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The use of Marijuana and Cannabis for medicinal purposes

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by TheMufti.com

Q. The constitutional court of South Africa has ruled that the personal use of Dagga is not a criminal offence. Is it considered an offence is Islam?


A. In terms of Shariah, Marijuana/Dagga is an intoxicant and holds the ruling of prohibition as is the case of all other intoxicants.

Umm Salamah Radhiyallahu Anha says, “Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam prohibited every intoxicant and those (substances) which slacken a person’s mind.” (Abu Dawood 3/329)

Based on the above Hadith and many other Ahadith, the usage of Marijuana in normal circumstances is prohibited. However, in the case of using Marijuana for medical or medicinal purposes, the usage of Marijuana will be considered permissible if advised by an expert Muslim doctor and if there are no permissible alternatives available. (Shaami 6/457-Fataawa Haqqaniyyah 2/394)

In terms of using certain strains of cannabis (cannabis oils etc. which have High-CBD and very low to zero levels of THC), it varies from the use of Marijuana i.e. they are void of the elements that causes intoxication (THC). If one is suffering from depression, anxiety etc., then it will be permissible for one to take aid from cannabis that have zero levels of intoxication through consumption or application.

Note: The extent of permissibility to use such cannabis products i.e. oils, seeds etc. for consumption or application purposes is that it must not lead to intoxication.

The use of Marijuana for recreational purposes is unlawful.

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

This answer was collected from TheMufti.com, which is a fatwa portal managed by Mufti Ismaeel Bassa from South Africa.

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