Yet the scholars may sometimes hesitate over particular applications of this principle, either because the proofs appear conflicting or because some of them do not regard the issue as falling under the principle at all. Al-Athram relates: “I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh being asked about wearing silk in battle, and he replied, ‘I hope there is no harm in it.’ I also heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh asked about the girdle (minṭaqah) and its embellishments, and he said, ‘As for the girdle, some have deemed it disliked, saying that it is part of foreign dress, for non-Arabs used to fasten their turbans with it.’”
He therefore suspended judgment, because the girdle provides a practical benefit that counters the element of imitation, and it is reported that some of the early generations did wear it. For that reason he merely conveyed the statement of others and remained silent.
A related issue is whether such a statement becomes his own position when, asked about a matter, he simply quotes another’s answer without adding agreement or disagreement. Among his companions there are two views:
- Yes, it counts as his view, for had he not concurred he would not have presented it as an answer to the questioner; the inquirer was seeking his ruling, not a catalogue of others’ opinions.