Answer to a Question
"And whatever He remains silent about is a pardon..."
The Question:
It is stated in the book: The Islamic Personality, Volume 3, Certified Edition, on page 46, lines 6 and 7: "What the Shari'ah has remained silent about is what it has not prohibited, meaning it has permitted it, and this includes the obligatory (wajib), the recommended (mandub), the permissible (mubah), and the disliked (makruh)."
I have the following questions:
- The hadith mentions: "remained silent about..."; if we assume this includes the obligatory, recommended, and disliked, would that not imply a lack of clarification from the Legislator regarding matters that must be clarified?
- It says: "about things" (an ashya’), not "about actions" (an af’al). What is conceived regarding a "thing" is lawfulness (hill) and prohibition (hurmah), not obligation, recommendation, or dislike—especially since the hadith came in response to a question about the ruling on (ghee, cheese, and fur), which are "things" and not "actions."
- The hadith uses the word "license" (rukhsah); how can it be a license if silence is interpreted as potentially being an obligation (wajib)?
- The hadith uses the word "pardon" (‘afw); how can it be a pardon if silence is interpreted as potentially being an obligation?
- The hadith says: "so do not search for them," forbidding research into them. If they potentially included the obligatory, recommended, or disliked, he would not have forbidden it.
Please clarify this, and may Allah reward you with goodness.
The Answer:
The relevant ahadith are:
a. Narrated by At-Tirmidhi from Salman al-Farsi, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) was asked about ghee, cheese, and fur. 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 made lawful in His Book, the Haram is what Allah has forbidden in His Book, and what He has remained silent about is among those things He has pardoned." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
In the narration of Abu Dawood from Ibn Abbas:
فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى نَبِيَّهُ، صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَنْزَلَ كِتَابَهُ، وَأَحَلَّ حَلَالَهُ، وَحَرَّمَ حَرَامَهُ، فَمَا أَحَلَّ فَهُوَ حَلَالٌ، وَمَا حَرَّمَ فَهُوَ حَرَامٌ، وَمَا سَكَتَ عَنْهُ فَهُوَ عَفْوٌ
"Then Allah the Exalted sent His Prophet (saw) and sent down His Book; He permitted His lawful matters and prohibited His forbidden matters. So, what He permitted is Halal, what He prohibited is Haram, and what He remained silent about is a pardon." (Sunan Abi Dawood)
b. In As-Sunan al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi, from Abu Tha'labah (ra), who said:
إِنَّ اللهَ فَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ، فَلَا تُضَيِّعُوهَا، وَحَّدَ حُدُودًا، فَلَا تَعْتَدُوهَا، وَنَهَى عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ، فَلَا تَنْتَهِكُوهَا، وَسَكَتَ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ رُخْصَةً لَكُمْ، لَيْسَ بِنِسْيَانٍ، فَلَا تَبْحَثُوا عَنْهَا"Allah has prescribed obligations, so do not neglect them; He has set limits, so do not transgress them; He has forbidden things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about things as a license for you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not search for them." (Al-Sunan al-Kubra)
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 سَبِيلًا"And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the journey." (Al-Imran [3]: 97)
They said: "O Messenger of Allah, is it every year?" He remained silent. They asked again: "Is it every year?" He said: "No, and if I had said yes, it would have become obligatory." Then Allah the Exalted 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." (Al-Ma'idah [5]: 101) until the end of the verse.
In another narration by Al-Daraqutni from Abu Hurairah, he said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) 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 the man repeated: "Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?" He (saw) said: "Who is the questioner?" 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 became obligatory, you would not be able to bear it, and if you could not bear it, you would have disbelieved." Then Allah the Exalted revealed:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَسْئَلُوا عَنْ أَشْياءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُم
"O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you." (Al-Ma'idah [5]: 101)
Before delving into their meaning, it is useful to point out some necessary matters:
a. The distinction between "thing" (shay) and "action" (fi’l) is an inquiry of Usul al-Fiqh (foundations of jurisprudence) and not a linguistic inquiry. Otherwise, the term "thing" linguistically includes "action." Similarly, the division of the Shari'ah ruling into fard, wajib, mandub, mubah, makruh, haram, mahdhur, rukhsah, azimah, shart, sabab, mani’, sahih, fasid, batil... these are technical terms of Usul al-Fiqh. If you were to open linguistic dictionaries for their meanings, you would not find them with this jurisprudential meaning.
These jurisprudential and Usuli terms were formalized after the era of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, much like grammatical terms such as "subject" (fa’il) and "object" (maf’ul). If you looked them up in linguistic dictionaries, you would find their meanings differ from the technical grammatical meaning.
b. Therefore, if you read a hadith of the Prophet (saw) or his companions (ra) and find the word "thing" or "subject," it does not necessarily mean it is used in the technical sense. Rather, you study it to see its correct connotation: is it a linguistic reality, a general customary usage, a specific technical usage (istilah), or a Shari'ah reality?
c. If a question is about specific terms, and the answer comes in a general form independent of the question, then the generality applies to the subject of the question addressed by the answer, and it is not restricted to the terms present 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, do we perform ablution from the Well of Buda'ah...?" The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
إِنَّ المَاءَ طَهُورٌ لَا يُنَجِّسُهُ شَيْءٌ"Indeed, water is pure; nothing makes it impure." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
Here, the Messenger (saw) was asked about the Well of Buda'ah, but the answer came independently of the Well of Buda'ah—it was not mentioned in the answer. 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 Buda'ah or any other well. It is not said that the subject of the generality is the Well of Buda'ah; rather, it is said the answer is general regarding its subject, which is taken from the answer itself and not from the question. That is, it is taken from "Indeed, water is pure; nothing makes it impure" and not from "Well of Buda'ah." Its subject is purification with water, not the Well of Buda'ah specifically.
Now, we answer your questions:
a. The hadith of At-Tirmidhi: The Messenger of Allah (saw) was asked about ghee, cheese, and fur, and he said: "The Halal is what Allah has made lawful in His Book, the Haram is what Allah has forbidden in His Book, and what He has remained silent about is among those things He has pardoned..." and in the narration of Abu Dawood: "...and what He remained silent about is a pardon."
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." This means that what He remained silent about is a pardon from the Haram—meaning it is Halal.
The generality here is in its subject. However, because the answer is broader than the question and independent of it, the subject is taken from the answer, not the question. Therefore, it encompasses everything whose ruling is Halal or Haram, whether regarding ghee, cheese, and fur, or any matter that falls under Halal or Haram. This applies to everything that falls under the term "thing" or "action" according to the technical meaning. If applied to a "thing," then Halal here means "permissibility" (ibahah). If applied to an "action," then Halal here means "not Haram," i.e., "the obligatory, recommended, permissible, and disliked."
b. The hadith of Al-Bayhaqi from Abu Tha'labah (ra): "...and He has forbidden things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about things as a license 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." The word "thing" here is not used 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..." The matter being 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) said: When this verse was revealed: "And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah..." 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 Exalted revealed: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things..."
In another narration by Al-Daraqutni from Abu Hurairah: The Messenger of Allah (saw) 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... He (saw) said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if I had said yes, it would have become obligatory..." Then Allah revealed: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things...") End.
It is clear from this that what was asked about was Hajj, which is an "action," yet it was referred to in the verse as a "thing."
Second: "And He remained silent about things as a license (rukhsah) for you." This conjunction "And He remained silent..." refers back to the nearest antecedent: "and He has forbidden things, so do not violate them." This means the license is from the decisive prohibition (Haram), as evidenced by "do not violate them." This means that what He remained silent about is a license from the Haram, i.e., it is Halal. This applies to the matter asked about if it is a "thing" in the technical sense, where Halal means permissibility. It also applies if the matter asked about is an "action" in the technical sense, where Halal means "not Haram," i.e., "the obligatory, recommended, permissible, and disliked."
Third: "So do not search for them." This is connected to the conjunction "and He remained silent about things" referring back to "and He has forbidden things, so do not violate them." Meaning, they are Halal, so do not search for their prohibition; it does not mean "do not search for their rulings in terms of being obligatory, recommended, etc." The meaning of the hadith is that what is remained silent about 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: The Prophet (saw) said:
إِنَّ أَعْظَمَ المُسْلِمِينَ جُرْمًا، مَنْ سَأَلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَمْ يُحَرَّمْ، فَحُرِّمَ مِنْ أَجْلِ مَسْأَلَتِهِ"The greatest of the Muslims in sin is the one who asks about something that was not prohibited, and it becomes prohibited because of his questioning." (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Accordingly, what you mentioned in your letter is as follows:
Regarding your statement: "If we assume this includes the obligatory, recommended, and disliked, would that not imply a lack of clarification from the Legislator...": The issue mentioned in the hadith is between the Haram and the Halal. It has been clarified that what is remained silent about is Halal. Thus, the subject of the hadith has been fully clarified. As for researching the type of Halal (obligatory, recommended, permissible, disliked) when the matter asked about is an "action" in the technical sense, this is sought from other ahadith. Not all rulings are taken from a single hadith; this is well-known among the people of Ijtihad according to the Usul.
Regarding your statement "things": We have clarified to you that it includes "actions." This is not affected by the fact that the things asked about were "ghee, cheese, and fur," for the answer is broader than the question. The matter asked about may be a "thing" in the technical sense, as in the hadith of "cheese...", or it may be an "action," as in the hadith of "Hajj...". The noble verse used "things" to refer to what was asked about, which was the "action of Hajj." Allah says: "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."
Regarding your statement "license...": It means a license from the Haram, which means it is Halal.
Regarding your statement "pardon...": It means a pardon from the Haram, which means it is Halal.
Regarding your statement: "So do not search for them": Meaning do not search for their prohibition, lest they become prohibited because of your questioning. It does not mean not to search for anything other than their prohibition. The subject is to avoid questioning that leads to prohibition during the time of the descent of Revelation, where a matter might be prohibited because of the question, as in the hadith: "The greatest of the Muslims in sin is the one who asks about something that was not prohibited, and it becomes prohibited because of his questioning." As for questioning outside of this subject, it is required in order to know the rulings, as in the hadith of Abu Dawood from Jabir, where the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
أَلَا سَأَلُوا إِذْ لَمْ يَعْلَمُوا فَإِنَّمَا شِفَاءُ الْعِيِّ السُّؤَالُ
"...Should they not have asked when they did not know? For the only cure for ignorance is to ask." (Sunan Abi Dawood)
I hope the answer has become clear.