A woman may choose a husband who is a smoker if she wants to, said Dr. Qais Bin Muhammad Aal Al-Sheikh Mubarak, a member of the Board of Senior Ulema. “Being a smoker does not affect the legality of a marriage contract,” he said. The family is the nucleus of society. As such, he said, the Shariah focuses on ways to strengthen a marital relationship and warns against things that weaken or disrupt it, Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported. “One thing that strengthens the matrimonial bonds is that the husband and wife should not have habits that might be annoying to each other. Muslim jurists call it fitness and by that they mean how fit a husband is for his wife and vice versa. The better the husband and wife fit with each other, the stronger their relationship. The Shariah avoids all acts that might cause matrimonial differences and threaten the happiness of both spouses.” However, Sheikh Mubarak said a woman has the right to choose a husband who might be less of a fit for her in terms of social status, wealth, health and strength of religion and the husband has the same rights as well. Moreover, the woman, Sheikh Mubarak added, has the right to accept a husband who is blind or leper as long as he was a Muslim. “Being a smoker is a disadvantage and many Muslim scholars say it is haram but it is not one of the conditions that affect the legality of marriage. At the end of the day, the woman has the final say on whether to accept or reject a smoking husband.” Sheikh Mubarak said it is not right to say that it is haram to marry a smoker husband because such a ruling might lead to marriage breakups.
