What is the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Among the words of the first prophethood that people have come to know is: If you do not feel shame, do whatever you wish”?
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The questioner : This listener, Sabir 'Abd from Sudan, says he is asking about the meaning of the hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 4183Sahih (Darussalam)?
The Shaykh : Yes. The meaning of this hadith is that this statement, “If you do not feel shame, do whatever you wish”, was among the previous traditions inherited from the former prophets. The meaning of his saying, “If you do not feel shame, do whatever you wish”, has two aspects, meaning it has two meanings. One is that you do not do anything unless that thing does not lead you to what is shameful, whether it is shameful according to the Shari'ah or according to custom. That is, if you intend to perform an action, look to see if this action is something that is shameful according to the Shari'ah or custom, and do not do it; or if it is something that is not shameful according to the Shari'ah or custom, then do it. This is one meaning.
The second meaning is that a man who has no shame does whatever he wishes and does not care. You find that a person who has no shame does things for which people blame him, and he does not care about the blame of people because he has no shame. Both meanings are correct. A person who has no shame, you find, does everything and does not care about the blame of people or their criticism because he has no shame. Or the second meaning that the hadith allows is that the person who has shame is the one who does not do anything unless he knows that it is not shameful. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
Among the words that people learned from the earlier Prophets are: ‘If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.’
إن مما أدرك الناس من كلام النبوّة الأولى إذا لم تستحي فاصنع ما شئتThe Shaykh : Yes. The meaning of this hadith is that this statement, “If you do not feel shame, do whatever you wish”, was among the previous traditions inherited from the former prophets. The meaning of his saying, “If you do not feel shame, do whatever you wish”, has two aspects, meaning it has two meanings. One is that you do not do anything unless that thing does not lead you to what is shameful, whether it is shameful according to the Shari'ah or according to custom. That is, if you intend to perform an action, look to see if this action is something that is shameful according to the Shari'ah or custom, and do not do it; or if it is something that is not shameful according to the Shari'ah or custom, then do it. This is one meaning.
The second meaning is that a man who has no shame does whatever he wishes and does not care. You find that a person who has no shame does things for which people blame him, and he does not care about the blame of people because he has no shame. Both meanings are correct. A person who has no shame, you find, does everything and does not care about the blame of people or their criticism because he has no shame. Or the second meaning that the hadith allows is that the person who has shame is the one who does not do anything unless he knows that it is not shameful. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.