The Prohibited (Haram)

Abstract

Almost every aspect of halal is essentially concerned with what is the opposite of halal, namely the haram. Hence, haram is treated in considerable depth and in several sections that deal with the types and grounds of haram, such as manifest harm, filth, intoxication, and unlawful acquisition. Haram may be defined as “all that which the Lawgiver (al-shariʿ) has prohibited in definitive terms, and its perpetrator is liable to a punishment in this world or the Hereafter.” It is thus a binding demand from the Lawgiver in respect of abandoning something, and it is conveyed in a variety of linguistic expressions, as the chapter elaborates.