Alcohol and smoking do great harm to both society and people

 Alcohol and smoking do great harm to both society and people

Excerpt from Adnan Oktar's Live Interview at Guneydogu Olay TV on May 4th, 2010

ADNAN OKTAR: But all sorts of alcohol is forbidden because it's a subtance that clouds the mind. It does serious harm to the brain,  the liver. It is a substance that causes great destruction. Allah forbids it as a blessing and therefore, we are very healthy. Praise to Allah. The number of people who die because of alcohol comsumption is very high as you know. It is very high in Turkey as well. It leads to serious diseases. Its destruction is very severe.

PRESENTER 1: It can also break the peace in the house. Not only disease...

ADNAN OKTAR: Of course, it is very difficult to deal with a drunk. May Allah forbid. This is especially very difficult for young ladies. It is very difficult for young men as well. Because the person doesn't know what he is doing and saying at the time, and apologizes the next morning like nothing has happened. This is very annoying. It's like it's not him.

PRESENTER 3: There are also people who begin drinking very early in the morning.

ADNAN OKTAR: There are those who begin the day with alcohol of course.

PRESENTER 2: People who slosh down the alcohol bottle. What good can come out of that day?

ADNAN OKTAR: Of course there is a good in everything. Even if he is harmed by that, there is still a good in it. Because he must not have done it. He is of course harmed for doing that but as a result of alcohol, I requit those who consume alcohol but can control themselves, but most of incestuous cases happen under the influence of alcohol. And most of rape cases happen under the influence of alcohol. To say "I beg your pardon" afterwards is  immorality and slavishness.

PRESENTER 1: Traffic accidents.

ADNAN OKTAR: Of course, traffic accidents happen mostly due to alcohol as you know. Alcohol damages the society greatly. It spoils their appearances. They begin to look weird. It is easily understood that one is an alcoholic by looking at his face. His breath smells very bad when he drinks alcohol. I mean it is disturbing, it disturbs the society as well. For example, when they get in to a car, everyone gets disturbed. This is cruelty. They should not do this. This is something that a polite person who fears Allah should not do. You harm yourself, you harm the society, you disturb them. A person who sees an alcoholic, drunken person gets uncomfortable whether child or woman. When they see him walking on the street swinging, they hold back just in case. Does he have a sound mind? Can he talk normal? What is he going to do? They don't know. Why bother the society? First and foremost since it is explicitly  forbidden by religion, one should avoid it. And as the damage it causes to the body is clear... It is so with smoking as well. I can't understand smoking either. They smoke even more when it's forbidden. Young ladies have cigarettes in their hands all the time. It damages their complexion, their hair and causes them to age early. Why do that?

PRESENTER 1: It seems like it is because pretension. In high school years especially, pretension has a very big role in their beginning to smoke.

ADNAN OKTAR: Yes to give the image of "I grew up and became a man." Why do that? If you are to show character, show it with your personality, talk and manners right? A person with strong character is understood from the tone of his voice, his looks, his walking and everything. Are we going to understand it from his smoking? On the contrary, when I see someone smoking, I think it's because of his or her ignorance.

PRESENTER 4: There are those who learn it from their families. A child who sees his father and mother smoking, can become prone to smoking subconsciously. The role of parents is also very important here.

ADNAN OKTAR: Of course. There is an encourgement for it since childhood. But you know that smoking has hundreds of postures and they are impressed with those. They see the ways to hold the cigarette and the ways to blow that cigarette smoke from movies and all. It's a completely different art according to them.

PRESENTER: Yes, as if it was a different kind of maturity.

ADNAN OKTAR: But it doesn't seem like that. Look from an upper dimension and an upper mind and you just pity. It doesn't seem that way. If only they thought about it a little, they would see it. They can see it if they look more rationally. First of all a person of high quality would not feel the need to pose. A person of character and deepness has no need to pose. He or she feels embarrassed by posing and sees it as humiliating.  A person is only high quality and beautiful with his natural and sincere demeanor. When someone acts  insincerely, people pity him or her and it seems funny. And to say the truth one  thinks whether or not he has a problem in his mind, a disorder with his psychology. Why would a stable and consistent person do an affected  act? One should act the way he feels. Don't you find those who act in an affected manner funny?

PRESENTER 2: Both because it is an affected manner and also for   health purposes, for instance  I did a research at school about smoking. 80% of the poison is given to the outside. People who think about others around them must in anycase smoke it by taking this into consideration. The essence comes to thinking about other people and love for human beings.

ADNAN OKTAR: Of course they live in a tiny room.

PRESENTER 2: He poisons everyone, not just himself.

ADNAN OKTAR: He opens up the cigarette package in a tiny room or smokes a narghile in the middle of the house. There are children and people there. They have to think about it of course.

PRESENTER 1: Passive smokers are more damaged actually, in comparison to the active smokers.

ADNAN OKTAR: This prohibition did not have much effect I guess.

PRESENTER 1: I see that there are still people who smoke.

ADNAN OKTAR: In the time of the Mahdi (pbuh), there will not be anyone who dies from alcohol or smoking or any kind of toxic substance insha'Allah. Therefore, the whole community will be vigorous and the youth will be very healthy and athletic, alive, full of love and joyful insha'Allah.You will see this because your age is suitable. And you will see this for a long while. One more thing; it is very exciting for something previously told to happen in the future. When something happens later it is okay, very nice; but for something told previously with all the details to happen later exactly the way it was told is very exciting. In order to be able to see the miracle of our Prophet(saas), it is very important that these were all foretold. Not realizing this would be embarrasing for the ummah. I mean after the Prophet (saas) foretold those in the hadiths and explained all of the incidents, if we still do not realize them right till the end and say "Oh these have occurred" after everything is over and done with is something different, but saying " Look the Prophet (saas) have foretold these and we will see them happening" and then to see them occur one by one is very exciting. You will see that insha'Allah.