Assalamu Alaykom Wa Rahmatu Allah
Second: Jurists commonly built their distinction between necessity and need on
the amount of hardship. To clarify, necessity occurs when man undergoes a
situation in which he would surely or most probably die if he did not commit
the prohibition. The need, however, is a situation in which man needs ease and
alleviation of harm which usually leads to hardship and difficulty.It is not
valid to distinguish between then on the basis that necessity refers to what
the Muslim needs genuinely as proved earlier. Nevertheless, it is essential to
find a criterion for distinguishing between necessity and need in order for the
Sharee‘ah rulings to be harmonious as well as both become well-defined, and
need is distinguished from the preferable or supplementary matters because each
has its own rulings and concessions.
The suggested criterion for distinguishing between necessity and need is
"presence of the alternative". Hence, unlawful things that people at first need
to protect the four fundamentals fall under necessity as long as nothing can
substitute them. Once an alternative is available, it will be considered a
need. Al-‘Araaya and eating meat of the dead animals are made permissible by
Sharee‘ah texts, and permitting loan based on Istihsaan according to scholars
advocating it is considered necessity due to absence of the alternative and
presence of people's need for it. Other unlawful things that people need and
that which have lawful alternatives constitute a need.
The famous example that jurists draw as evidence on the need is the Prophet's
use of silver to maintain his broken cup. It was narrated on the authority of
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the cup of Allah's
Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, got broken, he fixed it with a silver
wire at the crack.Ash-Shiraazi said: "Chapter on Items coated with gold and
silver: It is prohibited to coat the items with gold. Shaafi‘i scholars
differed about the ruling on the items coated in silver. Some of them held that
little of it would not be disliked based on the narration of Anas… and he cited
the full Hadith.
The above criterion for distinguishing between necessity and need was mentioned
by Ibn Qudaamah in Al-Mughni. He said:
It is permissible to use silver in the utensils or the like for a need, which
means that one benefits by the silver in this aspect even if other alternatives
exist. Al-Bukhaari narrated on the authority of Anas that when cup of the
prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, got broken…etc. Gold, however, is
allowable but only the amount that necessity calls for, such as the nose for
the Muslim his nose is chopped. It was narrated on the authority of
Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Tarfah that when nose of his grandfather ‘Arfagah ibn Sa‘d
was cut off on the day of the battle of Al-Kulaab, he got a silver nose but it
developed a stench, so the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered him
to get a gold nose.
The quotation clearly shows that necessity refers to a matter that cannot be
substituted, even if not explicitly expressed by Ibn Qudaamah, because
‘Arfaghah did not get a gold nose except when the silver one could not do the
job.
Contemporary scholars who held the same position include Dr. Sa‘d Ash-Shitri
(may Allah preserve him). He said:
Necessity means what entails harm on the person when he abandons it provided no
other alternatives can replace it. Some Muslim jurists say that necessity
refers to something the lack of which causes death or destroys an organ, but
this is not correct. Unlike the need; it is something that, when abandoned,
brings about harm for the Muslim, yet other alternatives may replace it. An
example for the necessity is that when man is under necessity and does not find
any food except a dead animal. In this case he would suffer harm if he did not
eat from the dead animal and there is no alternative to it. An example for the
need is the Hadith in which the Prophet's cup was broken. This is a need since
it was possible that the cup was welded by iron or brass or any other welding
material.
Dr.Main Al-Qudah
Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies
Imam, MAS Katy Center
Member, AMJA Fatwa Committee
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سياسة النشر في المجموعة:
ترك ما عارض أهل السنة والجماعة... الاكتفاء بأمور ذات علاقة بالاقتصاد الإسلامي
وعلومه ولو بالشيء البسيط، ويستثنى من هذا مايتعلق بالشأن العام على مستوى الأمة
كحدث غزة مثلا... عدم ذكر ما يتعلق بشخص طبيعي أو اعتباري بعينه باستثناء الأمر
العام الذي يهم عامة المسلمين... تمرير بعض الأشياء الخفيفة المسلية ضمن قواعد
الأدب وخاصة منها التي تأتي من أعضاء لا يشاركون عادة، والقصد من ذلك تشجيعهم على
التفاعل الإيجابي... ترك المديح الشخصي...إن كل المقالات والآراء المنشورة تُعبر
عن رأي أصحابها، ولا تعبّر عن رأي إدارة المجموعة بالضرورة.
