Category: Smoking

Smoking: Is It Haraam (Unlawful)?
Author: Sheikh (Dr) Muhamad Bin Ahmad Bin Ismaa’eel
Translated by Dr. Saleh As-Saleh (rahimahullaah)

Many Muslims regard smoking as disliked by Sharee’ah but not forbidden. When an advice is given about smoking and its ruling you often hear a defensive response. People know the killing effects of smoking, but Satan wants them to keep on spending and burning their chests.

Certainly, cigarettes were not present in the lifetime of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم). However, what was present and will continue to be present is the Revelation in its forms, the Qur’aan and authentic Sunnah. The Qur’aan formulated the prohibition of everything that is evil:

“He allows them all that is good and lawful, and prohibits them as unlawful all that is evil.” (Qur’aan 7: 157)

Evil manifests itself in things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, drinks, etc. Let us see whether smoking is evil or not?

1-Smoking is a killer:

It causes lung cancer, tuberculosis, and heart diseases, to mention a few. We know that Allaah forbids us from killing ourselves. He says:

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا

وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ عُدْوَانًا وَظُلْمًا فَسَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِ نَارًا ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا

“And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allaah is Most Merciful to you. And whoever commits that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into the Fire, and that is easy for Allaah.” (Qur’aan 4: 29-30)

Allaah also says:

“And do not throw yourselves into destruction” (Qur’aan 2: 195)

The above ‘Ayaat are sufficient to prove the Tahreem of smoking.

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