The cardinal objectives of shari’ah include the establishment of contentment and the elimination of hardship.

The Arabic for 'unbearable hardship' is usr or haraj. By reference to the Qur'anic statement, 'Allah has imposed no hardship - haraj - in religion', Muslim scholars characterize shari’ah as the legal system of accommodation. The notable companion Ibn Abbas is reported to have said that the word haraj implies that there is no escape from difficult situations.

This principle may be manifest in three ways:

1. That shari’ah rulings are easy to comprehend because, in the main, they relate to practical rules regarding conduct.

2. As Allah (swt) clearly states in the Qur’an, As Allah clearly states in Qur'an that: 'He does not burden any beyond their capacities' (2:286), all obligations and duties are easy for people to comply with.

3. And, as Al-Jassas maintains in Ahkam al-Qur'an, no jurist is permitted to pass opinions - fatawa - that cause hardship when easier alternatives are available.

One example of hardship being caused relates to the lives of hundreds of innocent pilgrims being lost each year during the pilgrimage - Hajj. The four schools of Islamic law specify that stoning of the jamarat in Mina is to be done after 'noon', while those who follow Ahl al-Bayt and the teaching of their Imams, are permitted to undertake the stoning at any time between sunrise and sunset.

Furthermore, in his 'Rulings' concerning Hajj - Manasik - rule number 433, Ayatollah al-Khoei clarifies that even though it is obligatory for men to stone the jamarat during daylight hours, children, women, the elderly and the infirm are permitted to fulfil this Hajj rite during the hours of darkness.

In his lectures on jurisprudence Ayatollah al-Khoei confirmed that, ‘This permission is granted to anyone who finds it difficult to stone the jamarat in the crowded hours of daylight’.1

The Basis Of This Principle

From The Qur'an

1. Allah has imposed no hardship in religion. (Surah Al-Hajj, 22:78).

2. Allah does not desire to inflict hardship upon you. (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:6).

3. Allah affords you every facility and does not wish to make any matter difficult for you. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:185)

4. Lord, do not burden us as you burdened those before us ... (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:286)

5. Allah wishes to lighten your difficulties for humanity has been created weak. (Surah An-Nisa’, 4:28)

6. We read in the Qur'an that among the characteristics of Allah's Messenger (S) and his religion is: ‘to remove burdens and shackles from believers’. (Surah Al-‘Araf, 7:157).

The inevitable conclusion is that Islam is a faith of accommodation NOT of severity. This accommodation is manifest in rulings that apply to acts of worship, rights and the duties and, indeed, all regulations that concern business and trade.

An example of the principle 'Islamic law does not occasion unbearable hardship' is apparent from its application to debtors who find themselves in difficulties and unable to make loan repayments. Contrary to 'common law', by which they may be sentenced to terms of imprisonment, Allah instructs that,

'If a debtor is in straitened circumstances let there be a postponement until he/she can afford to settle his/her debts' (Qur'an 2:280).

When Ibn ‘Abbas was asked why the Prophet (S) combined the prayers of Zuhr with ‘Asr and Maghrib with ‘Isha he replied, 'He did not wish to burden his community.' On another occasion when Ibn ‘Abbas was asked the same question he responded, ‘He did not want to impose difficulties on the community’.2

This notable companion clearly applied the principle, 'Islamic law does not occasion hardship', to the combination of prayer times.

From Ahadith

1. Bukhari narrates from ‘Utbah Ibn Mas’ud, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, that, 'A bedouin in the mosque stood up and urinated. Despite people being upset and annoyed at this, the Prophet (S) told them not to confront him but just to pour a bucket of water over the area, "as we have been ordered to make things easy for people and not difficult".'3

2. The same hadith is narrated by Tirmithi in his Sunan, Chapter on Ablution, Tradition number 147 and Nisa'i in his Sunan, Vol. 1, p 175.

3. Abu Dawud narrates in his Sunan that while he was in Mina during the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (S) made himself available to answer questions. One person asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, while not being aware that I should not have, I shaved prior to offering my sacrifice. What should I do?' The Prophet (S) replied, 'Offer your sacrifice as there is no haraj for you.' Another asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, in my ignorance I made my sacrifice before stoning the jamarah, what should I do now?' The Prophet's (S) reply was, 'Go and stone the jamarah as there is no haraj for you.' That day the Prophet (S) gave the same reply to all who asked him similar questions.4

4. Ibn Abbas narrated that the Prophet (S) said, ‘In His magnanimity, Allah (swt) has made this religion easy for people, NOT difficult’.5

5. Shaykh Al-Tusi records from Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) that male pilgrims are not permitted to circumambulate the Kaabah before shaving their heads, unless that is an oversight on their part. He then narrated the incident in Mina where the Prophet (S) told people that there was no haraj levied upon them for errors of ignorance or oversight.6

6. Al-Kulayni records from Imam al-Baqir (‘a) that there is no haraj for pregnant women about to give birth or for breastfeeding mothers who break the fast during the month of Ramadan. In place of that, they may feed the poor and, when able to do so, make up for the days they have missed.7

7. Upon their departure to Yemen, the Prophet (S) instructed the judges Abu Musa al-Ash’ari and Mu’adh Ibn Jabal to ensure that they 'Bring ease not hardship and give people good, rather than gloomy news'.8

8. Bukhari narrates from ‘Ayesha that whenever the Prophet (S) had two options he chose the easy one - provided that, that course was not sinful.9

It is evident from the above ahadith that the intention of The Lawmaker has been to avoid unbearable hardships - in the sense that all acts of worship are easy to observe and that rulings of shari’ah are clear. No burden or shackle is imposed upon the Muslim community. It has been firmly established that fuqaha who prohibit things that Allah permits are as culpable as those who permit things that He prohibits.

This principle applies to every type of duress, oversight, ignorance or excuse made by Muslims suffering conditions of consummate hardship. This indicates that none are held accountable for acts committed under duress or as the result of oversight. Notwithstanding this, their accountability for damages to others remains.

• 1. Lectures of Ayatollah al-Khoei Vol. 29, p. 407.
• 2. Sahih Muslim, Chapter on Prayer, Bab - Combining Two Prayers at Home. Tradition numbers 1629, 1630, 1632 and 1633.
• 3. Sahih al-Bukhari Chapter on Wudu' Vol. 1, p. 65.
  In the collection of all the Al-Sihah al-Sittah this is recorded on page 20.
• 4. Sunan Abi Dawud Chapter on Hajj Vol. 1, p. 464.
• 5. Suyuti in Al-Ashbah wa al-Nadaer, p. 68.
• 6. Al-Tahzeeb Vol. 1, p. 149.
• 7. Al-Kafi Vol. 4, p. 117.
• 8. Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 8, p. 37. In the collection of all the Al-Sihah al-Sittah this is recorded on page 516.
• 9. Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 8, p. 37. In the collection of all the Al-Sihah al-Sittah this is recorded on page 516.