In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah Who has permitted to us that which is Halal i.e., lawful and good and has forbidden to us that which is Haram i.e., unlawful and bad. I praise Him, may He be exalted, as one who acknowledges His blessings; I give thanks to Him, may He be glorified and exalted, as one who acknowledges His bounty. I Praise Him as He deserves to be praised, for He is the Most Praiseworthy and Most Glorious, deserving of all thanks and praise. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner or associate. In what He has permitted to us, He has caused us to have no need of that which is forbidden. And I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger, the best of humankind; may Allah send blessings and peace upon him and his noble Family and Companions, and the generation following the Companions and those who follow them in truth. To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servant of Allah, and give thanks to Him for having guided you to Islam and having sufficed you with that which is permitted so that you have no need of that which is forbidden.
Dear brothers and sisters! Indeed, Islam brought a comprehensive system that provides guidelines for all aspects of life and shows how people’s needs are to be dealt with in all their affairs, at both the individual and communal level in the best manner. It has set up a system by means of which people establish their relationship with Allah and their dealings with all His servants. All this is within the limits of what is Halal and good, and within the framework of what is permitted and prescribed – a sound framework that sets out guidelines concerning people’s rights and dues, protects their interests, wards off harm and bad things from them, and guards their lives, honour and wealth, on the basis of justice, light and guidance.
Islam has also prescribed sound beliefs and sublime acts of worship and establish a connection between the individual and his Lord, and all of that is based on the Qur’an and Sunnah. Moreover, Islam has drawn up guidelines for people in the field of interactions with one another, within the just and sound framework that is controlled by Shari’ah guidelines, conditions and etiquette that must be taken into consideration and adhered to, and all interactions should be undertaken within these limits and guidelines. Therefore, there should be no chaos, wrongdoing, transgression, robbery, deceit, delays in payment, ambiguity in buying, fraud or betrayal. Rather, there should be fairness, respect, justice, sincerity, clarity and paying attention to the rights of others.
Allah Almighty says:
“O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you. And whoever commits that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into the Fire, and that is easy for Allah.” [Qur’an, 4:29-30]
And He the Most High says:
“And eat up not one another’s property unjustly (in any illegal way e.g. stealing, robbing, deceiving, etc.), nor give bribery to the rulers (judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully.” [Qur’an, 2:188]
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said in the great sermon (Khutbah) that he delivered on the Day of Arafah:
“Your blood, your wealth and your honour are sacred to you, as sacred as this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours.”
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy upon him) and others narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“It is not permissible to take the wealth of a people unless he gives it willingly.” [Narrated by Ahmad and Abu Ya’ala, from the Hadith of the paternal uncle of Abu Hurrah, ar-Riqashi]
Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy upon him) narrated from Abu Hurairah (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“Allah is Good and does not accept anything but that which is good. Allah has enjoined upon the believers that which He has enjoined upon the Messengers.” He says: “O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Taiyibat [all kinds of Halal (legal) foods which Allah has made legal (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables, fruits, etc.], and do righteous deeds. Verily! I am Well-Acquainted with what you do.” [Qur’an, 23:51] and He says: “O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with, and be grateful to Allah, if it is indeed He Whom you worship.” [Qur’an, 2:172] “Then he mentioned a man who undertakes a lengthy journey and is dishevelled and dusty, raising his hands towards heaven and saying, ‘O Lord, O Lord!’ but his food is Haram, his drink is Haram, his clothing is Haram, he is nourished with Haram so how can he receive a response?” [Muslim]
Dear servants of Allah! Among the basic principles of Islamic Shari’ah, on which the scholars are agreed, is that cases of necessity make forbidden things permissible.
And the meaning of necessity knows no laws is, a person who is in great need of something will find a way to get it, and break the law if needed. They also said, “Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention.” Meaning the same thing, that’s a person who is in great need of something will find a way to get it.
And it can be also translated as, “Necessity may authorise forbidden acts” الضرورة تبيح المحظورات
There is a great deal of evidence to support this principle in the noble Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah, for example, the verses in which Allah Almighty says:
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: the dead animals — cattle — beast not slaughtered, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns — and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal — unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) ‑ and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An‑Nusub (stone‑altars). (Forbidden) also is to use arrows seeking luck or decision; (all) that is Fisqun (disobedience of Allah and sin). This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such can eat these above mentioned meats), then surely, Allah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Qur’an, 5:3]
And He the Most High says:
“And why should you not eat of that (meat) on which Allah’s Name has been pronounced (at the time of slaughtering the animal), while He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity?” [Qur’an, 6:119]
My people! Examples of this principle include the following:
1. Eating dead meat for one who cannot find anything else and fears that he will die of hunger.
2. Speaking words of kufr when subjected to torture and force.
3. Warding off an aggressor even if that leads to killing him.
[For more explanation please see the book, al-Ashba’ wal-Naza’ir, by Ibn Nujaim, page 85]
Necessity means cases in which a person will be harmed if he does not take the haram option, in which the harm will affect the five essentials which are: religion, life, honour, reason and wealth.
With regard to the conditions of a haram thing becoming permissible in the case of necessity, Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned two conditions for that and he explained them in abundant detail with examples, as well as mentioning some objections and the response to them. Hence we will limit ourselves to quoting his words. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“This principle is one of the basic fiqh principles which are indicated by shari’ah: Everything that is forbidden becomes permissible in the case of necessity. So what is forbidden becomes permissible in the case of necessity, but there are two conditions. The first condition: We should be compelled to do this specific haram thing, meaning that we cannot find anything with which to meet that necessity except this haram thing. If we can find something else, then it does not become permissible, even though it could meet our necessity. The second condition: The necessity should be met by that haram thing; if that is not the case, then it remains haram. If we are not certain whether it will meet the necessity or not, then it also remains haram. That is because doing something haram is definitely wrong and meeting necessity by means of it is something concerning which there is doubt, so we should not transgress by doing that which is definitely haram for the sake of something concerning which there is doubt. Hence the ruling varies concerning a starving man who cannot find anything but dead meat. In this case we say, Eat the dead meat. If he says that this is committing a haram action, we say that it has become permissible because of necessity, because you have nothing else to eat apart from this and because if you eat it you will meet that necessity. It was said to a man: If you drink alcohol, you will be cured of sickness. In this case we say: It is not permissible for you to drink alcohol even if you are told that it will heal you from sickness. Why is that? Firstly, because there is no certainty that he will be healed by it; he may drink it and not be healed of sickness. We see many sick people taking beneficial medicines that they do not benefit from. Secondly, the sick person may recover without any treatment, by putting his trust in Allah and praying to Him, and by means of people’s prayer (Du’a) for him and so on. This is from the point of view of reason. From the point of view of evidence, it is narrated in a Hadith from the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that he said: “Allah does not put your healing in that which He has forbidden to you.” The rationale behind this Hadith is clear, because Allah only forbade it to us because it is harmful to us, so how can that which is haram be a healing and a remedy? Hence it is haram to use haram things as treatment, as the scholars have stated, and it cannot be said that this is a case of necessity, as some people think. If someone were to say that a person is choking and he has nothing except a cup of wine, so is it permissible for him to drink this cup to stop him choking? The answer is yes, because the two conditions are met in this case. He is compelled to use this exact thing and we are certain that the necessity will be met by it, so we would say: Drink the wine. But once the choking has stopped, he should stop drinking. If someone were to say that a man found some meat that had been slaughtered in the halal manner and some meat from an animal that had died a natural death, can he eat the dead meat because he is forced to do so by necessity? The answer is that he cannot do that, because the necessity can be met by something else, so it is not permissible because the first condition is not met. If a person were to say, I am thirsty and I have nothing but a cup of wine; can I drink it? The answer is no, as the scholars said, because this is not a case of necessity; rather it will only make him more thirsty, so there is no benefit in transgressing and doing something haram, because necessity will not be warded off by it and the second condition is not fulfilled. If a person were to say: If a sick person has no choice but to drink blood as a remedy, is it permissible for him to do that? The answer is that it is not permissible for him to do that, because the two conditions are not met.” [Plesse see Sharhu Manzumah Usul al-Fiqh wa Qawa’idihi, page 59-61]
Therefore the Islamic and the other legal systems recognises necessity as a justification; it exempts individuals from legal responsibility when they act under the circumstance of necessity.
Dear brothers and sisters! I will like to mention a good response from my brother Malam Mahdi Shehu, a response to the insensitivity of some Nigerian governors to people’s suffering. Yes, someone among our leaders has even been reported calling Nigerians as idiots. Wallahul musta’an!
Malam Mahdi Shehu responded as follows:
TO HOPE UZODIMA & CO: STOP PRETENDING & WAKE UP FROM YOUR COLLECTIVE SLUMBER:
Last week, the APC Governors met in Abuja and declared that, “WE ARE YET TO UNDERSTAND THE REASONS WHY NIGERIANS ARE COMPLAING TO A POINT OF PLANNING A PROTEST.” My measured response is as follows:
1. MAJORITY NIGERIANS ARE ANGRY AND DETERMINED TO PROTEST DESPITE THE BLACKMAIL, INTIMIDATION AND INDUCEMENT.
2. Nigerians are complaining and preparing to protest against your collective breach of trust.
3. Deliberate sadism, elective greed. Unprecedented looting of public treasury, industrial insensitivity, disgusting living in denials,
4. Selfish and lavish lifestyles at the expense of the majority, wilful breach of budgetary laws, procurement, and other acts.
5. Nigerians are complaining and preparing to protest against your crude arrogance, pomposity, and callousness.
6. Because Nigeria is drifting into anarchy arising from your collective failure, derailment, and man’s inhumanity to man.
7. Nigerians are saying that you are wicked, unjust, and greedy with ungodly behaviours.
8. If you hate protest, It means you hate yourself, which implies that you need a psychiatrist help to come out from an inevitable self blame.
Yes, dear brothers and sisters! I’m in support of the opinion that in Islam protest is not allowed, but with this Islamic principle, ad-Daruratu Tubihul Mahzurat: Necessity knows no laws, now I inclined to the opinion of supporting the protest, considering the situations in our dear county and our dear states!!!
Fellow Nigerians! Our brother, Abubakar Wido Jalo wrote, and which is very true, he said:
“As you prepare for the protest, note that as a citizens of Nigeria, you have the right to peaceful assembly and protest. Also note that these rights are not absolute. Government also has the right and duty to maintain peace, security and the protection of lives and Property. If what we want is a better Nigeria then the preservation and the intrest of our dear country Nigeria must come first. Protest peacefully and insist on good governance but note that violent protest will only take us backward as a country. Say yes to peaceful protest. Say no to bad governance. Say no to violent protest. Say no to looting and stealing of private businesses. Say no to destruction of government properties. Know that Governance is a continuim, and bad governance did not start with President Tinubu. Infact at a point we fought slavery and won. We fought colonialism and won. We will fight bad governance and win In Shaa Allah. Know that we cannot fix a country by destroying it. Destruction and violent protest did not fix Sudan. Destruction and violent protest did not fix Libya, etc etc. Therefore destruction will not fix Nigeria. Rather, peaceful engagement through peaceful protest and dialogue. We must have a country first before we can fix it. Nigeria, our great country must come first.”
Respected brothers and sisters! The permitting of haram (the unlawful) under necessity is meant to make life easy and less oppressive for people.
That the necessity removes restriction is an important juridical rule. It shows that the Islamic Shari’ah (law) is not heedless of the exigencies of life nor to human weakness and our ability to face them; it allows the Muslim under the compulsion of necessity to do things which would otherwise be prohibited in order to meet the necessity and save himself from harm.
Necessity means harm. That is, when a person undergoes an excessive situation that could hurt him or destroy his body, part of his body, his mind, his family, his money or his religion.
The prohibited are the things that Allah ordained Muslims not to do whether these things are disliked or forbidden. This juridical rule is supported by a number of verses in the Qur’an as well as from the Sunnah (the Prophetic guidance).
All the texts (Nusus) has clearly stated that prohibited food becomes permissible in times of emergency, i.e. extreme hunger or insecurity.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:
“The harm should be removed.”
The permitting of haram under necessity is meant to make life easy and less oppressive for human beings. Allah Almighty says:
“Allah desires for you ease; He desires not hardship for you … ” [Qur’an, 2:185]
In another verse He the Most High says:
“Allah would make the burden light for you for man was created weak.” [Qur’an, 4:28]
However, the rule of necessity should in no way be used as a pretext to relish haram and embrace it with eagerness, or to succumb to desires, for it is well established that surrender to desires (the prohibited ones) is conducive to grave corruption. Allah Almighty says:
“And if the Truth had followed their desires the Heavens and the Earth and whoever is in it would have been corrupted. We have brought them their Reminder but from their Reminder they turn away.” [Qur’an, 23:71]
To prevent those inclined to follow their desires from exploiting this great principle and using it as a tool for realising their evil purposes the jurists of Islam established a number of stipulations that govern the use of this Islamic rule, as mentioned by our great Shaikh Muhammad Salih Uthaimin.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque; and ate Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected]; or +2348038289761.
