The Ruling on Selling Cigarettes
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Shaykh Mashhoor Hasan Aal Salmaan (hafidhahullaah)
ON SELLING CIGARETTES1 _____________
What's the ruling on selling cigarettes? Answer: Cigarettes are haraam and hundreds of 'Ulama have ruled cigarettes to be haraam, our Lord has said,
ƂƊƮÊƟƖăƦăƼƒdzơ ĄǶÊȀąȈƊǴăǟ ĄǵďǂăƸĄȇăȁ ÊƩƢăƦďȈōǘdzơ ĄǶĄȀ Ɗdz ŎDzÊƸĄȇăȁƃ Cigarettes are evil and filthy, and there are also instinctive evidences which indicate the "...and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the filth of evil..." for example is fasting in Ramadaan and cigarettes. If a man who is crazy for a cigarette then the
{al-A'raaf (7): 157} adhaan in the masjid is called is it permissible for him to light a cigarette in the masjid? There is only one answer: no! However, is it permissible for him to go to the toilet and light up a cigarette? The answer is yes. From the realities, which are from the universal Sunnahs in creation, are that there are no animals or insects which go near tobacco leaves before they are used for manufacturing cigarettes,
2
and the lands wherein tobacco is grown and cultivated does
not accept 1
http://www.almenhaj.net/makal.php?linkid=674
Translator's Note: Nicotiana tabacum (the tobacco plant) is used as an insecticide and as a natural pesticide, 2 the tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum) synthesizes nicotine to defend itself from attack by herbivores (animals that feed on plants) and as a convenient way of storing nitrogen temporarily. In fact, apart from a few of tobacco's
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The Ruling on Selling Cigarettes
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other plants. Cigarettes are from the things today which cause harm and the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wassallam) said "There should be neither be harm nor causing harm" affects others and it
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so harm
thus deemed as harmful. Cigarettes affect children and what is known today for certain is that the child of a non-smoker is much more intelligent than the child of one who smokes. child
4
The
of the non-smoker has much stronger defences against illnesses than the child of a smoker. Cigarettes are haraam and most 'Ulama past and present have judged it to be filthy and harmful, so whatever is judged to be haraam is also haraam to sell, purchase, cultivate and manufacture, the wealth that is gained through selling cigarettes is haraam and whoever works in manufacturing cigarettes then his money from that job is haraam.
close relatives, there are no other living organism that makes nicotine. Birds vomit and experience all sorts of illnesses upon consumption of tobacco leaves. Hadeeth reported on the authority of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree (radi Allaahu 'anhu) with a good isnad by Ibn
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Maajah and ad-Daaraqutnee and Imaam Maalik in his Muwatta' but with a broken isnad. [TN] 4
Smoking causes cognitive dysfunction and for the smoker there is an increased chance of Alzheimer's disease
and a more rapid decline in cognitive abilities. Smoking also leads to a reduced memory and cognitive abilities. [TN]
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