Mentioning the statement of al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) that a condition is not established by a mere command.
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The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : The principle you mentioned earlier regarding the Hanafis is that al-Shawkani always states that the legislative commands of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are... I don't know how to express this, Shaykh. Is it a condition of validity and a condition of obligation? He says, and his example is the purity of clothing in prayer. If a person prays and his clothing is dirty or ritually impure, his prayer is valid.
The Shaykh : That is, this is al-Shawkani's view. It is well known that in his opinion, a condition is not established by a mere command. I mentioned to you earlier that the Hanafis do not establish the obligation of something from a solitary hadith, and a fortiori, they do not establish that something is a condition or a pillar from a solitary hadith. Why? Because being a condition or a pillar is more important than being obligatory. It is clear. Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) says, and he is right, that a condition is not established by a mere command, but rather there must be something more than a command, such as the previous hadith which negates the prayer. That necessitates that it is a condition. As for a mere command regarding the purity of clothing, for example, that is a command that necessitates the obligation of the purity of clothing, but it does not necessitate that the purity of clothing is a condition. That is his statement. I used to adopt this view for a period of time, but later, when our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) opened up for us the understanding of the Sunnah, I found a hadith in the Sunan that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: "Does a man pray in a garment in which he has had intercourse with his wife?" He said: "He does not pray unless he does not see anything." Here, I understood from the hadith the conditionality that al-Shawkani denies, and that here it is not just a command; it also negates the prayer. He does not pray unless he does not see anything, or does not see a problem, or something similar. But the principle is sound. The principle is sound, and it is that a command does not indicate conditionality, but rather indicates obligation.
The questioner : That is, it is possible to apply it to all legislative commands.
The Shaykh : Yes, but who is the one who can apply it? The one who has insight, the one who knows the philosophy of mutawatir and ahad reports. As for the one who does not know, he cannot apply it. Yes.
The questioner : The principle you mentioned earlier regarding the Hanafis is that al-Shawkani always states that the legislative commands of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are... I don't know how to express this, Shaykh. Is it a condition of validity and a condition of obligation? He says, and his example is the purity of clothing in prayer. If a person prays and his clothing is dirty or ritually impure, his prayer is valid.
The Shaykh : That is, this is al-Shawkani's view. It is well known that in his opinion, a condition is not established by a mere command. I mentioned to you earlier that the Hanafis do not establish the obligation of something from a solitary hadith, and a fortiori, they do not establish that something is a condition or a pillar from a solitary hadith. Why? Because being a condition or a pillar is more important than being obligatory. It is clear. Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) says, and he is right, that a condition is not established by a mere command, but rather there must be something more than a command, such as the previous hadith
There is no prayer
لا صلاةNo, unless he does not see anything.
لا، إلا أن لم ير شيئاThe questioner : That is, it is possible to apply it to all legislative commands.
The Shaykh : Yes, but who is the one who can apply it? The one who has insight, the one who knows the philosophy of mutawatir and ahad reports. As for the one who does not know, he cannot apply it. Yes.