Declaring the Lawful as Unlawful

Authored by: Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (رحمہ اللہ)
Translated by: Maulana Mukhtar Ahmad Nadwi (حفظ اللہ)

Allah's Rebuke to the Ignorant Practices of Jahiliyyah​

The people of Jahiliyyah would declare things unlawful that Allah had made lawful. Allah refuted their practices in the following verses:

"يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ ٭ قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ قُلْ هِيَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كَذَلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ٭ قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالْإِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَنْ تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّـهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَأَنْ تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ"

"O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess. Say, 'Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?' Say, 'They are for those who believe during the worldly life [but] exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.' Thus do We detail the verses for a people who know. Say, 'My Lord has only forbidden immoralities—what is apparent of them and what is concealed—and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know.'" (Surah Al-A'raf 7:31-33)

Explanation of the Verses​

1. Covering and Adorning Oneself for Worship
   The verse commands the children of Adam to wear appropriate clothing during prayer and tawaf to conceal their private parts. This was revealed to counter the Jahiliyyah practice of performing tawaf around the Ka'bah while naked. Even women would participate in this disgraceful act, reciting:
   "اليوم يبدوا بعضه ادكله . . . وما بدامنه فلا احله"
   "Today, part of it will appear, and whatever appears, I do not make it lawful."
2. Prohibition of Declaring Lawful Things as Unlawful
   The Jahiliyyah Arabs also abstained from consuming fat and eating adequately during pilgrimage, believing it to be a form of piety. Allah addressed this by saying:
   "كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا"
   "Eat and drink but do not be excessive."
   This clarified that making lawful things unlawful and overstepping bounds in religious practices are acts of transgression, which Allah does not love.
3. The Lawfulness of Adornments and Provisions
   Allah challenges those who forbid what He has made lawful:
   "قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ"
   "Say, 'Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants?'"
   This includes clothing made from materials like wool, silk, and other lawful adornments. Allah also confirms that pure and good provisions, such as meat, milk, and fat, are lawful for the believers in this world and exclusively for them in the Hereafter.

Prohibition of Actual Sins and False Attributions to Allah​

Allah explicitly outlines the true prohibitions:

1. Immoralities (Fawahish):
   
   • Sins of shame, such as adultery and fornication, whether committed openly or secretly.
   • The Arabs condemned public acts of immorality but did not see hidden sins as blameworthy. Allah prohibited both.
2. Sin and Transgression (Ithm and Baghi):
   
   • This includes acts like drinking alcohol and injustice. Poets of Jahiliyyah described alcohol as a source of sin:
     "شربت الاثم حتي ضل عقلي"
     "I drank sin [alcohol] until my mind was lost."
3. Shirk (Associating Partners with Allah):
   
   • Declaring deities alongside Allah for which He has sent no authority.
4. Speaking Without Knowledge:
   
   • Attributing things to Allah without evidence, as the disbelievers falsely claimed that Allah commanded them to engage in immoral acts.

Modern Parallels: Innovators and Their Practices​

Today's pseudo-Sufis have adopted similar practices of Jahiliyyah. They:

1. Forbid Lawful Adornments and Provisions:
   They abstain from lawful food, clothing, and basic comforts under the guise of piety to appear as ascetics before the masses.
2. Introduce Innovations in Worship:
   They invent practices like prolonged seclusion (chilla), extreme fasting, and other self-imposed hardships that are neither required nor sanctioned by Allah or His Messenger.

Conclusion​

Declaring lawful things as unlawful is a deviation that goes against Allah’s clear commands. True piety lies in adhering to the Quran and Sunnah, avoiding exaggeration and innovation in religion, and enjoying the blessings that Allah has made lawful in moderation. Believers must remain vigilant against these misguided practices and strive to understand and implement Islam as taught by the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).