Shisha smoking forbidden for Muslims

Muslims in Malaysia have been told that shisha or water-pipe smoking is forbidden, according to a story in The Star.
The Fatwa (edicts) Committee of the National Council for Islamic Affairs declared on Friday that shisha smoking was “haram” (forbidden) for Muslims.

And the committee chairman, Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin, added that Muslims were prohibited from providing shisha-smoking services or any activity associated with shisha.

The latest edict follows a reminder issued last month by the Muzakarah Committee of the National Fatwa Council for Islamic Religious Affairs of a 1995 prohibition on smoking in general.

It was not clear why it was thought necessary to issue a separate edict against shisha.

“After listening to the experts from the Health Ministry and scrutinising medical and scientific evidence from the country and abroad on the ill-effects of shisha, the committee decided to prohibit shisha,” Abdul Shukor said in a statement announcing the latest edict.

“Shisha is clearly harmful to health; it is a wasteful activity that is categorized as a bad or despicable thing that all Muslims should avoid,” said Abdul Shukor.