Ok- THANK YOU. JAZAKALLAH!
I am forever renounced by friends for being a 'spoil sport' or 'old fashioned' (ironic? I think so) for not smoking shisha. a) it's just plain unhealthy, if I was in a do or die situation I would choose to smoke a cigarette than smoke a shisha pipe and b) it's gross! I'm sorry, but whenever I look at pictures I think it looks disgusting and just plain wrong. No offence to the people who do smoke shisha pipes- a lot of them are my good close friends (who are probably reading this now but w/e they know I love them)- I just think that its....ehh..shady.

Yeah. That was my super eloquent comment of the day. :)

People who smoke shisha don't disagree that its unhealthy. So that argument is kind of annoying. "Don't smoke shisha because its bad for you."

Riding public transit in the morning is unhealthy. Not getting enough sleep is unhealthy. I dare say - abstaining from drinking water during Ramadan is bad for you too???

Let's face it, every waking moment of the day contributes to the disintegration of your body and your mind.

I don't care if shisha is bad for me. EVERYTHING is bad for me. But sometimes, there are more important things in life than worrying about your health twenty years from now. And that's EXACTLY what Muslims tell people when they tell us going without water for 14 hours is bad for us.

Wow, Anila. Fallacies, much?
Anyway, intentionally partaking in something that will harm your body is haraam. You can't help that there is pollution in the air or that you have to take public transit (well most of us can't help it :P). But smoking is something that in which we have a choice to do or not do.
The Prophet (saw) said, "A person should not commit such acts which are harmful and cause harm to others."

We all know that smoking (whether in cigg/shisha/cigar form) is HARMFUL to you and partaking in it in the presence of others is also harmful because of second hand smoke.

Also 'some say going without water for 14 hours is bad for you'?
I'm fairly certain that fasting is a cleansing of your body and some doctors even recommend it. -_-

I honestly question why people defend shisha, is it because its a cultural/social thing? Isn't there ways to preserve one's culture and be social without going against Islam? :/ Of course there is. Shisha is def. not one of them.
-_-

Being calm, relaxed and not stressed out is - in this crazy world - one of the best ways to keep your mind and body in the best condition. Prayer and meditation are all important, but so is having a social life and keeping human interactions positive.

Smoking shisha is a centuries old tradition for a reason - try it and you'll see it's loved for the taste, the atmosphere, and the nostalgic connection one gets to a certain feeling of "old Arabia." When I do it, I often feel closer to my roots; closer to my grandparents and my past. Besides prayer, this is the most rejuvenating part of my week.

Therefore Zainab, it's not a fallacy. I simply challenge and reject your categorization of what is healthy and unhealthy. THIS keeps me healthy.

Like I said, arguments about its health disadvantages are useless; in the short-term I only see benefits, and I could die doing something far less "dangerous" before the effects of smoking shisha ever get to me.

And yes, TB and bacterial diseases can take a long time to effect your body Anas- you can have the virus but it stays dormant. You remain unaffected for decades and decades - until you ride the TTC getting to work one day, catch a cold from some strange, grubby passenger, lower your immune system and develop the full blown disease. That's how my uncle got it.

I bet he wishes he'd stayed home and smoked a double double mint that day, eh? =)

P.S. You guys need to relax. Have an apple/strawberry puff and chill out. =)

With all due respect, my life is not on trial here. Good for you for choosing to destress in those ways. You make your life choices, and I've made mine.

Thank you Anas for presenting one side of the story. I apologize that my attempting to present the other side got taken as an invitation to judge my imaan. That's only for God to judge and if you don't believe that then there is more than one person "picking and choosing" rules today. It's hurtful and rude.

Comparing my comment to alcohol or idolatry in shrines- that was a low blow. A really low blow and extremely hurtful.

Allah SWT knows my intentions and that's all that matters.

mashallah u guys are in perfect health because u dont smoke sheesha, but you cant go around judging other peoples lives based on your own opinion.

I've been smoking sheesha for the past 5 years or so, on a regular basis as well have some of my friends and thank god we are all healthy. True that this is not long-term but what short-term effects do you speak of?!

Why is sheesha smoking such a big deal to you, zainab and anas??! theres many other "haraam" things out there that should be recognized as well.

This website is such bull-shit. You guys have your own biases and you believe them to be right and your main goal for KIH is to prove people wrong and make them look like idiots over the internet. In fact, the people who actually write these kind of bias articles are the idiots because you sit behind a computer screen and judge other peoples lives based on your opinion.

shouldn't judging other people be haraam?

Anas I know whose experience this article is based on, and that right there is considered haraam because your judging someone elses life because you don't have one. I know your going to comment back saying "your judging my life now, shouldn't that be considered haraam blah blah blah..." well if you really had a life you wouldn't be talking about someone else's life.


GOOD JOB ANAS YOU JUST LOST A READER!! <3

Um, Salaamulaykum Maria.
Your comment should be directed at me, not Anas. Not that I agree in the slightest with what you're saying.
Anyway, I don't want to engage in any sort of argument with you.

So peace,

Z.

Zainab did you write this crap article?!? NO, didn't think so. So, therefore I'm not going to direct no comments to you because I have no interest in speaking to you.

Anas true that you didn't say anything about me being a bad muslim and doing sheehsa is haraam but you did imply it many times so stick to your own opinion.

I realized this website isn't bullshit, its people like you MSA-FREAKS who comment on the articles thinking your opinion is right.

I go to the UofT and I know what you happens in the MSA and thank god I'm not part of this social club because all you guys do is judge and talk about what is haraam but not knowing whether it is true or not. and once again you try to push your own opinions into other peoples faces trying to prove yourself right.

Wow.

Very factual and a lot of stats. I am not trying to defend anything here but change one fact that some flavours don't use nicotine in tobacco, so that emits the addiction part although yes it is bad for health. So if you really cant stop doing shisha, go to Desert Nights and smoke herbal. Im not encouraging smoking, but am finding better alternatives.

Second of all,

Maria, u tripping for no reason. He didnt take shots at anyone or even mention the word Haraam in this article. If this is a personal grudge you have it with the guy that wrote it, do it on your own time, dont waste the bandwith.
Or maybe.. its just the time of the month for you...

and trust me, im just mentioning this now, your stupid to even think of trying to reply to this post, everyone knew u took it out of proportion, like a lot of drama queens do.

Ok,
sorry.

I didn't mean to be rude, or judgemental and I def. could have worded my argument better. I know I'm not a perfect Muslim!! I'm not implying or otherwise stating that I am.
So sorry Anila and anyone else who I may have offended.

I don't judge people- I'm the last person in any position to judge anyone.

So let's all just chill in whichever way we see fit.
-Z

given that your last blog made no sense, I hope you never write for KIH. Ever.

People took to heart being called bad Muslims - which you say no one has the right to do - and then you say that everyone judges. And people who asked not to be judged know they are wrong about their religious beliefs?? Contradict much?

Maybe you need to get out of the cafe and get some air.

i use to like sheesha a lot we were in a tight relationship but then i became a health professional and when i saw how she betrayed her previous partners a lot i broke up with her. and i Feel great now.

PS: knowledge is virtue. smoking is the one and only factor that can be directly related to a cause of lung cancer. so why smoke something even worse? Tradition and culture has been wrong several times. Thats what history is for so that we can learn from our mistakes.

Thank you KIH

First off "Even though the mouthpiece at shisha bars is changed, the pipe and water remains the same, and this is where the bacteria can reside." thats not true if you've ever been to a shisha cafe you would know they actually throw out the water and clean the pipe before they give it to the next person and secondly "For many, it will be hard to let go (as is the case with cigarettes)." your an idiot buddy shisha is not addicting.
you should get your facts straight before you start talking about things you dont know.