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La tanqud al-yaqin bi-l-shakk Hadiths

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Lā Tanquḍ al-Yaqīn bi-l-Shakk Hadiths (Arabic: أحادیث لا تنقض اليقين بالشك, lit. Do not overturn certainty with doubt) are a collection of narrations indicating that certainty (yaqin) should not be invalidated by doubt (shakk). These hadiths are discussed in the science of usul al-fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence) and are also referred to as Akhbar la Tanquḍ. Usulis consider the Akhbar la Tanqud as the main evidence for the validity of Istishab (presumption of continuity). Based on the rule of Istishab, if a person has certainty about a religious matter and later doubts it, they must adhere to their initial certainty until they acquire a new certainty on the matter. For example, if someone is certain that they have performed Wudu' (ablution) and later doubts whether their Wudu' has been invalidated or not, they should not pay attention to their doubt and should assume that their Wudu' has not been invalidated.

Introduction

The hadiths phrased "la tanqud al-yaqin bi-l-shakk" convey that certainty should not be overturned by doubt. In usul al-fiqh, it is said that this sentence indicates Istishab; meaning that if we were certain about a religious issue and then doubted it, we should not destroy our certainty with doubt; rather, we should act based on our previous certainty.[1] For example, if we performed Wudu' and after a while doubted whether our Wudu' became void or not, we should not pay attention to our doubt and should assume that our Wudu' has not become void.[2]

In Shi'a jurisprudential works, narrations containing the phrase "la tanqud al-yaqin bi-l-shakk" or similar phrases are technically called "Akhbar la Tanqud".[3] Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar, a Shi'a scholar of the 14th/20th century, has listed these hadiths as the main proof for the validity of the principle of Istishab.[4]

Discussions of Usulis Regarding Akhbar la Tanqud

Among the Akhbar la Tanqud, three hadiths have been narrated by Zurara b. A'yan, a companion of Imam al-Baqir (a) and Imam al-Sadiq (a).[5] According to al-Shaykh al-Ansari, the chain of transmission (sanad) of these three narrations by Zurara is reliable, while he regards the chain of transmission of the remaining narrations is weak.[6]According to al-Shaykh al-Ansari, none of these three narrations, taken individually, constitutes sufficient evidence for Istishab; but these narrations, taken together, can be evidence for the validity of Istishab.[7] The three narrations of Zurara are as follows:

Performing Wudu' Again in Case of Doubt in Invalidity of Wudu'

Zurara asks one of the Infallibles (a) about someone who is certain that he performed Wudu', but later doubts whether he slept fully (which would nullify the wudu'). The Imam (a) replied that certainty must never be overturned by doubt; it can only be overturned by another certainty. (Arabic: لاَ یَنْقُضُ اَلْیَقِینَ أَبَداً بِالشَّکِّ وَ لَکِنْ یَنْقُضُهُ بِیَقِینٍ آخَرَ)[8] Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei, based on some documents, holds that this narration is quoted from Imam al-Baqir (a).[9]

Al-Shaykh al-Ansari has raised the possibility that this narration is only specific to certainty about Wudu' and doubt about it, and therefore holds that one cannot rely solely on this narration to prove Istishab;[10] in contrast, according to Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei, this narration states that generally, certainty should not be destroyed by doubt.[11]

Repetition of Prayer in Case of Doubt in Purity of Clothes

In a narration, Zurara asked one of the Imams (a) several questions, and among those questions, he asked: If I thought my clothes were Najis (impure), but I did not attain certainty and searched but did not see anything, and prayed in that state, and after the prayer I realized that my clothes were Najis, should I perform my prayer again? The Imam (a) replies: There is no need to perform the prayer again; because before that, you had certainty, and it is not appropriate for you to destroy certainty with doubt. (Arabic: لَیْسَ یَنْبَغِی لَکَ أَنْ تَنْقُضَ اَلْیَقِینَ بِالشَّکِّ)[12] According to Akhund Khurasani, a jurist and Usuli of the 14th/20th century, this part of the narration indicates Istishab.[13]

Performing an Additional Rak'a in Case of Doubt

In another narration, Zurara quotes one of the Imams (a) saying that someone who is certain he has performed three rak'as of prayer and doubts whether he has performed the fourth rak'a or not, should not overturn his certainty with doubt (Arabic: لاَ یَنْقُضِ اَلْیَقِینَ بِالشَّکِّ وَ لاَ یُدْخِلِ اَلشَّکَّ فِی اَلْیَقِینِ وَ لاَ یَخْلِطْ أَحَدَهُمَا بِالْآخَرِ وَ لَکِنَّهُ یَنْقُضُ اَلشَّکَّ بِالْیَقِینِ) and should stand up and perform an additional rak'a.[14] Wahid Bihbahani (a Shi'a jurist, 12th/18th century) considers this narration among those that definitely indicate Istishab.[15] Al-Shaykh al-Ansari has doubted whether this hadith indicates Istishab; because according to Shi'a jurisprudence, in case of doubt between the third and fourth rak'a, one should assume it is the fourth (not the third as mentioned in this narration) and perform one additional rak'a after the salam.[16]

Narrations Similar to Akhbar la Tanqud

In addition to Zurara's narrations, there are several other narrations that have expressions similar to "la tanqud al-yaqin bi-l-shakk". For example, it is narrated from Imam al-Kazim (a): "Whenever you doubt in prayer, build upon certainty."[17] Also, in other narrations, it is stated that "Whoever has certainty and then doubts, should remain on his certainty; for doubt does not invalidate certainty"[18] and "Doubt does not enter into certainty."[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ See for example: Bihbahānī, al-Rasāʾil al-uṣūliyya, p. 437.
  2. ↑ Jamʿī az nūwīsandigān, Farhang-nāma-yi uṣūl-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 853.
  3. ↑ Fāḍil Lankarānī, Sayrī kāmil dar uṣūl-i fiqh, vol. 14, p. 33; Muḥammadī, Sharḥ kifāyat al-uṣūl, vol. 4, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Muẓaffar, Uṣūl al-fiqh, vol. 4, p. 296.
  5. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 1, p. 8; Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, vol. 2, p. 361; Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 2, p. 186.
  6. ↑ Anṣārī, Farāʾid al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 71.
  7. ↑ Anṣārī, Farāʾid al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 71.
  8. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 1, p. 8.
  9. ↑ Khūʾī, Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khūʾī, vol. 48, p. 15.
  10. ↑ Anṣārī, Farāʾid al-uṣūl, vol. 3, p. 71.
  11. ↑ Khūʾī, Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khūʾī, vol. 48, p. 20.
  12. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, vol. 2, p. 361.
  13. ↑ Ākhūnd Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 393.
  14. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 2, p. 186; Khūʾī, Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khūʾī, vol. 48, pp. 69, 75.
  15. ↑ Bihbahānī, al-Rasāʾil al-uṣūliyya, pp. 442–443.
  16. ↑ Anṣārī, Farāʾid al-uṣūl, vol. 3, pp. 62–63.
  17. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 1, p. 351.
  18. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Khiṣāl, vol. 2, p. 619.
  19. ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, vol. 4, p. 159.

References

  • Ākhūnd Khurāsānī, Muḥammad Kāẓim. Kifāyat al-uṣūl. Qom, Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt (a) li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1409 AH.
  • Anṣārī, Murtaḍā. Farāʾid al-uṣūl. Qom, Bāqirī, 1419 AH.
  • Bihbahānī, Muḥammad Bāqir. al-Rasāʾil al-uṣūliyya. Qom, Muʾassisat al-ʿAllāma al-Mujaddid al-Waḥīd al-Bihbahānī, 1st ed, 1416 AH.
  • Fāḍil Lankarānī, Muḥammad. Sayrī kāmil dar uṣūl-i fiqh. Qom, Fayḍiyya, 1377 Sh.
  • Jamʿī az nūwīsandigān. Farhang-nāma-yi uṣūl-i fiqh. Qom, Bāqirī, 1389 Sh.
  • Khūʾī, Abū l-Qāsim. Mawsūʿat al-Imām al-Khūʾī. Qom, Muʾassisat Iḥyāʾ Āthār al-Imām al-Khūʾī, 1418 AH.
  • Muḥammadī, ʿAlī. Sharḥ kifāyat al-uṣūl. n.p, n.p, 1385 Sh.
  • Muẓaffar, Muḥammad Riḍā. Uṣūl al-fiqh. Qom, Ismāʿīliyān, n.d.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī... al-. ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ. Qom, Maktabat al-Dāwarī, n.d.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī... al-. al-Khiṣāl. Qom, Muʾassisa-yi Nashr-i Islāmī, 1416 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī... al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Qom, Muʾassisa-yi Nashr-i Islāmī, 2nd ed, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan... al-. Tahdhīb al-aḥkām fī sharḥ al-muqniʿa. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1365 Sh.
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