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B4 · باب أسماء صيغة الخطاب في تناوله المسميات · How far a word reaches: specific, general, equivocal and interpreted words (v1/124–163)

1. In short
2. Why it matters
3. B4.01 · الأسماء الأربعة · Words fall into four kinds by what they cover: specific, general, equivocal and interpreted
4. B4.02 · حكم الخاص · A specific word fixes its meaning for certain, so making something a condition of it is abrogation, not explanation
5. B4.03 · العام قطعي · A general word binds with certainty until something is narrowed out of it; so, most Ḥanafī shaykhs say, a single report or qiyās cannot be the first to narrow it
6. B4.04 · العام إذا خص منه شيء · Once part of a general word is narrowed out, the rest stays proof, but no longer certain
7. B4.05 · ألفاظ العموم · How to tell a word is general: plurals of at least three, collective and kind nouns, and particles like "whoever", "each" and "all"; an indefinite noun only in some settings
8. B4.06 · حكم المشترك والمؤول · An equivocal word calls for waiting while searching; an interpreted word binds action, but not with certainty

In short

• This chapter asks how far a word reaches, and how sure we can be [Overview]. A specific word fixes its meaning for certain [B4.02]. A general word binds with certainty until something is narrowed out of it [B4.03]; then it is still proof, but not certain [B4.04]. A word with several meanings waits for explanation [B4.06].

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Why it matters

• Because a specific word is certain, the Ḥanafīs do not let a single report turn something into a condition of it: so calm in rukūʿ and purity for ṭawāf are wājib, not farḍ [B4.02].

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B4.01 · الأسماء الأربعة · Words fall into four kinds by what they cover: specific, general, equivocal and interpreted

• In plain words: How many things can one word point to? Sarakhsī names four kinds. A specific word (khāṣṣ) is made for one known meaning, like "man" or "Zayd". A general word (ʿāmm) gathers a group, like a plural or "whoever". An equivocal word (mushtarak, "shared") has several meanings, but only one is meant at a time; once one is meant, the others are excluded. An interpreted word (muʾawwal) is an equivocal word whose meaning a scholar has settled by reasoned judgment.
• Example: A man leaves a bequest "to my mawlās" (mawlā, a word used both for former masters and for freed slaves), and he has both. The bequest is void, since the word is equivocal and the two meanings differ. But the oath "I will not speak to my mawlās" binds him toward both, since one motive drives it.
• Who disagrees: ⚑ al-Jaṣṣāṣ, a Ḥanafī, wrote that a general word gathers many names "or meanings". Sarakhsī calls this a slip: one word cannot gather different meanings, since that would be an equivocal word, which al-Jaṣṣāṣ himself says is not general.
• Deeper: v1 B4.01

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B4.02 · حكم الخاص · A specific word fixes its meaning for certain, so making something a condition of it is abrogation, not explanation

• In plain words: Can a single ḥadīth add a condition to a clear command in the Qurʾān? Sarakhsī says a specific word fixes its meaning with certainty and needs no explaining. Take "wash your faces" in the wuḍūʾ verse. Making something a condition of validity, so that the state of impurity (ḥadath) does not lift without it even after the washing, would abrogate the verse. A single report cannot do that. Making the same thing wājib or sunna, as a completion, leaves the verse's ruling intact, so a single report can do that.
• Example: In wuḍūʾ, intention, order, continuity and the basmala are wājib or sunna, not conditions. Calm in rukūʿ and purity for ṭawāf also come from single reports, so they are wājib, not farḍ.
• Who disagrees: The opponent, whom Sarakhsī does not name here, makes such things conditions of validity. Sarakhsī answers that this either lowers the verse below its rank or raises the single report above its own.
• In his words: "So the opponent's view lowers the text below its rank, or raises the single report above its rank": «فَتبين أَن فِيمَا ذهب إِلَيْهِ الْخصم حط دَرَجَة النَّص عَن مرتبته أَو رفع دَرَجَة خبر الْوَاحِد فَوق مرتبته» (v1/129)
• Deeper: v1 B4.02; B11.08

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B4.03 · العام قطعي · A general word binds with certainty until something is narrowed out of it; so, most Ḥanafī shaykhs say, a single report or qiyās cannot be the first to narrow it

• In plain words: When the Qurʾān uses a general word, like "whoever", do we apply it to all it covers, or wait for an explanation? The Ḥanafīs say it binds with certainty in all it covers, like a specific word, since a speaker's hidden intent does not outweigh his visible wording. So, most Ḥanafī shaykhs say, a general word that no strong proof has yet narrowed cannot be narrowed (takhṣīṣ) by a single report or by qiyās. A word that cannot possibly be general waits for explanation. And a later general text overrides an earlier specific one, since both are certain.
• Example: The single report "no prayer without the Fātiḥa" does not narrow "recite what is easy of the Qurʾān" (Q 73:20), so reciting the Fātiḥa is not made farḍ.
• Who disagrees: al-Shāfiʿī says it applies with doubt, so a single report or qiyās may narrow it at once; Sarakhsī answers that plain speech means its literal sense. The Wāqifiyya ("those who wait") wait for an explanation; he answers that the Companions argued from general wording alone. ⚑ "Most" means some Ḥanafīs held otherwise; he does not name them.
• Deeper: v1 B4.03; B4.04

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B4.04 · العام إذا خص منه شيء · Once part of a general word is narrowed out, the rest stays proof, but no longer certain

• In plain words: If part of a general word has been narrowed out, does the rest still bind? Sarakhsī says yes, calls this the sound view, and gives it as the Ḥanafī scholars' position. It stays proof for all outside the part narrowed out, whether or not we know exactly what that part is. But it now carries a doubt, so it no longer binds with certainty. So qiyās may narrow it further, and a single report outranks it.
• Example: Muḥammad used the general report "he forbade selling what has not been taken into possession" to void selling land before possession. Abū Ḥanīfa narrowed land out of it by qiyās, so for him that sale stands. A general that qiyās can narrow is no longer certain.
• Who disagrees: ⚑ al-Karkhī, a Ḥanafī shaykh, said a narrowed general is no longer proof and must wait for explanation. His reason: the narrowing makes the word figurative, and its meaning hidden. Sarakhsī answers that this would drop most general texts, against the early generations' practice.
• Deeper: v1 B4.04

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B4.05 · ألفاظ العموم · How to tell a word is general: plurals of at least three, collective and kind nouns, and particles like "whoever", "each" and "all"; an indefinite noun only in some settings

• In plain words: How can you tell a word is general? Plurals are general; a true plural is three or more. So are the particles man ("whoever"), mā ("whatever"), kull ("each"), jamīʿ ("all"). Some words singular in form are general in meaning, like "people" or "water". An indefinite noun is specific. It turns general after a negation, with "the" when no particular one is known ("the thief"), or with a general description ("only a learned man" means any scholar).
• Example: "Whoever enters this fortress first gets a bonus": if two enter together, neither gets it, since "first" names a single person. With "each who", each of ten entering together gets it in full. With "all who", the ten share one bonus.
• Who disagrees: al-Shāfiʿī reads "freeing a neck" (a slave) in the expiation verses as general, then narrows out non-Muslim slaves by qiyās. Sarakhsī answers that "a neck" is not general, so requiring a believing slave adds to the text, which is abrogation.
• Deeper: v1 B4.05; B11.08

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B4.06 · حكم المشترك والمؤول · An equivocal word calls for waiting while searching; an interpreted word binds action, but not with certainty

• In plain words: What do you do with a word that has several possible meanings? With an equivocal word, Sarakhsī says, you suspend judgment until the meaning is made clear. You still believe that whatever meaning was intended is true, since the speech of the All-Wise always means something true. Meanwhile you search, by reflecting on the wording or by another proof. Once reasoning settles a meaning, the interpreted word binds action, like a plain word, but it may be mistaken, like a single report.
• Example: Someone says "I usurped a thing from him": the admission stands, since "usurped" shows it is property; its kind and amount are then asked from him. Water you judge pure by your best estimate must be used for wuḍūʾ; if it later proves impure, you repeat the wuḍūʾ and the prayer.
• Deeper: v1 B4.06

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