Ruchsa

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Ruchsa ( Arabic رخصة, DMG ruḫṣa  'permit, dispensation, concession', plural ruchas رخص, DMG ruḫaṣ ) is a principle of Islamic law that is primarily used in the case of worship duties and consists in the fact that in certain cases of prevention the believer is released from observing certain commands and prohibitions, but without these generally becoming invalid be set. The opposite term to Ruchsa is ʿAzīma (عزيمة'Invitation', plural ʿazāʾim عزائم), by which is meant the request to comply with the duty itself, regardless of any obstacles to its compliance.

Concessions of this kind, which are already anchored in the Koran, are the permission to eat forbidden food in emergencies to avoid starvation ( Sura 5 : 3), as well as the recommendation that in certain cases the required washing with sand before the prayers take place To perform water ( Tayammum ; Sura 4 : 43, 5: 6). Other concessions of this kind are traced back to statements made by the prophet, for example the permission to deny one's own faith if one's life is in danger. The exemption of menstruating women , those who have recently given birth , the sick, travelers, pregnant and breastfeeding women from the obligation to fast in the month of Ramadan is also considered Ruchsa. In some cases the Ruchsa even leads to a complete reversal of the original purpose. The prophet is said to have initially forbidden visiting graves , but then allowed them in the course of a ruchsa.

The basis for the ruchsa principle is the hadith : "Truly, God loves it just as much when his dispensations are fulfilled as when his demands are fulfilled" ( inna Llāha yuḥibbu an tuʾtā ruḫaṣu-hū kamā yuḥibbu an tuʾtā ʿazāʾimu-hū ). The companion of the Prophet ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbbās is also quoted as saying: "The ruchsa is an alms-giving ( sadaqa ) that God gives you; do not reject it" ( ar-ruḫṣa min Allāh ṣadaqa fa-lā taruddū ṣadaqata-hū ). The ruchsa is seen as the realization of a basic principle of Islam, which as a "religion of comfort" ( dīn al-yusr ) is supposed to stand out positively from Judaism and Christianity, since in these religions the believers are allegedly harassed by rigid regulations.

Sufi teachings

Sufis , however, usually saw themselves called upon to seek the divine reward that results from observing the ʿAzāʾim. For example, while God allowed people to marry in the course of ruchsa, they sought the ʿazīma of celibacy . In the Sufi order of the Naqschbandīya in particular , it was important to observe the ʿAzāʾim, while other Muslims were allowed to use the ruchsa facilities. This is based on the idea that the ʿAzāʾim are intended for strong people, while the Ruchas are intended for weak people. This is also the basic idea of ​​the treatise "The chidrische standard measure" ( al-Mīzān al-Ḫiḍrīya ) of the Egyptian Sufi ʿAbd al-Wahhāb asch-Scharānī (d. 1565). With reference to the two principles Ruchsa and ʿAzīma, he developed the doctrine that the Sharia has come down on two levels, namely on the level of "mitigation" ( taḫfīf ) and the level of "tightening" ( tašdīd ), which are each addressed to different groups of people. Ash-Sharānī describes in his treatise how he received this teaching from Chidr , who traveled with him in secrecy and showed him the source of the pure Sharia. Hence the treatise got its name.

literature

  • Ignaz Goldziher : The âhirites. Their teaching system and their history. A contribution to the history of Muslim theology. Leipzig 1884. pp. 68f.
  • Ze'ev Maghen: After hardship comes ease: the Jews as backdrop for Muslim moderation . Berlin [u. a.]: de Gruyter, 2006. pp. 25-51.
  • R. Peters: Art. "Rukhṣa. 1. In Law" in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition Vol. VIII, pp. 595b-596a.
  • JGJ ter Haar: Art. "Rukhṣa. 1. In Sufism" in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition Vol. VIII, p. 596.
  • MJ Kister: "On 'Concessions' and Conduct. A Study in early Ḥadīth" in GHA Juynboll (ed.): Studies on the First Century of Islamic Society. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press 1982. pp. 89-107.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Goldziher 68.
  2. ↑ See Kister 94.
  3. ↑ Cf. Birgit Krawietz: Hierarchy of Legal Sources in Traditional Sunni Islam . Berlin 2002. p. 233.
  4. ↑ See Kister 92.
  5. ↑ See Kister 89.
  6. ↑ See Goldziher 69.
  7. ↑ See Maghen 25-51 and Kister 91.
  8. ↑ See ter Haar.
  9. ↑ Cf. Patrick Franke: Encounter with Khidr. Source studies on the imaginary in traditional Islam. Beirut / Stuttgart 2000. p. 300.