51 – The Book of Coercion

Coercion carries legal weight only when the threat comes from someone able to carry it out—whether a ruler or a bandit.

If a person is forced to sell his property, to buy a commodity, to acknowledge that he owes someone one thousand, or to lease out his house—and the coercion consists of a threat of death, severe beating, or lengthy imprisonment—then, should he sell or buy, he may choose either to uphold the contract or to rescind it.

If he takes the price willingly, that counts as approval of the sale; but if he receives it under duress, it is not approval, and he must return the money as long as it is still in his possession. Should the item sold perish while in the buyer’s hands and the buyer himself was not coerced, the buyer must pay its value.

The coerced party may, if he wishes, hold the coercer liable for the loss.

Whoever is compelled to eat carrion or drink wine—by imprisonment, beating, or physical restraint—may not do so unless the compulsion involves a threat that makes him fear for his life or for the loss of a limb. If he does fear such harm, it is permissible for him to comply with what he is ordered to do; he is not permitted to endure the threatened harm instead. If he chooses to endure it until they actually inflict it upon him and still refuses to eat, he is sinful.

If someone is coerced into disbelieving in Allah or insulting the Prophet, being shackled, imprisoned, or beaten does not count as valid coercion unless he is threatened with something that makes him fear for his life or for the loss of a limb. When he does fear such harm, it is permissible for him to say outwardly what they demand of him while resorting to tawriya (verbal dissimulation). If he does so while his heart remains tranquil in faith, no sin is upon him. But if he remains steadfast until he is killed and does not