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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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There are doubts that many people fall into,

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especially when searching for a legal ruling,

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regarding the permissibility or prohibition of a matter.

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That is where the doubt arises.

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But what is the scale by which a person can weigh emerging issues?

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Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked,

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"How does a man among us know if he has been afflicted by a trial?"

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He, may Allah be pleased with him, replied,

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"If he sees something as forbidden yesterday,

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and sees it as permissible today, then he has been afflicted by a trial."

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This is a clear scale.

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Hudhayfah outlines its features in brief, clear words.

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The clear meaning of the words of Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman

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confirms to us that he refers to what has been established as forbidden by the Shari'ah,

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that which does not fall into the realm of disagreement among Muslim scholars and jurists.

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This is what is intended by the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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"The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear."

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So, if a Muslim reaches the point of doubting the prohibition of something whose prohibition is manifest,

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or the permissibility of something whose permissibility is manifest,

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then there is no doubt that he has been afflicted by the worst of trials, and we seek refuge in Allah.

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An example of this is for a person to be certain of the prohibition of bribery,

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regardless of how its names may change,

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and to know with certainty of its prohibition,

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then to soften and weaken before it,

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when its sweetness appears to him,

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mixed with the bitterness of sin and the evil of the consequence.

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Here, the Muslim must use this magnificent and precise scale

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to which Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, pointed.

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Other forbidden matters should be measured against bribery,

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those that have a connection to the desires of the human soul

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and its worldly interests,

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such as trading in certain forbidden items,

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or justifying clear usurious transactions

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in response to the soul's whims.

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This is the scale of Hudhayfah;

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if only we would weigh our affairs with it,

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those that waver between the lawful and the unlawful.