The Fidyah of the Prohibitions

The Eighth Topic

The Fidyah of the Prohibitions

The categories of the prohibitions with regard to the fidyah:

The prohibitions of ihram divide into four categories with regard to the fidyah:

The first category: what has no fidyah—the marriage contract.

The second category: what has a fidyah of a badanah (camel or cow)—intercourse in Hajj before the first tahallul.

The third category: what has a fidyah of its equivalent or what stands in its place—killing game.

The fourth category: what has a fidyah of fasting, charity, or sacrifice.

The text mentions this under the fidyah for shaving the head. Allah Most High said: ﴿وَلَا تَحۡلِقُواْ رُءُوسَكُمۡ حَتَّىٰ يَبۡلُغَ ٱلۡهَدۡيُ مَحِلَّهُۥۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوۡ بِهِۦٓ أَذٗى مِّن رَّأۡسِهِۦ فَفِدۡيَةٞ مِّن صِيَامٍ أَوۡ صَدَقَةٍ أَوۡ نُسُكٖۚ﴾ […do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal reaches its place. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of his head—then a ransom of fasting, or charity, or sacrifice.] (Al-Baqarah 196) and the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified the measure of the fasting, the charity, and that the sacrifice (nusuk) is a sheep—from Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah

(may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), that he said to him: “Perhaps your crawling vermin (lice) have troubled you?” He said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Shave your head, fast three days, or feed six needy persons, or sacrifice a sheep.” (1) And by “sheep” here is meant: a sheep that has reached the age required in the hady, free of the defects that prevent sufficiency.

The scholars call this fidyah “the fidyah of harm,” as Allah Most High said: ﴿أَوۡ بِهِۦٓ أَذٗى مِّن رَّأۡسِهِۦ﴾ […or has an ailment of his head.] (Al-Baqarah 196) The scholars extended the ruling for shaving the head to all the remaining prohibitions of ihram, except for the three categories mentioned above.

Committing the prohibitions has three cases: If the muhrim commits any of these prohibitions—such as shaving the head, applying perfume, intercourse, killing game, or another prohibition—there are three cases:

The first case: that the muhrim is forgetful, ignorant, coerced, or asleep—then nothing is upon him: no sin, no fidyah, and no invalidation of the rite—as evidenced by

the general proofs of excuse in such cases. Allah Most High said: ﴿رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ﴾ [Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we forget or err.] (Al-Baqarah 286) And it came in the hadith qudsi: Allah said: “I have done so.” (1) And Allah Most High said: ﴿وَلَيۡسَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ جُنَاحٞ فِيمَآ أَخۡطَأۡتُم بِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن مَّا تَعَمَّدَتۡ قُلُوبُكُمۡۚ﴾ [And there is no blame upon you for that in which you erred, but only for what your hearts intended.] (Al-Ahzab 5) And Allah Most High said specifically concerning the prohibitions in killing game: ﴿وَمَن قَتَلَهُۥ مِنكُم مُّتَعَمِّدٗا فَجَزَآءٞ مِّثۡلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ ٱلنَّعَمِ﴾ [And whoever of you kills it intentionally—the penalty is an equivalent of what he killed from livestock.] (Al-Ma’idah 95) so Allah made the obligation of the game’s compensation conditional on the killer being deliberate. Deliberateness is a fitting attribute for punishment and liability, so it had to be considered and the ruling attached to it; the implication is: if he is not deliberate, there is neither compensation nor sin upon him.

Note: Whenever the excuse ceases for the muhrim —the ignorant learns, the forgetful remembers, the sleeper wakes, and the coercion is removed— he must immediately abandon and leave the prohibited act.

And if he continues in it after the excuse has ceased: the fidyah becomes obligatory upon him, together with sin and disobedience, so he must repent sincerely and pay the fidyah.

An example of that: The muhrim covers his head while asleep—nothing is upon him as long as he remains asleep; when he wakes, he must uncover his head immediately. If he continues covering it while knowing he must uncover it, he is sinful and disobedient, and he owes the aforementioned fidyah.

The second case: that the muhrim commits the prohibition deliberately but for an excuse that permits it—then the fidyah is upon him according to its kind, and there is no sin upon him, as Allah Most High said: ﴿وَلَا تَحۡلِقُواْ رُءُوسَكُمۡ حَتَّىٰ يَبۡلُغَ ٱلۡهَدۡيُ مَحِلَّهُۥۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوۡ بِهِۦٓ أَذٗى مِّن رَّأۡسِهِۦ فَفِدۡيَةٞ مِّن صِيَامٍ أَوۡ صَدَقَةٍ أَوۡ نُسُكٖۚ﴾ [And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal reaches its place. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of his head—then a ransom of fasting, or charity, or sacrifice.] (Al-Baqarah 196) And the story of Ka‘b ibn ‘Ujrah (may Allah be pleased with him) also shows the permissibility of doing that for one who has an excuse: he was carried to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while lice were falling onto his face, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “I did not think the affliction had reached this extent with you. Do you not find a sheep?” I said: No. He said: “Fast three days, or feed six needy persons—half a sa‘ of food for each needy person—and shave your head.” (1)

The third case: that the muhrim commits the prohibition—other than intercourse and marriage—deliberately without an excuse that permits it—then the fidyah is upon him, together with sin and disobedience, and he must hasten to sincere repentance and pay the fidyah.