Source: Refutation of Tuluʿ-e-Islām – Based on Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ-e-Ahl-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Volume 1
❖ Definition by Imām Rāghib (رحمه الله)
According to Imām Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, the word “ẓann” refers to:
“A conclusion derived from indicators and signs (ʿalāmāt).”
- If the indicators are strong, ẓann implies certainty (yaqīn) or knowledge (ʿilm).
- If the indicators are weak, it implies suspicion (wahm) or mere assumption.
❖ “Ẓann” in the Sense of Certainty & Knowledge
The Qur’an itself uses the word ẓann in the meaning of certainty and conviction:
◈ Surah al-Baqarah (2:46):
الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُو رَبِّهِمْ
“Those who are certain that they will meet their Lord.”
◈ Surah al-Baqarah (2:249):
قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُوا اللَّهِ
“Those who were certain that they would meet Allah said…”
◈ Surah al-Qiyāmah (75:28):
وَظَنَّ أَنَّهُ الْفِرَاقُ
“And he was certain that it was the time of departure.”
❖ “Ẓann” as Doubt or Suspicion
In other verses, ẓann refers to mere speculation or assumption, particularly when introduced with إن or أن:
◈ Surah Āl ʿImrān (3:154):
يَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ
“They assume about Allah wrongly—the assumption of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance.”
◈ Surah al-Najm (53:28):
وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا
“Indeed, assumption avails nothing against the truth.”
◈ Surah al-Fatḥ (48:6):
الظَّانِّينَ بِاللَّهِ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ
“Those who assume evil about Allah…”
◈ Surah al-Jāthiyah (45:32):
إِنْ نَظُنُّ إِلَّا ظَنًّا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِينَ
“We merely assume, and we are not convinced.”
❖ Tuluʿ-e-Islām’s Fallacious Interpretation
Claim:
Tuluʿ-e-Islām restricts the word ẓann in the Qur’an to only mean suspicion or doubt, and builds the argument that:
“Since religion must be based on certainty (yaqīn), and Ḥadīth is ẓannī (based on conjecture), it is therefore not a valid source of Dīn.”
(See: Maqām-e-Ḥadīth, p. 4)
❖ Their Selected Proofs
They quote verses like:
◈ Surah al-Baqarah (2:2):
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ
“This is the Book about which there is no doubt.”
◈ Surah Fāṭir (35:31):
وَالَّذِي أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ هُوَ الْحَقُّ
“That which We have revealed to you of the Book is the truth.”
◈ Surah Yūnus (10:36):
وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ إِلَّا ظَنًّا
“Most of them follow nothing but conjecture.”
❖ Clarification of the Misconception
✅ Key Questions:
① Are only the words of the Qur’an definitive, or is the understanding of those words also definitive?
② If the meanings are open to interpretation, then whose understanding is more reliable:
- The Hadith scholars (Muḥaddithūn), or
- The Hadith rejecters?
❖ The Reality
✔ The words of the Qur’an are definitive (qaṭʿī al-wurūd).
✘ But the meanings and interpretations are often speculative (ẓannī al-dalālah).
Even Hadith rejecters like Parwez admit this when he writes:
“My understanding of the Qur’an is subject to error.”
❖ The Nature of Ḥadīth and Certainty
◈ Ḥadīths are not all of one type. They are of both certain (qaṭʿī) and speculative (ẓannī) nature.
◈ Even parts of the Qur’an are ẓannī in their interpretation, with multiple possible meanings.
✔ Hence, if ẓannī material is unacceptable in religion, much of Qur’anic law would also become inaccessible.
❖ When Is “Ẓann” Condemned in the Qur’an?
◈ Only when ẓann means mere imagination or baseless conjecture.
◈ Not when it refers to reasoned analysis, supported by evidence, such as that used in authentic Ḥadīths.
❖ Conclusion
✔ The Qur’an uses “ẓann” in both positive (certain) and negative (suspicious) contexts.
✔ Interpreting every ḥadīth as doubtful simply because it is not mutawātir is intellectually dishonest.
✔ Dismissing the entire corpus of Ḥadīth based on misuse of the term “ẓann” reflects a flawed understanding of Qur’anic and linguistic principles.
🔒 Rejecting Ḥadīths on this basis is unjust.
They have been verified through rigorous scholarship, and ẓann in this context is ẓann muʿtamad (reliable estimation), not random doubt.
