Shisha anyone?! Not the kebab type though

I was recently asked by a mate if Shisha was allowed in Islam which I thought was odd. I'm no authority to give advise on such matters. I don't even smoke Shisha as I have my own personal views why I'm against smoking the substance.

I did reply to my mate and read up on the topic and it seems the general consensus for Shisha is either haraam (forbidden) or Mukruh (disliked).

I decided to blog the email but tailor it so the reader like yourself could make sense of it. Obviously I'm not scholar so I've extracted information which are in favour of my own personal opinions. So I would suggest you do your own searching if you want to understand the judgement on Shisha.

Let me first explain what Shisha is just in case you don't know!

Shisha is a hooka type thing which is used to smoke flavoured tobacco. It consists of a pipe, bowl and base. The tobacco is placed in the bowl and covered in foil. The foil is punctured with a pin to make small holes and hot charcoal is placed on top to heat it. The tobacco is heated and smoked through a pipe which goes from the base where water is used to filter it.
The origin of Shisha is from the Arab world and interesting enough some Muslim countries have banned it.

The first opinion states it is haraam because of the similarities with smoking cigarettes. Just like cigarettes, Shisha involves smoking tobacco. Tobacco has a drug called nicotine which causes diseases including cancer which as you know causes death. Islam does not permit taking substances which are harmful to the body and mind. (Do not kill yourselves - Surah Bakarah). Nicotine can also lead to a physical addiction. Thus scholars have declared Shisha haraam.

The other opinion is that Shisha is Mukrooh. Just like cigarettes, decades ago people weren't discouraged from smoking because scientists didn't fully understand the effects of it on the human body but due to scientific studies and the results of smokers dying after years of smoking have Doctors begun to take the repercussions of smoking. As a result there have been numerous campaigns and incentives to stop smoking in the form of patches, gums and therapy to help give-up. For years Cigarette packets now come with a warning and doctors now discourage smoking because of the link between nicotine and cancer.

So Scholars who state Shisha is mukroh could be said do not understand the repercussions of it later in life. Some cynics of this argument say because the Shisha is filtered in water you don't end up smoking much of the nicotine but the amount of smoke you inhale is more than you do when smoking cigarettes so its nearly as bad if not worse.

Either way the concept remains the same and you are inhaling nicotine and nicotine is a harmful drug which causes death.

Hope that clears up any misconceptions about Shisha because it appears a new concept for youngsters who think its now "cool" to smoke Shisha on Edgware Road.