Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Could you please give an example of the following usul – “The default assumption about a matter is akin to certainty”?
Walaikum assalam,
The default assumption about water (or the ground) is that it is pure. This is our operational certainty. This is not lifted by mere doubts or misgivings. It is only lifted by certainty.
Similarly, the default assumption about people is that they are upright and truthful. This is our operational certainty. This is not lifted by mere doubt, misgivings, or rumors. It is only lifted by certainty. In fact, thinking ill of others based on mere doubts or misgivings, even within oneself, is sinful, as Allah Most High warned, “O you who believe, avoid much doubt, for, verily, some doubt is sin.” (Qur’an, 49: 12)
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.