as well as clothing, housing, means of conveyance, and all the other wholesome enjoyments of this worldly life. Nothing has been forbidden except that which harms religion, body, intellect, honour, or property—those five indispensable interests.

2 – This ḥadith therefore establishes the permissibility of eating, drinking, and wearing whatever is wholesome among the lawful delights of the world. No particular type, class, or set quantity has been declared unlawful, for Allah the Exalted says: “He is the One who created for you all that is on the earth” (al-Baqarah 2:29).

3 – What is prohibited is that which crosses the line into extravagance (isrāf), ostentation, or using these blessings to exalt oneself over others. That is forbidden because it departs from the bounds of permissibility into excess. Allah, majestic is He, says: “Eat and drink, but do not be extravagant” (al-Aʿrāf 7:31). The noble verse grants permission to eat and only restricts it by forbidding extravagance, which is to exceed the lawful limit.

4 – Shaykh ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī said: “This ḥadith is comprehensive of the virtues involved in a person managing his own affairs; it sets out what secures the welfare of both soul and body in this world and the next. Extravagance harms the body, undermines one’s livelihood, leads to ruin, and thereby injures the soul, for the soul in most cases follows the body. Conceit, on the other hand, harms the soul by planting self-admiration, harms the Hereafter by earning sin, and harms one’s worldly life by bringing about people’s aversion.”