Among the practical illustrations of this rule is the case of a person who is certain he is in a state of ritual purity but doubts whether he has invalidated it; the default is that he remains pure. The reverse also holds: if one is sure he has fallen into ritual impurity yet doubts whether he has purified himself, the default ruling is impurity. The same logic extends to countless detailed issues.

This maxim is supported by numerous textual proofs, including the sound report that someone complained to the Prophet ﷺ about sensations he experienced while praying. The Prophet said, “He should not leave (the prayer) unless he hears a sound or detects a smell.” [Agreed upon] Hence, whoever is certain of something continues to assume it exists until he is equally certain it has ceased.

This guideline is a subdivision of the earlier principle: “Certainty is not displaced by doubt.”

Nineteenth Maxim: “The burden of proof is upon the claimant, and the oath is upon the one who denies.”

This maxim is the verbatim wording of a prophetic ḥadīth. The second clause—“the oath is upon the denier”—is recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, whereas the first clause is transmitted by al-Bayhaqī.

Meaning: Some jurists restrict the term bayyina (legal proof) to witness testimony, but the more precise understanding is that it encompasses anything that makes the truth manifest.

The claimant is the one whose claim would lapse if he abandoned it. The respondent is the one who, if he refuses the claim, is summoned and compelled to appear.

Reason corroborates this prophetic rule, for the baseline is freedom from liability. Thus, when someone asserts a right against another who denies it, the claimant must establish his case by one or more admissible means of proof; if he cannot, all he may demand is the respondent’s oath.

The scholars unanimously endorse this great foundational rule and treat it as the point of reference for settling disputes. Some have even said that it is what is meant by Allah’s words: “We strengthened his kingdom, and We gave him wisdom and decisive speech” (Ṣād 38:20). Allah knows best.

Twentieth Maxim: “When circumstantial evidence is strong, it takes precedence over the basic presumption.”

Explanation: The Sharʿī method is to give priority to the underlying presumption and to negate anything that contradicts it; however, the circumstantial evidence may become so strong