ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Light On the Muhammadan Sunnah Or Defence of the Hadith Original Rules of Rituals and Transactions: Rule of rituals (ibadat) is invalidity, till an evidence be established to confirm their veracity. And rule of mu’amalat and contracts is veracity, till a proof be presented showing their invalidity, and prohibition (tahrim).

The difference between these two, being that Allah, the Glorified, cannot be worshipped but only through what He decreed and legislated by means of His apostles (with their tongues), as worship is only His obligation upon His bondmen, and His right that He Himself has warranted, legislated and been pleased with. Concerning the contracts, provisions (shurut) and transactions, they are valid till introducing an evidence proving their invalidity.

So Allah – Subhanahu – has forbidden the polytheists (mushrikun) from contradicting these two principles, which is prohibiting what He hasn’t prohibited, and seeking His pleasure through what He has not decreed. Because the halal being verily that which Allah regarded lawful, and the haram (unlawful) being that which He has prohibited, and whatever He left (with no express hukm) being ‘afw.

There may be a narrator deemed thiqah by Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, and suspected (majruh) in view of Yahya ibn Sa’id al-Qattan, or vice versa. And these two were leaders (imams) and pivot of criticism in naql (transmission), and upon them depend most of the traditions. Whatever was of decisive indication in the texts, is the general shar’, that should be followed and adopted in acts and adjudication.

Whereas that which was conjectural denotation, is in fact entrusted to the exertion of opinion (ijtihad) by some individuals in regard of acts of worship and prohibited acts (muharramat), and to the ulu al-amr (authorities) in the adjudication rules. The rule whose indication on tahrim (prohibition) being conjectural (zanni) not definite, can never be considered a universal law for which all the Ummah being answerable and asked to follow.

But each one can apply it according to his ijtihad, and whoever conceiving of its indication to prohibiting anything, would abstain from it, while that who couldn’t comprehend that, he would follow the rule of ibahah (permission). In Ma’alam usul al-Din, al-Fakhr al-Razi writes: The naqli (traditional) evidences can never indicate certainty (yaqin).