Ḍarūra
Definition
Darura is the principle that necessity can temporarily override legal prohibitions — allowing the consumption of haram food when life itself is at stake, for example. Al-Ghazali discusses the conditions that constitute genuine darura and warns against the misuse of this principle to justify haram consumption or earnings in conditions that do not genuinely constitute emergency. The standard of darura is objective and stringent: genuine fear of death or severe harm, no permissible alternative available, and consumption limited to what is necessary to remove the harm. Using darura as a general permission for convenience is a corruption of one of the most important legal principles in Islam.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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