Grey Areas

بسم الله
The Grey Area

Whilst shopping the other day, I bought beer battered fish by accident 😑 I didnt read the packaging properly and it left me in a bit of a situation in which I didnt want to waste the food but I was also very wary that the batter contained alcohol so was probably haram.

I made a huge mistake… I googled it. As you will well know about 6 different opinions came up… it was halal… it was haram… it was ok if I couldn’t smell alcohol… it was ok if it was not of a certain percentage etc etc… I was so confused.

Then I came across a hadith that made everything so clear subhan Allah. I wanted to share it with you all because I see so many sisters arguing about aspects of life… they get so deep into it and they all have explanations that make sense. To us.

In truth very few of us have sufficient knowledge to engage in debate on these matters. We should refer back to this hadith always and keep our opinion to ourselves unless absolutely necessary. Why invite sin by advising on something even the greatest scholars cannot decide amongst themselves on. If we are incorrect in that advise what will our excuse be on the day of Qiyamah?

The hadith is…

On the authority Abi Ab’dillahi al-Nu’man ibn Basheer (ra) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear and between the two of them are doubtful [or ambiguous] matters about which not many people are knowledgeable. Thus, he who avoids these doubtful matters certainly clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor. But he who falls into the doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Verily every king has a sanctuary and Allah’s sanctuary is His prohibition. In the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be sound, all the body is sound and which, if it be diseased, all the body is diseased. This part of the body is the heart”.

[Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim]