IN LIGHT OF AYAHS 5:87 to 5:89

Prohibitions are those aspects of Deen, that are clearly and distinctly mentioned as Haram by Allah in Quran. Whatever is Haram and prohibited in Islam, is clearly mentioned in Quran as prohibition; everything else is allowed. Hence if anything is not mentioned as prohibition in Quran, in specific clear words by Allah, then it is permitted and allowed. Allah does not need to highlight all those aspects which one can do; For instance, nowhere in Quran it is mentioned that it is allowed to fly a plane or to keep cats as pets, but since these are not mentioned as specific prohibitions, therefore they are allowed. But what exactly are the boundaries of Deen in terms of all these aspects which are allowed, are also discussed and highlighted in Quran. We’re going to discuss only one such set of Ayahs to understand this.

These Ayahs of Surah Al-Ma’idah from Ayah no. 87 to 88 are addressed to those who Amanu, that is those who use their faculties and Aqal, thinking and intellect, to seek knowledge and to be at Aman- utter and deep conviction w.r.t. the five fundamentals of Emaan (with Allah, Allah’s Kitaab, Allah’s Malaik, Allah’s Rasool and Nabiyeen and Youm Al Akhira) and are upholders of their Aiemaan- promise and oath with Allah; and give us the following divine guidance that we can apply in our day to day lives, as those who Amanu.

DO NOT PROHIBIT WHAT ALLH HAS NOT

Do not prohibit T’ayyibat in the name of Deen, what Allah has not & Do not Ta’tadu

You should not prohibit (Tuharremu) what Allah has permitted (Auhillu) for you as your likeable, most favorable that you have acquired legally and are also allowed as per the laws of the land and the laws of Deen (T’ayyibaat). And should never weaken, go against, stand in opposition, or provide any hinderance (Ta’tadu) for these T’ayyibaat and the whole of Allah’s system, Malaik and all laws (both the laws of the universe, nature as well as the laws of Deen) do not support, strengthen and respond (Yuhibbu) to such acts of those people who weaken, go against, and become hinderance to the Kalam of Allah, Allah’s message and direct divine instructions (Mu’htadeen). If we look around ourselves, we find many such instances wherein the T’ayyibaat (new year celebrations, listening to music, keeping of dogs as pets, drawing or painting animals or humans, celebrating birthdays, wishing people good wishes for their special occasions etc.) are declared Haram by people- all in the name of Deen, whereas Allah has not mentioned these as Haram, prohibited in the Quran. These are acts of Ta’tadu of these T’ayyibaat. And people who are Mu’htadeen (who make these man-made laws) or people who blindly follow these man-made laws from outside the Quran, would remain disconnected from the blessings of Allah and Allah’s system.

CONSUME & TAKE BENEFIT FROM TAYYIBAAT

Kulu of what Allah has given to you as Rizq- which are Halalan Tayyaban, but observe Taqwa:

You can consume, engage, use, utilize, benefit from, carry, provide benefit to, engage, make use of in terms of consumption of that Tayyibaat in any shape or form (Kulu) from whatever Allah has provided as ways and means of your personality and character development (Rizq) which would include not just the ways and means to receive physical development and growth such as food, water, or sleep but all-inclusive ways and means of personality and character development at all levels (Rizq) such as information, community interactions, learning of any sort, even Allah’s Kitaab as Hidayah to lead to Allah’s path etc. The basic idea is that all these ways and means of personality and character development (Rizq) are allowed as per Deen-e-Islam, as long as they are permitted as per the laws of Deen (Halaal), are amongst the things, aspects, actions, that are your favorite and valuable ones that are allowed to you as per the laws of the land, as well as have been legally acquired as per the laws of the Deen and the land (Tayyibaat). Thus, there is no prohibition in any manner whatsoever to use, utilize, carry, engage in, make use of, benefit from, or being a benefit to, or consume in any manner (kulu), as long as one observes Taqwa, i.e., be extra cautious in terms of remaining within the laws of Deen.

OBSERVE TAQWA FOR ALL THINGS PERMITTED

How one can observe Taqwa in Kulu of Halalan T’ayyaban:

Here we need to keep in mind that Rizq is not just food, since here the direct divine instructions is to observe Taqwa (to follow the laws of Allah by being extra cautious), that is not restricted or limited to eating at all. Another point worth noticing and keeping in mind is the concept of Taqwa. There are many examples of Halalan Tayyiban that one can consider for example new year celebrations, listening to music, keeping of dogs as pets, drawing or painting animals or humans, celebrating birthdays, wishing people good wishes for their special occasions etc., joining in and/or celebrating other people or community in their celebrations are All Halaan Tayyiban as per the laws of Deen, as long as allowed and legally acquired as per the laws of the land. We will discuss just three of such examples.

Example No. 1- Trick or Treat for Halloween:

For example, sending children, or taking them along for trick and treat during Halooween, could be among the Halalan Tayyabin, that your children might enjoy and you might value these as a way of integrating in the communities that you live in. Thus, even if you Kulu- engage in such Halalan Tayyiban, you have to make sure that you abide by all the laws of Deen by being extra careful and cautious and do not transgress in any of the laws of Deen as mentioned in the Quran.

Example no. 2- New Year Celebrations:

Similarly, the new year celebrations may be Halalan Tayyibaan as per the laws of the Deen but you have to make sure that you do not cross any boundaries of Deen, while wishing others ‘happy new year’ or engage in any new year celebrations- observing Taqwa is must.

Example no. 3- Giving of Charity:

Another important example could be giving of charity, which is not only Halalan Tayyibaat but also much valued as per the laws of the Deen, but if one gives defective or broken things as charity by completely ignoring the divine instructions, or if one gives charity as a show-off by completely ignoring the self-respect and dignity of the person to whom the charity is given, then this is also operating outside the boundaries of Deen.

BINDING ASPECTS OF OUR COVENANT WITH ALLAH

These divine Directives of Haram & Halal are Aqad Parts of Aiemaan

Allah will not seize or hold you accountable strongly (Khizu) for the unplanned, unintentional mistakes as well as those aspects which are non-binding in nature (Laghu) in your oaths, promises and covenants (Aieman) but will seize (Khizu) you with what you have confirmed as a firm, basic, mandatory and binding aspects (Aqad) of the promise, oath, covenants (Aieman). Thus, if one is not able to abide by these firm and solid aspects of their promise or oath, such aspects without which the whole validity of the promise or oath is ineffective since its inception, are defined as the aspects of Aqad; and thus, for these aspects (the Aqad) of one’s promise, oath and covenant, Allah would hold the person accountable and responsible to abide by. All these Ayahs 5:87 to 89 are strongly connected together and shows that the divine instructions surrounding the Halalan T’ayyibaat are of the firm, basic, mandatory and binding in nature (Aqad) that are part of our promise, oath, covenants (Aieman) with Allah, that we need to uphold and abide by as those who Amanu and those who observe Taqwa.

CONCLUSION

Allah has detailed the list of all the prohibitions that has been described times and again in Quran through multiple Ayaat and this list is extremely comprehensive. Since Allah has detailed each and every prohibition as per Deen in the Quran, it is not possible that anything could be missed, ignored or left to be mentioned. Each and every Allah’s commandment has been mentioned in detail and nothing is ignored or left out from the Quran. Anything else which is not mentioned in Quran as prohibited, we cannot consider it Haram, since it is not deemed Haram by Allah because if we do then that is going against the explicit directives of Quran. Thus, as per the general rule of exclusion that everything else is included, therefore, anything outside the list of prohibitions as mentioned in Quran is allowed as long as they are Halalan Tayyibaan, remain within the parameter and boundaries of Deen via Observance of Taqwa.

Allah says in Quran- Ayah 7:32, “Say, ‘Who has forbidden the Zyynat of Allah which Allah has produced for Allah’s Aabid and the Tayyibaat from Rizq?’ Say, ‘They are for those who have Emaan during the worldly life and exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.’ Thus, do WE detail the Ayaat for a people who know.” This ayah clearly shows that the Zayyin/Zeenat (those aspects that we get attracted to) are also provided by Allah as Rizq – that is ways and means of our personality and character development and is provided to Allah’s Ibaad (those who do Abd of Allah – who follow laws of Allah) as enjoyment of this worldly life and hence cannot be prohibited and considered Haram. Additionally, these would be exclusively for Allah’s Aabid on the day of Resurrection. Also no one can prohibit what Allah has not prohibited. All of Allah’s creations and bounties are there as Rizq during the worldly life, all these which we are attracted to and looks good to us as per our nature, as per Tayyibaat, are allowed and are in fact these are the ways and means of our personality and character development.

Observing of Taqwa, being extra careful and cautious of the laws of Allah, Laws of Deen as mentioned in the Quran, while one kulu, consume, or engage in any manner the Halalan Tayyibaan, is a must requirement. It’s because of this that at the end when Allah says’ Observe Taqwa of Allah- the one whom you are Mo’minuna with” is stressing the same concept when Allah addressed in the biggening ‘those who Amanu’, who use their faculties and thinking and intellect (Aqal), to seek knowledge and to be in utter and deep conviction (Aman) with Allah and who are upholders of their oath, promise and covenant with Allah (Aiemaan). Thus, the concept of Taqwa is being extra careful and protective, in terms of All these concepts of Emaan, and especially in terms of one’s oath, promise and covenant with Allah as their A’emaan, to abide by these terms of the covenant, these laws in letter and spirit.

WQT

What is Halal – Allowed as per Quran?