‹ Previous · Contents · Next ›

عَلَامَاتُ التَّصْحِيحِ · 'Alamat al-Tashih: The Marks a Book Puts Next to a View, and Which Mark Beats Which

دَلَالَةُ لَفْظِ "الْفَتْوَى" · What the Word "Fatwa" Tells You When You See It

When a book uses the word "fatwā" about a view, it is telling you two things at once. One, you are allowed to give fatwā by that view. Two, that view is the correct one. That is because giving fatwā is itself a way of declaring a view sound. It makes the marker stronger than simply labelling a view "ṣaḥīḥ" or "aṣaḥḥ".

↑ Top of page

تَرْتِيبُ أَلْفَاظِ التَّصْحِيحِ · Which Marker Beats Which

Some wording shuts the door on the other views, and that wording wins. Things like "by this fatwā is given", or "the fatwā is on this". Stronger still is "the practice of the umma is on this", because that points to ijmāʿ, the agreement of the whole community.

↑ Top of page

الْمُخْتَارُ وَالْمُعْتَمَدُ وَنَحْوُهُمَا · A Whole Family of Markers That All Weigh the Same

These all carry the same weight as each other: "we take this", "the fatwā of our mashāyikh is on this", "this is the muʿtamad", "the most fitting", "the best supported", "relied upon", "what people act on today", "the clear one", "the clearer one", "al-mukhtār", "what custom accepts today", "the usual one", "our scholars take this".

So if all those words weigh the same, what makes one of them count for more in practice? Two things, and neither of them is the word itself. First, how senior the scholar was who wrote it. Second, how much authority the book it appears in carries.

There is one live argument here, and you should know both sides. Most scholars say aṣaḥḥ, "more correct", beats ṣaḥīḥ, "correct", when the two come from different scholars, because aṣaḥḥ is the stronger form of the word. Others argue the opposite. Going against a view called ṣaḥīḥ is an outright mistake, while going against a view called aṣaḥḥ still leaves you on a view that is ṣaḥīḥ, and you are allowed to act on that.

↑ Top of page

سَبْعُ ضَوَابِطَ عِنْدَ تَصْحِيحِ رِوَايَتَيْنِ مَعًا · Seven Rules for When Both Views Have Been Declared Correct

One. If both were declared correct using the very same word, the muftī may take either. Two. If the wording differs, the one carrying the fatwā wording wins. Three. If both carry the fatwā wording, the one that shuts the door wins, like "this is what fatwā is given on". Stronger still is "the whole umma acts on this", because that points to ijmāʿ.

Four. If neither carries the fatwā wording, and one is aṣaḥḥ while the other is ṣaḥīḥ, you are back in the argument described just above. Five. If the same word was used for both, the muftī may take either. Six. Unless the two scholars who declared them are not equal in standing, in which case the more learned one wins. Seven. If only one of the two was given a comparative word, the other still counts as valid, but it is better to follow the one that was plainly marked.

↑ Top of page

عَشْرُ قَوَاعِدَ عِنْدَ تَعَارُضِ التَّصْحِيحِ بِلَا مُرَجِّحٍ لَفْظِيٍّ · Ten Tie-Breakers for When the Wording Itself Settles Nothing

Start with the general rule. If you find two views and both have been declared ṣaḥīḥ, you may take whichever you like, because both are reliable. That holds unless one of the ten tie-breakers below applies. If one of them does apply, take the view that has it.

The ten, in order. One, aṣaḥḥ beats ṣaḥīḥ. Two, a view plainly marked with the fatwā wording beats one that is not. Three, a view that agrees with the mutūn beats one that does not. Four, Abū Ḥanīfa's own view beats a student's. Five, ẓāhir al-riwāya beats a lesser report; this is rule 5 of branch 8. Six, the view of the great majority of senior scholars beats a minority view. Seven, istiḥsān beats qiyās; this is rule 4 of branch 8. Eight, whichever is better for the waqf wins. Nine, whichever suits the people of the time better wins. Ten, whichever has the clearer proof wins.

Two worked examples, so you can see two of these actually working. For number nine: the later jurists went against all three imāms, who had forbidden taking payment for teaching Qurʾān. They allowed it once the times had changed and real need had appeared. For number eight: waqf leases were cancelled when rents rose steeply, purely to protect the waqf's own interest.

↑ Top of page

‹ Previous · Contents · Next ›