Question: Honorable Sheikh Dr. Akram Kassab, Allah’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you. A discussion arose between me and a young man regarding the ruling on smoking, and I couldn’t convince him of its prohibition because he claims there is no text prohibiting tobacco in either Quran or Sunnah! What is the ruling, please, and how do we reply to his claim?
Summary of the Fatwa:
The summary is that contemporary scholars have agreed on the prohibition of smoking due to the severe harm it causes to an individual’s religion, character, health, wealth, intellect, and progeny, as well as its harm to society and the country’s economy.
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah, and upon his pure and good family and companions, and upon his wives, the mothers of the believers;
Smoking is an issue on which scholars historically differed in their rulings. Some said it was permissible, others said it was prohibited, and others said it was disliked. However, we can say that they have unanimously agreed in our present time on its prohibition. I will answer this question as follows:
When and how did smoking (tobacco) appear?
Smoking appeared in the late 10th century AH and early 11th century AD. It was first brought to the land of the Romans (i.e., the Ottoman Turks) by the English, and to Morocco by a Jew who claimed to be a sage, then it was brought to Egypt, the Hijaz, India, and most of the Islamic lands… (Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia 10/101).
The disagreement of scholars regarding the ruling on smoking when it first appeared and the reason for that?
Scholars differed in their rulings on smoking when it first appeared; some said it was prohibited, others said it was permissible, and others said it was disliked. The reason for the historical disagreement on the ruling on smoking was that it was a new issue, and its harms were neither known as they are in our present time, nor was it very expensive as we see now. Therefore, the disagreement on the ruling on smoking is not a disagreement.
Methods of Deriving Rulings:
This type of people does not know the rulings of Sharia or how to derive them. This is because rulings are not derived solely from specific texts, but there are general terms that include new issues, and there are methods such as analogy (qiyas) and juristic preference (istihsan) among others mentioned by jurists and scholars of Islamic legal theory. Ibn Rajab has a wonderful statement in this regard, which includes: It should be known that considering something as prohibited or permissible may not be easily understood from the texts of Quran and Sunnah. The indication of these texts may be through explicit wording, generality and inclusiveness, or through implied meaning and alertness, as in the verse: “say not to them [so much as], “uff,” and do not repel them ” [Al-Isra: 23]. The inclusion of anything greater than saying “uff” in terms of harm is understood by a fortiori reasoning, known as the concept of agreement.
The indication may also be through the concept of opposition, as in the saying: “In freely grazing sheep, there is zakat,” which implies that there is no zakat on non-grazing sheep. Most scholars have taken this into account and considered the concept of opposition as evidence.
The indication may also be through analogy. If the Lawgiver has stipulated a ruling on something for a particular reason, and that reason is found in something else, the ruling extends to everything in which that reason is found, according to the majority of scholars. This is part of the justice and balance that Allah has revealed and commanded to be considered. All of this is part of understanding the texts’ indications of permissibility and prohibition. As for what lacks all of this, it is inferred by the absence of non-mentioning it as obligatory or prohibited that it is pardoned… (Jami’ al-Ulum wal-Hikam 2/164).
Evidence for the Prohibition of Smoking:
As for the evidence for the prohibition of smoking, there are several points to consider:
Considering smoking as one of the impure things, not the good things: There are many evidences indicating the prohibition of what is lawful and the permissibility of what is impure, such as the verse: “Today all good, pure foods have been made lawful for you.” [Al-Ma’idah: 5], and “Hepermits for them what is lawful and forbids to them what is impure” [Al-A’raf: 157]. No one can claim that smoking is among what is lawful, not what is impure. Otherwise, I ask you by Allah, if you have a cigarette and an apple, what will you give your child? Sound reason, proper logic, and natural disposition all say: Give the child the apple! The question is why? The answer is because smoking is harmful, and fruit is beneficial.
Smoking goes against all or most of the objectives of Shari’ah: There is no doubt that smoking harms all or most of the objectives of Shari’ah, which are: (preservation of religion, life, intellect, wealth, and progeny). I will explain this in some detail, but briefly point out its harm to the objectives of Sharia. We notice that it harms health and the body, destroys wealth, harms the intellect, and has negative effects on progeny.
Smoking harms a person’s religion: It undoubtedly harms a person’s religion as it prevents them from performing acts of worship and obedience. If a person is addicted to smoking, it may prevent them from seclusion (i’tikaf), force them to commit this sin during Hajj and Umrah, hinder them from reading the Quran, and make them even struggle to fast due to their addiction… and so on.
Smoking is like onions and garlic in smell and ruling: The common factor is the foul smell. The two sheikhs narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said during the Battle of Khaybar: “Whoever eats from this plant – i.e. garlic – should not come near our mosque.” Jurists have stated the reprehensibility of entering the mosque for those who eat onions and garlic. The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia states: Onions, garlic, leeks, and similar foul-smelling plants… if eaten, it is disliked to enter the mosque until the smell goes away… (Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia 5/127). There is no doubt that the smell of tobacco is foul and harmful, and any harmful smell is prohibited. tobacco is worse than onions and garlic in smell, and there is a prohibition of entering the mosque against those who consume them. There is a difference between a foul smell and a disliked smell; onions and garlic have a disliked smell, not foul, while tobacco has a foul smell (Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia 10/104). By analogy, a smoker with a foul-smelling mouth is disliked to enter the mosque for prayer until they change the smell of their mouth. This is because mosques are built for the remembrance of Allah, and all foul and repulsive smells should be avoided in them.
Smoking is harmful to morals: We haveseen people become agitated when they cannot smoke for hours, and they only calm down after releasing their anger in a cigarette that emits a foul smell. Instead of being patient and forbearing, a Muslim shows their anger due to their addiction, and this bad character appears in their home among their family and in society, and sometimes even at the doorsteps of mosques!
Smoking destroys wealth: Smoking involves wasting the wealth that Allah has entrusted us with. Allah says: “and donate from what He has entrusted you with ” [Al-Hadid: 7]. This trusteeship requires good management, not unrestricted spending. In the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Allah has made it prohibited for you to be disrespectful (showing undutiful behavior) to your mothers, to bury your daughters alive, to refuse others (their dues), and to demand things from others (which are not worth demanding), and He hates that you engage in gossip, asking many questions about people’s affairs and wasting wealth.” Agreed upon… There is no doubt that smoking involves extravagance and wastefulness, and Allah says: “And do not spend wastefully. Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils” [Al-Isra: 26-27]. It is known that every individual will stand before Allah to be asked about their wealth, how they earned it, and how they spent it. It is narrated in Tirmidhi from Ibn Mas’ud, from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said: ” The feet of the son of Adam shall not move from before his Lord on the Day of Judgement, until he is asked about five things: About his life and what he did with it, about his youth and what he wore it out in, about his wealth and how he earned it, and spent it upon, and what he did with what he knew. ” (classified as fairly authentic by Al-Albani).
Smoking enslaves man: Smoking enslaves a person if they become addicted to it. Enslavement here means it turns them into a slave of his own desire and habit. Thus, it controls them and their actions. We see people smoking outside their offices or homes at time of extreme heat or cold, which shows their submission to this habit. Al-Bukhari narrated: “From Abu Huraira, from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said: Wretched is the slave of the Dinar, the slave of the Dirham and the slave of the Khamisah. He is wretched and will be thrown (into Hell) on his face, and if he is pricked with a thorn may find no relief.”
Smoking harms the economy of countries: Now that, Smoking harms the economy of countries, also What is spent on smoking could be equal to the economy of poor countries and could elevate the economy of advanced countries. I am not only talking about what people spend on smoking, but also what countries spend on treating smoking addicts.
Smoking contains severe harm to human health, life, and progeny: Smoking has many harms to the body, and Sharia has come to preserve the body. Allah says: “And do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful” [An-Nisa: 29]. In the agreed-upon hadith, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Your body has a right over you.”
The ruling on smoking is for doctors before jurists: We must understand that the decisive statement on the ruling of smoking belongs to doctors, and jurists follow them. If doctors confirm the severe harm of smoking, their statement is taken into consideration, and jurists base their ruling on it. Doctors have confirmed the severe harm of smoking to the smoker and those around them. According to the World Health Organization: Tobacco use kills more than 7 million people each year. Research indicates that those who start using tobacco in adolescence (as more than 70% do that) and continue for two decades or more die 20 to 25 years earlier than those who never used tobacco. The causes of serious health problems and death are not limited to lung cancer or heart disease. Some of the less common side effects of tobacco include: hair loss, cataracts, wrinkles, hearing loss, tooth decay, emphysema, osteoporosis, stomach ulcers, finger discoloration, miscarriage, psoriasis, sperm deformity, Buerger’s disease… (https://www.emro.who.int/ar/tfi/quit-now/index.html).
Juristic assemblies declare it prohibited:
The consensus among contemporary scholars is now on the prohibition of smoking due to the conclusive evidence of the severe harm it causes to the smoker and those around them, in terms of people, wealth, and character. I do not think anyone known with their knowledge and piety would now say smoking is permissible. Juristic assemblies such as Al-Azhar, the Islamic Fiqh Academy, and other assemblies now declare it prohibited.
And Allah knows best.
The one in need of his Lord’s pardon,
Akram Kassab