Principle of Nafy al-sabil
The Principle of Nafy al-sabil (Arabic: قاعِدَة نَفي السَبيل; lit: Principle of Negation of means) is a jurisprudential principle based on which a ruling is not legislated in religion that would result in the domination of a non-Muslim over a Muslim. This principle is considered one of the most widely used and important principles of jurisprudence and secondary rulings, and they say that it takes precedence over primary rulings, meaning that any primary ruling that contradicts it is invalidated.
Some jurists have said that the "principle of Nafy al-sabil" should govern all individual and social relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. They have, based on this principle, issued a fatwa on the invalidity of the marriage of a Muslim woman to a disbelieving man, since it would result in the domination of a non-Muslim over a Muslim.
The most important Quranic reason for the principle of "Nafy al-sabil" is considered to be the verse of Nafy al-sabil. Additionally, a hadith is cited to support it, according to which Islam is superior to everything.
Definition and Jurisprudential and Legal Status
"Nafy al-sabil" is a jurisprudential principle, meaning that God does not establish any ruling that would allow non-Muslims to dominate believers.[1] In other words, there is no ruling in the religion that would allow a non-Muslim to dominate a Muslim.[2]
Jurists have utilized this principle in various discussions of jurisprudence. For instance, Shaykh Ansari, citing this principle, has stated that selling a Muslim slave to a non-Muslim is not permissible.[3] According to 'Amid Zanjani, this principle is one of the important and well-known jurisprudential principles that flows as a general law in all individual and social relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, particularly in the jurisprudence of economics and politics.[4] Also, Shaykh Ansari has written that this principle takes precedence over most jurisprudential rules.[5]
Article 153 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: "Any form of agreement resulting in foreign control over the natural resources, economy, army, or culture of the country, as well as other aspects of the national life, is forbidden."
References
The Verse of Nafy al-sabil and the hadith that speaks of the superiority of Islam are the most important proofs cited by jurists to prove the principle of "Nafy al-sabil".[6] Of course, consensus and reason have also been referred to in this regard.[7]
The verse of Nafy al-sabil states: "and God will never provide the faithless any way [to prevail] over the faithful."[8] The verse has been cited as follows: The dominance of non-Muslims over believers is an occurrence that has taken place and is also mentioned in the Qur'an. Therefore, the meaning of the verse cannot be that non-Muslims have never prevailed over believers. Consequently, the meaning is that there is no ruling in the religion that allows non-Muslims to dominate Muslims.[9]
Al-Shaykh al-Saduq has narrated a hadith from the Prophet of Islam (s), which is known as the Hadith of I'tila' (superiority): "Islam prevails and is not prevailed over, and the non-Muslims are like the dead, neither obstructing [the inheritance of others] nor inheriting."[10]
According to Fadil Lankarani, one of the marja's, this hadith, considering its concluding phrase (the non-Muslims are like the dead...), does not intend to convey that disbelief would never prevail over Islam; rather, it means that no ruling has been established in Islam that would cause the non-Muslims to have superiority over the Muslims. In other words, all rulings between Muslims and non-Muslims are in favor of the Muslims.[11]
The Principle of "Nafy al-sabil" is a Secondary Ruling
They consider the principle of "Nafy al-sabil" among the secondary rulings of Islam.[12] According to this statement, it is said that the principle of "Nafy al-sabil" has "governance" over the primary rulings (ahkam awwali), meaning it takes precedence over them. This means that any primary ruling that conflicts with this rule is rendered invalid.[13] For example, according to the rule of the permissibility of transactions, it is permissible to sell a Muslim slave to non-Muslims; however, since this transaction allows a non-Muslim to gain power over a Muslim, it is void according to the principle of "Nafy al-sabil". Similarly, the marriage of a Muslim woman to a disbelieving man, although not inherently forbidden, is rendered void according to this principle, as it would give the disbelieving man power over the Muslim woman.[14]
Legal and Political Applications
The principle of "Nafy al-sabil" has had extensive application in Islamic jurisprudence, and jurists have issued many rulings based on it in various cases.[15] For example, according to this principle, it is stated that since the ownership of a Muslim slave by a non-Muslim is not permissible, selling or gifting a Muslim slave to a non-Muslim is invalid. They have also ruled that a non-Muslim cannot assume guardianship over a Muslim child.[16]
Some have argued, based on this principle, that the way for any kind of influence and domination of non-Muslims over Islamic societies in various political, military, economic, and cultural domains must be blocked. This principle reflects two aspects: a negative aspect that pertains to the negation of the domination of foreigners over the political and social destinies of Muslims and a positive aspect that highlights the religious duty of Muslims to maintain political independence and eliminate the roots of dependence.[17]
Examples of issuing rulings
Shia jurists and marja’s have used the principle of "Nafy al-sabil" to reject the dominance of non-Muslims over Muslims in certain cases, including:
- The fatwa prohibiting tobacco: Mirza Shirazi, a Shia marja', issued a fatwa prohibiting the use of tobacco in response to the granting of a monopoly on the trade of tobacco in Iran to a British company, citing this principle. This led to public protests and the eventual cancellation of the contract in 1309/1891.[18]
- Objection to Capitulation: Imam Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, protested the passage of the Capitulation Act (a bill that granted judicial immunity to American citizens, including their military advisors, in Iran) in the Iranian parliament in 1964, citing the principle of "Nafy al-sabil". He had begun his statement with the verse Nafy al-sabil: "…and Allah will never provide the faithless any way [to prevail] over the faithful." (4:141).[19]
Monograph
The book Qa'ida-yi Nafy-i Sabil; Qa'ida-yi 'izzatmandi-yi Muslimin: Barrasi-yi Mustanadat wa Karburdha is a work by Fatima Ghaffarniya in Persian. This work aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the principle mentioned and examines its applications in jurisprudence, civil law, constitutional law, and matters related to culture, economy, and foreign policy in Iran. The book, consisting of 247 pages, was published by Hajar Publications, affiliated with the Center for the Management of the Women's Seminary, in 2012.
Notes
- ↑ Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 187-188.
- ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 233.
- ↑ Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 187.
- ↑ ʿAmīd Zanjāni, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, vol. 3, p. 24.
- ↑ Anṣārī, al-Makāsib, vol. 4, p. 142.
- ↑ ʿAlīdūst, Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl, p. 233; Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 187; Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 238.
- ↑ ʿAmīd Zanjāni, Qawāʿid-i fiqh, vol. 3, p. 26.
- ↑ Qur'an 4:141.
- ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 234.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 4, p. 334.
- ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 237-238.
- ↑ Zangana Shahrakī, Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl dar ārā-yi fiqhī wa mawaḍiʿ-i sīyāsī-yi ṣāḥib ʿUrwa, p. 149; Ḥusaynī and Nāẓirī, Taʾthīr-i qāʿida-yi fiqhī-yi nafy-i sabīl bar rawābiṭ-i bayn al-milalī-yi musalmānān, p. 160.
- ↑ ʿAlīdūst, Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl, p. 249; Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 234.
- ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 234.
- ↑ Bujnūrdī, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, vol. 1, p. 187; Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 233.
- ↑ Fāḍil Lankarāni, al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya, p. 243-252.
- ↑ Zīnawīwand and Muḥammadī, Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl dar andīsha-yi Islāmī wa sīyāsat-i khārijī-yi jumhūrī-yi Islāmī-yi Irān, p. 169.
- ↑ Kāmrān and Amīrīfard, Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl wa taṭbīqāt-i ān, p. 110.
- ↑ Kāmrān and Amīrīfard, Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl wa taṭbīqāt-i ān, p. 110-111.
References
- ʿAlīdūst, Abū al-Qāsim. Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl. In Maqālāt wa Barrasī-hā, 76 (1383 Sh).
- ʿAmīd Zanjāni, ʿAbbāsʿalī. Qawāʿid-i fiqh, Tehran: Intishārāt-i Samt, 1392 Sh.
- Anṣārī, Murtaḍā. Al-Makāsib al-muḥarrama. Qom: Kungira-yi Jahānī-yi Shaykh Anṣārī, 1415 AH.
- Bujnūrdī, Sayyid Ḥasan. Al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya. Edited by Mahdī Mihrīzī and Muḥammad Ḥasan Dirāyatī. Qom: Al-Hādī, 1419 AH.
- Fāḍil Lankarāni, Muḥammad. Al-Qawāʿid al-fiqhīyya. Qom: Markaz Fiqh al-aʾImma al-Aṭhār (a), 1383 Sh.
- Ḥusaynī, Sayyid ʿAlī Riḍā and Muḥammad Riḍā Nāẓirī. Taʾthīr-i qāʿida-yi fiqhī-yi nafy-i sabīl bar rawābiṭ-i bayn al-milalī-yi musalmānān. In Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i ʿAlawī Journal 3 (1395 Sh).
- Kāmrān, Ḥasan and Zahrā Amīrīfard. Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl wa taṭbīqāt-i ān. In Dufaṣlnāma-yi Fiqh wa Ijtihā 3 (1394 Sh).
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1413 AH.
- Zangana Shahrakī, Jaʿfar. Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl dar ārā-yi fiqhī wa mawaḍiʿ-i sīyāsī-yi ṣāḥib ʿUrwa. In Faṣlnāma-yi Fiqh Journal 73 (1391 Sh).
- Zīnawīwand, ʿAlī and Kīmīyā Muḥammadī. Qāʿida-yi nafy-i sabīl dar andīsha-yi Islāmī wa sīyāsat-i khārijī-yi jumhūrī-yi Islāmī-yi Irān. In Faṣlnāma-yi Muṭāliʿāt-i Inqilāb-i Islāmi 36 (1393 Sh).