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Is Smoking Haram?

Most modern fatwa bodies rule that smoking cigarettes and hookah is haram, while some Hanafi scholars call it makruh. The evidence and what to do.

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Short answer

Most contemporary fatwa bodies rule that smoking cigarettes and hookah is haram because its harm is now proven, including Egypt's Dar al-Ifta and Malaysia's National Fatwa Council (1995). Some Hanafi scholars in South Asia, including Darul Uloom Deoband, classify it as makruh (disliked) rather than haram. No major fatwa body calls it a good habit, and smoking during a fast breaks it.

Plenty of Muslims smoke, including people who pray, fast and go to the masjid. Many started young, long before they thought about the ruling, and now feel stuck between a habit that is hard to break and a question they would rather not ask. Others grew up hearing that smoking is "only makruh" and are surprised to hear it called haram.

Here is what the scholars actually say, why the ruling changed over time, and where hookah fits in.

Is smoking haram in Islam?

According to most contemporary scholars and fatwa bodies, yes, smoking is haram. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta ruled in 2008 that "it was medically proved that all forms of smoking are harmful to the body and health; consequently, they are prohibited." In a 2005 fatwa, Dr. 'Ali Gomaa, then Grand Mufti of Egypt, wrote that smoking is forbidden "as the majority of scholars have held, because its harm is certain" (our translation from the Arabic).

A minority still classify it as makruh (disliked). Darul Uloom Deoband, the major Hanafi seminary in India, rules that ordinary smoking is makruh tanzihi because tobacco does not intoxicate. Even scholars who hold this view do not describe smoking as harmless, and the classical Hanafi scholar al-Laknawi held that prolonged use would be blameworthy and sinful, as SeekersGuidance explains.

Why do most scholars say smoking is haram?

Because Islam forbids harming yourself, and smoking is now known to cause serious harm. The Qur'an and Sunnah do not mention tobacco, which reached the Muslim world around the eleventh Islamic century, so scholars rule on it through general principles:

  1. Do not harm yourself. "Do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction" (Qur'an 2:195), and "do not kill yourselves" (Qur'an 4:29). The Prophet ﷺ said, "There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm" (an-Nawawi's 40 Hadith, 32, graded hasan).
  2. The Prophet ﷺ forbids what is harmful. The Qur'an describes him as one who "makes lawful for them what is good and forbids them from what is evil" (Qur'an 7:157). Dar al-Ifta reads "the evil" as everything that harms a person physically or psychologically.
  3. Wasting money is disliked by Allah. "Do not spend wastefully. Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils" (Qur'an 17:26-27). The Prophet ﷺ said Allah dislikes three things for you, including "wasting of wealth" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1477).
  4. Harming other people. The World Health Organization says tobacco kills more than 7 million people a year, including over 1.6 million non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke, and that "there is no safe level of exposure."

Why did earlier scholars disagree about smoking?

Because the ruling depends on harm, and the harm was not established when tobacco first arrived. Dar al-Ifta explains that "the ruling of smoking revolves around harm," and that this "was the reason for the difference of opinion among the scholars in the past since medicine continues to discover new things."

Classical Hanafi scholars held three positions, as summarized by SeekersGuidance:

  • Haram: Imam al-Shurunbulali.
  • Makruh: Imam al-Laknawi, who added that habitual use would be sinful even if the dislike is the milder kind.
  • Permissible: 'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, whose reasoning was that tobacco is neither intoxicating nor harmful. SeekersGuidance notes that its harm "has since been established by physicians," so this position no longer applies.

What do fatwa bodies say about smoking today?

Most major bodies in the Arab world and Malaysia call smoking haram, while several South Asian Hanafi institutions call it makruh. Here is what the fatwas we read say:

Fatwa body Year Ruling
Egypt's Dar al-Ifta 2005, 2008, 2013 Haram, because the harm is proven
Malaysia's National Fatwa Council 1995 (37th Muzakarah) Haram
Jordan's General Iftaa' Board 2006 (Resolution 109) "A general calamity"; haram where it causes serious harm, deprives a family, or harms others in public places
IslamQA (Shaykh Sa'd al-Humayd) Undated Haram
Darul Uloom Deoband Fatwa 1702/1340/B=1431 Makruh tanzihi (mildly disliked); bidi and hookah take the same ruling
Darul Iftaa Leicester Undated Haram if it causes serious harm; otherwise two valid views, and quitting is advised

Darul Iftaa Leicester's Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam puts the split plainly: scholars of the Indian subcontinent see ordinary smoking as permissible but disliked, while "the great scholars from the Arab world" hold it to be haram and sinful, with fatwas "from all four Madhhabs."

Is hookah (shisha) haram?

Hookah takes the same ruling as cigarettes in the fatwas cited here, because it is tobacco smoke. Jordan's Iftaa' Board answered a question that named the water pipe directly and advised against selling it, and Deoband says hookah carries the same ruling as cigarettes in its view.

The idea that hookah is gentler does not hold up. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says hookah smoke is "at least as toxic as cigarette smoke," that "the water in a hookah does not filter smoke," and that smoking hookah "can lead to greater exposure to the toxic substances in tobacco smoke than smoking cigarettes." It adds that even tobacco-free "herbal" shisha produces carbon monoxide and other toxic agents.

Cannabis is a different case, because it intoxicates; our guide on whether weed is haram explains that ruling.

Does smoking break your fast?

Yes. Smoking during a fast breaks it, and the day has to be made up. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta (fatwa 7368, 2014) says a person who smokes while fasting "is obliged to make up the fast since smoke reaches the chest." A 2024 Dar al-Ifta fatwa adds that this applies to cigarettes, hookah and e-cigarettes alike, and rejects the claim that cigarettes do not break the fast while hookah does.

Ramadan is also one of the easiest times to quit, because you already go most of the day without a cigarette.

Can you pray after smoking?

Yes. Smoking does not break wudu, but you should not bring the smell to the masjid. The Prophet ﷺ told those who had eaten onions and leeks not to come near the mosque, "for the angels are harmed by the same things as men" (Sahih Muslim 564a). IslamQA applies the same reasoning to the smell of smoke. Rinse your mouth and freshen up before you pray with others.

Most importantly, smoking is never a reason to stop praying. Allah says that prayer "prohibits immorality and wrongdoing" (Qur'an 29:45), and many people find that a steady prayer routine is what finally helps them leave a bad habit.

How can you quit smoking as a Muslim?

Treat it as a real addiction, plan for it, and lean on your prayers. A few things help:

  1. Use Ramadan or another fixed start date. You already know you can go hours without smoking.
  2. Tie quitting to your five prayers. The times you usually smoke, after meals or on breaks, often sit next to a prayer. Pray instead.
  3. Get practical help. The CDC lists counseling and quit-smoking medication as evidence-based ways to quit, and many countries run free quitlines.
  4. Make dua and do not give up after a slip. If you relapse, repent and start again. Allah's mercy is wider than a bad day.

If you want a simple way to keep your prayers steady while you quit, Salah Home lets you log each prayer with a tap, build a streak, and earn Dates to build your own peaceful virtual home. Our guide on whether vaping is haram covers e-cigarettes, and if smoking has left you feeling distant from your faith, read what to do when you feel far from Allah.

Frequently asked questions

Is smoking a major sin in Islam?

Scholars who rule that smoking is haram treat it as a sin because of its proven harm. Deoband and other South Asian Hanafi scholars classify ordinary smoking as makruh, which is disliked but not sinful.

Is smoking haram or makruh?

Most contemporary fatwa bodies, including Egypt's Dar al-Ifta and Malaysia's National Fatwa Council, say haram. Darul Uloom Deoband says makruh tanzihi.

Is hookah less haram than cigarettes?

No. The fatwas cited here give hookah the same ruling, and the CDC says hookah smoke is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke.

Is it haram to sell cigarettes?

Jordan's General Iftaa' Board (Resolution 109, 2006) recommends that people not sell cigarettes, tobacco or hookah, or rent out stores for that purpose.

Does smoking break wudu?

No. Smoking does not break wudu, but you should rinse your mouth and avoid going to the masjid smelling of smoke.

Sources

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