1.The Book
What is meant by the book is the Qurān which was sent down by Allah to Prophet Muhammad (s).
Our belief is that the Qurān that is in our hands today, its meaning and words has not been altered in any possible way.
وَمَا كَانَ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنُ أَن يُفْتَرَى مِن دُونِ اللّهِ وَلَـكِن تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَتَفْصِيلَ الْكِتَابِ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
"This Qur'an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah; on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that came before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book- wherein there is no doubt - from the Lord of the worlds."
It is a holy book and all of the Muslims agree that it was divinely inspired and that its content is entirely correct. It is the primary resource of Islam and it is an eternal authority and reference for mankind until the Day of Judgment. It says that Allah's religion is Islam and that the Muslims must always follow the Qurān. It is also a universal legislative reference for all of mankind.
The Authority of the Book
It is unanimous amongst Muslims that the Qurān is an authority for Muslims. The proof behind this is twofold:
1. Certainty that it was sent to the Prophet (s): This was established by multiple and successive accounts passed down by Muslims from one generation to the next.
2. The Qurān being sent by Allah: The miraculous nature of the Qurān in regards to both the language and the content is a proof of its composer. Moreover, no one could produce anything like the Qurān or even a single verse, in spite of the challenge posed in the Qurān. Allah says:
تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
"(This is) the Revelation of the Book in which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the Worlds."[30]
Jurisprudential Verses in Quran
There are around 500 verses in the Qurān that deal with religious rulings. These verses are a part of the sources for obtaining religious verdicts and are called: ayyāt al-ahkām.
2. Traditions (Sunnah)
The Arabic term sunnah literally means a way of acting, but figuratively it means: the words, actions and affirmations of one of the ma'sumeen Infallibles. In order to understand this definition completely we must understand a few terms:
· Infallible: anyone who's infallibility is established. The Infallibles are the Prophet (s) and the twelve Imāms from the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
· The sayings of an infallible: Whatever the infallible says that has anything to do with religious rules.
· The actions of an infallible: Whatever action an infallible takes.
· The affirmations of an infallible: The occurrences that happen in the presence of an infallible to which the infallible does not oppose.
The Authority of Traditions
Muslims agree unanimously that the words, actions and affirmations of the Prophet (s) are considered an authority for all Muslims. Allah says:
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا
"So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you."[31]
The words, actions and affirmations of the Imāms of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are only considered an authority only if their infallibility and their place in the line of successors to the Prophet is proved. There are numerous proofs of their infallibility in key resource books about Imāmate and theology. Please refer to them.
3. Consensus
The Arabic term for consensus is ijmā‛ which literally means unanimity.
Shiites view consensus as a tool to unearth an Infallible's verdict. Unlike the other jurisprudential sects, Shiites do not regard consensus as an independent proof as it is the case with the Qurān, the traditions and logic.
Whenever a consensus shows us what the Infallible's verdict is, it has authority. Otherwise, it does not have authority.
The question arises: Why do the Shia include consensus as one of the sources of religious verdicts when it is not considered an independent proof?
Shaykh al-Ansārī answered this question in the following way: Consensus being a source for religious verdicts is a not an accurate statement. True Consensus is a tool to establish the truth, and in this case, both the means and the truth are considered a proof.
How does Consensus help determine the verdict of an infallible?
There is no single answer. Attempts to find an answer to this question started at the time of Shaykh al-Tūsī and continue to this day. The answers fall under two categories:
1. Internal consensus: A consensus of mujtahids who lived in a period of time in which one of the Infallible was present. He was part of the consensus but nobody knew him personally. Therefore, this kind of a consensus is an authority. How do we know that the infallible was amongst them? This answer to that is to be found in the books of the principles of jurisprudence.
2. Linguistic consensus: This consensus informs us, in an intellectual way, that the infallible agreed with the ruling but was not part of the consensus. His duty is to prevent all of the scholars from making an incorrect consensus. More answers are found in the books of the principles of jurisprudence.
4. Intellect
What is meant by the intellect here is anything that man's intellect can understand and a religious ruling can be derived from.[32]
An example is when Allah makes obligatory an action through a Quranic verse or reliable tradition, but one must perform another action to be able to perform this obligatory action and there is not any verse or tradition about this action. Man's intellect understands the relationship between an obligatory action and its precepts becoming obligatory. This leads to certainty about the action being obligatory.
An example of this is that Allah made the pilgrimage obligatory on anyone who has financial ability. This is found in both the Qurān and traditions. But, Allah did not mention that the travel from one's hometown to Mecca is obligatory, even though it is a necessary precept to performing the pilgrimage.
Man's intellect understands the relationship between performing the pilgrimage and having to travel. It is possible to say that the travel becomes obligatory by the mukallaf having certainty, like some have said.
The Authority of Intellect
It is self-evident that intellect itself is an authority; it does not need a proof. The reason for this is that intellect is a foundational proof for Islamic beliefs.
When Intellect is viewed as a fundamental proof for Islamic beliefs it becomes easy to reach the conclusion that it is an authority for religious rulings as well. The reason for this is that beliefs are more important than rules; they are the roots of religion.
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