The point is that the reasons behind uncertainty are many. How, then, can such uncertainty be resolved? The Prophet ﷺ himself showed the way, saying, “Whoever avoids the doubtful has safeguarded his religion and his honour.” In other words, whoever steers clear of what is dubious in favour of what is plainly lawful has indeed protected both his faith and his reputation.

He safeguards his religion by keeping clear of the forbidden, and he safeguards his honour by staying beyond people’s censure; for when someone engages in matters that are ambiguous, he becomes an easy target for criticism, just as he would if he openly committed what is manifestly unlawful.

The Prophet ﷺ illustrated this with the example of a shepherd—of sheep, camels, or cattle—who grazes his herd around a ḥimā (reserved pasture) that someone has fenced off so that no one else may graze there. Because no animals enter, the grass inside flourishes and the vegetation becomes abundant. A shepherd who lets his animals graze right up to the boundary is on the verge of trespassing: once the beasts see the lush greenery inside, they will lunge toward it, and keeping them back demands constant vigilance. Even so, a person may grow inattentive, the animals may overpower him, and they will end up foraging in the protected land—just like a shepherd who grazes on the edge of a sanctuary and is almost certain to cross its bounds.

He ﷺ then added, “Truly, every king has a sanctuary.” This suggests that the Messenger ﷺ approved the idea that a ruler may set aside a particular tract where fodder grows abundantly for the livestock of the Muslims—animals held in the bayt al-māl, such as the camels collected through zakah, the horses kept for jihad, and the like.