Explanation of the author's statement: "And the customary is that whose figurative meaning has become famous and has prevailed over the literal meaning, such as al-rawiyyah and al-gha'it, and the like, so the oath pertains to the custom."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then the author said, "And the customary is that whose figurative meaning has become famous and has prevailed over the literal meaning". Yes, so the oath pertains to the custom. In reality, the author presented this custom. The customary is what he said: "that whose figurative meaning has become famous and has prevailed over the literal meaning." This means what people use in their custom, so the oath is attributed to the custom, taking precedence over the language, if it has become famous among people and has prevailed over the language. The author's meaning by "literal meaning" here, "has prevailed over the literal meaning," is the linguistic literal meaning. This meaning became famous among people, and the linguistic literal meaning was abandoned. The author says, "So the oath pertains to the custom, and the word is attributed to its customary meaning, even if it has a meaning in the language, but it was abandoned and another meaning became famous among people, then the custom is given precedence." So, the Shari'ah is given precedence, then the custom, then the language. Did you understand? Why? Because people are dealt with according to their intentions, and there is no doubt that if a layperson uses a word, he intends its customary meaning. He does not know the Arabic language. We always find linguistic terms difficult for us, so we refer to the dictionary or Lisan al-Arab or something similar. The layperson does not know the Arabic language, so the custom is given precedence because it is what is apparently intended. An example is al-rawiyyah. Ah, like al-rawiyyah? No, like al-rawiyyah, the alif before the waw. Like al-rawiyyah. What is al-rawiyyah? Is al-rawiyyah an exaggeration of al-rawi (narrator)? No, al-rawiyyah is used in the Arabic language for the one that carries water, which is the camel that is milked, called a rawiyyah. This is in the language. Yes, and from this in our colloquial language, al-rawiyyah is the woman who carries water. Is that right? But in the custom, al-rawiyyah is used for the water skin. The water skin is a piece of skin that is split, and another piece of skin like it is brought, and they are sewn together, so instead of being one water skin, it becomes two. Do you understand now or not? When a sheep's skin is tanned, it becomes a water skin. Have you seen the water skin, Yasser? Ah?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Okay, the skin is split until it flattens out like this, then another split skin that flattens out is brought, and some of it is sewn with some of the other, some of it is stitched with some of the other, for what? To make it larger. Is it available now?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, from plastic. Okay, in any case, this is the al-rawiyyah. So if someone says, "By Allah, I will not buy an al-rawiyyah," and he goes and buys this al-rawiyyah, which is the large water skin, yes, does he break his oath or not?
The questioner : He breaks his oath.
The Shaykh : Why? Because this is the custom. If he bought a camel, he would not break his oath unless he intended it, so the intention is given precedence.
Likewise, al-gha'it. Al-gha'it in the language means the low-lying place, meaning the depressed place. This is al-gha'it. And we have now the phrase "deep water" (ma' ghayyit), meaning deep. So al-gha'it in the language is the low-lying, depressed place. In the custom, ah?
The questioner : The excrement.
The Shaykh : The disgusting excrement from the anus, this is al-gha'it. So if someone says, "By Allah, I will not look at al-gha'it," and he goes to a low-lying place and keeps his eye on this low-lying place, looking at it, does he break his oath or not?
The questioner : He has not broken his oath.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because it is the custom.
The Shaykh : The custom transferred the literal meaning to the disgusting excrement. Okay, likewise, he says, "and the like, so the oath pertains to the custom". The like of them, like what? Give me things where the custom contradicts the language.
The questioner : Al-qahbah.
The Shaykh : Yes, what is al-qahbah?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : In the language, the woman...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : In the custom.
The Shaykh : The fornicator. Okay, likewise, the sheep. The sheep in our custom, what is it? The female of the sheep, or not? It is said "sheep" and "ram," right or not? Okay, in the Arabic language, it is broader than this. So if a man brings a goat, a goat, do you know what a goat is? Okay, he says, "This is a sheep." What do the common people say? Look, you don't see it, look at its horns, and look, it has no wool or anything. How do you call it a sheep? Yes, they call it what? A goat. But in the language, it is called a sheep. So if someone says, "By Allah, I will buy a sheep for my guests," and then he goes and buys a goat, does he break his oath or not?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Why? He breaks his oath because he did not fulfill his oath. He said, "By Allah, I will buy them a sheep," and he went and bought a goat. We say he breaks his oath, he did not fulfill his oath, because the sheep in the custom is the female of the sheep. Is that clear now? Okay, is there anything else? The beast. The beast in the language is everything that crawls on the earth, even the one that has seventy-seven legs, yes, and the one that has only two legs. There is a long worm we call the mother of seventy-seven legs, but I don't know if that is actually how many? Did you count it? How many did it reach?
The questioner : It exceeds fifty.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : It exceeds fifty, fifty-two.
The Shaykh : Yes, okay, the mother of fifty-two legs, yes, or the mother of two legs, or the one that walks on its belly, yes, all of these are a beast. The evidence for this is that Allah the Exalted said,[An-Nur 24:45] This beast encompasses everything. And He the Exalted said, [Hud 11:6] So what is the beast in the custom?
The questioner : The four-legged animals.
The Shaykh : The four-legged animals, according to one custom, and according to another custom, the donkey specifically. ... You are a beast, meaning you are a donkey. Okay, so the oath pertains to the custom. Explain why? Ah, because it is the prevalent and known among the common people. And if it is the prevalent and known among the common people, then the intention turns to it. Okay, the language, the custom, and the Shari'ah may agree. If these three agree, the matter is clear, they all agree. If they differ, the Shari'ah is given precedence, then the custom, then the language.
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Okay, the skin is split until it flattens out like this, then another split skin that flattens out is brought, and some of it is sewn with some of the other, some of it is stitched with some of the other, for what? To make it larger. Is it available now?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, from plastic. Okay, in any case, this is the al-rawiyyah. So if someone says, "By Allah, I will not buy an al-rawiyyah," and he goes and buys this al-rawiyyah, which is the large water skin, yes, does he break his oath or not?
The questioner : He breaks his oath.
The Shaykh : Why? Because this is the custom. If he bought a camel, he would not break his oath unless he intended it, so the intention is given precedence.
Likewise, al-gha'it. Al-gha'it in the language means the low-lying place, meaning the depressed place. This is al-gha'it. And we have now the phrase "deep water" (ma' ghayyit), meaning deep. So al-gha'it in the language is the low-lying, depressed place. In the custom, ah?
The questioner : The excrement.
The Shaykh : The disgusting excrement from the anus, this is al-gha'it. So if someone says, "By Allah, I will not look at al-gha'it," and he goes to a low-lying place and keeps his eye on this low-lying place, looking at it, does he break his oath or not?
The questioner : He has not broken his oath.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because it is the custom.
The Shaykh : The custom transferred the literal meaning to the disgusting excrement. Okay, likewise, he says, "and the like, so the oath pertains to the custom". The like of them, like what? Give me things where the custom contradicts the language.
The questioner : Al-qahbah.
The Shaykh : Yes, what is al-qahbah?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : In the language, the woman...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : In the custom.
The Shaykh : The fornicator. Okay, likewise, the sheep. The sheep in our custom, what is it? The female of the sheep, or not? It is said "sheep" and "ram," right or not? Okay, in the Arabic language, it is broader than this. So if a man brings a goat, a goat, do you know what a goat is? Okay, he says, "This is a sheep." What do the common people say? Look, you don't see it, look at its horns, and look, it has no wool or anything. How do you call it a sheep? Yes, they call it what? A goat. But in the language, it is called a sheep. So if someone says, "By Allah, I will buy a sheep for my guests," and then he goes and buys a goat, does he break his oath or not?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Why? He breaks his oath because he did not fulfill his oath. He said, "By Allah, I will buy them a sheep," and he went and bought a goat. We say he breaks his oath, he did not fulfill his oath, because the sheep in the custom is the female of the sheep. Is that clear now? Okay, is there anything else? The beast. The beast in the language is everything that crawls on the earth, even the one that has seventy-seven legs, yes, and the one that has only two legs. There is a long worm we call the mother of seventy-seven legs, but I don't know if that is actually how many? Did you count it? How many did it reach?
The questioner : It exceeds fifty.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : It exceeds fifty, fifty-two.
The Shaykh : Yes, okay, the mother of fifty-two legs, yes, or the mother of two legs, or the one that walks on its belly, yes, all of these are a beast. The evidence for this is that Allah the Exalted said,
Allah has created every [living] creature from water. And of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four
والله خلق كل دابة من ماء فمنهم من يمشي على بطنه ومنهم من يمشي على رجليه ومنهم من يمشي على أربعAnd there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision
وما من دابة في الأرض إلا على الله رزقهاThe questioner : The four-legged animals.
The Shaykh : The four-legged animals, according to one custom, and according to another custom, the donkey specifically. ... You are a beast, meaning you are a donkey. Okay, so the oath pertains to the custom. Explain why? Ah, because it is the prevalent and known among the common people. And if it is the prevalent and known among the common people, then the intention turns to it. Okay, the language, the custom, and the Shari'ah may agree. If these three agree, the matter is clear, they all agree. If they differ, the Shari'ah is given precedence, then the custom, then the language.