reported matters (السَّمْعِيَّات)
العقيدة
التعريف :
The section that provides the information given in the Qur'an and the sunnah which one cannot confirm or deny through reasoning, such as the signs of the last hour. Theologists consider this the third part of the creed discipline, after the matters of divinity and prophethood.
المعنى الاصطلاحي :
Everything that is established by the Shari`ah texts, such as Paradise, Hell, and events taking place on the Day of Resurrection.
الشرح المختصر :
"Sam`iyyat" (revelation-based knowledge) refers to the reports that have been established through the Qur'an and Sunnah, or the knowledge based on the Shari`ah texts, whether or not we understand it with our intellects, such as the angles, Jinn, spirits, the Day of Judgment, Paradise, Hellfire, and other matters of the Unseen. It has been called "sam`iyyah" because these texts have been reported to us only through hearing or with reading. "sam`i" is the synonym of "shar`i" because it is mostly perceived by hearing unlike "`aqli" (reason-based knowledge).
التعريف اللغوي المختصر :
"Sam`iyyaat": is derived from "sam`", which means hearing, Original meaning: the ability to perceive the sounds.