Does a general fear preventing habitation or access to the leased property grant the lessee the option to terminate the lease?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Leasing

Book 25 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

A general fear that prevents dwelling in the leased location or restricts access to the leased land for cultivation, and similar situations, establishes the option for the lessee to terminate the lease (*Fasq*). This ruling is established because such a general event prevents the lessee from fully utilizing the benefit (*Manfa'a*), thus granting the option to terminate, similar to cases of usurpation (*Ghasb*) of the leased object. If a beast of burden is leased for travel to a specific location and the road becomes impassable due to a newly occurring fear, or if the lease is for Mecca and people are prevented from Hajj that year via that route, either party has the option to terminate the lease. Alternatively, they may choose to keep the lease active until the benefit can be realized, as the right belongs to them and does not extend beyond them.