The Territory of the Rule " lā zarar" [no harm shall be inflicted or reciprocated in Islam] in Legislature: Imam Khomeini and Shahid Ṣadr's Views

The rule “no harm shall be inflicted or reciprocated in Islam” is one of the widely used rules in the Islamic jurisprudence which is thought to be of various dimensions. The article at hand has a cursory glance over the evidence and significations of the hadiths or narrations upon which the rule in question is based, and goes on to discuss and explicate the following aspects as viewed by Imam Khomeini and Shahid Ñadr, making clear the distinctions between the views of these two Muslim jurists: 1. Taking the rule of “no harm shall be inflicted or reciprocated in Islam” as a governmental rule;2. A study of the concept, criteria and referents of the rule in question;3. Deduction of positive prescripts from the rule in question; The results obtained are as follows:a.According to Imam Khomeini, the rule “no harm…” is governmental and at the disposal of the faqih-ruler and can serve as the basis for positive and social prescripts (rulings).b.By way of extension of the concept ‘harm’, particularly in relation to the concept of ‘defect in dignity’ and the belief in the necessity of the main locus and occasion of harm, Shahid Ñadr explores the problems to pave the ground for finding solutions for family problems and the problems in private areas, laying emphasis on the validity of common-sense knowledge of referents of harm and the certainty of what is signified by traditions as applied to the positive laws, thereby extending the domain and application of the principle at issue. The present article seeks to show that the review of the faqihs’ views on jurisprudential laws can add to the legislation capacity on the basis of governmental jurisprudence.