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| Chapter 9: The Prohibition [al-Harām] & The Permissible [al-Mubāh] |
| Culture - Usul & Fiqh |
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Yet the revelation remaining silent about something does not mean that it is permissible because his (saw) saying in the hadith, “The halāl is that which Allah has made halāl” includes everything that is not prohibited, so it includes the wājib, the mandūb, the mubāh, and the makrūh, since it is true of all of these that they are permissible in the sense that they are not prohibited. Therefore ‘that which He remained silent on’ does not mean that it is mubāh. As for his (saw) saying, “on that which He remained silent, it is from that which He has conceded”, and his (saw) saying in another hadith, “and that which He remained silent on, then it is a concession” (Bayhaqi), and his saying in another hadith, “and He has remained silent about things as a concession to you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not ask about them” (Bayhaqi), the meaning of His silence on things is His making them halāl, such that His making them halāl is considered a concession from Allah, and a mercy to the people. This is by the evidence of the saying of the Messenger (saw) narrated in the hadith of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, “The worst of the Muslims amongst the Muslims is the one who asks about a thing which is not prohibited on them and consequently becomes prohibited upon them due to his questioning,” (Muslim), referring to the one who asks about a thing about the prohibition of which the revelation is silent.
Thus silence in this ahādith is silence from prohibition, not silence from clarifying the hukm shar’i. The later interpretation is not tenable since Allah has not remained silent from clarifying the hukm shar’i. To the contrary He has clarified it in all things, as He (swt) says,
«وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَاناً لِّكُلِّ شَيْء» “And we sent down to you the book explaining all things” (al-Nahl: 89); thus the mubāh is not that which the revelation is silent on, rather it is that which the revelation expounds as being mubāh. Further, the rulings of permissibility all come with their specific evidence. Thus the permissibility of hunting is clear in His (swt) saying, «وَإِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَاصْطَادُوا» “And when you remove the ihram then go forth and hunt” (al-Ma’idah: 2); and the permissibility of spreading out after salat al-jumu’a is clear in His (swt) saying, «فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانْتَشِرُوا» “Then when the prayer is completed, disperse…” (al-Jumu’a: 10); and the permissibility of trade is clear in His (swt) saying, «وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ» “And Allah has permitted trade” (al-Baqarah: 275); and the permissibility of leasing [ijārah], agency [wakālah], mortgaging [rahan] and the like are all clear in their evidences. Therefore ibāhah is a legal ruling the establishment of which requires legal evidence. |
The following is a translation from the Usul Al-Fiqh masterpiece of the Arabic book “The Islamic Personality Volume 3” by Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani. Please refer to the original Arabic for accurate meanings.