The Meaning of Ibn al-Qayyim’s Verses on Excusing the People of Knowledge
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, he says: The words of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) in the verses that begin with “This is not criticism by generalization” and end with the last of the verses, is that not a meaning of leniency toward the people of innovation, in that we seek excuses for them and rationalize their errors?
Answer:
It is not that the Imams are like the targeted ones, such as if Imam Ahmad made a mistake. One seeks forgiveness for him and sends mercy upon him, or Imam Malik, or Imam Abu Hanifah, or Imam al-Shafi'i. Knowledge is for the one who is hasty in jurisprudence, as for the creeds, there is no representation of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) in them. It is his statement (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding issues that are a field for ijtihad, namely issues of jurisprudence. As for the creeds, there is no ijtihad in them; they are texts, and one follows the text. It does not mean that you are mostly correct? Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Honorable Shaykh, he says: The words of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) in the verses that begin with “This is not criticism by generalization” and end with the last of the verses, is that not a meaning of leniency toward the people of innovation, in that we seek excuses for them and rationalize their errors?
Answer:
It is not that the Imams are like the targeted ones, such as if Imam Ahmad made a mistake. One seeks forgiveness for him and sends mercy upon him, or Imam Malik, or Imam Abu Hanifah, or Imam al-Shafi'i. Knowledge is for the one who is hasty in jurisprudence, as for the creeds, there is no representation of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) in them. It is his statement (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding issues that are a field for ijtihad, namely issues of jurisprudence. As for the creeds, there is no ijtihad in them; they are texts, and one follows the text. It does not mean that you are mostly correct? Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Source
شرح الكافية الشافية في الانتصار للفرقة الناجية [ القصيدة النونية ] [ صالح الفوزان ]، فصل : في بيان شروط كفاية النصين والاستغناء بالوحيين — islamhouse.com (55:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.