Chapter 30: Changes Of Circumstance Lead To Changes In Rulings
In Islamic law, every statement is composed of two elements - subject matter and ruling. The first element may consist of any thing, act, or even omission, and the second element, of one of the five following rulings:
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Obligatory - wajib. When an action is emphatically demanded by Qur'anic and/or Sunnah reference, it is referred to as being obligatory, e.g. daily prayer, fasting during the month of Ramadan, pilgrimage to Makkah for those who can afford it and the payment of zakat, etc.
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Prohibited - haram. When an action is prohibited by Qur'anic and/or Sunnah reference to inform Muslims that they 'must' refrain from it, it is referred to as being haram. This refers to sins that contaminate soul and mind, e.g. theft, bribery, lying, usury, etc.
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Recommended - mustahab, mandub. This refers to actions that are demanded by Qur'anic and/or Sunnah reference, but have a lesser degree of emphasis. While acting upon them secures the merit that leads to higher levels of righteousness, their omission does not render one accountable. The actions covered include voluntary prayer, helping the poor, caring for orphans, etc.
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Discouraged/detested - makruh. Actions that are not considered to be sins but that may become obstacles to the soul being elevated, e.g. overeating, being a chatterbox, not being forgiving, or being involved in a trade that dulls the senses to pain and distress.
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Optional - mubah. When either action or omission are considered to have equal value, i.e. when there is no preference of one over the other; for instance, to have either two or three meals a day, to have either two or three dishes on the table, to travel on foot or by car, etc. This type of ruling is also referred to as being lawful or permissible.
The relationship between subject matter and ruling is similar to the relationship between cause and effect, in that a ruling is the product of deliberations related to specific subject matter. Thus, any change in the subject matter will lead to a change in the ruling. For example, although the consumption of wine is not permitted, wine that has been transformed into vinegar is permitted.
Subject matter Ruling
Wine prohibited
Vinegar permitted
The above example illustrates that after a subject matter has been materially changed, rulings that formerly applied are also changed; that is, when the item under discussion is no longer wine, the rulings that concern wine are no longer relevant.
To provide another example, when minors - who require guardians to act on their behalf - have reached puberty and are entitled to handle their own affairs, rulings that relate to minors no longer have relevance.
Under principle 5 (Islamic law does not occasion harm) and principle 6 (Islamic law does not occasion unbearable hardship), we discussed in detail how freedom of choice to act is restricted, when an action is likely to cause harm to others; or when obligatory actions are likely to result in unbearable hardship, they cease to be binding.
Muslims know that fasting is obligatory during the month of Ramadan; however, for those with renal problems, this ruling does not apply - yet another example of ‘change in ruling’ when the subject matter is changed.
When Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) was consulted about a person who had, with the intention of causing damage and harm to his neighbour, demolished the party wall between his and his neighbour's property he (‘a) said, ‘That person is not at liberty to do that and if he has already done so, he must erect a new wall in the same place’.1
Although one may argue that one is free to effect whatever changes one likes to one's own property, changes in circumstance inevitably lead to changes in rulings.
A difficult task that faces contemporary jurists is to determine whether changes in cultural and educational circumstances play any role whatever in changing rulings. For example, in the past it was considered that interest on loans was levied to satisfy the greed and avarice of wealthy lenders and, according to many scholars, that was the reason for interest being prohibited.
However, in contemporary society, finance for building the infrastructure of a nation is not possible without the involvement of venture capital - no longer associated with the greed and avarice of the wealthy but with the sharing of profit between those who invest the finance and those who employ it. Should jurists provide a legal opinion that such payments of interest are lawful?
In answer to the above question, it must be noted that under Islamic law the sharing of profit between those who invest finance and those who utilize it - referred to as mudarabah - has existed since the time of the Prophet (S) and is not to be confused with the borrowing and lending of money.
In chapter 22 (Custom circumscribes religious rulings) we noted that recurrent practices within society, accepted by those of sound mind – urf – may circumscribe religious rulings, provided that they do not violate any definitive principle of Islamic law.
- 1. Da’aim al-Islam, Vol. 2, p. 504.