Haram literally
means ‘the prohibited, unlawful. It is a prohibition determined by Allah SWT to
His servants from engaging in it. Dr Yusuf Al-Qardhawi define it as ‘that which
the law-giver has absolutely prohibited; anyone who engages in it is liable to
incur the punishment of Allah in the Hereafter as well as a legal punishment in
this world.
Meanwhile haram
transaction can be defined as a prohibited muamalah activity instructed by
Allah SWT to His servants from involving in this activities. Basically, the
haram transactions are clearly mentioned in the Al-Quran and it is an
obligation for Muslims to avoid them. Salman Al-Farisi reported that when the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked about animal fat, cheese and fur, he replied,
“The halal is that which Allah has made lawful in His book and the haram is
that which He has forbidden, and that concerning which He is silent. He has
permitted as a favor to you. (Reported by Al-Tarmidhi and Ibn Majah).
Basically all
transactions which giving benefits for the involved parties are permitted or
halal. Nothing is haram except what is prohibited by a sound and explicit nas
(nas means either a verse of the Al-Quran or a clear, authentic and explicit
sunnah.) It is solely the right of Allah SWT in making any transaction halal or
haram. There is no other party who has being given the same right no matter who
they are.
Transactions of
Haram activity
The transaction
is not an aim of any activity but it is a tool in achieving the targeted aim.
For an example, in order to have a good shelter, a man needs to buy a house.
The aim of this activity is to own a house but in order to get it he needs to
enter into sales and purchase agreement. In a straight forward transaction,
this agreement is halal for both i.e. the means and the end.
However, if the
end is haram, for example to involve in an alcoholic business, it will lead to
a haram transaction even as per mentioned above that all transactions are
permissible. This is based on Islamic principle that if something is
prohibited, anything which leads to it is likewise prohibited. In Arabic, it is
stated as :-
ما لا يتم الواجب إلا به فهو واجب
To support this
argument, Muslim jurists have established the criterion that whatever is
conducive to or leads toward haram is itself haram. On the same ground, the
Muslims believe that the sin of haram is not limited to the person who is
engaged into the transaction but it will include others who have supported him
in this, materially or morally; each is held accountable according to his
share.
Makruh
Based on layman
understanding, makruh (the detested) is something which is disapproved by Allah
SWT but not in a strong way. Dr Yusuf Al-Qardhawi defined makruh as that which
is disapproved by the Law-Giver but not very strongly. The makruh is less in
degree that the haram, and the punishment for makruh acts is less than for
those that are haram, except when done to excess and in a manner which leads an
individual toward what is haram.
However, makruh
tansactions are related to the transactions which the purpose is to cater the
makruh activity or the activity which fall under the gray area. For example, to
sell grapes is halal but to sell it to a guy that having a rumor that he will
use it for the wine production is makruh except the seller has a proof that the
guy will confirm is a wine producer and will use it in his production and the
latter is haram because it is clear involving in the haram activity.
Hanafis divided
makruh into two sectors, one is makruh tanzihan and the second is makruh
tahriman. Makruh tanzihan has been defined as an act from which one is required
to refrain in a non-absolute and non-compulsive manner. It is far from haram.
On the other hand, makruh tahriman being closer to unlawfulness means that it
is an act of which one should beware and one is not liable to punishment by
fire and it is closer to haram compared to the makruh tanzihan.
In the issues
of makruh, Muslims are advisable to avoid it as it will make them more closer to
Allah SWT. The Prophet SAW said :-
عن أبي عبدالله النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنهما قال : سمعت رسول الله
صلي الله عليه وسلم يقول : (إن الحلال بين وإن الحرام بين وبينهما أمور مشتبهات لا
يعلمهن كثير من الناس فمن اتقي الشبهات فقد استبرأ لدينه وعرضه ومن وقع في الشبهات
وقع في الحرام كالراعي يرعي حول الحمي يوشك أن يرتع فيه ألا وإن لكل ملك حمي ألا
وإن حمي الله محارمه ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله وإذا فسدت فسد
الجسد كله ألا وهي القلب.
The meaning:
On the
authority of Abu Abdillah An Nu’man Bin Basheer (radiyallahu Anhuma) who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say:-
That which is
lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of
them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who
avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his
honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters (eventually) falls into that
which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but
grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah’s sanctuary
is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it
be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of (the
body) is diseased. Truly, it is the heart. (Hadith by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
From the above
hadith we can extract that, it is better not to involve in any makruh
transaction no matter either it is makruh tanzihan or makruh tahriman as it is
in a grey area and the involvement will sometime is very difficult to judge.
The good judge for such activity is only he himself and Allah SWT. It is why
the hadith is directly discussed about the function of the heart.
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