If we study the forbidden things in Islam deeply and in detail, we will find that proscribing them is a step taken by Islam to protect humanity from perverse conduct and keep it away from dangers and evils.
Through these injunctions Islam protects man's psyche, body and soul within the individual sphere, and it safeguards other human relations and community life, within society from the risks of subversion, perversion and decadence.
Ideologically, Islam makes unbelief and distrust in Allah haram. Also, attributing injustice, incarnation and the like, to Allah the Glorious is haram.
Islam also makes haram superstition, charlatanism, blind imitation and anything that enslaves the mind's inquisitive and creative activity, and prevents a good understanding of life and existence. The relationship between man and Allah remains firm and binding, as it is the source of all human conduct and orientation, and it is the stimulus that moves it on the right path.
With regard to man's self, Islam makes haram anything that may lead to pollute man's inner life, kill his conscience and moral intuition, and that which may change his life to total misery and helplessness, and his conduct to an animalistic one devoid of any human feelings. Thus Islam makes malevolence, hatred. despondency, mistrust, etc. haram, in order to uplift the human soul to the highest level of perfection and cleanliness, and to protect and purify it from unhealthy traits and crookedness of conscience.
With respect to man's body, Islam makes haram all the activities, practices, and actions that are detrimental to health. Therefore, wine-drinking, adultery, eating the flesh of swine, dogs and many other unhealthy animals or for that matter animals killed by strangulation, carrion, and blood are all haram.
When Islam protects man's psyche and his body on the one hand, it pays due attention to protect the community from crime and harmful practices in the domains of sociology, politics, economy, the judiciary, education and so on.
Accordingly, Islam makes haram, oppression, usury, monopoly, cheating, theft, telling lies, backbiting, false witness, cursing, bribery, homicide, gambling, teaching and spreading harmful ideologies and ideas like those made popular through pornographic literature, films and pictures.
By so doing, Islam secures the health of both the individual and the society.
Islam rules that carnal sins which constitute the most grave danger to man and environment are haram.
A good look at these sins, and a deep pondering over them in the light of social experience, scientific research and sound thinking, illustrates to what degree they are dangerous to both the life of the individual and the stability of the society, and so helps one to understand the wisdom behind making these deeds haram in Islam.
It is of a great benefit to cite these prohibited things, which Islam warns Muslims not to commit, as painfully severe punishment is in store for them should they commit such acts, which if committed, may endanger life and social order.
The following are the main haram things:
1. Polytheism. 2. Desperation and despondency about one's fate and the idea that Allah will never have mercy on him. 3. The belief that Allah will never punish oneself. 4. Undutifulness towards one's parents. 5. Homicide. 6. Falsely accusing a married woman of committing adultery. 7. Taking away the orphan's possessions and money unjustly. 8. Fleeing the battlefield of jihad. 9. Usury. 10. Adultery. 11. Sodomy. 12. Witchcraft. 13. Perjury. 14. Bearing false witness. 15. Concealing testimony (about something one knows and can help establishing justice by giving it). 16. Drinking wine. 17. Breaking pledges. 18. Cutting off relations with one's near of kin. 19. Emigration from the Muslim homeland to a place where one's faith becomes a risk. 20. Theft. 21. Telling lies about Allah, His Apostle, Imams and common people or attributing to them something which they did not say. 22. Cannibalism. 23. Drinking blood. 24. Eating swine or flesh of animals that are slaughtered without mentioning Allah's name on them. 25. Ill-gotten money earned by selling wine, or gained through prostitution, dancing, as well as money gained through bribery, and the salaries given by the oppressive regimes when one cooperates with them to prop up injustice and implement their corrupt schemes. 26. Giving short measure and weight. 27. Supporting the oppressors. 28. Pride. 29. Extravagance. 30. Squandering money. 31. Fighting the faithful and callers to Islam. 32. Working as dancers and musicians. 33. Backbiting. 34. False accusation. 35. Cursing the faithful, insulting and humiliating them. 36. Talebearing. 37. Pandering or acting as pimps. 38. Cheating. 39. Sanctimoniousness. 40. Hypocrisy. 41. Ignoring or belittling one's sins and transgressions ...
Apart from these forbidden actions there are a lot more which result in corruption, haram and the ruination of life.
Haram acts are the plague and the greatest danger threatening the life of both the individual and society. Only by steering clear of them, can humankind protect and preserve their body and soul from decay and perfidy.
Medical, social and psychological studies have recently uncovered the grave dangers caused by the haram.
Astonishing figures are emerging from research institutes, about the crimes, ailments and anomalous phenomena and cases in the communities that have dropped the concepts of halal and haram from their behaviour. Such statistics show how urgent it is and necessary to set to work in saving the human race and finding a way out of the predicament in which they wallow, after discarding the divine values and yielding to the bestial way of life. They should return to the straight path of Allah, which is the proof of the Almighty's kindness, mercy and generosity.
Ijtihad (Juristic Reasoning)
Ijtihad and a Divine Law
A law (hukum) based on Islam can he defined as divine legislation or Shari'ah which organizes human life and his divers relations. (Ijtihad is the process practised by a jurisprudent to discover secondary divine legislation (laws) regarding the organizing of human life and his diverse relations or endeavouring to discover and deduce the Islamic laws and regulations from their sources like the laws concerning worship, possession, business, property, judiciary, politics and family affairs ... etc.)
Ijtihad is a learning (knowing) process and has a important, progressive and civil role in the life of an individual and the society altogether with the state. It also participate in developing the civil life and opening the legislative prospects before it. Without the process of Ijtihad, many human activities are difficult to develop in the sphere of an Islamic life.
Human society is a developing entity. Human actions, relationships and activities are ever-increasing and ever-expanding. Many things are invented that were non-existent before. Banks, insurance companies, radio and television and the other discoveries are new phenomena which are to be used correctly and in harmony with Islamic teachings. If there are no fuqaha' (jurisprudents), how could codes and regulations concerning such institutions be derived at?
This process of Ijtihad is responsible for catering to all the needs of the human society and providing answers to all questions which may arise in this field. Without the process of Ijtihad, a faithful Muslim will find himself in a dilemma.
The First Attitude: To petrify, solidify and isolate every new development in life because he has no knowledge concerning his legal responsibility or duty and the ambiguity of such special legislative laws concerning new affairs in human life ...
The Second Attitude: To dissolute from any legal responsibility or obligation and dissolve absolutely in a non-Islamic civilization and principles; to take laws and concepts and specify situations and behaviour by depending on non-Islamic civilizations, principles and ideologies.
In both cases, the attitude will be a tragedy against the dynamic goals of Islam and to stop the spread of the ever-lasting Divine Legislation.
Besides these two attitudes, another attitude which is more dangerous than the two, the idea that Islam is incapable of establishing a developed society and international entity for the Muslim nation and which puts obstacles in its path of progress, which in other words would mean the absence of Divine Mercy and Kindness from the world of mankind and to leave it in disorder and chaos. All these are against the aims of Islam and which contradict the spirit of Shari'ah and the principles of the ever-lasting Islamic Message as the Holy Qur'an and the Prophetic sunnah.
The Most High says:
"... and We ban reveal the Book to you explaining all things, and a guidance and mercy and good news for those who submit."
Holy Qur'an (16:89)
A holy tradition (hadith) says:
"Almighty Allah has revealed in the Qur'an the declaration of all things. He has not left anything needed by His servants unexplained so that no one would say: if (only) this has been revealed in the Qur'an. Yes indeed He has revealed it." 7
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) describes the nature of the Islamic message in the following words: "The Qur'an is certainly alive and does not die. It moves as the night and the day, and as the sun and the moon. Its teachings should be obeyed by the last man on earth as it had been obeyed by the first one." 8
By contemplating on these Islamic texts, one realizes that the Qur'an is the origin of Islam; the source of its message; a vehicle for its laws, principles and concepts and a torch which sends the rays of guidance on the planet more brighter or serene than the sun and the moon.
But it is not in our capability nor any one else to understand (realize) life perfectly through the Qur'an nor to discover the laws of life and the Islamic laws from the treasures of this Book (the Qur'anic verses are treasuries, whenever a treasury is opened, you should look at it). 9
This richness of laws and the large ideological wealth which the Qur'anic verses contain need scientific efforts and an ideological declaration capable of drawing from this inexhaustible spring and meet the future needs from these unfathomable treasuries.
It is natural, that to comprehend the deepness of the Qur'an with its legal proof is not clear nor specified in every situation and affair and it is not in the capacity of a jurisprudent (Faqih or Mujtahid) to take this responsibility in the first grade. But it was the task of the Minister of Revelation (Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) to comprehend and expound the spirit of the Book; to interpret its meanings and to formulate its laws and practical legislation in life under Divine Guidance.
Thus the relation between the two - the Book and the sunnah - looks like to a great extent the relation between a constitution and a law.
The constitution makes clear the essential origin of legislation and prescription of law. For instance, the clause speaks of the right to own property, but it is the law-maker which clarifies its details, and drafts the laws necessary for practical execution of this constitutional article and declaration of its details.
In like manner, the task of the Prophetic traditions sunnah is to translate the contents of the Qur'an and formulate them as practical laws for life.
For more details, it is worth mentioning that the sunnah is not a Prophetic judgement for formulating the Qur'anic spirit and explaining its contents through laws as the case in the relation between the constitution and law.
The sunnah is a Divine revelation and instruction both in its meaning and contents save that its literary pronunciation and form is said by the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) himself.
For example, the Holy Qur'an ascribes (determines) that the paying of the poor-dues zakat is obligatory but without clarifying its amounts or quantities nor the things on which it should be paid. But it is the Prophetic Tradition sunnah which looks after it by explaining it in detail. This explanation and detail has come through the utterance and practise of the Noble Messenger and his human normal speech. In order to continue the advantageous role of the sunnah, Allah willed that it should have leaders (Imams) after the Prophet who represent the conscious side and comprehend the spirit of the Qur'an and its contents in accordance with the Prophet's practice.
Therefore, the Imams of the Prophet's infallible Household, the Ahlul-Bait (peace be upon them all) represent the blessed path of guidance for the ummah. After them comes the role of the Jurisprudents (mujtahids or fuqaha') who undertake the task of judgement by reasoning in the light of the Qur'an and the sunnah to meet the changing needs of the human society. Thus, the dynamism of Ijtihad which is wide open till our present day, was necessary to expand the horizons of the Shari'ah and to enrich the human society with concepts and laws which are necessary for organizing the progress of mankind.
Therefore, Ijtihad is necessary wajib kifa'i and there should at least be a Mujtahid, in every age and era, to whom Muslims refer and upon whom they depend for understanding the Shari'ah and discovering its laws.
Islam has two main sources:
A- The Book (The Qur'an).
B- The Sunnah (The Prophetic Tradition).
It is only in the light of these two sources that laws should be made. The tragedy of Muslims, is, certain persons took fallible sources besides these two, and on the basis of their whims and personal opinions qiyas imposed themselves on unsuspecting and simple-minded Muslims as Imams or leaders of schools of Jurisprudence.
Later on, the ruling Abbasid Caliphs, who were total strangers to Islam and its teachings arbitrarily sanctioned the legitimacy of four self-contradictory schools of jurisprudence on the Muslims, ruling that the door of Ijtihad was closed.
But in Islamic Shari'ah, it is not necessary to accept these sources (the sources of qiyas and the like to which certain Mujtahids depend other than the Book and the Sunnah) except what tallies with the spirit of the Book and the sunnah. However, the followers of the schools of the Prophet's Ahlul-Bait, have always stayed clear of these innovations and kept the dynamism of Ijtihad open on the basis of the Book and the sunnah. Therefore, it is the duty of a rightly guided mujtahid or faqih cancel in all periods any of these sources which contradict the Book and the sunnah or bold no water before a scientific justification.
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3. Kulaini, Usul min al-Kafi, p. 59, vol. 1, printed in 1388 A.H.
4. Mujtahid: A person who is an expert in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh); he is also called faqih. He has a particular power and retigious authori and significance.
5. Wajib Kifa'i: An action which remains obligatory upon the Muslims as long as it remains unfulfilled, but if Some individuals carried it out, other Muslims are absolved from the responsibility, like the profession of medicine, judiciary, agriculture, bidding for what is right and bathing the corpse and praying for him ... etc.
6. Wajib 'aini: A deed which is obligatory upon an individual and the obligation still exists even if others perform it tike the daily ritual prayer, and fasting ... etc.
7. Kulaini, Usul min al-Kafi, p. 59, vol. 1, printed in 1388 A.H.
8. The late Abul-Qasim al-Khu'i, Tafsir al-Bayan, p. 23, printed in 1394 A.H. -1974 A.D.
9. Ibid, p. 30.
