Halal Is Clear and Haram Is Clear: Hadith 6 of an-Nawawi
Most of life is easy to sort: some things are plainly allowed and some are plainly forbidden. But what about the things in between, the ones you are not sure about? The hadith halal is clear and haram is clear gives a simple rule for that grey area, and then points to the one thing that decides how we deal with it: the heart.
At a glance
- Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 52 (also Sahih Muslim 1599a)
- Narrated by: an-Nu’man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Grade: Sahih (Bukhari and Muslim)
- Topic: Halal, haram, doubtful matters and the heart
- Put it into practice: When you are unsure about something, leave it or ask
The hadith: halal is clear and haram is clear
An-Nu’man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) said he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشَبَّهَاتٌ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، فَمَنِ اتَّقَى الْمُشَبَّهَاتِ اسْتَبْرَأَ لِدِيِنِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ، وَمَنْ وَقَعَ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ كَرَاعٍ يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى، يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ. أَلاَ وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى، أَلاَ إِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ فِي أَرْضِهِ مَحَارِمُهُ، أَلاَ وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ. أَلاَ وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ
“Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a Hima and the Hima of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things. Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 52 · Narrated by an-Nu’man ibn Bashir · Translation from Sunnah.com
In Imam Muslim’s narration, an-Nu’man pointed his fingers to his ears as he said he heard it (Sahih Muslim 1599a). Imam an-Nawawi placed it as Hadith 6 of an-Nawawi’s 40 Hadith.
Three kinds of matters
The Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths (HadeethEnc) explains that the Prophet ﷺ sets out a general rule here: matters fall into three categories.
- Clearly halal: what is plainly allowed.
- Clearly haram: what is plainly forbidden.
- Doubtful matters: things whose ruling is unclear, and which “most of the people have no knowledge about”.
Notice the wording: most people do not know them, not all people. Something that is unclear to us may be clear to a qualified scholar, so asking one is part of how we deal with doubtful matters.
Protecting your religion and your honor
The hadith says that whoever stays away from doubtful things “saves his religion and his honor”. HadeethEnc’s explanation gives both sides: leaving them keeps a person’s religion safe from slipping into the unlawful, and keeps his honor safe from people criticizing him for taking part in doubtful things.
The shepherd and the private pasture
In the Prophet’s ﷺ time, a ruler would protect a piece of grazing land, a hima, for his own animals. A shepherd who lets his flock graze right along its edge will sooner or later find them inside it.
Allah’s hima is what He has forbidden. Doubtful matters sit right next to that boundary. The person who keeps going into them is like that shepherd: he may not mean to cross the line, but he is standing so close that crossing it becomes easy.
How the Prophet ﷺ left what was doubtful
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ passed by a date that had fallen on the ground and said:
لَوْلاَ أَنْ تَكُونَ صَدَقَةً لأَكَلْتُهَا
“Were it not for my doubt that this might have been given in charity, I would have eaten it.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2055 · Narrated by Anas · Translation from Sunnah.com
It was a single date. Yet because it might have been charity, he left it. Small things matter when we are not sure about them.
“Truly, it is the heart”
أَلاَ وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ. أَلاَ وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ
“Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 52 · Translation from Sunnah.com
The hadith ends with the heart, not with a list of rules. A sound heart wants to stay clear of what Allah dislikes, and the body follows it. This links back to the hadith on intentions. The Prophet ﷺ also said: “Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth but He looks to your heart and to your deeds” (Sahih Muslim 2564c).
Reflection: leaving something doubtful can feel like a loss in the moment. But what we give up is usually small, and what we protect, our religion, our honor and our heart, is worth far more.
How to put it into practice
When something is doubtful, I try to simply leave it. If it comes to me as a gift, I still accept it, so as not to hurt the giver or cause them to lose face, but I don’t eat or use it myself.
- Pause when you are unsure about food, a product or a deal, and do not rush into it.
- Ask a qualified scholar about the specific case; many things that are unclear to us are clear to people of knowledge.
- Leave it if you cannot find out, even when it is something small.
- Keep a distance from clear haram, not just from the thing itself but from what leads to it.
- Look after your heart with dua, dhikr and good company, since the body follows it.
Key lessons
- What is halal is clear and what is haram is clear; between them are doubtful matters.
- Avoiding doubtful matters protects your religion and your honor.
- Whoever keeps falling into doubtful matters comes close to falling into the haram.
- When the heart is sound, the whole body is sound.
Questions people ask
What does “halal is clear and haram is clear” mean?
It means that what Allah has allowed is clear and what He has forbidden is clear, and between them are doubtful matters that many people do not know. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever avoids these doubtful matters protects his religion and his honor (Sahih al-Bukhari 52).
What are doubtful matters (shubuhat) in Islam?
They are things whose ruling is unclear to many people. The Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths (HadeethEnc) explains that the hadith urges us to avoid them. For a specific case, please ask a qualified scholar.
Why does the hadith end with the heart?
Because the heart leads the body. The Prophet ﷺ said that if this piece of flesh is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt (Sahih al-Bukhari 52).
One thing to do today: think of one thing in your life you are not sure about, and either leave it or ask someone of knowledge about it.
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