The Inclusion of Non-Corporeal Hardships in the Principle of ‘No Hardship’ and Its Jurisprudential Consequences

The principle of ‘no hardship’ (la haraj) is one of the most important jurisprudential rules applied in different areas of jurisprudence including acts of worship, transactions and politics. Asperthisrule,thereisnotanyruleamongdivine laws which may involve undue hardship or may cause the duty-bound [mukallaf] to undergo suffering and constriction. Should the duty-bound face any hardship performing one of the divine laws, it is no longer necessary for him to perform it. He is not to blame. There are different manifestations for distress and constriction or hardship. Given the fact that the damages resulting from non-corporeal hardships and constrictions in the present society are not less than physical damages and they may perhaps be even be more intolerable causing the individual irreparable damages, recourse can be taken to the principle of ‘no hardship’ to resolve such dilemmas. Hardship can, therefore, be divided into corporeal and non-corporeal. Although jurisprudents have not made any reference to such classifications, considering the manifestations of hardships and constrictions mentionedin their works it can be said that the principle of ‘no hardship’ applies not only to the corporeal hardship but also non-corporeal hardships such as psychological-mental hardships, social hardship, economic hardship, honor-related hardship and so forth.