to Allah, or toward whose doer they openly declared hostility; which He makes a cause of its perpetrator’s failure, whether immediate or deferred; to which He attaches deprivation of Paradise; whose perpetrator He describes as an enemy of Allah, or one whose enemy is Allah; whose perpetrator is given notice of war from Allah and His Messenger; whose perpetrator is made to bear the sin of another; concerning which it is said, “This is not fitting” or “This is not right”; concerning which people are commanded to fear Allah when inquiry is made about it; in opposition to which another act is commanded; whose perpetrator is shunned; whose perpetrators curse one another in the Hereafter or disavow one another; whose perpetrator is described as misguided, as having “nothing whatsoever to do with Allah,” or as not belonging to the Messenger and his Companions; which is coupled with something manifestly unlawful, both (1) being placed under one ruling and described by a single predicate; whose avoidance is made a cause of success; which is made a cause of enmity and hatred among the Muslims; whose perpetrator is asked, “Will you desist?”; concerning whose perpetrator the prophets are forbidden to supplicate; which incurs banishment or expulsion; concerning which the words “May whoever does it be killed” or “May Allah fight whoever does it” are used; whose perpetrator, it is stated, “Allah will neither speak to on the Day of Resurrection, nor look at, nor purify”; whose perpetrator’s deed Allah does not set aright, and whose scheme He does not guide; whose perpetrator will not prosper and, on the Day of Resurrection, will be neither among the witnesses nor among the intercessors; which arouses Allah’s protective jealousy; whose harmful aspect is pointed out; whose perpetrator, it is stated, will have no deed or compensation of any kind accepted from him; whose perpetrator, it is stated, will have a Satan assigned to him as a constant companion; which is made a cause of Allah’s turning its perpetrator’s heart away, or of His turning him away from His signs and from understanding His favors; or concerning which Allah—Glorified is He—asks why the act was committed: “Why did he do it?” Examples include: “Why do you bar those who believe from the path of Allah?” “Why do you mix truth with falsehood?” “What prevented you from prostrating?” and “Why do you say what you do not do?”—provided that the question is not accompanied by an answer from the person questioned (2). If it is accompanied by an answer, its import depends upon that answer.
All these and similar indications denote that the act is impermissible, and they more consistently indicate unlawfulness than mere reprehensibility. As for the expressions “Allah and His Messenger dislike it” and “disliked,” they are most often used of what is unlawful, though they may also denote reprehensibility short of prohibition.
As for the expression “As for me, I do not do it,” what it definitely establishes (3) is reprehensibility, as in the statement: “As for me, I do not eat while reclining.”
The expressions “It is not for you” and “It is not for us” are consistently used of what is unlawful, as in: “It is not for you to behave arrogantly therein”; “It is not for us to return to it”; and “It is not for me to say that to which I have no right.”
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Permissibility may be inferred from wording that declares something lawful, removes blame, grants permission, or grants pardon; from the expressions “If you wish, do it” and “If you wish, do not do it”; and from Allah’s mentioning as a favor the benefits found in things themselves and the acts associated with them, as in: “And from their wool, fur, and hair, furnishings and goods for a time,” and: “And by the stars they are guided.”
It may also be inferred from silence concerning unlawfulness and from tacit approval of an act during the time of revelation.
Note
Just as expressions of marveling may indicate Allah Most High’s love for an act—as in, “Your Lord marvels at a young man who has no inclination toward youthful passions,” and similar statements—they may also indicate hatred of an act, as in His saying: “If you marvel, then truly marvelous is their assertion,” and: “Rather, you marvel while they ridicule.” Another example is His saying: “How can you disbelieve while Allah’s verses are recited to you and His Messenger is in your midst?”
Such an expression may also indicate that a ruling is untenable and improper, as in His saying: “How can the polytheists have a covenant with Allah?”
It may also indicate the propriety of something being withheld by divine decree and that it would not be fitting for Him to perform it, as Allah Most High says: “How would Allah guide a people who disbelieved after having believed?”