Fariq Naik – Can I Work in a Tobacco Company

As-salamu alaykum, Sheikh Fariq.

My name is Alois Ubair Ahmed from Malaysia,

and I'm a degree student about to graduate,

inshallah.

Is tobacco halal or haram?

If it is haram, can I still work

in a tobacco-based company such as in

the marketing department or human resource department?

The salary or the benefits that I get

from this company, is it haram?

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the

glorious Qur'an, in Surah Al-Baqarah, chapter

number 2, verse number 168, يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ

كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا

فُطْوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ O you who believe, eat of

the good things that we have provided for

you, and do not follow the footsteps of

the devil.

So whatever is good for us, we should

eat.

Whatever is good for us, we should eat.

And certain things Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

has prohibited for us.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in

the glorious Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah, chapter

number 2, verse number 195, وَأَنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ

اللَّهِ وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ And do

not let your hands be a cause of

your own destruction.

We know tobacco, it is harmful and injurious

to health.

According to WHO, that is the World Health

Organization, it states and it says that every

year 8 million people are killed due to

the consumption of tobacco.

Out of these 8 million people, majority of

them, it is due to smoking, which is

one of the main uses of tobacco.

And out of these 8 million people, 1

.3 million people, they are passive smokers, not

active smokers.

So when a person is smoking, besides harming

and injuring, causing injury and damage to his

body, he is even harming those around him

when he is smoking in a public place.

And passive smoking is more harmful than active

smoking.

And there are various diseases that a person

can get because of cigarette smoking.

It can cause lung cancer, it can damage

the internal organs, it can damage the mouth,

it causes blackening of the lips, blackening of

the teeth and various other diseases.

It can even harm the respiratory system, it

can even harm the lungs.

And statistics say that every puff a person

smokes, his lifespan reduces by a few minutes.

That's the reason it is clearly mentioned on

the packets of cigarettes or on the boxes

of cigarettes.

And this is compulsory.

It is written, smoking kills or smoking is

injurious to health.

And many a times we see on the

packets or on the boxes of cigarettes, there

are pictures of, for example, a person whose

mouth is hugely damaged because of cigarette smoking

and pictures of the lungs, how they are

damaged because of cigarette smoking.

All of this, it is present on many

of the boxes of cigarettes.

Even though it is present, yet people, they

smoke.

And yet this is a huge revenue for

majority of the countries in the world, unfortunately.

And the big companies, they know that even

though they put this on the cigarette packets

that smoking kills, yet people, those who smoke,

they will yet buy the cigarettes.

Because they know that this is an addiction.

And tobacco, the main form or the main

way in which tobacco is consumed, it is

in the form of cigarettes.

There are other ways of consumption as well.

For example, you have e-cigarettes, you have

the beedi, that is the lower form of

cigarette that is mainly used in the Indian

subcontinent.

Then you have hookah, you also have, tobacco

is used in paans.

Paan is a kind of betel leaf and

inside that tobacco is used.

So tobacco-based paans are used wherein people,

they eat these paans.

So all forms of tobacco and consumption of

tobacco in any form, it is haram, it

is prohibited.

Unfortunately, we see many Muslims, they consume tobacco,

whether it be in the form of cigarettes,

whether it be in the form of hookah,

whether it be in the form of paans,

etc.

Unfortunately, many Muslims, they work in such companies.

Now coming to your question that can you

work in a tobacco-based company, but naturally

no.

Because the main source of income, it is

haram of this company.

Unfortunately, many Muslims, they work in such companies.

Working in a tobacco-based company, whether it

be in the marketing department, whether it be

in the human resource department, any department in

the tobacco-based company, it is prohibited, it

is haram for a Muslim to work.

We see that many Muslims, they have companies

and they are businesses of tobacco.

Unfortunately, which goes against the teachings of Islam.

So we should see to it that we

follow the teachings of Islam.

And majority of the scholars, they say that

consuming tobacco, it is haram, it is prohibited.

And we know it very well that it

hugely damages our health.

And a person can get several diseases just

by the consumption of tobacco.

So all the people who are smoking cigarettes

or consuming tobacco, I would request them that

to quit.

And we pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta

'ala that may he help all the brothers

and sisters, those who are involved in smoking,

those who consume tobacco, may Allah subhanahu wa

ta'ala help them quit tobacco.

And we need to put those people who

consume tobacco, they need to put in efforts

in order to quit smoking.

There are several incidences of people who, when

they make a strong determination to stop smoking,

they stop it, many of them stop it

immediately.

So having a strong determination, it is very

important.

So because the main source of income of

these tobacco-based companies, it is haram, it

is prohibited to work in such a company.

But if a person, he is working in

a hotel and he is working for example

as a receptionist and the main source of

income of this hotel, it is not haram.

So he can work in this hotel and

this hotel, it serves alcohol.

But the alcohol, it is only served for

example in the restaurant or when there is

room service etc.

But the main source of income of this

hotel, it is not haram.

So as long as he does not serve

alcohol, he does not work as a waiter

and he does not serve alcohol, there is

no problem in him working in this hotel.

For example, if he works as a receptionist

or for example as a security guard etc.,

there is no problem in working in such

a hotel because a minor portion of the

income, it is through the sale of alcohol

and he is not involved directly.

For example, he is not serving or he

is not working as a waiter.

I hope that answers your question.