. Y""" (cont.)

" to preserve one's religion. This argument also does not seem strong. There is a difference between saying something is obligatory (waajib, which is category 1) and saying something is permissible (halaal), which is what this hadith under discussion is referring to. The term permissible applies to obligatory, recommended, permissible and even, according to many scholars, disapproved acts. Concerning weak hadith, Allah has promised to preserve the dhikr (the revelation, both the Quran and sunnah). This preservation must be something clear to the nation as a whole, in particular those specialized in a relevant field. Therefore, when the scholars of hadith are agreed that a hadith does not meet the standards for acceptability, it means that the hadith has not been preserved and it cannot form part of the dhikr. Hence, there is no need to consider those acts only prohibited by weak hadith as doubtful matters. In conclusion, the doubtful matters are made up of the following categories, some of which will be discussed in detail later: ( 1) Those acts concerning which the relevant evidence are conflicting and there is no apparent way to resolve the conflict. (2) For the non-scholar who is adhering to a school of fiqh or following the opinions of specific scholars, a matter in which there is a difference of opinion among the scholars is a doubtful or questionable matter. (3) Some permissible matters lead a person to do what is forbidden or lead him to fail to perform what is obligatory, those permissible maters then fall under the category of doubtful matters. (4) The disapproved of matters (makroohaat) are considered by al­ Shaukaani to be from the doubtful matters. This author is personally not completely convinced that the disapproved matters are from the doubtful matters, but al-Shaukaani does have some good arguments to support his claim. ( 5) The matters concerning which there is doubt whether they are permissible or not due to circumstances surrounding them. The Legality of The Doubtful Matters The first two categories of the permissible and the forbidden are very clear, both with respect to what they are referring to and the acts themselves. Then comes the doubtful, ambiguous or unclear matters. These are the matters about which there is some difference of opinion concerning their legality. However, the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed that staying away from these acts is piety. There is a difference of opinion about the legality or participation in the doubtful matters being referred to in this hadith. Some scholars say that such acts are forbidden due to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) words later in the hadith, "Thus, he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion." Whoever does not make himself clear in regard to his religion, Commentary on the 40 Hadith of al-Nawawi these scholars argue, must be involved in forbidden acts. lbn Hajr, however, unequivocally rejects this view.1 Some say that these acts are permissible due to the words later in the hadith, "like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein." To these scholars, this shows that such acts are permissible but avoiding them is piety. The meaning of "permissible" in this statement basically means anything that is not forbidden. Hence, this view still implies that the doubtful matters are disliked, as some scholars have explicitly said. This argument is supported by the fact that if the acts were truly permissible (mubaah), then there would be no piety in avoiding them as a general principle.2 Another group of scholars say that it cannot be said that such acts are either permissible or forbidden. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has stated it to be somewhere between lawful and unlawful, and, therefore, the Muslims must also treat them in the same manner. The Prophet (peace be upon him) set the sample for all Muslims when it comes to avoiding doubtful matters. For example, a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from Aisha states that Saad ibn Abu Waqqaas and Abd ibn Zama disputed about the custody of a young boy.