The Ruling on Exemptions from Debt (Mustasnīyāt-i Dayn) for Legal Entities from the Perspective of Islamic Jurisprudence and Law

فقه و اصول (Fiqh va uṣūl)

Article 8, Volume 56, Issue 3 - Serial Number 138, November 2024, Pages 189-210   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/jfiqh.2023.79323.1465

Authors

Mohammad Reza Elmi Sola¹; Zinat Pahlavan Mareshk^{* 2}

¹Associate Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundaments of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Knowledge, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

²Master’s Graduate, Department of Private Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Knowledge, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran

Abstract

The development of a legal system based on Shīʿa Jurisprudence has led to the incorporation of several jurisprudential opinions in the field of legislation. However, the comprehensive nature of legal rulings and therefore the formation and development of legal entities has led to the fact that social and economic transformations and demands do not welcome some traditional jurisprudential opinions, such as debt exemptions for natural persons. Principles such as lā żarar (No Harm for Anyon), Mafī ʿUsr va Ḥaraj (No Difficulty and No Hardship), Banā-yi ʿUqalā (Concept of Rational People), and legal principles like the principle of equality of individuals before the law can be considered as factors that enable the dynamics of jurisprudence. The analysis shows that since transactions are not absolute divine orders and are understood based on rational custom (ʿurf-i ʿuqalā), it is possible to establish debt exemptions for legal entities through the method of common reasoning from jurists’ opinions. In the end, all of these rules and principles work towards two main goals: being fair and improving human morality and elevated interests. To reach these goals, it is necessary that the legislator support legal entities and aid them in starting anew after dissolution.

Keywords

debt exemptions (Mustasnīyāt-i Dayn); personality; legal entity; natural person; dissolution

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