In the Name of Allāh,

the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful

Praise is due to Allāh, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, the last of prophets, on his family, and all his companions.

Resolution No. 70 (1/8) Exemption and its Ruling

The Council of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, holding its 8th session in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, on 1–7 Muḥarram 1414h (21–27 June 1993),

Having examined the research papers submitted to the Academy concerning

Exemption and its Ruling,

Having listened to the discussions on the subject above,

Resolves

1. A Shariah (legal) exemption is any Shariah provision exempted for a par- ticular excuse to alleviate the ordained duties while maintaining the cause for the original Shariah ruling. There is no disagreement on the law- fulness of religious exemptions provided they are duly justified, remain within the limits of their applicability, and due regard is given to Shariah regulations on which these exemptions are based.
2. Fiqh (jurisprudential) exemptions mean the various interpretive judg- ments (Ijtihād) of different schools of law (madhāhib) permitting a cer- tain matter as opposed to other interpretive judgments prohibiting it. Availing of fuqahā’s exemptions, in applying the less restrictive of their opinions, is legitimate according to Shariah, by virtue of the rules listed in article 4 below.
3. Exemptions from general matters are handled on a par with fundamen- tal Fiqh issues as long as they fulfill a benefit recognized by Shariah and are the result of a collective Ijtihād undertaken by competent scholars renowned for their piety and scientific

4. It is not permissible to take exemptions allowed by certain schools of law, solely on the basis of a person’s desire, as this would lead to the abandonment of ordained duties. Rather, exemptions are to be taken in accordance with the following Shariah rules:

   1. Scholars’ legal opinions evoked for exemption are acknowledged by

Shariah and have not been described as aberrant opinions.

1. The need for exemption arises to repel hardship, whether for common, private or individual needs.
2. The exempted person being capable of decision-making or is relying in the exempted matter on a party acknowledged for this aptitude.
3. Availing the exemption should not result in any of the prohibited deceptions as listed in article 6
4. Availing the exemption should not be used as a pretext to achieve unlawful goals.
5. The exempted person shall feel at ease when taking the

5. The parallel of using deception by drawing on different schools of law occurs when the emulator approaches a single matter with a two or more ramifications in a way that is not addressed by the mujtahid scholars he emulates in that particular issue.

6. Talfiq (amalgamation) is forbidden in the following cases:

   1. If it leads to free access to the exemption based solely on a person’s desire, or to contravening any of the rules as indicated regarding access to exemption.
   2. If it leads to overturning a judicial
   3. If it leads to invalidating an act once applied, as an emulation of a single issue.
   4. If it leads to opposing a legal consensus or its implications.
   5. If it leads to a complex situation not approved by any mujtahid

Indeed, Allāh is All-Knowing.