This excerpt is taken from Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi's book Halal and Haram in Islam, whose Urdu translation has been done by Muhammad Tahir Naqqash.
Definition of Halal:
That which is permissible or not forbidden, and whose doing the Shariah has permitted.
Definition of Haram:
That which the Shariah has absolutely prohibited, and whoever violates it is deserving of punishment in the Hereafter, and in some cases, punishment is also prescribed for it in this world.
Definition of Makruh:
That which the Lawgiver has prohibited but not strictly forbidden is a degree lower than what is haram. The one who commits it is not deserving of the punishment that the one who commits haram deserves. However, the one who persistently violates it and shows disregard becomes deserving of the punishment for haram.
The people of ignorance, who were misguided in many matters, were also confused about what is halal and haram, to the extent that they made halal haram and haram halal. In this matter, the behavior of the polytheists and the People of the Book was similar, but the misguidance of different religions was at two extremes. One extreme was that of Indian Brahmanism, Christian monasticism, and that religiosity which considered inflicting pain on the body permissible (correct and lawful), which made good sustenance and adornments haram. According to some monks, even washing the feet and entering the bathhouse was a sin.
At the other extreme was the Mazdak religion of Persia, which raised the slogan of complete permissiveness. In this religion, everything was lawful, even honor and sanctity, which humans naturally consider sacred. In the age of ignorance, the Arabs had established a completely wrong standard of halal and haram. According to them, drinking wine, usury, mistreating women, and killing offspring were entirely permissible. To justify the heinous act of killing offspring, they fabricated some reasons, which they presented as justifications. For example: fear of poverty and hunger, the birth of a girl being a cause of shame, and sacrificing offspring to gain proximity to their deities. The strange situation was that on one hand, they considered killing their beloved children completely permissible, and on the other hand, they made many halal things like fields and livestock haram upon themselves. The most astonishing thing was that they attributed this permissibility and prohibition to Allah Almighty and gave it a religious status, but Allah Almighty completely invalidated their slanders:
وَقَالُوا هَٰذِهِ أَنْعَامٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ لَّا يَطْعَمُهَا إِلَّا مَن نَّشَاءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَأَنْعَامٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَامٌ لَّا يَذْكُرُونَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا افْتِرَاءً عَلَيْهِ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ
They say, "These cattle and these crops are forbidden; only those whom we wish may eat them," according to their assumption. And some cattle have their backs (for riding) forbidden, and some cattle on which they do not mention Allah's name, inventing a lie against Him. Allah will soon repay them for their lying.
Reference: (Surah Al-An'am: 138)
When Islam came, this misguidance and deviation in the matter of halal and haram existed. Islam paid attention to reforming it and took the first step by establishing the principles of legislation and making them the basis of halal and haram. As a result, moderation and balance were created, the correct standard of justice was established, and due to this, the Muslim Ummah was recognized as the middle nation (a nation that remains moderate) between the groups that deviated to the right and left, which Allah Almighty honored with the title of the best nation.
Reference: (Surah Al-Imran: 110)
All things are originally permissible:
The first principle established by Islam is that all things created by Allah Almighty are originally lawful and permissible. Only those things are forbidden whose prohibition has been clearly and explicitly stated in authentic Shariah texts. Therefore, if there is no authentic text, or if the text is weak or does not explicitly indicate prohibition, the original permissibility remains.
Islamic scholars hold that all things and beneficial matters are originally permissible and lawful. Their argument is based on the following verses of the Quran:
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا
It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth.
Reference: (Surah Al-Baqarah: 29)
وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِنْهُ
He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth—all from Him.
Reference: (Surah Al-Jathiyah: 13)
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً
Have you not considered that Allah has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth and completed His favor upon you both outwardly and inwardly?
Reference: (Surah Luqman: 20)
Allah Almighty has subjected all these blessings for mankind and thereby bestowed favor upon them. So how can it be believed that He would declare most of these blessings forbidden and deprive people of benefiting from them? The reality is that He has forbidden only a few things, and that too for specific reasons or wisdoms which we will discuss later. In other words, the scope of prohibitions in Islamic Shariah is very limited. On the contrary, the scope of what is lawful is very broad. This is why the texts containing rulings of prohibition, which are both authentic and explicit, are very few. All other things, about which no text has been revealed regarding their permissibility or prohibition, are originally permissible and there is no restriction from Allah Almighty regarding them. It is mentioned in a hadith:
ما احل الله فى كتابه فهو حلال وما حرم فهو حرام وما سكت عنه فهو عفو، فاقبلوا من الله عافيته فإن الله لم يكن ينسى شيئا وتلا وما كان ربك نسيا
Allah Almighty has declared lawful in His Book what is lawful and forbidden what is forbidden, and those things about which He has remained silent are pardoned. So accept this generosity of Allah because Allah does not make mistakes. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited the verse from Surah Maryam: Allah never makes a mistake.
Reference: Mustadrak Hakim: 375/2 - Musnad Al-Bazzar: 123117 - Sunan Al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi: 10/12
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salman Al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
سئل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن السمن والجبن والفراء فقال: الحلال ما احل الله فى كتابه والحرام ما حرم الله فى كتابه وما سكت عنه فهو مما عفا لكم
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked about ghee, cheese, and zebra meat, and he said: What Allah has declared lawful in His Book is lawful, and what He has declared forbidden in His Book is forbidden. As for those things about which He has remained silent, they are pardoned.
Reference: Tirmidhi, Book of Clothing, Chapter on Wearing Fur 1726; Ibn Majah, Book of Food, Chapter on Eating Cheese and Butter, Hadith 3367; graded Hasan by Al-Albani in Sahih Sunan Tirmidhi 1410 and the previous hadith supports it
This makes it clear that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not consider it appropriate to answer in detail but rather stated a principle by which one can easily distinguish between lawful and unlawful. In view of this, it is sufficient to know which things Allah Almighty has declared forbidden; all other things are lawful and pure. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
إن الله فرض فرائض فلا تضيعوها وحد حدودا فلا تعتدوها، وحرم أشياء فلا تنتهكوها وسكت عن أشياء رحمة بكم من غير نسيان فلا تبحثوا عنها
Allah has made obligations binding, so do not neglect them, and He has set limits, so do not transgress them. Do not disrespect what He has forbidden. And those things about which He has deliberately remained silent, this silence is a mercy for you. So do not argue about such things.
Reference: Sunan Ad-Daraqutni: 183/4-184, Sunan Al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi: 10/12-13
Here it also seems appropriate to clarify that the scope of original permissibility is not limited to things and objects only but also includes events and actions which are not acts of worship and are termed as customs and transactions. Allah Almighty says:
وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُمْ مَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ
He has explained to you in detail what He has forbidden you.
Reference: (Surah Al-An'am: 119)
This includes both things and actions. However, the matter of acts of worship is different. Knowledge of these religious matters is only possible through revelation, and regarding these matters, it is mentioned in a hadith:
من أحدث فى أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد
Whoever introduces into our matter (religion) something that is not part of it, it is rejected.
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Reconciliation, Chapter: If they agree on an unjust reconciliation, the reconciliation is rejected, Hadith: 2697; Muslim, Book of Judges, Chapter: Annulment of invalid rulings, Hadith: 1718
The reason is that religion consists of two realities and methods:
◈ One is that no one except Allah Almighty should be worshiped.
◈ The other is that Allah Almighty’s worship should be performed in the manner He has prescribed.
Therefore, whoever introduces a new way of worship from his own side, whether he is a person or not, it is necessarily misguidance and deviation which must be rejected. Indeed, the right to prescribe the methods of worship, which are means of nearness to Allah, belongs solely to the Lawgiver. However, the nature of customs and transactions is different. These methods are not established by the Lawgiver but by people according to which they act. The Shariah has worked to correct, refine, and bring moderation and balance to them, and it has maintained those customs and traditions in which there was no harm or defect.
Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: There are two types of actions and sayings by which servants act:
(1) One type is acts of worship through which the religious state is established.
(2) The other type is customs which are necessary in worldly affairs.
A general and cursory study of the principles of Shariah reveals this general rule that acts of worship which Allah Almighty has made obligatory or recommended can only be established by Shariah. As for customs, people necessarily become accustomed to them in worldly affairs and they are originally permissible. Therefore, except for those things which Allah has declared forbidden, no other thing can be declared forbidden. The matter of command and prohibition is actually related to divine law. The matter of worship is entirely dependent on its ruling. So how can a prohibition be imposed on something for which no ruling has come from Him?
For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) and other scholars of Ahl al-Hadith (may Allah have mercy on them) hold that acts of worship are originally discretionary (knowledge of which can only come through revelation). Therefore, what is prescribed is what Allah the Generous has prescribed. Otherwise, Allah Almighty’s statement will be true upon us:
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ
Do they have partners who have devised for them a religion to which Allah has not consented?
Reference: (Surah Ash-Shura: 21)
However, the matter of customs is different. They are originally permissible, so people should only be prevented from those things which Allah Almighty has declared forbidden. Otherwise, Allah Almighty’s statement will be true upon us:
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ مَّا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مِنْ رِّزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُمْ مِّنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلَالًا
Say: Have you considered what provision Allah has sent down to you, of which you have made some forbidden and some lawful?
Reference: (Surah Yunus: 59)
This is a very important and beneficial principle, and in light of this principle, we say that sale, gift, lease, etc., are among customs which people need in daily life, such as food, drink, and clothing. The Shariah has adorned these customs with good manners. Those customs which were defective were declared forbidden. Those which were necessary were made obligatory. Similarly, inappropriate customs were disliked, and those in which the aspect of wisdom prevailed were recommended.
In view of this reality, people are free to conduct transactions and wage agreements according to their own will, as long as the prohibition of anything is not established by Shariah. An example is food and drink, where people can eat and drink according to their own will while observing prohibitions. Although some things are recommended and some are disliked, as long as Shariah does not impose a restriction, they remain in their original state of permissibility.
Reference: (Taalif Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, pp. 112-113)
This principle is supported by an authentic hadith narrated by Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him):
كنا نعزل والقرآن ينزل، فلو كان شيء ينهى عنه لنهى عنه القرآن
We used to practice coitus interruptus while the Quran was being revealed. If there had been anything that should have been forbidden, the Quran would have forbidden it.
Reference: (Bukhari, Book of Marriage, Chapter on Coitus Interruptus, Hadith: 5207, 5208; Muslim, Book of Marriage, Chapter on the ruling of coitus interruptus, Hadith: 1440, wording is his)
This makes it clear that whatever the revelation has remained silent about is neither forbidden nor prohibited. All such things are permissible for people until a text indicating prohibition appears. The understanding of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in this matter is a sign of their profound comprehension. In short, this establishes the important principle of Islam that worship is only what Allah the Generous has prescribed, and nothing related to customs becomes forbidden without Allah Almighty declaring it forbidden.
