Ruling on praying inside the cockpit, while some members of the aircraft crew smoke?

*Salaamun 'alaykum wa rahmat-ul-lahi wa barakātuh* 

_In the name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) ._

*He was asked, may Allah grant him virtue: What is the ruling on praying inside the cockpit, while some members of the aircraft crew smoke?*

وسئل فضيلة الشيخ: ما حكم الصلاة داخل غرفة القيادة مع أن بعض أفراد طاقم الطائرة يدخن؟

🎙️He answered: The prayer must be performed by a person even if it is in a place with a foul smell. However, I see that whoever is afflicted with smoking should consider the feelings of others; so he should not smoke at all as long as he is on the plane. This is because the smoke rises and spreads among the passengers, and they are harmed by its smell, and it may cause illnesses to others.

فأجاب بقوله: الصلاة لا بد من أن يصليها الإنسان ولو في مكان فيه رائحة كريهة، ولكن أرى أن الذي ابتلي بشرب الدخان يراعي شعور الآخرين؛ فلا يدخن مطلقاً ما دام في الطائرة، فإن الدخان يتصاعد وينتشر بين الركاب فيتأذون برائحته، وقد يسبب أمراضاً للآخرين،

I have been informed that the United States prohibits smoking on planes over its airspace.

وقد بلغني أن الولايات المتحدة تمنع شرب الدخان في الطائرة فوق أجوائها،

🎙️I say: if we were to act upon what we possess of knowledge—that smoking is ḥarām (prohibited), and forbidden according to the principles of Islāmic law—due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: *“Wa lā tulqū bi-aydīkum ilā al-tahlukah” (And do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction),* and the saying of the Messenger ﷺ in the ḥadīth narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: *“Lā ḍarar wa lā ḍirār” (ie: there should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm).*

فأقول لو أننا أخذنا بمقتضى ما عندنا من العلم، من أن شرب الدخان محرم، وممنوع حسب قواعد الشريعة الإسلامية، لقوله تعالى: (وَلا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَة). وقول الرسول صلي الله عليه وسلم في الحديث الذي رواه ابن عباس – رضي الله عنهما – أن رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم قال (لا ضرر ولا ضرار).

Then this sword would be stronger than the sword of the law enacted by the United States.

لكان هذا السيف أقوى من سيف النظام الذي سنته الولايات المتحدة

And we would prohibit people from smoking altogether.

ونمنع الناس من التدخين مطلقاً

*That would be a means of helping them to preserve themselves from that which harms them and harms others.*

لكان ذلك إعانة لهم على حفظ أنفسهم مما يضرهم ويضر الآخرين.

📚 Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwá wa Rasāʿil 15/429 #1157

ابن عثيمين، مجموع فتاوى ورسائل ١٥/٤٢٩ #١١٥٧

*May Allaah accept our ibaadat and forgive our shortcomings.*

_❞Keep Reminding, for Indeed the ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅᴇʀ ʙᴇɴᴇꜰɪᴛs ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇʀ ❝_

*Allaahu l-Musta'aan*