In situations involving doubtful matters, when no other evidence is present, caution is considered a valid independent principle. In cases where something may be either permissible (mubah) or forbidden (haram), avoiding it due to the possibility of it being haram protects a person from sin. If the matter turns out to be permissible, there is no burden of guilt on the individual, and this also brings peace of mind (Ali İhsan Pala, The Principle of Caution in Islamic Law, pp. 45-46; pp. 262-263).
In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear. Between them are doubtful matters which many people do not know. Whoever avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor” (Bukhari, “Faith,” 39; “Sales,” 2; Muslim, “Musaqat,” 107, 108).
Other hadiths also encourage avoiding doubtful matters:
“A person does not attain the level of the pious until he refrains from things that are harmless for fear of things that are harmful” (Tirmidhi, “The Day of Judgment,” 19);
“Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt” (Bukhari, “Sales,” 3);
“Sin is what troubles the heart and causes hesitation” (Muslim, “Righteousness,” 14).
Hazrat Umar also expressed the Sahaba’s caution in this matter by saying, “We would avoid nine-tenths of what is permissible out of fear of falling into the forbidden” (Munawi, Al-Taysir bi Sharh al-Jami’ al-Saghir, 2/971).
These hadiths encourage individuals to live more sensitively in their religious lives, leaving them to their conscience and personal discretion. Therefore, caution and avoidance of doubtful matters are closely related to the concepts of piety (taqwa) and scrupulousness (wara’).