Respite (muhla) granted to a debtor, surety, rebels or a claimant

Muhla is respite: time given to a debtor, a claimant or a party to a suit. It is distinct from the term (ajal), which fixes a time to come, and from duration (mudda), which is wider. ¹

All agree the judge may give a surety time to produce an absent principal when the creditor asks, for the time it takes to go and return. The majority require the absence to be in a known place; the Hanafis and Shafi'is add safety of the road. ^{1 2}

The Malikis hold that a man who swears to abstain from his wife for a while is not an ila' man. The Shafi'is give four months, and afterwards only enough time to prepare; the Hanbalis order divorce or imprisonment. ^{2 3}

A shafi' who lacks the price is given three days by the Malikis and Shafi'is, and a day or two by the Hanafis. A slave under a writing of freedom who cannot pay the instalment is given two or three days by the Hanafis, and time by the Shafi'is and Hanbalis. ⁴

All jurists agree that the imam must grant rebels time when there is hope they will return to justice. A pregnant woman sentenced to stoning or retaliation is given time until she gives birth, and a sick man until he recovers. ^{4 5}

A claimant who asks time to produce proof is given three days by the Hanafis and Shafi'is; the Malikis leave the time to the judge; the Hanbalis do not detain the defendant. A defendant who asks time to bring proof or check his accounts is granted it by most jurists. ^{5 6}