Following the Imams, Importance of Taqleed and Consensus Upon Following Them

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#16 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:47

Apart from the Shi'as and the Ghair Muqallideen, the 'Ulema of the entire Ummah are unanimous about the fact that Taqleed is necessary. They have clearly stated this in their works. The following appears in the commentary of Musallamuth Thuboot, "It is therefore compulsory for people to follow those who had looked deeply into matters (of Deen) and had categorized everything in specific chapters. They had sifted every question, differentiated between them, explained the reasons for each of them and provided tremendous details (such detail is not found in the statements of the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم, making it difficult for many to derive solutions directly from them). It is because this is not to be found in the Mathhab of anyone else that Allamah Ibn Salaah رحمة ﷲ علیه has prohibited people from following anyone other than the four Imams, who are the Imam of the Imams, and are Imam from Kufa (Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه), Imam Malik رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Shafi'i رحمة ﷲ علیه and Imam Ahmad رحمة ﷲ علیه. May Allah reward them with the best of rewards on our behalf." (Fatawaatihur Rahmah pg 629)

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#17 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:48

Allamah Ibn Nujaym رحمة ﷲ علیه of Egypt (passed away 970 AH) states, "Whatever ruling opposes those of the four Imams, actually opposes consensus (which is unacceptable)." (Ashbaah wan Nadhaa'ir pg 131)

Allamah Ibn Humaam رحمة ﷲ علیه (passed away in 861 AH) says, "Many latter day scholars have mentioned that only the four Imams should be followed because their Mathhab are well documented, which is not the case the Mathahib of others. . .it is therefore correct to restrict Taqleed to only to these four Mathahib." (Tahreer fi Usoolil Fiqh pg 552)

The eminent Shaykh Ahmad رحمة ﷲ علیه, better known as Allamah Mullah Jeewan (passed away 1130 AH), was the teacher of Aurangzeb Alamgir رحمة ﷲ علیه. In his Tafseerat Ahmadi (pg 346), he states, "Consensus has been reached about the fact that it is permissible to follow only the four Imams. It is because of this that if the opinion of any new Mujtahid conflicts with those of the four, it will not be permissible to act on his opinion."

He then writes further (pg 346), "In all fairness, the confinement of the Mathahib to the four and following only them is from the grace of Allah and denotes His acceptance of them. There is no need for an explanation."

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#18 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:48

The famous Muhaddith and Mufassir Qadhi Thana'ullah Panipati رحمة ﷲ علیه (passed away 1225 AH), writes in his Tafsir Mazhari (Vol.2 pg 64), "The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah settled with the four Mathahib after the third or fourth century and there remained no other Mathhab to follow in as far as the derivatives of the Deen are concerned. Consensus has therefore been reached on the fact that any opinion that conflicts with all of the four will be rejected. Allah declares in the Qur'an, "(Whoever) follows a path other than that of the Mu'mineen, We shall allow him to do that which he is doing and then enter him into Jahannam. It is the worst of abodes." (Surah Nisa, verse 115)

Imam Ibrahim Sarakhsi رحمة ﷲ علیه says, "After that period (of the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم), it became impermissible to follow any Mathhab other than the four, namely those of Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Malik رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Shafi'i رحمة ﷲ علیه and Imam Ahmad رحمة ﷲ علیه. This is just as Allamah Ibn Salaah رحمة ﷲ علیه has stated. This is because the principles of these Mathahib are well known and their laws have been well established. Those who served these four Mathahib have recorded every facet of their laws in great detail." (Futuhaat Wahabiyyah pg 199)

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#19 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:48

The Muhaddith Ibn Hajar Makki رحمة ﷲ علیه (passed away 852 AH) also writes that in his times it is not permissible to follow any Mathhab other than the four namely those of Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Malik رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Shafi'i رحمة ﷲ علیه and Imam Ahmad رحمة ﷲ علیه. (Fathul Mubeen pg 196)

In his book Raahatul Quloob, Khwaja Nizamuddin Awliya رحمة ﷲ علیه writes, "Khwaja Sayyidul Aabideen Fareedul Haq Shakr Ganj رحمة ﷲ علیه said on the 11th of Dhul Hijjah 655 AH that although all the four Mathahib are true, it may be noted with certainty that the Mathahib of Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه is the best and he is also the best of the Mutaqqaddimeen (early-day scholars). We thank Allah that He has made us followers of his Mathhab." (Hadaa'iq Hanafiyyah pg 104)

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#20 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:48

Allamah Jalaluddin Mahalli رحمة ﷲ علیه says, "It is Wajib (compulsory) for a common man and others who have not reached the rank of a Mujtahid to adhere to one of the specific Mathahib." (Nurul Hidayah, translation of Sharhul Wiqayah pg 10)s

Shaykh Muhiyyuddin Nawawi رحمة ﷲ علیه, the commentator of Muslim writes, "'Ulema believe that Ijtihad (being a Mujtahid) in the broad sense has ended with the four Imams. It is therefore Wajib (compulsory) for the Ummah to follow one of them. In fact, the Imam of Haramain has reported that the Ummah are unanimous about this." (Rowdhatut Taalibeen, as quoted in Nurul Hidayah)

It states further in the same reference, "Taqleed in our times is correct only if one of the four Mathahib are followed. . .it is not permissible to follow anyone other than the four Imams both when passing verdict (in court) and when issuing a Fatwa." (Nurul Hidayah pg 15)

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#21 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:48

Imam Abdul Wahhab Sha'raani رحمة ﷲ علیه writes, "Whenever anyone asked my mentor Ali Khawaas about whether it is compulsory to adopt Taqleed, he would tell the person, 'It is Wajib for you to follow a specific Imam and not to tread away from his Mathhab until you attain the status of a Mujtahid through perfect piety and divine inspiration." (Mizaanush Shari'atil Kubra)

The famous scholar of Qur'an and Hadith Sayyid Ahmad Tahtaawi رحمة ﷲ علیه (passed away 1233 AH) says, "O People! You must follow that one group that will be saved from Jahannam and that is the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah because the help of Allah is attained by being with them and opposing them will cause one to lose Allah's help and attain only His wrath and displeasure. This successful group has now agreed to follow the four Mathahib, which are the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Whoever chooses to be outside the circles of these four Mathahib is from amongst the people of Bid'ah and those destined for Jahannam." (Tahtaawi 'ala Durril Mukhtar Vol.4 pg 153)

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#22 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:49

The following is an extract from the book of Shah Ishaaq Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمة ﷲ علیه:

"Question 61: Is following the four Mathahib a good Bid'ah or a bad one? If it is a bad Bid'ah, then of what category is it?"

Answer: Following the four Mathhab is neither a good nor a bad Bid'ah but is in fact a Sunnah because, in the first instance, their differences were such as had existed amongst the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم as well. Despite this, Rasulullah ﷺ said, "my Sahabah are like guiding stars and whoever of them you follow, you will be rightly guided.' In the second instance, their differences could be because of a different in their reasoning which is in fact in compliance with Nass (the clear verses of the Qur'an and the most authentic of Ahadith) because reasoning is proven by Nass. In yet another instance, the differences between them is due to the direct meanings of the Ahadith that some feel the need to practice upon, while others feel the need to practice on the implied meanings of the same Ahadith. A Hadith appears in Bukhari and Muslim stating that when Rasululah ﷺ gave the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم the command to march against the Banu Qurayzah tribe, he said that they should not perform their 'Asr Salah anywhere but at the settlement of the Banu Qurayzah tribe. Now while some of the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم understood that Rasulullah's ﷺ intention was to emphasize a speedy march, others took the direct meaning, meaning that they should not perform the 'Asr Salah on the road (even if the time was running out). However, since Rasulullah ﷺ did not disprove of this difference, it appears that both parties were right. Such are the differences between the four Mathahib, so how can it be called Bid'ah? (Imdaadul Masaa'il, translation of Mi'ah Masaa'il pg 101-102)

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#23 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:49

Question:

Will the followers of a Mathhab be labeled perpetrators of Bid'ah or not?

Answer:

The followers of a Mathhab will not be labeled perpetrators of Bid'ah because following the four Mathahib is really following the inner and outer implications of the Ahadith. Labeling a follower of the Ahadith as a perpetrator of Bid'ah is an act of a deviate. (Imdaadul Masaa'il, translation of Mi'ah Masaa'il pg 102)

Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf Thani رحمة ﷲ علیه says, "It may be said without prejudice that the Mathhab of Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه appears to the mind of the inspired ones as a large ocean while the other Mathahib appear like rivers and lakes. When looking at it in reality as well, one will notice that the majority of Muslims follow this Mathhab, which, despite the large following, is unlike the other Mathahib in its principles, derivatives and manner of extracting laws. It is most astonishing to note the degree to which Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه follows the Sunnah because he gives as much importance to Mursal Ahadith as he does to Musnad Ahadith and gives these preference over his personal deductions. Because of their companionship with Rasulullah ﷺ, Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه gives preference to the opinions of the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم over his own, which the others do not do.

Despite all of this, his adversaries still refer to him as a person who follows only his personal opinions. Apart from this, they also use other disrespectful terms for him even though all admit that he was exceptionally knowledgeable and extremely pious. May Allah guide them to not reject this leader of Islam and in this way to stop hurting the majority of Muslims.

Such people (Ghair Muqallideen) wish to blow out the light of Allah with their mouths by labeling these great men (Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Malik رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Shafi'i رحمة ﷲ علیه and Imam Ahmad رحمة ﷲ علیه) as men who followed the dictates of their personal opinions. By doing this, they are effectively saying that a large - in fact majority - of the Ummah are ignorant and are in fact also ignorant of their ignorance by following men who forsook the Qur'an and the Sunnah to follow men who followed their opinions. These few incompetents have learnt a few Ahadith and think that all of the Shari'ah revolved upon their knowledge by refuting everything else about which they have no knowledge. They are like that little worm in a hole that sees its entire world in that little hole (thinking that the hold is the entire world).

The worm has however yet to see the real world. Such people are only prejudiced and making futile attempts." (Maktoobaat Imam Rabbani Vol.2 pg 178-179)

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#24 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:51

Shah Muhammad Hidayat Ali رحمة ﷲ علیه states, "It is not necessary for a person to follow the Imam if he has perfect knowledge of Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh and he is also capable of Ijtihad, together with having knowledge of abrogated verses and Arabic terminologies. It is Wajib for anyone lacking in any of these fields to follow and Imam. In fact, it is best even for the person proficient in these fields to follow an Imam.

It is strange to see that people who cannot even recite Arabic without the diacritical marks, let alone having any knowledge of Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh choose not to follow the Imams and regard following them to be Shirk. Such people do not have a clue about deriving laws from the Qur'an and Ahadith and fail to realize that even people who were proficient in the fields of Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh such as Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمة ﷲ علیه and Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمة ﷲ علیه also chose to follow Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه.

Can the people of today be more knowledgeable or more pious than them? Such people choose to follow ignoramuses rather than the great men and even though they hardly understand Urdu (let alone Arabic), they claim that they are people of the Ahadith (Ghair Muqallideen). If you ask them from where they learnt the laws they practice, was it from the Qur'an and Ahadith or from someone else, they will tell you that they heard it from a particular person. If this is not Taqleed, then what is it?" (Durr e Lathaani Vol.2 pg 61-62)

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#25 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:52

He also writes, "It is Wajib to follow the Imams of Ijtihad because they possessed deep knowledge of Arabic, Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, principles of Fiqh, abrogated verses and Arabic terminologies. It is for this reason that Allah issued the command, "Ask people of knowledge if you do not know." It is Wajib for anyone lacking in any of these fields to follow an Imam. In fact, it is best even for the person proficient in these fields to follow an Imam. Even people who were proficient in these fields such as Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمة ﷲ علیه and Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمة ﷲ علیه, Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf Thani رحمة ﷲ علیه, Mirza Mazhar Jaane Jaan رحمة ﷲ علیه, Qadhi Thana'ullah Panipati رحمة ﷲ علیه and many others also chose to follow Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه. Which person today can claim to be equal to even a tenth of these men and has the nerve to say (like Iblees did) "I am better than he"? It is a tragedy of our times that people, whose total knowledge is not even where the knowledge of the Imams started, speak ill of following of the Imams and make people follow their incomplete analogies and deductions." (Ahsanut Taqweem pg 137-138)

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#26 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:52

Allamah Abdul Haq Haqqani رحمة ﷲ علیه writes, "If every person has to propose his opinion in such matters, there would be tremendous chaos. While the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم asked Rasulullah ﷺ whatever they needed to know, when new situations arose after the third century of Islam, the Imams documented the finer details of the Shari'ah as derived from the Qur'an and the Ahadith. Therefore, the entire Ummah has been following these documented laws since then until today. Anyone proposing anything other than this will have forsaken the path of the unanimous majority. The evil has started nowadays of criticizing the Mujtahideen, especially Imam Abu Hanifah رحمة ﷲ علیه, saying that he opposes the Qur'an and the Ahadith. This is grossly misleading because none of his statements oppose the Qur'an and Ahadith and those that these people regard as baseless are really not so because it is their fault for not being able to find the basis. Proof of his integrity is that Allah had kept his Mathhab alive for thousands of years and claiming that his Mathhab is misleading is to claim that the Ummah had been misled for so long, which contradicts verses of the Qur'an and Ahadith that laud the virtues of the Ummah." (Aqaa'idul Islam pg 112-113)

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#27 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:52

Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمة ﷲ علیه writes, "Most of the people who claim to be people of the Ahadith concern themselves only with collecting chains of narrators and determining Ahadith which are Ghareeb or Shaadh from many that are either Mawdu or Maqlub. They do not concern themselves with the words of the Hadith, do not understand the meanings of the Ahadith and cannot derive rulings from its depths. These people condemn the jurists and claim that they oppose the Qur'an and the Ahadith without realizing that they can never attain the knowledge that Allah had granted to the jurists. They are really sinful for making such statements." (Insaaf pg 53)

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#28 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:52

Merely Knowing Ahadith from Memory is Not Sufficient for Understanding the Laws of the Shari'ah

Merely knowing Ahadith from memory and remaining fixed on the apparent meaning is not enough for understanding the rulings of the Shari'ah. It is of vital importance to understand Fiqh (jurisprudence), the principles of Fiqh and to have a deep understanding of Deen. Reaching the true reality of the rulings is impossible without all of this. Those people who are mulish about the apparent meanings of the Ahadith are known to issue rulings that are unacceptable. Here follows a few examples:

1. The famous book of Ahadith Kanzul Ummaal contains the following narration: Mujahid says, "Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه was once performing Salah while 'Ata, Tawoos and Ikramah and I, all his students, were sitting together. A man arrived and asked, 'Is there a Mufti amongst you?' 'Ask your question,' I said. He said, 'Every time I urinate, a spurting liquid follows the urine out.' We asked, 'Is it the type of liquid from which a child is born?' When he replied in the affirmative, we ruled that he should take a bath (each time it happened). The man then turned away saying, 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raaji'oon.' Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه hastened with his Salah and as soon as he made the Salam, he said, 'Ikramah! Go bring that man back.' When Ikramah brought him back, Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه turned to us saying, 'Tell me whether the verdict you gave this man was sourced from the Book of Allah?' We admitted, 'No'. 'Then was it sourced from the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ?' he asked further. When we again conceded that it was not, he asked, 'Then was it from the Sahabah رضی ﷲ عنھم of Rasulullah ﷺ?' Again we said no. 'Then from who did you learn it?' he asked. 'We derived it from our own judgment,' we replied. To this, he remarked, 'It is for this reason that Rasulullah ﷺ said, 'A single jurist is more difficult for Shaitan to contend with than a thousand worshippers.' He then turned to the man and asked, 'Tell me. Do you feel any lust in your heart when this happens to you?' 'No, I do not,' the man replied. Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه asked further, 'Then do you feel any weakness in your body (after it emerges)?' When the man again replied negatively, Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه said, 'This happens because of coldness (in the body) so wudhu would suffice for you (there is no need to take a bath).'" (Vol.5 pg 118)

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#29 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:53

Research scholars have written that Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنه realized that the students were fooled by the word 'spurting liquid', which refers to semen. They therefore ruled that a bath was necessary. Because they were not jurists, they failed to look at the reason that makes a bath necessary. Had they looked at factors that make a bath necessary, they would have noticed that since none of the factors accompanying the discharge of semen were found, the discharge could not be semen and therefore a bath would itself not be necessary. Now although Mujahid رحمة ﷲ علیه, 'Ata رحمة ﷲ علیه, Tawoos رحمة ﷲ علیه, and Ikramah رحمة ﷲ علیه were all Muhadditheen of the highest caliber (and the teachers of almost all the others), they were really not jurists because they failed to look for the inner reasons. Because true jurists are such a rarity, Rasulullah ﷺ lauded them by saying that a single jurist is more difficult for Shaitan to contend with than a thousand worshippers. Shaitan's objective is to make people do things that are against the Shari'ah and the worshipper does not have the time to delve into the reasons for various rulings. Even the Muhadditheen, because of their involvement in screening narrators, verifying chains of narrators and in doing so many other things, do not have this opportunity. It is the jurists who are specialists in their fields, who, together with keeping all the relevant verses of the Qur'an and Ahadith in front of them, are able to understand what the intent of the Shari'ah is. The adage is well said that states, "There is a specialist for every field." (Haqeeqatil Fiqh Vol.1 pg 9)

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#30 [Permalink] Posted on 3rd February 2012 10:53

2. Allamah Ibn Jowzi رحمة ﷲ علیه relates that when some people heard that Rasulullah ﷺ forbade people from watering other people's fields, they said, "We seek Allah's forgiveness because when we have excess water on our fields, we direct it to the fields of our neighbors." None of them realized that Rasulullah ﷺ was referring to a person having intercourse with pregnant slave women. (Talbees Iblees pg 166)

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Following the Imams, Importance of Taqleed and Consensus Upon Following Them

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