Source: Refutation of Tuluʿ-e-Islām – Based on Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ-e-Ahl-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Volume 1
According to Imām Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, the word “ẓann” refers to:
“A conclusion derived from indicators and signs (ʿalāmāt).”
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.”
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.”
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)
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.”
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 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.”
◈ 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.
◈ 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.
✔ 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.
❖ 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.
