What is the difference between definitive in meaning (qat'i al-dalalah) and presumptive in meaning (zhanni al-dalalah) with regard to the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?
Scholars of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence have divided the legal proofs of , in terms of their indicativeness, into definitive (qat'i) and presumptive (zhanni).
The Text of Definitive Indication: This refers to a text that indicates a specific meaning that does not admit any other interpretation, such as the Almighty's saying: (And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child) and His saying: (then flog each one of them one hundred lashes). Examples from the include the about al-Fitr: (The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, obligated Zakat al-Fitr as one saa' of dates or one saa' of barley).
The Text of Presumptive Indication: This refers to a text that admits interpretation and another meaning, such as the Almighty's saying: (Divorced women remain in waiting for three quroo'), where the word "quroo'" can mean either purity (between menstruations) or menstruation itself. An example from the Sunnah is the hadith: (No one should pray Asr except in Banu Qurayzah), which the Companions differed in understanding, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not censure any of them.
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