Is smoking disliked or forbidden?

The questioner : Is smoking forbidden or merely disliked, and what is the evidence for its prohibition from the Book and the Sunnah? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Smoking, which is the consumption of tobacco or shisha, is forbidden by the indication of the Book, the Sunnah, and correct reasoning.
As for the indication from the Book, it is in such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: The way this verse indicates the ruling is that it has now been established in medicine that smoking is a cause of various incurable diseases, the most dangerous of which is cancer. If it is a cause for these diseases, and since diseases, as is known, ravage the bodies and may lead to death, then every cause for these diseases is forbidden.
And among the proofs from the Book is the saying of Allah the Exalted: The way this verse indicates the ruling is that Allah has forbidden us to give the foolish—those who do not manage their wealth well—these monies. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, indicated that He made these monies a support for us, upon which the interests of our religion and our worldly life are established. If they are diverted to what is harmful to our religion and our worldly life, that is a diversion of them from the purpose for which Allah the Exalted made them for us. And this is a type of foolishness for which Allah the Exalted forbade us to give our wealth to the foolish, fearing that they would squander it in matters whose consequences are not praiseworthy.
And among the proofs from the Qur'an is the saying of Allah the Exalted: Meaning: Do not do a cause that leads to your destruction. It is like the first verse, and the way it indicates the ruling is that smoking is throwing oneself with one's hand into destruction.
As for the Sunnah, it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he: And wasting wealth is spending it in something that is not beneficial. It is known that spending money on buying tobacco is spending it in something that is not beneficial, rather, it is spending it in something that is harmful.
And among the proofs from the Sunnah is also what came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): So harm is negated by the Shari'ah, whether that harm is in the body, the mind, or the wealth. And it is known that smoking is harm to the body and to the wealth.
As for the correct reasoning that indicates the prohibition of smoking, it is because the smoker places himself in what is harmful, anxiety, and mental fatigue. A person of sound mind does not accept this for himself. How great is the anxiety of the smoker and the tightness of his chest when he lacks it, and how heavy is fasting and similar acts of worship upon him, because they prevent him from smoking. Rather, how heavy is sitting with the righteous people, before whom he cannot smoke, for you will find him anxious about sitting with them and accompanying them. All these considerations indicate that smoking is forbidden.
So my advice to my Muslim brothers who have been afflicted with it is to seek help from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and to resolve to leave it. In a sincere resolve, with seeking help from Allah and hoping for His reward and fleeing from His punishment in all of that, there is assistance in quitting it. And among the assistance in quitting it is that a person should avoid sitting with smokers so that his soul does not prompt him to smoke with them. And a person will find, by the power of Allah, in leaving it a vitality in his body and a liveliness that he does not find when he smokes it.
If someone were to say: We do not find a text in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger specifically regarding smoking?
The answer is to say: The texts of the Book and the Sunnah are of two types. One type consists of general proofs, such as guidelines and rules, under which many particulars fall until the Day of Resurrection. The other type indicates the specific thing itself.
An example of the first is what we referred to of the verses and the two hadiths that indicate smoking by their generality, even if it is not mentioned specifically by name.
And an example of the second is the saying of Allah the Exalted: And the saying of Allah the Exalted: And whether the texts are of the first type or the second type, they are binding upon the servants of Allah with what they imply by way of indication.