The Participation of Legal Discourse for Oral Interpreters and Others

A Fundamental Study in Imami Jurisprudence

Abstract

Submission date: 18 / 01 /2026

Acceptance date: 04 / 03 /2026

Publication date: 30 / 03 /2026

    The investigation into the probative authority (ḥujjiyyah) of verbal indications (al-ẓawāhir al-lafẓiyyah) in Sharʿī texts, and the extent to which such authority encompasses those who were not directly addressed, constitutes one of the most profound discussions in uṣūl al-fiqh, as it is intimately connected with the very core of juristic inference (istinbāṭ). Upon this issue hinges the determination of whether it is legitimate to rely upon narrations that were issued within particular contexts—such as an Imām’s (peace be upon him) response to the question of a specific inquirer.

Uṣūlī scholars have differed on this matter between those who restrict probative authority to the individual intended to be addressed and made to understand, and those who affirm its general applicability on the basis of the sufficiency of customary (ʿurfī) appearance. The former deny and reject the principle of the commonality of address (ishtirāk al-khiṭāb), whereas the latter affirm it. Accordingly, a rigorous inquiry into this issue opens new horizons for understanding the manner in which verbal appearance is constituted and established.

In this light, the present study undertakes a detailed foundational examination of this principle through an analytical treatment of the juristic and uṣūlī approaches, a critical discussion of their evidences, and an evaluation of their soundness in light of established Sharʿī premises. Consequently, this research addresses the probative authority of verbal appearances with respect to those not intended to be directly addressed, investigates the realization of appearance in the narrations transmitted from the Imāms (peace be upon them), and examines the principle of the presumption of the absence of a contextual qualifier (aṣālat ʿadam al-qarīnah) and its impact on determining the scope of the Sharʿī discourse.