Spiritual Drinks, Bank Interest, Extremist, Fanatic

With the Quran to calm the soul with faith, and recite it with the vessel, and you will be showered with it with the abundance of contentment and the clouds of forgiveness. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.

Dear brother and sister, we mentioned in the previous episode that paying attention to words is required by Sharia, and that Allah the Almighty said: "O you who have believed, do not say [to the Prophet], 'Ra'ina,' but say, 'Unzurna.'" And the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded in many hadiths to avoid words regardless of the intention of the speaker. Today, we will continue discussing the topic of paying attention to words due to its importance, and we will focus on labels and their impact.

Naming the Prohibited by Other Names

Allah the Almighty has prohibited certain things, and these prohibited acts should remain abhorrent and repulsive to us. However, the devil has made these prohibited acts appealing to people by naming them something other than their true names, and this is one of the first steps towards committing sin together.

Alcohol and Spiritual Drinks

For example, look at alcohol. It is called "alcohol" because it intoxicates the mind, meaning it covers and takes away the mind. What do some people call it in our days? "Spiritual drinks." This is a name that contains a kind of praise, as if alcohol revives the soul!

Did you know that our Prophet, peace be upon him, informed us that this change in naming would happen? In the hadith narrated by Ibn Majah and authenticated by Al-Albani, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "The nights and days will not pass until a group from my nation drinks alcohol, calling it by another name." Therefore, changing the name is a step on the path of making the sin permissible and minimizing its abhorrence.

Usury and Bank Interest

What is usury called today? "Interest." It is said: such and such bank offers loans with an interest rate of so and so. "Interest" is a good word that makes this financial transaction feel beneficial like buying and selling. This reminds us of Allah's saying: "That is because they say, 'Trade is [just] like interest,'" while Allah the Almighty says: "And Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest."

Therefore, the Muslim should keep the prohibited acts by their names as Allah has named them, not accept the circulation of names that minimize the abhorrence of these prohibited acts. If someone says to you: Does such and such bank deal with interest? Say to him: Do you mean usury? He will say to you: The important thing is that the meaning is conveyed. At this point, we clarify that paying attention to words is required, and we mention Allah's saying: "O you who have believed, do not say [to the Prophet], 'Ra'ina,' but say, 'Unzurna.'"

Negative Terms

Even some terms, such as describing a Muslim as "extremist" or "fanatic." These terms were originally used by people who do not judge concepts and people by "Allah said and His Messenger said," but for them, leaving the prohibited may be extremism, and righteousness may be fanaticism.

Therefore, even if we find a Muslim being strict with himself or others, we should not call him "extremist" or "fanatic," but we should call him "exaggeration," "excess," "extremism," "mistake," "ignorance," but we should not call him "extremist" or "fanatic" because these words carry negative meanings in their origin and are used to deter people from religion.

Conclusion

Remember that Allah the Almighty has forbidden the believers from addressing the Prophet with the word "Ra'ina" because the Jews used it with a corrupt intention, so Allah loved for His servants to distinguish themselves from the people of falsehood even in a word that carries a correct meaning. The Muslim is distinguished by his creed, distinguished by his speech, distinguished by his appearance, because he is from the best nation brought forth to mankind.

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.