or that the amount of fruit destroyed was so slight that no remission was warranted, or that the damage occurred outside the period in which relief is due—such as after the crop had been picked or after it had fully ripened.
As for al-Shāfiʿī, he transmitted Jābir’s ḥadīth through Sulaymān ibn ʿAtīq from Jābir, but he judged the report weak and said that the wording concerning the remission of calamities is inconsistent. Nevertheless, he declared, “If the ḥadīth is proven authentic, the remission applies to small and large losses alike.”
There is no disagreement among the jurists that drought warrants the application of jawāʾiḥ, and those who uphold the rule take this consensus as evidence for its validity.
According to the Mālikī school, the principles of jawāʾiḥ are treated under four chapters:
- The operative causes that bring about calamity.
- The types of sales in which jawāʾiḥ applies.
- The portion of the price that must be remitted.
- The time at which the remission takes effect.
Chapter One
On identifying the operative causes of calamity
If the crop is struck by something descending from the sky—hail, drought, its opposite (excessive rain), or blight—there is no disagreement in the school that this is a calamity. Likewise, as noted, all concur that drought itself constitutes a calamity.
When the harm arises from human action, however, the Mālikī jurists diverge: some regard it as a calamity, others do not. Those who do accept it split into two groups. One group counts as a calamity only what commonly occurs, such as damage inflicted by an army, and does not include sudden incidents like theft. The other group treats every harm caused by human beings as a calamity, whatever its form.
Those who confine jawāʾiḥ to celestial causes rely on the outward sense of the Prophet’s words—peace and blessings be upon him: “What do you say if Allah withholds the fruit?” Those who extend the rule to human acts draw an analogy between them and heavenly causes, while the jurists who exclude theft argue that precautions can be taken against it.
Chapter Two
On the subject-matter of jawāʾiḥ in sales
The rule applies to fruit and to leafy vegetables. With respect to fruit, there is no disagreement within the school. As for vegetables, the jurists differ, though the predominant view is that the rule does apply. The dispute hinges on how closely vegetables are thought to resemble the primary category, namely fruit.