Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Mostly Muslim

Home
About
Faith & Spirituality
Personal/Life
- Reflections
Society & Culture
- Dealing with Others
- Women
Archive

Home
Muslim
The Forgotten Element of Faith When Navigating the “Halal” and “Haram”

The Forgotten Element of Faith When Navigating the “Halal” and “Haram”

Last updated on: December 26, 2019 at 9:32 am by Iman

The Forgotten Element of Faith When Navigating the “Halal” and “Haram” 2019-12-26T09:32:02-06:00 Iman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

conscience navigating halal haram

Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash

It’s not easy to teach children. Whether someone is a parent, teacher, or some other caregiver of a child, they know that educating kids so they know right from wrong is a difficult job. It’s not only giving them a list of “things to do” and “things to avoid,” but trying to help them develop sound morals. That way, they learn to intuitively do and avoid certain actions without needing explicit instructions every time.

Life is like that after childhood, as well. Not everything will be black and white, spelled out for us. Sometimes there is a gray area, and it’s our choice how we handle that situation. Even if something is not “technically” wrong, we still know that it’s something to stay away from. Or if it’s not “officially” required, deep down, we know that we should do it anyway.

This is especially true when it comes to religious matters. It’s why Allah gave us a conscience rather than simply sending down a set of rules. Yes, we have those rules as well, but our conscience exists so that we will listen to it when the situation is doubtful. And we shouldn’t only listen to it so that we can gather good deeds or rest assured that we won’t be punished – it’s deeper than that. It’s about building a pure and sincere relationship with our Creator.

Our relationship with God shouldn’t be based on technicalities. It’s about love, loyalty, respect, and reverence.

I feel we would benefit so much (as individuals and as a community) from stepping out of the haram/halal box and thinking, “Is this helping or harming my relationship with Allah?” Obviously, the answer to that question partially does depend on whether that thing is allowed or forbidden in Islam. But there’s a lot that’s not technically required or prohibited, which we can choose to do or avoid in order to get closer to Allah.

And that can be hard, because it forces us to re-evaluate our priorities in life and think about how important our relationship with God really is to us. It’s not easy making sacrifices, forgiving people, changing our lifestyle, or giving certain things up. But if it brings us closer to our Creator, it’s more than worth it.

There’s a certain contentment that comes from being honest with oneself and listening to one’s conscience rather than shutting out its voice.

Like children who must be taught to listen to the voice they have deep down in their hearts, we also need to foster that intuition within ourselves. We have to build a level of taqwa (God-consciousness) within ourselves that surpasses the technicalities of halal and haram. Because our relationship with God shouldn’t be based on technicalities. It’s about love, loyalty, respect, and reverence. And honoring the presence of God, as we know He is always watching us.

A child might begin listening to his inner voice due to a fear that he has of being disciplined by his parents. Or perhaps he simply dreads disappointing them. Obviously, as adults, we don’t have that same level of accountability to our parents. For us, following our inner voice should be about not wanting to disappointing Allah. There’s a certain contentment that comes from being honest with oneself and listening to one’s conscience rather than shutting out its voice. And the greatest reward comes from earning the pleasure of God.

“When something weighs on your conscience, give it up.” – Prophet Muhammad (saws) [Narrated in Tirmidhi]

“The Day on which neither wealth will be of any use, nor children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” [Qur’an 26:88-89]

Follow Mostly Muslim on Facebook HERE.

Want your voice to be heard? JOIN OUR TEAM or send your guest submission to [email protected]! Visit the “Contribute to MM” page for more details.

Previous Post

March 11, 2018

To Divorce or Not to Divorce: For Many Converts, It's a Complicated Decision

Next Post

March 21, 2018 Self-Reflection Is a Path to God

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Afterlife Culture Dealing with Others English Faith & Spirituality Inspiration Letters to the Ummah Personal / Life Poetry Ramadan Reality Check Reflections Relationships Religion Society & Culture Uncategorized Urdu Women

Select a Month September 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 March 2016 November 2015 October 2015 June 2015 May 2015 February 2015 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many books in the Bible are classified as poetry?

Select your answer to see how you score.

7 6 5 4