Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is smoking haram? Also, what does one say to those who believe “ijtihad has been closed for a thousand years and everything thereafter is bida”
Walaikum assalam,
1. A lot of major contemporary scholars hold smoking to be haram or prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) and sinful This is because of its great individual and societal harms. Such fatwas have been given by many scholars, from all four madhhabs, for the last 250+ years, even before modern medical evidence…
2. However, other say that it is only absolutely prohibited when someone habitually smokes an amount from which serious harm may normally be feared. Otherwise, it is somewhat disliked (makruh tanzihan). This is a matter of scholarly difference. However, in both cases, it is agreed that smoking is something Allah does not like, and which wastes money, life, and health.
3. As for those who deny the possibility of true ijtihad: The Qur’an says, “Bring your proof if you are indeed true.”
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.