Insha Allah Ta'ala, this section will deal with presenting the pristine teaching upon which Islam is based. Please revisit for upcoming articles
About ijtihad, taqlid and talfiq
Questions by Issam al-Barwani Sahib to Shaykh Abu Omar Abdul Hadi Palazzi
At 18.12 Saturday, May 8 1999 M, Brother Issam al-Barwani wrote to the Shaykh:
Al Salam Aleykum,
I have this question.
I am a Muslim and every one asks me to join a mathhab whether its Shafi or Malki etc...
My question is: Do I have to follow one of any of the Islamic Mathhab? and if yes Why?
As I believe in all the pillars of Islam and the Iman and do my best in the Islam Shariah and when I look at the other Muslims with all different sects (mathhab) they just follow without even knowing what they are on about just they found their parents and they follow
please, advise me.
Thank you
At 12:12 Tuesday, May 11 1999, Shaykh Abu Omar answered:
Wa 'alaykum salam wa rahmat-Ullahi wa barakatuH.
Dear Brother Issam,
A person who believes in Allah and the last day must try his best to worship Allah with ikhlas and to obey him by abstaining from harams and increasing the number of 'ibadat. When we have to perform a task, we can either base ourselves on our own expertise, or look for help by someone we consider an expert in a different field. If we are seriously sick, we do not trust a person who says, "I have read some books about medicine", but we look for a doctor who has a degree, a good professional reputation, etc.
As about abiding by the Shari'ah, we cannot think we are able to read the Holy Qur'an and hadiths and deduce the ahkam by ourselves. We are not experts in distinguishing nasikh and mansukh ayat, we do not know how to distinguish between 'amm and khass, muhkamat and mutashabihat; we do not know all the rules of 'ilmu-l-hadith, 'ilmu-r-rijal, etc. Form this reason, as Allah has ordered us, when we do not know, we must ask Ahlu-d-Dhikr. The problem is whom we regard as authoritative source of our taqlid in fiqh.
Allah Ta'ala has shown an order of precedence in Islam, by saying, "As-sabiquna al-awwaluna mina-l-muhajirina... al-ayah". After Rasul-Ullah (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam), those having a best knowledge of Islam are Ashab al-kiramah, after them there are Tabi'un, and after them Itba'u-t-Tabi'un. We know that Allah is pleased with them. Rasul-Ullah (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) warned his Ummah by saying, "Those who will live after me will se many discrepancies. You must abide by my Sunnah and by the Sunnah of my khulafa'u-r-rashidun." He also informed them that this Ummah will be divided in 73 groups, one of which will be protected from hell, while the other 72 ones will be sects of bid'ah and dalalah. We must be very careful in avoiding getting involved in sects of bid'ah.
Sahabah were mujtahids of high rank, and they were completely sincere in the desire to please Allah Ta'ala. Had we the opportunity to make taqlid of their ijtihad, that would be the best option. Masha Allah, they never wrote treatises on fiqh, and we do not have the opportunity of abiding by their taqlid. Among the second generation, fiqh was collected in books by Imam Abu Hanifah, and among the third generation by Imams Malik as-Shafi'i and Ibn Hanbal. The consensus of 'ulema from Ahlu-s-Sunnah is that their ijtihad is corrected and acceptable. Even the greatest scholars of following generations chose to practice the Shari'ah according to one of their madhhab. For more than ten centuries, there was no divergence among Muslims about this matter.
The difficulty started during the twelve century of hijrah, when a person called Muhammad ibn 'Abdi-l-Wahhab started preaching in Hijaz against Ahlu-s-Sunnah, and founded a new sect that rejected taqlid of the four madhhabs. Sunni scholars, including the Mufti of Mecca, wrote a fatwa against him and refuted his errors. By siding with the British kuffars against The Khalifatu-l-Muslimin, they caught power in al-Jazirah, and founded the so-called Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were Wahhabism is official religion. Most of contemporary sects like Salafis, Ikhwans, Albaniyyuns, etc., are a consequence of the Wahhabi bid'ah and refuse the ijtihad of madhhabs, but they follow the ijtihad of their co-sectarian; some of them has recently met what Allah has prepared for them, while some others go on being adallu sabilah.
By trusting in Allah, we must refuse to follow the doubtful taqlid of al-akharun, and abide by the confirmed taqlid of al-awwalun. This is the only mean through which we can be sure that our 'aqidah and 'ibadats are sahih.
Please, remember us in your du'ahs, wa-s-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmat-Ullahi wa barakatuH.
Shaykh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Director
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At 16.48 Tuesday May 14, 1999, Brother Issam wrote:
Salamu Aleykum brother,
Thank you for the information but I'm still not sure which Mathhad I should follow as I do read and listen to all the Mathhabs and I find it all appealing as all Ulama's are relating their Tafsir and Hadith and Shriah and Ahkam from the books of ahulu al Sunah and some sects like Ibadhi and Shia, Wahabi etc...
Shaykh Abdul Hadi answered at 10.27 Friday May 14, 1999:
Ba'da-s-salam, Rasul-Ullah (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) order us: "Let what creates doubts for what creates no doubt". If applied to the problem of madhhabs of fiqh, we must beware of sects of bid'ah that were refuted by Sunni scholars, and abide by one the four madhhabs that are unanimously regarded as authoritative. The best way is not learning from books, but finding a pious 'alim that teaches fiqh according to the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i or Hanbali madhhab, and is not influenced by Shi'ism, Wahhabism, Ikhwanu-l-Muslimun, etc. If Allah, subhanaHu, blesses us with the opportunity to be in touch with such a Shaykh, we must spend our free time in his company, asking him questions and attending his classes. Otherwise, when we do not have such a possibility, we can learn from books, or even from the Web. Ikhlas Waqf from Istanbul is formed by heirs of Shaykh Abdu-l-Hakim al-Arwasi, teaches fiqh according to the Hanafi madhhab, and distribute books in English, Arabic and other languages; another Sunni organization, called Association for Islamic Charitable Project is formed by disciples of Shaykh 'Abdullah al-Harari, and teaches Shafi'i fiqh on the Web under the direction of Shaykh Samir al-Kadi.
Issam:
Now for example : Salat Al Safar every Mathab has its rules from Shafi, Hanafy, Hanbaly, Malki ,Ibhadi ,Shia etc..and so many other Ahkam and Sharia .And the Hadith is as you stated 72 sects will go to hell fire except one now this pauses a question to me if you continue the Hadith it says : The Sahaba asked the Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) if we reached that time what should we do ? The Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) replied worship Allah the best you can away from all sects.
On whose authority should I follow out of the Mathab (73) as the Hadith Sharif stated?
The Shaykh:
We must not confuse the four madhhabs of Sunni fiqh with the 72 sects of dalalah. "The best you can" means "according to you level of 'ilm and taqwah". For a layperson, it is enough to learn from a Shaykh or from books of 'ilmu-l-hal according to a single madhhab, those who are at a medium level can study "Al-fiqh 'ala-l-madhhaibu-l-arba'" by Shaykh 'Abdu-r-Rahman al-Jaza'iri, while those who are more advanced can study 'ilm usuli-l-fiqh and learn the differences of methodology between madhhabs. About a certain hukm, one madhhab will give space to facility, while another will be stricter. Knowing the different ijtihads and choosing the most difficult one - if done li-wajhi-Llah - is an exercise of wara' and taqwah. To do so, one need to be a faqih, enough competent in all of the four madhhabs.
Issam:
Why do Ulama tell us to follow one ONLY or I will be lost in my Iman.
The Shaykh:
For those who are not enough competent in fiqh and ijtihad, the safest way is taqlid of a single madhhab. When questioned about your 'ibadat in al-akhirah, you justification will be, "I was not a mujtahid, and I worshipped Allah according to Imam Abu Hanifah (or Malik, or Shafi'i or Ahmad) and this was confirmed by ijma'u-l-'ulema' during all centuries". By practicing ahkam of Shari'ah in a wrong way, one does not - as such - risk to loose his Iman, but to make its 'ibadat batil. Iman does not depend on our actions, but on what we believe about Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers and the last Day. The risk is, as to say, indirect. If one start following a bid'ah holder in fiqh, he will probably follow him in 'aqidah, too. If a certain person, for instance, accept to follow Ibn Baz or al-Albani as a "Shaykh", he will follow them when they wrongly say that "practicing tawassul of ahlu-l-qubur" is "shirk"; by doing so, he will accuse Sunni Muslims of "shirk", an became a murtaddid. May Allah protect us all from this risk, and prevent deviations in both fiqh and 'aqidah.
Issam:
Why should I stick to one Mathahb and why can't I take the Sharia from different school of thoughts and not to define myself as a follower of one Mathhab.
The Shaykh:
On the contrary, trying to make a "collage" of different ijtihad means that we judge ourselves as able to say "On this point Imam X is wrong and Imam Y is right", and this is nothing but kibr. Moreover, after Rasul-Ullah (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) we had khilafah rashidah, then khilafah ghayru rashidah, and now we have no khilafah and no rushdah, and a consistent part of former Daru-l-Islam is under the mundane sultanate of ahlu-d-dalalah. By assembling ijtihads from different sources, the real risk is the possibility of mingling hudah and dalalah. Take for example the books of la-madhhabis people who are regarded as scholars: al-Bannah, AbduH, al-Afghani, Sa'id Sabiq, Mawdudi, Qutb, Abu Bakr al-Jazairi, Ibn Baz and al-Albani. They regularly mingle what is transmitted by Ahlu-s-Sunnah with innovations coming from firqatu-n-najdiyyah, the heritage of Asrafu-l-Mursalin (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) with the zhann coming from the heirs of Musaylimah al-Kadhhab.
Issam:
Don't you think the mathab is more political than its religious?
The Shaykh:
No, I think that ahlu-l-madhhayb developed 'ilm searching for ridwanu-Llah, but those interested in power in dunya' tried to made scholars subservient to their goals. Imam Abu Hanifah and Ibn Hanbal (radi Allahu 'anh) were imprisoned and underwent pressure, but never accepted to become 'ulema'u-s-sultaniyyah. On the contrary, those who exchange akhirah for dunya are running after appointments like chief mufti and qadi under the rule of zhalimun. May Allah guide them to tawbah nasuhah.
Issam:
Going to Mecca Al Mukarama you see people praying in different styles( some have their hands on their bellies some on their chests some they don't move their hands except on Takbir and some don't move at all) now you tell me the Wahabi sect which most of Saudi Ulama are wrong in not so many words the Ibadisum (Al Khawarij) as they call them are wrong , some Shafi says that Hanbali are wrong some Malki don't like Hanafi and above all Shia are the outcast and now the Wahaby are heritics and Ibhadi are kafarah .
The Shaykh:
We have reliable dalils about the fact that Rasul-Ullah (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) prayed, in different times, with hands in all of these positions, sometimes moving them in takbirs of ruku' and qiyam, and sometimes in takbiratu-l-ihram only. None of the four madhhabs says that putting the hand along the body, on the chest or on the navel makes salah batil; they differ in what they regard as mustahhab, and this depends on the fact that they have a different method in usul. The correct ijtihad confirmed in all of the four madhhabs is that all the other three are correct, and their ijtihad acceptable. If a certain "Hanafi" scholar says something against taqlid of Imam Maliki, Imam Shafi'i or Imam Ahmad, in doing so he is responsible of ta'assub and exaggeration, and contradicts the same school he claims to belong to. Insha Allah Ta'ala, read al-Muwatta', and you will realize that, before expressing his own ijtihad, Imam Malik quotes the opinion of Abu Hanifah and his main disciples, Shaykhayn Abu Yusuf and Muhammad Shaybani. Imam Shafi'i developed his system by comparing Hanafi and Maliki fiqh, will Imam Ahmad, when in Cairo, used to make ziyarah of the grave of Imam Shafi'i, and asked to touch his turban and jilbab to get tabarruk. He used to say, "If compared to Abu Hanifah, all scholars living today are children". A real Sunni scholar is rahim toward the other three Sunni school, and shadid against bid'ah holders and ahlu-t-talfiq.
Issam:
Now why should we be in between sects ? I do relate to all Ahkam which ever suits us from different Mathhabs to make our life easy but my Brother I prefer not to belong to any sects but take all good as Islam is All good from different Mathhabs and call Myself Im a Muslim my Mathhad is Al Mathab Al Islami.
The Shaykh:
But when you are to pray, you must choose to put your hands in a certain place and not in another; to do so, you can either choose taqlid or your own opinion; taqlid is confirmed by ijma', while individual opinion is not.
Issam:
I don't agree at all if Ulama tells me to follow a mathab but if you tell me the Shariah (according to Imam so and so) I will ask what did the rest of Ulama agree on and that would take me a whole life time.
As the Bedouin who went to our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and asked him of what should he do and what he gets the Prophet told him of Arkan Al Islam and Al Iman and commandments and the Bedouin said By God I wont add anything the Prophet replied if you do it all you have fulfilled your duties.
Sahabi Masaab Bin Omeir when he died the prophet covered part of his leg with bush .Why all Mathhabs has different law of how many times you cover the dead person with a white cloth is it 2 or 3 or 4 or 1 we get lost .
To me Islam Deen Yuser and not Usr(Difficult) .
The Shaykh:
You are absolutely right. Practicing taqlid of one of the four Imams means having a yusr Din. You are not requested to judge, "this hadith is prevalent and this is relative, this ayah is abrogated by another ayah, this hadith is sahih, this is hasan and this is weak." The Imams have done all this work for you centuries ago. You only say, "I abide by the fatwa of a mujtahid that is regarded as authoritative by ijma'u-l-Ummah, period."
Issam:
My whole thing is who should we follow or why and by whose authority as indeed it parts the Muslims and create conflicts in so many countries in Bahrain the Sunnis are the ones who have higher position. In Iran the Shiat have the upper hand and position .In Afghanistan the Mujahideen fight between each other because mainly of the sects (Mathhabs) and so many other countries.
please answer me soon as I am looking for the truth.
Yahfadhukum Allah:
Salam aleikum:
Issam
The Shaykh:
After the end of Khilafatu-l-'Uthmaniyyah confusion is increasing; Wahhabis and their sub-sects disguise their true nature and say "We are Sunni", while Shi'as are saying, "There is no real different situation between Sunnis and us". That is the reason why our Institute, in cooperation with other Sunni institutions, is working hard for refutation of heretics and Sunni da'wah. May Allah Ta'ala guide us and you to islah and extend to all of us His rahmah.
Wa-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmat-Ullahi wa barakatuH.
Abdul Hadi Palazzi
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