al-Istidaf wa Ahkamuhu fi al-Fiqh al-Islami
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- Dār Kunūz Ishbīlyā lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
al-Istidaf wa Ahkamuhu fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (Vulnerability and its Rulings in Islamic Jurisprudence) is a contemporary treatise on comparative Islamic jurisprudence by Ziyad bin Abid al-Mashukhi, examining the legal status, principles, and applications governing Muslims and Islamic societies during states of political or social weakness and subjugation.
Origins and Composition
The book originated as a doctoral dissertation in comparative jurisprudence presented to the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan, defended on 22 Ramadan 1432 AH (22 August 2011 CE). The examination committee was chaired by the dissertation supervisor, Hasan Muhammad al-Amin, alongside internal and external examiners Musa Muhammad Uthman and al-Tahir Abd al-Karim Sati. The work was published by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Qatar under the funding of the General Administration of Endowments, as well as by Dar Kunuz Ishbilya in Riyadh.
Subject and Methodology
The work addresses an area of jurisprudence that classical scholars rarely gathered under a single designated title, as rulings concerning vulnerability were traditionally scattered across different legal subjects such as duress (ikrah), necessity (darurah), and governance (siyasah shar'iyyah). The author utilizes an inductive-descriptive and analytical-deductive method, drawing primary material from Quranic exegesis, Hadith, legal compendia, the prophetic biography, and works on legal objectives (maqasid) and governance.
The legal scope is primarily confined to the four prominent Sunni schools—Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali—alongside positions of other jurists, evaluating proofs within the framework of balancing harms and benefits (al-masalih wa al-mafasid), the consideration of outcomes (fiqh al-ma'alat), priorities (fiqh al-awlawiyyat), and legal balances (fiqh al-muwazanat).
Structure and Contents
The treatise consists of an introduction, three main parts (abwab), and a conclusion:
- Part One: Definition, Types, and Manifestations of Istid'af: Divided into two chapters. The first defines istid'af linguistically and terminologically, analyzes its usage across thirteen Quranic verses and relevant hadiths, and distinguishes it from related concepts like duress (ikrah), necessity (idtirar), compulsion (ijbar), and persecution (idtihad). The second chapter analyzes its divisions—such as partial versus total weakness, individual versus communal weakness, and valid versus invalid legal excuses—along with its relation to the early Meccan period and the legal argument that total weakness cannot engulf the entire Muslim community across the whole earth at once.
- Part Two: Causes, Means of Repelling Weakness, and Governing Principles: Divided into three chapters. It reviews internal and external causes of weakness; outlines permissible mechanisms to repel it (such as acquiring strength, unity, seeking protection or jiwar, treaties, jihad, and emigration); and establishes guidelines for the vulnerable, including distinguishing individual situations from collective state matters, consulting qualified scholars, avoiding passive acceptance of weakness, and applying texts on patience and pardon.
- Part Three: Legal Rulings and Concessions in States of Vulnerability: Divided into chapters treating substantive and contemporary issues. Topics include seeking military assistance from non-Muslims, paying money to adversaries under pressure, suspending prescribed penalties (hudud), recognizing military occupations, selling real estate in occupied territories, extraditing Muslim individuals, acquiring foreign non-Muslim citizenship, participating in non-Islamic or unjust political administrations, removing the veil (hijab) under coercion, concealing religious identity, and employing legal stratagems, dissimulation (taqiyyah), and diplomatic politeness (mudarah).
The conclusion summarizes the main findings, emphasizing that istid'af represents a temporary legal exception whose rules do not equate to returning systematically to the pre-state Meccan phase, and that concessions must not be transformed into permanent substitutes for general Sharia norms.
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