Are there any things that were rendered haram by Hadiths?

- Are there any things rendered haram in hadiths (by the Prophet (pbuh)) though they are not mentioned in the Quran?

- What things are we asked clearly to do like the Prophet did in the Quran?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Answer 1:

A hadith regarding the issue is as follows:

"I have been given the Quran and something like it with it. The time is coming when a man replete on his couch will say, ‘Keep to the Quran; what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible, and what you find in it to be prohibited treat as prohibited.’ Know it that what the Messenger of Allah renders haram is like what Allah renders haram." (Musnad: 4/130-133, Tirmidhi, Ilm, hadith no 2660)

A similar hadith was also reported by Miqdam b. Ma'dikarib. [see Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 6, (4604); Tirmidhi, Ilm, 60, (2666); Ibn Majah, Muqaddima 2]

Two verses regarding the issue are as follows:

“Those who follow the messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure)…” (al-A’raf, 7/157)

“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (at-Tawba, 9/29)

It is clearly seen in those verses that the Prophet (pbuh) was given the authority to render things haram.

In the second verse, after the phrase "which hath been forbidden by Allah" is used the phrase and His Messenger is mentioned. Therefore, it will be wrong to limit them as only the verses that Allah rendered haram. Since Allah renders haram through verses, what His Messenger renders haram must be different from it. However, Allah’s Messenger can render things haram with the permission of Allah only.

Answer 2:

Allah gave the Prophet the authority to explain the verses of the Quran as well as to make decrees on the issues that did not exist in the Quran.

The real Shari’, that is, the legislator, is definitely Allah. His Messenger was also “Shari’” called metaphorically based on the authority he received from Allah.

As a matter of fact, the following verse expresses clearly that a believer can have no other choice in the face of a decree given by Allah and His Messenger:

“It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.” (al-Ahzab, 33/36)

Hz. Prophet has the authority to make decrees in general without being limited with the decrees that existed in the Quran with the permission of Allah.

Some examples of the decrees made by Hz. Prophet about the issues that did not exist in the Quran are as follows: the times and rak’ahs of five daily prayers, how to perform five daily prayers, witr prayer being wajib, turning toward Bayt al-Maqdis in prayers before the Kaaba was made the qiblah, things that invalidate and do not invalidate fasting, determining the people for whom zakah is fard, the way of divorcing, many decrees about diyahs, the penalty for drinking alcohol, the amount of theft that necessitates a thief to be punished, menstruating women not performing prayers and not fasting, the inheritance of the grandmother.

In addition, although they are not mentioned among the ones who are rendered haram to marry in the verse (an-Nisa, 4/23), the Prophet added that a woman’s paternal aunt, maternal aunt, sister, daughter and her brother’s daughter are haram for a man to marry while he is married to that woman. (Bukhari, Nikah 27). Although they are not mentioned in the Quran, it became definite by hadiths that the flesh of the animals like mule, donkey, lion, tiger, elephant, wolf, hedgehog, monkey and dog, and the flesh of the birds of prey like eagle, hawk and falcon are haram. (Bukhari, Dhabaih, 29; Muslim, Sayd 12). It was also made definite by hadiths that it is haram to wear gold and silk for men.

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