Ma`rifat Falsafi

J. L. Austin was the first philosopher to identify a significant type of statement that resembles declarative sentences but is neither true nor false. These statements, instead of describing a situation or state, perform an action through the act of utterance itself. According to Austin, declarative statements can be true or false, whereas inshā (performative/issuance) statements are not evaluated based on truth or falsity, rather on their appropriateness or inappropriateness (felicity). He emphasizes that the words in performative utterances must be spoken seriously to be taken seriously. Similarly, scholars of Islamic uṣūl al-fiqh assert that complete declarative sentences indicate the occurrence or non-occurrence of a matter and are thus characterized by truth or falsity. However, performative statements are generative in nature, meaning that their content is to be created and realized through the utterance itself. By "generation through inshā (issuance)", they mean creation in the world outside; i.e. the reality of the issued meaning is to be generated and created through the words uttered. According to these scholars, inshā involves serious confirmatory intention, without which the inshā cannot be considered valid. While Austin outlines six rules essential for the proper functioning of performative utterances. Shiite uṣūl al-fiqh scholars, although not systematically codifying such rules, have implicitly addressed these issues here and there within their discussions. This article aims to compare and analyze Austin’s views and those of Islamic uṣūl al-fiqh scholars about the meaning of inshā and its rules. Using a descriptive-analytical method and library-based data, it highlights the convergences and divergences in these two intellectual traditions.