It would be beneficial if we gave some of these here, for perhaps this will admonish
or remind those who follow the opinion of the Imaams - nay, of those far below the
Imaams in rank - blindly18, sticking to their madhhabs
or views as if these had descended from the heavens! But Allaah, Mighty and Sublime,
says:
"Follow (O men!) the revelation given to you from your Lord, and follow not,
as friends and protectors, other than Him. Little is it you remember of admonition."
19
The first of them is Abu Haneefah Nu'maan ibn Thaabit, whose companions have narrated
from him various sayings and diverse warnings, all of them leading to one thing:
the obligation to accept the Hadeeth, and to give up following the opinions of the
imaams which contradict it:
1. "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab."20
2. "It is not permitted21 for anyone to accept our
views if they do not know from where we got them."22
In one narration, "It is prohibited23 for someone
who does not know my evidence to give verdicts24
on the basis of my words."
Another narration adds, "... for we are mortals: we say one thing one day, and take
it back the next day."
In another narration, "Woe to you, O Ya'qub25! Do
not write down everything you hear from me, for it happens that I hold one opinion
today and reject it tomorrow, or hold one opinion tomorrow and reject it the day
after tomorrow."26
3. "When I say something contradicting the Book of Allaah the Exalted or what is
narrated from the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then ignore my saying."27
As for Imaam Maalik ibn Anas, he said:
1. "Truly I am only a mortal: I make mistakes (sometimes) and I am correct (sometimes).
Therefore, look into my opinions: all that agrees with the Book and the Sunnah,
accept it; and all that does not agree with the Book and the Sunnah, ignore it."28
2. "Everyone after the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) will have his sayings
accepted and rejected - not so the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)."29
3. Ibn Wahb said: "I heard Maalik being asked about cleaning between the toes during
ablution. He said, 'The people do not have to do that.' I did not approach him until
the crowd had lessened, when I said to him, 'We know of a sunnah about that.' He
said, 'What is that ?' I said, 'Laith ibn Sa'd, Ibn Lahee'ah and 'Amr ibn al-Haarith
narrated to us from Yazeed ibn 'Amr al-Ma'aafiri from Abu 'Abdur-Rahman al-Hubuli
from Mustawrid ibn Shaddaad al-Qurashi who said, 'I saw the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) rubbing between his toes with his little finger.'
He said, 'This hadeeth is sound; I had not heard of it at all until now.' Afterwards,
I heard him being asked about the same thing, on which he ordered cleaning between
the toes."30
As for Imaam Shaafi'i, the quotations from him are most numerous and beautiful31, and his followers were the best in sticking
to them:
1. "The sunnahs of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) reach,
as well as escape from, every one of us. So whenever I voice my opinion, or formulate
a principle, where something contrary to my view exists on the authority of the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then the correct view is what
the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has said, and it is my view."32
2. "The Muslims are unanimously agreed that if a sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is made clear to someone, it is not permitted33
for him to leave it for the saying of anyone else."34
3. "If you find in my writings something different to the Sunnah of the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then speak on the basis of the Sunnah
of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), and leave what I have
said."
In one narration: "... then follow it (the Sunnah), and do not look sideways at
anyone else's saying."35
4. "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab."36
5. "You37 are more knowledgeable about Hadeeth than
I, so when a hadeeth is saheeh, inform me of it, whether it is from Kufah, Basrah
or Syria, so that I may take the view of the hadeeth, as long as it is saheeh."38
6. "In every issue where the people of narration find a report from the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) to be saheeh which is contrary to what
I have said, then I take my saying back, whether during my life or after my death."39
7. "If you see me saying something, and contrary to it is authentically-reported
from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then know that my intelligence
has departed."40
8. "For everything I say, if there is something authentic from the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) contrary to my saying, then the hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) comes first, so do not follow my opinion."41
9. "Every statement on the authority of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
is also my view, even if you do not hear it from me."42
Imaam Ahmad was the foremost among the Imaams in collecting the Sunnah and sticking
to it, so much so that he even "disliked that a book consisting of deductions and
opinions be written."43 Because of this he said:
1. "Do not follow my opinion; neither follow the opinion of Maalik, nor Shaafi'i,
nor Awzaa'i, nor Thawri, but take from where they took."44
In one narration: "Do not copy your Deen from anyone of these, but whatever comes
from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions, take it; next
are their Successors, where a man has a choice."
Once he said: "Following45 means that a man follows
what comes from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions;
after the Successors, he has a choice."46
2. "The opinion of Awzaa'i, the opinion of Maalik, the opinion of Abu Haneefah:
all of it is opinion, and it is all equal in my eyes. However, the proof is in the
narrations (from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions)."47
3. "Whoever rejects a statement of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) is on the brink of destruction."48
These are the clear, lucid sayings of the Imaams (Allaah Exalted be pleased with
them) about sticking to the Hadeeth and forbidding the following of their opinion
without clearly- visible evidence, such that mere opinion and interpretation is
not acceptable.
Hence, whoever adhered to whatever of the Sunnah that was proved authentic, even
if it opposed some of the Imaams' sayings, he would not be conflicting with their
madhhab, nor straying from their path; rather, such a person would be following
all of them and would be grasping the most trustworthy hand-hold, which never breaks.
However, this would not be the case with the one who abandoned any of the authentic
Sunnah simply because it contradicted their views; nay, such a person would be being
disobedient to them and opposing their above mentioned sayings, while Allaah says:
"But no, by Your Lord, they can have no (real) faith, until they make you
judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against
your decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction."
49 .
He also says:
"Then let those beware who withstand the Messenger's order, lest some trial
befall them or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them."
50
Haafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (rahimahullaah) says:
"Therefore it is obligatory on anyone who hears of a command of the Messenger of
Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) or knows it, to explain it to the Ummah,
advise them sincerely, and order them to follow his command, even if it contradicts
the opinion of someone great. This is because the authority of the Messenger of
Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has the most right to be respected and followed,
over and above the opinion of anyone great who has unknowingly contradicted the
Messenger's command in any matter. This is why the Companions and those after would
refute anyone who contradicted the authentic Sunnah, sometimes being very stern
in their refutation51, not out of hatred for that
person, for they loved and respected him, but because the Messenger of Allaah was
more beloved to them, and his command was superior to the command of any other created
being. Hence, when the order of the Messenger and that of someone else conflicted,
the order of the Messenger would be more fitting to be enforced and followed. None
of this would stop them respecting the person they had opposed because they knew
that he would be forgiven52; in fact, the latter
would not mind his instruction being opposed when the command of the Messenger of
Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) was clearly shown to be opposite."53
Indeed, how could they mind that, when they had ordered their followers to do so,
as we have seen, and had enjoined on them to abandon any of their views which contradicted
the Sunnah. In fact, Imaam Shaafi'i (rahimahullaah) told his companions to attribute
the authentic Sunnah to him also, even if he had not adopted it or had adopted something
contradictory to it. Hence, when the analyst Ibn Daqeeq al-'Eid (rahimahullaah)
collected together, in a bulky volume, the issues in which one or more of the four
Imaams' madhhabs had contradicted the authentic hadeeth, he wrote at the beginning
of it, "It is prohibited to attribute these answers to the Mujtahid Imaams, and
obligatory on the jurists who follow their opinions to know of these so that they
do not quote them regarding these and thus lie against them."54
Due to all that we have mentioned, the disciples of the Imaams, a number of people
from those of old, and a few from those of later time55,
would not accept all of their Imaam's views; they actually ignored many when they
found them to be clearly against the Sunnah. Even the two Imaams, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan
and Abu Yoosuf (rahimahullaah) differed from their shaikh Abu Haneefah "in about
a third of the Madhhab"56, as the books of masaa'il
prove. Similarly is said about Imaam al- Muzani57
and other followers of Shaafi'i and other Imaams; were we to start giving examples,
the discussion would become exceedingly, long, and we would digress from what we
set out to do in this Introduction, so we shall limit ourselves to two instances:
1) Imaam Muhammad says in his Muwatta'58(p. 158),
"As for Abu Haneefah, he did not regard there being a prayer to ask for rain, but
we hold that the imaam prays two rak'ahs and then supplicates and holds out his
wrapping garment ..."
2) We have 'Isaam ibn Yoosuf al-Balkhi, one of the companions of Imaam Muhammad59 and a servant of Imaam Abu Yoosuf60,
who "would give verdicts contrary to Imaam Abu Haneefah because he did not know
the latter's evidence, and other evidence would present itself to him, so he would
give verdicts using that."61 Hence, "he would raise
his hands on bowing (in prayer) and on rising from it"62,
as is the mutawaatir sunnah of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam); the
fact that his three Imaams (i.e. Abu Haneefah, Abu Yoosuf and Muhammad) said otherwise
did not prevent him from practising this sunnah. This is the approach which every
Muslim is obliged to have, as we have already seen from the testimony of the Four
Imaams, and others.
To sum up: I sincerely hope that no follower of an Imaam will race to condemn the
principles of this book and abandon benefiting from the sunnahs of the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) which it contains, with the argument that they are contrary to
his Madhhab. I hope that such a person will instead consider what we have given
of the exhortations of the Imaams towards the obligation to act on the Sunnah and
ignore their sayings contradictory to it. I hope also that he will realise that
to condemn the attitude of this book is to condemn whichever Imaam he is following,
for we have taken these principles from those Imaams, as we have explained. Therefore,
whoever refuses to be guided by them on this path is in great danger, for such refusal
necessitates turning away from the Sunnah, the Sunnah to which we have been ordered
to refer in cases of difference of opinion and on which we have been commanded to
depend.
I ask Allaah to make us among those about whom He says,
"The answer of the believers, when summoned to Allaah and His Messenger, in
order that he may judge betweeen them, is no other than this: they say, "We hear
and we obey" - it is such as these that will attain Success. It is those who obey
Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Allaah, and keep their duty to Him, who will
triumph." 63
Footnotes
[18]This is the sort of taqleed (blind following ) which Imaam
Tahaawi was referring to when he said, "Only someone with party-spirit or a fool
blindly follows opinion" - quoted by Ibn 'Aabideen in Rasm al-Mufti (vol. 1, p.
32 from the Compilation of his Essays).
[19]al-A'raaf, 7:3
[20]Ibn 'Aabideen in al-Haashiyah (1/63), and in his essay Rasm
al-Mufti (1/4 from the Compilation of the Essays of Ibn 'Aabideen), Shaikh Saalih
al-Fulaani in Eeqaaz al-Himam (p. 62) & others. Ibn 'Aabideen quoted from Sharh
al-Hidaayah by Ibn al-Shahnah al-Kabeer, the teacher of Ibn al-Humaam, as follows:
"When a hadeeth contrary to the Madhhab is found to be saheeh, one should act on
the hadeeth, and make that his madhhab. Acting on the hadeeth will not invalidate
the follower's being a Hanafi, for it is authentically reported that Abu Haneefah
said, 'When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab', and this
has been related by Imaam Ibn 'Abdul Barr from Abu Haneefah and from other imaams."
This is part of the completeness of the knowledge and piety of the Imaams, for they
indicated by saying this that they were not versed in the whole of the Sunnah, and
Imaam Shaafi'i has elucidated this thoroughly (see later). It would happen that
they would contradict a sunnah because they were unaware of it, so they commanded
us to stick to the Sunnah and regard it as part of their Madhhab. May Allaah shower
His mercy on them all.
[21]Ar.: halaal
[22]Ibn 'Abdul Barr in Al-Intiqaa' fi Fadaa'il ath-Thalaathah
al- A'immah al-Fuqahaa' (p. 145), Ibn al-Qayyim in I'laam al- Mooqi'een (2/309),
Ibn 'Aabideen in his Footnotes on Al-Bahr ar-Raa'iq (6/293) and in Rasm al-Mufti
(pp. 29,32) & Sha'raani in Al-Meezaan (1/55) with the second narration. The
last narration was collected by 'Abbaas ad-Dawri in At- Taareekh by Ibn Ma'een (6/77/1)
with a saheeh sanad on the authority of Zafar, the student of Imaam Abu Haneefah.
Similar narrations exist on the authority of Abu Haneefah's companions Zafar, Abu
Yoosuf and 'Aafiyah ibn Yazeed; cf. Eeqaaz (p. 52). Ibn al-Qayyim firmly certified
its authenticity on the authority of Abu Yoosuf in I'laam al-Mooqi'een (2/344).
The addition to the second narration is referenced by the editor of Eeqaaz (p. 65)
to Ibn 'Abdul Barr, Ibn al-Qayyim and others.
If this is what they say of someone who does not know their evidence, what would
be their response to one who knows that the evidence contradicts their saying, but
still gives verdicts opposed to the evidence?! Therefore, reflect on this saying,
for it alone is enough to smash blind following of opinion; that is why one of the
muqallid shaikhs, when I criticised his giving a verdict using Abu Haneefah's words
without knowing the evidence, refused to believe that it was a saying of Abu Haneefah!
[23]Ar.: haraam
[24]Ar.: fatwaa
[25]i.e. Imaam Abu Haneefah's illustrious student, Abu Yoosuf
(rahimahullaah).
[26]This was because the Imaam would often base his view on Qiyaas
(Analogy), after which a more potent analogy would occur to him, or a hadeeth of
the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would reach him, so he would accept
that and ignore his previous view. Sha'raani's words in Al-Meezaan (1/62) are summarised
as:
"Our belief, as well as that of every researcher into Imaam Abu Haneefah (radi Allaahu
'anhu), is that, had he lived until the recording of the Sharee'ah, and the journeys
of the Preservers of Hadeeth to the various cities and frontiers in order to collect
and acquire it, he would have accepted it and ignored all the analogies he had employed.
The amount of qiyaas in his Madhhab would have been just as little as that in other
Madhhabs, but since the evidences of the Sharee'ah had been scattered with the Successors
and their successors, and had not been collected in his lifetime, it was necessary
that there be a lot of qiyaas in his Madhhab compared to that of other imaams. The
later scholars then made their journeys to find and collect ahaadeeth from the various
cities and towns and wrote them down; hence, some ahaadeeth of the Sharee'ah explained
others. This is the reason behind the large amount of qiyaas in his Madhhab, whereas
there was little of it in other Madhhabs."
Abul-Hasanaat Al-Lucknowi quoted his words in full in An- Naafi' al-Kabeer (p. 135),
endorsing and expanding on it in his footnotes, so whoever wishes to consult it
should do so there.
Since this is the justification for why Abu Haneefah has sometimes unintentionally
contradicted the authentic ahaadeeth - and it is a perfectly acceptable reason,
for Allaah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear - it is not permissible
to insult him for it, as some ignorant people have done. In fact, it is obligatory
to respect him, for he is one of the imaams of the Muslims through whom this Deen
has been preserved and handed down to us, in all its branches; also, for he is rewarded
under any circumstance: whether he is correct or wrong. Nor is it permissible for
his devotees to continue sticking to those of his statements which contradict the
authentic ahaadeeth, for those statements are effectively not part of his Madhhab,
as the above sayings show. Hence, these are two extremes, and the truth lies in
between. "Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who came before us into the Faith;
and leave not, in our hearts, any rancour against those who have believed. Our Lord!
You are indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful." (Al-Hashr 59:10)
[27]Al-Fulaani in Eeqaaz al-Himam (p. 50), tracing it to Imaam
Muhammad and then saying, "This does not apply to the mujtahid, for he is not bound
to their views anyway, but it applies to the muqallid."
Sha'raani expanded on that in Al-Meezaan (1/26):
"If it is said: 'What should I do with the ahaadeeth which my Imaam did not use,
and which were found to be authentic after his death?' The answer which is fitting
for you is: 'That you act on them, for had your Imaam come across them and found
them to be authentic, he would have instructed you to act on them, because all the
Imaams were captives in the hand of the Sharee'ah.' He who does so will have gathered
all the good with both his hands, but he who says, 'I will not act according to
a hadeeth unless my Imaam did so', he will miss a great amount of benefit, as is
the case with many followers of the Imaams of the Madhhabs. It would be better for
them to act on every hadeeth found to be authentic after the Imaam's time, hence
implementing the will of the Imaams; for it is our firm belief about the Imaams
that had they lived longer and come to know of those ahaadeeth which were found
authentic after their time, they would have definitely accepted and acted according
to them, ignoring any analogies they may have previously made, and any views they
may have previously held."
[28]Ibn 'Abdul Barr in Jaami' Bayaan al-'Ilm (2/32), Ibn Hazm,
quoting from the former in Usool al-Ahkaam (6/149), & similarly Al-Fulaani (p.
72)
[29]This is well known among the later scholars to be a saying
of Maalik. Ibn 'Abdul Haadi declared it saheeh in Irshaad as- Saalik (227/1); Ibn
'Abdul Barr in Jaami' Bayaan al-'Ilm (2/91) & Ibn Hazm in Usool al-Ahkaam (6/145,
179) had narrated it as a saying of Al-Hakam ibn 'Utaibah and Mujaahid; Taqi ad-
Deen as-Subki gave it, delighted with its beauty, in al- Fataawaa (1/148) as a saying
of Ibn 'Abbaas, and then said: "These words were originally those of Ibn 'Abbaas
and Mujaahid, from whom Maalik (radi Allaahu 'anhu) took them, and he became famous
for them." It seems that Imaam Ahmad then took this saying from them, as Abu Daawood
has said in Masaa'il of Imaam Ahmad (p. 276): "I heard Ahmad say, 'Everyone is accepted
and rejected in his opinions, with the exception of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam)'."
[30]From the Introduction to Al-Jarh wat-Ta'deel of Ibn Abi Haatim,
pp. 31-2.
[31]Ibn Hazm says in Usool al-Ahkaam (6/118):
"Indeed, all the fuqahaa' whose opinions are followed were opposed to taqleed, and
they forbade their companions from following their opinion blindly. The sternest
among them in this regard was Shaafi'i (rahimahullaah), for he repeatedly emphasised,
more than anyone else, following the authentic narrations and accepting whatever
the proof dictated; he also made himself innocent of being followed totally, and
announced this to those around him. May this benefit him in front of Allaah, and
may his reward be of the highest, for he was the cause of great good."
[32]Related by Haakim with a continuous sanad up to Shaafi'i,
as in Taareekh Dimashq of Ibn 'Asaakir (15/1/3), I'laam al- Mooqi'een (2/363, 364)
& Eeqaaz (p. 100).
[33]Ar.: halaal
[34]Ibn al-Qayyim (2/361) & Fulaani (p. 68)
[35]Harawi in Dhamm al-Kalaam (3/47/1), Khateeb in Al-Ihtijaaj
bi ash-Shaafi'i (8/2), Ibn 'Asaakir (15/9/10), Nawawi in Al- Majmoo' (1/63), Ibn
al-Qayyim (2/361) & Fulaani (p. 100); the second narration is from Hilyah al-Awliyaa'
of Abu Nu'aim.
[36]Nawawi in Al-Majmoo' (1/63), Sha'raani (1/57), giving its
sources as Haakim and Baihaqi, & Fulaani (p. 107). Sha'raani said, "Ibn Hazm
said, 'That is, ... found to be saheeh by him or by any other Imaam'." His saying
given next confirms this understanding.
Nawawi says: "Our companions acted according to this in the matter of tathweeb (calling
to prayer in addition to the adhaan), the conditions on coming out of ihraam due
to illness, and other issues well-known in the books of the Madhhab. Among those
of our companions who are reported to have passed judgment on the basis of the hadeeth
(i.e. rather than the saying of Shaafi'i) are Abu Ya'qoob al-Buweeti and Abu l-Qaasim
ad-Daariki. Of our companions from the muhadditheen, Imaam Abu Bakr Al-Baihaqi and
others employed this approach. Many of our earliest companions, if they faced an
issue for which there was a hadeeth, and the madhhab of Shaafi'i was contrary to
it, would act according to the hadeeth and give verdicts based on it, saying, 'The
madhhab of Shaafi'i is whatever agrees with the hadeeth.' Shaikh Abu 'Amr (Ibn as-Salaah)
says, 'Whoever among the Shaafi'is found a hadeeth contradicting his Madhhab, he
would consider whether he fulfilled the conditions of ijtihaad generally, or in
that particular topic or issue, in which case he would be free to act on the hadeeth;
if not, but nevertheless he found it hard to contradict the hadeeth after further
analysis, he would not be able to find a convincing justification for opposing the
hadeeth. Hence, it would be left for him to act according to the hadeeth if an independent
imaam other than Shaafi'i had acted on it, and this would be justification for his
leaving the Madhhab of his Imaam in that issue.' What he (Abu 'Amr) has said is
correct and established. Allaah knows best."
There is another possibility which Ibn as-Salaah forgot to mention: what would one
do if he did not find anyone else who acted according to the hadeeth? This has been
answered by Taqi ad-Deen as-Subki in his article, The Meaning of Shaafi'i's saying,
"When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab" (p. 102, vol. 3):
"For me, the best thing is to follow the hadeeth. A person should imagine himself
in front of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), just having heard it from
him: would there be leeway for him to delay acting on it? No, by Allaah ... and
everyone bears a responsibility according to his understanding."
The rest of this discussion is given and analysed in I'laam al- Muwaqqi'een (2/302,
370) and in the book of al-Fulaane, (full title:) Eeqaaz Himam ulu l-Absaar, lil-Iqtidaa'
bi Sayyid al- Muhaajireen wal-Ansaar, wa Tahdheeruhum 'an al-Ibtidaa' ash- Shaa'i'
fi l-Quraa wal-Amsaar, min Taqleed al-Madhaahib ma'a l- Hamiyyah wal-'Asabiyyah
bain al-Fuqahaa' al-A'saar (Awakening the Minds of those who have Perception, towards
following the Leader of the Emigrants and Helpers, and Warning them against the
Innovation Widespread among Contemporary Jurists in the Towns and Cities, of following
Madhhabs with Zeal and Party- Spirit). The latter is a unique book in its field,
which every desirer of truth should study with understanding and reflection.
[37]addressing Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah).
[38]Related by Ibn Abi Haatim in Aadaab ash-Shaafi'i (pp. 94-5),
Abu Nu'aim in Hulyah al-Awliyaa' (9/106), al-Khateeb in Al- Ihtijaaj bish-Shaafi'i
(8/1), and from him Ibn 'Asaakir (15/9/1), Ibn 'Abdul Barr in al-Intiqaa' (p. 75),
Ibn al-Jawzi in Manaaqib al-Imaam Ahmad (p. 499) & Harawi (2/47/2) with three
routes from 'Abdullaah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal from his father that Shaafi'i said to
him: ...etc; thus, it is authentic on the authority of Shaafi'i. This is why Ibn
al- Qayyim attributed it definitely to him in I'laam (2/325), as did Fulaani in
Eeqaaz (p. 152) and then said: "Baihaqi said, 'This is why he - i.e. Shaafi'i -
used hadeeth so much, because he gathered knowledge from the people of Hijaaz, Syria,
Yemen and 'Iraq, and so accepted all that he found to be authentic, without leaning
towards or looking at what he had considered out of the Madhhab of the people of
his land when the truth was clear to him elsewhere. Some of those before him would
limit themselves to what they found in the Madhhab of the people of their land,
without attempting to ascertain the authenticity of what opposed it. May Allaah
forgive all of us'."
[39]Abu Nu'aim (9/107), Harawi (47/1), Ibn al-Qayyim in I'laam
al-Muwaqqi'een (2/363) & Fulaani (p. 104).
[40]Ibn Abi Haatim in al-Aadaab (p. 93), Abul Qaasim Samarqandi
in al-Amaali, as in the selection from it by Abu Hafs al- Mu'addab (234/1), Abu
Nu'aim (9/106) & Ibn 'Asaakir (15/10/1) with a saheeh sanad.
[41]Ibn Abi Haatim, Abu Nu'aim & Ibn 'Asaakir (15/9/2).
[42]Ibn Abi Haatim (pp. 93-4).
[43]Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Manaaqib (p. 192)
[44]Fulaani (p. 113) & Ibn al-Qayyim in I'laam (2/302).
[45]Ar.: ittibaa'
[46]Abu Daawood in Masaa'il of Imaam Ahmad (pp. 276-7)
[47]Ibn 'Abdul Barr in Jaami' Bayaan al-'Ilm (2/149).
[48]Ibn al-Jawzi (p. 182).
[49]an-Nisaa', 4:65
[50]an-Noor, 24:63
[51]Even against their fathers and learned men, as Tahaawi in
Sharh Ma'aani al-Aathaar (1/372) & Abu Ya'laa in his Musnad (3/1317) have related,
with an isnaad of trustworthy men, from Saalim ibn 'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar, who said:
"I was sitting with Ibn 'Umar (radi Allaahu 'anhu) in the mosque once, when a man
from the people of Syria came to him and asked him about continuing the 'Umrah onto
the Hajj (known as Hajj Tamattu'). Ibn 'Umar replied, 'It is a good and beautiful
thing.' The man said, 'But your father (i.e. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab) used to forbid
it!' So he said, 'Woe to you! If my father used to forbid something which the Messenger
of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) practised and commanded, would you accept
my father's view, or the order of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) ?' He replied, 'The order of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam).' He said, 'So go away from me.' Ahmad (no. 5700) related similarly,
as did Tirmidhi (2/82) and declared it saheeh.
Also, Ibn 'Asaakir (7/51/1) related from Ibn Abi Dhi'b, who said:
"Sa'd ibn Ibraaheem (i.e. the son of 'Abdur Rahmaan ibn 'Awf) passed judgment on
a man on the basis of the opinion of Rabee'ah ibn Abu 'Abdur Rahmaan, so I informed
him of the saying of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) which
was contradictory to the judgment. Sa'd said to Rabee'ah, 'We have Ibn Abi Dhi'b,
whom I regard to be reliable, narrating from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) contrary to what I ruled.' Rabee'ah said to him, 'You have made your effort,
and your judgment has been passed.' Sa'd said, 'Most amazing! I enforce the decree
of Sa'd, and not the decree of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)!
No, I shall withdraw the decree of Sa'd, son of the mother of Sa'd, and enforce
the decree of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam).' So Sa'd
called for the written decree, tore it up and gave a new verdict."
[52]In fact, he would be rewarded, because of the Prophet's saying
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam): "When a judge passes judgment, if he makes his effort
(ijtihaad) and rules correctly, he will have two rewards; if he makes his effort
(ijtihaad) and rules wrongly, he will have one reward." (Related by Bukhaari,
Muslim & others.)
[53]Quoted in the notes on Eeqaaz al-Himam (p. 93)
[54]Fulaani (p. 99)
[55]cf. al-Waaqi'ah 56:13-14
[56]Ibn 'Aabideen in Haashiyah (1/62), & Lucknowi gave its
source in an-Naafi' al-Kabeer (p. 93) as Ghazaali .
[57]He himself says at the beginning of his Concise Shaafi'i
Fiqh (printed in the margin of Imaam Shaafi'i's Al-Umm):
"This book is a selection from the knowledge of Muhammad ibn Idrees al-Shaafi'i
(rahimahullaah) and from the meanings of his sayings, to aid the understanding of
whoever wants it, knowing of his forbidding the following of his, or anyone else's,
opinion, so that such a person may carefully look for his Deen in it."
[58]In which he has explained his opposing his Imaam in about
twenty masaa'il (nos. 42, 44, 103, 120, 158, 169, 172, 173, 228, 230, 240, 244,
274, 275, 284, 314, 331, 338, 355, 356 - from Ta'leeq al-Mumajjid 'alaa Muwatta'
Muhammad (Important Notes on Muhammad's Muwatta'))
[59]Ibn 'Aabideen mentioned him among them in Haashiyah (1/74)
& in Rasm al-Mufti (1/17). Qurashi mentioned him in Al- Jawaahir al-Madiyyah
fi Tabaqaat al-Hanafiyyah (p. 347) and said, "He was a reliable transmitter of Hadeeth.
He and his brother Ibraaheem were the two shaikhs of Balakh of their time."
[60]Al-Fawaa'id al-Bahiyyah fi Taraajum al-Hanafiyyah (p. 116)
[61]Al-Bahr ar-Raa'iq (6/93) & Rasm al-Mufti (1/28).
[62]Al-Fawaa'id ... (p. 116); the author then added a useful
note:
"From this can be deduced the falsity of Makhool's narration from Abu Haneefah:
'that he who raises his hands during Prayer, his Prayer is ruined', by which Ameer,
the scribe of Itqaani, was deceived, as has been mentioned under his biography.
'Isaam ibn Yoosuf, a companion of Abu Yoosuf, used to raise his hands, so if the
above-mentioned narration had any foundation, Abu Yoosuf and 'Isaam would have known
about it ... It can also be deduced that if a Hanafi ignored the madhhab of his
Imaam in an issue due to the strength of the evidence against it, this would not
take him outside the ranks of the Imaam's followers, but this would in fact be proper
taqleed in the guise of leaving taqleed; do you not see that 'Isaam ibn Yoosuf left
Abu Haneefah's madhhab of not raising the hands, but he is stil counted as a Hanafi?...
To Allaah I complain of the ignorance of our time, when they insult anyone who does
not follow his Imaam in an issue because of the strength of evidence against it,
and expel him from the fold of that Imaam's followers! This is not surprising when
those who do this are from the ordinary masses, but it is amazing when it comes
from those who imitate men of learning but plod along that path like cattle!"
[63]an-Noor 24:51-52
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