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What the Law was silent about

المسكوت عنه

The maskut 'anhu is whatever the Law's texts neither forbid nor oblige; Abu Tha'laba al-Khushani's hadith divides the charge four ways: obligations ordained and not to be neglected, bounds set and not to be transgressed, things forbidden and not to be violated, and things passed over in silence 'as a mercy to you, not out of forgetfulness', not to be searched into — the silence being mercy and pardon, evidence neither of prohibition nor of obligation; Abu al-Darda''s route in al-Bazzar and al-Hakim runs 'what He was silent about is pardon, so accept God's pardon, for God was never one to forget anything', followed by 'your Lord was never forgetful' (Maryam 64), and Salman's halted version in al-Tirmidhi has 'what He was silent about is among what He pardoned' — pardon, not prohibition, being the default of what God left unspoken.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Worship and the pillars

Overview

What is passed over in silence (maskut 'anhu) is what no text has mentioned either prohibiting or requiring. 1

The hadith of Abu Tha'laba al-Khushani divides legal obligation into four kinds: obligations, which must not be neglected; limits, which must not be exceeded; prohibitions, which must not be violated; and things God passed over in silence out of mercy to people, not out of forgetfulness, so they are not to be searched for. 1

A report from Abu al-Darda' says that what is passed over in silence is pardoned, and one from Salman as a mawquf (ending at a Companion) says that it is among what God has pardoned. The original position regarding what is passed over in silence is the absence of prohibition, as Ibn Rajab sets out. 1

It is based on the chapter on the lawful and the unlawful. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Based on
Arba'un 30 — obligations, limits, and what He was silent about· The lawful, the unlawful and the doubtful

People and things also explored

The lawful, the unlawful and the doubtful· Arba'un 30 — obligations, limits, and what He was silent about· Tayyib (purity and lawfulness)· Sale of the prohibited· Intoxicants (muskirat)· Wara' (scrupulosity)· Arba'un 6 — the lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear· Arba'un 22 — if I pray the prescribed prayers

Sources

  1. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “What the Law was silent about”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/maskut-anhu/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

The lawful, the unlawful and the doubtful

The division of rulings and things into plainly lawful, plainly unlawful, and doubtful matters between them that many people cannot assign to either side though the firmly grounded in knowledge are not in doubt; Ibn Rajab gives as plainly lawful the good foods — crops, fruits, cattle — and marriage and concubinage when acquired by a valid contract; as plainly unlawful carrion, blood, pork, wine, marriage within the prohibited degrees, silk for men and unlawful gains such as usury, gambling, theft and usurpation; and as doubtful what is disputed as to its lawfulness — animals such as horses, mules, donkeys and the dabb lizard, intoxicating-when-abundant drinks, and disputed transactions such as 'ina and tawarruq — this being Ahmad's and Ishaq's and other imams' explanation of the doubtful; whoever avoids the doubtful clears his religion and honour, and whoever falls into it is like a shepherd at the edge of God's sanctuary.