Excuse (udhr)

العُذْر

Linguistically, udhr is the reason a person offers in his defence; it means lifting blame, and the technical sense does not depart from it ¹. Related are rukhsa, a rule enacted for an excuse while the forbidding cause remains, and afw, the pardoning of a fault and dropping of blame ¹ ². Excuses are general or specific. Some stay with a person, such as irregular bleeding and the involuntary flow of urine, and their effect on purity and prayer is set out in the rules on repeated ablution for each prayer and on its nullification at the end of the time ² ³ ⁴. Others are passing, such as rain, cold and fear. Others permit concessions: travel, illness, coercion, ignorance, forgetting, madness, necessity, need and minority ⁵ ⁶ ⁷. In contracts, the excuses concern inability to pay maintenance, the delay in returning a defective sale, and the delay in claiming pre-emption; a binding contract is dissolved when an excuse arises that makes its performance possible only with harm ⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰. A person without the means is excused from fighting in jihad, and hardship is lifted from those whom the law excuses ¹⁰.

Summary

Linguistically, udhr is the reason a person offers in his defence, and it means lifting blame ¹. It is related to rukhsa, a concession enacted for an excuse while the forbidding cause remains, and to afw, the pardoning of a fault ¹ ².

Kinds of excuse

Excuses are specific or general. A specific excuse stays with a person, such as irregular bleeding and involuntary urinary flow, and its effect on purity and prayer is set out in detail ² ³ ⁴. A general excuse is passing, such as rain, cold or fear ⁵.

General ruling

Among the excuses that affect worship are the concessions of travel (shortening, combining, breaking the fast), wiping over leather socks, and dropping Friday prayer; and illness allows dry ablution, combining prayers, and leaving Friday and congregational prayer ⁶ ¹¹. Coercion, ignorance, forgetting, madness, fainting, sleep, necessity, need and minority are further excuses, each treated in its place ¹¹ ⁷. In contracts, inability to pay maintenance is not an excuse for the Hanafis but permits separation for the others; the delay in claiming pre-emption or returning a defective sale is allowed by recognised excuses; and a binding contract is dissolved when an excuse arises that makes its performance possible only with harm ⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰. A person without the means is excused from fighting in jihad ¹⁰.

Where it is discussed

Each excuse is treated under its own heading: purity and prayer, Friday and congregational prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, retreat in the mosque, coercion, ignorance and forgetting, pre-emption and jihad ¹⁰.

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11526

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11527

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11529

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11530

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11531

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11532

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11535

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11536

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11537

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11538

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11533

Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)

In the lexicon, add is gripping a thing with the teeth and holding it. If a person bites another without right and a wound results, the biter must pay the damages for the wound, assessed as a just award by experts. If one man bites another's hand and the bitten man pulls it free so that the biter's front teeth fall out, most jurists hold that there is no liability, relying on a prophetic judgement in such a case; the Shafi'is limit this to a bitten man who chose the easiest means of release, and the preferred Maliki view requires compensation.