Prohibitions that are taken too lightly (EBook)

Praise be to Allaah; we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomever Allaah leaves astray, no-one will guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allaah alone, with no partners or associates, and I bear witness that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, has laid down obligations which we are not permitted to ignore, and has set limits which we are not permitted to transgress, and has set out prohibitions which we are not allowed to violate. The Prophet of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whatever Allaah has permitted in His Book is allowed, and whatever He has prohibited is forbidden; whatever He has remained silent about is a concession, so accept the concession of Allaah, for Allaah is never forgetful.” Then he, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, recited the Aayah (verse) (what means): {. . . and your Lord is never forgetful} [Qur'aan 19:64] (Reported by Al-Haakim, 2/375; classed as Hasan by al-Albaani in Ghaayat al-Maraam, p. 14) The things which have been prohibited are the boundaries or limits set by Allaah The Almighty: {...And whosoever transgresses the set limits of Allaah, then indeed he has wronged himself...} [Qur'aan 65:1] Allaah The Almighty has issued a warning to the one who transgresses His set limits and violates His prohibitions, as He Says (what means): {And whosoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, 3 Prohibitions that are taken too lightly and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment.} [Qur'aan 4:14] Avoiding that which has been forbidden is a duty, because the Prophet of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whatever you have been prohibited to do, avoid it, and whatever you have been commanded to do, do as much of it as you can.” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-fadaa’il, Hadeeth no. 130, Abdul-Baaqi edition) It is well-known that some of those who follow their desires, who are weak at heart and have little knowledge, become irritated when they hear lists of prohibitions. They grumble and mutter: “Everything is Haraam, you haven’t left us anything that is not forbidden! You make our lives boring and miserable. You don’t talk about anything but what is Haraam, but religion is supposed to easy, not strict, and Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful.”