Thursday October 18th

Scrupulousness

-Somebody who is scrupulous is someone who is very concerned to avoid doing wrong.

Hadith:
Bukhari and Muslim relate on the authority of Ibn Bashir (r) that the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, "The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear. But between the two are ambiguous matters not known to many people. Whosoever avoids these matters, has preserved his honour and his religion intact. But whosoever falls into them shall fall into the unlawful..."

The Prophet (pbuh) was the most scrupulous:
On the authority of Aba Hurayra that the Prophet said: "Sometimes when I return to my family, I find a date on my bed or elsewhere in my house, and raise it to my mouth, but then fear that it might be from someone's charity, so I put it aside." [Despite his absolute poverty, the Blessed Prophet was not permitted to accept charity.]

-The works of those who live on unlawful resources are rejected because Allah is Good and accepts only that which is good.

-Hadith:
"The prayers of a man who buys a garment for ten dirhams one of which is unlawful will not be accepted by Allah as long as he is wearing any part of it"
-If this is the case when it comes to a garment in which 10% of it is bought with unlawful money, what's the case when all of the money used is unlawful?
-And if this is a case with something that is worn, what is the case with the unlawful food we eat that becomes part of our bodies and runs through our veins?

2 categories of the prohibited:
1) Things prohibited in themselves: alcohol, pork, etc.
2) Things that are lawful but are owned by other people, they are prohibited unless given or sold to one.

Degrees of doubtful things:
1) Something you are almost convinced is prohibited but there is a slight chance that it might be lawful. (ex. a turkey sandwich that your classmate gives you. Most likely the turkey is not halal because your friend is not Muslim, but there is a slight chance that it may be halal)
-In this case one must consider the thing prohibited.

2) Something you are almost convinced is lawful but there is a slight chance that it might be prohibited. (ex. some chocolate that you are about to enjoy that has a creamy filling. Most likely the chocolate is halal, however their is a very slight chance that the filling might have alcohol in it. However, you can't check it and you are pretty sure it's safe)
-In this case you are allowed to eat the chocolate. However, it is best to avoid it out of scrupulousness.

3) Something that can be equally halal or haram (50-50 chance). About this the Prophet (pbuh) has said:
"Leave that which is suspect in favor of that which is not".

3 kinds of people we run into:
1) People we know to be good and virtuous, trust them.
-you may eat their food and deal with them without asking

2) People you know nothing about.
-When you deal with such people you should try to ask and inquire about the things they give you, yet you should do it gently. If you feel that they will get hurt by your question then you should avoid it.

3) People you know are wrongdoers.
-You should avoid dealing with such people and if they happen to give you something you should reject it.


This is a quick summary of what we spoke about. Feel free to ask any questions if anything is unclear.