Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Followers of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to a Question
To Yahya Abu Zina
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh.
May Allah protect you, our Sheikh, assist you in carrying the trust, and support you with His near victory by His permission, the Almighty.
Firstly, I apologize for the many questions I send you. However, we have learned in the Party to dig and research so that our idea remains strong and pure by the power of Allah the Almighty.
A question in Usul al-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) regarding that which is left unmentioned (Al-Maskut 'Anhu):
It was stated in the Hadith, as narrated by at-Tirmidhi from Salman al-Farisi, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
الْحَلَالُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ فَهُوَ مِمَّا عَفَا عَنْهُ
"The Halal is what Allah has permitted in His Book, and the Haram is what Allah has forbidden in His Book, and what He has remained silent about, then it is among those things He has pardoned/exempted."
Can we understand the "silence" in the Hadith as a silence regarding legislation during the period of revelation—i.e., before the completion of legislation and the revelation of Allah's saying:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِيناً
"This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion." (Quran 5:3)
For it is known that there is no Sharia before the arrival of the Sharia, and the default state is the freedom of the soul from obligation (Bara'at al-Dhimmah). The Muslim during the time of revelation was faced with rulings that had been legislated, and the Sharia clarified their ruling as being Halal or Haram. These are performed by the Muslim on the basis that they are legislation and he will be held accountable for them. There are actions and things for which legislation had not yet been revealed until it was completed, and these are what the Messenger ﷺ meant by his saying: "And what He remained silent about, it is an exemption (Afw)." Meaning, He remained silent about its legislation. And it is an exemption, meaning the Muslim is not held accountable for it, whether in doing or leaving. The Prophet ﷺ forbade asking and researching into what legislation had not been revealed for, so that Allah would not make things difficult for the Muslims because of the questioning.
As for after the completion of legislation and the revelation of His saying: "This day I have perfected for you your religion...", there is nothing or no action left unmentioned regarding its legislation; because the Sharia has encompassed all rulings of things and actions. There is no thing or action except that it has a ruling or a place for a ruling. It is obligatory for the Muslim to ask and research the ruling of every action he wishes to perform, unlike how the Muslims were during the time of revelation.
Our beloved Sheikh, is this understanding considered correct? Noting that I adopt what is in our book, The Islamic Personality, Volume 3, and I do not deviate from it at all, if Allah wills.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh.
It seems there is a passage that caused some confusion for you, which is your statement in the question:
(There are actions and things for which legislation had not yet been revealed until it was completed, and these are what the Messenger ﷺ meant by his saying: "And what He remained silent about, it is an exemption." Meaning, He remained silent about its legislation. And it is an exemption, meaning the Muslim is not held accountable for it, whether in doing or leaving. The Prophet ﷺ forbade asking and researching into what legislation had not been revealed for, so that Allah would not make things difficult for the Muslims because of the questioning.)
The phrase "And what He remained silent about, it is an exemption" does not mean that its Shari'i ruling had not been revealed. Rather, it means that this matter about which the Messenger ﷺ remained silent is Halal, i.e., Mubah (permissible) if it is a "thing," or Fard (obligatory), Mandub (recommended), Mubah (permissible), or Makruh (disliked) if it is an "action." We have previously clarified this in our answer to a similar question dated 20 Jumada al-Akhirah 1434 AH, corresponding to 05/05/2013 CE. I will mention below the part of that answer related to this issue:
[1- The relevant Hadiths are:
a- What was narrated by at-Tirmidhi from Salman al-Farisi, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about ghee, cheese, and fur, and he said:
الْحَلاَلُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ فَهُوَ مِمَّا عَفَا عَنْهُ
'The Halal is what Allah has permitted in His Book, and the Haram is what Allah has forbidden in His Book, and what He has remained silent about, then it is among those things He has pardoned/exempted.'" In a narration by Abu Dawood from Ibn Abbas: "Allah the Almighty sent His Prophet ﷺ and revealed His Book, and permitted His Halal and prohibited His Haram. So what He permitted is Halal, what He prohibited is Haram, and what He remained silent about is an exemption (Afw)."
b- In Al-Sunan al-Kubra by al-Bayhaqi from Abu Thalabah (ra) who said:
إِنَّ اللهَ فَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ، فَلَا تُضَيِّعُوهَا، وَحَّدَ حُدُوداً، فَلَا تَعْتَدُوهَا، وَنَهَى عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ، فَلَا تَنْتَهِكُوهَا، وَسَكَتَ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ رُخْصَةً لَكُمْ، لَيْسَ بِنِسْيَانٍ، فَلَا تَبْحَثُوا عَنْهَا
"Verily, Allah has prescribed obligations, so do not neglect them; and He has set limits, so do not transgress them; and He has forbidden things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about things as a concession (Rukhsah) for you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not search for them."
c- The Hadith of at-Tirmidhi and al-Daraqutni from Ali (ra) who said: When this verse was revealed:
وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً
"And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way." (Quran 3:97)
They said: "O Messenger of Allah, is it every year?" He remained silent. They asked: "Is it every year?" He said: "No, and if I had said yes, it would have become obligatory." Then Allah the Almighty revealed:
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَسْئَلُوا عَنْ أَشْياءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ
"O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you..." (Quran 5:101) to the end of the verse.
In another narration by al-Daraqutni from Abu Hurairah, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O people, Hajj has been prescribed for you." A man stood up and said: "Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?" He turned away from him. Then he returned and said: "Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Who is the speaker?" They said: "So-and-so." He said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if I had said yes, it would have become obligatory; and if it had become obligatory, you would not have been able to do it; and if you were not able to do it, you would have disbelieved." Then Allah revealed: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you..."
2- Before delving into their meaning, it is appropriate to point out some necessary matters:
a- The distinction between a "thing" (shay') and an "action" (fi'l) is a discussion in Usul al-Fiqh and not a linguistic discussion. Otherwise, the word "thing" linguistically includes "action." Similarly, the division of the Shari'i ruling into Fard, Wajib, Mandub, Mubah, Makruh, Haram, Mahzur, Rukhsah, Azimah, Shart (condition), Sabab (cause), Mani' (impediment), Sahih (valid), Fasid (irregular), and Batil (void)... these are technical terms in Usul al-Fiqh. If you open linguistic dictionaries for their meanings, you will not find them in the technical sense.
These technical terms were established after the era of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, just like grammatical terms such as the subject (fa'il) and the object (maf'ul)... If you look at them in linguistic dictionaries, you would find their meanings different from the technical grammatical meaning.
b- Accordingly, if you read a Hadith of the Messenger ﷺ or his companions (ra) and find the word "thing" or "doer," it does not necessarily mean that it is in the technical sense. Rather, you study it to see its correct indication: is it a linguistic reality, a general customary reality, a specific technical reality (Istilah), or a legal (Shar'i) reality?
c- If the question is about specific terms and the answer is general and independent of the question, then the generality lies in the subject of the question addressed by the answer, and is not specific to the terms in the question. For example, in the Sahih Hadith narrated by at-Tirmidhi from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, shall we perform ablution from the well of Budha'ah...?" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إِنَّ المَاءَ طَهُورٌ لَا يُنَجِّسُهُ شَيْءٌ
"Indeed, water is pure; nothing makes it impure."
Here, the Messenger ﷺ was asked about the well of Budha'ah, but the answer came independently of the well of Budha'ah; he did not mention the well of Budha'ah in it. Instead, he mentioned: "Indeed, water is pure; nothing makes it impure." Thus, the generality applies to purification with water whether it is from the well of Budha'ah or any other well. It is not said that the subject of the generality is the well of Budha'ah; rather, it is said that the answer is general regarding its subject, which is taken from the answer and not from the question. That is, taken from "Indeed, water is pure; nothing makes it impure" and not from "the well of Budha'ah." Meaning its subject is purification with water, not the well of Budha'ah.
3- Now we answer your questions:
a- The Hadith of at-Tirmidhi: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about ghee, cheese, and fur, and he said: "The Halal is what Allah has permitted in His Book, and the Haram is what Allah has forbidden in His Book, and what He has remained silent about, then it is among those things He has pardoned."
The conjunction "And what He remained silent about..." refers back to the nearest antecedent, which is "And the Haram is what Allah has forbidden in His Book." Meaning that what He remained silent about is an exemption from the Haram; i.e., it is Halal.
The generality here is in its subject. However, because the answer is more general than the question and independent of it, the subject is taken from the answer and not the question. Therefore, it generalizes everything whose ruling is Halal or Haram, whether for ghee, cheese, and fur, or for any matter that falls under Halal or Haram. This applies to everything that falls under the word "thing" or "action" according to the technical meaning. If applied to a thing, then Halal here means Mubah (permissibility). If applied to an action, then Halal here means other than Haram, i.e., "Fard, Mandub, Mubah, Makruh."
b- The Hadith of al-Bayhaqi from Abu Thalabah (ra) who said: "...And He has forbidden things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about things as a concession for you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not search for them."
In this Hadith, there are three matters:
First: **"He remained silent about things (ashya')"**, and "thing" here is not in the technical sense—i.e., excluding action—rather it includes action. For example, the verse: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you... Allah has pardoned them, and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing." The thing asked about was the "action of Hajj," as mentioned in the Tafsir of al-Qurtubi (6/330).
(The Hadith of at-Tirmidhi and al-Daraqutni from Ali (ra) who said: When this verse was revealed: "And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way," they said: "O Messenger of Allah, is it every year?" He remained silent. They asked: "Is it every year?" He said: "No, and if I had said yes, it would have become obligatory." Then Allah the Almighty revealed: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you...") End.
It is clear from this that what was asked about was Hajj, which is an "action," and it was called a "thing" in the verse.
Second: "And He has remained silent about things as a concession for you." This conjunction "And He remained silent..." refers to the nearest antecedent "And He has forbidden things, so do not violate them." Meaning that the concession is from the decisive prohibition (Haram) as indicated by "do not violate them." Meaning that which He remained silent about is a concession from the Haram, i.e., Halal. This applies to the matter asked about if it is a "thing" in the technical sense (so Halal here is Mubah), and it applies to the matter asked about if it is an "action" in the technical sense (so Halal here is other than Haram, i.e., "Fard, Mandub, Mubah, and Makruh").
Third: "So do not search for them." This is connected to the conjunction "And He remained silent about things" which is connected to the antecedent "And He has forbidden things, so do not violate them." Meaning they are Halal, so do not search for their prohibition; not "do not search for their rulings in terms of Fard, Mandub..." The meaning of the Hadith is that the matter left unmentioned is Halal, so do not search for its prohibition for fear that it might be prohibited because of your questioning, as stated in the Hadith of al-Bukhari: From Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas that the Prophet ﷺ said: "The greatest sinner among the Muslims is one who asked about something that was not prohibited, and it was prohibited because of his questioning."
... 25 Jumada al-Akhirah 1434 AH - 05/05/2013 CE]
It is clear from the above that the silence of the Messenger ﷺ does not mean a lack of legislation. Rather, it means permissibility if the matter is related to a thing, and it means Fard, Mandub, Mubah, or Makruh if the matter is related to an action. That is, the silence of the Messenger ﷺ is legislation as explained above. As for the prohibition of asking, it is the case when the Messenger ﷺ is asked about something and he answers or remains silent. If he answers, he has explicitly given the ruling, and if he does not answer and remains silent, he has given the ruling that this thing or action is Halal. What is prohibited is repeating the question and iterating it while the Messenger ﷺ has already answered it or remained silent about it.
This does not mean that a Muslim should not ask about a thing or action that he does not know... It is stated in the book The Islamic Personality, Volume 3, in the chapter "No Ruling Before the Arrival of Sharia": (Because it is established in the Quran and Hadith that when there is a lack of knowledge, one must ask about the ruling, not stop and refrain from a ruling. Allah says:
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
"So ask the people of the message if you do not know." (Quran 16:43)
And the Prophet ﷺ said in the Hadith of Tayammum, as narrated by Abu Dawood from Jabir:
أَلاَ سَأَلُوا إِذْ لَمْ يَعْلَمُوا فَإِنَّمَا شِفَاءُ الْعِيِّ السُّؤَالُ
"Why did they not ask when they did not know? For indeed, the cure for ignorance is the question."
This indicates that the default is not stopping and refrain from a ruling. Accordingly, after the mission of the Messenger ﷺ, the ruling became for the Sharia, and it became that there is no ruling before the arrival of the Sharia; so the ruling is suspended upon the arrival of the Sharia, i.e., upon the existence of a Shari'i evidence for a single issue. Therefore, no ruling is given except from evidence, just as no ruling is given except after the arrival of the Sharia. The default is to search for the ruling in the Sharia, i.e., the default is to search for the Shari'i evidence for the ruling from the Sharia.)
Therefore, what is prohibited is to ask about a matter for which the Messenger ﷺ has clarified its ruling, but the person is not satisfied with that and persists in questioning. If he says that Hajj is Fard, one should not ask how many times. If he is asked about a matter and the Messenger ﷺ links it to another thing whose ruling is known—i.e., that it is permissible—then one must adhere to that and not go back to asking ("Could it not be Fard?") or similar details, especially during the time of revelation. In such a case, a person would have made things strict upon himself, and Allah might make things strict upon him, as in the verse: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you; and if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be shown to you. Allah has pardoned that; and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing." The following has been mentioned regarding the reasons for the revelation of this verse:
It was mentioned in Sunan at-Tirmidhi: When "And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way" was revealed, they said: "O Messenger of Allah, is it every year?" He remained silent. They said: "O Messenger of Allah, is it every year?" He said: "No, and if I had said yes, it would have become obligatory." Then Allah revealed: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you." Abu Isa said: The Hadith of Ali is a Hasan Gharib Hadith from this perspective.
It was mentioned in Sahih Ibn Hibban that Abu Hurairah mentioned that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon and said: "O people, Allah has prescribed Hajj upon you." A man stood up and said: "Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: He remained silent until he repeated it three times. He said: "If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory, and if it became obligatory, you would not have performed it. Leave me as I have left you, for those before you were only destroyed because of their excessive questioning and their disagreement with their prophets. So if I forbid you from something, avoid it, and if I command you with something, do as much of it as you can." He mentioned that this verse in Surat al-Ma'idah was revealed regarding that: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you."
Ahmad narrated something similar in his Musnad, as did al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, al-Daraqutni, and others...
So the Muslims should not be like the Jews who, when they were told to sacrifice a cow, began inquiring about the descriptions and conditions of the cow, so it was made strict for them with its descriptions. If they had sacrificed any cow at the beginning, it would have sufficed them.
It was mentioned in the Tafsir of al-Tabari: [The interpretation of Allah's saying: "And [recall] when Moses said to his people, 'Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow.' They said, 'Do you take us in ridicule?' He said, 'I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant.'" (67). The reason Moses said to them: "Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow" was what Muhammad bin Abd al-A'la told us... from Ubaydah who said: There was a man among the Children of Israel who was sterile—or childless—and his relative killed him, then carried him and threw him in a tribe other than his own. He said: Evil occurred between them because of it until they took up arms. He said: The people of intellect said: "Are you fighting one another while the Messenger of Allah is among you?" He said: So they came to the Prophet of Allah, and he said: "Slaughter a cow!" They said: "Do you take us in ridicule?" He said: "I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant..." up to His saying: "So they slaughtered it, though they were near to not doing it" (71). He said: So he was struck, and he informed them of his killer. He said: And the cow was only obtained for its weight in gold. Had they taken the lowliest cow, it would have sufficed for them. No killer was allowed to inherit after that...
He said: If the people, when they were commanded to slaughter a cow, had taken any cow from the cattle and slaughtered it, it would have been it. But they made it strict upon themselves, so Allah made it strict upon them. Had the people not made an exception by saying: "And indeed we, if Allah wills, are guided," they would never have been guided to it...]
Thus, excessive questioning out of place is something prohibited.
I hope this is sufficient. Allah is Most Knowing and Most Wise.
Your Brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
11 Rabi' al-Awwal 1443 AH Corresponding to 18/10/2021 CE
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