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in order to save their man while he was, in fact, guilty. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was almost persuaded to
believe that the Muslim was innocent. Then a revelation was sent down exposing the conspiracy,
clearing the Jew of the crime and directing the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) to establish justice without any bias:
Indeed, We have sent down to thee the Book with the truth, so that thou mightiest judge between the
people as shown by Allâh; then do not be an advocate for the treacherous, and seek forgiveness of
Allâh; indeed, Allâh is Forgiving, Merciful. And do not plead on behalf of those who deceive themselves;
indeed, Allâh does not like the one who is treacherous and sinful. They may hide from men, but they
cannot hide from Allâh, for He is with them even when they hold, by night, discourse not pleasing to Him,
and Allâh encompasses what they do. Ah! You are the ones who pleaded for them in the life of this
world, but who will plead for them with Allâh on the Day of Resurrection, or who will be their guardian?
(4:105-109)
In the distorted scripture of the Jews, it is alleged that while usury or interest is prohibited to the Jew
when lending money to a brother Jew, there is no harm in charging it to a gentile, as stated in
Deuteronomy 23:19-20:
You must not lend on interest (usury) to your brother, whether the loan be of money or food or anything
else that may earn interest. You may demand interest on a loan of a foreigner, but you must not demand
interest from your brother, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your giving in the land you are
to enter and make your own.
The Qur‘ân also speaks about another similar tendency among the Jews, that of cheating others who are
not of their race or faith without feeling anything wrong in it. The Qur‘ân says: And among the People of
the Book is he who, if entrusted with a single gold coin, would not return it to thee unless thou constantly
stood over him. This is because they say: We have no duty toward the gentiles, but they utter a
falsehood concerning Allâh, and they know it. (3:75) (Gentiles” here refers to the Arabs, who before
Islâm possessed neither religion nor a divinely revealed scripture.) They have unquestionably uttered
falsehood in what they have ascribed to Allâh, for the law of Allâh does not discriminate between one
people and another, and insofar as cheating is concerned, Allâh has condemned it through the tongue of
all His messengers and prophets.
With due apologies, we may say that this tendency to use a double standard, one for one’s “brother”
and another for a “foreigner” or outsider, is a characteristic of primitive ethics. It can never be ascribed
to a divinely revealed religion, for high morality—that is, true morality — is distinguishable by its
universality and comprehensiveness and by its lack of a double standard. The distinction between us
and primitive peoples is not in the existence or absence of a moral code but in the enlargement of the
area of its application. As an example, such people also consider honesty as a praiseworthy quality, but
they restrict its practice to the people of their own tribe. When dealing with people from outside their tribe
or clan, they see nothing wrong with cheating them, or in fact recommending or even requiring it.
The author of The Story of Civilization writes, Almost all groups agree in holding other groups to be infer
to themselves. The Amerian Indians looked upon themselves as the chosen people, specially created by
the Great Spirit as an uplifting example for mankind. One Indian tribe called itself ‘The Only Men;‘
another called itself ‘Men of Men;‘ the Caribs said, ‘We alone are people.’ The Eskimos believed that the
Europeans had come to Greenland to learn manners and virtues. Consequently, it seldom occurred to
primitive man to extend to other tribes the moral restraints which he acknowledged in dealing with his
own; he frankly conceived it to be the function of morals to give strength and coherence to his group
against other groups. Commandments and taboos applied only to the people of his tribe; with others,
except when they were his guests, he might go as far as he dared (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization,
Simon and Schuster, New York, 1935, vol. l, pp. 54-55.).
11. Necessity Dictates Exceptions
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While Islâm has narrowed the range of what is prohibited, it is, at the same time, very strict in seeing that
its prohibitions are observed. Accordingly, it has blocked the ways, apparent or hidden, leading to what is
prohibited. Thus, what is conducive to the haram is itself haram, what assists in committing the haram is
haram, any rationalization for engaging in the haram is haram, and so on, to the last of the principles
which we have elucidated. At the same time, Islâm is not oblivious to the exigencies of life, to their
magnitude, nor to human weakness and capacity to face them. It permits the Muslim, under the
compulsion of necessity to eat a prohibited food in quantities sufficient to remove the necessity and save
himself from death.
In this context, after listing the prohibited foods in the form of dead animals, blood, and pork, Allâh Ta‘ala
says:...But if one is compelled by necessity, neither craving (it) nor transgressing, there is no sin on him;
indeed, Allâh is Forgiving, Merciful. (2:173) And this is repeated at four places in the Qur‘ân after each
mention of the prohibited foods.
On the basis of these and similar verse of the Qur‘ân, Islâmic jurists formulated an important principle,
namely, that “necessity removes restrictions.” However, it is to be noted that the individual experiencing
the necessity is permitted to eat the haram food with the stipulation that he is “neither craving it nor
transgressing.” This is interpreted to mean that he should not desire to relish it nor transgress by eating
more than the bare amount needed to satisfy his hunger. From this stipulation, jurists have derived
another principle, that “The quantity permitted is determined by the (magnitude) of the necessity.” Here
the underlying idea is that, even though compelled by necessity, a person need not surrender to it or
embrace it with eagerness; rather he must live with what is essentially halal and seek a way to return to it
so that he may not become accustomed to the haram or begin enjoying it under the pretext of necessity.
In permitting the use of the haram under necessity, Islâm is true to its spirit and general principles. This
spirit, which we find permeating its laws, is to make life easy and less oppressive for human beings, and
to lift the burdens and yokes imposed by earlier systems and religions. True is the saying of Allâh, the
Almighty:...Allâh desires ease for you, and He does not desire hardship for you.... (2:185)
...It is not Allâh’s desire to place a burden upon you, but He desires to purify you and to perfect His favor
on you in order that you may be thankful. (5:6) Allâh desires to lighten your burden, for man was created
weak. (4:28)
Chapter 2: The Halal and The Haram In The Private Life of Muslim
Food and Drink
Since ancient times, peoples have differed in their eating and drinking habits and in relation to what is to
be allowed and avoided, especially with regard to food of animal origin.
Concerning food and drink of vegetable origin, the peoples of the earth have been close to a consensus.
Islâm does not prohibit vegetable foods, with the exception of what is fermented, whether it be grapes,
dates, barley, or any other substance, as long as it remains in the unfermented state; similarly, Islâm
prohibits anything which intoxicates, affects the functioning of the brain, or harms the body, as we shall
see later. However, with regard to foods derived from animal sources peoples and nations have held
widely varying attitudes.
The Attitude of the Brahmins toward Slaughtering Animals and Eating Meat
The Brahmins and a group of philosophers, subsisting on vegetarian food, only prohibit to themselves
the killing and eating of animals. They claim that the slaughtering of animals is a cruelty inflicted by men
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