There is a doubt that claims the hadith scholars are merely transmitters of reports and have no share in jurisprudence, so how do we respond to them?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : There is a doubt raised by some people, both in the past and the present, which is that the hadith scholars are merely transmitters of reports and narrators, and have no share in jurisprudence. It is well known that Islamic jurisprudence, from the earliest times, adopted two methodologies: the methodology of the people of hadith and the methodology of the people of opinion. What are the most important characteristics of the hadith scholars' methodology in jurisprudence, and what are the most important references in it?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is no doubt that the origin of jurisprudence, in language and then in the Shari'ah, is understanding. And if the understanding is an understanding of the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then that is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended.
It is what he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended by his saying:Sahih Muslim 1037a, and if the religion is nothing but two things, by the consensus of the Ummah, with no disagreement among any of the scholars, that the religion is only the Book and the Sunnah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And if the religion is this Book and Sunnah and nothing else, let no one correct me, because if there was a third or fourth, or perhaps fifth thing, such as for example ijma' (scholarly consensus), qiyas (analogical reasoning), istihsan (juristic preference), or istishab (presumption of continuity), or similar jurisprudential terms, then all of them, if their validity is accepted, are derived from the Book of Allah and from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And if this is the religion, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then Allah has bestowed upon His servants a great blessing, with no blessing like it after it, ever, when He said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] So jurisprudence is thus confined to these two sources: the Book and the Sunnah.
It is beyond doubt that the Noble Qur'an is confined between the two covers, meaning the mushaf (written copy of the Qur'an). As for the Sunnah, what Allah wills, it is an ocean with no shore. From this aspect, scholars differ in their degree of adherence to the Sunnah, after it can be said that they all agreed that they are on the same level in their adherence to the Noble Qur'an, as I mentioned earlier that the Qur'an is confined.
As for the Sunnah, it is not confined. Here, it is not only the scholars of hadith but also the scholars of jurisprudence who differ in jurisprudence, not just in hadith. Here, the scholars of jurisprudence differ, not just the scholars of hadith, meaning: by the proportion of how much each of them encompassed of the Sunnah. By that proportion, his jurisprudence is correct and sound, whether little or much.
After that, if we accept—and this is a matter of no disagreement among scholars, ever—that if the one who studies jurisprudence in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is an Arabic speaker, or if he is an Arabized person who learned the Arabic language and its literature until he participated with its people in knowledge of the Arabic language and its literature, and this is a basic condition without doubt, then at that time, the jurists cannot differ except in two things:
The first: I mentioned it earlier: the proportion of each one's knowledge of the Sunnah. As for the Qur'an, it is clear.
The second thing I must mention is that people, even if hypothetically they were equal in their understanding of the Arabic language—and this equality is not accepted—people also differ in that. But we said that one must participate in the Arabic language and its literature to be able to understand the Qur'an and the Sunnah. However, the other thing I want to draw attention to is that people also differ in it, as it came in the hadith of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib when Abu Juhayfah al-Sulami asked him, as it came in *Sahih al-Bukhari*: He asked 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): He said: :
So people now differ in three things:
The first of these: the proportion of their knowledge of the Sunnah.
The second of these: the proportion of their proficiency in the Arabic language.
The third of these: what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has bestowed upon each of them of natural understanding of the verses of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and the hadiths of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
And if this is an accepted matter, and it is so, then at that time we say: the more the jurist and the hadith scholar has a small proportion of knowledge of the Sunnah, the less his jurisprudence is. And the more his proportion of knowledge of the Sunnah is, the more his jurisprudence is. And therefore, in the historical reality we study in the biographies of the Imams, we find that the difference between them in jurisprudence and understanding is that the one who had more hadith had more jurisprudence and accuracy in the truth.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is no doubt that the origin of jurisprudence, in language and then in the Shari'ah, is understanding. And if the understanding is an understanding of the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then that is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended.
It is what he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended by his saying:
He upon whom Allah intends to bestow goodness, He confers upon him an insight in religion
مَن يردِ الله به خيرًا يفقه في الدينI have left with you two things by which you will not go astray as long as you hold fast to them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah. They will not separate until they return to me at the Pool.
تركت فيكم أمرين لن تضلوا ما إن تمسكتم بها: كتابَ الله وسنتي، ولن يتفرقا حتى يردا عليَّ الخوضAnd if the religion is this Book and Sunnah and nothing else, let no one correct me, because if there was a third or fourth, or perhaps fifth thing, such as for example ijma' (scholarly consensus), qiyas (analogical reasoning), istihsan (juristic preference), or istishab (presumption of continuity), or similar jurisprudential terms, then all of them, if their validity is accepted, are derived from the Book of Allah and from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
And if this is the religion, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then Allah has bestowed upon His servants a great blessing, with no blessing like it after it, ever, when He said:
This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.
اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيتُ لكم الإسلامَ دينًاIt is beyond doubt that the Noble Qur'an is confined between the two covers, meaning the mushaf (written copy of the Qur'an). As for the Sunnah, what Allah wills, it is an ocean with no shore. From this aspect, scholars differ in their degree of adherence to the Sunnah, after it can be said that they all agreed that they are on the same level in their adherence to the Noble Qur'an, as I mentioned earlier that the Qur'an is confined.
As for the Sunnah, it is not confined. Here, it is not only the scholars of hadith but also the scholars of jurisprudence who differ in jurisprudence, not just in hadith. Here, the scholars of jurisprudence differ, not just the scholars of hadith, meaning: by the proportion of how much each of them encompassed of the Sunnah. By that proportion, his jurisprudence is correct and sound, whether little or much.
After that, if we accept—and this is a matter of no disagreement among scholars, ever—that if the one who studies jurisprudence in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is an Arabic speaker, or if he is an Arabized person who learned the Arabic language and its literature until he participated with its people in knowledge of the Arabic language and its literature, and this is a basic condition without doubt, then at that time, the jurists cannot differ except in two things:
The first: I mentioned it earlier: the proportion of each one's knowledge of the Sunnah. As for the Qur'an, it is clear.
The second thing I must mention is that people, even if hypothetically they were equal in their understanding of the Arabic language—and this equality is not accepted—people also differ in that. But we said that one must participate in the Arabic language and its literature to be able to understand the Qur'an and the Sunnah. However, the other thing I want to draw attention to is that people also differ in it, as it came in the hadith of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib when Abu Juhayfah al-Sulami asked him, as it came in *Sahih al-Bukhari*: He asked 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him):
Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—meaning the Household of the Prophet—single you out with something over the people? He said: No, except what is in the sheath of my sword. And he brought out a written document containing some rulings related to wounds and retaliation, and in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Medina is a sanctuary; whoever innovates in it or shelters an innovator in it, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people. Allah will not accept from him any turning or repentance.
هل خصكم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم -يعني: آل البيت- بشيء دون الناس؟ قال: لا، اللهم إلا ما في قراب سيفي هذا، وأخرج صحيفة مكتوب عليها بعض الأحكام المتعلقة بالجراحات والقصاص وفي قوله عليه السلام: المدينةُ حَرَمٌ من أحدث فيها حدثًا أو آوى إليها مُحدثًا فعليه لعنة الله والملائكة والناس أجمعين، لا يقبل الله منه صرفًا ولا عدلًاExcept what is in the sheath of my sword, and except understanding that Allah grants to a servant in His Book.
اللهم إلا هذا الذي في جفن سيفي وإلا فهمٌ يؤتيه الله عبدًا في كتابهSo people now differ in three things:
The first of these: the proportion of their knowledge of the Sunnah.
The second of these: the proportion of their proficiency in the Arabic language.
The third of these: what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has bestowed upon each of them of natural understanding of the verses of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and the hadiths of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
And if this is an accepted matter, and it is so, then at that time we say: the more the jurist and the hadith scholar has a small proportion of knowledge of the Sunnah, the less his jurisprudence is. And the more his proportion of knowledge of the Sunnah is, the more his jurisprudence is. And therefore, in the historical reality we study in the biographies of the Imams, we find that the difference between them in jurisprudence and understanding is that the one who had more hadith had more jurisprudence and accuracy in the truth.