Questionable property

This article is about Questionable property. For other article named Mixed permissible and impermissible properties, see Mixed permissible and impermissible properties.

Questionable property or Al-Māl al-Mushtabaha (Arabic: المال الشُّبْهة) is a property that is not known whether it is lawful or unlawful. It is different from property mixed with unlawful property because in the property mixed with unlawful property, unlike the questionable property, the person knows that there is unlawful property in his property.

The jurists have considered questionable property to be permissible (to use). These properties are not subject to khums and can be used to go to Hajj.

In some hadiths, precaution has been ordered in questionable cases. Based on these narrations, Mohammad Taqi Majlisi has considered it better not to use questionable property. Contrarily, Imam Khomeini interpreted these hadiths as advising and did not accept the legal disapproval of using questionable property.

The Concept

Questionable property in jurisprudential and hadith discussions refers to a property that is not known to be lawful or unlawful. It is stated in a narration from the Prophet (a): "The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear too, and the questionable things are between them." Some have considered questionable morsels and food as questionable property.

In hadiths, "mushtabah" has also been referred to as "shubha" or "shubahat". In a hadith, it is narrated from Imam Ali (a) that he (a) said that it is called "shubha" because it is similar to the truth.

Its difference with the property mixed with unlawful property

Questionable property is different from property mixed with unlawful property because in the latter, the person knows about the existence of unlawful property in the whole property, but regarding questionable property, there is doubt about the existence of any unlawful property in the questionable property.

Jurisprudential rulings

Some jurisprudential rulings have been issued about questionable property:

• Permissibility: It is said that questionable property is permissible to use. The reference for this ruling is the narration saying, "Everything is permissible for you unless you know that it is unlawful by your own eyes…" The implication of this narration is called "asalat al-ibaha".

• Not being subject to khums: questionable property is not subject to "khums" because it is questionable, unlike the property mixed with unlawful property, which is subject to khums" due to being mixed with unlawful property.

• Going to hajj using questionable property: According to jurists, there is no problem with going to hajj using questionable property. Of course, according to the fatwa of Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, it is provided that the property has apparently been obtained through lawful ways.

Precaution in questionable cases

In the hadith collections, there are some narrations which imply quitting and being cautious in questionable cases, such as it has been narrated:

• "Leave that which makes you doubt for the sake of that which does not make you doubt."
• "...Whoever abandons questionable matters will be saved from forbidden matters, and whoever takes on questionable matters will commit forbidden matters..."
• "Stopping upon a questionable matter is better than rushing into destruction."

Imam Khomeini interpreted these narrations as giving advice and guidance to avoid prohibitions and did not accept the legal disapproval of using questionable property. According to Muhammad Taqi Majlisi, one of the Shiite scholars in the 11th century AH/ 17th century, despite the permissibility of using questionable properties, according to hadiths, it is better to stay away from them to avoid committing prohibitions. Having the above hadiths in mind, some jurists have said that one should stop and not use questionable properties until it is ascertained that they are lawful.

It has been said that giving up questionable properties and food is a level of piety known as the piety of the righteous. It has been narrated about Sayyid Mohammad Baqer Dorche’i that he used precaution about a questionable morsel. If he realized that a morsel he ate was questionable, he vomited it.