''Istiṣḥāb'' ( ) is an Islamic term used in the

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

to denote the principle of the presumption of continuity. It is derived from an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word ''suhbah'' meaning accompany. It is one of the fundamental principles of the legal deduction that presumes the continuation of a fact. It is based on

probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

and can be applied in the absence of other proofs. Istishab, an initiative of ash-Shafii, is the rationalistic principle of extracting a legal solution according to which changes are not considered to occur until clear signs of these changes are apparent. It serves as the basis for many legal rulings such as the presumption of innocence—the person is regarded as innocent unless proven guilty.

Malik ibn Anas Malik ibn Anas (; –795) also known as Imam Malik was an Arab Islamic scholar and traditionalist who is the eponym of the Maliki school, one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.Schacht, J., "Mālik b. Anas", in: ''E ...

and ash-Shafii regarded it to be a proof until it is contradicted. Several classical jurists differed over this principle with some

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

jurists refusing to regard it as an evidence. It is now widely employed by the contemporary scholars.

Definition

Ibn al-Qayyim defined it as Al-Qarafi expressed it as the validity of the former state in the following words.

Types

Istishab is divided into several types. The majority of the scholars agree upon three types.

Presumption of the original absence

It is the absence of any Shariah norms on an adult Muslim, until their legitimacy is established. An example is the absence of the mandatory sixth

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

for a Muslim, the presumption of the person's innocence of a crime, etc. Islamic theologians are unanimous regarding the validity of this type.

Basis in everyday life is permissibility

The overwhelming majority of jurists believe that the basis in useful everyday things is permissibility and in harmful things is

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. For example, a certain type of food is allowed until a Sharia argument is established, proving its prohibition.

Presumption of existence before evidence is available

If there are Sharia texts with respect to any norm, backed up by the Istishab, then statements about the abolition of this rule will not be accepted until they are backed up by evidence. An example is the continued ownership of property rights. The application to terminate property will not be accepted until evidence is submitted supporting these statements. Another example is the validity of the ablution, which will not invalidated on the mere basis of doubt.

References

{{Authority control Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Islamic jurisprudence