. JI ದ : ; (cont.)

Finally, if a person is willing to sacrifice his right to use his property in a beneficial manner for himself because he fears that it may cause harm to others, then he has done a good deed by giving preference to his brother and, Allah willing, Allah will be pleased with that act and will reward him handsomely on the Day of Judgment. Allah Does not Command Anything Harmful One of the conclusions that one can reach from this hadith and other hadith or verses of the Quran is that Allah has not ordered anything harmful in the religion of Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that there should be no harming or reciprocating of harm and, therefore, this means that the obligations or prohibitions of the religion itself must, by definition, not be considered harmful. Indeed, the opposite conclusion can then be made: Everything that the religion commands is beneficial for human beings. It is what is best for them in both this life and the Hereafter. Everything that the religion forbids is harmful for human beings both in this life and the Hereafter. This religion comes from Allah, the Creator of mankind. Allah knows best the abilities and limitations of mankind. The laws of Islam take into consideration those aspects. That is why, for example, special laws are given for those who are ill, traveling and so forth. This is all in accord with what Allah has stated in the Quran, c J ;; ,. :UT · ূ ;1::_ i..:; া.r  ি; - ෎ '.) "[He] has not laid upon you any hardship in the religion" (al-Hajj 78). The Concept of a Fiqh Maxim ( Qaajdah Hqhjya) The principle that is mentioned in this hadith is a principle that spans the entire gamut of fiqh topics. These words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) have developed into a fiqh maxim and from it other important fiqh maxims have been derived. A fiqh maxim is a general fiqh principle that governs almost all 1 of the cases under its scope regardless of the area of fiqh. 2 1 There could be exceptions to the general rule. These exceptions would be based on other available evidence, such as a Quranic verse or hadith making an exception for a particular action that seems to be violating the generally accepted principle. 2 A fiqh maxim (qaaidahfiqhiya) differs from a dhaabitfiqhi or "fiqh rule" in that a dhaabit only applies to one area of fiqh. For example, the principle that "everything that the earth produces Hadith #32: "There is not to be Causing of Harm . . . " The idea of a legal or fiqh maxim comes from the fact that most shareeah rulings have some 'illah (cause or reason) that drives or lies behind those particular rulings. 1 These causes or reasons are not necessarily different for each individual fiqh question. On the contrary, as one studies fiqh, one will readily notice that many fiqh issues are driven or ruled by the same cause or reason that leads to a particular ruling or conclusion. When a jurist considers a new ruling for a new case, he takes into consideration those causes or reasons that have been demonstrated in other shareeah cases. After studying a number of cases, the jurist may be able to determine a principle that applies in all of these cases. 2 This principle is what is known as a fiqh maxim or qaaidah fiqhiya. These fiqh maxims are of extreme importance to the jurist. They give him an understanding of what the shareeah intends and how it achieves its goals. In fact, ibn Nujaim wrote about the fiqh maxims, "They are the real foundations for fiqh. It is by these that a jurist is elevated to the level of ijtihaad (independent legal reasoning)."3 The importance of the fiqh maxims may also be noted in what al-Suyooti wrote (quoting those who preceded him). He stated that all of the Shafi'ee school's fiqh rulings can be traced to five fiqh maxims: (1) What is known for certain is not removed by conjecture. (2) Hardship begets facility. (3) Harm is to be removed or ended. (4) What is practiced by custom becomes equivalent to law. (5) Matters are based on the intention behind them.4 This does not mean that a jurist would necessarily make a ruling solely based on a fiqh maxim. First, he would have to see if there are any Quranic or hadith texts related to the question at hand. If so, then the text takes precedence over any general principle. With respect to this hadith, for example, a person could argue that cutting off the hand of the thief is a kind of dharar or harm for that is watered by natural rainwater has a one-tenth tax on it" is not a fiqh maxim because it is only relevant to one topic of fiqh.