the teeth and various other diseases.
It can even harm the respiratory system, it
can even harm the lungs.
And statistics say that every puff a person
smokes, his lifespan reduces by a few minutes.
That's the reason it is clearly mentioned on
the packets of cigarettes or on the boxes
of cigarettes.
And this is compulsory.
It is written, smoking kills or smoking is
injurious to health.
And many a times we see on the
packets or on the boxes of cigarettes, there
are pictures of, for example, a person whose
mouth is hugely damaged because of cigarette smoking
and pictures of the lungs, how they are
damaged because of cigarette smoking.
All of this, it is present on many
of the boxes of cigarettes.
Even though it is present, yet people, they
smoke.
And yet this is a huge revenue for
majority of the countries in the world, unfortunately.
And the big companies, they know that even
though they put this on the cigarette packets
that smoking kills, yet people, those who smoke,
they will yet buy the cigarettes.
Because they know that this is an addiction.
And tobacco, the main form or the main
way in which tobacco is consumed, it is
in the form of cigarettes.
There are other ways of consumption as well.
For example, you have e-cigarettes, you have
the beedi, that is the lower form of
cigarette that is mainly used in the Indian
subcontinent.
Then you have hookah, you also have, tobacco
is used in paans.
Paan is a kind of betel leaf and
inside that tobacco is used.
So tobacco-based paans are used wherein people,
they eat these paans.
So all forms of tobacco and consumption of
tobacco in any form, it is haram, it
is prohibited.
Unfortunately, we see many Muslims, they consume tobacco,
whether it be in the form of cigarettes,
whether it be in the form of hookah,
whether it be in the form of paans,
etc.
Unfortunately, many Muslims, they work in such companies.
Now coming to your question that can you
work in a tobacco-based company, but naturally
no.
Because the main source of income, it is
haram of this company.
Unfortunately, many Muslims, they work in such companies.
Working in a tobacco-based company, whether it
be in the marketing department, whether it be
in the human resource department, any department in
the tobacco-based company, it is prohibited, it
is haram for a Muslim to work.
We see that many Muslims, they have companies
and they are businesses of tobacco.
Unfortunately, which goes against the teachings of Islam.
So we should see to it that we
follow the teachings of Islam.
And majority of the scholars, they say that
consuming tobacco, it is haram, it is prohibited.
And we know it very well that it
hugely damages our health.
And a person can get several diseases just
by the consumption of tobacco.
So all the people who are smoking cigarettes
or consuming tobacco, I would request them that
to quit.
And we pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala that may he help all the brothers
and sisters, those who are involved in smoking,
those who consume tobacco, may Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala help them quit tobacco.
And we need to put those people who
consume tobacco, they need to put in efforts
in order to quit smoking.
There are several incidences of people who, when
they make a strong determination to stop smoking,
they stop it, many of them stop it
immediately.
So having a strong determination, it is very
important.
So because the main source of income of
these tobacco-based companies, it is haram, it
is prohibited to work in such a company.
But if a person, he is working in
a hotel and he is working for example
as a receptionist and the main source of
income of this hotel, it is not haram.
So he can work in this hotel and
this hotel, it serves alcohol.
But the alcohol, it is only served for
example in the restaurant or when there is
room service etc.
But the main source of income of this
hotel, it is not haram.
So as long as he does not serve
alcohol, he does not work as a waiter
and he does not serve alcohol, there is
no problem in him working in this hotel.
For example, if he works as a receptionist
or for example as a security guard etc.,
there is no problem in working in such
a hotel because a minor portion of the
income, it is through the sale of alcohol
and he is not involved directly.
For example, he is not serving or he
is not working as a waiter.
I hope that answers your question.