The Prohibition of Harming

📖 Sunan Ibn Majah 2340
It was narrated from ‘Ubadah bin Samit that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled: “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.”

Explanation:
This hadith sets a universal Islamic legal and ethical principle: Do not cause harm, and do not respond to harm with more harm. It applies in family, social, political, and legal matters — a foundation for justice, mercy, and peace in Islamic law.

What is “Harming?

• It includes any form of unjust physical, emotional, financial, or verbal abuse.
• Examples: cheating someone in business, hitting your spouse, exposing someone’s secrets, or oppressing a worker.

 What is Reciprocating harm?

• It refers to taking revenge or responding with equal or greater harm after being harmed, especially when it’s not allowed by law or fairness.
• Example: Someone insults you, so you slander their family, that’s ḍirār.

Islam allows justice, not vengeance.

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Quranic Context:

📖Quran 5:45
And We ordained for them in it: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds, legal retribution. But if anyone remits it by way of charity, it is an expiation for him.
Justice is allowed, but mercy is better. Allah sees who causes harm and who chooses to reconcile.

📖Quran 2:190
Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. Indeed, Allah does not love transgressors.
Self-defense is permitted, but excess in retaliation is forbidden.

📖Quran 42:40
The penalty for an evil act is an evil one like it. but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah.

This means:
When someone does evil (like hitting, insulting, or harming), you are allowed to respond with an equal act, even if it causes harm, because it maintains justice and order.

➡️ The response may still look like an evil act (harm for harm), and Allah doesn’t love harm, but He allows it in society to protect rights and stop oppression.

✅ So yes, it is technically evil in form, but not evil in ruling when used lawfully.
⚠️ But the moment you go beyond fairness, your act becomes a real evil, not just a legal one.

Allah allows tough justice, but doesn’t love harshness. He prefers mercy. If you forgive, Allah rewards you more. But if you punish fairly, you are not sinful, you are upholding balance.

Example:

• Someone insults you, you can respond with the same, but it’s still ugly in nature, so forgiveness is better.
• Someone attacks you, you can defend yourself only to stop them, not to hurt them more.

📖Quran 16:126
And if you retaliate, retaliate with the like of what you were afflicted with. But if you are patient, it is better for those who are patient.

Justice vs. Evil:

• Justice may include pain (punishment, fighting, etc.), but it’s allowed to protect society.
• Evil begins when justice becomes personal, emotional, or excessive.

What does the hadith teach?

The Prophet ﷺ clearly forbids turning justice into sin.
Even if someone insults, hits, cheats, or oppresses you, you cannot respond with your own haram (like lying, stealing, or cursing their family).

You can only respond with justice, within halal limits, Haram can never be used to fix haram.

✅ “Evil one like it” = same in form (pain for pain),
🚫 But not the same in intention or ruling.

So if you respond in a fair and legal way, it’s allowed.
If you go beyond that, even in anger, you are now doing haram.