Global Intifada

As a Muslim, you may come across problems that you didn’t have to face before. For example, how do you pray salah on an airplane? One of the conditions for salah is to face in the direction of the Ka’aba. However, since an airplane travels very fast, it may be difficult to determine the direction of the Ka’aba which may actually shift while you pray salah? What would you do in this situation?

You have several options. You can go by your desires, you can make your own independent decision, or you can follow the opinion of a scholar. With regards to the first choice, following your desires, this is something that is strictly prohibited in Islam. We do not do things in Islam because they “feel good” or we like them. We do them because it is the command of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). In the Qur’an, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says:

And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you; for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way, and if Allah had pleased He would have made you (all) a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will let you know that in which you differed; And that you should judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires, and be cautious of them, lest they seduce you from part of what Allah has revealed to you; but if they turn back, then know that Allah desires to afflict them on account of some of their faults; and most surely many of the people are transgressors. (Qu’ran 5:48-49)

Remember, the Qur’an is the Speech of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) so when He tells us to do something, it is automatically assumed to be obligatory unless there is another evidence which says otherwise. There are many other examples in the Qur’an where Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) commands us not to follow our desires but to follow the Shari’ah. So clearly, we should not do things because they are fun but instead, obey the commands of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and His Rasul (sallahu alayhi wa sallam).

The second option is to make up your own opinion. This option is just as bad as the first. Here is a hadeeth that explains why:

Jabir said, “We were on a journey and one of us got injured. Later, he had a wet dream. He asked his companions, ‘Can I perform tayammum?’ They said, ‘No, not if you have water.’ He performed ghusl and died. When they came to the Messenger of Allah , they informed him of what had transpired. He said, ‘They killed him, Allah will kill them. Do you not ask if you do not know? The rescue of the ignorant person is the question. He could have performed tayammum and dropped water on his wound or wrapped it with something and wipe over the wrapping, and wash the rest of his body.” This is related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, ad-Daraqutni and Ibn as-Sakin, who said it is sahih.

In this hadeeth, several Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum) gave some bad advice based upon their own opinion which resulted in the death of a person. This made the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) very upset. He asked them “Do you not ask if you do not know?” So whenever we come across a situation where we don’t know what to do Islamically, the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed us to ask those who do know. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) instructed us to do this as well: “. . . So, if you do not know, ask those of remembrance.” (Surah al-Nahl : 43) and also “And, ask the People of Knowledge if you do not know.” (Surah al-Nahl 43)

Who are those people who know? These people who know are referred to as the ‘Ulema (singular: Alim). The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) said “One ‘Alim is more powerful against Shaytan than one thousand devout worshippers.” (Tirmidhi) In another hadeeth, the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) said “The superiority of the scholar over the devout worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over the rest of the heavenly bodies.” (Abu Dawud) Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) in the Qur’an instructs the Muslims that a small group of them should study the deen. “. . . if a contingent from every expedition remained behind in order to understand religion (Deen), and so that they could admonish their people when they return to them (from war) that thus they (may learn to) guard themselves (against evil).” (Surah al-Taubah : 122) This verse of the Qur’an clearly states that a group of Muslims should devote themselves to acquiring the knowledge of the Shari’ah and all others should consult them for their rulings. Becoming a scholar is not an easy thing. A student of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal asked him “When a man has memorized 100,000 hadiths, is he a scholar of Sacred Law, a faqih?” And he said, “No.” The man asked, “200,000 then?” And he said, “No.” The man asked, “Then 300,000?” And he said, “No.” The man asked, “400,000?” And Ahmad gestured with his hand to signify “about that many”. How many hadeeth do we know? If we don’t know a single hadeeth or much Qur’an, how can we possibly start giving rulings from these two sources? Its not possible for a person without knowledge to do so. This is why Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and His Rasul (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) told us to follow those who have knowledge.

When someone follows another person in rulings of the Shari’ah, this is known as “taqleed.”

Linguistic Definition: Literal: Taqleed is a verbal noun from the Arabic root q-l-d which means to place, to gird or to adorn with a necklace.

Shari’ah Definition:The acceptance of another’s statement without demanding proof or evidence on the belief that the statement is being made in accordance with fact and proof.

The basis for taqleed is a Qur’aanic command where Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says “O you who believe! Follow Allah ; follow the Messenger and those in authority (Amr) amongst you.” (Surah al-Nisaa: 59) Those in authority (Amr) can mean either the rulers or the jurists. Abdallah ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhu), a companion of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) was of the opinion that the verse was applied to the jurists. A third opinion is that the phrase “those in authority amongst you” can mean both the rulers and the scholars because the rulers rely upon the scholars to understand the Shari’ah. Furthermore, taqleed was something that was practiced in the time of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) and after his death. Imam Bukhari (rahmatullah alayh) mentions that the people of Madina asked Ibn ‘Abbas about a woman who did tawaf and then started menstruating. He said to them, “She can leave [before doing the Farewell Tawaf].” They said, “We will not take what you say and abandon what Zayd said.” He said, “When you arrive in Madina, ask about it.” When they arrived in Madina, they asked. One of those they asked was Umm Sulaym and she mentioned the hadith of Safiyya.” The Sahabah (radhii allahu anhum) did not follow their own desires or use their own minds but followed the most knowledgeable person amongst them and did not even ask for evidences or proofs because they knew that they weren’t qualified to interpret them. Another example is when Abdallah Ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhu) said “When some authentic person brings us the fatwa of Ali (ra), then we will not move from it a bit.” In fact, most of the Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum) engaged in taqleed and only seven of them issued legal opinions. [Imam] Suyuti, in Tadrib al-rawi, quotes Ibn Hazm’s report that most of the Companion’s legal opinions came from only seven of them: ‘Umar, ‘Ali, Ibn Mas’ud, Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas, Zayd ibn Thabit, and ‘A’isha; (ra) and this was from thousands of the Companions.

Today, many people are ignorant about Islam and go around saying bad things about the ‘Ulema. If you see someone speaking badly about a scholar, don’t listen to what they say. The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam said “Allah will not snatch away knowledge abruptly from people, but rather He will snatch knowledge by removing scholars. This will happen to the extent that when no scholar remains, people will take ignorant leaders as their guides. These leaders will be asked and they will give opinions (Fatwas) without knowledge. So they will be misguided and they will misguide others.” (Bukhari and Muslim) However, scholars are humans too and as such, they may make mistakes. The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam ) said “Whoever gives a fatwa (legal opinion) without knowledge, the sin will be on the one who gives the fatwa. (Abu Dawood) So if you follow a scholar and they make a mistake, the person getting the sin will be him not you.

All of the scholars in the world agree that there are four legitimate schools of Islamic law. The schools of the four Imams – Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, and Imam Ahmad, are found to be the most complete, well arranged, and well-preserved up to the present day. The Muslim Ummah as a whole has taken these four Imams as having the most reliable understanding of the Shari’ah. The four schools are known as the Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools. The rest of the schools are either not as complete in their understanding of the Shari’ah or they are not preserved enough in a reliable form. There is no difference between any of the schools regarding aqeedah (for example tawheed, Prophethood, divine revelation, Judgment Day or explicit commands such as the obligation of daily prayers, fasting, hajj, zakat and the prohibitions of pork, alcohol, adultery, interest etc) These issues do not require you to follow a a scholar to understand since they are easily understood by anybody who reads the Qur’an or Sunnah. Other issues such as the rituals of worship, the conditions of business transactions, or the method of conducting a wedding are not so clear, and without deep knowledge of Islamic rules and the authentic recorded manner of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam), the average muslim will not be certain what action to take regarding these. It is therefore the responsibility of a Mujtahid (a scholar who is qualified to practise Ijtihad) to clarify these to the layman.

There are some minor differences between these four schools of law. The differences of opinion between the scholars are not something to worry about. The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) told us that these types of differences are a mercy to the Ummah. Ikhtilaaf (differences between the scholars) is something that has occurred very early in Islam. Once there was a man who killed around 100 people and was on his way to accept Islam but died. The angels that came to take away his soul had a difference of opinion. One angel thought that he should go to hell because he died as a disbeliever while another angel thought that he should go to heaven because the man was on his way of becoming Muslim. A third angel finally came and calculated the distance and since the man was closer to Dar al Islam, they decided he should go to jannah. The Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum) also had differences of opinion, sometimes even in front of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam)! Abu Sa’id al-Khudri narrates, “On the sixteenth of Ramadhan we set out for battle in the company of Allah ’s Messenger (sallahu alayhi wa sallam). Some of our friends observed the fasts of Ramadhan, while others decided not to fast. However, each group had no objections against the other. Those fasting did not accuse those abstaining nor did the latter challenger the former.” There are many reasons why there are differences of opinion, some of the major ones are: 1. Whether a command is given for a specific group or a general group; 2. When words have multiple meanings; 3. A difference of perception over an action of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam); 4. Whether an action of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) was intentional or just out of coincidence; 4. Commands of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) that were optional or cautionary. These topics are very complicated and only an Alim can help you understand them.

Lucky for us, Islam lays down several general rules for the Muslims to guide them in their search for correct rulings.

1. Prohibition against looking into things which have not actually happened. Allah Almighty says: “O you who believe! Do not ask about matters which, if they were made known to you, would make things difficult for you. If you do ask about them when the Qur’an is being sent down, they will be made known to you.” (5:101).

2. Avoidance of a lot of questions and difficult problems. The Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Allah dislikes you indulging in a lot of idle chatter, a lot of questions, and wasting property,” and “Allah has imposed obligations, so do not neglect them; He has established limits, so do not exceed them; and He has made certain things unlawful, so do not commit them. He has been silent about other things as a mercy to you, not out of forgetfulness, so do not ask about them.”

3. Keeping away from disagreement and division. Allah Almighty says, “This faith of yours is a single faith” (23:52); “Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate’ (3:103); “. . .and do not quarrel among yourselves lest you lose heart and your momentum disappear’ (8:46); and “As for those who divide up their din and form into sects, you have nothing whatsoever to do with them.” (6:159)

4. Referring disputed matters back to the Book and the Sunna. Allah Almighty says, “If you have a dispute about something, refer it back to Allah and the Messenger,” (4:59) and, “The judgment concerning anything you differ about is Allah ’s affair.” (42:10)

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