The ruling on referring a person as being Haram


Question:

When a person does something that is deviant or something that goes against the Shariah, many people call him Haram. Are they sinning when they call someone by this name or are they blameless in doing so?

Answer:

If a person does something that is indeed unlawful such as fornication, and then people say about him Haram meaning it is unlawful for him to fornicate, then there is no harm in people saying that. But if a person does something that is not unlawful, then it is forbidden to use the word Haram to describe him here, because doing so might confuse between what Allaah made lawful and unlawful in His decree and will, since by their labelling it unlawful they mean Allaah willed it to be such. This is because something could have been prohibited by Allah’s will, or in His Shariah. So what is related to Allaah’s actions, then it is prohibited by His will. What is related to the Shariah, then it is prohibited in the Shariah sense, but the prohibition that results from Allaah’s will is not up to anyone to decide, rather is up to Allaah Almighty to decide. He is the One who does what He wills; what He wills to occur, it occurs, and what He wills not to occur, it does not.

So my view is that this phrase be avoided as much as possible. Even in case where they use it to mean something that is correct, when it is assumed that something is likely to occur, or not likely to occur, it is still, in my view, a statement that one should stay away from.

Muftis
  • Estimated reading time :
    1 min read
  • Source :
    Fatawa Islamiyah Vol.8 Page 324
  • Fatwas
  • Updated :
Share