بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَ بِهِ نَسْتَعِينُ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ

WHAT IS NECESSITY - DHARÛRAH?

(Please refer to the dictionary for the explanation of the literal meaning and a brief definition of dharûrah as a Sharî’ah term.)

The rule of اِنَّ الضَّرُورَاتِ تُبِيحُ الْمَحْظُورَاتِ , that is, “Dharûrah makes halal what is haram”. Thus, this rule is not universal. If dharûrah did not occur by way of haram, it causes to make halal what is haram. Otherwise, if dharûrah occurred due to misuse of the will or haram causes, it cannot make halal what is haram, cannot be the source of the judgements with rukhsah and cannot constitute an excuse.

For example, if, through misusing his will, in a haram way, a man makes himself drunk, according to ‘ulamâ of the Sharî’ah, his actions are in force against him; he is not accepted as excused. If he divorces his wife, the divorce is in force. And if he commits a crime, he receives the punishment. But if it is not through misusing his will, the divorce is not in force neither does he receive any penalty. And, for example, an alcohol addict — even if his addiction is at the degree of dharûrah — cannot say: "It is a dharûrah; it is halal for me."

Thus, at this time, there are many matters that are considered dharûrah; they have taken the form of a general calamity that causes people to be addicted to them. Since they were born out of misuse of the will, haram inclinations and acts, they cannot be the source of the judgements with rukhsah and cannot cause to make halal what is haram. Whereas, since the people of ijtihad of the present time make those dharûrahs the source of judgements of the Sharî’ah, their ijtihâd is earthly and philosophic; they arise from the desires of their nafs; they cannot be sâmâwî and are not from the Sharî’ah. Whereas, if there is no ma’nawî permission of Al-Khâliq, the interference in the laws of Al-Khâliq of the samâwât and the earth and meddling in the ‘ibâdah of His ‘abds are rejected.

The Twenty-Seventh Word/The Third/The Fifth

 

Yes, there are two sorts of rizq:

One is the true rizq that he will live with it. This rizq is undertaken by Ar-Rabb through the decree of this âyah. So long as the misuse of man’s will does not interfere, he can find this necessary rizq under any circumstances. He will not be obliged to sacrifice his religion, honour or dignity.

The second is the metaphorical rizq that unnecessary needs become necessary ones due to misuse, he becomes addicted to them through the calamity of custom and tradition and cannot abandon them. Thus, since this rizq is not undertaken by Ar-Rabb, obtaining this rizq, especially at this time, is very expensive. He takes this inauspicious good without barakah by sacrificing his honour and accepting abasement first of all and sometimes falling into the state of beggary in a ma’nawî manner to a degree of kissing the feet of the vile people and sometimes sacrificing the sacred matters of religion, which are the nûr of his eternal life.

Also, at this time of poverty and necessity, the sorrow that the people of conscience receive from the sorrow of the hungry and needy by means of compassion towards fellow-human beings — if he has a conscience — makes bitter the pleasure received from the money he earned in a haram way. At such a strange time, for doubtful goods,1 it is necessary to suffice at the degree of necessity (dharûrah). Because, through the mystery of اِنَّ الضَّرُورَةَ تُقَدَّرُ بِقَدْرِهَا2 , one can take from haram goods just enough to get him out of the state of dharûrah; he cannot take more. Yes, an obliged man cannot eat haram meat until he gets full; he rather can eat enough not to die. Also, it cannot be eaten much with perfect pleasure in the presence of a hundred hungry people.

 The Nineteenth Flash/4th Subtle Point

 

There is another matter. It is also very important. According to the judgment of the Qur’an, as a result of the demands of vile civilisation, essential needs have risen from four to twenty in this age. Due to addiction, custom and habit, inessential needs became essential. Although they have îmân in the âkhirah, people prefer this world over the âkhirah for the benefit of the world and due to the struggle for livelihood by thinking and supposing that there is dharûrah.

Forty years ago, a commander-in-chief sent some commanders and even some hojas to me in order to accustom me a little to the world. They told me, “At this time, we have no choice. According to the rule: اِنَّ الضَّرُورَاتِ تُبِيحُ الْمَحْظُورَاتِ 4, we are now compelled to imitate some of the methods of Europe and some of the demands of civilisation.”

So I said to them, “You are seriously deceived. If dharûrah arises from the misuse of the will, it certainly is not right. It does not make halal what is haram. If it does not arise from the misuse of the will, that is, if dharûrah has not occurred due to haram, it is not harmful. For example, if, through the misuse of the will in a haram way, a man gets himself drunk and commits a crime while he is drunk, the judgment will be made against him. He will not be considered excused and will receive a penalty because this dharûrah has occurred due to the misuse of his will. But if an insane child shoots someone in a state of insanity, he is excused; he will receive no penalty because it was not within his will.”

TThus, I said to that commander and those hojas, “What other dharûrahs are there other than the essential needs like eating bread and living? Actions born of the misuse of the will, illicit inclinations and haram behaviours cannot be a reason to make halal what is haram. If one has become addicted to things like cinema, theatre and dance, it cannot be a reason for making halal what is haram because there is no absolute dharûrah, and such addiction arises from the misuse of the will.5 Human laws have also taken this point into consideration and differentiated the judgments concerning the actions arising from definite dharûrah that are outside of the will and the actions arising from the misuse of the will. In the laws of Allah, these principles are differentiated in a more firm and fundamental manner.

 Emirdağ Addendum-2 (242-243)

 

On the basis of only absolute dharûrah, there is rukhsah within the Sharî’ah to prefer what is glass (such as this world and wealth) over what is clearly known as diamond (such as the âkhirah and îmân). Otherwise, to make this preference based on a minor need, a fancy or greed and slight fear, is a foolish ignorance and loss that is deserving of a slap.

 Kastamonu Addendum (33)

 

The Second Matter: In the pronouncement of the sign of the Thirty-third âyah, in the discussion of يَسْتَحِبُّونَ الْحَيٰوةَ الدُّنْيَا it is said: One of the features of this century is such that it knowingly makes one prefer the life of this world over the life of the eternal world. That is, it has become a principle for people to knowingly prefer broken pieces of glass to eternal diamonds. I used to be amazed at this. It has been warned in recent days that:

Just like when a human organ is ill or is injured, all other organs in the body partly hold off their own duties and run to its aid. In the same way, a device inbuilt into human fitrah that carries within it the greed for life and its preservation, the pleasure of life and its love, has been injured due to many reasons. It has started to debase all other faculties by preoccupying them within itself and is trying to make them forget their own actual duties.

And if there were an attractive, dissolute and glamorous stupefying form of entertainment, like children and layabouts, people occupying high positions and covered women even, would be caught up with the attraction and will suspend their actual duties to take part in them. In the same way, human life in this century and its social life, in particular, has taken such a terrifying, but attractive and grievous, yet a curious state, that it drags humanity’s elevated duties, its heart and mind to follow the nafs al-ammarah and, like a propeller, pushes them into the fire of fitnah.

Indeed, in order to preserve the life of this world – on the condition, it is due to dharûrah– there is rukhsah in the Sharî’ah to temporarily prefer it over some of the matters relating to the âkhirah. But if the cause is only a simple need, for which the harm in abandonment does not lead to being perished, this preference can not be made; there is no rukhsah. Whereas this century has injected that into the man’s vein of character to such a degree that for the smallest of needs and the most insignificant harm to worldly life, matters of the religion, which are like diamonds, are abandoned.

Within humanity, the vein of living this worldly life and the inherent faculty of preserving this life has been wounded and corrupted through wastefulness. And the lack of frugality, the discontentment and greed in this century, has led to the withdrawal of barakah and has caused the rise in poverty and intensified the struggle for livelihood. The people of dhalâlah constantly make this temporary world the point of attraction to such a degree that the slightest need in this worldly life is given precedence over important matters of religion. In response to this strange illness and terrible affliction of this strange century, it is the Risale-i Nur which is the herald of the antidote-like remedies of the Quran of Miraculous Exposition that can withstand it; and it is its firm steadfast, sincere, loyal and sacrificing students who are able to resist it. Thus, in order to save themselves from the effects of this strange illness, one must foremost enter the circle of the Risale-i Nur and stick to it with loyalty, steadfastness, utmost ikhlas and complete confidence.

We pass on our salam and du'â to each of our brothers in general.

اَلْبَاقِى هُوَ الْبَاقِى

Kastamonu Addendum (116-117)