Hawa (desire, and the duty to resist it)

هَوَى

Hawa in the technical sense is the inclination of the soul towards pleasures it relishes, without the call of the law. ¹ ² It differs from shahwa (appetite) in that hawa concerns opinions and beliefs, while shahwa concerns obtaining pleasurable things. ² Hawa that agrees with the law is praised, and that which opposes it is blamed; the law forbids following the blamed kind. ² ³ The jurists divide the followers of hawa into those whose unbelief is to be declared and those who are not; they differ on the acceptance of the testimony of the first, while most accept the testimony of the misguided but not the Khattabiyya. ⁴ Al-Ghazali divides hearts into three kinds, and scholars count opposing one's own desire the greatest struggle. ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ Two causes lead to following desire: the strength of its rule, and the reluctance to think clearly when things are unclear. ⁵

Summary

Hawa in the technical sense is the inclination of the soul towards pleasures it relishes, without the call of the law. ¹ ²

Hawa and appetite

Hawa concerns opinions and beliefs; shahwa concerns obtaining pleasurable things. ²

The ruling on following it

Hawa that agrees with the law is praised; hawa that opposes it is blamed, and the law forbids following the blamed kind. ² ³

Followers of desire

The jurists divide followers of hawa into those whose unbelief is to be declared and those who are not. They differ on the testimony of the first; most accept the testimony of the misguided but not of the Khattabiyya. ⁴

Kinds of hearts and causes

Al-Ghazali divides hearts into three kinds in their steadfastness towards good and evil. ⁴ ⁵ The causes of following desire are the strength of its rule and reluctance to think clearly when matters are unclear. ⁵ Scholars count opposing one's own desire among the greatest struggles. ⁵ ⁶

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16565

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16566

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16567

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16569

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16570

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16571

Hadr (blood and value wasted: no retaliation, no compensation)

Hadr means waste or nullity; as a technical term, a hadr soul is one for which there is neither retaliation, diya nor expiation. The principle is that a human life is protected, but an apostate is an exception agreed by the jurists: the imam or his deputy executes him, and if someone other than the imam kills him without authorisation there is no retaliation or diya, though he is disciplined (ta'zir). The blood of a heretic whose innovation is takfiri is also wasted, and so is that of a belligerent non-Muslim; non-combatants such as women, children, the old, and monks may not be killed. The blood of a married adulterer is wasted in the view of most jurists; the Hanafis require that the killing follow a judgment. Where a wounded person's status changed between protected and wasted before death, the majority hold the earlier wound unliable, while Ibn al-Qasim (Maliki) holds a diya due. If a Muslim shot a hadr person who then converted before the arrow struck, the majority hold no retaliation is due, while the Shafi'is hold, in the sounder view, a lighter diya paid by the kin. For the Shafi'is the retaliation is claimed by the Muslim next of kin; for the Hanbalis it is the imam who executes. A person whose blood is wasted need not be given water he needs, and the Shafi'is and Hanbalis permit a compelled person to kill such a person to save his own life if no other food is found. One whose blood was wasted by a crime who kills himself gets no expiation from that act, since he has no right to spill his own blood.