Islamic Contract Law:

Mal

According to the Hanbali School

Hanbali Definition of

Mal

According to Ibn Qudamah, mal refers to:

Anything that provides a benefit and whose use is permitted by Shariah under normal circumstances.

For something to be considered mal, it should therefore have two main features:

1. It Must Have a Beneficial Nature

• The property must provide some form of benefit or usefulness.
• The benefit may come from the physical object itself or from the right to use it.

Examples:

• A house provides shelter.
• A car provides transportation.
• Land may be used for farming.
• Renting a house gives the tenant the benefit of using the property.

Usufruct (

Manfa‘ah

)

• The Hanbali definition can include usufruct (manfa‘ah).
• Manfa‘ah means the benefit or right to use something even though the person does not own the object itself.

Example:

• A person rents an apartment.
• The tenant does not own the apartment.
• However, the tenant has the right to live in and use it during the rental period.
• This benefit is considered manfa‘ah.

2. It Must Be Permissible by Shariah

• The benefit obtained from the property must be lawful or permissible under Shariah.
• If something is normally prohibited by Shariah, it is not treated as mal in the same way under this definition.

Examples:

• A house, food, clothing, and a vehicle have lawful benefits and can be considered mal.
• Wine is normally prohibited for Muslims and therefore does not qualify as recognised property under this definition.

Necessity (

Darurah

)

• The definition refers to what is permissible under normal circumstances.
• An item does not become recognised as ordinary lawful property merely because it may be temporarily allowed in a situation of necessity (darurah).
• Darurah refers to an exceptional situation where something normally prohibited may be allowed because of serious necessity.

Example:

• If a normally prohibited substance becomes necessary to protect a person’s life and no lawful alternative exists, its use may be temporarily allowed because of necessity.
• This exception does not make the substance generally permissible property.

Effect of the Shariah Requirement

• Requiring property to be Shariah-permissible makes the Hanbali definition narrower.
• Something may have economic value in society, but if its use is prohibited by Shariah, it may not receive the same recognition as mal.

Example from the Hanbali View

• The classical example given is wine.
• Because wine is not regarded as lawful property for a Muslim under this definition, its destruction would not be treated in the same way as the destruction of recognised lawful property.
• Therefore, the text explains that compensation would not be required in the example of a Muslim destroying wine belonging to a non-Muslim.

Simple Summary

Under the Hanbali school, something is generally considered mal when:

• It provides a benefit → the property must be useful.
• Its benefit is permissible by Shariah → the use of the property must normally be lawful.
• Benefits such as usufruct (manfa‘ah) can be included → not only physical objects, but also recognised rights of use may have property value.
• Necessity (darurah) is an exception → temporary permission in an emergency does not make something normally prohibited into ordinary lawful property.