Hija' (satire and insult in verse: its rules)

هِجَاء

Hija', in the lexical sense, is the opposite of praise: it is abuse and enumeration of faults; the word also means spelling out the letters of a word. ¹ ² It differs from sabb (abuse, which is wider), from qadhf (accusing a free Muslim of unchastity or of a false lineage), and from ghiba (backbiting, said in the absence of the person). ² ³ Most jurists allow satirising an unbelieving non-protected person and an apostate, since the Prophet ﷺ bade Hassan ibn Thabit (may God be pleased with him) satirise the unbelievers, and forbid satirising a Muslim; the Shafi'is except an innovator and an open sinner; the Hanafis allow satire of a hypocrite. ⁴ Satirising the dead is judged as satirising the living. ⁴ If two men abuse each other, the sin falls on the one who began, and retaliation is allowed to the extent of the wrong. ⁵ ⁶ The imam may discipline one who satirises people without right. ⁶

Summary

Hija', in the lexical sense, is the opposite of praise: abuse and the enumeration of faults. ¹ ²

Distinct notions

It differs from sabb, which is wider; from qadhf, the accusation of unchastity or of a false lineage; and from ghiba, which is said in the absence of the person. ² ³

The ruling

Satirising an unbelieving non-protected person and an apostate is allowed, since the Prophet bade Hassan satirise the unbelievers; satirising a Muslim is forbidden, the Shafi'is excepting an innovator and an open sinner, the Hanafis allowing the satire of a hypocrite. ⁴ Satirising the dead is judged as satirising the living. ⁴

Mutual abuse and discipline

If people abuse each other, the sin falls on the one who began, and retaliation is allowed to the extent of the wrong. ⁵ ⁶ The imam may discipline one who satirises people without right. ⁶

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16809

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16810

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16811

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16812

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16813

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.16814

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.