قواعد فقهی در مدیریت بحران خشکسالی و منابع آبی

Abstract

Abstract
The crisis of drought and the scarcity of water resources are among the fundamental challenges facing Muslim societies, with far‑reaching legal and social implications. The central question of this research is: what framework does Islamic jurisprudence, drawing on its categorization of water types and its general legal maxims, provide for managing drought crises and regulating the just distribution of water resources? The objective of the study is to clarify the fiqh regulations related to different categories of water and to derive the governing principles for the allocation, use, and resolution of water‑related disputes under conditions of scarcity. This article employs a descriptive–analytical method and is based on authoritative Hanafi fiqh sources as well as the legal principles codified in the Majallat al‑Ahkam al‑‘Adliyyah. The study first examines the classification of water into public unowned water, privately owned water, and shared water, and explains the jurisprudential implications of each category for determining water rights and limits of disposal and use. It then analyzes legal maxims such as “no harm and no reciprocating harm” (lā ḍarar wa lā ḍirār), “harm must be removed” (al‑ḍarar yuzāl), “what is customary is equivalent to a stipulated condition” (al‑ma‘rūf ‘urfan ka‑al‑mashrūṭ sharṭan), and the principle that “the authority’s discretionary acts concerning the subjects are contingent upon public interest” (al‑taṣarruf ‘alā al‑ra‘iyyah manūṭ bi‑al‑maṣlaḥah) in the context of drought crisis management. The findings show that Islamic jurisprudence—through its emphasis on distributive justice, the prohibition of hoarding, recognition of local custom in water scheduling, and the ruler’s authority in regulating disputes—possesses the necessary practical and legal capacity for sustainable water resource management under drought conditions. Accordingly, fiqh principles can provide an effective and justice‑oriented foundation for policymaking in drought crisis management and the protection of water resources.

Keywords: Crisis; Drought; Fiqh; Regulations; Water Resources.