The textual proofs for what has been stated are abundant in both the Quran and the Sunnah. Among them are the Almighty’s words: “Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you show kindness to parents…” (al-Isrāʾ 17:23 and following). And His words: “Say, ‘Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden you…’” up to His saying, “This He has enjoined upon you so that you may understand” (al-Anʿām 6:151–153).

These noble verses—from Sūrat al-Isrāʾ, Sūrat al-Anʿām, and many others—combine the command to every good and the prohibition of every evil. One reformer aptly observed that Islam is built upon “securing benefits and warding off harms,” which is precisely the purport of this maxim.

Twenty-Fifth Maxim: When benefits compete, give precedence to the higher; and when harms compete, give precedence to the lesser.

Explanation: These two great principles are among the glories of Islamic law and a testimony to the loftiness of its rulings.

First principle: If multiple benefits vie for realization and only one can be attained, the higher benefit takes priority over the lower so as to secure as much good as possible.
• In acts of worship, the obligatory is preferred to the recommended.
• In obedience, the command of Allah comes before anyone else’s, followed by obedience to parents in what is right, and then to the next of kin, each according to closeness.
• In customary dealings, what brings greater benefit is preferred; deeds whose benefit extends to others take precedence over those whose benefit is limited to oneself.

All of this enables the Muslim to obtain what is more sublime, superior, and lofty when he cannot combine both the superior and the less excellent. Allah the Exalted says, “Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it” (al-Zumar 39:18).

Second principle: When harms clash and one of them must inevitably be committed, the lighter harm is preferred over the graver, so as to avert as much evil as possible. These two principles have many examples