What does Haram mean?
Haram means forbidden by God; doing it is a sin and avoiding it is rewarded.
Haram is the Arabic word for something forbidden in Islamic law. It is the strongest of the five rulings that every action can carry, the opposite of fard, which is obligatory. Doing a haram act is a sin; avoiding it for God’s sake earns reward. Examples that all Muslims agree on include drinking alcohol, eating pork, stealing, and charging interest. The word also carries the sense of sacred and protected, which is why the holy precincts of Mecca and Medina are called the Haramayn. Something is only haram when the Quran, the Sunnah, or firm scholarly consensus establish it; ordinary dislike does not make an act haram. The source glossary lists the related rulings.
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