The Theory of Correlation of Social Obligation with the Approval of Right from the Viewpoint of Āyatollāh ‘Abd al-Karīm Ḥāʼirī-Yazdī

The great researcher Āyatollāh ‘Abd al-Karīm Ḥāʼirī-Yazdī has uṣūlī and fiqhī thoughts, neither excessive rationalism nor unequivocal textualism, but rather has moderate ijtihādī thought. From this point of view, the theory of “the theory of the correlation of social obligation on the approval of right” can be extracted from his ijtihādī thinking. Accepting this theory, Āyatollāh ‘Abd al-Karīm Ḥāʼirī-Yazdī believed that sometimes in issuing a ḥukm (decree) and taklīf (obligation) the observance of another right is considered, thereby it creates rights for another person. By extracting this theory from his academic works and proving it, the author presents the case of “the right of divorce for the wife” to apply this theory. The presented example is obtained and proven by highlighting verse 229 of Sūrah al-Baqarah “then [let there be] either an honourable retention or a kindly release” and the correlation of social obligation with approval of right. Other cases that create rights for the other people by his theory are “the right of the poor” in khums and zakāt and “the right of the person who was absent” in obtaining his satisfaction.