BENEFIT 479: Clarifying Doubts Concerning Nutmeg

Question: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته May Allāh accept from us and from you, And may He protect and bless you. I have recently cautioned against the use of nutmeg, based on translated fatwas from some of the scholars who have declared it forbidden. Among these fatwas was yours on this very topic. Praise be to Allah, the post fulfilled its purpose. However, I have recently received an email containing several important questions. I present these questions in the hope that Allāh will guide the questioner and all Muslims through your responses. Email ⤵️ https://t.me/almanhajussalafi/1847 Response from Sheikh Muhammad Al-’Ansi ḥafidhahullāh: Regarding the ruling on nutmeg: The fatwa of the majority of scholars, and the opinion held by the early scholars of Islam, is that nutmeg contains an intoxicating substance and is considered among the intoxicants. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whatever intoxicates in large quantities, a small amount of it is also prohibited.” May Allāh bless you. It is essential—may Allāh preserve you—that we understand an important matter, so that, by the will of Allāh, it becomes a light by which we are guided after having been guided by the Book of Allāh and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. This understanding will, in-shā-Allāh, help us grasp the rulings of the Shari'ah. May Allāh preserve you. This important matter, may Allāh preserve you, is that the Shari'ah is the authority that governs people's actions, customs, and traditions. It is the Shari‘ah that holds judgment—not the customs of people. If the permissibility or prohibition of a matter were to be determined by people’s desires, inclinations, or by what brings them wealth, status, or convenience—even if it opposes the rulings of the religion—then the heavens and the earth would be corrupted, as Allāh the Exalted says: {And if the Truth had followed their desires, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been corrupted} [Surah Al-Mu’minun: 71]. Allāh is All-Wise, All-Knowing. We must, therefore, understand this matter well: that the Shari'ah governs the actions of people, their behaviours, and their choices—what they do and what they ought to abstain from. If this principle is properly understood, by Allāh’s permission, we will be able to understand other related matters as well. For example, if a forbidden act becomes widespread in a country, and people engage in it extensively—does that change its ruling from prohibited to permissible simply because it has become commonplace? Some people claim this regarding riba, saying: "If we declare riba to be haram, then people’s entire wealth and earnings become unlawful, because their transactions and economic affairs are entangled with interest-based banks." They argue that saying riba is haram will create hardship and impede economic progress. Thus, they present a series of objections that ultimately oppose the divine ruling concerning this grave sin. The same applies to the free-mixing between unrelated men and women. Today, such free-mixing has become prevalent across many segments of society—from small communities to large nations, in secondary and higher education, in offices, institutions, and even kindergartens. It has become, in many places, as though compulsory. This has caused widespread moral harm and corruption. When one speaks about the prohibition of such free-mixing, people respond by objecting: “You’re making things hard for people,” or “Free-mixing is necessary,” or “Women must participate alongside men,” or “Where will women study if not in co-educational classrooms?” Such objections are built upon desires and assumptions that ultimately seek to override the rulings of Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ. Yet the fitnah of free-mixing, and their physical proximity to unrelated men, is among the greatest causes of moral corruption and leads to immorality. This is an evident reality—clear, undeniable, and witnessed repeatedly.