The word · Law & life
سَدُّ الذَّرائِع
Sadd al-Dhara'i
Blocking the means: forbidding something lawful because it reliably leads to something forbidden.
Also written · Sadd al dharai · Sadd adh-dharai · Sad al-zarai · Sadd ul dharai · Dharia · Dhariah · Zarai · blocking the means · preventing pretexts · closing the doors · fath al-dharai
The meaning
What Sadd al-Dhara'i means in Islam
The classic proof is the Qur'anic instruction not to insult what others call upon besides Allah, lest they insult Allah in return out of ignorance. Malikis and Hanbalis use the principle heavily, while Shafi'is and Hanafis apply it more sparingly, since without limits it can be stretched to forbid nearly anything. Its mirror image, opening the means, is used to encourage whatever leads to a required good.
Evidence · Scholars differ · The scholars read this one differently
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- MaslahahPublic benefit, weighed as a legal consideration where no specific text settles the matter.مَصْلَحة
- MalikiThe school of Malik ibn Anas of Madinah, weighted towards the practice of that city.المَذْهَبُ المالِكِيّ
- HanbaliThe school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the most text bound of the four, strongest in Arabia.المَذْهَبُ الحَنْبَلِيّ
- HaramForbidden. Leaving it is rewarded, and doing it deliberately is a sin.حَرام
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