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or to consume alcohol, the sin of dealing in usury and drinking remains. As we read in the collections of
ahadith,
A group of people will make people’sintoxication halal by giving it other names. (Compiled by Ahmad.)
A time will come when people will devour usury, calling it “trade.” (Compiled by al-Bukhâri and Muslim)
And among the strange phenomena of our time is that people term obscene dance “art,” liquor “spirits,”
and usury “interest.”
8. Good Intentions Do Not Make the Haram Acceptable
In all its legislations and moral injunctions, Islâm lays great stress on nobility of feelings, loftiness of
aims, and purity of intentions. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, “Actions will be judged by intentions, and
everyone will be recompensed according to what he intended.” (Compiled by al-Bukhâri.) Indeed, in
Islâm the routine matters of life and its mundane affairs are transformed into acts of worship and
devotion to Allâh by good intentions. Accordingly, if one eats food with the intention of sustaining life and
strengthening his body in order that he may be able to carry out his obligations to his Creator and to
other human beings, his eating and drinking are considered worship and devotion to Allâh Ta‘ala. Again,
if one enjoys sexual intimacy with his wife, desiring a child and seeking to keep himself and his wife
chaste, it is considered an act of worship on his part, deserving of reward in the Hereafter. Concerning
this the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: When you satisfy your desire with your wife, it is counted for you as an
act deserving of reward. Those who were listening to him said: Messenger of Allâh, how can it be that
one of us satisfies his desire and will then be rewarded for it? The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) replied: Would he
not be sinful if he had satisfied it in a prohibited manner? Consequently, if he satisfies it in a permissible
manner, there is a reward for him. (Compiled by al-Bukhâri and Muslim.)
He also said: Anyone who desires what is permissible from the world, keeping himself away from sins,
working for the sake of his family, and taking care of his neighbor, will meet his Rabb with a face shining
like the full moon. (The text of the hadith was narrated by al-Tabarani.)
In this manner, whenever any permissible action of the believer is accompanied by a good intention, his
action becomes an act of worship. But the case of the haram is entirely different; it remains haram no
matter how good the intention, how honorable the purpose, or how lofty the aim may be. Islâm can never
consent to employing a haram means to achieve a praiseworthy end. Indeed, it insists that not only the
aim be honorable but also that the means chosen to attain it be pure. “The end justifies the means” is
not the maxim of the Shari‘ah, nor is “Secure your right even through wrong-doing.” This can never be,
for the Shari‘ah demands that the right should be secured through just means only.
If someone accumulates wealth through usury, forgery, gambling, prohibited games, or in any other
haram manner in order to build a mosque, establish a charitable foundation, or to do any other good
work, the guilt of having done what is haram will not be lifted from hbecause of the goodness of his
objective; in Islâm good aims and intentions have no effect in lessening the sinfulness of what is haram.
This is what the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) taught us when he said: Allâh is good and does not accept anytbut
good, and Allâh has commanded the Believers, as He commanded His messengers, saying ‘O you
messengers! Eat of whatever is good and work righteousness. Indeed, I am aware of what you do.’ (The
Qur‘ân 35:31.) He also said, ‘O you who believe! Eat of the good things which We provide for you.
(2:172.) The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) then said, A man travels far, unkempt and dust-stained (for hajj, umrah,
or the like), raising his hands to the sky (and saying), ‘O Lord! O Lord!‘ while eating what was haram,
drinking what was haram, wearing what was haram, and nourishing himself through haram means. How
then could his prayers be accepted? (Compiled by Muslim and al-Tirmidhî on the authority of Abû
Hurairah.) He also said: If anyone amasses wealth through haram means and then gives charity from it,
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there is no regard for him and the burden of sin remains. (Compiled by Ibn Khazimah, Ibn Hibban, and
al-Hakim on the authority of Abû Hurairah)
Again he said: If a person earns property through haram means and then gives charity, it will not be
accepted (by Allâh); if he spends it there will be no blessing on it; and if he leaves it behind (at his death)
it will be his provision in the Fire. Indeed, Allâh Ta‘ala does not obliterate one bad deed by another bad
deed, but He cancels out a bad deed by a good deed. An unclean thing does not wipe away another
unclean thing. (Compiled by Ahmad and others on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ood.)
9. Doubtful Things Are To Be Avoided
It is Allâh’s mercy to human beings that He did not leave them in ignorance concerning what is lawful
and what is prohibited. Indeed, He has made explicit what is halal and explained what is haram, as He
says:...He has explained to you what He has made haram for you.... (6:119)
Accordingly, one may do what is lawful and must avoid what is prohibited insofar as he has the choice.
However, there is a gray area between the clearly halal and the clearly haram. This is the area of what is
doubtful. Some people may not be able to decide whether a particular matter is permissible or forbidden;
such confusion may be due either to doubtful evidence or because of doubt concerning the applicability
of the text to the particular circumstance or matter in question.
In relation to such matters, Islâm considers it an act of piety for the Muslim to avoid doing what is
doubtful in order to stay clear of doing something haram. This is similar to what was discussed earlier
concerning the blocking of the avenues which lead to what is haram. Such a cautious approach,
moreover, trains the Muslim to be farsighted in planning and increases his knowledge of affairs and
people. The root of this principle is the saying of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) : The halal is clear and the haram
is clear. Between the two there are doubtful matters concerning which people do not know whether they
are halal or haram. One who avoids them in order to safeguard his religion and his honor is safe, while if
someone engages in a part of them he may be doing something haram, like one who grazes his animals
near the hima (the grounds reserved for animals belonging to the King which are out of bounds for
others‘ animals); it is thus quite likely that some of his animals will stray into it. Truly, every king has a
hima, and the hima of Allâh is what He has prohibited. (Compiled by al-Bukhâri‘ Muslim, and others; the
narration is taken from al Tirmidhî)
10. The Haram is Prohibited to Everyone Alike
In the Shari‘ah of Islâm the haram has universal applicability; here there is no such thing as that which is
prohibited to a non-Arab but permitted to an Arab, nor anything which is restricted to a Black but allowed
to a White. For in Islâm there are no privileged classes or individuals who, in the name of religion, can do
whatever they please according to their whims. Muslims do not have any privilege of making something
haram for others while it is lawful for themselves; this cannot be, for truly Allâh is the Rabb of all, and the
Shari‘ah of Islâm is the guide for all. Whatever Allâh has legislated through His Shari‘ah is lawful for all
human beings and whatever He has prohibited is prohibited to all human beings until the Day of
Resurrection.
As an example, stealing is equally haram for the Muslim and the non-Muslim; the punishment for it is the
same, regardless of the family or the origin of the thief. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) firmly enforced this rule,
proclaiming, “By Allâh, if Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, were to steal, I would have her hand cut
off.” (Compiled by al-Bukhâri.)
A case of theft was brought before the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) involving two suspects, the one a Jew and the
other a Muslim. Some relatives of the Muslim advanced circumstantial evidence to cast doubt on the Jew
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