The Moral and Legal Bounds Set by Allah – Surah Al-A‘rāf 32-33

The Moral and Legal Bounds Set by Allah – Surah Al-A‘rāf 32-33

Assalamu alaukum,

In the last blog, I made the case that the Qur’an addresses human beings as complex and multi-dimensional beings who need guidance in the realm of the spiritual, the political, the social and the creative. I would urge you to read that blog to understand the continuity of my reasoning, but I will give a brief summary now.

In the last blog, I noted that Allah – the Al-Latif and Al-Musawwar, the most sublime and the best fashioner of forms, has blessed us with the gift of creativity. In Surah Al-A‘rāf verse 32, Allah warns the believers against forbidding the beautiful gifts zīnata l-lahi Allah has bestowed upon us.

But what is it that’s forbidden? The Qur’an usually anticipates the question in the reader’s mind, so it moves on immediately to answer that question in the next verse, verse 33. Let me now read both verses 32 and 33 together where - after allowing the zeenat ullah - Allah sets out the law of harām (what is forbidden).

Say: Who hath forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah, which He hath produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, (which He hath provided) for sustenance? Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the Day of Judgment. Thus do We explain the signs in detail for those who understand. Say: the things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds (fahisha), whether open or secret; sins (ithm) and trespasses (bagh-ya) against truth or reason; assigning of partners to Allah (shirk), for which He hath given no authority; and saying things about Allah of which ye have no knowledge. [Q7:32-33]1

Let me bring some examples to explain these categories:

· Shameful deeds. Faḥisha (plural fawāḥish): indecencies, whether open or hidden. In applied terms, it means that indecent and lewd behaviour is not allowed. This is also why Islam regulates sexual relations. But I want to apply this verse in terms of zīnata l-lahi, the beautiful things Allah has given us, including our ability to create beautiful things. We can reliably conclude from these verses that music and painting are not harām but lewd music and art are forbidden. Poetry is not haram but indecent and lewd poetry is forbidden.

· The second category is ithm (sin). This includes sinful acts like drinking, gambling and lying.

· The third category is trespasses (al bagh-ya) both against Allah’s commands and also against the rights of other people. Theft, adultery, riba and murder are trespasses. Oppressing others is a trespass against the boundaries set by Allah. Those who oppress Muslim women in the name of Islam are in fact standing in rebellion to Allah’s commands. Those who murder innocents and perpetrate genocide are guilty of a heinous crime.

· Shirk – associating partners with Allah.

· Saying things about Allah where we have no knowledge or authority (sultān). In fact, forbidding things to the believers that Allah has not forbidden falls in this category.

Before I sum up the reflection, I want to acknowledge that my understanding of these verses owes a debt to Javed Ahmad Ghamidi’s lectures on this subject. It enabled me to question and challenge the austere versions of Islam that have become dominant in recent times.

The key reflection for today is that matters of halāl and harām are matters of divine law. The source of divine law is the Qur’an. Allah, the most subtle and sublime, the creator of the most beautiful and perfect forms, has bestowed on us zīnat by creating beauty around us to nourish us. It is through this beauty that we connect to our Creator, we stand in awe of the night sky and the diversity of his Creation. He has breathed into us the ability to create beautiful things: music, art, literature, poetry.

The jurists have no authority to forbid what Allah has not forbidden.