[مَعْنًى] "Rulings change with the times" is not a blanket rule. A ruling changes only when it rests on a changeable cause (ʿilla, علة), a custom (ʿurf, عرف), a necessity (ḍarūra, ضرورة), or the blocking of harm (dharīʿa, ذريعة). A ruling fixed by a text (naṣṣ, نص), by ijmāʿ, or by a fixed cause does not change with time.
📘 التقي العثماني، أصول الإفتاء وآدابه، ص ٢٨٥
[النَّصُّ] وَكَذَلِكَ حُكْمُ شُرْبِ الْخَمْرِ، عِلَّتُهُ أَنَّهُ خَمْرٌ، وَحِكْمَتُهُ حِفْظُ الْعَقْلِ، فَلَوِ ادَّعَى أَحَدٌ أَنَّ عَقْلَهُ لَا يَخْتَلُّ بِشُرْبِ الْخَمْرِ، فَإِنَّهُ يَحْرُمُ عَلَيْهِ أَيْضًا؛ لِأَنَّ الْعِلَّةَ وَهِيَ كَوْنُهُ خَمْرًا مَوْجُودَةٌ فِيهِ
[مَعْنًى] So a ruling follows its ʿilla (the operative cause), not its ḥikma (the wisdom behind it). If the ʿilla stays, the ruling stays.
📘 التقي العثماني، أصول الإفتاء وآدابه، ص ٢٨٦–٢٨٧
[النَّصُّ] فَلِلْمُفْتِي اتِّبَاعُ عُرْفِهِ الْحَادِثِ، لَكِنْ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْمُفْتِي مِمَّنْ لَهُ رَأْيٌ وَنَظَرٌ صَحِيحٌ وَمَعْرِفَةٌ بِقَوَاعِدِ الشَّرْعِ، حَتَّى يُمَيِّزَ بَيْنَ الْعُرْفِ الَّذِي يَجُوزُ بِنَاءُ الْأَحْكَامِ عَلَيْهِ وَبَيْنَ غَيْرِهِ
[مَعْنًى] This works only where the old ruling was built on custom, not on a text (naṣṣ), ijmāʿ, or a fixed cause. The custom must be real and current.
📘 التقي العثماني، أصول الإفتاء وآدابه، ص ٣١٢
[مَعْنًى] Necessity (ḍarūra, ضرورة) can permit a forbidden thing, but only by its measure: a real, present danger to life or limb, with no lawful way out, and without pushing the harm onto someone else. A lesser need (ḥāja, حاجة) is weaker. It does not lift a firm prohibition; for that, the need must reach true necessity.
📘 التقي العثماني، أصول الإفتاء وآدابه، ص ٣١٣–٣٢٠