. JI ದ : ; (cont.)

Hence, in this case, there is no strong proof that harm will be the result, so the owner of the property is free to act as he wills. On this point, Abu Zahra inexplicably does a complete about face and says that the safest view is that the person is not allowed to use his property in the way that may harm others in such a case. Then he quotes this hadith for the first time, "There is not to be any causing of harm nor is there to be any reciprocating of harm." He says that the approach of the shareeah is that permissible things are sometimes made forbidden as a precautionary act against some harm that may possibly come about. (4) The case where the probability of harm is negligible: In this case, the established principle of a person being allowed to use his personal property according to his will takes precedence over the small chance that harm may come about. 1 1 Cf., Muhammad Abu Zahra, Al-Takaaful al-ljtimaa'eefi-l-lslaam (Daar al-Filer al-Arabi), n.d., pp. 64-66. Hadith #32: "There is not to be Causing of Harm . . . " The Author's Conclusions: Virtually any act that a person does with his personal private property can be seen as an infringement or harm upon others. Even the simple act of driving onto a highway is actually harmful to others as it causes the highway to be more congested, causes drivers to drive slower and causes more accidents. Hence, it is clear that this hadith does not imply the prohibition of any type of "harm," especially if harm is thought of in a wide context. Like the rulings of the shareeah with respect to the laws of necessity, there are some forms of hardship or harm that must be considered customarily and within the means of humans to bear. Those types of harm are not given any special rulings in the shareeah and it is expected that humans must bear them. The shareeah did not give a strict definition of "harm". Hence, it must be something that is left up to the cultural environment and may change over time. In other words, what may be considered harm at one time or place may no longer be considered harm as another time or place. Taking these facts into consideration, it seems that the strongest interpretation or implementation of this hadith is something close to the Shafi'ee approach. If there is an act that causes a normally accepted and expected harm and the person performs that act in the normal manner, then he is not to be prevented from doing that act, even if it may cause some slight harm to others. However, if he performs that act in an improper fashion or if that act is originally considered one that causes an unacceptable level of harm, then he is not allowed to perform that act. If, in that case, he goes ahead and does the act, he will be liable for any damage or harm that he causes to others. Also, if the act causes a general harm, then the interest of the general public takes precedence over the interest of the individual. Finally, if the act rarely or usually does not lead to any expected harm, he should be free to perform the act. This seems to be the best way to balance the following considerations that must be taken into account: (a) Islam respects personal property and the freedom to use one's property in any permissible manner. (b) Islamic law has as one of its main goals the bringing about of utility and the prevention of harm. ( c) In the optimal case, neither the owner of the property should be harmed by being restricted in his actions nor should anyone else be harmed. ( d) The rights of society as a whole or the general public, in general, take precedence over individual rights. ( e) There are some levels of harm and hardship that Islamic Law recognizes will exist and that the people must ordinarily bear. (f) Things that rarely or seldom occur are overlooked by the shareeah. Therefore, the meaning of this hadith is, "There is not to be any causing of harm"- except that which is commonplace, normal and acceptable Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi to all, as such is, in reality, unavoidable-- "nor is there to be any reciprocating of harm"- except what is the result of the due process of the law. It must be clearly understood that no Muslim should ever intentionally cause harm to another Muslim. Ifhe does so, even if his act is considered legal in this world, he may be held sinful and accountable for that act on the Day of Judgment.