Sometimes doubt arises in me regarding certain religious matters; is there a cure for it from the Book and the Sunnah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Sometimes doubt arises in me regarding certain religious matters; is there a cure for it from the Book and the Sunnah? May you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : I do not know what you mean by doubt. Do you doubt its obligation, or do you doubt its performance?
If it is the former, it is obligatory for him to ask, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nahl 16:43].
If it is the latter, let him build upon certainty and not pay attention to the doubt. For example, if he begins the ablution and during the ablution he doubts whether he intended it or not?
We say: Continue with the ablution and do not pay attention to it. If he begins the prayer and during the prayer he doubts whether he intended it or not?
We say: Continue and do not pay attention to the doubt. If he had a missed prayer and he doubts whether he made it up or not?
We say: Pray it, and discard the doubt. There are many examples of this.
So the important point is to tell this questioner: if the doubt is a doubt about the religious ruling, ask the people of knowledge. If it is a doubt about your action, hold fast to certainty, except in cases where a preponderant opinion is sufficient, in which case act according to the preponderant opinion.
The Shaykh : I do not know what you mean by doubt. Do you doubt its obligation, or do you doubt its performance?
If it is the former, it is obligatory for him to ask, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
So ask the people of the message if you do not know.
فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمونIf it is the latter, let him build upon certainty and not pay attention to the doubt. For example, if he begins the ablution and during the ablution he doubts whether he intended it or not?
We say: Continue with the ablution and do not pay attention to it. If he begins the prayer and during the prayer he doubts whether he intended it or not?
We say: Continue and do not pay attention to the doubt. If he had a missed prayer and he doubts whether he made it up or not?
We say: Pray it, and discard the doubt. There are many examples of this.
So the important point is to tell this questioner: if the doubt is a doubt about the religious ruling, ask the people of knowledge. If it is a doubt about your action, hold fast to certainty, except in cases where a preponderant opinion is sufficient, in which case act according to the preponderant opinion.