The Jurisprudential Status of Urgency (Duress) and its Effect on the Contract

Contracts under the abuse of urgency have not been discussed in Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) as an independent subject. The Islamic Jurisprudents have discussed this issue in the book of foods and drinks, following the discussion on the justifiability of consuming (eating) another’s property when in an emergency; five different theories are available about the status of the contract between the person in distress and the owner of the food; the theory of Detailed Adjustment of the Contract has been accepted and chosen due to jurisprudential reasons.
To make the theories more clear, firstly the literal and jurisprudential concepts of duress and urgency will be presented; then the scope of duress and urgency in contracts will be distinguished and the effects of duress and urgency in their scope would be investigated.Then the five theories drawn from juristic bookswill be discussed, and finallyby referring to related Hadith’, the chosen theorywill be expressed, criticized and explained with regard to jurisprudential foundations.