such times, as when they buy bread, accompaniments, fruit, meat, and other goods from bakers, butchers, provision merchants, and others, having agreed on the customary price. This is the price the seller charges people—the going rate for comparable goods in that place and time. Such a sale is valid, as Ahmad expressly stated, although there is disagreement within his school concerning it.

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The foundation of religion is that nothing is obligatory except what Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory; nothing is forbidden except what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden; nothing is disliked except what Allah and His Messenger dislike; nothing is lawful except what Allah and His Messenger have made lawful; and nothing is recommended except what Allah and His Messenger love.

Thus, the lawful is what Allah and His Messenger have made lawful, the forbidden is what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and religion is what Allah and His Messenger have prescribed. Hence Allah condemned the polytheists and others for what they declared lawful or forbidden, or instituted as religion, without His permission.

Allah may impose an obligation upon His servant from the outset, as He obliges everyone to have faith and affirm His oneness. Or He may impose it because the servant has undertaken it and made it binding upon himself, whereas otherwise He would not have imposed it. Examples include fulfilling vows to perform recommended deeds and fulfilling commitments undertaken in permissible contracts, such as sale, marriage, divorce, and the like, when this is not