86. Abstaining from the Ambiguous

عن النُّعْمَانِ بن بَشِيرٍ رضي الله عنه قال قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الْحَلَالُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَهُمَا أُمُورٌ مُشْتَبِهَةٌ فَمَنْ تَرَكَ ما شُبِّهَ عليه من الْإِثْمِ كان لِمَا اسْتَبَانَ أَتْرَكَ وَمَنْ اجْتَرَأَ على ما يَشُكُّ فيه من الْإِثْمِ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَ ما اسْتَبَانَ وَالْمَعَاصِي حِمَى اللَّهِ من يَرْتَعْ حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ

Nu‘man ibn Bashir (rta) stated that the Prophet (sws) said: “What is not prohibited is clear and what is prohibited is [also] clear. In between the two are ambiguous matters. So, he who abstained from ambiguous sins will even more abstain from clear sins. He who is bold enough to commit ambiguous sins is more likely to fall into clear sins. And sins are prohibited areas of God. An animal which grazes at the borders of these areas is likely to enter into them.”[1]

[1]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, vol. 2, 723, (no. 1946).