The Innovation of Declaring the Lawful as Unlawful

Allah has not granted anyone the authority to legislate religion. Even the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) presents the religion only by the permission of Allah and in accordance with His guidance. Hence, for any human being to take into their own hands the divine decision of forming Shariah is tantamount to interference in the sacred domain of Allah. The nature of such an act is akin to fabricating a lie against Allah. That is, when something is declared lawful (halal) or unlawful (haram) without any credible evidence or proof, it amounts to the audacity of attributing an invented statement to Allah. In Surah Al-Araf, the style of the verse qul man harrama (Say, who has forbidden?) makes it evident that Allah Almighty does not tolerate such audacity in any way. The verse reads:

قُلۡ مَنۡ حَر َّمَ زِیۡنَۃَ 1 ِّٰ الﱠتِیۡۤ اَخۡرَجَ لِعِبَادِهٖ وَ الطﱠیِّبٰتِ مِنَ الرِّزۡقِ Ask them [O God’s Messenger]: Who has forbidden you the adornments of the Almighty which He had created for His servants, and who has forbidden the wholesome among the edibles? (Quran, 7:32)

Thus, He has strictly forbidden it and has declared that those who commit it shall never attain success:

وَ لاَ تَقُوۡلُوۡا لِمَا تَصِفُ اَلۡسِنَتُکُمُ الۡکَذِبَ ہٰذَا حَلٰلٌ و َّ ہٰذَا حَرَامٌ لِّتَفۡتَرُوۡا عَلَی 1 ِّٰ الۡکَذِبَ ؕ اِن َّ الﱠذِیۡنَ یَفۡتَرُوۡنَ عَلَی 1 ِّٰ الۡکَذِبَ لاَ

یُفۡلِحُوۡنَ. On the basis of the lie that your tongues fabricate, do not say: “This is allowed and this is prohibited,” so that in such a way you impute falsehood to God. Remember those who impute falsehood to God shall never succeed. (Quran, 16:116)

To declare the lawful as unlawful and the unlawful as lawful is, in fact, to fabricate a religious code from one’s own self. This is what, in technical terms, is referred to as bidah (innovation in religion). This has been a common practice among religious leaders. The history of the Jews and Christians bears witness to the fact that their scholars have never refrained from committing this crime. Their Pharisees, scribes, priests, and monks have continually been guilty of this behavior. This very pattern of conduct has been described in the Quran as “making scholars and monks into lords beside Allah.” It is stated in Surah At-Tawbah:

اِتﱠخَذُوۡۤا اَحۡبَارَہُمۡ وَ رُہۡبَانَہُمۡ اَرۡبَابًا مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ 1 ِّٰ وَ الۡمَسِیۡحَ ابۡنَ مَرۡیَمَ ۚ وَ مَاۤ اُمِرُوۡۤا اِلاﱠ لِیَعۡبُدُوۡۤا اِلٰہًا و َّاحِدًا ۚ لاَۤ اِلٰہَ اِلاﱠ ہُوَ ؕ سُبۡحٰنَہٗ عَم َّا یُشۡرِکُوۡنَ. They have made their scholars and their rabbis as [their] Lord besides God and Jesus, son of Mary, too even though they had been asked to worship one God only. There is no god except Him. He is exalted above the partners they associate with Him. (Quran, 9:31)

Explaining this verse, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi writes: ie., gave him the same status as the one that should be understood for the Lord of the worlds. Thus, by granting them the divine authority of allowing or disallowing things regard all their directives and decisions to be mandatory the way the directives and decisions of God are regarded as mandatory. Even if a clear verse of the Quran and a distinct directive of the Prophet (PBUH) is presented to contest their view, they do not give them any significance. (Al-Bayan 2/343)

Adi bin Hatim (RA) narrates that the Prophet (PBUH) said:

إنھم لم یكونوا یعبدونھم، ولكنھم كانوا إذا حلوا لھم شیئًا استحلوه وإذا حرموا علیھم شیئًا حرموه. They did not worship them, but when they declared something lawful for them, they considered it lawful, and when they declared something unlawful for them, they considered it unlawful. (Tirmidhi, No. 3095)¹

The history of Muslims is not much different from this. They too have accorded their scholars, jurists, and spiritual guides nearly the same status. Among us, the most grotesque manifestation of this is when lies about what is lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram) are fabricated under the pretext of a noble objective. Preservation of religion and Shariah, and the promotion of benevolence and morality, are the prominent themes used to justify this.

Thus, we observe that under the guise of asceticism and piety, monasticism is taught, and in the name of self-purification, the acts of speaking and listening, seeing and displaying, eating and drinking, and the adornments of dwellings and lifestyles are declared forbidden. Declaring something that is lawful as unlawful by one’s own judgment is, in itself, a prohibited act. Therefore, Allah Almighty has included this within the five explicitly defined prohibitions of ethics. It is stated:

الْمُعْتَدِینَ یُحِب ُّ لاَ 1 ََّ إِن َّ تَعْتَدُوا وَلاَ لَكُمْ 1 َُّ أَحَل َّ مَا طَیِّبَاتِ تُحَرِّمُوا لاَ آمَنُوا الﱠذِینَ أَی ُّھَا یَا

Say: My Lord has only forbidden lewd acts, whether open or hidden and usurping rights and wrongful oppression and that you associate with God that for which He did not send down any sanction and that you fabricate something about God that you know not. (Quran, 7:33)

Javed Ahmed Ghamidi states that in this verse, the expression “qawlun ala allah” (speaking about Allah) inherently carries the connotation of “iftara ala allahi” (fabrication against Allah), and its meaning is to declare the lawful as unlawful and the unlawful as lawful while fabricating lies in the name of Allah, and to compile such a form of Shariah that has no connection with Allah or His religion. He writes:

The actual words are: ‘wa an taqulu ala allahi ma la talamuna.’ It is evident from the preposition after that the verb encompasses a meaning. The actual construction is to the effect: “muftareena ala allahi.” In other words, if edicts regarding the lawful and unlawful are given on personal preferences, if in accordance with personal desires religious innovations are invented or if Shariah directives are fabricated and then ascribed to God – then all these practices come under this expression. (Al-Bayan, 2/150)