Explanation of the author's statement: "... or for a dire necessity or a pressing need ..."
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The Shaykh : All right, he said "No, if they are equal", meaning "or for a dire necessity".
His statement "or for a dire necessity" refers to silk, meaning wearing it for a dire necessity. One form of dire necessity is that he has no other garment with him; this is a dire necessity. Another form is that he has a garment, but he needs to wear the silk to ward off the cold; this is also a dire necessity. Another form is that his garment does not cover his 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) because it is torn, in which case wearing silk is permissible. The point is that whenever a dire necessity calls for it, wearing it is permissible.
"Or for an itch" means that if he has an itch, he is permitted to wear it, meaning wearing silk. How so? What is the wisdom behind that? They say that because of the softness and smoothness of silk, it extinguishes the inflammation of the itch, and for this reason the Lawgiver permitted it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) to wear silk due to an itch he had. Thus, an itch permits the wearing of silk. If someone were to say, "We have a legal principle that a forbidden thing is not permitted except by a dire necessity," is an itch a dire necessity? It appears that it can be a dire necessity. There is no doubt that it can be a dire necessity; sometimes a person is afflicted with a severe itch that will not let him settle. However, if it is for a pressing need, we say that it is permitted for a pressing need, because its prohibition is from the category of blocking the means to harm. This is because silk itself is fine clothing and adornment, but because it leads to a man indulging in luxury like a woman, such that it becomes a cause of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), it became forbidden. So its prohibition is from the category of blocking the means to harm. The scholars have mentioned that what is forbidden as a means to harm is permitted by a pressing need. Everything that is forbidden as a means to harm is permitted by a pressing need. They gave as an example 'araya. What are 'araya? 'Araya is the sale of fresh dates for dried dates. The sale of fresh dates for dried dates is forbidden because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the sale of dried dates for fresh dates, he said They said, "Yes," so he prohibited it, because it is riba (usury or interest), since ignorance of equality is like knowledge of excess.
All right, but 'araya was permitted for a pressing need. How so? The pressing need is that a poor person who has no money, if he has dried dates and needs to snack on fresh dates as people do, the Lawgiver permitted him to buy fresh dates on the palm trees with dried dates, on the condition that it does not exceed five wasq (a dry measure of about 3 kg) and that it is by kharv (estimation), meaning we estimate the fresh dates as if they were dried dates, such that they equal the dried dates we exchanged for them. This is a type of riba, but it was permitted for a pressing need. Why? Because the prohibition of riba al-fadl (usury of excess in a like-for-like exchange) is from the category of blocking the means to harm, unlike the prohibition of riba al-nasi'ah (usury of deferment), whose prohibition is from the category of blocking the ends. For this reason, it came in the hadith the hadith of Usamah ibn Zayd Sahih al-Bukhari 2178, 2179 or Sahih Muslim 1596b. The scholars said that the intended meaning here is complete, intended riba, whereas riba al-fadl is a means.
In any case, I say that silk is permitted for a pressing need because its prohibition is from the category of blocking the means to harm. All right, for an itch.
His statement "or for a dire necessity" refers to silk, meaning wearing it for a dire necessity. One form of dire necessity is that he has no other garment with him; this is a dire necessity. Another form is that he has a garment, but he needs to wear the silk to ward off the cold; this is also a dire necessity. Another form is that his garment does not cover his 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) because it is torn, in which case wearing silk is permissible. The point is that whenever a dire necessity calls for it, wearing it is permissible.
"Or for an itch" means that if he has an itch, he is permitted to wear it, meaning wearing silk. How so? What is the wisdom behind that? They say that because of the softness and smoothness of silk, it extinguishes the inflammation of the itch, and for this reason the Lawgiver permitted it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) to wear silk due to an itch he had. Thus, an itch permits the wearing of silk. If someone were to say, "We have a legal principle that a forbidden thing is not permitted except by a dire necessity," is an itch a dire necessity? It appears that it can be a dire necessity. There is no doubt that it can be a dire necessity; sometimes a person is afflicted with a severe itch that will not let him settle. However, if it is for a pressing need, we say that it is permitted for a pressing need, because its prohibition is from the category of blocking the means to harm. This is because silk itself is fine clothing and adornment, but because it leads to a man indulging in luxury like a woman, such that it becomes a cause of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), it became forbidden. So its prohibition is from the category of blocking the means to harm. The scholars have mentioned that what is forbidden as a means to harm is permitted by a pressing need. Everything that is forbidden as a means to harm is permitted by a pressing need. They gave as an example 'araya. What are 'araya? 'Araya is the sale of fresh dates for dried dates. The sale of fresh dates for dried dates is forbidden because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the sale of dried dates for fresh dates, he said
Will it decrease when it dries?
أينقص إذا جفّ؟All right, but 'araya was permitted for a pressing need. How so? The pressing need is that a poor person who has no money, if he has dried dates and needs to snack on fresh dates as people do, the Lawgiver permitted him to buy fresh dates on the palm trees with dried dates, on the condition that it does not exceed five wasq (a dry measure of about 3 kg) and that it is by kharv (estimation), meaning we estimate the fresh dates as if they were dried dates, such that they equal the dried dates we exchanged for them. This is a type of riba, but it was permitted for a pressing need. Why? Because the prohibition of riba al-fadl (usury of excess in a like-for-like exchange) is from the category of blocking the means to harm, unlike the prohibition of riba al-nasi'ah (usury of deferment), whose prohibition is from the category of blocking the ends. For this reason, it came in the hadith
No riba
لا رباNarrated Abu Salih Az-Zaiyat: I heard Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri saying, "The selling of a Dinar for a Dinar, and a Dirham for a Dirham (is permissible)." I said to him, "Ibn `Abbas does not say the same." Abu Sa`id replied, "I asked Ibn `Abbas whether he had heard it from the Prophet (ﷺ) s or seen it in the Holy Book. Ibn `Abbas replied, "I do not claim that, and you know Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) better than I, but Usama informed me that the Prophet had said, 'There is no Riba (in money exchange) except when it is not done from hand to hand (i.e. when there is delay in payment).' "
لا ربا إلا في النسيئةUbaidullah b. Abu Yazid heard Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) as saying: Usama b. Zaid reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: There can be an element of interest in credit (when the payment is not equal).
إنما الربا في النسيئةIn any case, I say that silk is permitted for a pressing need because its prohibition is from the category of blocking the means to harm. All right, for an itch.