are many. Among the clearest examples of preferring the lighter of two evils to the heavier is al-Khidr’s scuttling of the boat, fearing it would be lost in its entirety, and his killing the boy, fearing that by remaining alive he would drive his parents into disbelief.
Twenty-Sixth Maxim: Necessities render the prohibited permissible
Explanation: A necessity is an excuse that, because of extreme need, allows the performance of something normally forbidden—such as eating carrion when one’s life is at stake, or uttering a word of disbelief when under unbearable coercion.
It must be noted that what is permitted on grounds of necessity is limited strictly to the extent of that necessity. Thus, whoever is compelled to eat carrion may consume only what will keep him alive; he may not eat to satiety.
Twenty-Seventh Maxim: Warding off harm takes precedence over procuring benefit
Explanation: The aim of the Sacred Law is to repel harms from people and to secure benefits for them. Pure benefits or pure harms are rare; most matters combine elements of both. When a harm and a benefit conflict, eliminating the harm is given priority over obtaining the benefit, for the Law pays greater attention to prohibitions than to commands.
Twenty-Eighth Maxim: The ruling revolves with its effective cause, existing when it exists and ceasing when it ceases
Explanation: This is a splendid principle. Allah’s rulings rest upon lofty wisdoms and elevated secrets that realize benefits and repel harms. Whenever these divine wisdoms and purposes are present, rulings appropriate to them are likewise present; the ruling follows the effective cause, applying or falling away in tandem with it.
The Legislator may expressly mention the rationale, scholars may infer it, or a single ruling may possess multiple wisdoms, any one of which is sufficient to establish it. A small number of rulings whose wisdom is not apparent to scholars are called “ritual rulings.”
Allah’s ordinances are epitomized in His words: “He enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong” (al-Aʿrāf 7:157), and: “He makes lawful for them what is wholesome and makes unlawful for them what is foul” (al-Aʿrāf 7:157).