[MADRASA] Differences of opinion where Fuquhaa differ?
[MADRASA] Differences of opinion where Fuquhaa differ?
humble_muslim
07/13/01 at 00:54:47
I have read a couple of threads recently which deal with madhabs.  Here is my two cents worth.

There are essentially two schools of thoughts on madhabs.  One school says that an indivdual MUST follow a madhab.  The other school says that
one MUST NOT follow a madhab.

Both schools of thought will quote ayats and authentic hadith to prove their point.  From an unbiased point of view, there is some evidence for both points of view.

The problems arise when people stop disrespecting other poeple's valid opinions.  In other words, people who follow a madhab will say that people who do not follow a madhab have a serious deficiceny, and of course vice-versa.

So the first thing do to is to learn to respect each other.  This needs to be done at all levels, from the scholarly level to the level of the common man like us.  For us, this means that we should not try to curse each other over our differences, or go into long arguments which waste our time and resources.

If one looks at the madhabs, there are actually few differences in the major things.  For example, all madhabs say that salah 5 times a day is fard.  Differences appear in the more detailed things, like the exact way to make salah.

Until recently, it was difficult to find the daleel of many madhabi fiqh rulings, since most fiqh books seem to go into the rulings themselves rather than the daleel.  Now books are beginning to appear (such as the one by Riyadh ul Haq) which includes both the ruling and the daleel.

However, so called "salafis" have been doing this for years.  The thing which distinguishes the salafi and the non-salafi is that the salafi will try to find the daleel before acting on a ruling.

The problem with the salafi attitude is that the daleel should be got from a proper scholar, not just by reading Sahih Bukhari and coming to one own's judgement, and then imposing that judgement.  With the Internet, the message of the REAL salafi scholars such as Bin Baz, Albani and Ibn Uthameen are now coming through.

As an example of the difference between proper scholars and "enthustiastic" younger salafis, I remember when one of the leading salafi leaders in the UK (no names) said that he would not pray taraweeh in a masjid which did 20 rakats, as he considered it a bidah.  Imagine my surprise last year when I read Bin Baz saying that even if the Imam is reading 20 rakats, it is BETTER to stay with him till the end!

But to show that I am not biased one way, it has to be said that from what I have seen so far, most of the "daleel" from madhabi scholars is written to justify their repsective positions.  For an example of this, see the book "Forty Hadiths about Salah", which says in the intorduction that "this book is based on the Hanafi madhab".

To conclude, there are "extremists" on both sides of the debate.  I think it is better to adapt a neutral approach, that you may follow a certain school of thought, and other people may follow another school of thought, but at the end of the day Allah (SWT) will judge us on our actions, not which side of the scholarly fence we sit on.  And Allah (SWT) will NOT take someone to task for following the ruling of a well-known scholar, nor will he take someone to task for reading a hahith and acting on it.

And Allah knows best.

Re: Differences of opinion
chachi
12/07/00 at 20:01:33
salaam

  "There are essentially two schools of thoughts on madhabs.  One school says that an indivdual MUST follow a madhab.  The other school says that
one MUST NOT follow a madhab."

  actually thats not true. there is a group which says that you must follow somebody with more knowledge unless you are claiming that they are wrong in what they said.

  ultimately the solution will be to have living scholars rather than books. the key problems with a certain group of people shall we say is that
their scholars are people who support tyrants and are funded by them. so how can their scholars be followed since the only ijaaza they have is from people who fought against the caliph and destroyed the last islamic state?

i know that hamza yusuf has a ongoing project to create islamic scholars. the problem with the scholars of the 12th century islam was they were no longer living scholars ...they were book scholars. the scholars of the period before them took part in exploration of new lands of science and mathematics. the later scholars just added commentaries onto already existing works. thus they were out of touch with the events around them

islam is NOT a book it is a recitation! it is doing and proclaiming!
Re: Differences of opinion
Rashid
12/10/00 at 23:37:53
Salaam,

That actually happened at the masjid here, but in reverse.  One brother was like "I won't pray behind this imam, he prays 8 rakaats, i pray 20" So many divisions because of interpretations.  I mean, i'll pray behind anyone that is muslim, there's no need to be like "oh he follows a different madhab"  Another thing is, there's a lot of misinformation on the net.  Accusations, slanders, etc.  Not blatant, but still wrong.  
Re: Differences of opinion
chachi
12/15/00 at 19:54:50
Salaam

 Ultimately the way i see it is if the majority of muslims do something a certain way say prayer then that is how it should be done.
 If muslims have accepted somebody as a scholar in the past and he differs from the other scholars on an issue then it is ok to follow him
 There can of course be differences on certain matters if conditions have changed and that is acceptable so long as some scholar has given you his opinion or you know about the issue because it's a issue of shariah

What is NOT acceptable is somebody who's read a lot of books and hasn't studied properly issuing judgements that contradict what the sahabi and the tabi'yeen and the other pious predecessors have stated. It is in effect somebody with NO LEGAL authority issuing judgements...basically a recipe for disaster with sects and countersects emerging.

Secondly we have the issue of certain people calling other people kaffir on the basis of what they've heard about them from their enemies. Please note in islamic history sects have been regarded as having come back into the fold after they changed some of their more extreme beliefs, thus it does no good to shout out saying such and such a group is a kaffir group so long as it follows the 5 pillars and enjoins jihad against
those who commit oppression and evil till the day of judgement (the qadiani's are kaffirs on this basis)

The last thing is to avoid being petty minded. If a yahood or a x-tian is in trouble do try to help because we are not a people who should try to create difficulties for people who do not directly try to attack us and they are after all the children of your father and mother
Re: Differences of opinion
proudtobemuslim
12/19/00 at 12:38:38
Assalam-u-Alaikum

Insha-Allah, this is relevant

from islam-qa.com

What is the meaning of the expression, “This is a controversial matter,
this is a matter concerning which the fuqahaa’ differed”? What is the
correct attitude towards this?

Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly there are matters concerning which there are differences
among the scholars, matters which are subject to ijtihaad. What the
scholars have said, in the past and in modern times, about
controversial matters and ijtihaad is well known, but nowadays it is
stirred up in a manner that takes it beyond the framework of research
into controversial matters which are the subject of ijtihaad.

·                 In most cases, controversy is stirred up in matters which
are regarded as social or academic issues. The purpose is not mere
differences of fiqhi opinion. Many westernizers, for example, stir
up issues that have to do with women, concerning which scholarly
differences have been reported. The motive for doing this is far
removed from mere differences of fiqhi opinion. It is an excuse for
westernization that will soon go beyond the disputed issue to affect
matters which are indisputably haraam.
·                 These issues are stirred up by people who are not
scholars or fuqahaa’, who do not have a proper understanding of
research into matters of sharee’ah. They only adopt the views of
fuqahaa’ which happen to suit their own whims and desires.
·                 In most cases they take things out of context, and the
fiqhi dispute is taken as an excuse and is applied to a wider range.  

The following has to be said about this matter:

 -                     that there is a difference between matters of
controversy and matters which are subject to ijtihaad. Not every issue
concerning which there are reports of differences among the scholars
can be counted as a matter in which no views may be denounced [i.e.,
all are acceptable]. That applies only to matters of ijtihaad. Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Their view that in
matters of dispute no views may be denounced is not correct. The
denunciation is directed either at the opinion and fatwa, or at the
action. In the first case, if the opinion goes against Sunnah or a
well-known ijmaa’ (consensus), it must be denounced unanimously.
This confusion arises when the one who says it believes that
controversial matters are matters which are subject to ijtihaad, as is
believed by groups of people who do not have deep knowledge. The
correct view is that of the imaams, which is that there is room for
ijtihaad in cases where there is no clear evidence which we should
follow, such as a saheeh hadeeth which does not conflict with other
evidence of the same calibre . There are many ssues concerning which
the earlier and later generations differed, but in many cases we have
reached a point of certainty as to which of the two views is correct.”
(I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, vol. 3/288).

-                     The reference point in all cases must be the texts of
the Qur’aan and Sunnah. When there is saheeh evidence it must be
referred to and followed; it is not right to follow the opposite view
with the excuse that there are differences of opinion on the matter.
If the saheeh Sunnah which has been reported via a sound chain
from the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
is rejected because there is someone who says something different
concerning this matter, this implies that a person thinks that the
words and commands of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) do not carry any weight unless people
unanimously agree with it, and the fact that someone disagrees
with it, no matter who he is, is taken as a reason to take away this
authority [of the Sunnah] and leave the matter wide open (to
dispute). This is a dangerous path, and the one who follows it
needs to review his faith.
-                     It is essential to pay attention to teaching people to
submit to Allaah and to respect the texts of sharee’ah, and to take
their religion seriously, and to avoid easy options and the mistakes
made by the scholars.
-                     Beware of entering into debates of fiqh with such
people on such topics. This is what they want. It is possible and is
acceptable for a man to look into a matter and discuss it with
knowledgeable people who understand the specialized terminology
of fiqh, and who sincerely desire the truth and are striving for it.
But those who stir up these issues do not have a good
understanding of the terminology of fiqh or of the objectives of
sharee’ah; they are simply interfering with something which they
are not qualified to handle, and their desires have led them to
indulge in discussing matters of religion.

 By Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Duwaysh

 Al-Bayaan magazine, issue #153, p. 28

Wassalam-u-Alaikum
Uzer


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