The Ruling on Smoking

The Shaykh : The first example is tobacco. Many people have been afflicted with smoking. When tobacco first appeared, scholars differed on its ruling: some said it was lawful, some said it was forbidden, some said it was disliked, and some classified it with intoxicants, thereby obligating the hadd punishment for the smoker. However, as time passed, it became clear beyond any doubt that it is forbidden, because doctors have unanimously agreed that it is harmful to health and is a cause of incurable diseases that lead a person to death. For this reason, we find some smokers dying while speaking to you, or dying in their beds; if they are carried even a short distance, their heart stops and they die. This indicates that it is harmful, and what is harmful is forbidden for a person, because Allah says: It is difficult for some of those afflicted by this to give it up, even though if they had accustomed themselves to leaving it off gradually, the matter would have become easy for them. If they had left it off gradually and kept away from those who smoke it, and came to dislike the smell of it, the matter would have been easy for them. But the issue requires strong resolve, strong determination, and sincere faith.