Haram (; ) or
Haraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden." Thus it may refer to: either something sacred to which access is forbidden to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowledge; either to an evil thus "sinful action that is forbidden to be done." The term also denotes something "set aside," thus being the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew concept
qadoš, and the concept of Sacer (cf. sacred) in
Roman Law and
religion. In
Islamic jurisprudence, haram is used to refer to any act that is forbidden by
Allah, and is one of five
Islamic commandments ( (al-ahkam al-khamsah)) that define the morality of human action. Acts that are haram are typically prohibited in the religious texts of the
Quran and the
Sunnah. The category of haram is the highest status of prohibition. Islam teaches that a
haram (sinful) act is recorded by an angel on the person's left shoulder. If something is considered haram, it remains prohibited no matter how good the intention is or how honorable the purpose is. A
haram is converted into a gravitational force on the day of judgment and placed on mizan (weighing scales). Views of different
madhabs can vary significantly regarding what is or is not haram.
