What are the conditions required for compulsion to legally invalidate an act, such as divorce?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
There are three conditions for legal compulsion. First, the coercer must possess authority or dominance, such as a ruler or a brigand (Liss). Second, the coerced person must strongly suspect that the threat will be carried out if he does not comply with the demand. Third, the threatened harm must be a significant injury, such as killing, severe beating, incarceration, or prolonged imprisonment.
Supporting text
A narration attributed to Al-Sha'bi suggests that divorce under compulsion by a brigand does not take effect, whereas compulsion by a ruler does, based on the reasoning that a brigand might kill him. However, the general evidence regarding compulsion encompasses all parties, as those who coerced Ammar were not brigands. Furthermore, insults and verbal abuse, or taking a small amount of money, do not constitute compulsion according to one narration.