However, someone may object and ask: Did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, know of this, or did he not know?

The answer is that either we say that he knew, or that he did not know, or that we do not know. If he knew, then the evidence drawn from this sunnah is clear. If we know that he did not know, then we say: Allah knew; and Allah’s tacit approval of something during the time when revelation was being sent down is evidence of its permissibility and that it is not objectionable. For had it been objectionable, Allah would have condemned it, even if the Messenger did not know of it.

The evidence for this is as follows:

First: Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“They seek to hide from people, but they cannot hide from Allah, while He is with them when they plot by night words that He does not approve. And Allah encompasses all that they do.” [al-Nisa]

Allah condemned their nocturnal plotting, although people did not know of it, because they were plotting something objectionable. This proves that Allah does not leave an objectionable matter uncondemned, even if people are unaware of it.

Second: The Companions cited as evidence for the permissibility of coitus interruptus the fact that they practised it while the Quran was being revealed (1). This was their citing Allah’s tacit approval as evidence.

“Nor a mute person …”

His statement, “nor a mute person,” means that the imamate of a mute person is not valid. The apparent meaning of his words is that this applies even when he leads someone like himself. A mute person is one who is unable to speak, and there are two types:

1. Permanent muteness.