Lesson Five:

Issues Common to the Book and the Sunnah

In the previous lesson we showed some of the issues of the Principles that were particular either to the Book or to the Sunnah, and at the conclusion of the lesson it was said that some issues of the Principles are related both to the Book and to the Sunnah. In this lesson we will pay attention to these common discussions.

The common discussions consist of the following:

a. The discussion of imperatives (awamir)

b. The discussion of negative imperatives (nawahi)

c. The discussion of generalities and particularities (aam wa khas)

d. The discussion of unconditional (mutlaq) and conditional (muqayyad)

e. The discussion of tacit meanings (mafahim)

f. The discussion of the abstract (mujmal) and the clear (mubayyan)

g. The discussion of the abrogator (nasekh) and the abrogated (mansukh)

Now, within the limits of merely becoming acquainted with these terms, each one will be separately discussed.

The Discussion of Imperatives (awamir)

The Arabic awamir is the plural of the word amr which means command. It also means the type of verb form that in English is called imperative, such as the verb form: Listen ! or Stand !

In the Book and the Sunnah, many of the phrases are in the form of the imperative, and it is here that many questions are raised in jurisprudence that must be answered in the study of Principles. Such questions as to whether or not the imperative is a proof of its being obligatory (wajib) or of being desirable, or of neither. Does the imperative signify that the verb is to be done once or a number of times?

For example, the Quran contains the following instruction, “Take from their property charity, you cleanse them and purify them thereby, and pray for them; your prayer is a soother for them” (9:103) “Pray”, in this holy verse, means supplicate, or send a blessing. Here, the first question that is raised concerns the status of the imperative verb form, “pray”. Does it mean that to supplicate for them or send a blessing upon them is obligatory? In other words, is the imperative here an indication of obligation or not?

The second question is as to whether or not the imperative is an indication of immediate obligation? Is it obligatory that right after taking the divine tax (zakat) prayer is to be offered for them, or is an interval no problem? Thirdly, is one prayer enough or must it be performed repeatedly?

In the study of Principles, these matters are all discussed in depth, but here is not the place to discuss them further. Those who choose to study Jurisprudence and the Principles will naturally learn about these details.

The Discussion of Negative Imperatives (naw ahi)

The Arabic word nawahi is the plural of nahy which means to stop or prevent, and is the opposite of amr, the imperative. If in English we say, “Do not drink alcohol,” this is a negative imperative in English and in Arabic a nahy. Both in the Book and in the Sunnah there are many phrases which are negative imperatives.

Similar questions arise on this subject to those we saw on the subject of the imperative. Is the negative imperative testimony for the object of the verb being forbidden (haram) or for it being undesirable (makruh) but not forbidden (haram)? Likewise, does the negative imperative testify permanency, i.e. that the action of the verb must never be done, or that it is only to be refrained from during a temporary period?

These are questions the answers to which are provided by the study of Principles.

Discussion of Generalities and Particularities (aam wa khas)

In the civil and penal laws of human society, we notice that a general and common law exists which applies to all, and we then notice that there also exists another law related to a group of individuals from that society; a law that is opposed to the common and general law.

In such instances, what is to be done? Must the two laws be received as being self-contradicting? Or, since one of the two laws, compared to the other, is general while the other is particular, is the particular law to be received as an exception to the general law?

For example, we are told in the Quran that divorced women must wait after their divorce for three monthly periods, and after that term they are free to remarry. In reliable Traditions, however, we are told that if a woman is married by a man, and before marital relations (i.e. sexual intercourse) occurs between them, the woman is divorced, it is not necessary for the woman to observe the term.

What are we to do here? Are we to consider this Tradition to be opposed to the Quran and therefore reject it and disregard it just as we have been instructed? Or are we to consider that, on the contrary, this Tradition, in reality, expounds the Quranic ayah for us, that it has the rank of an exception in certain of the particular circumstances, and that the Quran is in no way contradicted by it.

It is the second view that is the correct and valid one of course, for man is used to having a law introduced in the general form and then having the exceptions explained. Man is not used to having the exceptions explained before the law is introduced, and the Quran has addressed human beings on the basis of the terms and language of mankind. In another place the Quran itself has counted the Traditions of the Prophet as being reliable. “What the Prophet gives you, take! And what he has prohibited you, avoid!” (59:8). In these types of circumstances, we receive particularities as having the rank of exceptions to generalities.

Unconditional (mutlaq) and Conditional (muqayyad)

The question of conditional and unconditional is similar to the question of generality and particularity, but generality and particularity are relevant to what the law applies to, while conditional and unconditional are relevant to the different circumstances and qualities of the law itself. The general and particular are relevant to an order that generally covers all the different forms of that which the law applies to, some of which, due to a particular reason, are exempt from that generality. The question of unconditional and conditional, however, is related to the essence and nature pertaining to the duty which the duty-bound must perform. If that essence and nature pertaining to the duty has no particular condition then it is unconditional, and if it has a particular condition, it is conditional .

For example, in the example which we previously quoted, the Holy Prophet was commanded that at the time of taking the zakat from the Muslims he was to supplicate for them. This instruction, as regard whether the Prophet was to supplicate for them loudly or quietly, for example, or whether he was to supplicate for them in company or when alone, is unconditional.

Now I wish to say that if we have no other proof or reason provided by the Quran or reliable Traditions making one of the two above-mentioned conditions, we act according to the unconditional meaning of the ayah. That is, we are free to perform the command in whatever fashion we like. If, however, we are provided with an authentic proof telling us, for example, that the supplication is to be unconditional to the conditional, which means that we are to consider the unconditional sentence to be given a condition by the conditional sentence, and we then interpret the unconditional as the conditional .

The Discussion of the Tacit (mafahim)

The tacit in the terminology of the study of Principles is the opposite of spoken. Imagine that someone says, “Come with me to my house and I will give you such and such a book.” This sentence, in reality, is a sentence taking the place of the following two sentences: First, “If you come with me to my house I will give you that book”, and second, “If you do not come with me to my house I will not give you that book”.

So here there are two connections: the affirmative and the negative. The affirmative connection is between accompanying and giving, and exists in the substance of the sentence and it is uttered. For this reason it is called the spoken. The negative connection on the other hand is not uttered, but from the sentence it is naturally understood. This is why it is called tacit or, more literally, the understood.

In the discussion on the Single Report we saw how the ‘usuliyyin have realised the binding testimony of the Single Report, when the narrators are all just from the holy ayah of the Quran which tells us, “If there comes to you a wicked man with news, examine. “

This realisation is from the tacit meaning of the ayah. The words of the ayah only tells us that we are not to put into effect the news of the unjust without investigation, while the tacit meaning of the ayah is that we are not to put into effect the news he gives us, but we are to put into effect the news given to us by someone who is just.

The Abstract (mujmal) and the Clear (mubayyan)

The discussion of the abstract and the clear does not have so much importance. It simply means that sometimes a phrase in the language of the Holy Prophet is ambiguous for us and its meaning unclear, like the word ghena (music), while in another proof from the Quran or the Sunnah there exists its explanation. In such cases the ambiguity of the abstract is canceled by the clear.

The Abrogator (nasekh) and the Abrogated (mansukh)

Sometimes in the Quran and the Sunnah we come across an instruction that was temporary, meaning that after a time a different instruction was given, which has, to use a phrase, cancelled the first instruction.

For example, the Holy Quran first tells us that if women having husbands commit adultery they are to be confined to their houses until they die or until God established some other way for them. Then the way that God established for them was the general instruction that if a man having a wife or a woman having a husband commits adultery, they are to be executed.

Or, for example, at first the instruction was revealed that in the holy month of Ramadan, even at night, men must not have intercourse with their wives. This rule was then canceled and permission was given.

It is essential for a jurisprudent to distinguish the abrogator and the abrogated. On the issue of abrogation many questions are raised which are reflected on and discussed in the study of Principles.