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'''Rukhṣa''' ([[Arabic]]&nbsp;رخصة,&nbsp;concession, alleviation, facilitation, permission, plural&nbsp;rukhaṣ&nbsp;رخص) is a technical term in the discipline of [[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|uṣūl al-fiqh]] in [[Islamic law]] that is mostly applied on [[ibadah]]. It is a special dispensation from performing an obligatory act or from submitting to a prohibition, as a result of a mitigating circumstance (ʿudhr). The result is the replacement of a command with an easier alternative in cases of need or duress.
The opposite of rukhṣa is ʿAzīma (عزيمة, request) which means the request to observe the duty without consideration of any obstacles.<ref name="Ignaz1884">[[Ignaz Goldziher]]: ''Die Ẓâhiriten. Ihr Lehrsystem und ihre Geschichte. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der muhammedanischen Theologie''. Leipzig 1884. S. 68f </ref>
A permission of this kind, which is found in the [[quran]] is the permission to eat prohibited food in cases of emergency to avoid the death of hunger (Sura 5:3), and the recommendation to use sand instead of water for cleaning for [[salah]] ([[tayammum]] Sura 4:43, 5:6). Other permissions are based on sayings of the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]], like denying the own faith in case of danger to life.<ref name="Kister1982">[[Meir Jacob Kister|M. J. Kister]]: "On 'Concessions' and Conduct. A Study in early Ḥadīth" in G. H. A. Juynboll (ed.): ''Studies on the First Century of Islamic Society.'' Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press 1982. S. 89–107. </ref> Also the exemption of [[fasting]] the month of [[Ramadan]] for menstruating women, ill people, travellers, pregnant and breastfeeding women is known as rukhṣa.<ref name="Krawietz2002">[[Birgit Krawietz]]: ''Hierarchie der Rechtsquellen im tradierten sunnitischen Islam''. Berlin 2002. S. 233. </ref> In some cases rukhṣa leads to the complete opposite of an original provision such as visiting the graves, which was prohibited first, than allowed with a rukhṣa by Muhammad.<ref name="Kister1982"/>
Basic to the rukhṣa-concept is the following [[hadith]]: "Really, Allah loves his dispenses to be fulfilled, like his requests (inna Llāha yuḥibbu an tuʾtā ruḫaṣu-hū kamā yuḥibbu an tuʾtā ʿazāʾimu-hū).<ref name="Kister1982"/> The [[sahabah]] [[Abd Allah ibn Abbas]] is quoted : "Rukhṣa is like a [[sadaqah]], which Allah gives; do not deny it.((ar-ruḫṣa min Allāh ṣadaqa fa-lā taruddū ṣadaqata-hū)<ref name="Ignaz1884"/>
== Sufi teachings ==
[[Sufism|Sufis]], however, were often called to seek the divine reward that results from adhering to the 'aza'im. For example, while God allowed people to marry in the ruchsa, they sought the 'zīīma of [[celibacy]]. In particular, in the Sufi Order of the [[Naqshbandi]] emphasis was placed on the observance of'Azā'im, but other Muslims were allowed to use the Ruchsa facilities. This is based on the idea that the'Azā'im are for the strong, whereas the Ruchas are for the weak. This is also the basic idea of the treatise "The Chidric Measure" (''al-Mīzān al-Ḫiḍrīya'') of the Egyptian Sufis [[Al-Sha`rani|'Abd al-Wahhāb ash-Shārānī]] (1565). He developed there, with reference to the two principles Ruchsa and 'Azīma, the doctrine that the [[sharia]] had come down altogether in two stages, namely at the level of "mitigation" (''takhfif'') and the degree of "aggravation"(''tashdid''), each aimed at different groups of people. Asch-Sha'rānī describes in his treatise how he received this teaching from [[Khidr]], who traveled with him in seclusion and showed him the source of pure Sharia. Therefore, the treatise also has its name.<ref>Patrick Franke: "Begegnung mit Khidr. Quellenstudien zum Imaginären im traditionellen Islam." Language: German, Beirut/Stuttgart 2000. S. 300.</ref>
== Further reading ==
* Ze'ev Maghen: ''After hardship cometh ease: the Jews as backdrop for Muslim moderation''. Berlin [u.&nbsp;a.]: de Gruyter, 2006. S. 25–51.
* R. Peters: Art. "Rukhṣa. 1. In Law" in [[The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition]] Bd. VIII, S. 595b–596a.
* J.G.J. ter Haar: Art. "Rukhṣa. 1. In Sufism" in [[The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition]] Bd. VIII, S. 596.[[Category:Principles of Islamic jurisprudence]]
== References==
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