Halal and Haram

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Quraish were anxious about a woman from Banu Makhzum who had committed theft and asked : "Who will speak to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about her?" Then they said: "No one will be bold enough to do so except Usamah bin Zaid, the (Companion who was) dearly loved by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)." So Usamah (May Allah be pleased with him) spoke to him and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (angrily) said, "Are you interceding regarding one of the punishments prescribed by Allah?" He then got up and delivered an address in which he said, "Indeed what destroyed the people before you was just that when a person of high rank among them committed a theft, they spared him; but if the same crime was done by a poor person they inflicted the prescribed punishment on him. I swear by Allah that if Fatimah daughter of Muhammad should steal, I would have her hand cut off.".In another narration 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: (Upon hearing the intercession of Usamah), the face of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) changed color (because of anger) and he said, "Do you dare to intercede in matters prescribed by Allah?" Usamah pleaded: "O Messenger of Allah! Pray for my forgiveness." 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) added: Thereafter the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave orders to have that woman's hand cut off.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Avoid two habits which provoke cursing." The Companions said: "What are those things which provoke cursing?" He said, "Relieving on the thoroughfares or under the shades where people take shelter and rest."

An-Nu'man bin Bashir (May Allah be pleased with them) said: My father took me to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said to him: "I have gifted one of my slaves to this son of mine." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Have you given such gift to every son of yours?" He replied, "No." Thereupon he said, "Take this gift back."Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Be mindful of your obligation to Allah and do justice in respect of your children." My father came back and revoked his gift.Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, "Have you other children besides this one?" He said, "Yes." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, "Have you awarded a gift like this to all of them." He said, "No." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I am not going to bear witness to this act of injustice."Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, "Do you not except goodness from all of them as you except from him?" He said, "Yes, of course." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Then don't do this (i.e., do not give a gift to one son only)."

Zainab bint Abu Salamah (May Allah be pleased with them) said: I went to Umm Habibah (May Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ), when her father Abu Sufyan bin Harb (May Allah be pleased with him) died. Umm Habibah (May Allah be pleased with her) sent for a yellow coloured perfume or something else like it, and she applied it to a slave-girl and then rubbed it on her own cheeks and said: "By Allah, I have no need for perfume, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying from the pulpit, 'It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for the dead beyond three days, except for the death of her husband; in which case the period of mourning is of four months and ten days."' Zainab said: I then visited Zainab, daughter of Jahsh (May Allah be pleased with her) when her brother died; she sent for perfume and applied it and then said: "Beware! By Allah, I don't feel any need of perfume but I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying from the pulpit, 'It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn the dead beyond three days except in case of her husband (for whom the period is) four months and ten days."'

Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade that a person in the city should make a deal on behalf of a villager on commission even if he is his real brother."

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Do not meet the merchandise till they arrive in the market."

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The caravans carrying merchandise should not be met on the way to purchase from them; a man in the city should not sell for a man of the desert."Tawus asked him (Ibn 'Abbas): "What do these words really imply?" He said: "He should not work as an agent on his behalf."

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade that a man in the city should be the commission agent of a man from the desert and prohibited the practice of Najsh (i.e., offering a high price for something in order to allure another customer who is interested in the thing); and that a man should make an offer while the offer of his brother is pending; or that he should make a proposal of marriage while that of his brother is pending; or that a woman should try that a sister of hers might be divorced so that she might take her place.Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade the people from meeting the caravan on the way for entering into business transaction with them; and the selling of the goods by a dweller of the city on behalf of a man of the desert; and the seeking by a woman the divorce of her sister (from her husband); and the practice of Najsh and leaving the animals unmilked (for sometime for the purpose of accumulation of milk to deceive the buyer)..

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A person should not enter into a transaction when his (Muslim) brother has already negotiated, nor should he make a proposal of marriage when that of his brother is pending, except with the permission of the latter."

'Uqbah bin 'Amir (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A Mu'min is the brother of another Mu'min; and thus it is not permissible for a Mu'min to make an offer while the offer of his brother is pending, nor should he make a proposal of marriage while that of his brother is pending till he withdraws his proposal."

Warrad, the scribe of Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah dictated a letter to me addressed to Mu'awiyah (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate at the end of each obligatory Salat (prescribed prayer): "La ilaha illallahu, wahadahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku, wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in Qadir. Allahumma la mani'a lima a'taita, wa la mu'tiya lima mana'ta, wa la yanfa'u dhal-jaddi mink-al-jaddu. (There is no true god except Allah, the One, Who has no partner. His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Able to do everything. O Allah! Nobody can withhold what You give; and nobody can give what You withhold; and the high status of a person is of no avail against Your Will)." He also wrote to him that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to forbid irrelevant talk, wasteful expenditure, persistent questioning, disobedience of parents (especially mothers), infanticide of daughters by burying them alive, depriving others of their rights and acquisition of property wrongfully..

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "None of you should point at his brother with a weapon because he does not know that Satan may make it lose from his hand and, as a result, he may fall into a pit of Hell-fire (by accidentally killing him).".The narration in Muslim is: Abul-Qasim (i.e., the Messenger of Allah) (ﷺ) said, "He who points at his (Muslim) brother with a weapon is cursed by the angels even if the other person should be his real brother."

Abu Sha'tha' said: We were sitting with Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque when the Mu'adhdhin proclaimed the Adhan. A man stood up in the mosque and started walking out. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) stared at him till he went out of the mosque. Upon this Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: Indeed, this man has disobeyed Abul-Qasim (ﷺ)..

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who is presented with a flower of sweet basil should not reject it, because it is light in weight and pleasant in odour."

Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) never refused a gift of perfume..

Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) heard a person lauding another person or praising him too much. Thereupon he said, "You killed the man," or he said, "You ruined the man."

Abu Bakrah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Mention of a man was made to the Prophet (ﷺ) and someone praised him whereupon he (ﷺ) said, "Woe be to you! You have broken the neck of your friend!" He repeated this several times and added, "If one of you has to praise his friend at all, he should say: 'I reckon him to be such and such and Allah knows him well', if you think him to be so-and-so, you will be accountable to Allah because no one can testify the purity of others against Allah."

Hammam bin Al- Harith (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: A person began to praise 'Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him), and Al-Miqdad (May Allah be pleased with him) sat upon his knees and began to throw pebbles upon the flatterer's face. 'Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "What is the matter with you?" He said: "Verily, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'When you see those who shower undue praises upon others throw dust upon their faces."'

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: 'Umar bin Al- Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) set out for Ash-Sham (the region comprising Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan). As he reached at Sargh (a town by the side of Hijaz) he came across the governor of Al-Ajnad, Abu 'Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah (May Allah be pleased with him) and his companions. They informed him that an had broken out in Syria. Ibn 'Abbas relates: 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "Call to me the earliest Muhajirun (Emigrants)." So I called them. He sought their advice and told them that an epidemic had broken out in Ash-Sham. There was a difference of opinion whether they should proceed further or retreat to their homes in such a situation. Some of them said: "You have set forth to fight the enemy, and therefore you should not go back;" whereas some of them said: "As you have along with you many eminent Companions of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we would not advice you to set forth to the place of the plague (and thus expose them deliberately to a danger)." 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "You can now go away." He said: "Call to me the Ansar (the Helpers)." So I called them to him, and he consulted them and they differed in their opinions as well. He said: "Now, you may go." He again said: "Call the old (wise people) of the Quraish who had emigrated before the conquest of Makkah." I called them. 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) consulted them in this issue and not even two persons among them differed in the opinions. They said: "We think that you should go back along with the people and do not take them to this scourge. 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) made an announcement to the people, saying: "In the morning I intend to go back, and I want you to do the same." Abu 'Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "Are you going to run away from the Divine Decree?" Thereupon 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Abu 'Ubaidah ! Had it been someone else to say this." ('Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) did not like to differ with him). He said: "Yes, we are running from the Divine Decree to the Divine Decree. What do you think if you have camels and you happen to get down a valley having two sides, one of them covered with foliage and the other being barren, will you not act according to the Divine Decree if you graze them in vegetative land? In case you graze them in the barren land, even then you will be doing so according to the Divine Decree.There happened to come 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf who had been absent for some of his needs. He said: I have knowledge about it. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "If you get wind of the outbreak of plague in a land, you should not enter it; but if it spreads in the land where you are, you should not depart from it." Thereupon 'Umar bin Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) praised Allah and went back..

Usamah bin Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If you get wind of the outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; and if it breaks out in a land in which you are, do not leave it."