Ta'abbudi (rules whose reason is not given: acts of pure obedience)

Ta'abbudi is, in the technical sense, a rule whose enactment shows the servant no purpose beyond the duty itself, a test of his obedience. ¹

Most hold that God's rules have reasons in the people's interest, and that a rule is ta'abbudi only when the reason cannot be found. ³ Others say some rules are ta'abbudi outright, as a test of obedience. ^{3 9} Al-Shatibi noted that a purpose may be known in general, and the rule remains ta'abbudi in some respects, such as the dower in marriage, the slaughter at the proper place, the fixed shares in inheritance, and the number of months of the waiting period. ²

Worship in its root is obedience and submission; some acts of worship have a known reason, such as prayer forbidding indecency, and others have none, such as the number of pebbles thrown at the pillars. ⁴ Ta'abbudi may also appear outside worship, as the waiting of a slave-girl returned to her seller before the buyer took her. ⁴ The right of God is not optional for servants and is not waived; not every right of God is ta'abbudi, only where its wisdom is hidden. ⁴ A ruling with a known reason but without wider application is distinguished from the ta'abbudi: the case of Khuzayma ibn Thabit's testimony counted as two witnesses, and the particular permissions to the Prophet ﷺ and to Abu Burda about the goat. ^{10 5}

The wisdom of ta'abbudi is to call for obedience and to test submission, as al-Ghazali said of throwing the pebbles and running between the two hills; the Prophet said of pilgrimage «here I am, a true pilgrimage, in devotion and servitude». ^{5 11} The only way to know it is inability to give a reason by sound means, and jurists differ on some rules, such as repeating the prostration and the divorce of a menstruating wife. ^{11 12}

The usul scholars differ; the known Shafii view is that command is the basis, and the sounder view is that the texts are reasoned. Al-Shatibi held that worship is based on command and custom on purpose. ^{6 13}

Ibn Abd al-Salam held the ta'abbudi more excellent for its pure submission; al-Balqini held the reasoned more excellent, since most of the law is so; al-Shatibi held the best intention to be obedience itself. ^{7 8}

It cannot be reasoned from by analogy, and its ruling does not extend beyond its place, whether it is an exception or a fresh rule such as the number of rak'ahs. This underlies the dispute on the punishment of sodomy, and the Hanafis do not reason from analogy in penalties and expiations where the reason is not clear. ⁸ Acts of worship need intention, and the washing of the hand on rising from sleep before dipping it in the vessel is ta'abbudi, so the intention of ablution does not replace it. ^{8 14}

The next headword, «tacbir» (expression), begins on p.5378. ¹⁴