Amara (indication: the probable evidence in usul)

Amara is a sign in the lexical sense. For the usulis it is a probable evidence: that by which correct reasoning reaches a probable factual conclusion. ¹²

• Proof (dalil): what leads by correct reasoning to a factual conclusion that is certain or probable; it is sometimes limited to the certain. ¹
• Mark (alama): a probable proof is called amara and alama, but the Hanafis agreed that the amara is not as clear as the mark; the mark never leaves the thing, while the amara may. ²
• Suggestive attribute (wasf mukhayyal): gives a weak probability; the amara a strong one. ²
• Presumptive circumstance (qarina): often used for amara, and it may be certain. ²

Where there is no certain proof but only an amara, as with a single report or analogy, the mujtahid must act on the probability it creates. The muqallid's probability does not become a path to knowledge. ²

• The qibla is found by the direction of the winds and the rising of the stars. ²
• Most jurists take the coarse pubic hair as a sign of puberty; some add a sharp nose, a deep voice, breast growth and a sour armpit. ²
• In judging, jurists disagree on using indicators: some used the story of Joseph's shirt as proof; others rely on the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said that had he stoned anyone without proof he would have stoned a woman whose speech and bearing showed suspicion. ²³