Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 87

(Ayah 87) {لَا تُحَرِّمُوْا طَيِّبٰتِ مَاۤ اَحَلَّ اللّٰهُ لَكُمْ …: } After the discussion with the Jews and Christians regarding breaking covenants, now attention is again directed to the main subject, that is, the explanation of {’’اَوْفُوْا بِالْعُقُوْدِ ‘‘}, which is the fundamental topic of this surah. (Qurtubi, Razi) After praising the monks of the Christians, forbidding the declaration of pure things as unlawful was even more appropriate because they had included such things in acts of piety, therefore the believers were prohibited from this. Allah Almighty said regarding monasticism: «وَ رَهْبَانِيَّةَ اِبْتَدَعُوْهَا مَا كَتَبْنٰهَا عَلَيْهِمْ » [ الحدید : ۲۷ ] "And monasticism—they invented it themselves; We did not prescribe it for them."

Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says that to abstain from something that is clearly lawful in the Shariah is bad; this happens in two ways: one is through asceticism, which is monasticism, and this is not liked in our religion. Instead, one should adopt taqwa, that is, not go near prohibited things. Secondly, if someone swears an oath not to do a permissible (lawful) act, this too is not better; he should break the oath and pay the expiation." (Mowdih) Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that three men came to the houses of the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), inquiring about the worship of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When they were informed about it, it was as if they considered it little and said, "What comparison do we have with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? His past and future sins have been forgiven." One of them said, "I will pray all night and never sleep." The second said, "I will fast continuously and never break my fast." The third said, "I will keep away from women and never marry." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said, "Are you the people who said such and such? By Allah! I am the most fearful of Allah and most conscious of Him among you, but I fast and I also do not fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me." [ مسلم، النکاح، باب استحباب النکاح لمن تاقت نفسہ… : ۱۴۰۱۔ بخاری : ۵۰۶۳ ] There are several other narrations in this regard, some of which explicitly state that this verse was revealed on such an occasion. Thus, Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that we used to fight in battles with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and we did not have our wives with us, so we said, "Should we not castrate ourselves?" But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us from this, then he permitted us to marry women temporarily with a garment, then he recited this verse: «يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تُحَرِّمُوْا طَيِّبٰتِ» [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب قولہ تعالٰی : {یأیہا الذین آمنوا …} : ۴۶۱۵ ] It should be noted that after this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made mut'ah permanently unlawful. Thus, Sabrah (bin Ma'bad) (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O people! I had permitted you to contract mut'ah with women, but indeed Allah has made it unlawful until the Day of Resurrection, so whoever has any such women with him, let him leave them, and do not take back anything you have given them." [ مسلم، النکاح، باب نکاح المتعۃ وبیان أنہ … : 1406/21 ]

87. 1. It is mentioned in a hadith that a person came to the Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allah! When I eat meat, carnal desire overcomes me, so I have made meat forbidden upon myself." Upon this, the verse was revealed. In addition to the reason for revelation, it is also established from other narrations that some companions, for the sake of asceticism and worship, wanted to abstain from some lawful things (for example, from marrying women, sleeping at night, and eating and drinking during the day). When this matter came to the knowledge of the Prophet, he forbade them. Hazrat Uthman bin Maz'un had also withdrawn from his wife; upon his wife's complaint, the Prophet stopped him as well (books of hadith). In any case, from this verse and hadith, it is understood that it is not permissible to declare any of the things made lawful by Allah as forbidden, or to abstain from them without reason, whether it relates to food and drink, beverages, clothing, or desirable and lawful wishes. Issue: In this way, if a person declares something forbidden upon himself, it will not become forbidden except in the case of a woman. However, in this case, some scholars say that he will have to pay the expiation for an oath, and according to some, expiation is not necessary. Imam Shawkani says that this is supported by authentic ahadith because the Prophet ﷺ did not order anyone to pay the expiation for an oath. Imam Ibn Kathir states that after this verse, Allah has mentioned the expiation for an oath, from which it is understood that declaring a lawful thing forbidden is at the level of taking an oath, which requires expiation. But this reasoning, in the presence of authentic ahadith, is questionable. So the correct view is what Shawkani has said.

87. O you who believe! Why do you make unlawful [131] the pure things which Allah has made lawful for you? And do not transgress. Surely, Allah does not like those who transgress.

[131]
The Group That Declares Lawful Things as Unlawful and Its Forms:

It has already been mentioned that, from the perspective of Shariah, all things are permissible and lawful for humans except those things whose prohibition has been clarified by Shariah. Now, in this verse and the following verse, a few comprehensive principles regarding benefiting from lawful things have been stated, and all of these fall under the scope of "la ta'tadu" (do not transgress), for example:
(1) Do not, out of belief or practice, declare as unlawful those things which Allah has made lawful. For instance, people of a Sufi disposition avoid marriage in practice because the responsibilities that come with marriage, in their view, hinder the worship of Allah. Such people existed among Christians as well as among Muslims, and this tendency even emerged among the Companions. Among the Sufi-inclined Companions, one said, "I will never marry," and another said, "I will spend the entire night in worship of Allah," thereby neglecting the rights of their own bodies, wives, and guests. Another said, "I will always fast during the day." When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ learned of these things, he strongly admonished those Companions and said, "I am the Messenger of Allah and the one who fears Allah the most among you, and I have married. I sleep at night and also stand (in prayer), and I fast (voluntary) and also leave it; this is my way, and whoever turns away from my Sunnah has nothing to do with me." [بخاري۔ كتاب النكاح۔ باب الترغيب فى النكاح]
The second form is to eat less than what the body needs, or much less, or to avoid desirable things. This is also found among the Sufi group, whose belief is that the more the body is weakened and emaciated, the stronger the soul becomes. The concept of monasticism is also completely contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophet. The third form of excess is overeating, as it is said: ﴿وَّكُلُوْا وَاشْرَبُوْا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوْا﴾ [الاعراف :31] and spending more than necessary on oneself is also included in this. It is obvious that a person who is involved in these things will not care for the rights of others. Moreover, overeating not only makes a person heedless of the remembrance of Allah, but also leads to various physical ailments and diseases. The fourth form of transgression is that the thing itself is lawful, but a person makes it unlawful by the way it is acquired, such as wealth obtained through theft, robbery, usurpation, betrayal, interest, and other unlawful means. And this too falls under ﴿لَا تُحَرِّمُوْا طَيِّبٰتِ مَآ اَحَلَّ اللّٰهُ لَكُمْ﴾ [المآئده :87]. And the majority of the Jews were afflicted with these very diseases.