What does Halal and Haram actually mean?

 

Before we can talk about what’s labeled halal or haram today, we need to understand what these words mean.

 

Halal (حَلَال)

The word halāl comes from the root ḥā-lām-lām (ح-ل-ل). According to Lane’s Lexicon, it means:

 

It became lawful, legally allowed, permitted… released from a knot, or obligation.

 

In other words, halal implies:

 

• Something open and permitted
• Something that has been freed from restriction or prohibition
• Something lawful, clean, or unbound

 

Interestingly, the same root can also describe:

• A knot being untied
• A state of ease or accessibility

 

So in Quranic terms, when something is halal, it’s not just “allowed” it’s something that is cleared of objection, released from restriction, and accessible.

 

 

Haram (حَرَام) 

 

Haram comes from the root ḥā-rā-mīm (ح-ر-م). Lane’s Lexicon defines it as:

 

It was, or became, forbidden… inviolable, sacred, protected… not to be approached.

 

So when something is haram it may mean:

 

• It is prohibited by divine order
• Or it is inviolable, a boundary not to be crossed

 

By understanding these words at the root level, we begin to see just how weighty these labels are.

They are not slang. They’re not slogans. They are part of a deeply structured legal and moral vocabulary in the Quran.

 

In the next section, we’ll look at how often these words appear in the Quran and what that tells us.

 

Want to know what’s halal or haram? 

 

If only there were a simple way to know what Allah made halal and haram…

 

Well - there is.... Just look where the Quran uses these very words.

 

Halal ح-ل-ل (ḥ-l-l) ~43 verses

Haram ح-ر-م (ḥ-r-m) ~71 verses

 

These numbers include variations like:

aḥalla (أَحَلَّ) = “He made lawful”

ḥarrama (حَرَّمَ) = “He made unlawful”

muḥarram (مُحَرَّم) = “Forbidden”

 

 

So rather than guess, assume, or copy viral claims, we can go directly to the Quran to see where these words are used and what they’re referring to.

 

 

If a verse says something is ḥarām, it’s forbidden.

If a verse says something is ḥalāl, it’s permitted.

 

No guesswork. No additions. No “but the scholar said…”

🚫 What the Quran doesn't prohibit (despite popular claims):

 

Let’s be clear, these are not mentioned as haram in the Quran:

 

🎵 Music

🧔 Not having a beard

📸 Photography or videos

👖 Pants above the ankles

💍 Wearing gold or silk (for men)

🥚 Non-zabiha meat

🧼 Using non-halal-certified shampoo

💅 Nail polish

🏋️‍♀️ Gym workouts with music

🎭 Watching movies

🎮 Playing games

🎂 Birthdays

🤝 Shaking hands (opposite gender)

🍴 Using fork/spoon

👔 Wearing neckties

♟️ Chess

✂️ plucking eyebrows

🧻 Toilet paper

🐕 Pet dogs

🖐️ Eating with left hand

🩳 Shorts

💐 Perfume with alcohol

🧍 Eating while standing

💇 Women cutting hair short

🎉 Saying "Happy New Year"

 

Now ask:

If Allah didn’t forbid it, why are we?

Only Allah has the right to forbid or permit

 

In the Quran, Allah repeatedly warns us not to make up rules in His name. Yet today, we often hear people confidently declare something haram or halal, without a single verse to back it up.

 

But the right to legislate what is permissible or forbidden belongs only to Allah. No scholar, sheikh, or community can override that.

 

Clear warnings in the Quran

 

And do not say, as to what your tongues falsely describe: “This is permissible, and that is forbidden;” that you seek to invent lies about God. Those who invent lies about God will not succeed

Quran 16:116

 

Say: “Have you seen what God has sent down to you from provisions, then you have made some of it forbidden and some permissible?” Say: “Did God authorize you, or do you invent lies about God?”

Quran 10:59

 

 

Say: “Bring forth your witnesses who bear witness that God has made this forbidden.” If they bear witness, then do not bear witness with them, nor follow the desires of those who deny Our revelations, and those who do not believe in the Hereafter; and they make equals with their Lord! 

Quran 6:150

 

 

Or do they have partners who decree for them a system which has not been authorized by God? And if it were not for the word already given, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, the transgressors will have a painful retribution.

Quran 42:21

 

They have set-up their Priests and Monks to be lords instead of God; and the Messiah, son of Mary; while they were only commanded to serve One god, there is no god except He, be He glorified against what they set up

Quran 9:31

 

And why should you not eat that on which the name of God has been mentioned, when He has fully detailed to you what has been made forbidden; except what you are forced to? Many misguide by their desires without knowledge; your Lord is fully aware of the transgressors.

Quran 6:119

 

O you who believe! Do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress. Verily, Allah does not love the transgressors.”

Quran 5:87

 

Those who kill their children foolishly, without knowledge, and forbid what Allah has provided for them, lying against Allah. They have gone astray and were not guided.”

Quran 6:140

 

Those who are polytheists will say: “If God wished, we would not have set up partners, nor would have our fathers, nor would we have made anything forbidden.” Those before them lied in the same way, until they tasted Our might. Say: “Do you have any knowledge to bring out to us? You only follow conjecture, you only guess.”

Quran 6:148

 

And those who were polytheists said: “If God had wished, we would not have served a thing other than Him; neither us nor our fathers; nor would we have made forbidden anything other than from Him.” Those before them did exactly the same thing; so are the messengers required to do anything except deliver with clarity

Quran 16:35

 

 

Even the Prophet couldn't issue a ruling

 

The Quran gives us a powerful reminder - even the Prophet himself was not allowed to forbid something without divine instruction. He was corrected by Allah when he tried to do so:

 

 “O Prophet! Why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Quran 66:1

 

 

If even the Prophet couldn’t declare something forbidden, then what about us? What about scholars, speakers, or online figures today?

 

This brings us to a word we often hear: fatwa - a religious ruling.

 

People issue fatwas about what to wear, what to eat, how to invest, and more. But where should fatwas really come from?

 

According to the Quran, a fatwa is not just a scholar’s opinion - it is a ruling that must come from Allah. When people asked the Prophet for rulings, he was instructed to respond not with his own judgment, but with revelation:

 

 “They ask you for a fatwa concerning women. Say: Allah gives you a fatwa concerning them...”

Quran 4:127

 

“They seek your ruling. Say: Allah gives you a ruling concerning inheritance…”

Quran 4:176

 

These verses show clearly that the right to legislate belongs to Allah alone. Not to scholars. Not to institutions. Not even to the Prophet himself.

 

So when someone confidently declares something haram or halal, we should ask:

 

Is this truly from Allah’s words or just someone’s interpretation?