The Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that the juristic rule “Do not harm or be harmed” is an authentic prophetic hadith, and it is one of the universal rules that testify to the tolerance, ease and flexibility of Islamic Sharia. His Eminence explained that “no harm” means it is forbidden to harm another person, hurt his honor or take his property. Such harm includes injustice, which is definitely prohibited in Islam, even if that was the result of a permissible act carried out by another person, such as when a person performs a specific act in his house or in his property, but which results in him causing harm to his neighbor. 

During the eighth episode of his Ramadan program Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, which has been broadcast for the fifth year, His Eminence explained that the Prophet’s aforementioned hadith means that it is not permissible to repay harm with similar harm, which may result in complete chaos in the system of fulfillment of rights, or in complete destruction of the human society.  

The Grand Imam showed that the Sharia ruling in these cases is that the victim may not, in any case, respond by destroying the property of the person who first caused the damage, but that he rather must resort to the judiciary to compensate him for the damage. The Grand Imam explained that the ‘No Harm’ rule permeates the fabric of Islamic legislation, explaining that it is not limited to the limits of individual religious obligations only. Rather, it extends to include the most important purposes of Sharia in people's lives, which is the stability of society. It protects society from exposure to disturbance; it entails sacrifice of some legal obligations in order to make it possible to preserve unity, order and social cohesion. His Eminence stressed that this is evident in one of the most important fundamentals of Islam, which is the obligation to enjoin good and forbid evil, as it is the principle upon which this nation’s superiority, justice, and testimony over the other nations are based, as stated in the Almighty’s saying: “You (believers) have been the best nation brought out to humankind: you command beneficence, forbid maleficence, and believe in Allah” (Qur’an, 3: 110).

His Eminence indicated that jurists deduced this license from the actions of the Prophet (pbuh) and his life throughout the years of his honorable mission. He lived in Mecca for thirteen years, during which he and his Companions suffered the unbearable and intolerable abominations of pagans and polytheists, whether in belief, speech or action. The Prophet (pbuh) was patient with these abominations of Quraysh, and he did not take up arms against them. He (pbuh) did not confront them with any plans of harm, restriction, or military skirmishes, and he remained patient, or rather, he was commanded to remain patient by Allah Almighty, until he immigrated to Medina, and then he (pbuh) was given permission to fight. He (pbuh) was not ordered to bear arms until after he had exhausted all his potentials and those of his Companions in dialogue with argument, proof and encouragement.

Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk has been broadcast for the fifth year on Egyptian and Arab channels. The program was launched in Ramadan 2016. This year, 2021, the program explains the characteristics of the Islamic religion, the moderation of Islam and its manifestations, the rules of legal obligations, the ease of Sharia, the sources of legislation, and refutations of fallacies about the Prophet's Sunnah and heritage.