1. Home
  2. Categories
  3. Virtues and Manners

Hadith Verily, the lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم يَقُولُ:
«إنَّ الحَلَالَ بَيِّنٌ، وَإِنَّ الحَرَامَ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ لَا يَعْلَمُهُنَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، فَمَنْ اتَّقَى الشُّبُهَاتِ اسْتَبْرَأَ لِدِينِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ، وَمَنْ وَقَعَ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ وَقَعَ فِي الحَرَامِ، كَالرَّاعِي يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَرْتَعَ فِيهِ، أَلَا وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى، أَلَّا وَإِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ مَحَارِمُهُ، أَلَّا وَإِنَّ فِي الجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ القَلْبُ».

Abu ‘Abdullah an-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say:
"Verily, the lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear, and between them are doubtful matters many people do not know. Whoever avoids doubtful matters clears his liability regarding his religion and his honor, and whoever falls into doubtful matters will fall into the unlawful, just like the shepherd who grazes his animals in the vicinity of a prohibited pasture and is thus likely to graze therein. Verily, every king has a protected area, and the protected area of Allah is His prohibitions. Verily, in the body, there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the entire body will be sound, and if it is corrupt, the entire body will be corrupt; verily, that is the heart."

Authentic Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim Al-Arba‘oon An-Nawawiyyah (The Forty Hadith of An-Nawawiyyah) - 6

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) explains a general rule in matters and that they fall under three categories in the Shariah: clearly lawful matters, clearly unlawful matters, and doubtful matters with the rulings on whether they are illegal or lawful being unclear and unknown to many people.
So, whoever abandons those suspicious matters keeps his religion safe by avoiding falling into the unlawful and keeps his honor safe from people's criticism of him for engaging in such doubtful things. Whoever does not avoid doubtful matters risks falling into the unlawful or being maligned by people. The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) provided a parable to demonstrate the condition of a person who engages in doubtful matters, saying that he is like a shepherd who grazes his cattle close to a piece of land protected by its owner; so, his cattle are likely to pasture in this protected land, given its proximity. Likewise, he who engages in a suspicious matter draws near to the unlawful and is likely to fall into it. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that there is a piece of flesh in the body, namely the heart, and when it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the entire body becomes corrupt.

Benefits from the Hadith

  1. The Hadīth represents a rule for avoiding suspicious matters.
  2. The Hadīth urges us to avoid suspicious matters with unclear rulings.

View Translations

69 Language
UR اردو الأوردية
ES Español الإسبانية
ID Indonesia الإندونيسية
UG ئۇيغۇرچە الأيغورية
BN বাংলা البنغالية
FR Français الفرنسية
TR Türkçe التركية
RU Русский الروسية
BS Bosanski البوسنية
SI සිංහල السنهالية
HI हिन्दी الهندية
ZH 中文 الصينية
FA فارسی الفارسية
VI Tiếng Việt الفيتنامية
TL Tagalog تجالوج
KU Kurdî الكردية
HA Hausa الهوسا
PT Português البرتغالية
ML മലയാളം المليالم
TE తెలుగు التلغو
SW Kiswahili السواحيلية
TA தமிழ் التاميلية
MY မြန်မာ البورمية
TH ไทย التايلندية
DE Deutsch الألمانية
JA 日本語 اليابانية
PS پښتو بشتو
AS অসমীয়া الأسامية
SQ Shqip الألبانية
SV Svenska السويدية
AM አማርኛ الأمهرية
NL Nederlands الهولندية
GU ગુજરાતી الغوجاراتية
KY Кыргызча القيرقيزية
NE नेपाली النيبالية
YO Yorùbá اليوروبا
LT Lietuvių الليتوانية
PRS دری الدرية
SR Српски الصربية
SO Soomaali الصومالية
TG тоҷикӣ الطاجيكية
RW Kinyarwanda الكينياروندا
RO Română الرومانية
HU Magyar المجرية
CS Čeština التشيكية
MOS Moore الموري
MG Malagasy المالاجاشية
FF Fulfulde الفولانية
IT Italiano الإيطالية
OM Oromoo الأورومو
KN ಕನ್ನಡ الكانادا
WO Wolof الولوف
BG Български البلغارية
AZ Azərbaycan الأذربيجانية
EL Ελληνικά اليونانية
AK Akan الأكانية
UZ O‘zbek الأوزبكية
UK Українська الأوكرانية
KA ქართული الجورجية
LN Lingala اللينجالا
MK Македонски المقدونية
KM ភាសាខ្មែរ الخميرية
BM Bambara البامبارية
PA ਪੰਜਾਬੀ البنجابية
MR मराठी الماراثية
DA Dansk الدنماركية
RN Kirundi الكيروندي
KMR Kurmancî الكرمنجية
MS Bahasa Melayu الملايو