Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salam brother,

my close firend was wondering if it says anywhere in the Holy Quran that smoking is haraam. Smoking Cigarettes, and weed.

Jazakallah

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Answer:

Smoking from Quran

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

What Islam has declared forbidden is ‘khamr’ (intoxicants); thus if the consumption, drinking, smoking, inhaling of any substance intoxicates, it will be deemed absolutely prohibited and haraam in Islam. If the smoking of ‘weed’ intoxicates or defogs the mind of the smoker, then it would indeed be amongst the substance which has been declared forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (saws).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 90-91:

90 O ye who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of the Shaytaan's handiwork: eschew such (abomination) that ye may prosper.

91 Shaytaan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3672 Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Abbas

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Every intoxicant is khamr (alcohol, wine, etc.), and every intoxicant is haraam.”

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3679 Narrated by Aisha

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: “Every intoxicant is haraam; if a quantity of anything causes intoxication, a handful of it is (also) haraam.”

Because cigarettes or the like of it were not available or prevalent at the time of the Revelation of the Quran, there is no specific mention of cigarettes in the Quran or the Sunnah. Thus it is upto the jurists and the scholars in Islam to come to a consensus regarding its ruling and verdict in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 29:

O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: but let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual good-will: nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 195:

And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to your destruction, but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 157:

157 "Those who follow the apostle the unlettered Prophet (Mohamed (saws)), whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures); in the Torah and the Gospel; for he (saws) commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil: he allows them as lawful what is ‘tayyebaat’ (good and pure) and prohibits them from what is ‘khabaayith’ (bad and impure); He (saws) releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the Light which is sent down with him; it is they who will prosper."

The majority of the scholars (and even the scientific world for that matter!) are unanimous in their opinion that smoking is extremely dangerous to one’s health and tantamount to the violation of the above commands of the above quoted verses of Surah Nisaa and Surah Baqarah where Allah Subhanah commands the believes ‘not to kill or destroy yourselves’ nor ‘make your own hands contribute to your destruction’! Besides, in light of the clear guidance of the above quoted verse of Surah Aaraaf, every ‘khabaayith’ (evil, bad, impure, etc.) thing is forbidden to the believers.

To declare a substance ‘haraam’ or ‘halaal’ is the sole and exclusive Right of Allah and His Messenger (saws) alone. Because the likes of cigarettes, cigars, etc. are not declared ‘haraam’ specifically by name in the Quran and the Sunnah, the majority of the scholars are of the opinion that since smoking seriously harms one’s health and is amongst the ‘khabaayith’ (evil, bad, impure); it is definitely closer to the ‘haraam’ than to the ‘halaal’. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan