The following article written by one of contemporary renowned scholar, Dr. Yusuf Al-Qardawi, which was published originally in The Muslim Standard, of June 1977.
Definitions
Islam established a number of principles which constitute a solid base for differentiating between Halal and Haram. The basic principles are:
- The rule is that everything is Halal unless explicitly forbidden.
- Only Allah has the right to legislate for man.
- Prohibiting Halal and permitting Haram is synonymous with
- Haram is always associated with what is bad and harmful.
- There is always a better substitute in Halal for that which is made Haram.
- Anything that leads to Haram is considered Haram.
- It is Haram to declare something Halal when it is manifestly Haram.
- Good intentions do not justify committing Haram.
- One should guard oneself against matters that are on the borderline between Halal and Haram (Mushtabahat).
- In extreme circumstances, Haram is permissible within certain limits.
As long as there is no automatic statement from the Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that a particular things is forbidden, then it is considered Halal. Muslim scholars found authority for this principle in these clear verses of the Qur’an:
“And He has subjected to you what is in the Heavens and what is in the Earth, all together from Him.” (45:13) “Have you not seen how Allah has subjected to you whatsoever is in the Heavens and Earth, and He has lavished on you His blessings, inward and outward.” (31:20) If Allah has created things and harnessed them for man’s use, then it cannot be true that Allah would deprive him by making them unlawful. He has made lawful certain things for good reasons, with great wisdom. Therefore the forbidden area in the Islamic Shariah is considerably small. This is explained in this saying of the prophet: “The lawful is what Allah has made lawful in His Book and the unlawful is that which He made unlawful. What he has left out is a mercy from Him, so accept Allah’s mercy. Surely Allah would not forget a thing.” Then the Prophet peace be upon him, read from the Qur’an: “And the Lord is never forgetful.”(19:64)
Islam declares that the legislating authority is that of Allah only, thus taking it away from the people whatever status they enjoy, whether they be priests or kings. Nobody is allowed to forbid something that Allah has permitted. If he did so he would be exceeding the limits set by Allah and claiming to himself what is a divine attribute of Allah. Moreover, those who accept and follow this man-made legislation will also be held responsible. Concerning the Mushriks (those who seek partners with Allah), the Qur’an says “. . . or have they associates who have laid down for them as religion that for which Allah gave not leave?” (42:21)
The Qur’an also blames the people of the Book for handing the legislative authority to their priests. “They have taken their rabbis and their monks as Lord apart from Allah, and the Messiah, Mary’s son and they were commanded to serve but one Allah; there is no god but He; Glory be to Him above that they associate.” (9:31) It is narrated that Ibn Hatim who was Christian before becoming Muslim, once heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, reading that verse in Sura AI Taubah. Ibn Hatim exclaimed: “Messenger of Allah, but they (the Christians) have not worshipped their rabbis and monks?” The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, “yes they have. They forbade them what is lawful and allowed them what is forbidden and the people followed them. This is how they worshipped them.” The Qur’an also blames the idolaters for forbidding and allowing things without Allah’s leave: “say: Have you considered the provision Allah has sent down for you, and you have made some of them unlawful and some lawful?” “say: Has Allah given you leave or so you forge a lie against Allah?”
For these verse and ahadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, Muslim scholars were aware that only Allah has the right to legislate either in His Book, or through His Prophet, peace be upon him. They also understood that their task in Fiqh was to be more than to clarity to the people Allah’s judgement regarding Halal and Haram. Early Muslim scholars used to be very cautious in passing judgement concerning Halal and Haram. We should learn from them and never call something Haram unless we have definite authority for saying so.
Islam fought against those who forbade what is good and lawful, as it carried the danger of making life difficult and derived man from Allah’s mercy. Islam does not approve of this attitude. Also the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “I have been sent (by Allah) with the true and easy religion.” The Qur’an strongly condemned the pagans of Arabia for their Shirk and forbidding lawful things like cattle. They used to declare Haram to eat some animals or to ride on them or to prevent them from water and pasture for various baseless reasons. The Qur’an condemns this attitude when it declares: “Allah has not appointed cattle dedicated to idols, such as Bahira, Sa’oba, Wasila Hami; but the unbelievers forge against Allah falsehood, and most of them have no understanding. And when it is said to them, ‘come now to what Allah has sent down, and the Messenger, they says: Enough for us what we have found our fathers doing.” What, even if their fathers had no knowledge of naught and were not guided?” (5:104)
In chapter 7 there is another similar verse indicating broadly what Allah has truly forbidden: “say: ‘Who has forbidden the ornament of Allah which He brought forth for His servants and the good things of His providing?’ Say, these, on the day of resurrection, shall be exclusively for those who believed in this present life, so We distinguish the signs for a people who know! ‘My Lord has only forbidden indecencies the inward and the outward, and sin, and unjust insolence, and that you associate with Allah that for which He never sent down authority and that you say concerning Allah such as you know not.’’’ (7:32-33)
Having created man and bestowed upon him immeasurable blessings, Allah has the right to declare what is permitted and what is forbidden. He, also, has the right to command man with whatever acts of worship He desires. Man, being the creation and the subject of Allah, has to obey. Allah, however, being the Most Merciful and Compassionate, allowed only good things and forbade bad things for the benefit of man himself. It is true that Allah forbade the Jews some of the good things, but this was as a penalty due to their transgression and exceeding Allah’s limits, as explained in this verse in chapter 4: “And for the evil doing of those Jewry. We Have forbidden them certain good things and that were permitted to them and for their barring from Allah’s way. And for taking usury that they were prohibited, and We have prepared for the unbelievers among them a painful chastisement.”
When Allah sent His last Messenger with the message of Islam, it was a sign of His mercy that He lifted this hardship which was only a temporary punishment for a stubborn people. This is the essence of Islam as prophesied in the Torah and the Gospel, as the Qur’an says: “I shall prescribe it (Allah’s mercy) for those who are Godfearing and pay the Alms and those who indeed believe in Our signs, those who follow the Messenger, the prophet of the common folk, whom they find written down for them in the Torah and the Gospel, binding them to honor, making lawful for them the good things and making unlawful for them the corrupt things and relieving them of their loads and the fetters that were upon them. . . .” (7:156-157)
In Islam, man could seek for forgiveness from Allah in a number of ways rather than forbidding themselves what is good and pure. It includes sincere repentance which abolishes sin, the good deeds that compensate for the bad deeds and giving charity. There is also the hardship and difficulties with which Allah tests the believers. It is thus well established in Islam that what is purely useful or its usefulness excels its harm is Halal and what is harmful or its harm excels its usefulness is Haram. As a step toward forbidding alcohol and gambling, Allah states in the Qur’an: “They will question you concerning wine and arrow shuffling, say: in both is heinous sin, and uses for men, but the sin in them is more heinous than the usefulness.” (2:219) A general definition of what is Halal is that what is good by the standard of a moderate person without any bias to certain habit, Allah said: ‘They will question thee what is permitted to them, say: The good things are permitted to you. . . . .” (5:4) It is not essential that the Muslims should know in detail all the reasons as to why a certain things is forbidden, as that which is unknown today may be clear tomorrow. The believers would always say: “We hear and we obey” An example of this is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, warned Muslims from three bad things that would raise the anger of both Allah, and the people - answering nature’s call in running water, public roads and in the shade. The early Muslim understood these as bad behavior, indecent and of bad taste. In our days, we are aware how dangerous these are to the public health, as they contribute to the spread of many diseases. As our knowledge increases so is our understanding of the merits of Islamic teachings regarding Halal and Haram, in fact, all aspects of the Islamic Shari ‘ah.
One of the merits of Islam is that is shows towards people in that whenever it forbids something it provides a better substitute to replace it. Islam forbids usury but allows profitable business. Islam forbids gambling, but allows winning prizes in contests of shooting, racing, wrestling. Islam forbids adultery but urges the Muslims to get married as soon as they can support a family. Islam forbids drinking alcohol but allows all other good and healthy drinks. Islam forbids what is bad in food but allows what is good and nourishing. The same principle can be traced all through the teaching of Islam. Whenever there is an apparent difficulty in one direction there is much relief in another. Allah does not wish any hardship to His people, on the contrary He guides them toward goods: “Allah desires to make clear to you, and to guide you in the institutions of those before you, and to turn towards you; Allah is All Knowing, All Wise; and Allah desires to turn towards you, but those who follows their lusts desire you to swerve you away mightily. Allah desires to lighten things for you, for man was created weakling.” (4:26-28)
Whenever Islam forbids something, it also forbids all the means that could lead to it. While forbidding adultery, for example, Islam also forbids all the circumstances that might possibly lead to it such as irresponsible intermingling of the sexes, permissive literature and pornography. It also commands Muslims to lower their gazes and dress decently. Judging by this, Muslim scholars concluded that whatever could lead towards Haram would also be Haram. Similarly in committing Haram, sin will not be limited to the direct doer alone but would extend to include all those who have participated in it one way or another. The penalty would be shared among them in proportion to their participation or contribution. For example, the Prophet, peace be upon him, condemned those who drink alcohol, those who made it, those who carry it, those who sell it, and so on. Also in taking usury both the borrower and the lender would share that sin.
While restricting the ways that could lead to Haram, Islam also makes it Haram to commit Haram through hideous and indirect ways. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said; “Do not do what the Jews have done; Do not commit what Allah has made Haram, with the silliest of tricks.” This is because the Jews were ordered not to fish on Saturdays. To get around this, they used to prepare their fishing gear of Friday and put it into the sea so that fishes would fall into it on Saturday for them to catch on Sunday. Though this might seem in order for the one who wishes to be around the forbidden act, yet it is Haram in Islam’s view. What is meant by Allah’s order was to refrain from catching fish on Saturday whether directly or indirectly. Among other new tricks, is giving misleading names to Haram objects, for example, the different names given to alcohol, taking usury and illegal relations between sexes.
Islam appreciates the individual’s intentions in all its directives and teachings. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “The outcome of deeds depends on the intentions and every person will have what he has intended to do.” With good intentions, performance of mundane practices that are Halal becomes an act of obedience to Allah and brings His pleasure. Regarding Haram, however, the case is different. Whatever good intentions the doer might have and how noble his objectives could be, Islam does not accept Haram methods to be used as a means for achieving good ends. This is because Islam emphasizes both the means and the ends to be noble, and never accepts the principle of “ends justify the means.” Thus, earning money through dealing in usury, gambling or any other illegal means to spend on building mosques or other charitable objects is not acceptable to Islam. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Allah is good, He accepts only the good, and Allah has commanded the believers with what He commanded His messengers, saying “O, Messenger, eat of the good things and do righteousness; surely I know the things you do.” (23:51) And Allah also said: “Believers, eat of the good things wherewith We provide you.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, then mentioned the example of a man traveling a long distance (for hajj) his face and hair stained with dust stretches his hands in his prayers asking favors from Allah while his food is Haram and his clothes are bought Haram money. How could it be that Allah listens to his prayers?
On the borderline between the Halal and Haram, there lies an area which could bring some confusion. This could be due to various ways of interpreting a rule or due to differences in authority concerning it. Islam recommends Muslims to keep away from these “Mushtabahat” in order to guard themselves from committing actual Haram. This principle originates from the flowing Hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him: “What is Halal is clear and what Is Haram is clear. Midway between them are things which many people do not know whether they are Halal or Haram. He also keeps away from them will protect his religion and will be saved. He who approaches them will be very near to Haram, like a herdsman wandering near Hima (the place set by king to be used for his cattle only), who could soon fall into this protected area and Allah’s protected are what He declared forbidden.”
In Islam, what is Haram is Haram for all the people and likewise what is Halal is Halal for all the people. There are no privileges enjoyed by certain caste or group enabling them to do whatever they like, be they kings or monks. Theft, for example, is Haram, whether the thief or his victim is Muslim or a non-Muslim. The thief will face the charge and pay the penalty whatever his status. This is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, meant when he said: “By Allah, had Fatima committed theft I would have cut off her hand.
Islam does not ignore the fact that man is weak in certain trying circumstances and could endanger his life. It is, therefore, allowed for a Muslim under extreme pressure to take off what is normally Haram, to enable him to survive. Allah mentioned in the Qur’an immediately after the enumerating types of food: “Yet, whoso is constrained, not desiring nor transgressing, no sin shall be on him; Allah is All Forgiving, All Compassionate.”(2:173) It is important to notice that the verse defines he who is constrained as being one also not desiring to commit Haram for its sake and without going beyond the limits of his need. A Muslim should never commit Haram unless he is forced to, and even then he does the minimum that would justify his urgent need. The spirit of Islam is that it desires things to be easy for Muslims: “Allah desires ease for you, and desires not hardship for you.”(2:185) “Allah desires to lighten things for you, for man was created a weakling.” (4:28)
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