The Five Values

III. The Five Values

As a characteristic feature of Qur'anic legislation, it may be stated here that commands and prohibitions in the Qur’an are expressed in a variety of forms which are often open to interpretation and ijtihad. The question as to whether a particular injunction in the Qur’an amounts to a binding command or to a mere recommendation or even permissibility cannot always be determined from the words and sentences of its text. The subject of commands and prohibitions need not be elaborated here as this is the theme of a separate chapter of this work. It will suffice here to note the diversity of the Qur’anic language on legislation. Broadly speaking, when God commands or praises something, or recommends a certain form of conduct, or refers to the positive quality of something, or when it is expressed that God loves such-and-such, or when God identifies something as a cause of bounty and reward, all such expressions are indicative of the legality (mashru’iyyah) of the conduct in question which partakes in the obligatory and commendable. If the language of the text is inclined on the side of obligation (wujub), such as when there is a definite, demand or a clear emphasis on doing something, the conduct is question in obligatory (wajib), otherwise it is commendable (mandub).

Similarly, when God explicitly declares something permissible (halal) or grants a permission (idhn) in respect of doing something, or when it is said that there is 'no blame' or 'no sin' accrued from doing something, or when God denies the prohibition of something, or when the believers are reminded of the

bounty of God in respect of things that are created for their benefit, [Note, e.g., 'and He created for you ships and cattle on

which you ride' (al-Zukhruf,, 43:12), and 'He created cattle from which you derive warmth ... and you eat of their meat' (al-Nahl, 16:5), and 'say, who has forbidden

the beautiful gifts of God which He has produced for His servants, and the clean food for their sustenance' (al-A’raf,7:32).] all such expressions are indicative of permissibility (ibahah) and option (takhyir) in respect of the conduct or the object in

question.

Whenever God demands the avoidance of a certain conduct, or when He denounces a certain act, or identifies it as a cause for punishment, or when a certain conduct is cursed and regarded as the work of Satan, or when its harmful effects are emphasised, or when something is proclaimed unclean, a sin or a deviation (ithm, fisq) - all such expressions are indicative of prohibition which partakes in abomination (karahah). If the language is explicit and emphatic in regard to prohibition, the conduct/object in question becomes haram, otherwise it is reprehensible, or makruh. It is for the mujtahid to determine the precise value of such injunctions in the light of both the language of the text as well as the general

objectives and principles of the Shari’ah. [Cf. Sha’bin,'Manhaj', pp. 22-23.]

This style of Qur’anic legislation, and the fact that it leaves room for flexibility in the evaluation of its injunctions, is once again in harmony with the timeless validity of its laws. The Qur’an is not specific on the precise value of its injunctions, and it leaves open the possibility that a command in the Qur’an may sometimes imply an obligation, a recommendation or a mere permissibility. The Qur’an does not employ the categories known as the five values (al-ahkam al-khamsah) which the fuqaha' have attempted to specify in juristic manuals. When an act is evaluated as obligatory, it is labeled fard or wajib; when it is absolutely forbidden, it is evaluated as haram. The shades of values which occur between these two extremes are primarily religious in character and provide a yardstick which can be applied to any type of human conduct. But only the two extremes, namely the wajib and haram, incorporate legal commands and prohibitions. The rest are largely non-legal and non-justiciable in a court of law. The Qur’an thus leaves open the possibility, although not without reservations, of enacting into haram what may have been classified by the fuqaha' of one age as merely reprehensible, or makruh. Similarly, the recommendable, or mandub, may be elevated into a wajib if this is deemed to be in the interest of the community in a different stage of its experience and development.