The Ruling on Explicitly Stating the Apparent Rulings of Islam

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, if a person is asked and it is said to him, “What is the ruling of Islam regarding eating pork?” Should he say, “The ruling of Islam in this is forbidden”? These are the apparent rulings of Islam. These are declared: the prohibition of intoxicants, the prohibition of pork, the prohibition of unlawful sexual intercourse, the prohibition of riba (usury or interest), the obligation of prayer, the obligation of zakah (the obligatory alms), the obligation of fasting, and the obligation of Hajj (the major pilgrimage) for the general public.

Answer:
These apparent rulings are known, so he says, “This is the ruling of Islam,” because this is an explicit ruling regarding prohibition, or obligation, or permissibility, such as “It is made lawful for you such and such.” As for what the Qur'an and the Sunnah have not explicitly prohibited, nor explicitly made obligatory, nor explicitly made permissible, that is a matter of possibility and a place for independent legal reasoning (ijtihad).