Lawful and Unlawful

We ask one simple question: did God forbid it, or did a person? God gives us the question to ask: “Did GOD give you permission to do this? Or, do you fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD?” [10:59] If a ban cannot be found in the Quran, a person added it. That is not a small matter. God says: “You shall not utter lies with your own tongues stating: "This is lawful, and this is unlawful," to fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD.” [16:116] And He warns believers: “do not prohibit good things that are made lawful by GOD” [5:87]. So there are three possible answers. God commands it. God forbids it. Or God does not mention it. The third is the most common, and the footnote in this translation to 5:3 tells us what it means: anything not specifically prohibited in the Quran must be considered lawful.

It feels safer. But the Quran does not see it that way. Declaring a thing forbidden is itself an action, and God warns believers about it: “O you who believe, do not prohibit good things that are made lawful by GOD, and do not aggress; GOD dislikes the aggressors.” [5:87] There is a difference between simply not wanting something and making it a rule. If we just do not want something, that is our choice. But even the Prophet was corrected when he made a lawful thing forbidden for himself: “O you prophet, why do you prohibit what GOD has made lawful for you, just to please your wives?” [66:1] Telling other people that God forbids it goes further still. God calls that a lie attributed to Him [16:116]. None of us is above these warnings.

We open the verse and read the whole of it. This habit helps a great deal. Often the problem is a real verse, read the wrong way. The full verse matters. Here is an example. Under the heading ‘Innovated Prohibitions Condemned’, God tells the Prophet to ask: “Who prohibited the nice things GOD has created for His creatures, and the good provisions?” [7:32] The verse is against people who forbid good things. So we find the reference, read the verses around it, and ask: do these words really say what the person says? If not, the claim fails, no matter who made it. And if no verse can be found at all, we can gently ask the question God gave us: “Did GOD give you permission to do this?” [10:59]

Four things. God names them four times, in almost the same words. God tells the Prophet to say: “I do not find in the revelations given to me any food that is prohibited for any eater except: (1) carrion, (2) running blood, (3) the meat of pigs, for it is contaminated, and (4) the meat of animals blasphemously dedicated to other than GOD.” [6:145] God gives the same list in three other places too. God also tells us that livestock are lawful, except what He named: “Permitted for you to eat are the livestock, except those specifically prohibited herein.” [5:1] And the footnote in this translation to 5:3 says that anything not specifically prohibited in the Quran must be considered lawful. And the mercy is written into the list itself [6:145]. If we are forced to eat these foods, with no other choice, and not on purpose or with bad intent, God is “Forgiver, Most Merciful”.

No ritual method is given. God commands us to mention God's name, and it tells us that an animal that dies of itself, for example strangled or killed by a fall, is not lawful [5:3]. God commands: “You shall eat from that upon which GOD's name has been pronounced, if you truly believe in His revelations.” [6:118] What God forbids is meat “dedicated to other than GOD” [6:145], given in the name of an idol or of someone else. So the question is who the animal is dedicated to. The Quran does not give rules about the butcher's religion. In fact, God tells us: “The food of the people of the scripture is lawful for you.” [5:5] So we say God's name over our food, and we eat with thanks.

No. The Quran forbids the meat of pigs, not the fat. The list of forbidden food names “the meat of pigs” [6:145]. The footnote in this translation explains that God's words here are exact. In the very next verse, God says that for the Jewish people, “we prohibited the fat” of cattle and sheep, with some exceptions, as a retribution [6:146]. So when God means fat, He says fat. When He means meat, He says meat. An appendix in this translation says the same thing. It explains that the meat of pigs is forbidden, not the fat, and that foods made with lard are not forbidden. So we follow the words exactly as God gave them, and we do not add a ban He did not make. As the footnote to 5:3 says, anything not specifically prohibited in the Quran must be considered lawful.

Yes. The Quran is very direct about intoxicants, and an appendix in this translation explains why drugs are included. God says: “O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed.” [5:90] And He gives the reason in the next verse: the devil uses them “to distract you from remembering GOD, and from observing the Contact Prayers (Salat)” [5:91]. An appendix in this translation explains that the word for intoxicants comes from a root meaning to cover. So anything that covers or hinders the mind is forbidden. That includes anything that alters the mind, such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine, as well as alcohol. God tells the Prophet to answer people who ask about them: “In them there is a gross sin, and some benefits for the people. But their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit.” [2:219]

Yes. God names gambling right next to intoxicants. He says: “O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed.” [5:90] A lottery ticket is a game of chance, so we see it as included, however small the stake. When people ask about gambling, God tells the Prophet to answer that there are “some benefits for the people”, but “their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit” [2:219]. He also tells us why it matters. Like intoxicants, gambling is used to stir up hatred between people and to distract us from remembering God [5:91].

Usury is forbidden. The footnotes in this translation explain that normal interest, where no one is harmed, is not usury. God says: “GOD permits commerce, and prohibits usury.” [2:275] He also commands: “you shall not take usury, compounded over and over.” [3:130] The footnote to 2:275 explains that excessive interest can destroy a whole country, and that normal interest (it says less than 20%), where no one is victimized and everyone is satisfied, is not usury. The footnote to 3:130 says that interest on bank deposits and loans is lawful if it is not excessive (it gives 5 to 15%). It explains that the bank invests the money and passes its profit on, so no one is victimized. So, as these footnotes explain it, the line is about harm: usury is interest that hurts people. And God says: “GOD condemns usury, and blesses charities.” [2:276]

No verse forbids smoking by name. So we cannot say God forbids it. Saying He does would be the very thing God warns against [16:116]. But two verses can help us think about it. In a verse about spending in God's cause, God says: “do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction” [2:195]. And: “You shall not kill yourselves. GOD is Merciful towards you.” [4:29] So there are two honest parts to the answer. There is no named ban. And a habit that is known to harm and kill the person doing it is hard to square with these verses. How we act on that is between each of us and God.

We see it as a form of gambling, so we avoid it. The Quran does not name insurance, but it does forbid games of chance. God says: “O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed.” [5:90] With insurance, we pay money now on the chance that something may or may not happen later. If it happens, we may get back far more than we paid. If it does not, the money is gone. That is how a game of chance works. And God tells the Prophet to answer people who ask about gambling: “their sinfulness far outweighs their benefit” [2:219]. There is also a question of the heart here. Insurance is a way of trying to protect ourselves against what the future may bring. In a passage about one of the hardest times in life, God reminds us: “Anyone who trusts in GOD, He suffices him.” [65:3]

Nothing in the Quran forbids either one. The worry about blood comes from a verse about food. God tells the Prophet to say: “I do not find in the revelations given to me any food that is prohibited for any eater except: (1) carrion, (2) running blood, (3) the meat of pigs, for it is contaminated, and (4) the meat of animals blasphemously dedicated to other than GOD.” [6:145] The subject there is food. A transfusion is not a meal. The same four things appear again, with the same word. God “only prohibits for you the eating of animals that die of themselves (without human interference), blood, the meat of pigs, and animals dedicated to other than GOD.” [2:173] Transplants are not mentioned anywhere in the Quran. The footnote to 5:3 in this translation gives the rule for that case: anything not specifically prohibited in the Quran must be considered lawful. Saying otherwise would add to God's law [16:116]. Whether to donate is still a personal decision. It is a serious one, and nobody has to make it quickly.

Yes to both. No verse forbids taking medicine. What God forbids is intoxicants. He commands: “O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and the altars of idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed.” [5:90] The subject is drinking to get drunk. A normal dose of a cough syrup does not intoxicate anyone. Vaccines are not mentioned in the Quran, and neither is any other treatment. The same three-way test applies here as everywhere. God commands it, God forbids it, or God says nothing. Where God said nothing, nobody else may speak in His name: “You shall not utter lies with your own tongues stating: "This is lawful, and this is unlawful," to fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD.” [16:116] And He tells us plainly: “GOD never burdens a soul beyond its means” [2:286]. Anyone who would rather avoid an ingredient can ask for another option. That is a preference. Nobody should turn it into a rule for other people.

A bank job is lawful, on this translation's own terms. Pouring drinks needs a closer look. What God forbids is usury, and not interest of every kind. He says: “GOD permits commerce, and prohibits usury.” [2:275] The footnote to 3:130 in this translation is direct about the difference. Interest on bank deposits and loans is lawful where it is not excessive, because the bank invests the money and passes its profit on, and nobody is victimized. So ordinary banking work is not the forbidden thing. Lending that ruins people is. Alcohol is a different case, because God names it. Intoxicants are “abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed.” [5:90] Serving drinks sits much closer to the thing itself. Even so, God gives us a measure to apply, in place of a list of jobs: “You shall cooperate in matters of righteousness and piety; do not cooperate in matters that are sinful and evil.” [5:2] A cleaner in a hotel is not running its bar. So the question to ask is what we ourselves do all day. And where work is scarce and choices are few, God knows that too.

No verse forbids music. The verse people most often quote against music is 31:6. In this translation, that verse speaks of people who “uphold baseless Hadith, and thus divert others from the path of GOD” [31:6]. It says nothing about music. God tells the Prophet to say what He forbids [7:33], and music is not on the list. Under the heading ‘Innovated Prohibitions Condemned’, God even tells the Prophet to ask: “Who prohibited the nice things GOD has created for His creatures, and the good provisions?” [7:32] What the Quran does care about is what fills our hearts and our time. If something pulls us away from remembering God, whether music, work or anything else, that is the problem to deal with. The thing itself is not forbidden.

No verse forbids making an image. What God forbids is worshipping one. God's list of what He forbids includes “to set up beside GOD powerless idols” [7:33]. An idol is something people worship, pray to, or ask for help. A picture on a wall is not an idol. The Quran even describes statues being made for the prophet Solomon, with no word against them: “They made for him anything he wanted—niches, statues, deep pools, and heavy cooking pots. O family of David, work (righteousness) to show your appreciation.” [34:13] So a picture becomes a problem only when someone bows to it or turns to it instead of God. The same is true of a statue.

No. The Quran gives women a dress command, and hair is not mentioned in it. God speaks to men first: they “shall subdue their eyes (and not stare at the women), and to maintain their chastity” [24:30]. Then He tells women to lower their eyes, keep their chastity, not reveal their bodies except what is necessary, and “They shall cover their chests” [24:31]. Another verse tells women to “lengthen their garments”, so that they are recognized and not insulted [33:59]. The footnote in this translation calls covering the chest and lengthening the garment the minimum. It adds that tyrannical Arab traditions gave the false idea that a woman must be covered from head to toe, and that this is not a Quranic dress. So modesty is commanded, for men and women both. A head covering is not. And God reminds us all: “the best garment is the garment of righteousness” [7:26].

No verse forbids tattoos. The Quran does not mention them at all. That is the honest answer, and it is best not to add to it. A ban on tattoos comes from outside the Quran, and adding one is what God warns against when He says not to call things lawful or unlawful on our own [16:116]. Whether to have one is a personal decision, not a rule anyone can make for us.

No verse forbids marking a special day. What God forbids is making something a religious rule when He never made it one: “They follow idols who decree for them religious laws never authorized by GOD.” [42:21] So the real question is whether someone calls it part of the religion. A birthday cake is just a cake. It becomes a religious matter when someone says God requires it or forbids it, because that adds to God's law. And a day that honors anyone as a god besides God is wrong for another reason: God forbids setting up idols beside Him [7:33].

It depends on who the person worships. The Quran answers this directly. Men may marry chaste women of the scripture. God says so in the same verse that permits their food: “you may marry the chaste women among the believers, as well as the chaste women among the followers of previous scripture, provided you pay them their due dowries.” [5:5] Marrying idol worshippers is not allowed: “Do not marry idolatresses unless they believe; a believing woman is better than an idolatress, even if you like her. Nor shall you give your daughters in marriage to idolatrous men, unless they believe.” [2:221] And God gives the reason later in that verse: “These invite to Hell, while GOD invites to Paradise and forgiveness”. The rule against marrying idol worshippers is the same for sons and daughters.

The Quran does not mention it at all. That is the whole answer, and it is worth saying plainly. There is no command to do it. There is no ban on doing it. God warns us against filling that silence ourselves: “You shall not utter lies with your own tongues stating: "This is lawful, and this is unlawful," to fabricate lies and attribute them to GOD.” [16:116] Families do it for custom, or for health reasons. That is their decision to make. What nobody can do is call it a religious duty, because God never did.

No verse forbids gold or silk, and no verse commands a beard. God asks a question about rules of exactly this kind: “Who prohibited the nice things GOD has created for His creatures, and the good provisions?” [7:32] He also warns believers directly: “do not prohibit good things that are made lawful by GOD, and do not aggress; GOD dislikes the aggressors.” [5:87] Gold and silk do appear in the Quran. They appear as a reward. The righteous “will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and pearls, and their garments therein will be silk.” [22:23] Nothing anywhere bans them here. A beard is a matter of taste, and so is a shaved face. Neither one brings a man closer to God. The Quran never suggests otherwise.

Burial is what God taught us, from the very first death. Cremation is never mentioned. God taught the first burial Himself. After one of Adam's sons killed his brother: “GOD then sent a raven to scratch the soil, to teach him how to bury his brother's corpse.” [5:31] He also describes the grave as what He Himself does with a human being: “Then He puts him to death, and into the grave.” [80:21] So burial is what the Quran shows. Cremation carries no ban, because God gave none, and none of us may add one [16:116]. But there is little reason to look past what God taught. One worry can be set down. Being raised again does not depend on what became of the body. God answers that Himself: “Yes indeed; we are able to reconstruct his finger tip.” [75:4]