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Certainty and its degrees (yaqin)

اليقين ودرجاته

Sha'rawi sets out certainty in three degrees: knowledge of certainty when the report comes from someone one trusts, sight of certainty when the matter has been seen, and truth of certainty when one enters into the reality of the thing. He cites the Surat al-Takathur, and says Abu Bakr accepted the night journey because it came from one he trusted 12.

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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CreedSpirituality and Sufism

Summary

Sha'rawi sets certainty in three degrees: knowledge of certainty, sight of certainty and truth of certainty. For him, certainty is the settling of a matter in the heart so that it admits no doubt. 1

Knowledge of certainty

Certainty is knowledge when the report comes from someone one trusts. Sha'rawi illustrates it with Abu Bakr, who accepted the account of the night journey, saying that if the Prophet ﷺ had said it, then it was true. 1

Sight and truth of certainty

Certainty rises to sight of certainty when the matter is seen with the eye, and then to truth of certainty when one enters into the reality of the thing. He uses the warning of the Fire in al-Takathur to show the move from report to sight. 2

Limits of this block

These are Sha'rawi's words alone, from these pages. The positions of Sufi writers and theologians on the stations of certainty, the academic view and other views are not yet entered.

Opinions on the question

The question: What is certainty: does it rest on a trusted report, on sight, or on the reality itself?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Certainty has three degrees, knowledge, sight and truth, and ends in the matter settling in the heart

Sha'rawi holds that certainty is the settling of a matter in the heart so that it admits no doubt, that faith rests on the report of one who is trusted, and that Abu Bakr's acceptance of the night journey is an example. Certainty then rises to sight of certainty by seeing, and to truth of certainty by entering into the reality, and he takes the warning of the Fire in al-Takathur as the illustration {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-pp-501-1000 p.556}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-pp-501-1000 p.557}.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (1)

Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Scholars' statements on the degrees of certainty are not yet entered from a source

The positions of Sufi writers and theologians on the stations of certainty, the academic view and other views are not yet entered.

People and things also explored

Ihsan (excellence in worship)· Istiqama (steadfast uprightness)· The endings of deeds (khawatim)· Nasiha (sincere counsel)· Niyya (intention in deeds)· Taqwa (God-consciousness)· Ibn Barrajan, Abd al-Salam ibn Abd al-Rahman· Prophetic adab (proper conduct)

Sources

  1. Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.556
  2. Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.557
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Certainty and its degrees (yaqin)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-yaqin/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Ihsan (excellence in worship)

The third level named in the hadith of Jibril after islam and iman, defined by the Prophet as worshipping God as though you see Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you. In his commentary on Shaddad ibn Aws's hadith 'God has prescribed ihsan upon everything' Ibn Rajab extends it from the station of watchful worship to a ruling written upon all things — reaching excellence even in execution and slaughter — noting that the wording of 'writing' entails obligation for most jurists and usul scholars.