13- Is a Khabar Wahid a Proof in Matters of Belief?
As for the person who holds the opinion that belief is not established by a khabar wahid (a report transmitted by a single narrator), because a khabar wahid does not give certainty and belief cannot be built on mere conjecture and supposition, in our view this opinion of his is not correct, because its very foundation is not correct. There are also several reasons why it is not sound:
① “Certain knowledge is not obtained from a khabar wahid.” This is not correct in an absolute sense. Rather, some single-narrator reports give certain knowledge because of external indications, and those indications are evidence for the soundness of that report, as in the hadith of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him):
« إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ »
“Actions are judged by intentions.”
Despite its being a khabar wahid, we are fully certain that the Prophet ﷺ said this. This is established from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him).
② The Prophet ﷺ used to send a single man to various regions to call to the religion, and this included belief, namely that they affirm “لا إله إلا الله“. For example, he ﷺ sent Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to the people of Yemen and made it obligatory upon the people of Yemen to accept the call of Mu’adh alone.
③ If belief is not established by a khabar wahid, then it is also possible that practical rulings could not be established by a khabar wahid either, because practical rulings also include the belief that Allah the Most High commanded us to do this deed and forbade us from doing that deed. If this were accepted, many rulings of the Shariah would be left without benefit; and if accepting this statement is not correct, then the statement that belief is not established by single-narrator reports can also be rejected, because there is no difference between the two matters, as we have already explained.
④ Regarding a matter as great as prophethood, Allah the Most High has commanded that whoever does not know should ask the people of knowledge, and this question may be put to one person or to more than one, even though the matter of prophethood is among the most important issues of belief. The statement of Allah the Most High:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالزُّبُرِ
“And We did not send before you except men to whom We revealed. So ask the people of the reminder, if you do not know from the beginning. [We sent them] with clear proofs and scriptures.”
In summary: when a khabar wahid is strengthened by external indications, it gives certain knowledge, and all kinds of deeds, whether they relate to practice or to belief, are established by it. There is no established evidence for a distinction between them, and whoever claims that such-and-such an imam made a distinction between them is obliged to prove it from that imam with a sound chain of narration, and also to prove on what evidence that imam made this distinction.
