ABSTAINING FROM THE DOUBTFUL

Rasûlullâh Sallallâhu Alayhi Wa Sallam said: Halal (lawful) is clear, and Haram (prohibited) is clear. In between them are certain doubtful things, concerning which most people do not know if they are Halal or Haram. Thus, whoever avoids the doubtful, safeguards his religion and honour. But one engaging in the doubtful, falls in the Haram, like the shepherd pasturing around a reserved zone, all but grazing therein. Verily every king has a reserved area, and Allah’s reserved area is His prohibitions…”
A person asked: “O Rasûl of Allâh! What is sin? (How can I understand whether the doubtful are sinful or not?)” Rasûlullâh Sallallâhu Alayhi Wa Sallam answered: “When you feel uncertain about something (whether it is Halal or Haram) avoid it (because it is sinful).
This matter is explained in another Hadith al-Sharif as follows: “Abandon that which causes in you doubt (concerning whether it is good or evil in Deen, Halal or Haram) and take that which does not cause in you doubt (that which are certain it is beneficial, good and Halal).”
Once in the city of Kufa in Iraq, the sheep herds belonging to baytulmal (public treasure) mixed with the sheep of the residents of the city. Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullâhi Alayhi) thought that eating from the meat of those sheep is not suitable as far as taqwa (Allah’s fear) is concerned. He inquired about the average lifespan of a sheep in that region. He learned that it was seven years. As a precaution, Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullâhi Alayhi) did not put a morsel of mutton in his mouth for seven years lest he should have eaten from the meat of the sheep that was doubtful.