IS TOBACCO SMOKING SINFUL?

It is stated as follows in the fifth volume of the book entitled Durr-ul-mukhtâr: Nejm-ad-dîn Ghazzî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (977 – 1061 [1651 A.D.], one of the scholars of Fiqh in the Shâfi’î Madhhab, relates: “Formerly, tobacco was not something known to exist. Tobacco smoking had its inception in 1015 [1606 A.D.], in Damascus. Smokers advocate that it is not an intoxicant. Believable as it may be, its laxative effect is obvious. And that effect, in turn, causes it to be harâm. For, according to a narration which Imâm Ahmad conveys on the authority of Umm-i-Selema ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhâ’, “Intoxicants and laxatives were interdicted.” One or two experiences will not be sinful. It will be harâm when the government bans it. It will be a grave sin to carry on, since it is a grave sin to continue committing venial sins.

As for the Hanafî Madhhab; the great scholar Ibni Nujeym Misrî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (926 – 970 [1562 A.D.], Egypt,) states as follows in his book Eshbâh: “Things that have not been declared to be harâm in âyat-i-kerîmas and hadîth-i-sherîfs are halâl essentially. Or, they cannot be judged to be halâl or harâm. Most of the scholars in the Hanafî and Shâfi’î Madhhabs ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în’ said that things of that sort would be halâl. Ibni Humâm also says so in his book entitled Tahrîr. Likewise, an (edible) animal that is not known to have been butchered after saying the Basmala or a herb without any observed harm should be judged to be halâl.” This rule applies to the tobacco, too. It is halâl according to most Islamic scholars. According to a few scholars, however, a judgment cannot be reached on it. [As Ahmad Hamawî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (d. 1098 [1686 A.D.],) explains the book entitled Eshbâh in his book entitled ’Uyûn-ul-besâir, notes: “Hence it is understood that it is halâl to smoke tobacco.”] ’Abd-ur-Rahmân Imâdî, a scholar in the Hanafî Madhhab and the Muftî of Damascus, states as follows in his book entitled Hediyya: “Tobacco, like onions and garlic, is makrûh.” Ibni ’Âbidîn explains these words as follows:

The following statement has been quoted from the commentary of Wahbâniyya, (by Abu-l-Ikhlâs Hasan bin ’Ammâr Sherblâlî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, 994 – 1069 [1658 A.D.]:) “Smoking and selling tobacco must be banned.” [Murâd Khân the fourth ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’[1] imposed a ban on smoking tobacco.