he is eternal or has come into being? Through correct reflection, I come to know that he is eternal. Thus, knowledge that the one who brought me into being is eternal is inferential knowledge founded upon the knowledge that I have one who brought me into being, which is itself inferential knowledge. This rests upon knowledge that I have come into being, which is also inferential knowledge, and that rests upon knowledge of my existence, which is necessary knowledge.
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Inferential knowledge is attained following reflection. It shares with necessary knowledge the quality of knowing a thing as it truly is. It is therefore permissible to testify to what is known through reflection and inference, just as it is permissible to testify to what is known necessarily. An example is the report that Khuzaymah ibn Thābit testified on behalf of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he had purchased the horse from the Bedouin, although Khuzaymah had neither been present nor witnessed it. Another example is the report that Abū Hurayrah testified that a man had vomited wine. Umar asked him, “Do you testify that he drank it?” He replied, “I testify that he vomited it.” Umar ibn al-Khattāb said to him, “What is this excessive scrupulousness? No, by your Lord, he did not vomit it without having drunk it!”
Other examples include the testimony of experts concerning whether defects are longstanding or recent, and the testimony of knowledgeable persons concerning whether harm is longstanding or recent. Of the same kind is the testimony that Muhammad’s community, on the Day of Resurrection, will give on behalf of the prophets against their peoples, affirming that they conveyed the message. May Allah bless Muhammad and grant him peace. This is too clear to require explanation, for every believer testifies that Allah alone has no partner and that He lives, knows, has power, wills, hears, sees, and speaks—among His other attributes—because he knows this. Yet he has no way of knowing any of these things except through reflection and inference.
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Likewise, it is permissible to testify to what is known through mass-transmitted reports, such as clientage, lineage, death, a judge’s appointment or dismissal, harm between spouses, and similar matters. It is valid