Al-San'ani mentioned that the condition that the 'illah (operative cause) be decisive is held by the jurists, not the hadith scholars.

The questioner : In the definitions of the early scholars for the term, they mention it without anomaly or 'illah (operative cause), they simply limit it to that.

The Shaykh : Yes, but.

The questioner : The later scholars say: "and no decisive 'illah (operative cause)." Al-San'ani, in his book *Tawdih al-Afkar*, mentioned that their statement or their qualification of the 'illah (operative cause) as being decisive is a condition of the jurists, not a condition of the hadith scholars. He said that the 'illah (operative cause) for the hadith scholars is absolute; because there may be an 'illah (operative cause) for a hadith in the view of the hadith scholars that is not an 'illah (operative cause) in the view of the jurists, and vice versa.

The Shaykh : This is correct, but this does not negate that there may be a hadith with an 'illah (operative cause) in the view of the hadith scholars, but upon examining it, this 'illah (operative cause) is not decisive. The difference he mentioned between the jurists and the hadith scholars is a correct and existing difference, but that does not negate that some 'illahs (operative causes) are not considered decisive 'illahs (operative causes).