What types of physical torment constitute valid legal compulsion (Ikrah)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
Torture involving physical harm, such as beating, strangulation, squeezing (the limb), imprisonment, or submersion in water accompanied by a threat, constitutes compulsion without dispute. Evidence for this includes the report of the Companions taking Ammar, compelling him toward polytheism, and the Prophet's confirmation that if they returned, he should comply with their demands. Furthermore, a man is not considered trustworthy regarding himself if he is starved, beaten, or tied up, which implies the existence of an act constituting compulsion.