What is the ruling on smoking hookah or cigarettes?

Answer

Praise Be to Allah and Peace Be Upon His Messenger.

Islamic Shari’a stands on five pillars: preservation of human life, their mind, their property, their religion, and their honor. Therefore, Islam prevents Muslims from consuming anything which may lead to destroying their health, mind, honor, or wasting their wealth. Um Salama RRA reported that the messenger of Allah (PBUH) forbade every intoxicant and everything which produces languidness. Sunan Abu Dawood.

Health institutions and medical centers gave many details about the dangers of smoking and how it destroys people’s health. They proved that it causes many serious diseases such as cancer. Moreover, Muslim scholars assured that it is haram, and smokers must quit smoking because Islam (Islamic religion) allows all good and prohibits them from what is unlawful. Allah says: “He allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure).”  Al-A’raf: 157.

Ibn Abbas RRA narrated: The messenger of Allah said: “There should neither be harming, nor reciprocating harm.” Musnad Ahmad

Nevertheless, since this issue is considered a discretionary issue, in other words, there is no final decision whether to consider smoking haram or undesirable, we can say that smoking or trading with tobacco and hookah is not desirable; in other words, it is almost unlawful.

Those who say that it is haram depended on this evidence taken from the Holy Qur’an: “He allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure).”  Al-A’raf: 157. So, can smoking cigarettes or hookah be from the good and pure?

There are other verses which can be used in this context on which scholars depended. Allah says: “And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you.” An-Nisa’: 29. He also says: “And do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah). Al-Baqarah: 195. The other verse is “But spend not wastefully (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. Verily, the spendthrifts are brothers of the Shaytan.” Al-Isra’: 26-27

In addition to those verses, the basic rule in Islam which stipulates that people should not cause harm to themselves or to others. Ibn Abbas RRA narrated: The messenger of Allah said: “There should neither be harming, nor reciprocating harm.”

Scientifically, studies show that smoking causes diseases to smokers and to others who surround them. It causes lung cancer, esophageal cancer, heart disease, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and others. It is considered a slow death.

There is still one idea we should point at. Muslims should avoid doing both: the unlawful deed and undesirable one. However, the major difference is that whoever considers what is really unlawful (haram) as halal (lawful) will be excluded from Muslim sector, but whoever considers what is undesirable one as halal will not be excluded from the Muslim sector.