In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger ﷺ.
Continuation of the chapter on the solitary report:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i continues his discussion of the authority of the solitary report (khabar al-wahid, a report transmitted by a single narrator). He answers those who cast doubt on accepting it on the basis of the difference between it and testimony (shahada), and he sets out the proofs for accepting the solitary report, stressing that the solitary report is a foundation in its own right and not an analogy drawn from testimony.
The main points Imam al-Shafi’i addressed in this section:
- The solitary report is a foundation in its own right: Imam al-Shafi’i explains that the solitary report is a foundation in its own right as a proof, not an analogy drawn from testimony, and that the proofs of its authority are independent and strong, such as the Prophet ﷺ sending single individuals to call people to Islam and convey the message, and the Companions’ approval of acting on what a single one of them conveyed.
- The difference between the solitary report and testimony: Imam al-Shafi’i explains the ways in which the solitary report differs from testimony, among them:
- Number: Testimony requires a specific number of witnesses in some cases (four for fornication and two for homicide), whereas this is not required for the solitary report.
- Testimony accepted, hadith rejected: A person’s testimony may be accepted while his hadith is not, as when he is upright in himself but not precise in retaining hadith, or does not convey it in its exact wording.
- Testimony rejected, hadith accepted: A person’s testimony may be rejected while his hadith is accepted, as when there is an impediment to his testimony (such as enmity with a party, or drawing a benefit to himself), while no such impediment exists in narrating hadith.
- Grounds for suspicion: Suspicion (zinna) is strong in testimony in certain situations (such as the testimony of an opposing party, or of one who draws a benefit to himself, his child, or his parent), whereas this suspicion does not exist in hadith, because the narrator reports what is lawful and unlawful for the Muslims at large, and thereby draws no benefit to himself or anyone else.
- Response to those who treat all testimonies as alike in all their rulings: Imam al-Shafi’i responds to those who treat all testimonies as equal in all their rulings, and shows that testimonies differ in the number of witnesses required in each case (such as fornication, homicide, property, and the physical defects of women), and that this difference shows the incorrectness of the claim that all testimonies follow a single path.
- Response to those who demand the quorum of testimony for the solitary report: Imam al-Shafi’i responds to those who demand the quorum of testimony (two witnesses or four) for the solitary report, and shows that the proofs indicate the acceptance of the solitary report even if it comes from only one person.
- Uprightness is a condition for accepting both report and testimony: Imam al-Shafi’i stresses that uprightness (‘adala) is a condition for accepting both the report and the testimony. If the witness is not upright, or there is an impediment preventing his testimony from being accepted (such as enmity or drawing a benefit), his testimony is rejected; likewise, if the narrator is not upright, or there is an impediment preventing his hadith from being accepted (such as concealment of defects in the chain, tadlis, or frequent error), his hadith is rejected.
- Circumstances in which narrations are given preference: Imam al-Shafi’i explains some of the circumstances in which some narrations are given preference over others, such as the narrator relating the hadith while in his final illness, or the hadith agreeing with the narration of trustworthy, precise, and meticulous narrators.
- Knowing the truthfulness or falsehood of a hadith: Imam al-Shafi’i explains that the truthfulness or falsehood of a hadith is known, in the overwhelming majority of cases, by investigating the truthfulness or falsehood of the narrator, and that examining the text (matn) of the hadith comes into play only in a few cases, such as when the narrator relates something whose like cannot possibly be true, or something that contradicts what is more firmly established and supported by more evidence.
- The difference between narrating from the Prophet ﷺ and narrating from the Children of Israel: Imam al-Shafi’i explains the difference between narrating from the Prophet ﷺ and narrating from the Children of Israel. Narrating from the Prophet ﷺ is subject to greater strictness, so one may narrate only from a trustworthy source, whereas in narrating from the Children of Israel it is permissible to relate what is not known to be true or false, by way of supporting illustration (isti’nas), not as proof (istidlal).
Additional clarifications:
- The authority of the solitary report in matters of creed and in rulings: The solitary report is regarded as a proof in legal rulings by agreement of the majority of scholars. As for matters of creed (‘aqa’id), the scholars differ about it, and the preponderant view is that it is a proof there as well if it is authentic and does not contradict a definitive text or one of the foundations of the religion.
- The difference between narration by wording and narration by meaning: Narration by wording is conveying the hadith in the very words of the Prophet ﷺ, while narration by meaning is conveying the meaning of the hadith in other words. A condition for the permissibility of the latter is that the narrator be knowledgeable in the Arabic language and able to express the meaning precisely.
Final summary:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i sets out the authority of the solitary report and answers those who cast doubt on it. He clarifies the ways in which the solitary report differs from testimony, and stresses that the solitary report is a foundation in its own right and not an analogy drawn from testimony, that the proofs indicate it is to be accepted when it meets the conditions of acceptance, and that knowing the narrator’s uprightness and precision is among the most important of these conditions.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala by Dr. Yasir Burhami