المباحُ هو ما دلّ الدليلُ الشرعيُّ على أنّ خطابَ الشارعِ فيه تخييرٌ بين الفعلِ والترك، من غيرِ أن يُرجَّحَ أحدُهما على الآخر. والإباحةُ من الأحكامِ الشرعيّةِ، لأنها تُعرَفُ من خطابِ الشارع، ولا يمكنُ إثباتُها بغيره. والإباحةُ ليست رفعَ الحرجِ عن فعلِ الشيءِ أو تركِه. فلو كان الأمرُ كذلك لَكانت مشروعيّتُها ثابتةً قبلَ مجيءِ الوحي، والحالُ أنه لا وحيَ قبلَ نزولِه. بل الإباحةُ هي ما جاء به خطابُ الشارعِ من تخييرٍ بين الفعلِ والترك، وهي ثابتةٌ بالوحيِ وبعدَ نزولِه، ولذلك فهي من الأحكامِ الشرعيّةِ.

The permissible is that which textual evidence indicates upon as being the address of the legislator with a choice given in it between performance and abstention, without one being preferred over the other. The permissibility [ibāhah] is from the legal rulings, because it is ascertained from the legislator’s address, and cannot otherwise be established. The ibāhah is not the removal of harm from the commission of an action or its omission. If this were the case then its legislation would be established before the advent of the revelation, whilst there is no revelation prior to its coming. Rather the ibāhah is that which the address of the legislator came with of choice between performance and abstention. It is established from the revelation and after its advent; hence it is from the ahkām shari’ah.

يجب أن تكون الأحكام الشرعية التي ثبت فيها الإباحة مستندةً إلى الوحي، وليست تلك الأحكام التي سكت عنها الوحي بحيث لا ينهى عنها ولا يبيحها. أما ما رواه الترمذي عن سلمان الفارسي رضي الله عنه قال: «سُئل رسول الله ﷺ عن السمن والجبن والفراء، فقال: الحلال ما أحلّ الله في كتابه، والحرام ما حرّم الله في كتابه، وما سكت عنه فهو مما عفا عنه»، فإن هذا لا يدل على أن ما سكت عنه القرآن مباح. وذلك لأن في الحديث أشياء محرّمة وأشياء مباحة، وقد صحّ عن النبي ﷺ أنه قال: «ألا إني أوتيت القرآن ومثله معه» (أحمد). ومن ثم فإن المراد في الحديث السابق ما سكت عنه الوحي. غير أن سكوت الوحي عن شيء لا يعني أنه مباح، لأن قوله ﷺ في الحديث: «الحلال ما أحلّ الله» يشمل كل ما لم يُنهَ عنه، فيدخل فيه الواجب والمندوب والمباح والمكروه، إذ الجميع يصدق عليه أنه غير محرّم بمعنى أنه غير منهيٍّ عنه. فليس معنى «ما سكت عنه» أنه مباح.

The legal rulings in which permissibility has been established must each be based on the revelation. These rulings are not that about which the revelation is silent, such that it neither prohibits nor allows them. As for what was narrated by al-Tirmidhi from Salman al-Farisi (ra) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (saw) was questioned about ghee, cheese and fur, so he said, ‘The halāl is that which Allah has made halāl in his Book, and the harām is that which Allah has made harām in his Book, and on that which He remained silent, it is from that which He has conceded [‘afa ‘anhu]’”, this does not indicate that that which the Qur’an is silent on is mubāh. This is because there are things prohibited and permitted in the Hadith, and it is authenticated from the Prophet (saw) that he said, “Indeed I have been given the Qur’an and its like with it” (Ahmad). Hence the meaning in the above Hadith is that which the revelation remained silent on. Yet the revelation remaining silent about something does not mean that it is permissible because his (saw) saying in the hadith, “The halāl is that which Allah has made halāl” includes everything that is not prohibited, so it includes the wājib, the mandūb, the mubāh, and the makrūh, since it is true of all of these that they are permissible in the sense that they are not prohibited. Therefore ‘that which He remained silent on’ does not mean that it is mubāh.

وأما قوله ﷺ: «ما سكت عنه فهو مما عفا عنه»، وقوله ﷺ في حديث آخر: «وما سكت عنه فهو عفو»، (البيهقي)، وقوله ﷺ في حديث آخر: «وسكت عن أشياء رحمةً لكم غير نسيان فلا تبحثوا عنها» (البيهقي)، فإن معنى سكوته عن الأشياء هو تحليله لها، بحيث يُعدّ تحليله لها تخفيفًا من الله ورحمةً بالناس. ويدل على ذلك قول الرسول ﷺ الوارد في حديث سعد بن أبي وقاص: «إن أعظم المسلمين جرمًا من سأل عن شيء لم يحرم، فحُرّم من أجل مسألته» (مسلم)، والمقصود بذلك من يسأل عن شيء لم يسكت الوحي عن تحريمه.

As for his (saw) saying, “on that which He remained silent, it is from that which He has conceded”, and his (saw) saying in another hadith, “and that which He remained silent on, then it is a concession” (Bayhaqi), and his saying in another hadith, “and He has remained silent about things as a concession to you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not ask about them” (Bayhaqi), the meaning of His silence on things is His making them halāl, such that His making them halāl is considered a concession from Allah, and a mercy to the people. This is by the evidence of the saying of the Messenger (saw) narrated in the hadith of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, “The worst of the Muslims amongst the Muslims is the one who asks about a thing which is not prohibited on them and consequently becomes prohibited upon them due to his questioning,” (Muslim), referring to the one who asks about a thing about the prohibition of which the revelation is silent.

وعليه فالسكوت في هذه الأحاديث هو سكوت عن التحريم، لا سكوت عن بيان الحكم الشرعي. والتفسير المتأخر لا يصح، إذ إن الله لم يسكت عن بيان الحكم الشرعي، بل بيّنه في كل شيء، كما قال تعالى:

Thus silence in this ahādith is silence from prohibition, not silence from clarifying the hukm shar’i. The later interpretation is not tenable since Allah has not remained silent from clarifying the hukm shar’i. To the contrary He has clarified it in all things, as He (swt) says,