In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Allah has allowed certain things and has forbidden certain things. A sin is disobedience to the command of Allah Almighty, deserving punishment in the Hellfire. So before we act, we must ask: Is this permissible or not? If we don't know the answer to it or if we are not sure, then we must pause and ask those who have knowledge.
It is more important to avoid the haram than doing a good deed because avoidance of the haram is the basis of a sound heart. When you avoid the haram, the benefit will hasten, If you weigh yourself down with sins, even if you want to do good deed, you won't find the drive to get the good deed done, and even if you are able to do it, you won't be able to sustain it. Furthermore, the good deed will not have the benefit you expect.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiAllahu 'anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
Allah the Almighty is Good and accepts only that which is good. And verily Allah has commanded the Believers to do that which He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said:[Muslim.]
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلرُّسُلُ كُلُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَٱعْمَلُوا۟ صَـٰلِحًا ۖ إِنِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ
[Allah said], "O messengers, eat from the good foods and work righteousness. Indeed, I, of what you do, am Knowing." [Qur'an Al-Mu'minun 23:51]
and the Almighty has said:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَـٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَـٰكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِلَّـهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ
O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship. [Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:172]
Then he mentioned [the case] of a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty, and who spreads out his hands to the sky saying "O Lord! O Lord!", while his food is Haram (unlawful), his drink is Haram, his clothing is Haram, and he has been nourished with Haraam, so how can [his supplication] be answered ?!
One of the things that you see many people don't pay much attention to, as they should, is food. They might be conscious about what constitute healthy food, and so they might take the extra trouble and expense to find and buy organic food, but they don't put the same amount of effort and consideration in making sure that what they eat is lawful.
It is important to nourish your physical body properly so you have the physical strength to take care of your responsibilities and worship Allah. But this is not as critical as nourishing your soul. Allah has created a lot of things in your body to ward off bacteria, and He created bodily functions to remove waste and toxins from your body, and you probably won't die from eating non-organic foods. However, consuming non-halal foods will affect your spiritual state. The heart will be deprived of the Light of Knowledge and the Light of Piety, so one might end up doing more haram. And that juicy steak and chicken biryani which are not permissible to eat will instead be a source of evil and punishment, and your actions will not be acceptable by Allah.
Many have been said about halal meat and poultry in the West. One should verify the sources of these product to make sure that they are indeed halal. You have to exercise your due diligence. Sometimes it is a matter of common sense.
One should also be cautious about eating out so one does not wind up doing haram. In the absence of standards, it can easily be said that a majority of restaurants in the West that claim halal is not halal. Even if the restaurant owners are all religious, the economic incentives will cause them to cut corners. Those who lack concern of religious matters (serving alcohol, pictures or posters that does not represent Islam posted on the walls, rock music in the background, etc.), caution requires that you do not eat at those places.
Consuming food that in itself is halal but from unlawful means, is also feeding haram into your body. Be very careful of unlawful earning, which we might not think of it as such. Unlawful earnings need not just be from impermissible work or business. One might be doing work that is lawful but one does things at work which are considered unacceptable by the employer, e.g. surfing the internet, checking or writing personal emails, talking on the phone with your spouse for extended period of time, the earnings during that time is haram.
One should be very careful about these things. When in doubt err on the side of caution. It is not be possible to do that unless you have knowledge. Know what Allah has forbidden and not only avoid the sin but also avoid what lead to the sin.
On the authority of Abu `Abdillah an-Nu`maan the son of Bashir (radiAllahu 'anhuma), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) say:
That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allaah's sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased. Truly, it is the heart.[Bukhari and Muslim.]
The one who does not fear Allah and indulges in doubtful matters, eventually begins to practice the forbidden actions too, and becomes lenient in these affairs. And this is as some of the scholars have said that minor sins lead to major sins and major sins lead to kufr.
Just as a King has a sanctuary, which the shepherds must keep their sheep away from, so too has Allah specified certain things as forbidden for his slaves, which they must refrain from - such as murder, usury (riba), theft, drinking wine and alcohol, listening to unlawful music, zina, backbiting, slander and tale-carrying, and other such things, all of which we should keep far from to avoid falling into them.
May Allah protect is from sins and the Hellfire. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Related Archive: Wake Up, Hell Is No Joke
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