This excerpt is taken from Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi's book Halal and Haram in Islam, translated into Urdu by Muhammad Tahir Naqqash.
After Eleven Years, Both Halal and Haram Are Clear
Today, the Muslim Ummah is under an onslaught of foreign ideologies. Jews, Crusaders, and Hindus have taken control of their society and economy. As a result of a vile, cunning, and secret conspiracy by the disbelievers, we have become so helpless and powerless that we have become dependent on them even for our daily food, drink, and essential items. Jews have taken such control over the global economic market that no Muslim can even think of surviving there or providing anything beneficial to the Muslim Ummah.
Today, all products in our homes, from food and drink to washing and bathing items, are manufactured by Jews and Christians. No one knows which of these are halal and which are haram, which contain pigskin, hair, fat, or alcohol, or which are adulterated with other forbidden and haram substances and elements. No one in the Ummah has any knowledge; everyone blindly uses them. No one worries that the use and commission of things forbidden by Allah Almighty not only have harmful and destructive effects on human health and offspring but also lead to the loss of wealth and property, and due to disobedience to Allah, the world becomes a failure, the Hereafter is ruined, Hell becomes inevitable, and the noble human being is destined to become fuel for the blazing Hell. إلا من رحم ربي There are a few chosen servants of Allah who are constantly concerned about avoiding halal and haram in their food, clothing, and personal use items. Such righteous individuals deserve encouragement, but unfortunately, they have to endure various sarcastic, bitter, and humiliating remarks even from Muslims who have uttered the Kalima. Despite all this, they do not care about anyone’s words in order to attain the pleasure and satisfaction of Allah Almighty. May Allah make us like them, because the true purpose of a believer’s life is to avoid the haram in every matter and adopt the halal to gain Allah’s pleasure.
Regarding the distinction and recognition of halal and haram, the Messenger of Mercy, peace be upon him, gave us a general rule:
الحلال بين والحرام بين وبينهما مشتبهات
Halal is clear, and haram is clear, and between them are doubtful matters.
Then he said:
اتقوا الشبهات
And avoid doubtful matters.
Today, the success and prosperity of the Muslim Ummah lie in avoiding doubtful matters. If there is hesitation about something, if suspicion arises on any basis, or if any evidence appears, one should immediately avoid it so that by adopting haram deeds and things, we do not end up wasting our worship. When some people are admonished to avoid using something or told that it contains haram substances and is forbidden according to the commands of Allah and the Messenger of Mercy, peace be upon him, they justify it by citing the actions of some high-ranking personalities in the world, saying: So-and-so Maulana Sahib, Amir Sahib, Allama Sahib, or Mufti Sahib also use it. Remember! Adopting the words, actions, or preferences of any worldly high-ranking person does not make a haram thing halal.
Living in this society, many of our habits, ways of transactions, appearance and demeanor, clothing, food, gatherings, buying and selling issues, trade, and even acts of worship are declared haram. Many of our behaviors and customs are completely contrary to the commands of the Lord of the Worlds and the decrees of the Messenger of the Worlds, peace be upon him. There are many matters that the Qur’an has explicitly forbidden, saying they are haram and not to be approached, but alas! Our religious zeal is completely dead. We have no concern for the commands of our Creator and Sustainer, and we continue to disobey and rebel against our Lord without any restraint. The moment of reflection is that we do not even realize that we are running on a path of thorns and falling into a well of fire.
This book has been written to save Muslims from haram. It provides principles and guidelines to avoid haram while living in Muslim society. This book became very popular in the West, especially in Britain, which claims to be enlightened and a champion of freedom of expression. Europe, which gave refuge to those who made cartoons of the Prophet, peace be upon him, wrote satanic verses, and to wretches like Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen under the name of freedom of expression and human rights, became so fearful of this book that it banned it there. After the ban, the book became even more popular and was translated and published in various languages. It was declared a crime for anyone to possess this book and punishable. By the grace of Allah Almighty, its Urdu translation is now in your hands.
The exemplary publishing house of books and Sunnah, "Dar al-Iblagh," planned to publish it eleven years ago. Therefore, a research team completed the research work, and I, the author of this book, brother Samiullah Malik, took it to the learned and practicing young scholar Maulana Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani, may Allah preserve him, at Scheme Mor, Lahore, for revision. Due to his immense busyness, the revision remained incomplete, and he misplaced the manuscript somewhere and forgot it. We also waited, hoping the manuscript would be found. Last month, while reorganizing his library, he found the manuscript of "Halal and Haram in Islam," completed the revision after eleven years, and sent it to me, so I immediately presented it to you.
This book is the famous Arabic work of the renowned author Allama Yusuf al-Qaradawi, may Allah have mercy on him. The author has provided comprehensive guidance on distinguishing halal and haram while living in Muslim societies in Europe and Islamic countries and on living a successful and pure life according to Islamic commands. This book is undoubtedly a priceless gift for the Muslim Ummah. At some points, the author has made some ijtihadi errors. The authoritative scholars of the Ummah have pointed out these errors, written refutations, corrected them, abandoned faulty reasoning and weak ijtihad, and guided the Ummah correctly in the light of the Qur’an and Hadith. Among those who corrected the author’s mistakes is the Muhaddith of the era, Allama Nasiruddin al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him. He also wrote a book on this subject called "Ghayat al-Maram." The research team of "Dar al-Iblagh" has also identified the author’s errors in this book and, to know the correct solution to these issues in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah, has included Allama Nasiruddin al-Albani’s comments and explanations as footnotes, enhancing the book greatly. After revision, Maulana Abul Hasan Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani, may Allah preserve him, also added his comments at some points. Thus, this book, with Allama Nasiruddin al-Albani’s footnotes clarifying the issues requiring correction, Maulana Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani’s annotations, and at some points the explanations of Fadhilatul Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan, has become a complete, comprehensive, and satisfactory guide. Any reader, student of Islam, or ordinary Muslim can adopt it as their guide to obtain complete, comprehensive, unambiguous, correct, and accurate guidance on any issue. All this happened by the grace and mercy of Allah Almighty; otherwise, we are not worthy. And "Dar al-Iblagh" has a special favor and grace of Allah Almighty that it provides its team with opportunities, resources, and righteous men to offer high-quality researched material for guiding the Ummah.
I am deeply grateful to Maulana Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani, Janab Nasir Ahmad Kashif, the devoted student Allama Zubair Ali Zai, may Allah have mercy on him, Maulana Mutiullah al-Firdous, Janab Amanullah Asim, and Tanveer al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, for taking time from their various busy schedules to conduct research, intellectual effort, and dedication on this book. جزاهم الله احسن الجزاء فى الدنيا و الآخرة
Finally, I pray to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to accept our efforts on this book, make it a cause of reward and blessing for us, our teachers, and parents, and grant the Ummah the ability to act upon it and deserve success in the Hereafter. آمين يا رب المستضعفين
