Often, non-Muslims question us about aspects of our faith. “Why do you wear hijab” or “why don’t you eat pork” or “why don’t you drink or date”.
And we get defensive and mangle our explainations. “Well alcohol’s not good for you” or “pigs are dirty” and so on. Which is not correct.
The answer to all these questions is very, very simple:
Because Allah or His Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said so.
That’s it. Done. Finished. Best of all, your reasons can never be negated–for example, one might say “well, pigs are no longer as dirty and viral as they used to be.” Then what are you going to say?
Speak the truth!
And, when you finally reach that level of “well what are some of the benefits we extract from this”, then you can peer into the wisdom behind the ruling and learn a few of the benefits, but in a limited way. Often times (for example, masseh–wiping over the top of your socks for wudoo, not the bottom) we simply don’t know the reason for the ruling.
Allah alone knows best.
May Allah help us to accept and understand His rulings, ameen.
If you know any good examples of non-obvious rulings, comment them in inshaAllah. Jazakumullahu khayr.