The 37th Call: Do not Prohibit the Lawful (Good Things)

Almighty Allah says (what can be translated as): “O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors. And eat of what Allah has provided for you [which is] lawful and good. And fear Allah, in whom you are believers.” (Al-Ma’idah: 87-88)

Narrated Aishah: The Prophet (Peace Be upon Him) called Uthman ibn Maz’un. When he came to him, he said: Uthman, do you dislike my practice? He said: No, by Allah, but I seek your practice. He said: I sleep, I pray, I keep fast, I (sometimes) leave fast, and I marry women. Fear Allah, Uthman, your wife has a right on you, your guest has a right on you, your self has a right on you; you should keep fast and (sometimes) leave fast, and pray and sleep. (Hadith Sahih, Sunan Abi Dawoud, 1371)

Narrated Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (Peace Be upon Him): Khawylah bint Hakim ibn Umayah ibn Haritha ibn al-Awqas al-Salamayh came in; she was married to Uthman ibn Ma’zun. Aishah said, the Messenger of Allah saw her untidy look. He said to me (O Aisha, how untidy is the look of Khawylah!). Aishah said: O Messenger of Allah, a woman with no husband! He fasts during the day and prays at night, so she is like a woman with no husband. So she neglected her looks and appearance. Aisha said: So, Allah’s Messenger (Peace Be upon Him) sent to Uthman ibn Maz’un and he came to him. The Messenger said: “Uthman, do you dislike my practice? He said: No, by Allah, but I seek your practice. He said: I sleep, I pray, I keep fast, I (sometimes) leave fast, and I marry women. Fear Allah, Uthman, your wife has a right on you, your guest has a right on you, your self has a right on you ; you should keep fast and (sometimes) leave fast, and pray and sleep.” (Hadith Sahih, Musnad Ahmed, 27062).

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that some of the Companions of Allah's Messenger (Pace Be upon Him) asked his (the Messenger's) wives about the acts that he performed in private. Someone among them (among his Companions) said: I will not marry women; someone among them said: I will not eat meat; and someone among them said: I will not lie down in bed. He (the Prophet) praised Allah and glorified Him, and said: What has happened to these people that they say so and so, whereas I observe prayer and sleep too; I observe fast and suspend observing them; I marry women also? And he who turns away from my Sunnah, he has no relation with Me. (Sahih Muslim, 3469)

Narrated Yunus ibn Maisarah that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “Being detached from this world does not mean that you should forbid what Allah has permitted, nor that you should squander money. Rather, it is a state in which you are more certain of what is in the hand of Allah than you are of what is in your own hands: your state in misfortune is the same as your state at other times; your attitude towards those who quite rightly criticize you and those who quite rightly praise you is the same.” (Shu’ab al-Iman (Branches of Faith) by al-Bayhaqi: 9714).

Almighty Allah revealed this verse to command the believers not to prohibit the good things that Allah has made lawful for them because Almighty Allah loves His servants to enjoy His blessings in the purposes they were created for. He wants them to thank Him for these blessings. He loathes when they violate the Sharia legislated for them by permitting the forbidden and forbidding what has been made lawful and accessible to them.

Almighty Allah permits to the believers the good things and sustenance He dedicates for them. He commands them to fear Him in all their matters, obey Him and follow His guidance. He commands them to abandon disobedience and violation by not doing what has been made forbidden or ban what has been made lawful.

The whole issue of legislation is linked to divinity and the right of the Lord to organize the life of humans. Allah is the Creator of all those humans and their sustenance. He alone has the right to permit from His sustenance what He wants and to prohibit what He wants. It is a logic that is also admitted by humans. The owner has the right to manage his ownership. The one who opposes this principal is a violator with no doubt. Those who have believed do not violate the commands of Allah for they believe in Him. The heart does combine the violation against Allah and faith in Him at the same time; they can never exist together in one heart!

This is the case the two verses tackle in a clear and logic way which no violator can argue against. Indeed, Allah does not love the violators. It is a general issue ascertaining a general principal with regard to the right of the Lord upon the servants. It is attributed to the prerequisite of belief in Allah in the conduct and manners of the believers in this issue.