Compulsion (ijbar)

In the lexicon, ijbar means compulsion or coercion: one says ajbartuhu 'ala kadhā when one forces a person to do something. Jurists gave no separate definition, and their use keeps this sense. ¹

Whoever holds the power of compulsion over marriage may marry off a person under his care, such as a young girl or a mentally incapable woman. A preemptor takes the property he has the right to preempt against the buyer's will. A judge may force a debtor who stalls to pay. ^{1 2} Compulsion may be lawful and even required; it need not involve threats; it may come from the compeller's act or word; and it may be automatic and without request, as in compulsory set-off. ²

Lawful compulsion does not void the transaction. It need not be unpaid service: the consideration still applies. ²

A hoarder may be forced to sell when he refuses the ruler's order. Property an official gained by his office is taken from him by force, as 'Umar did with his agents. ³ The ruler's prohibition of senior Companions from marrying Christian women, and his separation of some of them from their Christian wives, is also cited as an instance. ³

The entry also mentions compulsion to maintain a wife, children and relatives, custody of a child, and the rights of the upper and lower floor owners to rebuild a collapsed ceiling. Each is treated in its own place. ^{4 5 6}