الإنكار

الإنكار

Inkar in lexical use means ignorance of a thing, negation, and changing a wrong; for the jurists it means denial (jahd) and changing what is wrong. ¹ Denial is made in clear speech, and the jurists differ on words such as ‘you have no right over me’, which some count as denial. ² The proof lies on the claimant and the oath on the one who denies: if the claimant brings proof he wins; if the denier refuses the oath, the Hanafis and Hanbalis judge against him, while the Malikis and Shafi'is do not, unless the oath is returned to the claimant. ³⁴ The defendant's silence is treated in several ways: as denial for Abu Yusuf and the Shafi'is, as refusal (nukul) for the Malikis and Hanbalis. ⁵⁶ The majority hold that one who denies a deposit or a loan is not cut by the hand for theft. ⁷ Where a person retracts an acknowledgement of a right of God, the jurists differ; a right of people cannot be retracted. ⁷⁸ A person who denies a matter of religion is not declared an unbeliever unless it is universally known as part of religion. ⁹