Principles that underpin what to do when in doubt (2)

In the previous blog, we talked about the different types of doubt.

Let’s start with the شك بدوي i.e. the doubt when there is no overall knowledge ('olm ijmali) about what to do. This can be discussed in two ways:

1. What does the rational mind say the correct course of action should be, regadless of the Qur`an and narrations (وظيفة أولية)
2. What the Qur`an and narrations say.

We are going to first discuss what the rational mind says [in the absence of any textual evidence]. There are two main positions amongst the scholars about what the rational course of action should be (independent of the Qur`an and narrations):

- مسلك قبح العقاب بلا بيان (Qubh al-`Iqab bi la bayan) – it is ugly for Allah to punish someone when the rule has not been made clear. Based on this principle (and assuming that there is nothing from the Qur`an/narrations to suggest otherwise), the correct action would be that you are free to do any action (أصالة البراءة [bara’a]). This principle is the most widely held opinion amongst the scholars and Syed Khui is of this opinion. However, Shaykh Ansari says in his famous book al-Rasa`il, that most of the Usuli scholars in the earlier years e.g. Shaykh Tusi, Shaykh Mufid and Sayyid al-Murtada followed the principle below:

- مسلك حقّ الطاعة (Haq al-Ta’a)– this is based on the fact that Allah has a right to be obeyed even on issues where there is a debate, and therefore, the correct course of action is being cautious (احتياط = ihtiyaat based on أصالة الاشتغال). This principle is held by Shahid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr.

I would like to stress that this is purely a theoretical exercise, as there are actually detailed evidences that regardless of what the rational course of action should be, the course of action based on the Qur`an and narrations, is that you are free to do what you want in the case of doubt (we will discuss this following this theoretical exercise and my personal view on this topic).


In the next blog, we will discuss the main 4 main arguments for the theory that it is “ugly” for Allah to punish someone for a duty that he is unaware of. Shahid al-Sadr will then discuss these arguments and show them to have deficiencies, after which we can move onto what his view is, and why. Following that, we can look at the Qur`anic and hadith arguments on whether it should be baraa'a or ihtiyat.