The divine method: commands and prohibitions

Sha'rawi holds that the first lesson of God's method for humanity is command and prohibition, since every revealed method is commands and prohibitions ¹. He holds that obedience and refraining from what is forbidden are the first things a person learns ¹. See al-Baqara 35.

He says that what is permitted in the revealed method is abundant and what is forbidden is little. As in the garden of Adam, where one tree was forbidden among thousands, what God forbids of the earth's bounty is the smallest part ¹.

He holds that God forbade approaching the tree rather than eating from it directly, because approaching the unlawful leads to falling into it. A soul told that a thing is forbidden, and that does not guard its boundary, is more likely to fall into it ². He cites the verse on wine in al-Ma'ida and holds that the word for avoiding is stronger than the word for forbidding ^{2 3}. See al-Ma'ida 90.

He cites the hadith of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir that the lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and that one who guards against doubtful matters has protected his religion and honour ². This hadith is in the two Sahih collections, as the scan's footnote says.

He holds that injustice is transgression against the rights of others, and that a person may wrong himself by giving the self a passing desire that lasts hours while depriving it of lasting bliss ³. See Al 'Imran 135.

This is Sha'rawi's reading of the method. He does not use the juristic term "blocking the means" by name; the heading is ours. No juristic positions of the schools on these matters are set out here, and none is checked.