Explanation of the author's statement: "And it is permissible for a man to have a ring and the hilt of a sword made of silver."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then the author said, and this is the beginning of the new lesson: "And it is permissible for a man to have a ring made of silver". The ring is the passive subject; the ring is what is permissible, and what is permissible is that which is equal in its doing and leaving, meaning that no punishment or reward is attached to its doing. If a person does it, he is not punished nor rewarded, and if he leaves it, he is not punished nor rewarded. However, as a digression, we say that the original state of what is permissible is permissibility; if you wish, do it, and if you wish, do not do it. But it may be a means to something, in which case it takes the ruling of that thing. It may be a means to something, in which case it takes the ruling of that thing. I give the example of selling. Selling is lawful [Al-Baqarah 2:275]; this is the original ruling. But if you sell after the second call to Friday prayer and you are one upon whom Friday prayer is obligatory, then selling becomes forbidden because it is a means to leaving the prayer. If you sell weapons during a time of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and fighting among Muslims, it becomes forbidden because it is aiding in sin. If you sell grapes to someone who will make them into intoxicants, that would be forbidden. All right.
If you need water for wudu' (the ablution for prayer), then buying it becomes obligatory.
Therefore, what is permissible is, in its original state, permissible. But if it is a means to something, it is given the ruling of that thing. If it is a means to what is commanded, it is commanded; and if it is a means to what is prohibited, it is prohibited. Some of the scholars of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence) said that there is no such thing as what is permissible, first because it does not involve a legal obligation, and second because it must have an effect. At the very least, if it is permissible, it wastes time, and wasting time is disliked (makruh) if a person engages in it. But the correct view, without a doubt, is that there is such a thing as what is permissible. Allah says:[Al-Baqarah 2:275] And He said: [An-Nisa 4:24] So the correct view, without a doubt, is that permissibility is a category of the rulings of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law).
He says: "It is permissible for a man to have a ring made of silver". Is the "al" here for the generic, including one ring, two rings, three, four, or five? Or is the "al" for the singular?
The questioner : For the singular.
The Shaykh : This is the apparent meaning: that it is permissible for a person to have one ring. This is the apparent meaning of the words of the author (may Allah have mercy on him). The second thing that is permissible is: "the hilt of the sword". The hilt of the sword means what is placed on the head of the sword made of silver. The wisdom behind that is that it humbles the enemy.
But Allah has permitted trade
وأحل الله البيعIf you need water for wudu' (the ablution for prayer), then buying it becomes obligatory.
Therefore, what is permissible is, in its original state, permissible. But if it is a means to something, it is given the ruling of that thing. If it is a means to what is commanded, it is commanded; and if it is a means to what is prohibited, it is prohibited. Some of the scholars of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence) said that there is no such thing as what is permissible, first because it does not involve a legal obligation, and second because it must have an effect. At the very least, if it is permissible, it wastes time, and wasting time is disliked (makruh) if a person engages in it. But the correct view, without a doubt, is that there is such a thing as what is permissible. Allah says:
But Allah has permitted trade
وأحل الله البيعAnd lawful to you are [all others] beyond these
وأحل لكم ما وراء ذلكHe says: "It is permissible for a man to have a ring made of silver". Is the "al" here for the generic, including one ring, two rings, three, four, or five? Or is the "al" for the singular?
The questioner : For the singular.
The Shaykh : This is the apparent meaning: that it is permissible for a person to have one ring. This is the apparent meaning of the words of the author (may Allah have mercy on him). The second thing that is permissible is: "the hilt of the sword". The hilt of the sword means what is placed on the head of the sword made of silver. The wisdom behind that is that it humbles the enemy.