SELECTIONS FROM THE REVITALISATION OF THE SCIENCES OF RELIGION

Al-Ghazalis Ihya Ulum al-Din

The La !ul an" #he Unla !ul

Cha$#e% One On The Vi%#ues &! Halal '#he la !ul( an" #he E)ils &! #he Ha%am '#he unla !ul(* An E+$&si#i&n &n #he #y$es &! Halal an" i#s "e,%ees an" #y$es &! Ha%am an" i#s "e,%ees- an" a.s#en#i&n &! i# The )i%#ues &! Halal an" #he E)il &! #he Ha%am The evidence for the virtues of the Halal and the evils of the Haram, Allah, the Almighty said: Eat of that which is good and do good deeds; I have knowledge of the things you do ! "#oran $h %& verse '() He commands the eating of good *efore good deeds It is said what is meant *y this is the lawful Allah, the Almighty said: +o not consume your wealth *etween you in falsehood; neither ,ro,ose it to -udges ! "#oran $h % verse (..) Allah, the Almighty said: /elievers, fear Allah and give u, what is still due to you from usury, if you are *elievers;! "#oran $h % verse %0.), then He said: *ut if you do not, then take notice of war from Allah and His 1essenger 2et, if you re,ent, you shall have the ,rinci,al of your wealth 3either will you harm nor will you *e harmed ! "#oran $h % verse %04) And He said: /ut whoever reverts shall *e among the ,eo,le of the 5ire and shall remain in it for ever ! "#oran % verse %0') At first He warns against the devouring of usury, finally He decrees ,unishment with the Hell 5ire for it As to the Tradition the 6ro,het, ,raise and ,eace *e u,on him, said: It may *e that someone has uncom*ed hair, dusty clothes and looks like an itinerant, his food is haram, his clothes are haram and his living is haram, then he raises his hands to heaven and says: 78 my 9ord: 8 my 9ord: How would Allah acce,t his ,rayer;! The 6ro,het, ,raise and ,eace *e u,on him, also said: Every ,iece of flesh, which is develo,ed from haram is in the 5ire !

As to the sayings it was narrated that A*u /akr al <iddi= > may Allah *e ,leased with him > was offered milk *y one of his servants, which he had earned, so he asked the servant from where he had got the milk, so he said he acted as a fortune teller for some ,eo,le and they gave him the milk in reward A*u /akr stuck his finger down his throat several times and regurgitated the milk *ack out, then he said: 6lease my 9ord I a,ologi?e to 2ou for what my veins have carried and for what is mi@ed in my stomach ! I*n A**as "may Allah *e ,leased with them) said: Allah does not acce,t the ,rayer of one who carries something unlawful in his stomach ! It was narrated that a righteous ,erson sent food to some*ody, then when he did not eat it, he asked him: Ahy did you not eat it;! He answered: Ae do not eat e@ce,t halal, our hearts have *een set straight u,on that and we wish our situation to continue until we see the dominions of Allah, the Almighty and the Hereafter, had we eaten from what you eat for three days we would lose all the certainty we have in our hearts, and then the fear of Allah and the ho,e of the Hereafter would have gone from our hearts ! <o the righteous man told him: I fast all the time, and I com,lete the #oran thirty times a month ! <o the ,erson said to him: This drink, which you saw me drinking during the night is *etter to me than thirty com,letions of the #oran in three hundred kneelings of your deeds, and the drink was a milk of a wild ga?elle ! It was narrated that Ali > may Allah *e ,leased with him > did not eat, after 8sman i*n Affan was killed and his house was destroyed, e@ce,t food, which was sealed, in fear of dou*ts or uncertainty The Ty$es &! Halal an" i#s De,%ees 1oney can *e unlawful for a reason of itself or *ecause of the way it was gained This is e@,lained in two ,arts: The Fi%s# /a%# The Bnlawful for a Ceason in Itself The e@,ounding of this is that the edi*le material on the earth is no more than three ty,es: either mineral, such as salt, mud, etc , or ,lant or animal 1ineral: This is ,art of the earth and all that can *e e@tracted from it <o eating it is not for*idden unless it is a su*stance harmful to the *ody, as some of it is ,oisonous /read, if it were harmful, would *e for*idden 6lants: Those, which are for*idden are only those, which into@icate the mind, or kill or destroy the health

As to the into@icants; these are anesthetic, alcohol and all into@icants, which kill and ,oison Ahatever destroys the health and medicine, which is used unnecessarily Animals: These are divided into the edi*le and the inedi*le; we have e@,ounded these in the /ook of the Ethics of Eating The Se0&n" /a%# The Bnlawful for the Aay it was Dained This com,rises si@ ,arts: The !i%s# $a%#1 Ahat is taken from ,laces that are not owned, such as from a mine, *y hunting, gathering firewood, drinking from rivers, and cutting wild grasses All these are lawful on the condition that what you have taken has not *een collected *y someone *efore you The se0&n" $a%#1 Ahat is forci*ly taken, such as war s,oils and all the wealth *elonging to the ,agans and their fighters, this is all lawful to the 1uslims if they ,ay from it one fifth and divide the remainder *etween those who deserve it The #hi%" $a%#1 Ahat has *een taken forci*ly due to an un,aid de*t This is lawful if there is a cause, which was ruled u,on *y a -udge or sultan The !&u%#h $a%#1 Ahat has *een taken *y *eing readily given to you in com,ensation This is lawful if the conditions of com,ensation and the offer and acce,tance agreed u,on it The !i!#h $a%#1 Ahat has *een taken readily without com,ensation is lawful if the conditions of the contract agreed to it and it does not result in harming an inheritor or another The si+#h $a%#1 That, which you have no choice in its ac=uisition, such as inheritance, is lawful if the deceased gained the money in one or other of the a*ovementioned five ways The De,%ees &! Halal an" Ha%am #now that all the Haram is *ad *ut some of it is worse than others Halal is all good, *ut some of it is *etter than others