The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said: ‘Both the
lawful (Halāl) and the unlawful (Haram) things are obvious, and in between them
are doubtful [Mushtabihāt] matters. Whoever forsakes those doubtful things lest
he may commit a sin, will definitely avoid what is clearly unlawful; and whoever
indulges in these (suspicious) doubtful things carelessly, is likely to stumble
into what is clearly unlawful. Sins are Allah’s Himā (ie private pasture) and
whoever pastures [his sheep] near it, is likely to get in it at any moment.’
The above Hadīth mentions an important principle for the
religiously pious individuals: They should not just be content with staying away
from what is obviously prohibited; they are expected to stay away from the gray
areas of the Sharī‘ah as well. That is what constitutes, according to the Hadīth,
the religiously careful attitude. However, there is another Hadīth which
mentions a seemingly conflicting message. It is reported that a bedouin urinated
in the mosque, and people rushed to beat him up. The Prophet (sws) ordered them
to leave him and pour a bucket or a tumbler [full] of water over the place where
he had passed urine. The Prophet (sws) then said: ‘You have been sent to make
things easy [for people] and you have not been sent to make things difficult for
them.’ Another Hadīth says: ‘Make
things easier for the people, and do not make things difficult for them. Give
them good tidings and not drive them away from religion.’ The apparent conflict
in the two Ahadīth is because of the two different contexts within which their
respective messages are sought to be applied.
Whereas the Hadīth requiring strictness of approach from
the believer is addressing the already convinced believers who after they have
surmounted the obstacles in the way of acquiring true faith are now being
required to scale higher levels of it. For them, remaining content with merely
the apparent requirements of the Sharī‘ah would amount to stepping backwards
instead of moving ahead. As for the Hadīth requiring ease and comfort to be the
principle in following religion, it is essentially addressed to the religiously
pious people for them to observe as a principle while communicating the message
to the newcomers. A Muslim society is normally comprised of both groups. While
the first group consists of those people who strive for excellence in religious
matters (Sābiqūn), the second group comprises of those who are essentially the
followers. People belonging to the former group provide people of the latter
group with ideals to emulate voluntarily. It would be unfortunate if the former
group begins to confuse the distinction between the religious expectations from
the Sābiqun and the concessions available to those who are the followers and
proceed to follow the Sharī‘ah only to the extent the latter are expected to
follow.
It is therefore not quite appropriate to claim that Islam
presents just a set of rules called the Sharī‘ah which are to be followed by all
Muslims and that anything beyond this narrow domain of the Sharī‘ah is either an
unnecessary burden or a matter of an individual’s tastes. The truth of the
matter is that the Sharī‘ah itself has an apparent form which if followed
constitutes the minimum requirement from a believer. For the newcomers and the
weak believers, there is sometimes a case for even carefully easing these
minimum requirements as well to bring them closer to Islam. However, for those
who have assumed the role of Muslim leadership, whether political or religious,
even the corollaries emerging from the Sharī‘ah principles are important to be
followed in order to maintain the healthy balance of the leaders-followers
equation in a Muslim society.
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