If someone rebukes a smoker and asks him for evidence, and he does not provide it, he is told: Be silent; do not speak except with knowledge.

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: It is known that smoking is forbidden. If someone rebukes a smoker and asks him for evidence, and he does not provide it, and he is told, "Be silent; do not speak except with knowledge," should he still rebuke him in this situation, or should he remain silent?

Answer:
He should convey to him the words of the scholars. If he does not know how to derive evidence, he conveys to him the words of the scholars. He says: The scholars have forbidden it; so-and-so and so-and-so have issued fatwas, and he answers with their fatwas. The evidence is clear from the Qur'an: Is smoking among the impure things or among the good things? I do not think anyone in the world would say that smoking is among the good things. He must admit that it is among the impure things. And as long as he admits that it is among the impure things, it is forbidden by the text of the verse. Yes.