In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger ﷺ.
The nature of the prohibition of Allah and the prohibition of His Messenger ﷺ:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i sets out the kinds of prohibition (nahy) found in the Shari’ah and the effect of each kind on the prohibited act, focusing on the principle that a prohibition by default indicates unlawfulness (tahrim) unless something turns it away from that.
The main points Imam al-Shafi’i dealt with in this section:
- An introduction on venerating the command and prohibition of Allah: Imam al-Shafi’i shows the etiquette of the imams in venerating the command and prohibition of Allah, and that the prohibition of Allah and the prohibition of His Messenger ﷺ are equal in their ruling; the prohibition of Allah is mentioned first only as a mark of honour.
- The kinds of prohibition: Imam al-Shafi’i divides prohibition into three kinds:
- A prohibition entailing unlawfulness and invalidity (fasad): This is the prohibition of something that is unlawful in its origin, such as fornication, usury, and drinking wine. If the prohibited act takes place, it is unlawful and void, as with someone who marries a woman from among his unmarriageable relatives (maharim) or concludes a usurious sale. The Imam gives as examples of this: marrying a woman together with her paternal or maternal aunt, marrying a fifth wife, marrying a woman during her waiting period (‘iddah), the exchange marriage (nikah al-shighar), the temporary marriage (nikah al-mut’ah), and the marriage of one in the state of pilgrim sanctity (muhrim).
- A prohibition entailing unlawfulness while the act remains valid: This is the prohibition of a manner of doing something that is permissible in its origin, such as wrapping oneself completely in a single garment (ishtimal al-samma’), sitting with the knees drawn up wrapped in a garment (al-ihtiba’), and eating from the top of the dish. The prohibited act is unlawful, but it does not make the thing that is permissible in itself invalid: the garment remains permissible and the food remains permissible, but adopting these prohibited manners is considered an act of disobedience.
- A prohibition entailing mild disapproval (karahah tanzihiyyah): This is the prohibition of something that is permissible in its origin, but doing it is disliked for a reason of etiquette or for some benefit, such as drinking while standing and eating with the left hand. The prohibited act is disliked with mild disapproval; it is not considered unlawful and does not invalidate the act in itself.
- The difference between the kinds of prohibition: Imam al-Shafi’i shows the difference between these kinds: the prohibition of something unlawful in its origin entails unlawfulness and invalidity; the prohibition of a manner of doing something permissible in its origin entails unlawfulness while the act remains valid; and the prohibition of something for the sake of a benefit or of etiquette entails mild disapproval.
- Examples of the kinds of prohibition: Imam al-Shafi’i gives many examples of the kinds of prohibition, among them:
- The prohibition of combining a woman with her paternal or maternal aunt in marriage: It entails unlawfulness and invalidity.
- The prohibition of the shighar marriage, the mut’ah marriage, and the marriage of the muhrim: It entails unlawfulness and invalidity.
- The prohibition of ishtimal al-samma’ and ihtiba’: It entails unlawfulness while the act remains valid.
- The prohibition of eating from the top of the dish: It entails mild disapproval.
- The prohibition of drinking while standing: It entails mild disapproval.
- The rule “The default in a prohibition is unlawfulness”: Imam al-Shafi’i affirms this rule: a prohibition by default indicates unlawfulness unless something turns it away to mere disapproval or to guidance (irshad).
- The difference between prohibiting the thing itself and prohibiting a description of it: Imam al-Shafi’i shows the difference between prohibiting the thing itself, which entails unlawfulness and invalidity, and prohibiting a description or manner of the thing, which entails unlawfulness while the act remains valid.
Additional clarifications:
- The difference between unlawfulness and invalidity: Unlawfulness is the Shari’ah’s forbidding of an act, with sin established upon the one who does it. Invalidity is the act’s failing to produce its legal effect, as with the voidness of an invalid contract.
- The difference between unlawfulness and disapproval: Unlawfulness is the decisive forbidding of an act, with sin established upon the one who does it. Disapproval (karahah) is a request to leave an act without obligation, with no sin established upon the one who does it.
- Usul al-fiqh: This section of Imam al-Shafi’i’s words is considered one of the topics of usul al-fiqh, since it deals with the rules for deriving rulings from the proofs of the Shari’ah.
Final summary:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i sets out the kinds of prohibition and their effect on the prohibited act, focusing on the principle that a prohibition by default indicates unlawfulness unless something turns it away from that. He distinguishes between prohibiting the thing itself and prohibiting a description of it, and gives many examples of the kinds of prohibition. He stresses the importance of understanding these rules in deriving the rulings of the Shari’ah.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala by Dr. Yasir Burhami