Dawn

Dawn

Friday, March 27, 2015

What is sinful in Islam?

Prompted by the comment of a Palestinian musician that neither listening to nor playing music was haraam (forbidden by Islam), I searched for info on what might be included under this heading. Wiki advised that "haraam is an Arabic term meaning 'sinful'. And that "In Islamic jurisprudence, haram is used to refer to any act that is forbidden by Allah. Islam teaches that a haram (sinful) act is recorded by an angel on the person's left shoulder. If something is considered haram, it remains prohibited no matter how good the intention is or how honourable the purpose is. A haram is converted into a gravitational force on the day of judgment and placed on mizan (weighing scales)." Elsewhere I found this intriguing list of "the 70 major sins' of Islam:-
1.  Associating anything with Allah (SHIRK)
2.  Murder
3.  Practicing magic
4.  Not praying
5.  Not paying Zakat (alms)
6.  Not fasting on any day during Ramadan without an excuse
7.  Not performing the Hajj, while being able to do so
8.  Disrespecting parents
9.  Abandoning relatives
10.  Fornication and Adultery
11.  Homosexuality (this includes sodomy in all forms)
12.  Charging interest (riba or Usury)
13.  Wrongfully consuming the property of an orphan
14.  Lying about Allah and His Messenger
15.  Running away from the battlefield
16.  A leader’s deceiving his people and being unjust to them
17.  Pride and arrogance
18.  Bearing false witness
19.  Drinking khamr (alcohol/wine)
20.  Gambling
21.  Slandering chaste women
22.  Stealing from the spoils of war
23.  Stealing
24.  Highway Robbery
25.  Making a false oath
26.  Oppression
27.  Making an illegal gain
28.  Consuming wealth acquired unlawfully
29.  Committing suicide
30.  Frequent lying
31.  Judging unjustly
32.  Giving and accepting bribes
33.  Woman’s imitating a man and man’s imitating a woman
34.  Being a cuckold
35.  Marrying a divorced woman in order to make her lawful for the husband
36.  Not protecting oneself from urine
37.  Showing-off
38.  Gaining knowledge of the religion for the sake of this world and concealing that knowledge
39.  Betraying trust
40.  Recounting favours
41.  Denying Allah’s Decree
42.  Listening (to) people’s private conversations
43.  Telling tales
44.  Cursing
45.  Breaking contracts
46.  Believing in fortune-tellers and astrologers
47.  A woman’s bad conduct towards her husband
48.  Making statues and pictures
49.  Lamenting, wailing, tearing the clothing, and doing other things of this sort when an affliction befalls
50.  Treating others unjustly
51.  Overbearing conduct toward a wife, a servant, the weak, and animals
52.  Offending one’s neighbour
53.  Offending and abusing Muslims
54.  Offending people and having an arrogant attitude towards them
55.  Trailing one’s garment in pride
56.  Men’s wearing silk and gold
57.  A slave’s running away from his master
58.  Slaughtering an animal which has been dedicated to anyone other than Allah
59.  To knowingly ascribe one’s paternity to a father other than one’s own
60.  Arguing and disputing violently
61.  Withholding excess water
62.  Giving short weight or measure
63.  Feeling secure from Allah’s Plan
64.  Offending Allah’s righteous friends
65.  Not praying in congregation but praying alone without an excuse
66.  Persistently missing Friday Prayers without any excuse
67.  Usurping the rights of the heir through bequests
68.  Deceiving and plotting evil
69.  Spying for the enemy of the Muslims
70.  Cursing or insulting any of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger

And elsewhere, someone gave this list of the 10 most important modern sins:-
1. Cleavage, flashy clothes and tight jeans for women
2. Pony tails for women. Long hair for men.
3. Dental braces
4. Harry Potter books and films
5. Homosexuals
6. Social networks, emails, and video directories
7. Batman and the Justice League
8. Pet cats and dogs
9. Barbie dolls
10. Political sciences

Of course, I can't guarantee that these are lists are agreed by all the world's Muslims. Probably not. But, as you can see, listening to or playing music doesn't figure on either of them. BTW: Women will also have noticed there's no corresponding item to number 47 in the first list.


Finally . . . I ordered some walking boots this week, prior to another camino in May. They arrived today and I didn't have to give an ID number or even sign my name. Life can be so simple.  

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