5 Must Read Reasons Why Smoking is Not Haram in Islam
C.J Ahmed-22.04.2023
Smoking is considered as the cause of several health problems such as aging, lung illnesses,cancer,obesityand so on. This has lead many scholars to declare to forbid smoking stating that it is haram. Just because smoking is harmful based on medical research does not authomatically make it haram in Islam. For something to be haram, it needs clr textual proof from either the Quran or the authentic hadiths an there is no evidence to prove in Islam that smoking is forbidden.
“And make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction.”(Quran-2:195)
The above verse was revealed regarding Jihad and is taken out of context to mean that smoking is haram. The following authentic hadith clearly explains why the above verse as revealed,
Narrated AbuAyyub:
AbuImran said: We went out on an expedition from Medina with the intention of (attacking) Constantinople. AbdurRahman ibn Khalid ibn al-Walid was the leader of the company. The Romans were just keeping their backs to the walls of the city. A man (suddenly) attacked the enemy. Thereupon the people said: Stop! Stop! There is no god but Allah. He is putting himself into danger.
AbuAyyub said: This verse was revealed about us, the group of the Ansar (the Helpers). When Allah helped His Prophet (sal) and gave Islam dominance, we said (i.e. thought): Come on! Let us stay in our property and improve it.
Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, revealed, "And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your hands contribute to (your destruction)". To put oneself into danger means that we stay in our property and commit ourselves to its improvement, and abandon fighting (i.e. jihad).
Abu Imran said: AbuAyyub continued to strive in the cause of Allah until he (died and) was buried in Constantinople. (Abu Dawud-Book 14, Hadith 2506-Graded Sahih by Sheikh Albani)
There is a similer vere in the Quran which is also quoted by those who view that smoking is haram in which Allah (swt) says,
"Do not kill yourself. Allah is Merciful unto you." (4:29)
The above verse is given a looe interpretation to give an umbrella fatwa to forbid smoking. Once again this verse to has nothing to do with smoking. This verse is amout committing suicide and murder and trying to argue that smoking is a form of suicide is erroneous. Th other verse is as follows,
"And He makes good things halaal for them and bad things haraam."(Quran-7:157)
The above verse is about foods which are made halal nd if smoking is haram, it would have been clerly prohibited in the Quran or authentic hadiths but there is no mention of such prohibition.
There is a famous hadith that s used to forbid smoking and it has nothing to do with smoking.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The prophet (sal) said,“Do not cause harm or return harm. Whoever harms others, Allah will harm him. Whoever is harsh with others, Allah will be harsh with him.” (Baihaqi-Graded Sahih by Albani)
The above hadith is taken out of context. This hadith talks about harming people by which has been mentione clearly in other verse and hadiths such as killing or maiming or injuring a Muslim and including smoking in to this hadith is nothing but including ones own opinion basedon your own like and dislikes. If Allah (swt) and his messenger (sal) have not sanctioned something in Islam, then no one has the right to make it forbidden according to their personal opinions.
Narrated `Aisha:
Allah's Messenger (sal) used to love sweet edible things and honey.(Bukhari)
Narrated `Aisha:
The Prophet (sal) used to like sweet edible things and honey.(Bukhari)
The above hadiths prve clearly that te prophet (sal) lovd edible sweets and it is a Sunnah to eat edible sweets such as honey. Are these so called scholars going to accept the scientific opinion over the Sunnah and state that eating sweets is haram? If sweets is halal then smoking is also halal. Th other point is marrying cousins. Marrying cousins is not haram in Islam but some doctors are of the view that marrying close cousins can cause harm to the child. This view of doctor are refuted by scientists in great length because the the probability of children being born as deformed is extremely less and unlikely to happen which I am not going to discuss in this article due to brevity.
. Islam is silent on this topic. Silence is a mercy from Allah (swt). The prophet (sal) said:
" The Prophet (sal) said, “Verily Allah has obligated the obligations – so do not neglect them. And He has limited the limits – so do not transgress them. And His silence about things is from His mercy, not forgetfulness, so do not investigate them.”
(Hasan sahih-Ad-Darqutni No. 4/199 and Al-Baihaqi No. 10/122).
For something to be clearly forbidden there needs to be clear textual evidence.Thre is no cear evidence from the Quran or the authentic haiths to prove that smoking is haram.
Nafi Narrated that Ibn Umar used to burn pure Oudh and camphor mixed with Oudh as incense fragrance. He said “Likewise, Rasullullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to burn incense.”(Sahih Muslim-2254)
Are thee Ulama going to prohibit burning incense because the smoke can be inhaled?. According to WebMD, inhling large amounts of camphor can also cause toxi effects. You can read the article here https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-709/camphor#:~:text=This%20can%20cause%20severe%20burns,camphor%20can%20cause%20toxic%20effects.
Conclusion
Smoking is not haram in Islam it is actually halal and even makruh (disliked) but cannot be accepted as haram due t the lak of evidence.
The Prophet (sal) said, "Whoever eats garlic or onion should keep away from our mosque or should remain in his house." (Jabir bin `Abdullah, in another narration said, "Once a big pot containing cooked vegetables was brought. On finding unpleasant smell coming from it, the Prophet (sal) asked, 'What is in it?' He was told all the names of the vegetables that were in it. The Prophet (sal) ordered that it should be brought near to some of his companions who were with him. When the Prophet (sal) saw it he disliked to eat it and said, 'Eat. For I converse with those whom you don't converse with (i.e. the angels)."
(Bukhari)
In th above hadith, the prophet (sal) disliked eating garlic or onion because he conversed with angels and eating them were not prohibited for others. It is clear that Smoking is not haram in Islam.
Smoking is considered as the cause of several health problems such as aging, lung illnesses,cancer,obesityand so on. This has lead many scholars to declare to forbid smoking stating that it is haram. Just because smoking is harmful based on medical research does not authomatically make it haram in Islam. For something to be haram, it needs clr textual proof from either the Quran or the authentic hadiths an there is no evidence to prove in Islam that smoking is forbidden.
- Analysing the Arguments of Those Who Say That Smoking is Haram
“And make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction.”(Quran-2:195)
The above verse was revealed regarding Jihad and is taken out of context to mean that smoking is haram. The following authentic hadith clearly explains why the above verse as revealed,
Narrated AbuAyyub:
AbuImran said: We went out on an expedition from Medina with the intention of (attacking) Constantinople. AbdurRahman ibn Khalid ibn al-Walid was the leader of the company. The Romans were just keeping their backs to the walls of the city. A man (suddenly) attacked the enemy. Thereupon the people said: Stop! Stop! There is no god but Allah. He is putting himself into danger.
AbuAyyub said: This verse was revealed about us, the group of the Ansar (the Helpers). When Allah helped His Prophet (sal) and gave Islam dominance, we said (i.e. thought): Come on! Let us stay in our property and improve it.
Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, revealed, "And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your hands contribute to (your destruction)". To put oneself into danger means that we stay in our property and commit ourselves to its improvement, and abandon fighting (i.e. jihad).
Abu Imran said: AbuAyyub continued to strive in the cause of Allah until he (died and) was buried in Constantinople. (Abu Dawud-Book 14, Hadith 2506-Graded Sahih by Sheikh Albani)
There is a similer vere in the Quran which is also quoted by those who view that smoking is haram in which Allah (swt) says,
"Do not kill yourself. Allah is Merciful unto you." (4:29)
The above verse is given a looe interpretation to give an umbrella fatwa to forbid smoking. Once again this verse to has nothing to do with smoking. This verse is amout committing suicide and murder and trying to argue that smoking is a form of suicide is erroneous. Th other verse is as follows,
"And He makes good things halaal for them and bad things haraam."(Quran-7:157)
The above verse is about foods which are made halal nd if smoking is haram, it would have been clerly prohibited in the Quran or authentic hadiths but there is no mention of such prohibition.
There is a famous hadith that s used to forbid smoking and it has nothing to do with smoking.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The prophet (sal) said,“Do not cause harm or return harm. Whoever harms others, Allah will harm him. Whoever is harsh with others, Allah will be harsh with him.” (Baihaqi-Graded Sahih by Albani)
The above hadith is taken out of context. This hadith talks about harming people by which has been mentione clearly in other verse and hadiths such as killing or maiming or injuring a Muslim and including smoking in to this hadith is nothing but including ones own opinion basedon your own like and dislikes. If Allah (swt) and his messenger (sal) have not sanctioned something in Islam, then no one has the right to make it forbidden according to their personal opinions.
- Is Smoking a Form of Suicide?
- Even Eaing Sweets Can Cause Health Problems
- Even the Prophet (sal) Liked Eating Sweets
Narrated `Aisha:
Allah's Messenger (sal) used to love sweet edible things and honey.(Bukhari)
Narrated `Aisha:
The Prophet (sal) used to like sweet edible things and honey.(Bukhari)
The above hadiths prve clearly that te prophet (sal) lovd edible sweets and it is a Sunnah to eat edible sweets such as honey. Are these so called scholars going to accept the scientific opinion over the Sunnah and state that eating sweets is haram? If sweets is halal then smoking is also halal. Th other point is marrying cousins. Marrying cousins is not haram in Islam but some doctors are of the view that marrying close cousins can cause harm to the child. This view of doctor are refuted by scientists in great length because the the probability of children being born as deformed is extremely less and unlikely to happen which I am not going to discuss in this article due to brevity.
- Islam is Silent on the Issue of Smoking
. Islam is silent on this topic. Silence is a mercy from Allah (swt). The prophet (sal) said:
" The Prophet (sal) said, “Verily Allah has obligated the obligations – so do not neglect them. And He has limited the limits – so do not transgress them. And His silence about things is from His mercy, not forgetfulness, so do not investigate them.”
(Hasan sahih-Ad-Darqutni No. 4/199 and Al-Baihaqi No. 10/122).
For something to be clearly forbidden there needs to be clear textual evidence.Thre is no cear evidence from the Quran or the authentic haiths to prove that smoking is haram.
- Burning Incense and Smoking
Nafi Narrated that Ibn Umar used to burn pure Oudh and camphor mixed with Oudh as incense fragrance. He said “Likewise, Rasullullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to burn incense.”(Sahih Muslim-2254)
Are thee Ulama going to prohibit burning incense because the smoke can be inhaled?. According to WebMD, inhling large amounts of camphor can also cause toxi effects. You can read the article here https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-709/camphor#:~:text=This%20can%20cause%20severe%20burns,camphor%20can%20cause%20toxic%20effects.
Conclusion
Smoking is not haram in Islam it is actually halal and even makruh (disliked) but cannot be accepted as haram due t the lak of evidence.
The Prophet (sal) said, "Whoever eats garlic or onion should keep away from our mosque or should remain in his house." (Jabir bin `Abdullah, in another narration said, "Once a big pot containing cooked vegetables was brought. On finding unpleasant smell coming from it, the Prophet (sal) asked, 'What is in it?' He was told all the names of the vegetables that were in it. The Prophet (sal) ordered that it should be brought near to some of his companions who were with him. When the Prophet (sal) saw it he disliked to eat it and said, 'Eat. For I converse with those whom you don't converse with (i.e. the angels)."
(Bukhari)
In th above hadith, the prophet (sal) disliked eating garlic or onion because he conversed with angels and eating them were not prohibited for others. It is clear that Smoking is not haram in Islam.