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100chapter twothe use of alcohol is a justified sin. If it is used, however, in order toinduce drunkenness it is clearly an unjustified sin.We must stress that only Allah, who can order temporary or conditionedorders, can issue absolute taboos or permission, while HisMessenger (ß), who may also give temporary or conditioned orders,cannot issue absolute taboos or permission. He can only pass on thetaboos and permissions contained in Allah’s Book. As for ‘those ofauthority’, that is, the parliament of the country, it may also legislatetemporary or conditioned orders, but it cannot issue absolute taboosor permission. This distribution of legal authority is based on thefundamental distinction between human and divine interdiction.Divine interdiction enjoys universal validity while its implementationis historically conditioned (intention, purpose). Human interdictionis always historically conditioned and never enjoys universal validity.Divine interdiction contains a universal moral ideal, whereas humaninterdiction does not possess such a moral core. If we ignore thesedifferences and place MuÈammad’s (ß) all too human interdiction onthe same level as absolute taboos, we risk attributing to them universal,eternal, and indisputable validity. If we added to his rulingsthe interdictions of his companions and the interdictions of theImams of the Sunni and Shi#i legal schools, we would suddenly befaced with a huge number of absolute taboos that would make ourlives a misery.The irony is that this is exactly what is about to happen in oursocieties: the most trivial acts of daily life are interpreted as capitalcrimes against the religion of Islam: to play a game of backgammonis now tantamount to shirk against Allah, to wear a silk tie is now asserious a crime as killing one’s soul, and to compose eloquent poetryis now considered as reprehensible as stealing the property of orphans.It is not enough that such thinking displays a condemnable frivolityof the human mind, but such punitive rulings in fact compete withAllah’s authority since they forbid things that Allah has not forbidden.The ridiculous outcome of linking the major sins with our privatelives is that we are almost inevitably bound to commit a majorsin every day of our life. And once we realise that the way we eat,drink, sleep, and dress is judged by the parameters of major, mortalsins, as traditional tafsÊr suggests, we may legitimately ask, when didwe lose the kindness and generosity of Islam and where has its sincerityand authenticity gone? Is the essence of MuÈammad’s messagenot lost when we turn every little misdeed of ordinary life into capital