What is the criterion for identifying the impure things?
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Al-Halabi : The first question says:The questioner : It is one of the established principles of our noble religion that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has made lawful for us the good things and has forbidden for us the impure things. So what is the criterion for identifying the impure things?
The Shaykh : The criterion in this matter is what was known to the early Arabs to whom that noble verse was revealed; that is the impure thing. Then, if something new appears later that was not known in their time, it is examined. If it has a counterpart, it is classified with it. As for the original criterion, it is this rule, as mentioned by the scholars of exegesis. I say that whatever may occur later is examined to see if it can be classified with what is known to be impure in the time of the Salaf, the time of the revelation of that verse, or not. For example, as you know, the smoking of tobacco has become widespread in this era. If a jurist who investigates and examines this plant, whose smoking has spread among people, looks at it with careful scrutiny, he will know, without doubt or hesitation, to classify it with the impure things mentioned in the verse referred to earlier. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drew our attention to the fact that he used the term "impure" for a plant whose lawfulness is agreed upon, and yet he used the term "impure" for it because of its foul smell. That is garlic and onions, although it is known, both in the past and the present, that they are among the plants and legumes that have many benefits for people and no harm in them except for this foul smell. Despite all this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: So, if in addition to the foul smell, there is another plant that has some physical and health harm, there is no doubt that it is classified with the impure things, because the nature of prohibitions in Islam is that they harm those who consume them. And if it is authentically established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sunan Ibn Majah 2340Da'if (Darussalam) and it has been proven through experience and science that smoking tobacco is harmful, then there is no doubt that, given the convergence of these factors in tobacco, we can classify it, in this state, with the impure things mentioned in the noble verse. Yes.
The Shaykh : The criterion in this matter is what was known to the early Arabs to whom that noble verse was revealed; that is the impure thing. Then, if something new appears later that was not known in their time, it is examined. If it has a counterpart, it is classified with it. As for the original criterion, it is this rule, as mentioned by the scholars of exegesis. I say that whatever may occur later is examined to see if it can be classified with what is known to be impure in the time of the Salaf, the time of the revelation of that verse, or not. For example, as you know, the smoking of tobacco has become widespread in this era. If a jurist who investigates and examines this plant, whose smoking has spread among people, looks at it with careful scrutiny, he will know, without doubt or hesitation, to classify it with the impure things mentioned in the verse referred to earlier. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drew our attention to the fact that he used the term "impure" for a plant whose lawfulness is agreed upon, and yet he used the term "impure" for it because of its foul smell. That is garlic and onions, although it is known, both in the past and the present, that they are among the plants and legumes that have many benefits for people and no harm in them except for this foul smell. Despite all this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith:
Whoever eats from this impure plant, let him not approach our mosque, for the angels are repelled by what the children of Adam are repelled by.
من أكل من هذه الشجرة الخبيثة فلا يقربن مصلانا فإن الملائكة تتأذى مما يتأذى منه بنو آدمIt was narrated from 'Ubadah bin Samit that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ruled: “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.”
لا ضرر ولا ضرار
Source
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