Will My Good Deeds Still Be Accepted if I Smoke Marijuana Due to Addiction?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question 

Will my good deeds still be accepted if I smoke marijuana due to addiction?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Before answering your question, we must first clarify the following narration:

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever drinks alcohol, Allah will not accept their prayer for forty days. If they repent, Allah will accept their repentance.” [Tirmidhi]

In another narration are the words, “Whoever consumes an intoxicant…” [Tabarani]

In the commentary of the above narrations, Mulla ‘Ali Qari cites al-Ashraf (Allah have mercy on them both), saying, “He specifically mentioned the word prayer (i.e., will not accept their prayer) because it is of the greatest worships of the body. Thus if it is not accepted, then definitely other worship lesser than it is not accepted.” [‘Ali Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih]

What Does ‘Not Accept’ Mean?

Mulla ‘Ali Qari then cites Imam Nawawi saying, “Each worship has two considerations: one is whether the obligation of the worship falls off one’s responsibility and the second is whether the reward is attained through that worship. Thus the expression ‘Allah will not accept from them…’ means the second consideration, i.e. they will not be rewarded for that worship.

Regardless of the above, it is necessary that you don’t stop praying. Continuing to pray will help you draw nearer to Allah, despite your sins. 

Shaytan will strive to make you lose hope in Allah’s mercy and command you to stop praying. Allah Most High is All-Merciful to those who are sincere in wanting to obey, even if they fall short.

Strive to repent and abandon this foul addiction. It is possible with the help of Allah, so ask Allah Most High to help you; thereafter, strive your best to distance yourself from it.

Advice

The following steps may assist you in leaving this habit:

1) Avoid the places that stir up the desire to smoke.

2) Avoid the people that you normally smoke with.

3) Adopt an alternative wholesome habit (like exercise, sports, karate, reading, etc.) that will distract you and fill your time.

4) Make lots of supplication to Allah Most High

5) Even if you relapse, start over, strive again, and never give up or despair.

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

وَقَالَ النَّوَوِيُّ: إِنَّ لِكُلِّ طَاعَةٍ اعْتِبَارَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا سُقُوطُ الْقَضَاءِ عَنِ الْمُؤَدِّي، وَثَانِيهُمَا تَرْتِيبُ حُصُولِ الثَّوَابِ فَعَبَّرَ عَنْ عَدَمِ تَرْتِيبِ الثَّوَابِ بِعَدَمِ قَبُولِ الصَّلَاةِ

وَقَالَ الْأَشْرَفُ: إِنَّمَا خَصَّ الصَّلَاةَ بِالذِّكْرِ ; لِأَنَّهَا أَفْضَلُ عِبَادَاتِ الْبَدَنِ، فَإِذَا لَمْ يَقْبَلْ مِنْهَا فَلَأَنْ لَا يَقْبَلَ مِنْهَا عِبَادَةً أَصْلًا كَانَ أَوْلَى،

«مَنْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ لَمْ يَقْبَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ صَلَاةَ أَرْبَعِينَ صَبَاحًا
فَإِنْ تَابَ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ عَادَ لَمْ يَقْبَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ صَلَاةً أَرْبَعِينَ صَبَاحًا ; فَإِنْ تَابَ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فَإِنْ عَادَ لَمْ يَقْبَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ صَلَاةً أَرْبَعِينَ صَبَاحًا، فَإِنْ تَابَ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ، فَإِنْ عَادَ فِي الرَّابِعَةِ لَمْ يَقْبَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ صَلَاةً أَرْبَعِينَ صَبَاحًا فَإِنْ تَابَ لَمْ يَتُبِ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَقَاهُ مِنْ نَهْرِ الْخَبَالِ» . رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ.
——–
ص2385 – كتاب مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح – باب بيان الخمر ووعيد شاربها

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.