Reconciliation Among Muslims: Types, Conditions, and Sharʿī Limits
Written by: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❀ Linguistic Meaning
Ṣulḥ means peace, correction, and reconciliation.
- From the root ṣulḥ (kara ma, naṣara, fataḥa) — meaning to be correct.
- Ṣālaḥa – yuṣāliḥu (mufāʿalah): to reconcile mutually.
- Aṣlaḥa – yuṣliḥu (ifʿāl): to make reconciliation.
- Istaslaḥa – yastasliḥu (istifʿāl): to seek reconciliation.
References: al-Munjid (p. 477), Lisān al-ʿArab (7/384).
❀ Sharʿī Definition
A contract undertaken to end disputes, divisions, and conflicts.
References: Natāʾij al-Afkār (7/23), Tabīīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq (5/29), al-Durr al-Mukhtār (4/493), Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (2/177).
❀ Evidence for Reconciliation
➊ Qur’ān (al-Nisāʾ 128):
﴿فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَن يُصْلِحَا بَيْنَهُمَا صُلْحًا ۚ وَالصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ﴾
“No sin is upon them if they reconcile between themselves; reconciliation is best.”
➋ Qur’ān (al-Nisāʾ 114):
﴿لَّا خَيْرَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِّن نَّجْوَاهُمْ إِلَّا مَنْ أَمَرَ بِصَدَقَةٍ أَوْ مَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ إِصْلَاحٍ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ﴾
“There is no good in much of their private conversation except in commanding charity, or good, or reconciliation between people.”
➌ Qur’ān (al-Ḥujurāt 9):
﴿وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا﴾
“If two groups of believers fight, make reconciliation between them.”
➍ Ḥadīth (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2693):
When the people of Qubāʾ quarreled and began throwing stones, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«اذهبوا بنا نصلح بينهم»
“Let us go and reconcile between them.”
❀ Limits of Reconciliation
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«الصلح جائز بين المسلمين إلا صلحا حرم حلالا أو أحل حراما»
“Reconciliation among Muslims is permissible except for one that makes the lawful unlawful, or the unlawful lawful.”
(al-Tirmidhī 1352, Ibn Mājah 2353, al-Ḥākim 4/101, al-Bayhaqī 6/65)
Examples:
- Prohibited: Reconciling to make intercourse with a slave woman lawful where it is not, or agreeing to consume unlawful wealth.
- Prohibited: A wife stipulating that her husband never marries again — such a condition is invalid as it prohibits what Allah has made lawful.
❀ Reconciliation in Known and Unknown Matters
- Known with unknown: As when the Prophet ﷺ advised creditors of Jābir’s father to accept orchard fruits against a known debt (Bukhārī 2265).
- Unknown with known: As in inheritance disputes without evidence, where the Prophet ﷺ warned that wrongful judgment would be like a piece of Hellfire (Bukhārī 2967, Muslim 1713).
❀ Use of Lot (Qurʿah) in Reconciliation
The Qur’ān mentions casting lots:
➊ Āl ʿImrān 44 – regarding the guardianship of Maryam.
➋ al-Ṣāffāt 141 – regarding Prophet Yūnus.
Ḥadīth examples:
- The Prophet ﷺ drew lots among his wives before travel (Bukhārī 2404).
- He drew lots among six slaves (Muslim 3154).
- Even in prayer rows and martyr shrouding, lots were used.
❀ Reconciliation in Cases of Murder (Qiṣāṣ and Diyah)
- Qur’ān: ﴿وَالصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ﴾ – reconciliation is best.
- Ḥadīth: «الصلح جائز بين المسلمين» – reconciliation is permissible among Muslims.
- In cases of intentional killing, heirs of the slain may:
- Execute qiṣāṣ,
- Accept diyah (blood-money),
- Or agree upon any settlement beyond or less than diyah (Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 7/259).
❀ Reconciliation in Denial and Dispute
Examples:
- Claim of 100 dinars denied; reconciliation on 50 is valid.
- Dispute over 50 vs. 25 dinars; reconciliation on agreed terms is valid.
- Dispute over delay; reconciliation for early part-payment is valid.
Majority (Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Aḥmad, jumhūr) allow it. Al-Shāfiʿī and Ibn Abī Laylā disagreed, but their objection is refuted since consent of both parties makes the settlement lawful.
❀ Lying for Reconciliation
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«ليـس الـكـذاب الذى يصلح بين الناس فينمي خيرا أو يقول خيرا»
“He is not a liar who conveys good or speaks good in order to reconcile between people.”
(Bukhārī 2692, Kitāb al-Ṣulḥ)
❀ Conclusion
✿ Reconciliation is a Sharʿīly valid practice, supported by Qur’ān and Sunnah.
✿ It is only invalid if it alters Sharʿī rulings (making ḥarām ḥalāl or vice versa).
✿ It may involve known/unknown matters and even adjustments in diyah.
✿ Use of lots (qurʿah) is a Sunnah method of fair decision-making.
✿ Lying is generally forbidden, but an exception exists for reconciliation.
