How can certain things be considered unlawful (haram) or lawful (halal)—such as smoking, insurance, and taxes—while analysis and prohibition are the sole right of God?

Permissibility (حل) and prohibition (حرمة) belong to Allah alone, for He is the Lawgiver. In determining them, we rely on evidence from the Quran and Sunnah (definition), the sayings of the Companions and the Tabi'in, the interpretations of the Salaf, and the ijtihad (definition) (juristic reasoning) of scholars. It is not permissible for us to declare things permissible or prohibited based on our whims. When new matters arise for which there is no specific text, we refer to trustworthy people of knowledge to perform ijtihad and qiyas (definition) (analogical reasoning) based on the sacred texts, taking into consideration the rules of necessity, harm, and legitimate interest. We also rely on general principles, such as Allah's saying: "He makes lawful for them the good things and makes unlawful for them the bad things," and the Prophet's saying: "There shall be no harm nor reciprocating harm." Avoiding personal desires, every impure thing proven to be harmful is prohibited, and every good and beneficial thing is permissible. What is not known to be harmful or beneficial remains on the principle of permissibility.