Inquiries on the Science of the Objectives of Sharia (Part 48)
Topic Four: Objectives of Needs or Necessary Benefits
The second type of Sharia objectives is the objectives of needs, which hold a lower rank than necessities but are considered complementary to them.
1. The Concept and Importance of Needs
Needs are the types of values and goals that humans require to alleviate hardship in their practical lives. Although the absence of these needs does not harm human life as significantly as the lack of necessary objectives, it nonetheless confronts individuals with hardships and challenges.
This category of objectives includes all factors and means of eliminating hardship, reducing duties, and facilitating interaction and life. Its scope encompasses worship, transactions, and crimes, and it is divided into “main” and “secondary.”
Imam Shatibi, may Allah have mercy on him, states that needs complement necessities and serve them. Thus, the function of needs is to strengthen and enhance necessities; in the absence of needs, necessary objectives do not vanish; however, signs of weakness and dissolution may appear in them.
2. Areas of Legal Rulings Through Needs
Needs manifest in various areas of legal rulings and can be inferred. Below, we will examine needs in the categories of worship, transactions, habits, and retribution:
A: The Section of Worship
Islamic law considers certain circumstances, such as illness, travel, compulsion, error, and forgetfulness, to be legal excuses that can mitigate legal rulings. Consequently, it permits shortening and combining prayers during travel, allows the sick and travelers to break their fast-during Ramadan, and allows menstruating women to miss prayers, among other exceptions.
Allah Almighty has exempted travelers from fasting during their journeys, as He says: «فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ» Translation: “So whoever among you witnesses the month, let him fast it. And whoever is sick or on a journey, let him fast a number of other days.”
Regarding combining prayers while traveling, Abdullah ibn Umar reported: «إذا أَعْجَلَهُ السَّيرُ فِي السَّفَرِ يؤَخِّرُ المَغْرِبَ، حَتَّى يَجْمَعَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَينَ العِشَاءِ» Translation: “If he was in a hurry to leave and start his journey early, he would delay his Maghrib prayer until he combined it with the Isha prayer.”
Regarding the missed prayer of a menstruating woman, Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: «كَانَ يُصِيبُنَا ذَلِكَ، فَنُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءِ الصَّوْمِ، وَلَا نُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءِ الصلاة.» Translation: “We would menstruate; He would order us to make up the fasts but would not require us to make up the prayers.”
B: The Section of Transactions
All contracts and transactions that meet the needs of people, such as sales, leases, mortgages, and partnerships, have been legitimized.
The legitimacy of sales like salam (sale of future goods) and istisna (manufacturing contracts) aims to alleviate hardship for people, even though these involve transactions with non-existent entities, which is generally considered illegitimate in Sharia. However, Sharia has authorized these to respond to human needs, despite general rules to the contrary. The permissibility of divorce in an unfavorable marriage contract is another example of laws enacted to fulfill the objective of needs in family matters.
The principle of «الضرورات تبيح المحظورات» (Necessities make prohibited things permissible) is a fundamental rule regarding urgent permissibility in Islamic Sharia. This principle falls under the category of needs. As the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ تُؤْتَى رُخَصُهُ كَمَا يُحِبُّ أَنْ تُؤْتَى عَزَائِمُهُ.» Translation: “Allah loves that His concessions are taken, just as He loves that His mandates are followed.”
C: The Section of Habits
Islamic law permits the use and enjoyment of pure pleasures related to food, clothing, and housing. This enjoyment encompasses necessities, needs, and commendable practices. Accordingly, the Wise Lawgiver has allowed pure things in terms of needs to alleviate hardship. In some cases, even forbidden things may be permitted to ease hardship. For instance, while the use of silk is generally impermissible due to its association with pride and arrogance, it is allowed for women in specific circumstances or for medical reasons arising from necessity.
D: The Section of Retribution
In the context of punishments and retribution, the right to pardon has been legitimized for the guardian, as Allah the Exalted says: «فَمَنْ عُفِى لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ذَلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ.» Translation: “O you who have believed, retribution is prescribed for you in respect of the killed. So, if a person pardons his brother, then he should be treated kindly, and the payment should be made in a good manner. This is a concession from your Lord. But if anyone transgresses after that, then for him is a painful punishment.”
Abu Hurairah (MAPH) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: «وَمَنْ قُتِلَ لَهُ قَتِيلٌ فَهُوَ بِخَيْرِ النَّظَرَيْنِ، إِمَّا أَنْ يُفْدَى وَإِمَّا أَنْ يُقَتَلَ.» Translation: “The heir of a person who’s relative has been killed has the best of two options: either to accept blood money or to take revenge on the killer.”
From this perspective, the provisions concerning retribution, removing limits in cases of doubt, and the necessity of paying blood money in cases of accidental killing have all been deemed legitimate as forms of mitigation for the unintentional killer.
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