Are Muslims Allowed to Smoke The Islamic Fatwa View

Islamic scholars have historically had mixed views about tobacco, and until recently  there has not been a clear, unanimous fatwa (legal opinion) on whether smoking is allowed or forbidden for Muslims   Islamic Haram  and Fatwa The term haram refers to prohibitions on behaviors by Muslims. Forbidden  Acts that are haram are generally those  clearly prohibited in the religious texts of the Quran and Sunnah and are regarded as very serious prohibitions. Any act that is judged haram remains  prohibited no matter what the intentions or purpose behind the act. However, the Quran and Sunnah are old texts that did  not anticipate the issues of modern society. Thus,  additional Islamic legal rulings, the fatwa, provides a means for making a judgment on acts and behaviors not clearly described or spelled out in the Quran and Sunnah. A fatwa is a legal pronouncement handed down by a mufti (an expert in religious law) dealing with a specific issue. Generally, this issue will be one involving new technologies and social advances, such as cloning or in-vitro fertilization Some compare the Islamic fatwa ruling to the legal ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, which issues interpretations of laws for individual circumstances. However, for Muslims living in western countries, a fatwa is regarded as secondary to the secular laws of that society—the fatwa is optional for the individual to practice when it conflicts with secular laws. Views on Cigarettes Evolving views on the subject of cigarettes  came about because cigarettes are a more recent invention and did not exist at the time of the revelation of the Quran, in the 7th century CE. Therefore, one cannot find a verse of Quran, or words of the Prophet Muhammad, saying clearly that cigarette smoking is forbidden. However, there are many instances where the Quran gives us general guidelines and calls upon us to use our reason and intelligence, and to seek guidance from Allah about what is right and wrong. Traditionally, Islamic scholars use their knowledge and judgment to make new legal rulings (fatwa) on matters that were not addressed in the official Islamic writings. This approach has support in the official Islamic writings. In the Quran, Allah says, ...he [the Prophet] commands them what is just, and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good, and prohibits them from what is bad...  (Quran 7:157). The Modern Viewpoint In more recent times, as the dangers of tobacco use have been proven beyond any doubt, Islamic scholars have become unanimous in pronouncing that tobacco use is clearly haram (forbidden) to believers. They now use the strongest possible terms to condemn this habit. Here is a clear example: In view of the harm caused by tobacco, growing, trading in and smoking of tobacco are judged to be haram (forbidden). The Prophet, peace be upon him, is reported to have said, Do not harm yourselves or others. Furthermore, tobacco is unwholesome, and God says in the Quran that the Prophet, peace be upon him, enjoins upon them that which is good and pure, and forbids them that which is unwholesome. (Permanent Committee of Academic Research and Fatwa, Saudi Arabia). The fact that many Muslims still smoke is likely because the fatwa opinion is still a relatively recent one, and not all Muslims have  adopted it yet as a cultural norm.

Catcher in the Rye Essay Holden’s Metamorphosis - 1954 Words

Holdens Metamorphosis in The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye is the chronicle of a young mans metamorphosis from immaturity to unsure manhood. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is a sixteen-year old boy who leaves the prep school he has been expelled from to escape the frightening reality of dealing with his parents. However, during his visit to New York City he is faced with the harsh reality that he cannot continue to hold onto his childhood. Holden is an extremely complex character and it is only by examining each layer of him that the reader is able to understand his painful metamorphosis. There have been many debates over the morality of Holden. At the time of publication many†¦show more content†¦Rather, he is saddened by her sitting in his room in her slip. He imagines her buying the dress she has just taken off and realizes that she is a real person and not just a toy to be used for his pleasure. Holdens desire to understand and feel for other people stops him. Holden also admits to being a coward, but the reader realizes he is just a scared boy trying to act like a man in an adult world. Even so, he doesnt flinch in the face of danger when threatened by bullies, such as his roommate Stradlater or the pimp, Maurice. Much more important than his physical courage is the moral tenacity with which he clings to his beliefs in the face of a hostile society. (Lettis, 5) Holden also has several redeeming qualities that keep him from being the rouge that many censors and critics wanted to label him in the fifties. As mentioned previously, Holden feels deeply for others and spends much of his time trying to understand them. For example, he admits to being a virgin and attributes this to the concern he has for the girls he is with; he feels he would be taking advantage of their weakness if he had relations with them. (Lettis, 6) They tell me to stop, so I stop. I always wish I hadnt, after I take them home, but I take them home anyway. (Salinger, 121) He is also brutally honest, a quality children possess and adults seem to lose as they age. Holden dislikes things heShow MoreRelatedComparing The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Catcher in the Rye1382 Words   |  6 PagesComparing The Adventures of Huck Finn and The Catcher in the Rye The forthcoming of American literature proposes two distinct Realistic novels portraying characters which are tested with a plethora of adventures. In this essay, two great American novels are compared: The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain and The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. The Adventures of Huck Finn is a novel based on the adventures of a boy named Huck Finn, who along with a slave, Jim, make their way along

Dbq - the Bubonic Plague free essay sample

Physicians throughout Europe wrote what they thought and what other people did during the Black Death. Johann Weyer, a German physician, wrote, in his book The Deception of Demons, that children would pay people to give their parents the Plague â€Å"in order to obtain their inheritances more quickly. † People at the time didn’t know the Black Death was being spread by the fleas on the rats, so they believed in false cures and false causes. For example, some people thought God was punishing them for being sinful. Giovanni Filippo, a Sicilian physician, thought pest houses were needed to quarantine the infected, people who violate health regulations should be executed in order to frighten others, and that bonfires were needed to eliminate the infected. In his The Reform of Medicine, H. de Rochas, a French physician, saw many plague-stricken patients hang toads around their necks because they thought the Plague and its â€Å"venom† would be drawn out of them and into the toad. We will write a custom essay sample on Dbq the Bubonic Plague or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page M. Bertrand, a physician from Marseilles, France, thought that the plague was caused by an angry God over a sinful and offending people. However, one must take into account the biases, or point of views, of: Weyer, Bertrand, Rochas, and even M. Bertrand because, physicians at the time of the Plague had no idea what was causing the Plague, or how it could be cured. Through letters, books, and diaries we can gather insight on peoples’ thoughts, and beliefs during the Bubonic Plague. Desiderius Erasmus, who is also known as The Prince of Humanism, wrote a letter which explained the cause of the Plague in England. He wrote that â€Å"The plague and sickness in England is due to the filth in the streets, the sputum, and the dogs’ urine clogging the rushes on the floors of the houses. The Black Death also created social and economical problems in Europe. In Nicolas Versoris’ Book of Reason, he wrote that the rich fled, which created a smaller workforce in Paris. People in Europe lost their faith, and hope throughout Europe. In her diary, Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, expressed her fear, and her loss of hope and her faith. She thought of what would happen if the plague were to enter her house, which one of her family members would become infected with the plague, and then she thought about when she, herself, would become infected with the plague. Not only were children greedy but so were nurses. Miguel Parets, a Barcelona tanner, wrote in his diary, â€Å"Many times all they did was to make the patients die more quickly, because the sooner they died the sooner the nurses collected the fees the fees they had agreed on. † Samuel Pepys, and English naval bureaucrat, wrote in his Diary that people wouldn’t buy wigs anymore because they thought the hair had been cut off the heads of people that had died of the plague. People wore wigs to show off their wealth and power during this era. The Black Death discouraged many people from traveling, but it didn’t discourage everybody. Although the plague was violent in Rome, John Reresby, an English traveler, â€Å"resolved to trust to Providence rather than not to see so fine a place. † In written reports from people of different social classes throughout Europe, people wrote about how the Black Death affected Europe socially. Isolation was a common practice during the spread of the Bubonic Plague. People isolated themselves so that they don’t become infected or so that they won’t infect anybody else. A schoolmaster from the Netherlands wrote in a letter that the plague â€Å"killed twenty of the boys, drove many others away and doubtless kept some others from coming to us at all. † Count of the Palatinate and a traveler to Russia, Heinrich von Staden wrote that houses were immediately nailed up if the person from within became infected with the plague. Many died of either hunger, or of the plague within their own houses. Roads and highways became guarded so that a person couldn’t pass from one place to another. Daniel Defoe, an English writer, wrote in his Journal of the Plague Year that foreign exportation stopped and so did the trade in manufactured goods because the trading nations were afraid of getting the Black Death. In a legal deposition, an Italian housewife name Isabetta Centenni stated that when Sister Angelica del Macchia gave her husband Ottavio, who had a malignant fever, a piece of bread, which touched the body of St. Domenica, his fever suddenly broke. In a letter from Father Dragoni to the Health Magistracy of Florence, Father Dragoni, who is a priest, wrote,† I have accompanied severity with compassion and charity. I have managed and fed the convalescents and servants of two pest houses I have paid guards and gravediggers with the alms your lordships have sent me. The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, which peaked in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Through the eyes of physicians, firsthand accounts, and written reports we got to see what Europeans did, thought, and how the Black Death affected Europe socially. The ending of the Bubonic Plague, one of the biggest epidemics in human history, was also the start of one of the biggest cultural movements in human history, the Renaissance.