What is the ruling on smoking?
All Perfect Praise is due to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds
Smoking is forbidden (Haram) since it is harmful to one`s health as confirmed by trustful physicians, and Islam has forbidden taking anything that causes harm. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "There should be neither harm nor reciprocated harm." [Ibn Majah and Ahmad]. And Allah Knows Best.
Is it permissible to pay the expiation of an oath to a charitable party as it feeds the poor and needy such as Tkiyet Um Ali?
There is no harm on authorizing someone to handle the expiation of another to the poor and needy, since Shafiee's jurists stated that authorizing someone for the purpose of distributing Zakah, expiation and vow is permissible as stated in [Mughni Al-Muhtajj,vol.3/pp.237]. At last, the intention of the person who intends to authorize someone else suffices in this regard. And Allah Knows Best.
I am an employee at Social Security, and I have heard that working with them is forbidden (haram) because they impose an interest rate of 2% on companies and individuals who are late in making payments. Is my job with them haram or questionable?
Please clarify the type of work. If it does not involve the usury (Riba) mentioned, we hope that there is no issue with it, as most of their funds are acquired in a lawful (Complies with the teachings of Sharia) manner. And Allah, The Almighty, Knows Best.
What is the ruling on the chatting between a young man and his girlfriend?
Private chatting between the two sexes entails religious violations, and leads to prohibited attachment.