Question
Are the following uses of tobacco permissible: smoking it by burning it in a hookah (huqqa), bidi, cigarette, shisha and the like; using the powdered leaf of tobacco in betel leaf (paan), gutka and chhalia; and, when a finger or other part is cut, sprinkling its powder on the wound or binding its leaf on the wound like a bandage so that the bleeding stops? Please answer in light of the Quran and Hadith.
Answer
All the mentioned forms of inhaling the smoke of tobacco and consuming it are forbidden, because it is a wicked thing and its use causes great harm and damage. Allah the Exalted has made pure things lawful for His servants and made impure and filthy things unlawful.
The Command of Allah:
Allah the Exalted says:
“وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ”
Harmful and Intoxicating:
Tobacco contains harmful and intoxicating substances, and its use is forbidden in every form, whether it is smoked, chewed, or used in any other way.
The Need to Give It Up:
Every Muslim is obliged to give up smoking immediately, repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness, and express remorse for this sin. Then he should resolve that he will never repeat this act in the future.
The Efforts of the World:
Today the nations of the world, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, are running campaigns against tobacco use, because they have come to know of its severe harms. The religion of Islam, from the very beginning, has declared every harmful thing unlawful. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“لَا ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ”
The Reason for the Prohibition of Tobacco:
It is clear that among edible and drinkable things, some are pure and beneficial, and some are impure and harmful. So the question is whether cigarettes, the hookah, and other forms of tobacco are pure or filthy? The answer is obviously that they are filthy and harmful.
Hadith and the Prohibition of Extravagance:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَرِهَ لَكُمْ قِيلَ وَقَالَ، وَإِضَاعَةَ الْمَالِ، وَكَثْرَةَ السُّؤَالِ”
Allah the Exalted says:
“وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ”
Harmful Expenditure:
The world has now recognised that money spent on smoking cigarettes and the hookah is being wasted. This wealth is not only wasted but is being spent on harmful things. If the money spent on tobacco use were collected, it could help many societies suffering from death by hunger.
Exhortation to Avoid Tobacco Use:
What is the difference between a person who smokes and a person who wastes money? Rather, in reality, the smoker is at a greater loss, because he is not only burning his wealth but also harming his own body.
The Ruling on Using Tobacco on a Wound:
As for the use of tobacco on a wound, to my knowledge, by way of blocking the means (sadd al-dhara’i), one should also abstain from it so that the use of tobacco in society is completely eliminated. When society abstains from tobacco use, the need for its cultivation will also end. Therefore, one should avoid doubtful matters and adopt clean and permissible paths.
