What is the ruling of smoking in Islam?
Before asking about the ruling on smoking in Islam, ask yourself first: Are you truly sincere about submitting to Allah’s guidance, or simply searching for an answer that suits your desire? If it’s the latter, then perhaps the question isn’t really about truth, but it’s about seeking permission to follow your nafs (lower desire).
That said, I’ll tell you what is undeniably ḥarām: it is what you see in the attached photo. This earth belongs to Allah, and we are entrusted to care for it. A true Muslim does not need fines or CCTV to avoid littering. Nothing is hidden from Allah.
For those genuinely trying to quit, here’s a tip once shared by the late Ustaz Taha Suhaimi (may Allah have mercy on him):
"Not many have knowledge, but everyone has a mind to think. Name one benefit, just one benefit, of smoking. If you can, then smoke. But if you know there’s no benefit, then isn’t that wasting?"
Another reflection: how often do we truly thank Allah for our health? For our lungs that breathe without pain? And then, we burn them?
Allah says in the Qur’an (Sūrah Al-Isrā’, 17:27):
"Surely, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and Satan is ever ungrateful to his Lord."
If we are truly grateful for our lungs and our body, would we destroy them with our own hands?
Medical Fact, Not Opinion
Before we even discuss the Islamic ruling, let’s be clear: there is no longer a debate among health professionals. The global medical consensus is that smoking is harmful; severely, undeniably, and consistently.
Doctors, scientists, and public health organizations across the world have concluded that:
Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death, killing over 8 million people every year (World Health Organization).
It damages nearly every organ in the body.
It causes lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, COPD, and more.
Secondhand smoke is also deadly. Over 1 million non-smokers die each year from exposure.
Even a single cigarette contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, and formaldehyde, many of which are known to cause cancer.
In short: this is not a matter of debate. The harm is proven. The facts are overwhelming. And no honest doctor would say otherwise.
The Islamic Scholarly Consensus
The question is often asked: “Is smoking harām?” In the past, scholars debated this, especially when scientific knowledge of its harms was limited. But today, with overwhelming medical evidence, the consensus has shifted clearly among contemporary scholars and fatwa bodies.
Major Islamic authorities and institutions around the world have declared smoking to be harām (forbidden):
Al-Azhar University (Egypt) – Declares smoking harām due to its proven harm.
The Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (Saudi Arabia) – Issued a fatwa that smoking is harām because it destroys health and wastes money.
Majma‘ al-Fiqh al-Islāmī (OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy) – Agrees that smoking is forbidden, citing the harm it causes to the smoker and others.
Dar al-Ifta’ (Egypt) and various fatwa councils in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei have similarly declared it harām.
Their basis is rooted in clear Islamic principles:
“Do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands.” (Qur’an 2:195)
“And do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is Most Merciful to you.” (Qur’an 4:29)
The Prophet ﷺ said: “There should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.” (Hadith in Ibn Mājah)
When something is proven to harm your health, waste your wealth, hurt others around you, and even pollute the environment, Islam does not permit it.
So today, with the knowledge we have, both from modern medicine and the agreement of our scholars, continuing to smoke knowingly and willingly falls into the category of... ?
(Fill in the blank with your heart).
May Allah guide us to what pleases Him,
and not what merely pleases our nafs.
Āmīn.
