Halaal, Haraam and Mushtabihaat

"Halaal is very clear and Haraam (also) is very clear. And between these two, there are many things which are ambiguous that many people do not know (their legal position). The one who abstains from ambiguous things means that he has protected his Deen and His honour, and the one, who falls in things that are doubtful, is like a shepherd who grazes (a flock of animal) around a reserve in a way that there is full possibility of falling into it. Every king has a reserve. Certainly, the reserve of Allah Ta’ala on His earth is the things that He prohibited. Certainly, there is a piece of flesh in the body that, when it is reformed, the whole body is reformed and when it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Beware; this piece of flesh is the heart." (Bukhari)

Explanation:

“Halaal” refers to something that is covered and regulated by a text of law that authorises it categorically. For example, the meat of beef, sheep, young goat / kid, etc.

Similarly, “Haraam” means something that is regulated by a text of law that prohibits it clearly such as lying, zina, the meat of the swine, etc. Between these two, there is a category which is called مشتبهات (Mushtabihaat).

What does Mushtabihaat mean?

It is something that holds a type of confusion because there are both possibilities. That is, just like it can be Halaal, it can also be Haraam because there are both types of proof. When we consider one proof, it gives the impression that it must be Halaal and when we consider the other proof, it makes one indecisive and prevents one from accepting it as Halaal. 

Regulation concerning Mushtabihaat

Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) advised a person who finds himself in such a dilemma to refrain and not to proceed. According to Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam), this is a way for a person to preserve his Deen and his honour. To explain this, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) gave us an example whereby he compared Haraam with a reserve. Just like when a person takes his flock to graze near a reserve, there is all possibility that that his flock may enter the reserve, similarly, a person, who is negligent concerning doubtful things, takes a great risk of falling into Haraam. And consequently, he puts his Deen and his honour in danger. 

The principle to be adopted regarding doubtful things

When one has doubts with regards to something, firstly, one must see the position of that thing according to the Shari’ah. If originally, that thing is permissible and Halaal, it will continue to remain Halaal. The doubts that come to the mind and have no proof to support it, cannot affect the position of that thing.

For example, a person performed Nikah properly. So, his Nikah will continue to be valid. This Nikah will not be affected by any doubts that he may have concerning Talaaq. As long as he is not sure that he has given Talaaq to his wife, his wife will remain his wife and his Nikah will be intact. According to this same principle, if a person remembers well that he had performed Wuzu, but he does not remember if his Wuzu was nullified, his Wuzu will continue to remain valid as long as he is not sure that it was nullified. 

Another example

If a person has doubts in Salah as to whether his Wuzu is nullified, he must continue his Salaah and he does not have the right to break his Salah as long as he is not sure that his Wuzu was nullified.

Similarly, if originally, something is Haraam and prohibited, it will continue to be Haraam as long as there is no proof that it is Halaal. For example, the flesh of an animal is Haraam unless Zabah was made according to the principle of the Shari’ah. Therefore, in this case, as long as there is no assurance that the conditions and regulations of the Shari’ah have been respected while making the Zabah, it will not be permissible to consume its flesh.

Similarly, if there are dead chickens that were mixed with Halaal chickens in a basket in such a way that one cannot distinguish the chickens that are Halaal, then, it will not be permissible to eat any of those chickens.

In short, when something is originally Halaal, it will not become Haraam as long as there is no categorical proof to prove that it is Haraam. Similarly, when something is originally Haraam, it will not become Halaal as long as there is no categorical proof to prove that it is Halaal.

Waswasa

As for rare and remote assumptions, one must not take it into consideration because it comes from Shaitan who wants to trouble those who are following the Deen. For example, a woman takes her clothes off the rope and washes them again with the assumption that children may have touched these clothes with their dirty hands. Or a woman washes the rope before hanging the clothes thinking that there may be impurity on the rope. Or a person washes coins before keeping them in his pocket with the impression that these may have passed through impure hands. Such doubts must not be taken into consideration.

The heart

The behaviour of a person depends on the state of his heart. If his heart is healthy, it means that his behaviour in general will also be correct. On the other hand, if there is a certain shortcoming or any defect in his heart, it will reflect on his behaviour.

In this Hadith, the heart which normally refers to the organ that is to the left of the chest was mentioned. Just like the five senses: smell, hearing, taste, sight and touch, function through the nose, ear, palate, eyes and hands respectively. Similarly, there is a very subtle sense that is based and functions through the heart. According to the Ulama, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) used the word "heart" just as a point of reference to signify this subtle meaning.

Still according to the Ulama, this sense is the centre of attraction of the Nur (light) of Hidayah (guidance). It is this same Nur that makes Insaan become an Insaan. When the Qur’an and Hadith speak of the purification of the heart or the soul, it means the purification of that same meaning. To be simpler, we can call it mentality. According to this Hadith, it all depends on the mentality of a person. When his mentality is rectified, it will have a very positive effect on his behaviour. On the other hand, with a corrupt mentality, a person will always behave badly. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) drew our attention to the necessity of purifying the heart because it is the basis of human success.

This Hadith leads us to understand that consuming haraam things, contaminates the heart that affects the general behaviour of a person. To remedy the problem, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) advised the Ummah to abstain not only from Haraam things, but also from doubtful things to ensure complete prevention. In another Hadith, Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) has expressed this idea in the following terms:

"A person cannot attain the level of being among pious people as long as he does not have the will to abandon something that is not grave, just as a precautionary measure not to fall into something grave."

That is, good people do not take risks. They take a lot of precautions to the extent that they also refrain from permissible things if it can be a means of committing things which are not permissible.

[English version of "Halaal, Haraam et Moushtabihaat" – Al Jamiat – Vol.4 No.1]