Argument e Silentio definition
Argument e Silentio means non-existence of a tradition at a certain time. In Schacht’s own words, “The best way of proving that a tradition did not exist at a certain time is to show that it was not used as a legal argument in a discussion which would have made reference to it imperative, if it had existed”192 Schacht has frequently used this argument to show non-existance of traditions in early period of Islam. This argument has thoroughly been refuted by Zafar Ishaq Ansari with supporting evidence and rejected out rightly by Harald Motzki. Its details will be discussed in the preceding pages.