The Meaning of the Jurists' Saying: "Necessities Permit the Prohibited"

Question:
May Allah reward you. This is a questioner from the Abu 'Abdullah program inquiring about a fiqh phrase that is frequently repeated: "Necessities permit the prohibited."

Answer:
Yes. This is taken from the saying of Allah the Exalted: If a person is compelled to eat carrion, and if he does not eat from it, he will die of hunger, then he eats from the carrion. The carrion becomes permissible to him to the extent of the necessity, that which removes his necessity and preserves his life; this is the necessity. And the necessity is measured by its extent, and nothing is added to it.