Zakat, Fasting, and Hajj in the Legal Maxims Framework

The chapters on zakah, sawm, and hajj in as-Suyuti's Ashbah wan-Naza'ir demonstrate how legal maxims illuminate the unity of purpose and method across different acts of worship, despite their surface-level differences in form.

The maxim 'necessity permits the forbidden' (ad-darurat tubih al-mahzurat) has clear application in fasting law. A person who is ill and for whom fasting would cause genuine harm is not only permitted but in some cases required to break the fast, with qada' made later. The precise threshold of harm that justifies breaking the fast — and the question of whether the ruling is permissive or obligatory — is analyzed by as-Suyuti through the lens of this maxim, which requires that the necessity be genuine, proportionate, and not artificially manufactured.

On zakah, the maxim 'the ruling follows the cause, present when it is present and absent when it is absent' applies to the hawl (one-year holding period). zakah becomes due when the nisab has been held for a full lunar year; if the wealth drops below the nisab at any point during the year, the hawl resets and a new year begins when the nisab is restored. This application of the maxim shows why zakah is not a tax on past wealth but on wealth that has remained in the owner's possession at a sufficient level throughout the year.

For hajj, the maxim 'hardship brings ease' justifies numerous concessions: the ill may substitute stoning of the jamarat with someone else's assistance; the elderly or disabled may have someone perform tawaf while carrying them; those who cannot dismount from transportation may perform sa'y by vehicle. As-Suyuti's analysis of these concessions shows that they follow a consistent principle rather than being ad hoc exceptions.

The maxim 'acts are judged by their intentions' (al-umur bi-maqasidiha) has a specific application in hajj law. The intention (niyyah) of ihram is obligatory, and the type of ihram intended — ifrad, qiran, or tamattu' — determines which form of hajj is being performed. A person who enters ihram without specifying the form may determine it later, according to one Shafi'i opinion, but once specified, the form fixes the subsequent obligations. The maxim helps explain why the intention governs the character of the entire pilgrimage.

As-Suyuti also uses zakah law to illustrate the maxim 'a general ruling does not apply where a specific ruling has been given.' The general rule of 2.5% for zakatable wealth does not apply to agricultural produce, which has its own rate of 10% (or 5% with irrigation costs), nor to rikaz (buried treasure), which is subject to the khums. These specific rulings are exceptions that the general principle of analogy cannot override without explicit textual evidence.