#47 The untold story about haram

It has been a while since i last wrote in english. This is solely because i am not very confident with my petty english. However i feel the urge to write something in English hoping that i can enlighten those with poor command in bahasa Malaysia.

One of the biggest confusion hacked by Malaysian, is the haram remarks. This remarks has been widely used as a mocking tool to fuel the hate fire. Very few understand what is haram, but very often we see people uses this term recklessly either to ridicule people or to bully them.

What i can say is, ignorance leads to bigotry.

With all due respect, please let me explain what is haram, how does it is applied, and how significant is this haram things to do with muslims.

In simpler words, haram means something prohibited either directly by the scripture or by the interpretation by muslim scholars and experts of the scripture. It also means something you are not sanctioned to do. Illegal and illicit.

It is applied to all muslims in general regardless of the ranks and social status. A crown prince or a peasant son, both are bound to the same set of rules. Islam really emphasize on justice. Thus, any kind of discriminantion or special treatments have no place in Islam.

I also realize that people are misinformed about the haram-ness of something. Haram can be due to several factors;

1- Scripture.
This based on Al-Quran and Sunnah. Al-Quran is the main reference for muslim together with Sunnah. For info, al-Quran is the words of God and Sunnah is something that been potrayed by prophet Muhammad. It is classified in 3 groups, things that he spoke, things that he done, and things that he agreed upon.

2- Interpretation of the scripture.
This is for the new upraising issues such as investment tools. Last few decades we have nil mode of investment unlike nowadays. Onto this, only the ulama' and mufti are sanction to provide fatwa.

3- Harm
Everything that can cause harm is considered as haram. This is parrallel to one of the Islamic priciples which is you cannot harming youself nor others.

4- Cause and effect.
There are a few things that are halal initially but turn out to be haram due to wrong execution. For example, eating halal food is permissible thus halal. But to consumed it excessively, this can leads to haram.

5- Diversion.
Haram also subjected to things that if being done, can leads to damages. For example, man and women (non-marriage couple) are prohibited to stay together in afraid of them commuting adultry. This is not a restriction but just as a preventative measure to avoid a more damaging sins.

6- Socially ill.
It is also haram for things that stir the harmony and create havoc in society. For example, married coulpe are allowed to cling or fondly be in romantic (or erotic) moments with their couple, but must be in private. While in public, they must behave and excercise modesty. This is to preserve the morale and good behavior of the younglings (especially) as they see and learn from their observation throughout the sosiety.

In a nutshell, these haram things are applied on 5 distictive subjects.

A) To safeguard the faith. Hence anything that can confuse, divert, or shackle the faith, deemed as haram.

B) To safeguard own health. Thus any harmful substance is haram to be consumed. Sugar is halal in general, but it is haram for diabetic patient because it has direct effect to their health. Same goes to motorcyclist who ride recklessly. If he try to beat off the red lights and smashed by the incoming cars, his action is haram. You cannot put your life at stake!

C) To safeguard one's wealth. Steal, robbery, and corruptions, these are few examples of wrongdoings. Not only it is criminal offence, it is also haram and punishable by law.

D) To safeguard the family ties. Thus Islam prohibit adultry and incest. Abandoning your family members either the parents or children is also haram. Same goes to abortion.

E) To preserve the mental health. Thus Islam classify drugs, alcohols and any substances that can cause direct loss of mental ablility as haram. Including ketum, fyi.

Hence, the statement "Semua benda haram!" (All things are haram in Islam) is totally unacceptable and wrong. In fact, all things are halal and permissable except if it interfere with the things i mentioned earlier.

My explaination is plain and only touches only the surface. If you want to get a deeper information, kindly ask. I am reachable through my personal emel iqbalsyarie@gmail.com. As what i emphasize earlier, i am neither the best Muslim nor an expert. I don't have a very deep understanding about Islam but i am accountable to explain and wipe away any misunderstandings and confusion about Islam.

Hopefully i am able trigger your interest to know more about Islam.