Allah Almighty says: {And you think it is insignificant, while it is tremendous in the sight of Allah.} [An-Nūr: 15] He also says: {Indeed, your Lord is observing everything.} [Al-Fajr: 14]
588/1 - Al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear, and there are matters between them that are doubtful and not many people know of them. Whoever avoids the doubtful matters saves their religion and honor from being blamed, but whoever indulges in the doubtful matters falls into unlawful matters. It is like a shepherd herding his sheep close to a restricted area; they are liable to trespass into it at any moment. Beware, every king has a restricted area, and the restricted area of Allah is His prohibitions. Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh, if it is upright, the rest of the body follows, and if it is corrupted, the rest of the body follows. This piece of flesh is the heart.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
Doubtful matters: confusing, because it is unclear whether they are lawful or unlawful.
Restricted area: This is a place enclosed and guarded to prevent anyone from approaching.
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1) The prohibitions under the Shariah are protected by a tight fence, lest people fall into them. Each prohibition is surrounded by barriers that block access to it.
2) Whoever feels confused about some religious matter should leave it out of erring on the side of caution.
3) We are urged and instructed to seek knowledge, for it is a light through which we can see the truths that are unclear to many people. Sufyaan al-Thawri said: “Knowledge is that a scholar grants you a proper concession. As for giving the strictest opinion, anybody can do that well.”
4) A person’s righteousness or wickedness rests upon his heart. So, a Muslim should be careful to reform his heart, which can be achieved by fearing Allah Almighty in terms of constantly observing His commands and prohibitions.
589/2 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) came across a date on his way so he said: “Were it not for my fear that it could be from charity, I would eat it.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) One of the characteristics of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and his household is that charity is forbidden for them, since charity is regarded as the impurities of people.
2) It is recommended for a person feeling doubt about something to let his sense of God-fearing prevail and leave that thing.
590/3 - Al-Nawwās ibn Sam‘ān (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Righteousness is good character, and sin is what wavers in your heart and you hate that people know about it.” [Narrated by Muslim]
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1) A sin has two signs: that it wavers in one’s heart and gives him feelings of unease, and that he dislikes that people should know about it.
2) What should a person do regarding something that causes suspicion within his heart? God-fearing and piety dictate that he keeps away from it.
591/4 - Wābisah ibn Ma‘bad (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and he asked me: ‘Have you come to inquire about piety?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is what the soul feels reassured about and the heart feels comfort in, and sin is what causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people give you verdicts again and again (in its favor).’” [Narrated by Ahmad and Al-Dārimi in their Musnads]
1) “Ask your heart” is addressed to those with sound hearts which are free from unlawful lusts and evil ideas.
2) Understanding the Prophet’s definition of piety and sin, which is one of the best and most comprehensive definitions.
592/5 - Abu Sirwa‘ah ‘Uqbah ibn al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he married the daughter of Abu Ihāb ibn ‘Azīz, then a woman came to him and said: “I suckled ‘Uqbah and the woman he married.” ‘Uqbah said to her: “I do not know that you suckled me, and you did not inform me.” So he rode to the Prophet in Madīnah and asked him about it. The Prophet said: “How (can you keep your wife) after it has been said (that both of you were suckled by the same woman)?” So ‘Uqbah divorced her and she married another husband. [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
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1) A woman’s testimony that she has suckled a person is sufficient proof to confirm it.
2) A person who is unaware or uncertain about some ruling is required to refer to the scholars.
3) A person should be cautious to preserve his religion. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best of your religion is piety.” [Narrated by Al-Hākim]
Suckling that causes non-marriageability is that which meets the following conditions:
1) The milk comes from a woman; Allah Almighty said: {And your [milk] mothers who nursed you}
2) There were five full (satiating) sucklings or more.
3) The suckling takes place within the first two years before weaning.
If non-marriageability is established, it applies to the suckled person and his progeny only, i.e. his descendants. As for his ascendants and collaterals, like his parents and siblings, it has no effect on them.
For example, the father of the suckled child, his brother, and his sister are not affected by this suckling.
593/6 - Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I learned this from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): “Leave what you doubt for what you do not doubt.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; he classified it as Hasan Sahīh (sound and authentic)]
It means: Give up what you are doubtful about and turn to what you have no doubts about.
1) Do not act except on what you believe to be certain or most likely. As for doubt, it is not a basis for rulings in the Shariah.
2) The believer should stop at suspicious matters and avoid them so that he can base his religion on what is clear and certain.
594/7 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “Abu Bakr al-Siddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) had a slave who used to give him a portion of his daily income as the master’s share. Abu Bakr used to eat the food bought with that share. Once he brought him some food and Abu Bakr ate from it. The slave then said: ‘Do you know what the source of this is?’ Abu Bakr said: ‘What is it?’ The slave said: ‘I did some soothsaying for a man before I embraced Islam, and I was not good at soothsaying, but I deceived him. He met me and rewarded me for my work. That is the source of what you have eaten from.’ Upon hearing this, Abu Bakr inserted his hand (in his mouth) and vomited all that was in his stomach.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
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1) The wage of soothsaying is ill-gotten money, whether the soothsayer is good at this work or not. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the earning of soothsayers. The wage for doing something unlawful is also unlawful.
2) It shows how perfectly God-fearing Abu Bakr was (may Allah be pleased with him) and his keenness not to let any doubtful thing into his body. How far from this is the one who eats along with his household earnings that are known for certain to be unlawful, like Riba (usurious interest)!
595/8 - Nāfi‘ reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) allocated a sum of four thousand dirhams for each of the early Muhājirūn (immigrants), but for his son, he allocated three thousand and five hundred. He was asked: “He (your son) is also from the Muhājirūn. So why did you allocate a lesser sum for him?” He said: “It was his father who took him along with him. He is not like one who emigrated by himself.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
1) It shows the piety of the Commander of the Faithful ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him), as his emotion as a father would not drive him to act unjustly.
2) A Muslim ruler or anyone in authority should treat everyone as is due. This is the attitude of pious and just people.
596/9 - ‘Atiyyah ibn ‘Urwah al-Sa‘di (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A person does not attain the rank of the pious until he abandons what is permissible as a precaution against committing what is impermissible.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; he classified it as Hasan (sound)] [5]
1) It is part of perfect piety and certitude to give up what is lawful but involves doubt for fearing of committing what is unlawful.
2) If a lawful thing is mixed with an unlawful one, we should avoid it all. This is because we are required to avoid anything unlawful, which cannot be done in such a case without avoiding the entire matter.