The Islamic views on tobacco vary by region. Though tobacco or smoking in general is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran or hadith, contemporary scholars have condemned it as potentially harmful, and have at times prohibited smoking outright (declared it ) as a result of the severe health damage that it causes. A tobacco fatwa is a fatwa (Islamic legal pronouncement) that prohibits the usage of tobacco by Muslims. Arab Muslims tend to prohibit smoking (despite Saudi Arabia ranking 23rd in the world for the percentage of its population that smokes) and, in South Asia, smoking tends to be considered lawful but discouraged. For many Muslims, the legal status of smoking has changed during recent years, and numerous fatwas, including from notable authorities such as Al-Azhar University in Cairo, now consider smoking haram (prohibited). The reasons cited in support of the reclassification of smoking as prohibited include Islamic law's general prohibition of all actions that result in harm. For example, the Quran says, "And spend of your substance in the cause of God, and make not your own hands contribute to your own destruction." Additionally, jurists rely on the exhortations in the Quran not to waste money. Greater appreciation of the risks associated with secondhand smoke has also led recent jurists to cite the obligation to avoid causing willful annoyance, distress, or harm to other people. Fatwas condemning smoking have been issued in Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco (pre-colonial), Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, among others. History The earliest fatwa regarding smoking was issued in Morocco in 1602. Following the introduction of tobacco to the kingdom in 1598, King Ahmad al-Mansur sought guidance from religious scholars in Fez. The kingdom's Grand Mufti and the Wali of Sila both ruled that smoking was forbidden in Islam. This ruling failed to have much effect on tobacco use in the kingdom, leading the Mufti to issue a second ruling forbidding its use, as the use of all "intoxicants and harmful substances" is forbidden in Islam. This categorical prohibition was unsuccessful, and the Mufti and the other scholars who joined him in his ruling were either killed by a mob angry at this ruling or fled the country. In recent years, tobacco fatwas (Islamic legal pronouncements) have been issued due to health concerns. The Qur'ān, does not specifically prohibit or denounce smoking, but gives behavioral guidance: “Don't throw yourself