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The Rule of Necessity or al-Iḍṭirār (Arabic: قاعدة اضطرار) is a jurisprudential rule referring to conditions in which a person is placed in a threatening situation and, to escape it, is forced to perform an act that is not permissible under normal circumstances. According to this rule, in emergency situations, a person can commit a prohibited or obligatory act by considering specific conditions. This rule is applied in various chapters of jurisprudence such as acts of worship, transactions, criminal laws, and foods and drinks, resulting in effects such as the removal of the injunctive ruling.

Researchers state that despite many similarities between necessity (idtirar), compulsion (ijbar), and coercion (ikrah), the main difference lies in the individual's will. In necessity, the person voluntarily and by their own will performs a prohibited act to save themselves, whereas in compulsion and coercion, the person is under external pressure or threat. The rule of necessity is supported by various documents such as Quranic verses, traditions of the Infallibles (a), and rational arguments, and jurists accept it as an exception in religious rulings.

The rule of necessity has applications in various jurisprudential cases; for example, in emergency conditions such as medical treatment or legitimate defense of life and property, performing acts that are haram under normal conditions is deemed permissible. However, according to jurists, these cases must adhere to specific principles, such as avoiding excess and observing the minimum requirements of necessity.

Concept and Status

The Rule of Necessity is one of the jurisprudential rules and refers to a state where an individual is in threatening circumstances and is forced to perform an act not permissible in normal conditions to escape that situation.[1] According to jurists, the rule of necessity is among the secondary titles through which the relevant obligation is removed from the duty of the person (mukallaf). The person may then omit an act that is normally obligatory or commit one that is normally prohibited; such as eating carrion, which is normally prohibited, or omitting daily prayers, which are normally obligatory.[2] The rule of necessity applies in many chapters of jurisprudence such as acts of worship, transactions, criminal rulings, and foods and drinks,[3] and according to some, it plays a vital role in the deduction of religious rulings.[4]

Some jurists consider the two terms "idtirar" and "darurat" (necessity) to have the same meaning,[5] while others believe that "darurat" is broader than "idtirar" depending on the case. This is because sometimes a person is not in a state of personal emergency (idtirar), but necessity (darurat) requires performing an act—for example, when not performing it would cause harm to Muslim lands, the Islamic Ruler, or lead to the desecration of a respected person.[6]

The rule of necessity has been formulated in various maxims such as: "Every prohibited thing one is forced into (idtirar) becomes permissible (halal)";[7] "Necessities make the prohibited permissible" (al-darurat tubih al-mahdhurat);[8] "Necessity applies to everything except bloodshed";[9] and "Necessities are estimated according to their extent."[10]

Similarity and Difference with Compulsion and Coercion

According to jurists, there are similarities and differences between necessity (idtirar), compulsion (ijbar), and coercion (ikrah). Both necessity and compulsion are secondary titles that change the description of the committed act, shifting the religious status from prohibition to permissibility.[11] However, the difference lies in the presence or absence of intention and will; in compulsion (ijbar), the person has no choice or freedom regarding the act they are forced to do, whereas in necessity (idtirar), the necessitated person (mudtarr) commits the prohibited act with intention, will, and freedom.[12]

Furthermore, regarding the difference between necessity and coercion (ikrah), it is said that both involve being exposed to danger and circumstances where harm would be incurred or life is at risk of perishing.[13] Both are secondary titles and lead the person to a state of helplessness where they have no choice but to commit a prohibited act.[14] But the difference lies in the factor and motive that forces the person to perform the act; in coercion, the motive is external (someone else's threat), while in necessity (idtirar), the motive is internal (the situation itself).[15]

Evidences and Documents

The documents for the ruling of necessity are as follows:

  • Verses: The most famous verse jurists cite for the legitimacy of the rule of necessity is Qur'an 2:173.[16] Also, the final part of Qur'an 5:3[17] and Qur'an 6:119[18] are among the other supports of this rule.
  • Hadiths: Jurists have considered the Hadith al-Raf' (Hadith of Lifting) as the basis for the legitimacy of the rule of necessity.[19] Traditions from Imam al-Sadiq (a), such as "God has not prohibited anything except that He made it permissible for one who is in a state of necessity,"[20] and "Whoever is forced into [eating] carrion, blood, and pork and does not eat of them until he dies, has committed disbelief,"[21] are also valid in this field.
  • Reason and Consensus: Some jurists consider rational proof as one of the documents for this rule,[22] because reason dictates that repelling harm is obligatory.[23] Additionally, some jurists have claimed consensus (ijma'), believing that all jurists agree on the legitimacy of the rule of necessity.[24]

Rulings and Conditions for Realization

According to jurists, for an individual who performs a prohibited act in a state of necessity,[25] otherworldly and worldly punishments (injunctive rulings, hadd, and ta'zir) are removed.[26] For example, if a person steals property due to necessity, the hadd punishment is removed from them.[27] However, the declaratory ruling remains in effect, and the person is guarantor for the property stolen in necessity,[28] because necessity does not invalidate or destroy the rights of another person.[29] It is said that a necessitated person must observe conditions for performing a prohibited act, including that it must not be for the purpose of pleasure or excess.[30] Also, according to 'Abd Allah Jawadi Amuli, necessity should not lead to actions like deviating from religion, espionage, highway robbery, or rebelling against the Imam of Muslims.[31]

Jurists have enumerated specific conditions for the realization of the state of necessity.[32] Firstly, the necessity must reach the point of helplessness, meaning the danger must be certain and unavoidable.[33] Also, the necessity must be actual (bil-fi'l) rather than potential; for instance, a hungry person cannot use carrion before the hunger reaches a point that causes death.[34] Furthermore, the only way to repel the necessity must be committing the prohibited act,[35] and the person must suffice with only the minimum required to repel the harm.[36] On the other hand, the danger must not have been created by the person themselves;[37] if a person intentionally created the emergency conditions, they cannot benefit from the leniencies resulting from necessity.[38]

Jurisprudential Applications

The rule of necessity is used in various jurisprudential topics. For example, regarding looking and touching, Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi has issued a fatwa on the permissibility of looking and touching between men and women in emergency conditions such as medical treatment.[39] Imam Khomeini also believes that touching a non-mahram is permissible only if a physician of the same gender is not available.[40] In the topic of using others' property, jurists have deemed it permissible in emergency cases, such as a person forced to use another's property due to hunger and danger of perishing.[41] However, after the necessity is removed, the person is responsible and guarantor for the property used.[42] al-Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei emphasizes that lack of guarantee in such conditions is contrary to the owner's rights and after the state of necessity is lifted, compensation must be paid.[43]

In the field of eating and drinking, jurists—citing verse 119 of Sura al-An'am—consider eating and drinking haram items permissible in times of necessity.[44] Regarding Legitimate Defense, Mirza Jawad Tabrizi believes that any person whose life, property, family, or honor is in danger can act in a state of necessity for self-defense, even if it leads to the death of the attacker.[45]

Notes

  1. ↑ Muqaddas al-Ardabilī, Zubdat al-bayān, n.d., vol. 1, p. 636; ʿAwdah, al-Tashrīʿ al-jināʾī al-Islāmī, n.d., vol. 1, p. 577.
  2. ↑ Jamʿī az Pazhūhishgarān, Farhang-i fiqh mutābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl-i Bayt (a), 1426 AH, vol. 1, p. 542.
  3. ↑ ʿAbdullāhī & Beyk, "Qāʿida-yi iḍṭirār", p. 85.
  4. ↑ Jamʿī az Muʾallifān, "Qawāʿid-i fiqhī 3 (Qāʿida-yi iḍṭirār)", Fiqh-i Ahl-i Bayt (a), vol. 9, p. 152.
  5. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, 1434 AH, vol. 2, p. 213; Makārim Shīrāzī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 49.
  6. ↑ Imam Khomeini, al-Risālāt al-fiqhiyya wa al-uṣūliyya, 1434 AH, p. 36.
  7. ↑ Qāsimī, Fiqh-i darmān, 1395 Sh, p. 250.
  8. ↑ Ḥakīm, al-Qawāʿid al-ʿāmma fī al-fiqh al-muqāran, 1429 AH, p. 206.
  9. ↑ Kāshif al-Ghiṭāʾ, Taḥrīr al-majalla, 1359 AH, vol. 1, p. 266.
  10. ↑ Behbahānī, al-Ḥāshiya ʿalā Madārik al-aḥkām, 1419 AH, vol. 2, p. 377.
  11. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, 1383 Sh, vol. 4, p. 126.
  12. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, 1383 Sh, vol. 4, p. 126.
  13. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, 1383 Sh, vol. 4, p. 127.
  14. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, 1383 Sh, vol. 4, p. 127.
  15. ↑ Subḥānī Tabrīzī, al-Mawāhib fī taḥrīr aḥkām al-makāsib, 1424 AH, p. 703.
  16. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Masālik al-afhām, 1413 AH, vol. 12, p. 114; Subḥānī Tabrīzī, al-Rasāʾil al-arbaʿ, 1415 AH, vol. 2, p. 180.
  17. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Sabziwārī, Kifāyat al-aḥkām, 1423 AH, vol. 2, p. 624.
  18. ↑ Taskhīrī, al-Qawāʿid al-uṣūliyya wa al-fiqhiyya, 1431 AH, vol. 2, p. 102.
  19. ↑ Anṣārī, al-Mawsūʿa al-fiqhiyya al-muyassara, 1415 AH, vol. 3, p. 439; Imam Khomeini, Anwār al-hidāya, 1415 AH, vol. 2, p. 45.
  20. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, 1407 AH, vol. 3, p. 177.
  21. ↑ Ibn Bābawayh, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, 1413 AH, vol. 3, p. 345.
  22. ↑ Ardabilī, Majmaʿ al-fāʾida wa al-burhān, 1403 AH, vol. 11, p. 313.
  23. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Mabsūṭ, 1378 AH, vol. 6, p. 285.
  24. ↑ Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Mawsūʿat al-fiqh al-Islāmī al-muqāran, vol. 2, p. 645.
  25. ↑ Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, 1415 AH, vol. 17, p. 22.
  26. ↑ ʿAbdullāhī & Beyk, "Qāʿida-yi iḍṭirār", p. 106.
  27. ↑ Jaʿfarī, Rasāʾil-i fiqhī, 1419 AH, p. 134.
  28. ↑ Anṣārī, al-Mawsūʿa al-fiqhiyya al-muyassara, 1415 AH, vol. 3, p. 442.
  29. ↑ Kāshif al-Ghiṭāʾ, Taḥrīr al-majalla, 1359 AH, vol. 1, p. 30.
  30. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 1, p. 466.
  31. ↑ Javādī Āmulī, Tafsīr-i Tasnīm, 1378 Sh, vol. 8, p. 637.
  32. ↑ Sayfī Māzandarānī, Mabānī al-fiqh al-faʿʿāl, 1425 AH, vol. 1, p. 90.
  33. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 36, p. 427.
  34. ↑ ʿAwdah, al-Tashrīʿ al-jināʾī al-Islāmī, n.d., vol. 1, p. 577.
  35. ↑ ʿAwdah, al-Tashrīʿ al-jināʾī al-Islāmī, n.d., vol. 1, p. 577.
  36. ↑ Khomeini, al-Risālāt al-fiqhiyya wa al-uṣūliyya, 1434 AH, p. 57.
  37. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, 1383 Sh, vol. 4, p. 145.
  38. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 1, p. 426.
  39. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 29, p. 87.
  40. ↑ Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1409 AH, vol. 2, p. 243.
  41. ↑ Ḥusaynī ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-karāma, 1419 AH, vol. 16, p. 634.
  42. ↑ Khomeini, al-Makāsib al-muḥarrama, 1409 AH, vol. 2, p. 217.
  43. ↑ Khūʾī, Miṣbāḥ al-uṣūl, 1422 AH, vol. 1, p. 594.
  44. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Mabsūṭ, 1387 AH, vol. 6, p. 284.
  45. ↑ Tabrīzī, Tanqīḥ mabānī al-aḥkām, 1378 Sh, vol. 2, p. 351.

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