The Authority of Asle Mosbet with a Reflection on Narrations

فقه و اصول (Fiqh va uṣūl)

Article 10, Volume 57, Issue 2 - Serial Number 141, August 2025, Pages 255-280   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/jfiqh.2024.83534.1615

Author

Ehsan Mehrkesh^*

Professor of Advanced Levels, Seminary of Qom, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Numerous distinctions have been made between the principles (usūl) and legal indicators (amārāt), including differences in subject matter, source of legitimacy, essential nature, and the type of supporting evidence, all of which are discussed in usūli and some of the jurisprudential works. Based on these distinctions, the majority of uṣūlīs and jurists hold that when a legal indicator (amāra) entails implications (lavazim), then not only the direct meaning (madlūl-i mutābiqī) but also the implicative ones (lavāzim) possess legal authority. However, in practical principles (uṣūl-i ʿamaliyya) such as ʾistishāb (presumption of continuity), only the direct meaning carries legal authority, while the primary implications of the principle, referred to as “Natural Principle”, are not considered authoritative. This distinction directly impacts numerous areas of jurisprudence and uṣūl-i fiqh. Some of the examples where the acceptance or rejection of the Natural Principle leads to entirely different theoretical outcomes for those engaged in legal reasoning include: proving inheritance for heirs when the parent’s death is uncertain, confirming purity (ṭahārat) when in doubt about the presence of an obstacle, general presumption of continuity types two and three, the applicability of the principle in primary and subsidiary obligations, and primordial nonexistence presumptions (ʾistishāb-i ʿadam azalī). The present article analyzes the difference from the perspective of narrative evidences and uses the library method to revisit the narrations regarding the presumption of continuity. It also aims to not only prove the Natural Principle based on Ḥadīths, but also reveal certain problematic misreadings of uṣūlī scholars.

Keywords

ʾistishāb (Presumption of Continuity); Legal Indicators (Amārāt); Natural Principle (Aṣl-i Muthbat); Rational Implications; Normal Implications

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