Yousef Saanei: Difference between revisions

Yousef Saanei is among the jurists who, relying on evidence, issue fatwas without fear of contradicting consensus (Ijma') or popular opinion (Shuhrat). His specific fatwas, including the permissibility of [[Women's Marja'iyyah|Women's Marja'iyyah]] and [[Women's Judgeship|Judgeship]], [[Equality of Blood Money for Men and Women|Equality of Diya]], and [[Equality of Retribution for Men and Women|Equality of Qisas]], are examples of this approach. In the issue of women's religious authority, he relies on the [[Conduct of the Rational (Sirat al-Uqala)]] and the judgment of reason (the referral of the ignorant to the scholar without difference between man and woman) and, by ignoring the claimed consensus, does not consider being male a condition for Marja'iyyah, judgeship, or Wilayah.<ref>Sa'anei, An Approach to Women's Rights, pp. 258-259.</ref>

Sa'anei often considers consensuses to be "evidence-based" (madraki, i.e., based on existing proofs) and, by critiquing those proofs, considers consensus to lack independent validity. For example, regarding the [[Guardianship of the Mother]], after disputing the transmitted consensus, he states: "If we accept the consensus, it is most likely based on narrations and is an evidence-based consensus; thus it is not a proof (hujjah)."<ref>Sa'anei, Guardianship of the Mother, p. 62.</ref> This method removes the boundary between the inference of a ruling and the issuance of a fatwa; unlike jurists who consider consensus invalid in the position of inference but act with precaution (ihtiyat) in the position of fatwa (presenting their view to followers) and do not issue fatwas contrary to popular views.