Tour the Muslim world, and you'll find two words that mark the foundation of any Islamic lifestyle: halal and haram. Despite their complexity, these terms have been simplified to mere synonyms of ‘permissible’ and ‘impermissible; the likes of ‘can I do this?’ or ‘can I do that?’ often demand a concrete yes/no answer of today’s jurists.
Unfortunately though, we have become a community that relies almost exclusively on the ‘can/cannot’ of Muslim jurists to dictate an Islamic lifestyle amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily chores. In fact, we’ve become so dependent on categorical scholarly approvals of our actions, that the notion of ‘fatwa-hunting’ easily comes to mind; before we do anything, we’re sure to quickly scavenge online Islamic databases for a scholarly opinion that hopefully makes it permissible.
But what about the ‘should’?
Unfortunately though, we have become a community that relies almost exclusively on the ‘can/cannot’ of Muslim jurists to dictate an Islamic lifestyle amidst the hustle and bustle of our daily chores. In fact, we’ve become so dependent on categorical scholarly approvals of our actions, that the notion of ‘fatwa-hunting’ easily comes to mind; before we do anything, we’re sure to quickly scavenge online Islamic databases for a scholarly opinion that hopefully makes it permissible.
But what about the ‘should’?
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