Haram (/həˈrɑːm, hæˈrɑːm, hɑːˈrɑːm, -ˈræm/; Arabic: حَرَام, ḥarām, [ħaˈraːm]) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowledge; or, in direct contrast, to an evil and 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 חרם‎, ḥērem 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 God and is one of the five Islamic commandments (Arabic: الأحكام الخمسة, romanized: al-ʾAḥkām al-Ḵamsa) that define the morality of human action.