is regarded as repulsive—and who is it that finds it repulsive? It says in al-Rawḍ: “People of means” (1), meaning the wealthy. That is, any animal that wealthy people find repulsive is unlawful. As evidence, they cite Allah’s description of the Prophet ﷺ:

“He makes lawful for them all good things and forbids them all foul things.” [al-A‘raf 7:157]

They say: therefore, everything that people regard as foul is unlawful. The evidence itself is sound, but the way it is used as evidence is unsound. The meaning of the verse is that the Messenger ﷺ forbids only what is foul; thus, whatever the Sacred Law has forbidden, do not question it, for it forbids only what is foul. It does not mean that everything you regard as foul is unlawful, for some people may find what is good repulsive and find what is foul agreeable.

They advertise cigarettes, for example, saying: “Pleasant in flavour, delicious in taste, pleasant in smell, and pleasing in its wrapping”; it is wrapped attractively, and even its end is pleasant, so that the cigarette burns out before it scorches the mouth. Thus, they ascribe to it such favourable qualities as would make it among the finest of good things. Does this foul thing thereby become good?! No, never.

We have seen people who find locusts repulsive, for example. I recall a colleague who taught with us at the institute saying: “I tried to eat a locust, but my soul nearly left with it. I was unable to swallow it because of my aversion to it, and had Allah not been gracious to me, I would have died.” To such an extent did he find it repulsive!

Thus, if we were to refer such matters back to these considerations, lawfulness and unlawfulness would become relative: something would be lawful for one people and unlawful for others;