. JI ದ : ; (cont.)

In the fifth case, the person will not be allowed to perform the deed as it will not bring about any real benefit. In the sixth case, the person is permitted to do the act because what rarely occurs is not taken into consideration by the shareeah. In the seventh case, the person will be prevented from performing the act due to the expected harm from it. The eighth case is debatable because of the possibility of harm but al-Shaatibi includes that an act is considered permissible until demonstrated that it should be otherwise. Hence, in that case, the person can go ahead with the act. 1 The Shafi'ee Approach: Muwaafi begins his discussion of the Shafi'ee approach by saying that it seems that their basic approach is that the hadith, "There is not to be any causing of harm nor is there to be any 1 For more details, the interested reader may consult Ibraaheem al-Shaatibi, al-Muwaafaqaat (Al­ Khobar, Saudi Arabia: Daar ibn Affaan, 1 997), vol. 3, pp. 53-85. 94 1 Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi reciprocating of harm," does not apply at all to the use of one's personal property in ways that are otherwise permitted by law. In fact, it seems that even if the person uses his property in ways that harm himself, he is allowed to do so. One can see in the Shafi'ee books of fiqh that if a person digs a well that leads to his neighbors' collapsing, the builder of the well will not be held liable for the damage. The principle and conditions that they apply are only the following: A person may use his personal wealth and property in any way he wills as long as it is something customary and acceptable and as long as he was not extravagant and going beyond the norm in what he did. If he meets these two conditions, he will not be liable for any form of damage that his act caused. Hence, it can be seen that the Shafi' ees place a great emphasis on the individuals right to use his property and wealth as he sees fit, even if it may cause harm to others. It seems, though, that the two conditions they laid down are the extent to which harm may be allowed. In other words, it seems that their reasoning was that what is normally done and accepted must be something that does not cause a great deal of harm to others. Otherwise, such an act would not be normal and accepted. Therefore, one can find in their books of fiqh that if a person digs a well on his property and that well is greater in size than what is normally accepted and it then leads to his neighbor's wall collapsing, he will be held accountable for the harm that he caused in such a case. Hence, the Shafi'ees define harm when it comes to personal property as that harm which is cause by doing something out of the norm. If a person does something of that nature, then the hadith, "There is not to be any causing of harm nor is there to be any reciprocating of harm," applies to his case and he will be held responsible for the harm he caused. With respect to property that is co-owned or co-joined, they, like the Hanafis, are very restrictive and apply the hadith, "There is not to be any causing of harm nor is there to be any reciprocating of harm," to all forms of harm. One must get permission from the others involved before doing anything that could possibly harm them. The Hanbali Approach: The Hanbalis are the most liberal in applying the hadith, "There is not to be any causing of harm nor is there to be any reciprocating of harm," to virtually every form of harm, even if this application interferes with a person's right to use his personal property in the way he wills. After mentioning this hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Ahmad once said, "A person is to be prevented from performing any such act that brings about harm. If he responds [positively, fine]. Ifhe does not, then the ruler is to compel him [to desist]."1 Ahmad says, for example, that the person must cover any opening that looks upon his neighbor's house. It is also prohibited for a person to add on to 1 Quoted in ibn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 2 18. Hadith #32: "There is not to be Causing of Harm . . . " his house and prevent his neighbors from receiving the sunlight or moonlight that they used to receive. 1 Ibn Taimiya, a Hanbali for the most part, takes a slightly more moderate approach. Muwaafi makes the following conclusion from what ibn Taimiya wrote: (1) Causing harm is forbidden by the Quran and sunnah.