Testimony is an important source of religious beliefs in Abrahamic religions. The epistemological aspect of testimony is studied in contemporary epistemology and in the single report (al-Khabar al-Wahid) and massive report (al-Khabar al-mutawatir) in principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Usul al-fiqh). ...
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Testimony is an important source of religious beliefs in Abrahamic religions. The epistemological aspect of testimony is studied in contemporary epistemology and in the single report (al-Khabar al-Wahid) and massive report (al-Khabar al-mutawatir) in principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Usul al-fiqh). Regarding the main similarities and differences between testimonial justification conditions in Elizabeth Fricker and Morteza Ansari, a leading Shiite theologian, I examine the possibility of the comparison between them in this paper. Therefore, first of all, I compare the concepts of report and justification (hudjdjat) in Ansari’s principles of Islamic jurisprudence with the concepts of testimony and justification in Fricker. Then, I compare the conditions of testimonial justification in Ansari and Fricker. Finally, I show that some apparent similarities are differences in fact. Accordingly, while the comparison is possible, it should be done with great caution.
