Causes of Disagreement Among Scholars
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The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. Shaykh Salih, may we pause for a moment, if you permit, on the causes of disagreement among scholars?
The Shaykh:
The causes of disagreement among scholars are numerous, including differences in the evidence and in the scholars' understanding of it. There is no doubt that their understandings differ.
The presenter:
I will not be harsh.
The Shaykh:
Also, they differ on the authenticity of a hadith and its lack thereof, and on who was informed of a hadith and who was not. Some scholars are not informed of a hadith, while it reaches the other party and he acts upon it. So the causes of disagreement are many, and they are excused, may Allah have mercy on them, in their independent legal reasoning. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a judge exercises independent legal reasoning and is correct, he has two rewards; and if he exercises independent legal reasoning and is wrong, he has one reward." The Companions differed in their independent legal reasoning, even during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not blame any of them for it, as happened in the case of their departure to Banu Qurayzah. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No one is to pray the 'Asr prayer except in Banu Qurayzah." Some of them reached the time of prayer while on the road, so they prayed. Others said to him: "I will not pray until I reach Banu Qurayzah, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded prayer in Banu Qurayzah." When it reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he did not blame the one who delayed the prayer, nor did he blame the one who prayed it on the road. So, in summary, if independent legal reasoning comes from specialized scholars who have fulfilled the conditions for independent legal reasoning, then each one states what his independent legal reasoning leads him to, and he has a reward for that. In any case, if he is correct, he has two rewards, and if he is wrong, he has one reward. And whoever wishes to look into the issue of the scholars' disagreement and their excuses, let him refer to the treatise written by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), which he titled *Raf' al-Malam 'an al-A'immah al-Mashahir* (Lifting Blame from the Famous Imams). And to other books on the principles of jurisprudence, to know that the scholars only differ for reasons in which they are excused and rewarded, if Allah wills.
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. Shaykh Salih, may we pause for a moment, if you permit, on the causes of disagreement among scholars?
The Shaykh:
The causes of disagreement among scholars are numerous, including differences in the evidence and in the scholars' understanding of it. There is no doubt that their understandings differ.
The presenter:
I will not be harsh.
The Shaykh:
Also, they differ on the authenticity of a hadith and its lack thereof, and on who was informed of a hadith and who was not. Some scholars are not informed of a hadith, while it reaches the other party and he acts upon it. So the causes of disagreement are many, and they are excused, may Allah have mercy on them, in their independent legal reasoning. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a judge exercises independent legal reasoning and is correct, he has two rewards; and if he exercises independent legal reasoning and is wrong, he has one reward." The Companions differed in their independent legal reasoning, even during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not blame any of them for it, as happened in the case of their departure to Banu Qurayzah. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No one is to pray the 'Asr prayer except in Banu Qurayzah." Some of them reached the time of prayer while on the road, so they prayed. Others said to him: "I will not pray until I reach Banu Qurayzah, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded prayer in Banu Qurayzah." When it reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he did not blame the one who delayed the prayer, nor did he blame the one who prayed it on the road. So, in summary, if independent legal reasoning comes from specialized scholars who have fulfilled the conditions for independent legal reasoning, then each one states what his independent legal reasoning leads him to, and he has a reward for that. In any case, if he is correct, he has two rewards, and if he is wrong, he has one reward. And whoever wishes to look into the issue of the scholars' disagreement and their excuses, let him refer to the treatise written by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), which he titled *Raf' al-Malam 'an al-A'immah al-Mashahir* (Lifting Blame from the Famous Imams). And to other books on the principles of jurisprudence, to know that the scholars only differ for reasons in which they are excused and rewarded, if Allah wills.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، أسباب اختلاف العلماء – الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.