Yousef Saanei: Difference between revisions
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Regarding [[Testimony of Women|testimony of women]], Saanei's focus is on the verse [[Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 282|“And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women... so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her”]] (Baqarah: 282). Based on the verse, he concludes that the ruling of two women's testimony being equivalent to one man's is restricted to financial matters (debt) in the first place as well as it is neither permanent nor does it include all women. This is because scholars of Usul say if an edict is stated with a reason (Illah), and something seems to be a reason for an edict, that edict depends on that reason.<ref>Allamah al-Hilli, Nihayat al-Wusul ila Ilm al-Usul, vol. 2, p. 201; Najmabadi, Al-Usul, vol. 1, p. 508.</ref> Saanei believes that in this verse "the forgetfulness of one woman and the need for the other to remind her" is the reason for inequality in testimony and this is related to the social conditions of women at the Age of Revelation (women had not social activities and they were weak in financial calculations). Since women today have a active presence in social fields and are precise in financial calculations, their testimony in court is equal to that of men because the problem of forgetfulness is no longer relevant.<ref>Sa'anei, Women's Testimony in Islam, pp. 57-59.</ref> | Regarding [[Testimony of Women|testimony of women]], Saanei's focus is on the verse [[Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 282|“And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women... so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her”]] (Baqarah: 282). Based on the verse, he concludes that the ruling of two women's testimony being equivalent to one man's is restricted to financial matters (debt) in the first place as well as it is neither permanent nor does it include all women. This is because scholars of Usul say if an edict is stated with a reason (Illah), and something seems to be a reason for an edict, that edict depends on that reason.<ref>Allamah al-Hilli, Nihayat al-Wusul ila Ilm al-Usul, vol. 2, p. 201; Najmabadi, Al-Usul, vol. 1, p. 508.</ref> Saanei believes that in this verse "the forgetfulness of one woman and the need for the other to remind her" is the reason for inequality in testimony and this is related to the social conditions of women at the Age of Revelation (women had not social activities and they were weak in financial calculations). Since women today have a active presence in social fields and are precise in financial calculations, their testimony in court is equal to that of men because the problem of forgetfulness is no longer relevant.<ref>Sa'anei, Women's Testimony in Islam, pp. 57-59.</ref> | ||
=== Revision of Evidence Based on | === Revision of Evidence Based on contemporary circumstances === | ||
According to | According to Saanei, the dynamism of Fiqh is tied to the "revision of evidence"; this revision does not mean changing or discarding evidence or imposing external beliefs upon it, but rather asking new questions about the texts and analyzing them for properly answers. This process is dealt with the common rules of Usul al-Fiqh and does not necessarily lead to innovation (Ijtihad) in Usul; rather, it could be inferred different fatwas from the branches (Furu') in a new inferential process, relied on the same common methodology. For example, in the issue of the [[Puberty of Girls]], the revision of evidence led him to maintain 13 years of age as an independent criterion for puberty. | ||
Saanei divides the narrations indicating the puberty of girls at 9 years into three categories: 1. Absolute narrations referring to 9 years, 2. Narrations paired with other signs such as menstruation, and 3. Narrations explicitly specifying 9 years due to menstruation: "Because when a girl reaches nine years, she menstruates."<ref>Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol. 7, p. 69.</ref> Sa'anei infers from this set that 9 years is a "pointing title" (unwan mushir) and lacks inherent subject-matter significance; because the first category of narrations is restricted by the second and third categories, and based on the third category, menstruation is the cause and subject of puberty. Therefore, if a 9-year-old girl does not menstruate, she is not considered mature (baligh). Relying on a reliable (muwaththaq) narration, he considers 13 years as another independent criterion for puberty.<ref>Sa'anei, Puberty of Girls, pp. 11-43.</ref> | |||
In support of this view, some contemporary writers also believe that the narrations of puberty (with different ages of 9, 10, and 13) were issued from the Infallible's capacity of branch-derivation (tafri')—explaining specific instances of a general rule—rather than the capacity of legislation (tashri'); since the main criterion is menstruation and the specific age (like 9 years) was an instance suited to the conditions of the time of issuance and is not absolutely binding in Fiqh.<ref>Ziya'ifar, Philosophy of the Science of Fiqh, vol. 1, pp. 392-394.</ref> | In support of this view, some contemporary writers also believe that the narrations of puberty (with different ages of 9, 10, and 13) were issued from the Infallible's capacity of branch-derivation (tafri')—explaining specific instances of a general rule—rather than the capacity of legislation (tashri'); since the main criterion is menstruation and the specific age (like 9 years) was an instance suited to the conditions of the time of issuance and is not absolutely binding in Fiqh.<ref>Ziya'ifar, Philosophy of the Science of Fiqh, vol. 1, pp. 392-394.</ref> | ||