Sheikh al-Saduq and the Rule of Permission: Its Concept, Function and Validity

In his book Man La-Yadhiraho al-Faqih, Sheikh al-Saduq reports a group of traditions whose common theme is the permission and lawfulness of work. By accepting this group of traditions he founds a rule on whose base he issues his personal judgment. This rule which is called “permission” (rukhsat) in the literature of Sheikh al-Saduq is one of the methods which he uses in solving the conflict among traditions. However, this rule compared to other methods of solving the difference among traditions is not comprehensive, and because it does not have a known criterion in its application it does not have enough validity and apparently it cannot be called a general rule. Understanding the concept of the rule of permission, explaining its function from the viewpoint of Sheikh al-Saduq and the assessment of the validity of the rule of permission are some of the points which have been analyzed and evaluated in this article.