Selling Cigarettes Is Forbidden

8-5-2001 | IslamWeb

Question:

Can I sell cigarettes?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Smoking is Haram (prohibited) due to its many harmful effects and bad consequences. This is a well-known and generally accepted fact. No one can doubt or refute this truth. Harms of smoking have been proved through evidence from eminent doctors. Tobacco used for smoking is bad while Almighty Allah has made lawful to His Slaves all that is good and useful and forbidden that which is bad and harmful.

Allah Says (what means): {They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say, “Lawful for you are [all] good foods.} [Quran 5:4]

In brief smoking is a means of killing oneself slowly and Almighty Allah has forbidden killing oneself. So no one should deny this prohibition.

On the other hand, everything which is forbidden in the Sharee’ah, selling it, buying it, or practicing any other kinds of dealing with it, is also forbidden in the Sharee’ah.

The evidence for this ruling is the Hadeeth in which the Prophet said: “When Allah forbids eating something, He also forbids its price.” [Ahmad and Abu Dawood] Based on this Hadeeth selling cigarettes or any other forbidden matter is forbidden.

Allah knows best.