Will you please give information about the five types of ahkâm in the religion of Islam?

Dear Brother / Sister,

1. Fard/Wâjib (Obligatory)

Fard expresses the meanings of religious obligation, being religiously necessary to be done, declaring, cutting and dividing into shares. The word fard, which is mentioned eighteen times in the Quran, is used in different senses.

“There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what Allah has indicated to him as a duty” (al-Ahzab, 33/38). “For Hajj are the months well known. If any one undertakes that duty therein, let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj” (al-Baqara, 2/197). “Alms are for: ... (thus is it) ordained by Allah” (at-Tawba, 9/60). “If ye divorce women before consummation or the fixation of their dower; but bestow on them (a suitable gift)...” (al-Baqara, 2/236) “Allah did curse him, but he said: “I will take of Thy servants a portion Marked off” (an-Nisa, 4/118)

The word fard used in the Quran expresses wujub (necessity) when it is used with the preposition ‘ala’; when it is used with the preposition ‘lam’, it sometimes means necessity and sometimes declaration (Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, VI, 5109).

Fard is used in different senses in the hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh); it is also used in the sense of wajib. “There has come to you Ramadan, in which Allah has enjoined you to fast” (Nasai, Siyam, 5).

Fard as a fiqh term: It is used for the deeds that are certain to have been ordered by the Shari’ (Allah) and that necessitate punishment when they are absolutely abandoned without an excuse. What is meant by an excuse is an excused regarded as legitimate by the religion such as the traveler’s abandoning fasting in Ramadan. What is meant by absolute abandoning is delaying it due to an obstacle like not performing a prayer at the beginning of the time. Hanafi fiqh scholars do not include the decrees that are certain based on conjectural evidence as it can be understood from the definition. Since fard is certain based on definite evidence, a person becomes an unbeliever when he denies a fard. If it is denied by interpretation, the denier becomes a fasiq (open sinner).

Hanafis describe the decrees that are certain based on conjectural evidence as wajib. Imam Shafi’i does not distinguish between fard and wajib in terms of deeds but he evaluates them like Hanafi scholars in terms of creed. It shows that the difference related to fard and wajib between Hanafis and Shafiis is not in essence, but in words. Fard is divided into two as qat’i (definite) and ijtihadi (based on ijtihad). Definite fard means the deeds that are clearly stated to be done based on evidence. It is also called fard based on deed (amal) and knowledge (ilm). Ijtihadi fard means the fards determined by the ijtihad of mujtahid imams; when they are abandoned, they cease to be fard. For example, issues such as the amount of wiping the head in wudu, fards of wudu, and reciting (reading) al-Fatiha in prayer are considered differently among madhhabs. Denial of fards determined by nass (verses of the Quran and sound hadiths) such as prayer and fasting leads to unbelief (Tahanawi, Kashshaf, II, 1126, Maydani, Lubab, I, 6).

Fard is divided into two in terms of responsible people:

1- Fard al-ayn: It is a duty that is fard for every responsible person.

2-Fard al-kifaya: It is a duty that when it is performed by some responsible people, the others do not have to perform (Ömer Nasuhi, Istılahatı Fıkhıyye Kâmusu, 1, 33).

Fard al-ayn is superior to fard al-kifaya, in terms of virtue and thawab because, if something is generalized, its burden decreases. When it becomes specific, it becomes more difficult. When a fard al-kifaya is abandoned by everybody, all people will be held responsible for it (Ibn Abidin, Raddul-Muhtar, I, 42).

IA

MANDUB / Mustaḥabb / (Recommended)

Mandub means a deed that is loved, appropriate to do and encouraged to be done. Although it is considered good to do it religiously, it is all right not to do it; the Prophet (pbuh) sometimes did them and sometimes abandoned them. Mandub is also called mustahab, nafilah, tatawwu and ihsan. The prayers, fasting and sadaqahs other than fard, wajib and sunnah al-muakkadah are regarded mandub. Since mandub is considered a good deed, those who perform mandub deeds will receive thawabs and those who abandon them will not be punished. That evaluation is according to Hanafi madhhab. According to the majority of Islamic fiqh scholars, mandub is a general concept that includes the terms sunnah and mustahab and is described as follows: It is a deed that Allah or His Messenger wants to be done without binding and does not condemn a person when it is not done. There is a presumption (qarinah) in mandub that the decree is not strictly binding. That presumption can be a verse, hadith, or one of the general principles of Islamic law. There may be a presumption in the form of not imposing a penalty on the person who abandons it. For example:

The following is stated in the Quran: “O ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce them to writing” (al-Baqara, 2/282). In this verse, the order to write the debt is not binding; it shows that the deed is mandub because the statement “And if one of you deposits a thing on trust with another, Let the trustee (Faithfully) discharge His trust” in the next verse removes the obligation to write. In short, if there is trust between the creditor and the debtor, writing the debt is not obligatory.

In today’s borrowings, both practices are seen. However, writing the debt provides ease of proof in case of forgetting or denial; it also provides the opportunity to transfer your receivables to someone else through the endorsement of bills and checks. Therefore, writing all receivables and payables, and even all conditions concerning future dates in contracts eliminates disputes, accusations, slander, and bad thoughts between people. A person might not be held religiously responsible for not issuing a bill or check for his receivables and payables but the disagreements that may arise in case of failure to pay the debt will force the parties to commit other haram or makruh deeds. Acting in accordance with writing, which is a mandub deed, protects the believer from all those risks and dangers

Mandub is divided into three.

1) The deeds that the Prophet regularly did and rarely abandoned just to show that they are not binding: Sunnah prayers of the morning (fajr), noon (zuhr) or evening (maghrib) prayers, rinsing the mouth while making wudu, etc. ... Those kinds of mandubs are called “Sunnah al-Muakkadah” or “Sunnah al-Huda “. Some sunnah al-muakkadahs may be in the form of completing religious obligations such as adhan and congregational prayers.

A person who performs this kind of mandub deeds gains thawabs. A person who abandons them does not deserve punishment, but deserves to be reprimanded and scolded. If a society collectively abandons the mandubs among Islamic principles such as adhan and performing prayers in congregation, a war needs to be waged against them because of disdaining the sunnah.

2) The deeds that the Prophet sometimes did and sometimes abandoned such as the four rak’ah sunnah prayers performed before the afternoon (asr) and night (isha) prayers, and sadaqah given to the poor from time to time. Those deeds are in the form of worship and are called “Sunnah Ghayr Muakkadah”, “Nafilah” or “Mustahab “.

Those who perform a mandub deed in this group gain thawabs and those who abandon it do not deserve to be reprimanded and scolded.

3) The deeds that are done by the Prophet as a human being and that do not have the quality of conveying a message from Allah or explaining Allah’s religion. The habits of the Messenger of Allah related to eating, drinking and dressing, wearing white clothes, and dyeing his hair and beard with henna are among them. This part is called “Sunnah az-Zawaid “.

The decree on the zawaid sunnah. If a believer eats, drinks and dresses like the Prophet because of his love, respect and devotion to him, he deserves thawabs. If he abandons those deeds, he is not regraded to have committed a bad deed. He does not deserve to be reprimanded and scolded either.

In his book named al-Muwafaqat, Shatibi explains the benefits and wisdom related to performing mandub deeds in the sense of sunnah as follows:  

Every mandub reported from the Prophet as a sunnah is a helper for the fulfillment and protection of fard and wajib. If a person constantly fulfills the mandubs he is to do, he cannot neglect by any means the fards and wajibs that he is obliged to do constantly. If a person acts neglectfully to fulfill mandubs, he can also act neglectfully to perform fards. We are advised to hurry to eat iftar and to delay eating suhoor in the hadith. Following this sunnah makes fasting easier and enables the believer to perform it constantly.

Mandub is a sunnah that should be done as a whole, not individually. The Prophet abandoned sunnah al-muakkadahs occasionally and sunnah ghayr-muakkadahs more often. Therefore, it is permissible for a person to abandon them in some cases, but he cannot leave them altogether. For example, if the people of a country completely abandon adhan, it is necessary to force them to call it. No one can leave performing prayers in congregation completely. The Prophet states the following regarding the issue:

“Some people should desist from failing to attend the congregations; otherwise, Allah will seal their hearts, and they will be among the heedless people.” (Ibn Majah, Masajid, 17)

In some cases, a person might not marry. However, the whole society cannot abandon marriage. Otherwise, the family, which is the core of the society, will disappear and the society will be dragged into disaster. Therefore, some Shiite fiqh scholars say marriage is fard al-kifaya (Shatibi, al-Muwafaqat, Cairo, Matba’a at-Tijariyya, I, 132, 133, 151; Abu Zahra, Usulul-Fiqh, p.39-42; Zakiyuddin Sha’ban, Transl. İ. Kafi Dönmez, Ankara 1990, p. 213-215; Abdulwahhab Khallaf, Ilmu Usulil - Fiqh, Translation. Hüseyin Atay, Ankara 1973, p. 264, 265).

Hamdi DÖNDÜREN

Mubâh (Permissible)

Things that are not demanded to do or not to do, that is, that are permissible to do or not to do, or things in which there is no harm doing or not doing. Mubah is also called halal such as eating, sleeping and traveling. However, if abandoning mubah things completely or doing them constantly forms an obstacle to fard, wajib, sunnah or mustahab deeds, mubah deeds can be haram, strongly makruh or makruh as well as fard, wajib or sunnah. For example, it is mubah to eat. In other words, no one will be rewarded or punished for eating. However, it is haram to gorge oneself after he is full. It is fard for a person to eat enough to fulfill his duty and not to become too weak.

For example, it is mubah to do sports. However, it is makruh or haram to be engaged in sports so much as to delay or miss prayers or other duties. It is wajib or sunnah to do sports in order to gain strength against the enemy or to fulfill legitimate duties.

Makrûh (Disliked)

It is an attribute Islam gives to some deeds of responsible believers. It is a passive noun and adjective derived from the root karahah. Karahah means not to want, not to like and to regard something ugly. Makruh means what is not wanted or liked, or an ugly deed. As a fiqh term, makruh means a deed that Allah and His Messenger does not want to be done, in a way that is not binding. 

The deeds of a responsible person are included in one of the following categories: Fard, wajib, sunnah, mustahab, mubah, haram, makruh and mufsid. According to the majority of fiqh scholars except Hanafis, there are five deeds: wajib, mandub, haram, makruh and mubah.

There are some close aspects between haram and makruh. Both of them express the deeds that are prohibited or that are not regarded as good. However, haram includes the deeds that Allah and His Messenger prohibits definitely and bindingly. The following nass can be given as examples: "Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters…" (an-Nisa, 4/23) "It is not halal to take what belongs to a Muslim without his consent." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, V, 72); "…Kill not your children on a plea of want…" (al-An'am, 6/151)

The prohibition in makruh is not as definite and binding as in haram. That a deed is prohibited in the degree of karahah is understood from some expressions used in verses and hadiths and some concepts that are meant. The use of the word karahah or use of a negative command including an indication that it does not express definite prohibition, or the existence of expressions that advise people not to do a deed in nass are main properties that discriminate makruh from haram.

It is possible to see haram and makruh deeds together in the following hadith:

"Allah has forbidden for you disobedience to mothers, burying daughters alive, withholding the right of others in spite of having the power to return that to them and demanding what is not one's legitimate right. And He has disapproved gossiping, asking too many questions and wasting of wealth." (Bukhari, Riqaq, 22, Zakah, 53; Muslim, Aqdiya, 10, 13, 14; Malik, Muwatta', Kalam, 20; Darimi, Riqaq, 38)

The following verse can be given as an example for negative command in the sense of makruh: " O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic)…"(al-Jumu'a, 62/9). The phrase "leave off business" in the verse is a negative command in the sense of "do not do business", expressing prohibition. However, the prohibition here is not related to business directly; it originates from something that is outside business. It is the fact that doing business at the time of Friday prayer will prevent people from going to mosque for Friday prayer. Therefore, it is regarded permissible for women, children or non-Muslims, who do not have to perform Friday prayer, to do business/shopping at that time. 

Hanafis call such business "makruh tahrimi" since the prohibition is based on an external reason and regard such a transaction (shopping) valid. According to the majority of the scholars, the decree on such shopping is haram. (see Ibn Rushd, Bidayatul-Mujtahid, Cairo 1952, II, 167-168; az-Zuhayli, al-Fiqhul-Islami wa Adillatuh, Damascus 1985, II, 263-264, IV, 240)

Sometimes, an expression that encourages people not to do a deed may have been used. For instance, the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The best mahr is the one that is the easiest." (Abu Dawud, Nikah). This hadith encourages people not to go too far in mahr.

In Hanafis, the concepts of haram and makruh are somewhat different from the other madhhabs. According to Hanafis, haram is a deed that is wanted not to be done by a definite evidence like the Quran, mutawatir or mashhur sunnah in a definite and binding way like fornication, interest, drinking wine, blood and eating the flesh of an animal that died as murdar (in a way that makes the flesh dirty). The decree on haram is punishing the one who commits it and regarding a person who denies its being haram as an unbeliever and apostate.

Makruh is divided into two as tahrimi and tanzihi.

a) Makruh tahrimi:

If Allah and His Messenger wants a deed not to be done in a definite and binding way but if it has become certain through an evidence based on something like khabar wahid, it is called "makruh tahrimi (close to haram)". A person should not enter into a transaction when his brother is already making a transaction and he should not make a proposal of marriage when his brother has already made a proposal except when he gives permission." (see Bukhari, Nikah, 45; Muslim, Buyu', 8, Nikah, 38, 49, 52, 54, 56). It is definitely and bindingly stated that a Muslim must avoid buying something that a person is about to sell to another person and must avoid asking the hand of a girl who has already been asked by another person in marriage. The decree about it should be haram but since that hadith is khabar wahid, it is regarded as   "makruh tahrimi".

Committing a makruh tahrimi deed necessitates punishment but a person who denies it does not exit the religion.

b) Makruh Tanzihi

If a prohibition imposed by Allah and His Messenger is not definite and binding, this deed is called "makruh tanzihi (close to halal)" like a person who goes to mosque after eating raw onion and garlic that will disturb people with the smell. The Prophet (pbuh) said,

"He who has eaten onion and garlic should stay at home; he should not come to the mosque." (Bukhari, Adhan, 160; Abu Dawud, At'ima, 41)

The decree on performing nafilah prayers after the afternoon prayer and just before the sunset is makruh tanzihi.

Committing a makruh tanzihi deed does not necessitate punishment and condemnation. However, a person who abandons two types of makruh is praised. The madhhab imams except Hanafis regard the deeds that are accepted as "makruh tahrimi" by Hanafis as haram. They find it enough to use only the term "makruh" for the deeds about which there are signs showing that they are not prohibited in the sense of haram. The following verse

"O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble..." (al-Maida, 5/101)

and the following hadith

"Allah does not like it when you gossip, ask a lot of questions and waste your property." (Bukhari, İstikrâz. 19)

can be shown as examples regarding the issue. (see M. Abu Zahra, Usulul-Fiqh, y.y., 1377/1958, p. 45, 46; Zakiyuddin Sha'ban, Usulul-Fiqh, Translated by İbrahim Kafi Dönmez, Ankara 1990, p. 217 ff; Şamil İslam Ansiklopedisi, Mekruh item)

Harâm (Prohibited)

Something that is strictly forbidden in the religion of Islam. According to the majority of Islamic fiqh scholars, haram becomes certain with a verse, a mutawatir and famous (mashhur) hadith or ahad khabar (khabar wahid) whose proof is certain.  Conjectural evidence is not considered as proof regarding creed but it is considered as proof regarding deeds. According to Hanafis, haram can be certain only based on definite evidence, that is, a verse of the Quran, a mutawatir or famous hadith. The following is stated in the Quran: “But say not - for any false thing that your tongues may put forth,- ‘This is lawful, and this is forbidden’” (an- Nahl, 16/116). They call something that is definitely wanted not to be done based on conjectural evidence such as khabar wahid “makruh tahrimi” so as not to do something wrong mentioned in the verse above. The following is stated in a verse: “O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble...” (al-Maida, 5/101). The Prophet states the following: “Allah does not like your gossiping, asking too many questions and wasting money” (Bukhari, Istiqrad, 19). Makruh tahrimi is the opposite of wajib. Men’s wearing silk and gold rings can be given as examples of makruh tahrimi. The other type of makruh is called makruh tanzihi, which is the opposite of mandub.

Abu Hanifa (d. 150/767), Abu Yusuf (d. 182/798) and Imam Muhammad (d. 189/805) regarded it enough to say “makruh” for the prohibitions that were certain based on conjectural evidence (Muhammad Abu Zahra, Usulul-Fiqh, Matba’a Darul-Fikril-Arabi, nd., p. 42).

The prohibition of something by Allah and His Messenger can be in the following ways:

1) With the word haram. “Prohibited (haram) to you (for marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters...” (an-Nisa, 4/23). “Forbidden (haram) to you (for food) are… (animals) that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death, that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal” (al - Maida, 5/3). In the verses above and similar verses, the prohibition of something is clearly expressed with the word “haram (prohibited, forbidden)”.

2) With the abolition of being halal. “It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this” (al-Ahzab, 33/52). The Prophet said: “It is not permissible to take the property of a Muslim without his consent” (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, V, 72).

3) With negative imperative. “Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils)” (al-Isra; 17/32).

4) With a word phrase expressing avoidance of a deed. “O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper” (al-Maida, 5/90). The word “eschew” in the verse prohibits approaching and clearly reveals that something is haram.

Types of Haram:

The main reason for something being rendered haram is that it is harmful. The harmful side of a forbidden thing overweighs. The beneficial aspects of those that are rendered halal overweigh. The harm in a haram originates either from the prohibited act itself or from an indirect cause. Accordingly, haram is divided into two as direct and indirect.

a) Direct Haram (haram bidhatihi): It is an act that Allah and His Messenger rendered haram from the beginning and fundamentally, without a temporary reason such as fornication, theft, selling dead animal’s meat, marrying those whom one cannot marry. The harm in them is based on the evil in their structure (nature). Direct harams are generally the actions and deeds that injure and harm five things that must be protected. Those five things are life, property, mind, religion and generation. Prohibition of killing protects life, prohibition of theft protects property, prohibition of alcohol protects the mind, prohibition of deeds that fundamentally distort Islamic principles protects the religion and prohibition of fornication protects the generation.

b) Indirect haram (haram li ghayrihi): It is a deed that is related to a temporary situation that necessitates rendering it haram though it is essentially legitimate. It is not haram in itself, but it means it leads to something haram in itself. For example, it is haram to look at the private parts of a woman because it leads to fornication. Fornication itself is haram. Selling something with interest is haram because interest itself is haram. It is haram to lend money for a benefit because it leads to usury, which is haram. It is haram to be married to two women who are mahram to each other at the same time because it causes the tie of kinship between the two to break. God Almighty definitely wants the continuation of the tie of kinship by saying, “… Reverence your Guardian-Lord … and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you)...” (an-Nisa, 4/1) (see an-Nisa, 4/36); ar-Ra’d, 13/25; an-Nahl, 16/90; ar-Rum, 30/38; Muhammad, 47/22, 23). The Prophet said: “It is not permissible for a man to marry his wife’s paternal aunt, maternal aunt and niece along with his wife; if you do so, you will break the ties of kinship” (Bukhari, Nikah, 27; Muslim, Nikah, 37, 39). Breaking the ties of kinship is haram itself; and actions and deeds that can cause it are indirectly prohibited (Muhammad Abu Zahra, Usulul-Fiqh, Matba’a Darul-Fikril-Arabi, nd., p. 43; Zakiyuddin Sha’ban, Translation: İbrahim Kafi Dönmez, Ankara 1990, p. 216, 217):

Therefore, something becomes haram due to a temporary situation sometimes like praying on a land that has been grabbed, shopping while adhan is being called for Friday prayer. In fact, shopping itself is not haram. However, the following is stated in the Quran: “O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic)…“. Therefore, it is prohibited for a certain period of time since it prevents man from prayer. It is also prohibited to marry a girl who has been proposed to marry by someone else; however, if that person gives up or if he is given a negative answer, the prohibition is lifted. The following is stated in the hadith: “A believer should not demand the hand of a girl already demanded by another Muslim. However, if his believing brother gives up or gives him permission, it is permissible. “(Bukhari, Nikah, 45, Buyu‘, 58, Shurut, 8; Muslim, Buyu‘, 8, Nikah, 38, 39, 42). In fact, marriage is something good and is encouraged in Islam. However, marrying such a girl is prohibited temporarily since preventing and spoiling the good relations that someone else is trying to establish is in question in the example (Hamdi Döndüren, Delilleriyle İslâm Hukuku, İstanbul 1983, pp. 169-171).

Decrees on direct haram and indirect haram or haram due to a temporary reason:

a) The decree on direct haram is that the deed is considered illegitimate. If a person commits a haram deed, it will not have any legal consequences. Since it will constitute a crime for the doer, only sin and worldly punishment will be in question. No actual positive result will be bound and the desired benefit will not appear as a right for the doer of the act. For example, the deed of fornication does not form a reason for lineage and inheritance to be certain. The act of theft does not give the thief the right to own the stolen property. If the prohibited deed is related to contracts, the contract will be void and will not have legal consequences. For example, the contract of sale for impure meat, wine or pork is void in the eye of Islamic law. Results such as inheritance and lineage of a legitimate marriage cannot be in question for a marriage with a mahram relative. According to the majority of Islamic fiqh scholars, the penalty of fornication is also applied. Abu Hanifa accepts that lineage will not be valid and certain but he says that due to the suspicion of marriage, in other words, taking into account the fact that the spouses had sexual intercourse by relying on the marriage contract, there will be no penalty for the intercourses before the date of separation (Abu Zahra, ibid., pp. 44, 45; Hamdi Döndüren, ibid., p. 251 ff.).

If a contract is regarded as haram due to a temporary reason, it will not be invalid. For example, according to the majority of Islamic fiqh scholars, a contract made at the time of Friday prayer is valid. The contract of marrying a girl to whom someone else has proposed marriage is like that too. Those contracts only cause sin but they have legal consequences. According to Hanbalis and Zahiris, such contracts, which are forbidden in origin, are not valid. The prayer performed on a grabbed land is valid but the sin of grabbing someone else’s property continues. Interest-bearing transactions are also invalid according to Hanafis.

There is a consensus on the fact that a deed of worship can be found in two states: either sound (valid) or unsound (invalid), without making any distinction between fasit and batil. According to the majority of Islamic fiqh scholars, this principle also holds true for contracts. According to Hanafis, if one of the elements of a contract is absent, this contract becomes invalid and has no legal consequences such as the absence of one of the elements of offer, acceptance or the goods that are sold in a sales contract. If the absence is in the condition of the contract, that is, in one of its qualities, the cause will have formed and it will have some legal consequences. For example, failure to determine the maturity date in forward sales renders the contract invalid. It is possible to make the contract valid by eliminating that deficiency.

According to the majority of Islamic fiqh scholars, if there is a prohibition related to a contract or if one of the conditions ordered by Allah and His Messenger is absent, the contract is invalid because making a contract related to something forbidden means disobedience to Allah. If such a contract has caused damage, it necessitates punishment. The Prophet states the following: “If a person does something that does not comply with our order, it is rejected. If a person introduces something that does not exist in our religion, it is rejected” (Bukhari, I’tisam, 20, Buyu‘, 60, Sulh, 5). They decree that interest and marriage contracts with polytheists are false because it is forbidden (For those prohibitions and the evidences of both parties, see al-Baqara, 2/221, 275; Ghazzali, al-Mustasfa, Bulaq, Egypt, 1322, II, 31; Bazdawi, Usul, in the margins of Kashful-Asrar, Istanbul 1308, I, 66; Ibnul-Humam, et-Tahrir, Cairo 1316-1317, I, 329).

Almighty Allah created the world and the heavens and put them at humankind’s disposal. What is essential in benefiting from all those blessings is that they are permissible. The following verses indicate that the permissibility in benefiting is general: “And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth” (al -Jasiya, 45/13). “It is He Who has made the earth manageable for you, so traverse ye through its tracts and enjoy of the Sustenance which He furnishes” (al-Mulk, 67/15). However, this general right to benefit is limited by the decrees in the verses and hadiths and informing us about the harams. The right to determine what is haram or halal belongs to Allah and His Messenger. It is stated in the following verse that such authority was not given to people: “O ye who believe! make not unlawful the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you, but commit no excess” (al -Maida, 5/87). “But say not - for any false thing that your tongues may put forth,- ‘this is lawful’, and ‘this is forbidden’ so as to ascribe false things to Allah. For those who ascribe false things to Allah, will never prosper” (an-Nahl, 16/116). God Almighty warns those who try to render halal things haram according to their own opinions: “Lost are those who slay their children, from folly, without knowledge, and forbid food which Allah hath provided for them, inventing (lies) against Allah. They have indeed gone astray and heeded no guidance” (al-An’am, 6/140).

The main foods and deeds that are declared haram in the Quran are as follows:

“He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits,- then is he guiltless” (al-Baqara, 2/173).

“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows” (al-Maida, 5/3).

“O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper” (al-Maida, 5/90).

“Say: ‘I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be dead meat, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine,- for it is an abomination - or, what is impious, (meat) on which a name has been invoked, other than Allah’s’. But (even so), if a person is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits,- thy Lord is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful” (al-An’am, 6/145).

“Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honors the sacred rites of Allah, for him it is good in the Sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in Pilgrimage) are cattle, except those mentioned to you (as exception): but shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false” (al-Hajj, 22/30).

Some of the harams related to family law are as follows: The relatives with whom a person is absolutely prohibited from marrying forever are expressed as follows in the verse: “Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time” (an-Nisa, 4/23).

According to the decree of the verse above, three absolute obstacles to marriage and eternal prohibition emerge: Blood kinship, marital kinship and milk kinship.

a) Blood kinship: Four groups of women are forbidden to marry for a man due to lineage or kinship. They are as follows: his mother, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, etc.; his daughter, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, etc.; his sisters, the daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, etc., of his sisters and brothers; the daughters of his grandmothers and grandfathers (paternal and maternal aunts).

b) Marital kinship: Marital kinship is a kinship that occurs through marriage. Even if the marriage ends with divorce or death later, it constitutes an absolute obstacle to marriage since marital kinship does not disappear. Marital relatives can be divided into four groups: 1) Stepdaughters: If a man marries a widow and has sexual intercourse with her, the daughters or grandchildren of this woman from her previous husband will be forbidden to marry forever for him. 2) Mother-in-laws: As a result of the marriage contract, the mother, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, etc. of a man’s wife become forbidden to marry for the man. 3) The wives of the father and grandfather; a person cannot marry his stepmothers or stepgrandmothers forever. The following is stated in a verse: “And marry not women whom your fathers married,- except what is past” (an-Nisa, 4/23). 4) There is a prohibition of marrying one’s daughters-in-law. The following is stated in the verse: “Prohibited to you (For marriage) are... wives of your sons proceeding from your loins” (an-Nisa, 4/23). However, adoption is prohibited in Islam; it is permissible for the adoptive man to marry the woman whom his adopted son has divorced. The first practice of it was the Prophet’s marrying Zaynab bint Jahsh, whom his adopted son Zayd divorced (see al-Ahzab, 33/37).

c) Milk kinship: In addition to blood kinship and marital kinship, Islamic law introduces another kind of kinship called milk kinship, which occurs when a baby sucks milk from another woman. This tie, established with milk, creates an obstacle to marriage between the child, and the foster mother and some other relatives of the foster mother (see al-Baqara, 2/233; an-Nisa, 4/23; Bukhari, Shahadat, 7, Nikah, 21; Muslim, Rada,1).

As for those who put themselves in Allah’s place and render haram what is halal and halal what is haram, Allah Almighty states the following: They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah, and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One Allah. there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him)” (at-Tawba, 9/31). After the verse was revealed, Adiyy b. Hatim at-Tai, who had gone to Damascus as a Christian, came to Madinah, read the verse to the Prophet and said that Christians did not worship their priests and anchorites; he asked the Prophet what was meant in the verse. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “They rendered halal haram and haram halal and Christians obeyed them. It means worshipping them” (Ibn Kathir, Mukhtasaru Tafsiri Ibn Kathir, Ikhtisar wa tahqiq, Muhammad Ali as-Sabuni, Beirut, 1402/1981, II, 137).

Islam forbids not only some bad, dirty and harmful things and deeds, but also ways and means that lead to haram in order to eradicate evil completely. As we have mentioned above in the part called indirect haram (haram li ghayrihi), the causes leading to haram are also prohibited. They include the prohibition of a man and a non-mahram woman remaining together in a closed place where no one can come, the prohibition of women going out with provocative ornaments and clothes, and the prohibition of obscene writings, pictures and music, etc.

Avoiding doubtful things is also a precaution against haram. The following is stated in hadiths: “Halal is clear and haram is clear. There are some doubtful issues between those two” (Bukhari, Buyu’, 3). “Leave what disturbs your heart (doubtful things) and do what does not disturb your heart” (Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 60).

Hamdi DÖNDÜREN

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