The Ruling on Smoking

Question:
On this day, in one of the military units, there was a lecture on the constitution, and the lecture was about narcotics. They touched on smoking, and then they said that the scholars differ on this: some have forbidden it, and some have permitted it, and there is no narcotic in it. So what is your opinion, Honorable Shaykh, on this statement?

Answer:
Yes, there is no narcotic in it, but there is thought and thinking, and among the thinkers, and it also contains harmful substances, toxic substances. Also, its effect on the body and on health is a known matter established by doctors. There is no doctor in the world now who claims that there is one benefit in smoking; rather, they are all in agreement that it is harmful.
All the doctors in the world, Muslims and disbelievers, agree that smoking is harmful to health. If that is the case, it is forbidden, and the opinion of the one who disagrees is not considered, as long as the consensus of the world is that smoking is harmful. And since it is a bad thing, it is forbidden. Allah the Exalted said: . It is forbidden because it is among the bad things, due to its harm, the dislike of its smell, and its effect on the body of the smoker, such that you see the distinguishing mark between him and the non-smoker: the yellowing of his complexion, the change in his lips, and the change in the color of his teeth. This is an apparent mark, despite the apparent smell that suffocates the person next to him. If a person next to someone is smoking, his smell suffocates the person next to him and harms him. This is if he is not smoking at the current moment. But if he is smoking, the smoke suffocates people. For example, on a large airplane, if one person smokes, he suffocates all the passengers; they are harmed by it and affected. Likewise, if one person smokes in a large room, it bothers those sitting in it. How much more so if the room is large and the smoke circulates and spreads in it? How can a person invalidate the discomfort and the narrowness of his airways? But where are the minds and the thoughts? Those who disagreed among the students of knowledge did so in the past, but now I do not think that a scholar, after its effects and clear signs have been proven, would disagree.