5-What is Forbidden in Islam

5-WHAT IS FORBIDDEN IN ISLAM
Question:

What is the meaning of something forbidden?

Answer:

Something forbidden is what Islam has prohibited and has forbidden being done absolutely.

Question:

Why has Islam forbidden certain things?

Answer:

Because in doing them there is considerable harm.

Question:

If someone does a forbidden thing what will be his lot?

Answer:

Distress in this life and suffering in the world to come.

Question:

Give an example of distress in this life?  What is it like?

Answer:

For example: gambling leads to loss of possessions, alcoholic drinks lead to illnesses, listening to songs can cause neurasthenia, adultery has the effect of confusing genealogy, sodomy is the source of venereal diseases and related ailments in both partners, interest brings about disorder in economic balance.

Question:

So why don’t we see these harmful consequences in society despite the fact that most, if not all, of these prohibited acts are widespread?

Answer:

In fact it is the reverse:

Crime has spread throughout the length and breadth of society, the courts are being swamped by criminals and the prisons are full.

Economic imbalance has reached its apex in that some possess millions while others are dying of hunger.

Dangerous diseases have got out of control so that thousands of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies and the like are of no avail in getting rid of them or even limiting their scope.

Anxiety and confusion have taken over people’s lives to an extent never seen previously in history.

In short, revolutions and wars dominate the history books of our time so that there is no room for anything else: wars which leave in their wake misfortune, tears, blood and catastrophes. 

After all that we have said above, can it still be claimed that forbidden acts (according to Islam) have no bad effects?

Question:

What are things forbidden by Islam?

Answer:

Islamic prohibitions are numerous, some of which are as follows:

1.        Assisting an unjust person.

2.        Turning away from remembering God.

3.        Wasting money (or any of God's bounties).

4.        (For men), wearing golden trinkets or silk clothes.

5.        Masturbation.

6.        Causing distress to others.

7.        Using gold or silver utensils.

8.        Divulging the secrets of others.

9.        Disobedience of parents by children, and unsubmissiveness of a wife to her husband (in those instances where submission is obligatory).

10.     Spreading rumours about adulterous behaviour and the like. 

11.     Hoarding essential commodities.

12.     Endangering one's life unnecessarily.

13.     Charm, magic and so on.

14.     Slander and malicious accusations.

15.     Astrology and the like.

16.     Swindling and fraud.

17.     Altering a dead person’s will.

18.     Spying on others.

19.     Murdering or wounding another or severing one of his limbs.

20.     Withholding what is due to God or to man.

21.     Imprisoning someone unjustly.

22.     Jealousy.

23.     Squandering money held in trust for others.

24.     Drinking any intoxicating liquid: alcoholic beverages or anything else.

25.     Eating the meat of an animal not slaughtered according to Islamic law, eating pork or other forbidden meats, eating or drinking impure things and eating other forbidden things like clay and so on.

26.     Betrayal, deceit and cheating.

27.     Stealing.

28.     Acting as a procurer (pimp) to bring a man and a woman together for illicit sex, or two men or a boy and a girl.

29.     Telling lies.

30.     Using insulting language against God, the Prophets, Imams, Islam, the Qur’an or against other people.

31.     Hypocrisy in all its kinds, one of which is being double-faced, that is praising a person when he is present but backbiting him in his absence.

32.     Bribery.

33.     Usury.

34.     Robbing travellers on the road.

35.     Shaving off the beard and the cutting off of any of one’s bodily parts or getting rid of one of the faculties, such as blinding oneself.

36.     The free mixing and intermingling of boys and girls in a forbidden manner.

37.     Approving what is forbidden.

38.     Adultery, sodomy, lesbianism, looking with desire at someone or touching him/her who is not in that degree of consanguinity that precludes marriage.

39.     Punishing others unjustly.

40.     Falsely accusing someone of adultery, sodomy or being illegitimate.

41.     Spreading lies, backbiting, getting involved in useless talk and spreading discord.

42.     Attempting to demolish mosques or desecrate them.

43.     To show someone in a bad light in front of ruthless people.

44.     Making musical instruments, things for gambling, crucifixes.

45.     Women discarding the veil and showing their fineries in public.

46.     Breaking an oath, a vow or a covenant.

47.     Giving a false testimony and concealing the truth.

48.     The playing of chess, backgammon and other such games.

49.     Not looking after those family members who are his dependants.

50.     Oppressing people and violating the rights of others.

51.     Getting worked up about matters of little consequence.

52.     Songs with music.

53.     Spreading corruption or evil ways.

54.     Breaking off ties with one’s close relations, being disobedient to parents, and not looking after one’s children.

55.     Using short weights and tampering with the scales.

56.     Singing love poetry about a chaste woman or man who is not your wife/ husband.

57.     Revealing one’s private parts in front of someone who is outside the degree of consanguinity.

58.     Arguing for the sake of arguing.

59.     Peeping into the houses of neighbours.

60.     Using anything which causes excessive harm to the body and similarly harming others ………… and other prohibitions.

You, esteemed reader, will see at a glance that the reason for most of these prohibitions is clear and obvious, and does not require much reflection.  For example, can anyone deny the repugnance of murder, pillaging the property of others or injuring them, spying into other people’s houses or doing harm?

However, some of the matters do require some thought concerning the reason for their prohibition, for instance gambling, alcoholic drinks and women not covering their heads and their dressing immodestly.  Anyone must surely realize that gambling leads to anxiety and material loss, alcohol causes numerous illnesses, dressing immodestly can often lead to immorality and the breaking up of families, and so on and so on.  Is there any religion or legal system which has not formulated a list of forbidden things?  Nevertheless the question remains, does not the fact that certain things are forbidden lead to a degree of unhealthy repression?  The answer is that anything which leads to bad things has to be repressed or restrained in some way and legal systems, in general, are full of attempts to do so.

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