Hukm Shurb al-Dukhan wa Imamat man yatajahar bihi
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Hukm Shurb al-Dukhan wa Imamat man yatajahar bihi (Arabic: حكم شرب الدخان وإمامة من يتجاهر به, "The Ruling on Smoking Tobacco and Leading Prayer for One Who Openly Engages in It") is a concise legal treatise by the Saudi Arabian scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) . The work examines the Islamic legal prohibition of tobacco use and evaluates the validity of congregational prayers led by individuals who openly consume it .
Background and Composition
The treatise was composed in response to inquiries submitted to Ibn Baz regarding the legal status of smoking tobacco and praying behind open smokers, with the questioner observing that the practice had become widespread among people . A formal issuance of the text was recorded from Ibn Baz's office on 11 Jumada al-Ula 1417 AH .
Contents and Legal Arguments
The treatise focuses on two primary legal questions:
- The Prohibition of Tobacco: Ibn Baz rules that consuming and selling tobacco is unlawful (haram) under Islamic jurisprudence due to its noxious quality (khubth) and extensive harm, including fatal illnesses . He bases this on Quranic passages permitting only wholesome things (al-tayyibat) and prohibiting impure or harmful substances (al-khaba'ith), such as وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ (Al-A'raf: 157) and يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ (Al-Ma'idah: 4), as well as verses establishing divine wisdom and compassion, and the legal maxim expressed in the prophetic tradition لا ضرر ولا ضرار ("There should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm") .
- Prayer Behind Open Sinners: Regarding the leadership of prayer (imamah), Ibn Baz notes that upright and righteous individuals ought to be appointed to lead congregational prayer, citing the hadiths يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله ("The one who is most versed in the Book of Allah shall lead the people") and إذا حضرت الصلاة فليؤذن لكم أحدكم وليؤمكم أكبركم ("When prayer time arrives, let one of you call the adhan and let the eldest of you lead you") . Addressing the scholarly disagreement over praying behind a sinner (fasiq), he records that while some jurists invalidated prayer behind sinners due to deficient faith, others considered it valid because the imam is a Muslim whose own prayer is valid. Ibn Baz supports the latter view as preponderant (al-rajih), citing the precedent of Companions such as Abd Allah ibn Umar praying behind al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, while maintaining that such individuals should not deliberately be chosen as imams when upright people are available .
Published editions of the treatise also feature an informational supplement citing a report from CQ Researcher (dated September 30, 1994) on tobacco legislation, the addictive properties of nicotine, medical data on smoking-related mortality and diseases, and regulatory measures in the West .
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