Saying 'Allah and the Messenger are free of me on the Last Day if I did such-and-such'

Q 3: I used to be a smoker, but twenty years ago one of my friends paid me a visit at night. After a while, the Adhan (call to Prayer) for `Isha' (Night) Prayer was proclaimed and I told him to go to the Masjid (mosque) to offer Salah (Prayer) in congregation. However, he told me that the time due for offering `Isha' Prayer is long and that he would offer it when he returned home. I replied, "You are a kind and virtuous man, but you do not observe congregational Salah." He said, "Although (Part No. 23; Page No. 53) you observe congregational Salah, you have a defect, which is smoking and smoking is Haram (prohibited) because it is a bad practice." I told him, "Why do we not agree that I quit smoking and you observe congregational Salah?" He said, "I doubt that you will be able to fulfill your promise, but I agree." i, thus, took an oath, saying: "Allah and the Messenger are free of me on the Last Day if I smoke a cigarette, a pipe, or a hookah." All praise is due to Allah that I have quit smoking. But after ten years of quitting it, I smoked for one or two days and then quit again. I have been meeting some of my friends who smoke hookah for about five years, and I join them in smoking once a year.My question is: Will Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) and His Messenger disown me on the Day of Resurrection and will my good deeds not be accepted, Allah forbid? Is what I said considered an oath? If so, what should I do? Should I offer a Kaffarah (expiation) for each one of the five times in which I smoked tobacco or hookah after quitting smoking for twenty years? Please advise and guide me about what I should do to end the obsession I am going through. May Allah reward you with Jannah (Paradise) and its blessings and gather us all into it.


A: The wording you said is not an oath. In fact, it is a commitment (Part No. 23; Page No. 54) to quit smoking and supplication against yourself if you ever smoke again. Accordingly, you should repent to Allah, quit smoking, and be careful of befriending smokers, because smoking is Haram. May Allah save you from it and accept your repentance!May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.


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