The blessing of halal and the curse of haram
یَا أَیُّھَا النَّاسُ کُلُواْ مِمَّا فِیْ الأَرْضِ حَلاَلاً طَیِّباً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّیْطَانِ إِنَّہُ لَکُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِیْنٌ(۱۶۸) إِنَّمَا یَأْمُرُکُمْ بِالسُّوء ِ وَالْفَحْشَاء وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَی اللہِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ(۱۶۹) …(سورة البقرة).
Translation: “O people! Eat of the lawful and pure things on earth, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is an open enemy to you. He will order you to commit evil and indecency, and to attribute to Allah that of which you have no knowledge.” (Easy Translation of the Quran).
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Explanation:
It should be lawful and wholesome according to the Sharia, and should not be inherently forbidden, such as dead animals, pigs, and animals that are called by the name of other than Allah (animals on which the name of someone other than Allah is invoked and whose nearness to Him is sought through the slaughter of animals), nor should it be forbidden by any temporary decree.
Such as usurpation, theft, bribery, and usury, all of which must be avoided. And do not follow the devil at all. He makes forbidden whatever he wants, such as bulls in the name of idols, etc., and makes lawful whatever he wants, such as animals that are called by the name of other than Allah, etc…” (Tafsir Uthmani: p. 31). Under the phrase “And do not say anything about Allah that you do not know,” Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) says: “That is, do not make up the issues and rulings of the Shariah on your own. As is seen in many cases, from minor issues to matters of belief, leaving aside the texts of the Shariah, they make up rulings on their own and distort and distort the definitive texts and the sayings of the Salaf.”
In the mirror of the Prophetic Hadith
At this point, Allama Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) quotes a Hadith Qudsi with reference to Ayyad bin Himar (may Allah have mercy on him), in which Allah Almighty says: “The wealth I have given to my servants is lawful for them. (The same Hadith goes on to say) I created my servants on a true religion (a religion that is free from kufr and polytheism and inclined towards Islam). Later, the devils came to them and misled them regarding their religion and forbade them from what I had made lawful for my servants.” (Ibn Kathir: 1/267).
Countless blessings of halal earnings and good sustenance
There are countless blessings of halal earnings and good sustenance. When a halal morsel enters a person’s stomach, good deeds emerge from it, goodness spreads, and it causes the spread of good deeds. On the contrary, forbidden food debilitates the human body. The light of faith is extinguished, the world of the heart becomes desolate and barren.
Satan takes possession of his heart. Then such a person becomes a harmful animal for society. How and why can good deeds be accomplished by a mouth that is addicted to forbidden? This clear distinction between halal and forbidden is so effective that the one who eats good and pure earnings becomes acceptable and accepted by Allah; while the one who makes forbidden and evil a part of his body is rejected and rejected by Allah Almighty. This is clearly explained in many blessed hadiths.
It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I recited this verse (O Messenger of Allah! Pray for me to be accepted from Allah). He (peace be upon him) said: “O Saad! Keep your food pure and lawful. You will be accepted from Allah. By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad! The truth is that whoever puts a morsel of forbidden food into his stomach, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days. The one whose growth and development is based on forbidden food and interest is more deserving of the Fire of Hell.” (Ibn Kathir: 1/267)
In another hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned the abomination and detestability of unlawful wealth in this way: “Indeed, Allah is pure and He accepts only pure wealth. And Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, commands His believing servants to do the same thing that He commanded His Messengers.” Then he recited these verses of the Holy Quran: “O Messengers! Eat of the good and lawful things and do righteous deeds.” Then he recited these verses of the Holy Quran: “O Messengers! Eat of the good and lawful things and do righteous deeds.” Then he mentioned a man who was on a long journey, covered in dust and dirt. He raised his hands towards the sky and prayed, “O my Lord! “O my Lord! When (the reality is that) his food, drink and clothing are all forbidden, and he is getting forbidden food, then how can his prayers be accepted in this state?” (Mishkat: 241)
If we look at it, today, in most languages, there is a complaint that “we pray so much, yet our condition does not change.” However, if we work with a little thought and consideration, we find that the thought of earning halal is completely missing in our society and environment, except Masha Allah. The general atmosphere has become that desires have been given the status of necessities; while human desires are like a sea without shore.
It is impossible for every wish and aspiration in the world to be fulfilled. The problem is that there is a race among us to fulfill these unlimited desires. In the same family, the husband’s desires are different from those of the wife. While the children are hoping to achieve something else, the parents are distracted by some other thought, and wealth is being accumulated. And it is not seen whether the source of income is halal or haram, permissible or unlawful, good or bad, within or outside the limits of Sharia.
This is exactly the same situation that our beloved Prophet, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), described fourteen hundred years ago. His blessed saying is: “A time will come upon people in which a person will not pay attention to whether the wealth he is earning is halal or haram.” (Mishkat: 241).
When a person ignores all that is lawful
When a person ignores all that is lawful. Instead of patience, contentment, asceticism, and perseverance, he makes greed, lust, and luxury his goal, then the blessings bestowed by Allah the Almighty cease. After which, even abundance begins to be felt as scarcity. Even if such a person gets the treasure of Quran, he considers it less. This is the reason why when he spends his impure wealth in the way of Allah, it is not accepted from him. In addition, as long as this unlawful bank balance remains in his possession, it continues to pave the way for Hell for him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said in a blessed hadith regarding this: “When a servant earns unlawful wealth and spends some of it in the way of Allah, it is not accepted from him. Similarly, (when he spends unlawful wealth on himself), it is not blessed for him. And (if) he keeps this unlawful wealth with himself (with the intention of hoarding it), it becomes a means of getting to Hell for him. Remember! Allah does not repel evil with evil; rather, He repels evil with good; because evil does not repel evil.” (Mishkat: 242)
Hazrat Maulana Ahmad Ali Saharanpuri Noorullah Markadah writes in his commentary on the last sentence of the aforementioned blessed hadith: “Charity and spending from unlawful wealth are sins, and it cannot wipe out the sins that have been acquired through unlawful earnings.” (Hashiya Mishkat: 242).
The conclusion
This is that the law of halal and haram is not an invention of the human mind; rather, it is purely based on revelation. Whatever the Holy Shariah declares as halal is pure and pure, and whatever it declares as haram is forbidden and impure. Whoever acts rationally in matters of Shariah is on the path of Satan. In this borrowed life, one should find and adopt pure means of earning a living and satisfying one’s stomach. Haram, whether small or large, should be avoided; because only with good food does society move towards reform, prayers are accepted, and blessings are bestowed. May Allah Almighty protect us from the bite of haram and grant us the dignity and honor of halal. Amen.
