The Historical Journey Of The Legal Change In The Hanafi School About The Compensation Of Benefits

Abstract

The non-compensation of benefits is a basic rule according to the Hanafi school (madhhab). However, the late Hanafi scholars (muta'akhkhirun) made some exceptions to this established rule (zahir al-riwaya) in the madhhab. The exceptions to this rule are the benefits (use-values) of endowment property, orphans' property and property set up for profitable use (mu'add li-l-istighlal). The late Hanatis accepted the view that benefits could only be compensated in these three places by slightly stretching the relevant rule. Fatwas (legal opinions) on this subject were initially discussed in wacirat literature. Later they gained a certain authority by being repeated in many works of the same genre. Finally, this view which has been accepted by the Hanafi Sheikhs (mesaikh), has become a part of the doctrine by taking its place in the later standard texts and legal commentaries (shuruh) of the school. In this study, the question how the rule of zahir al-riwaya in the Hanafi school about the compensation of benefits (daman al-manafi) was revised by the late Hanafis will be discussed. Additionally, the question when the exceptions mentioned were arised will be searched. The incorrectness of some views that have been claimed recently on the subject will be examined by the help of the examples in the Hanafi legal literature.