, dwellings, crafts, trades, inventions, and every manner of transaction: all of these are lawful and allowed, save whatever Allah and His Messenger have forbidden—namely, those things whose use harms religion, bodies, honor, lineage, or property.
This is a far-reaching principle that showcases the tolerance, breadth, and vitality of Islam. Therefore, the default rule in contracts, commercial dealings, procurement agreements, treaties, and the like is permissibility, unless they contain some corrupting factor. The defects that usually render contracts invalid reduce—more often than not—to three issues:
- usury (riba),
- excessive uncertainty (gharar),
- deception (khidaʿ).
Numerous texts support this principle, among them the Almighty’s words, “He is the One who created for you everything on earth” (Q. 2:29), and His words, “Say, ‘Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants, and the wholesome things of provision?’” (Q. 7:32).
Twenty-fourth Maxim: The Lawgiver commands only that whose benefit is pure or predominant, and forbids only that whose harm is pure or predominant.
Explanation: This maxim encompasses the fundamentals and the details of the Sharia, the rights of Allah and the rights of His creation alike. Whatever the Sharia commands in the foundational matters unquestionably carries benefit: faith, Islam, excellence (ihsan), directing one’s heart to Allah through reliance, love, fear, and the like. The same applies to the subsidiary acts it enjoins—prayer, zakat, fasting, pilgrimage, jihad, enjoining what is right, and other forms of worship.
Likewise, it commands the noble character traits of justice, truthfulness, kindness, maintaining family ties, chastity, and similar virtues. Conversely, it forbids whatever harms religion, intellect, honor, life, or wealth: disbelief, idolatry, unlawful killing, fornication, usury, intoxicants, and so on.
There are occasions when a matter contains both benefit and harm; in such cases the scale of weighing interests is applied. If its benefit outweighs its harm, the act is carried out; if its harm outweighs its benefit, it is avoided.