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THE CONFLICTS AMONG SAHABAH AND DIFFERENCES OF

OPINIONS AMONG IMAMS مشاجرات صحابه و اختلافات ائمه

Written in Urdu By

Hadhrat Mohammed Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui ( عليه لله رحمة )

Rendered into English by

Shaikh Mir Asedullah Quadri

Under the guidance of

Hadhrat Ghouse Mohiuddin Siddiqui

Sahih Iman Publication

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Copyright © SAHIH IMAN 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher,

nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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FOREWORD

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين

With every new translation of Shaikh's works, a new area is added to the English language collection of books. The book 'The Conflicts of Sahabah and Differences of Opinions of Imams' (مشاجرات صحابه و اختلافات ائمه) is one of the rare works of the Shaikh in which he has discussed about an important topic, the misunderstanding of which has resulted in formation of different sects among Muslims. The subject matter is very delicate but the way Shaikh has dealt with it is only expected of him.

Quadri is playing a pivotal role in this context by providing us with English translations of the works of the Shaikh in front of the modern Muslim world. He deserves all our appreciation and support in this endeavor.

May Allah ( عز وجل) accept these translations as their original work and let all of us benefit from them.

AL-FAQEER

Ghouse Mohiuddin Siddiqui, Son and successor of Shaikh

Mohammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui ( رحمة لله عليه)

29 Ramadhan, 1422 AH (16 December, 2001)

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PREFACE

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين

"The Conflicts among Sahabah and Differences of Opinions among Imams" ( مشاجرات

is the fifteenth book translated in the series of English translations of (صحابه و اختلافات ائمهHadhrat Mohammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui's ( ہيرحمتہ الله عل ) works which were written in Urdu, Persian and Arabic and mostly published during his life time.

The aim of the book is to describe the fact that none among the Sahabah was against the religion or its Prophet (وسلم آله و عليه الله صلى). In spite of their differences of opinions, they used to pray behind each other. The differences of opinions that sometimes resulted in conflicts, were interpretive in nature. They all were honest in their thoughts, deeds and sayings. As honest person is also brave, he will fight with his opponent on the basis of honesty. Differences of opinions in an issue is, often because of focus on different aspects of the same issue by different people.

The book is very interesting. Shaikh has provided an in depth knowledge about the differences of interpretations in Islamic jurisprudence of different religious Chiefs (ائمه) and has proved convincingly that they were all sincere in their approach in ascertaining the truth. To consider Aimma to have opposed certain Ahadith is misconception that should be avoided.

I am thankful to Hadhrat Ghouse Mohiuddin Siddiqui, the son and successor of Hadhrat Mohammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui ( ہيرحمتہ الله عل ) for his support and encouragement in translating these books. I hope our readers will benefit from this book in clearing the misconceptions in this context.

Shaikh Mir Asedullah Shah Quadri Ramadhan 25, 1422 AH (11th December, 2001)

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CONTENTS

THE CONFLICTS AMONG SAHABAH 1

AN OVERVIEW OF ISLAMIC HISTORY 3

A WORD OF CAUTION 4

ADMINISTRATIVE STYLES 7

KHULAFA-E-RASHIDEEN 8

DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONS AMONG IMAMS 11

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THE CONFLICTS AMONG SAHABAH

Shaikh has given below certain Quranic verses and Ahadith that give an idea about what has been described in Quran and Ahadith about the Sahabah ( رضي الله تعالى عنهم

.(اجمعين

(i) It is in Quran - والذين معه سول الل د ر حم أشداء على الكفار رحماء بينهم م [Mohammad (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) is Allah's Apostle and the ones with him are tough on apostates and merciful among themselves.] (Al-Fath - 29). (ii) It is in Quran - عن ال مؤمنين إذ يبايعونك تحت الشجرة لقد رضي الل [ Allah ( عز وجل) is pleased with the believers when they do promise of allegiance (promigiance - بيعة) on your hand under the tree.] (Al-Fath - 18) (iii) It is in Quran - طائفتان من المؤمنين اقتتلواوإن [ And two groups of Muslims involve in killing each other.] (Al-Hujrat - 9) (iv) It is in Quran - ول تقولوا لمن ألقى إليكم السلام لست مؤمنا [ And if someone expresses in front of you that he is a Muslim, do not negate his statement] (An-Nisa - 94) (v) It is in Quran - ليغيظ بهم الكفار [ So that the apostates get enraged and furious and it is to make them jealous.] (Al-Fath - 29) (vi) It is in Quran - ن النساء يا نساء الن بي لستن كأحد م [ O'wives of the Prophet you are not like other women. ] (Al-Ahzaab - 32) (رضي الله تعالى عنهم اجمعين) (vii) It is in Quran - هاتهم رضي الله تعالى ) The wives of the Prophet ] وأزواجه أم

.are the mothers of faithfuls.] (Al-Ahzaab - 6) (عنهم اجمعين (viii) It is in Hadith - Jaber (رضي الله تعالى عنه) narrated that the Prophet ( صلى

said, 'the Fire of Hell cannot touch a person who has seen (الله عليه و آله وسلمme or see an person who has seen me. (Tirmidhi) (ix) It is in Hadith - Abu Huraira (رضي الله تعالى عنه) narrated that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said that do not use disrespectful and abusive language about my companions because I swear to the one under whose omnipotence is my life, even if someone spends gold in charity equal to the weight of the mountain of Uhad, cannot reach to their stature and merit (Muslim)

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(x) It is in Hadith - Narrated Ibn Abbas (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that the Prophet for His (عز وجل ) said, have fervor (love) for Allah (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم)blessings and He bestows upon you in (every) morning. And because of your fervor for Allah ( عز وجل), have fervor for me and because of your fervor for me, have fervor for my people at my home. (Tirmidhi, Kanzul Ummaal, Taiseer). (xi) It is in Hadith - Nafrrated by Ummul Momineen Aisha ( رضي الله تعالى

said about his wives that (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم ) that the Prophet (عنهاcertainly your issue with me is among those issues that keeps me concerned for you after I am gone and no one can have patience about your welfare unless he is one among the honest and patient people. (Tirmidhi, Taiseer). (xii) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Abu Huraira (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said, the virtuous among you is the one who is devotedly respectful with my wives. (Ibn Asakir). (xiii) It is in Hadith - Narrated Hadhrat Hussain Ibn Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said, do not use disrespectful and abusive language about Abu Bakr and Umar (رضي الله تعالى عنهما), because, except the prophets and apostles, they are the chiefs of all the middle aged people preceding and following of Heaven. And do not be disrespectful and abusive towards Hassan and Hussain (رضي الله تعالى عنهما), because they are the chiefs of the young people, preceding and following of Heaven. And do not be disrespectful and abusive towards Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه) because if anyone said anything bad about Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه), he actually talked bad about me, and the one who talked bad about me, he talked bad about Allah ( عز وجل) and whoever said bad about Allah ( عز

.will be subjected to torment. (Ibn Asaker, Kanzul Ummaal) ,(وجل (xiv) It is in Hadith - Abdur Rahman ibn al-Akhnas said that when he was in the mosque, a man mentioned Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه). So Sa'id ibn Zayd got up and said: I bear witness to the Apostle of Allah (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) that I heard him say - ten people will go to Paradise - Abu Bakr ( رضي الله

,will go to Paradise (رضي الله تعالى عنه) will go to Paradise, Umar (تعالى عنهUthman ( تعالى عنه رضي الله ) will go to Paradise, Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه) will go to Paradise, Talhah (رضي الله تعالى عنه) will go to Paradise: az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (رضي الله تعالى عنه) will go to paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik ( رضي الله تعالى

will (رضي الله تعالى عنه) will go to Paradise, and Abdur Rahman ibn Awf (عنهgo to Paradise. If I wish, I can mention the tenth. The People asked: Who is he: So he kept silence. They again asked: Who is he: He replied: He is Sa'id

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ibn Zayd (رضي الله تعالى عنه) (Abu Dawood. There is another Hadith in Tirmidhi, narrated by Abdur Rahman bin Ouf رضي الله تعالى عنه which includes Hadhrat Abu Ubaidah's - رضي الله تعالى عنه name). (xv) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Hadhrat Hasan Basri (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that he heard Hadhrat Abu Bakra (رضي الله تعالى عنه) saying that he had seen the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) sitting on the pulpit of the mosque, one side of which Hadhrat Hassan bin Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه) was sitting. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) used to see the people and Hadhrat Hasan by turning his face again and again and say, certainly this (رضي الله تعالى عنه)son of mine is the leader, and perhaps through him Allah ( عز وجل) will cause a truce two big groups of Muslims (Bukhari, Taiseer).

It is evident that if someone asks the followers of Moses ( عليه السلام) as to who were the best people among them, they will immediately say that those were the companions of Moses (عليه السلام). If you ask the same question from Christians, they will say that the companions of Jesus (عليه السلام) were the best people. In the same way, if someone asks Muslims, they will also say that the best people were the companions of Prophet Mohammad (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم).

AN OVERVIEW OF ISLAMIC HISTORY After the Caliphate of the Hadhrat Abu Bakr and Hadhrat Umar (رضي الله تعالى عنهما) many countries were conquered by Muslims and many nations were subdued. The riches that followed, opened the flood gates for civil strife. On one side were the people of truth, the devoted followers of Sunnah; on the other side were the people who were under the influence of to their carnal desires and were the ‘devotees of the spurious These devotees of the spurious were again divided into two sects. Kharijis .(باطل پرست)considered everyone as apostates except Hadhrat Abu Bakr and Umar ( رضي الله تعالى

They used to apostatize everyone on small issues and considered themselves as .(عنهماabstinent, and others as sinners and apostates. The other sect (Shias) use to venerate only Hadhrat Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه) and used to consider everyone else as apostate. Among the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم), none was against Allah ( عز

They all used to perform Salah behind each .(صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) and His Apostle (وجل other in congregation. The causes of their conflicts were based on interpretive differences of opinions.

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A WORD OF CAUTION A few issues have to be kept in mind before considering the differences of opinions and conflicts among the companions. If their reliability is questioned, the certainty and continuation of the narration of Quran and Sunnah will not remain intact. And when the basis of the religion, the Quran and Sunnah are questioned, what will happen to the religion. Unwarranted suspicion on historic issues will lead Muslims to destroy their faith. Against a proof in Quran and the continuous narrations, unauthentic historical statement, false stories, baseless propaganda, and concocted politics cannot be given credibility.

It is in Quran - عن المؤمنين إذ يبايعونك تحت الشجرة is (عز وجل ) Allah ] لقد رضي اللpleased with the believers when they do promise of allegiance (promigiance - بيعة) on your hand under the tree.] (Al-Fath - 18) It is in Quran - والذين معه أشداء على الكفار رحماء بينهم سول الل د ر حم Mohammad] م is Allah's Apostle and the ones with him are tough on (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم)apostates and merciful among themselves.] (Al-Fath - 29). It is in Quran - ول تقولوا لمن ألقى إليكم السلام لست مؤمنا [ And if someone expresses in front of you that he is a Muslim, do not negate his statement] (An-Nisa - 94) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Hadhrat Hasan Basri (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that he heard Hadhrat Abu Bakra (رضي الله تعالى عنه) saying that he had seen the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) sitting on the pulpit of the mosque, one side of which Hadhrat Hassan bin Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه) was sitting. The Prophet رضي الله ) used to see the people and Hadhrat Hasan (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم)

by turning his face again and again and say, certainly this son of (تعالى عنهmine is the leader, and perhaps through him Allah ( عز وجل) will cause a truce two big groups of Muslims (Bukhari, Taiseer).

Indeed, Hadhrat Imam Hassan (رضي الله تعالى عنه), was the leader of Muslims, Syed, direct descendant of the Apostle ( صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم), most prominent and able administrator, virtuous and revered Imam of Muslims. There was none among Muslims who could be compared with him in any field whatsoever. The opposing leadership and every one in Islamic nation knew these facts. In spite of these facts, he decided to relinquish the office only for the reason that he wanted to stop the bloodshed of Muslims.

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We will not go into specific details here that leads to political or historical analysis of the period because that is not the focus of this book. Our focus area is to help people to safeguard their Iman. The apolitical persons whose vision was focused on faith and religious abstinence, like the Hadith scholars, Jurisprudence scholars, Quran commentators, all narrated Ahadith from the scholars belonging to Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid periods. Whatever happened at the political level, it was not the concern of the Hadith masters. They took Ahadith from everyone who stood authentic on the strict standards they had set in the subject. Their standard of selection was undisputed, reliable, trustworthy and just. The work of the enemies of Islam is to defame Islam by creating doubts in the minds of the ignorant people. The verification of the traditions is possible only when the narrators of these traditions are investigated fully. And our Hadith scholars have done a great job in this context. The defeated and subdued Israilis, Christians, Zoarashtrians, Idol worshipers, etc., accepted Islam to save their lives, but hypocrisy and enmity for Muslims remained in their hearts. The light of faith did not enter their hearts.

It is in Quran - يمان في قلوبكم ا يدخل ال [Faith has not yet entered your hearts] ولم(Al-Hujuraat - 14)

They remained adamant in their resolve to hurt the Muslims and their religion; sometimes in the shape of scholars of Hadith, sometimes in the shape of writers in inditing the history, sometimes in the robes of Shuyookh, sometimes emphasizing the requirement of respect and equality, sometimes raising the slogan of 'to command is only the Allah's ( عز وجل), prerogative, and sometimes singing the tune of love of the people of Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) household. They all had the common aim of putting off the light of Islam.

وہ شمع کيا بجهے جسے روشن خدا کرے

How can the lamp be put off that has been lighted by Allah ( عز وجل)?

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It is in Quran - إل أن يتم نورہ ولو كرہ الكافر بأفواههم ويأبى الل ون يريدون أن يطفئوا نور الل [ They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it. ] (At-Tawba - 32).

Thus many books are filled with this type of narrations and stories which are absurd and absolutely unacceptable. People can be divided into many types on the basis of their natural inclination. Some people are respectful towards their elders, some are liberals, some are independent in nature, some are conservative, some are idol worshipers, some are atheist, some are conformists, and some are non-conformists. The moderates and the ones who walk on the straight path are very few. There are disputes among these people in the world as every one considers himself to be truthful. They involve in killing carnage among themselves. But none of them are against the country or its government or their religion. This is individual liking. When there is a confrontation with another country or religion, all these groups become one which clearly indicates that none among them is against their Government or the religion. But at times it also happens that the enemies of a nation and religion hide their identity and proclaim to be part of the nation and try to hurt the nation from within. Often it is observed that by civil strife, the countries and governments were destroyed. The fall of Muslim Spain is in front of our us. The differences of opinions should remain in their limits. When a King, a Prime Minister, President or dictator changes; his governing house, organizational body, cabinet and sometimes parliament also change. It is evident that unless the members of the Government are reliable, no work can be done and nothing can be achieved. Therefore, change in the Chief Executive brings in changes in the organization. From the beginning, Hashimites were devoted servants of Ka’aba and were religious chiefs and Umayyads were politicians and administrators. After the advent of Islam, Hashimites continued to focus on religion of Islam. They remained stead fast in their religion and sacrificed their lives and belongings on religion all along the history. The focus of attention of Umayyad was worldly Government. Prophet Mohammad (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) is a complete guide for this world as well as for hereafter. He was Apostle who also shouldered the responsibility of running the administration of Islamic Government. After him, there were difference of opinion as to who should rule the people. Since Umayyads were experienced in tribal political administration, they took over the reign of the Government by tactical deviations, based on their political experience.

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This should be remembered that those who are brave, polite, religious and honest, their tongue is subordinated to their hearts. Their inner feelings and outer behaviors remain the same. They would sacrifice their life and belongings on the religion. As against them, the materialistic and political people, give importance to the worldly life, material belongings and power. They do not have much regard to self honor and religion. A brave man will respond to an abuse by swordsman’s tough talk and will not seek formal redressal from the authorities. With brave person the punishment for fornication is execution, and not filing of a suit by the female victim. Duality in internal feelings and outward behavior, lying, backbiting, etc., are the works of coward, corrupt and cunning people. The Sahabah were free from all these evil attributes. They were truthful in their thoughts, sayings and deeds.

ADMINISTRATIVE STYLES

When Islam reached to far off places, the people from other places started to question the central rule. They attempted to weaken the central Government by creating disorder. This was prevented by farsightedness, vision and wisdom to such an extent that before the start of trouble, they took actions to prevent it. No sooner disruption was apprehended, they provided people with their just demands. No sooner a conspiracy was smelled, changes were made, dismissals and appointments were carried out. Trouble mongers backs were broken swiftly and their plots were busted. However exclusive capabilities in administration are rare. Some administrators, in order to safeguard their people at all levels, establish certain criterion of evaluation based on judicial principles. They do not decide in the absence of a clear cut evidence. They give benefit of doubt always to the accused and considered everyone to be sinless. Presumptions are unacceptable to them. They do not consider rules of politics as different from judiciary. While this system is and excellent way of governing people, but it also has some side effects. In such a protective environment, the trouble seekers, strife mongers and ill nature get strengths. The result of this is often martyrdom of the head of state who is pure, virtuous and kind hearted.

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Some Administrators are ruthless and dictatorial in nature. Their style of administration depends upon their mood. Often they go beyond the limits. At the time of mischief and tribulation no one can get to the actual facts in spite of the best trial. The people fighting each other get overwhelmed, and the situation get from bad to worse. To present a good thing as bad and attacking the intention of others is their profession. Unless they indulge in sycophancy, flattery and condemn others, they do not get a place near high officials. To get to the fact of historical events is very difficult. One should see the history very carefully. In any case, getting to the right conclusions depends upon the beneficence of Allah ( عز وجل). Correction of the narration and scrutinizing the criticism can help the reader to get to the bottom of things. Formation of different sects in Islam is the result of wrongful understanding of the history of Islam.

KHULAFA-E-RASHIDEEN Hadhrat Abu Bakr siddique and Hadhrat Umar (رضي الله تعالى عنهما) neither belonged to Hashimite nor to Umayyad and their caliphate was close to the prophethood period. The companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) had no differences among themselves. Hadhrat Abu Bakr siddique and Hadhrat Umar (رضي الله تعالى عنهما) had religious zeal, sincerity of intention and a very simple style of living. Their excellent personal traits facilitated the people not to have any suspicion about these pious caliphs. The nation selected them to lead and it also supported and trusted them in their administration. Neithr these caliphs gave positions to their relatives, nor the nation’s attention was ever diverted towards the Caliph taking sides with individuals. None among the people could dare think of favoritism in selection of people by the Caliphs. Mistakes of the people at the lower levels were regarded as individual follies and the Caliph was never held responsible for it. Their hold on the affairs was so complete that none had the courage to disobey. When well known governors and regional heads were relieved from their jobs, no eyebrows were raised They dismissed and demoted military commanders but no resistence was made by these commanders as they willingly obeyed the orders and continued their work in whatever capacity the Caliph wanted them to work. Hadhrat Othman (رضي الله تعالى عنه) was also selected as Caliph by the nation. Incidentally, he was Umayyad. During his reign, the mistakes of the lower officials of Umayyad tribe started getting associated with the Caliph. The Muslim rule was spread to a large chunk of land in two continents and people belonging to various religions became subjects of this rule. Now, ceremonial formalities cropped up and cultural

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defects started to show up in the nation. The defeated hypocrites got the opportunity to exaggerate every little aspect and attempted to bring disrepute to the Caliph. Most of this trouble was initiated by some Kingpins who wanted to occupy the seat of power by defaming the Caliph. They were helped by the opportunist politicians/corrupt officials who were misusing their offices to spread trouble in the Muslim State. What was the result, Hadhrat Othman (رضي الله تعالى عنه) was martyred. Hadhrat Ali ( عنهرضي الله تعالى ) was also selected as Caliph by the nation. Incidentally he Hashimite. Now the trouble makers intensified their campaign to malign the caliph. They started to question the Caliph’s style of functioning. They blamed him that he was protecting the murderers while they themselves were responsible for the tragic event. The Jews and Parsees who were the new subject of Islamic nation were doing their work to destroy the Islamic nation. The trouble makers did succeed and Hadhrat Ali .was also martyred (رضي الله تعالى عنه) Hadhrat Hassan (رضي الله تعالى عنه) was also selected by the nation as Caliph. But by then the times had changed. The Kingpins within the trouble mongers had become very strong. There was no one to support him sincerely. He was forced to relinquish the worldly reformation of the nation and be contented with the spiritual Caliphate. During the times of Shaikhain (Abu Bakr and Umar - رضي الله تعالى عنهما), everyone’s attention was focused towards outside enemies. When the nation is facing a common enemy all its people join hands with each other. In the times of peace when people get comforts of living, they think of civil strife and old family feuds get cropped up. People tend to criticize each other which leads them to self destruction. Why these pious souls wanted to be the Caliphs and involve in the Administration? Because they could not tolerate the nation going into the wrong hands who will do anything to attain their worldly objectives and become dictators. They did not like the guys to destroy Islamic Sharia and usurp human rights of masses by their open sinful acts. They had trust in their abilities, truthfulness and wisdom. They considered themselves to be more appropriate to serve the people and religion than the men who were trying to usurp power by creating anarchy in the nation. Since the effect of the governance is on masses, they considered that if they are decision makers, it will help the people in their welfare and be stead fast in religion. When we look at the life histories of Abu Bakr, Omer, Othman and Ali ( رضي الله تعالى عنهم

(رضي الله تعالى عنه) what benefit they had from the Government. Hadhrat Abu Bakr ,(اجمعينwas well to do when he was involved in his personal business but how he spent his life in hardship when he was Caliph. Same was the case with Hadhrat Othman ( رضي الله تعالى

and Hadhrat Ali ,(رضي الله تعالى عنه) Also, the same was the case with Hadhrat Omar .(عنه They were head of the Government for the name sake, but their .(رضي الله تعالى عنه)private lives were spent in austerity of spiritual mendicants.

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Similarly, when Hadhrat Mohammad bin Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه), Hadhrat Imam Zaid bin Ali bin Hassan, (رضي الله تعالى عنه), Hadhrat Imam Yahya (رضي الله تعالى عنه) saw the kings of their times not following the religion, they came forward to shoulder the responsibility of governance, but the people did not sincerely supported them and ultimately they had to give up their lives in the cause of upholding the virtues of Islam. They considered that the reformer need not be successful. Their failings did not deter them from their resolve of serving the religion and nation. While we praise and glorify the services of Khulafa-e-Rashideen and Ahle Bait-e-At-haar (رضي الله تعالى عنهم اجمعين) in the cause of Islam, we do not talk bad about Sahabah. We keep our mouth shut and we live it to Allah ( عز وجل), He is the best judge. And we pray Allah ( عز وجل) to keep us on the right path of Islam while we die.

It is in Quran - رب العالمين إن صلاتي ونسكي ومحياي ومماتي لل [ "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds ] (Al-An'aam - 162)

موت و حيات ميری دونوں تيرے لۓ ہے جينا تيری گلی ميں مرنا تيری گلی ميں

My life and death, both are for you as I shal live and die for

the sake of upholding the religious tenets.

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DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONS AMONG IMAMS Shaikh has described below some Quranic verses and Ahadith to enable readers to refer to them when a reference of these is made in the book while explaining various issues related to the subject.

(i) It is in Quran - لمع المحسنين Those who ] والذين جاهدوا فينا لنهدينهم سبلنا وإن اللstrive to know about Us and about Our commandments, We do lead them to our right path ] (Unkaboot - 69). (ii) It is in Quran - فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم ل تعلمون [ Thus, if you do not know, ask from the one who knows ] (An-Nahl - 43). (iii) It is in Quran - ئك كان عنه ـ ول تقف ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أول

When you do not know, do not be after it. Certainly, you will be ] مسئول questioned about your seeing, hearing and about (the things in) your heart. ] (Al-Isra - 36). (iv) It is in Quran - فاعتبروا يا أولي البصار [ Those who have wise heart and open eyes, get warned. ] (Al-Hashr - 2). You should be able to extract the meanings from the words. From the metaphor, you should be able to reach to the truth. From source, you should be able to get the imperative. From abstract, you should be able to get the detail. From root you should be able to get to the branches. And from the integral command, you should be able to get the fractional commands. (v) It is in Quran - سول وإلى أولي المر منهم And if they had] ولو ردوہ إلى الرreferred it to the Apostle (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) and the people of respective command (صاحبان امر), then those who are capable of deducing things and have sound imagination would have known it. ] (An-Nisa - 83). (vi) It is in Quran - إن جاءكم فاسق بنبإ فتبينوا [ If a sinful person brings any news, do not believe him without investigation. ] (Al-Hujuraat - 6).

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(vii) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Jaber (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that the Prophet ,said, why did not you ask when you were unaware of (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم)because the treatment for not knowing is only asking. (Abu Dawood, Ibn Maaja, Mishkaat). (viii) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Abu Sa'eed Khudri (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that two people went to some place. On their way, the time for Salah came. As they did not have water for ablution, they performed dry ablution (تيمم) and performed the Salah. After sometime when the time for the Salah was still not over, they found water. One of them performed ablution (وضو) and repeated the Salah. The other person did not do it. Later both of them went to the audience of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) and submitted the episode. the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said to the one who had not repeated the Salah that 'you have acted as per the sunnah and that prayer is sufficient for you.' And to the one who had repeated the Salah with ablution, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said, 'you got the recompense for two Salah. (Abu Dawood, Daarmi, Tirmidhi). (ix) It is in Hadith - It is narrated by Umru bin al-Aas (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that he heard the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) say that when a ruler, after interpretation and literal investigation orders some thing and if his order is correct, he has two retributions; one for his effort and other for finding out the truth. And after his sincere efforts, if he makes a mistake, he gets one retribution for his research effort. (Bukhari). (x) It is in Hadith - It is narrated by Hadhrat Ali ( ى عنهرضي الله تعال ) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said that a good religious person is 'a Jurist in religion' ie., a person who has prudence in the issues of religion, people will depend upon him and come to him and ask, and he will be the source of benefit to them (he will explain them various issues related to the religion). And if people ignore him, he will benefit by acting as per his knowledge. (Ad-Dalaimi). (xi) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan ( رضي الله تعالى

wants (عز وجل ) said that if Allah (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) that the Prophet ,(عنهto bestow virtue and goodness upon somebody, He gives him the prudence in the issues of religion, ie., Allah ( عز وجل) guides him to consider in the issues of religion. And I (Prophet - صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) am the dispenser and Allah ( عز وجل) is the giver. (Bukhari, Muslim).

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(xii) It is in Hadith - Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar (رضي الله تعالى عنه) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) said to us when we were returning from the war of Ahzaab that 'no one will perform Salatul Asr before reaching to the place of Banu Qareeta. Some people got the time of Asr on the way and a few of them said that we will not perform the Salah before we reach Banu Qareeta, while others said that we will perform the Salah as the purport of Prophet Mohammad (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) was to reach to Banu Qareeta as fas as possible. When this episode was described to the Prophet .he did not rebuke and snub anyone. (Bukhari) ,(صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم)

Consider the above Quranic verses and Ahadith. What type of issues are known from them and how the interpretation of imperatives vary according to individuals' natural inclination, and how the differences occur in accepting presumptive Ahadith. There cannot be a comparison between a knowledgeable person and an ignorant person. The status of knowledgeable person is superior. If a thing is not known, the ignorant person should ask from knowledgeable persons, trust them and abide by their edicts. Without investigation, nothing is acceptable. All knowledgeable people should ascertain minutely whether it is the verse of Quran and the statement of Hadith. In the ambiguous and meaningless issues, if some stand is taken, it is not wrong. An issue was left to the individual's discretion and was complied differently by various people. Thus, it will be treated as rightful compliance by all and not that one is right and others are wrong. It should also be remembered that a person will be regarded as rightful person of compliance and others to be wrong when the opinion of the individual is based on the fact of the matter. Because, an action which is taken in accordance with its fact of the matter, is true and which is not as per the fact of the matter, is wrong. But an ambiguous issue which was left to the individual's judgement, does not have room for this scrutiny or a touchstone by which it could conformed or judged as right or wrong. Therefore, all could be right as per their respective judgement. The analogues that are sourced and based on Quran and Ahadith are truthful. If the narrator's source is not in accordance with Quran and Hadith, his narration will be regarded as untrue. Sometimes it happens that the Imam deduces an imperative from Quran and Hadith and foolish people are incapable of comprehending it, in view of their inability to comprehend minute things and consider it to be based on individual opinion of the Imam.

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It is natural that people are more aware about their teachers, relatives and people of their city and believe in them strongly. They do not depend upon others' opinion as they are not aware of them. This should also be remembered that some people develop trust in view of plentiful narrations in favor of an issue. But some others think that it is important for narrators to be authoritative and sound in religious Jurisprudence. Hadhrat Imam Abu Hanifa (رضي الله تعالى عنه) considers both common and absolute issues of Quran to be certain in their respective places and does not restrict and confine In his opinion, the fractional .(حديث احاد) Quran with infrequent narrations (تخصيص و تقييد)presumption is against absolute reasoning. He considers, the action based on presumption, against the common and specific reasoning of Quran, equal to denial of Quran. But some other Aimma do not believe the common issues of Quran to be absolute and certain. To them, every common aspect has some exclusiveness and therefore, they restrict and confine Quran with infrequent narration that is presumptive in nature. Those who do not follow this rule are regarded as the people of individual opinion and opponents of the Hadith.

It is in Quran - ولكل وجهة [ For everyone is a direction ] (Al-Baqara - 148). Several Sahabah, like Hadhrat Zubair bin Awam (رضي الله تعالى عنه), would narrate a Hadith only if they remembered the words of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم). They did not consider 'narration by meaning' (روايت با المعنى) to be appropriate. But several other Sahabah considered 'narration by meaning' as permissible. If someone from outside the city of Madina narrates a Hadith against the general practice of the people of Madina, the people of Maliki school consider this person to have regarded Khulafa-e-Rashideen, the center of the Prophethood (Madina) and its peope to be ignorents. But the people belonging to other schools consider it probable that the people of Madina might have been unaware and others might have received the Hadith. If someone narrated a Hadith, Hadhrat Umar (رضي الله تعالى عنه) and other Sahabah used to demand for witnesses as per the Sharia rules; ie., the witness of 2 men, or one man and two women. Without this, they never considered any prophetic imperative to be trustworthy. If any Prophet's (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) commandments was narrated in front of Hadhrat Ali (رضي الله تعالى عنه), and if the witnesses as per the rules were not complete, he used to take an oath from the person and consider the oath to complete sharia requirement of a witness.

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People used to come to the supreme Aimma of earlier times and question them about the imperative in a specific issue. They believed the Imams to such an extent that they never asked the Imam to give contextual details of Quran and Ahadith. They complied with whatever Imam ordered them to do. Some Imams used to reply to every question by saying 'Allah ( عز وجل) and His Apostle said'. They used to describe the connected Quranic verses and the (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم)text of the Hadith without mentioning its testimonials. This type of Ahadith are known as 'Conveyed tradition (حديث مرسل), [ A tradition of the Apostle (صلى الله عليه و آله وسلم) with second top link in the chain of narrators missing]. In the Hanafi school of thought, the conveyed tradition is credibly worthy of referral even if testimonial has not been described, but the narrator or Imam should be reliable (معتمد عليہ) and authoritative ( موثق

But in .(حديث مرسل) Some scholars of tradition do not accept 'conveyed tradition .(بہBukhari, 'fragmented Ahadith (مقطوعات) are in abundance. Imam Bukhari writes part of a Hadith at one place and at another place writes the whole Hadith with its testimonies. He considers meeting of the teacher and the pupil as compulsory in the chain of narration; else does not accept the Hadith. Imam Muslim considers it sufficient that the teacher and the pupil are from the same period of time. Some people accept only the accurate Ahadith (حديث صحيح). If they get another Hadith in its support, they call it 'Related Accurate Hadith' ( صحيح لغيرہحديث ). Some people consider even the 'Weak Ahadith (ضعيف احاديث) to be acceptable for supererogatories (مستحبات). This way Aimma have different relishes and they accept Ahadith based on their individual reasoning. However, there is no Imam who would act upon an imperative of Hadith without investigation. They act upon the Quranic commandment (فتبينوا - to ascertain) and then accept the Hadith as per the laid out mandatory conditions. Their ways of investigations do not establish that they are acting against the imperative of a Hadith. The fact is that, between Prophet Mohammad ( صلى

.and us, there are various types of narrators. Their scrutiny is necessary (الله عليه و آله وسلمCan a Muslim afford to disobey the commandment of the Prophet ( الله عليه و آله وسلمصلى )? No, never. Therefore, to consider our great Aimma to have opposed Ahadith is definitely the talk of a foul mouth. The six truthful books of Ahadith (صحاح ستہ), the 6 famous Sunni collections compiled by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Nasa'i and Ibn Maajah, are all in front of Hanafis, Shafiis, Hanbalis and Malikis. In support of these Ahadith, the knowledgeable people and scholars have written guides. To allege that in spite of studying the Ahadith, people remained with the school of thought of their Imam is an unwarranted suspicion.

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It is in Quran - إن بعض الظن إثم [ Indeed unwarranted suspicion is a sin] (Al-Hujuraat - 12)

Let us clarify one more issue here. Whether, the following of the four Imams is their 'personal emulation' (تخليد شخصی) or these are four schools of thoughts and four institutions in which issues are investigated every now and then? In view of difference in the evidence of the Ahadith-e-Sahiha or the change in the common law of land or certain new circumstances, sometimes edicts are issued differing from the Imam's opinion. Look at the books of Fiqh, and the principles of Fiqh of all 4 schools of thoughts. Differences of opinions with Imams occurred not only in appendage issues, but also in the principles. Still in one school of thought, as compared with the other, the relevance and consistency is prevalent in actions. For instance, there are differences in principles between Imam Abu Hanifa and his students like Imam Mohammad, Imam Abu Yousuf, Imam Zafar, Imam Hasan Ibn Zayd. People of knowledge, the research scholars, sometimes give edict as per the ascertainment of Imam Yousuf, sometimes as per Imam Mohammad and sometimes as per Imam Zafar. To call their research as personal emulation and to think that an Imam has not accepted a Sahih Hadith is like providing proof of your illiteracy. How many types of knowledgeable people are there to provide solutions in the issues of Sharia and what type of knowledge is required by all these scholars? Arabic literature is essentially required and for Arabic literature, the knowledge of grammer (نحو), Syntax (صرف), philology (لغت), idiomatic usage (محاورت) and rhetoric and (تفسير) are required. They need to know about Quran and its Exegesis (معانی بيان)Principles of Exegesis (اصول تفسير). The knowledge of Ahadith; for it, its principles, the knowledge of encyclopedic classification of narrators (اسماء رجال) is necessary. Islamic Jurisprudence (فقہ) and its Principles are also required to be known. Logic, the issues of consensus of Muslim opinion, and the differences of opinions of A'imma are required to be understood. They also need to understand the new issue of their times, the intrinsic requirements and objectives of the religion, common law of the land, and the general public trend. Thus dozens of issues are required to be known before attempting to extract a rule of Sharia in a given case. How many types of interpretors (مجتهدين) are there and what are their ranks?

The Absolute Interpreter (مجتھد مطلق) - He is a person of Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. His approach of deducing things and reasoning is unique3 and exclusive. Like Imam-e-Azam Abu Hanifa (رضي الله تعالى عنه).

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The Interpreter of the School of Thought (مجھتھد فی المذہب) - He is greatly influenced by Shaikh. At times he differs from his Shaikh in principles; though it happens rarely. In related issues, he deduces things as per his interpretations. He can find solutions to any new thing faced by the people. He considers minutely on Ahadith and if some Hadith is proved correct, he gives edicts differing with his Shaikh and lead people towards rightful deeds. The Interpreter of Preference (صاحب ترجيح) - He gives preference in the sayings of various A'imma in a specific issue. As he has less strength of distinguishing things as compared to the above interpreters, he gives preference to one saying from among the sayings of the above interpreters. The Interpreter of the Issue (مجھتہد فی المسئلہ) - He is a man of deduction of things. He cannot independently innvestigate from the Quyran and Ahadith but from the integral principles of his religious school of thought he deduces solutions to the individual issues and fractional commandments. The Mufti (مفتی) - Some people are Muftis who deduce things from the books of Islamic Jurisprudence. As a matter of fact, Muftis are only narrators. Their individual effort is only to an extent that they go through the books and bring out the answer in a given issue. In their view,the door to investigation and deduction (تحقيق و استنباط) has been closed. They consider every new thing as prohibited and unlawful. These type of people are there among the followers of all four schools of thought.

Differences of opinions used to occur even during the times of Sahabah but they never considered each other as spurious and outcasts. The Religious Chiefs (ائمہ), in spite of their differences of opinions used to perform Salah behind each other. Shaikh says that once he performed Salatul Maghrib in Ghousia Mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, a few years back. There were two congregations of Hanafis and Hanbalis performing the Salah side by side at the same time. The people behind the Imams were getting confused on hearing the sound of his Imam or the Imam who is doing the Salah nearby. Bewail, now a days people are fighting on issues like saying 'Ameen' loudly or slowly or saying post-preliminary Takbirs (رفع يدين), etc., and having their mosques separated from each other.