Is it valid to cite the prohibition of smoking cigarettes based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And He has forbidden to them unseemly things”?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : No, this is not valid. Those who smoke say it is not an unseemly thing. They say, “What Allah wills, if... your head, smoke a cigarette and the dizziness will go away...”
The questioner : The unseemliness defined by the Shari'ah?
The Shaykh : The unseemliness defined by the Shari'ah is... in the Shari'ah. If you say it is the smell, we bring up garlic and onions. If you say it is harmful, what Allah wills, right now people are smoking who are among the healthiest... it is not established. And for this reason, I saw some scholars, when it first appeared, say that smoking tobacco may become obligatory for a person. For example, if a person, due to delaying smoking a cigarette, feels dizzy and cannot pray unless he smokes, and the time is tight, and he enters and says, “Allah is the Greatest,” but he does not know whether to say, “Allah is the Greatest” or “Allah hears the one who praises Him,” we said it is obligatory for this person to smoke. Yes, I saw, I think, in the Majma' al-Munawwar.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, now the doctors have agreed that it is harmful and that many of the cancers of the lungs and gums are caused by it. For this reason, they warn against it. And it was reported to me, through continuous transmission, from all pilots that when they pass over the airspace of the United States, they refrain from smoking absolutely; it is prohibited even in their airspace. Yes. As for in restaurants and markets, it is strictly prohibited, because they have proven that it is harmful and that the smoke drifting from the cigarette is very harmful, let alone what is inhaled. There is no doubt for us, and I have no doubt at all, that it is among the forbidden things. And regarding money, there are things a person can spend more on than tobacco, and the lawful does not contain anything [harmful], but its harm is a reality. The time is up.
The questioner : The unseemliness defined by the Shari'ah?
The Shaykh : The unseemliness defined by the Shari'ah is... in the Shari'ah. If you say it is the smell, we bring up garlic and onions. If you say it is harmful, what Allah wills, right now people are smoking who are among the healthiest... it is not established. And for this reason, I saw some scholars, when it first appeared, say that smoking tobacco may become obligatory for a person. For example, if a person, due to delaying smoking a cigarette, feels dizzy and cannot pray unless he smokes, and the time is tight, and he enters and says, “Allah is the Greatest,” but he does not know whether to say, “Allah is the Greatest” or “Allah hears the one who praises Him,” we said it is obligatory for this person to smoke. Yes, I saw, I think, in the Majma' al-Munawwar.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, now the doctors have agreed that it is harmful and that many of the cancers of the lungs and gums are caused by it. For this reason, they warn against it. And it was reported to me, through continuous transmission, from all pilots that when they pass over the airspace of the United States, they refrain from smoking absolutely; it is prohibited even in their airspace. Yes. As for in restaurants and markets, it is strictly prohibited, because they have proven that it is harmful and that the smoke drifting from the cigarette is very harmful, let alone what is inhaled. There is no doubt for us, and I have no doubt at all, that it is among the forbidden things. And regarding money, there are things a person can spend more on than tobacco, and the lawful does not contain anything [harmful], but its harm is a reality. The time is up.