Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1205
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ مُجَالِدٍ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ أُمُورٌ مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ لاَ يَدْرِي كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ أَمِنَ الْحَلاَلِ هِيَ أَمْ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا اسْتِبْرَاءً لِدِينِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ فَقَدْ سَلِمَ وَمَنْ وَاقَعَ شَيْئًا مِنْهَا يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَ الْحَرَامَ كَمَا أَنَّهُ مَنْ يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ أَلاَ وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى أَلاَ وَإِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ مَحَارِمُهُ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutaybah ibn Sa'id narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd informed us, from Mujalid, from al-Sha'bi, from al-Nu'man ibn Bashir, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between them are ambiguous matters that many people do not know whether they are lawful or unlawful. Whoever avoids them to safeguard his religion and honor is safe; whoever engages in any of them is likely to fall into the unlawful, like someone who grazes near a protected pasture and is likely to enter it. Every king has a protected pasture, and Allah's protected pasture is what He has forbidden.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The protected-pasture image compares approaching ambiguous matters with grazing near a boundary and risking entry into forbidden territory.