A question about the four Imams, and that the error today lies in the partisanship of their later followers.
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The questioner : My Shaykh, the point is: did the four Imams exercise independent legal reasoning? Was their independent legal reasoning such that people followed them in some rulings or some fatwas, and schools of jurisprudence were named, such as the Hanafi school or the Shafi'i school? In your opinion, was it an error on the part of the people?
The Shaykh : Of course, the error is on the part of the people, not the Imams.
The questioner : It is not on the part of the Imams.
The Shaykh: Of course.
The questioner : It is forbidden for people to wrong the Imams.
The Shaykh : Of course. And who wrongs them? We say—and this is explicit in my introduction to "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer (peace and blessings be upon him)," which I have been stating for twenty or thirty years—that this Salafi methodology we received from the Imams, yes. And if there are people—and since there are disbelievers on earth, surely there are misguided, ignorant people, and so on—if there are among the Muslims those who attack some of the Muslim Imams, such as al-Hanafi, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, then that is ignorance and misguidance without a doubt. But I believe that this has no connection whatsoever to the Salafi call; because we know that a great deal has been written by those who carry this Salafi call, and we do not find that any of them has made a snide remark or a joke at the expense of any of the Imams. But the truth—and the truth must be spoken—is that the snide remarks, jokes, and even the open, explicit attacks are directed at these followers, who not only contradicted the Book and the Sunnah, but also contradicted the statements of the Imams themselves; because the Imams did not order them to follow a scholar without knowing his evidence, but rather forbade them from following a scholar without knowing his evidence. I have mentioned many texts in the introduction to "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer (peace and blessings be upon him)." Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Abu Yusuf: "Do not follow me, and do not follow Malik or al-Shafi'i." Excuse me; this is the statement of Imam Ahmad, who said: "Do not follow me, and do not follow Malik or al-Shafi'i, but rather take from where they took." Abu Hanifa said to Abu Yusuf: "Do not follow me, O Abu Yusuf; for I say a statement today and I retract it tomorrow." This is part of their excellence and perfection, and their acknowledgment that a person is exposed to making a mistake; so how can he be made a role model? The role model and the example must be restricted to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Therefore, I say: if some ignorant youths attack some of the Imams, that is ignorance and misguidance without a doubt, but this is never attributed to the Salafi call; because those who call to the Salafi call have no goal except to follow the same methodology that these Imams all followed and from which they set out; and therefore they all agreed on the statement: "If a hadith is authentic, then it is my school of jurisprudence."
The Shaykh : I am pleased with a statement made by one of the students of Imam Abu Yusuf or Imam Muhammad, whose name is "Ismail al-Balkhi," and with the comment of one of the later Hanafi scholars of India on that statement. "Ismail al-Balkhi" was a Hanafi, a student of a student of Abu Hanifa, and yet they mentioned in his biography that he raised his hands when bowing and when rising from it, which is contrary to the Hanafi school. The Hanafi school, to this day—and this is part of the misfortune of following a scholar without knowing his evidence and being rigid about it—says: raising the hands when bowing and when rising from it is disliked, and some of them explicitly say: it is disliked to the extent of being forbidden, and some of the extremists among them included raising the hands in the list of things that invalidate the prayer. The point is: this "Ismail al-Balkhi," a student of a student of Abu Hanifa, used to raise his hands when bowing and when rising from it. He was asked: How is this, when it is contrary to your school, the school of your Imam Abu Hanifa? He said: "Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has given every person the intellect by which he distinguishes between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong, and every one of us will be held accountable and judged for the intellect and understanding that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has given him. This is what I understood, and this is what became clear to me, so I acted upon it, and my Lord will not hold me accountable and say to me: Why did you contradict your Imam? For it is Allah who guided me to follow the transmitted Sunnah; if I am right, I have two rewards, and if I am wrong, I have one reward." This is a true statement from a Hanafi of the old school.
The Shaykh : The comment that came from the author of the book, who is known as "Abu al-Hasan al-Laknawi," in his book "Al-Fawa'id al-Bahiyyah fi Tarajim 'Ulama' al-Hanafiyyah," when he mentioned this report from "Ismail al-Balkhi," was: "From this it is understood that if a Hanafi leaves the statement of his Imam in one of its issues, he does not thereby leave the school; rather, he remains in the bonds of the school in the form of leaving the school." By this he means that he followed the Imam's principle: "If a hadith is authentic, then it is my school of jurisprudence," so although he contradicted the Imam in this branch, he is still following the Imam in the principle. I was very pleased with this phrase, and therefore I took the opportunity to record it in the introduction to "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer (peace and blessings be upon him)."
The Shaykh : So we do not criticize the Imams; we criticize the followers of the Imams, and the later ones among them, not the earlier ones. "Ibn 'Abidin" mentions in "Al-Hashiyyah" that "Abu Yusuf," a student of Abu Hanifa, contradicted his Imam in two-thirds of the school; so did he, when he contradicted his Imam, attack the Imam? No, but rather, as we quoted earlier from "Ismail al-Balkhi," this is what his independent legal reasoning led him to. So we deny those who said in their principles: if a verse comes that contradicts the school, or a hadith, that is taken to be abrogation, all in one stroke!!
The Shaykh : Fear Allah in the Book of Allah and in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The truth is not restricted to one of the schools of jurisprudence. And for this reason, one of the effects of school partisanship is trials that resemble the trial currently taking place between the Iranians and the Iraqis, with massacres. Between whom? The Hanafis and the Shafi'is. Not Shi'ah and Sunni? No, all of them are from the people of the Sunnah and the community, as they say, but these are Hanafis and these are Shafi'is.
The Shaykh : We have texts in the books of history that some lands were wiped from the face of the earth because of school partisanship, and we have statements that are still recorded. A Hanafi judge in approximately the fifth or sixth century—I no longer remember—said: "If I had any authority, I would take the tax on protected non-Muslims from the Shafi'is"!! This is written, a Hanafi judge; meaning if he were the supreme ruler, he would treat the Shafi'is as he treats the Jews and the Christians.
The questioner : But it is forbidden for us to say: this man is from the Hanafis or this man is from the Shafi'is. Why? Because the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 6782, denied the attribute of faith from, so how do we wrong, for example, al-Shafi'i and al-Hanafi when we see in the mosque, in times past, that they used to pray the witr prayer in two groups, and this is contrary to the Sunnah...
The Shaykh : We witnessed this in the Great Umayyad Mosque.
The questioner : Yes, so I say: if the Shafi'is and the Hanafis, the four Imams, had not exercised independent legal reasoning, the people would not have differed... they would have feared Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and would not have exercised independent legal reasoning in anything. Independent legal reasoning is known to be a facilitation of people's religious affairs, and not a making of them difficult; this is the concept of independent legal reasoning. And I do not know your response!
The Shaykh : Of course, the error is on the part of the people, not the Imams.
The questioner : It is not on the part of the Imams.
The Shaykh: Of course.
The questioner : It is forbidden for people to wrong the Imams.
The Shaykh : Of course. And who wrongs them? We say—and this is explicit in my introduction to "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer (peace and blessings be upon him)," which I have been stating for twenty or thirty years—that this Salafi methodology we received from the Imams, yes. And if there are people—and since there are disbelievers on earth, surely there are misguided, ignorant people, and so on—if there are among the Muslims those who attack some of the Muslim Imams, such as al-Hanafi, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, then that is ignorance and misguidance without a doubt. But I believe that this has no connection whatsoever to the Salafi call; because we know that a great deal has been written by those who carry this Salafi call, and we do not find that any of them has made a snide remark or a joke at the expense of any of the Imams. But the truth—and the truth must be spoken—is that the snide remarks, jokes, and even the open, explicit attacks are directed at these followers, who not only contradicted the Book and the Sunnah, but also contradicted the statements of the Imams themselves; because the Imams did not order them to follow a scholar without knowing his evidence, but rather forbade them from following a scholar without knowing his evidence. I have mentioned many texts in the introduction to "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer (peace and blessings be upon him)." Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Abu Yusuf: "Do not follow me, and do not follow Malik or al-Shafi'i." Excuse me; this is the statement of Imam Ahmad, who said: "Do not follow me, and do not follow Malik or al-Shafi'i, but rather take from where they took." Abu Hanifa said to Abu Yusuf: "Do not follow me, O Abu Yusuf; for I say a statement today and I retract it tomorrow." This is part of their excellence and perfection, and their acknowledgment that a person is exposed to making a mistake; so how can he be made a role model? The role model and the example must be restricted to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Therefore, I say: if some ignorant youths attack some of the Imams, that is ignorance and misguidance without a doubt, but this is never attributed to the Salafi call; because those who call to the Salafi call have no goal except to follow the same methodology that these Imams all followed and from which they set out; and therefore they all agreed on the statement: "If a hadith is authentic, then it is my school of jurisprudence."
The Shaykh : I am pleased with a statement made by one of the students of Imam Abu Yusuf or Imam Muhammad, whose name is "Ismail al-Balkhi," and with the comment of one of the later Hanafi scholars of India on that statement. "Ismail al-Balkhi" was a Hanafi, a student of a student of Abu Hanifa, and yet they mentioned in his biography that he raised his hands when bowing and when rising from it, which is contrary to the Hanafi school. The Hanafi school, to this day—and this is part of the misfortune of following a scholar without knowing his evidence and being rigid about it—says: raising the hands when bowing and when rising from it is disliked, and some of them explicitly say: it is disliked to the extent of being forbidden, and some of the extremists among them included raising the hands in the list of things that invalidate the prayer. The point is: this "Ismail al-Balkhi," a student of a student of Abu Hanifa, used to raise his hands when bowing and when rising from it. He was asked: How is this, when it is contrary to your school, the school of your Imam Abu Hanifa? He said: "Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has given every person the intellect by which he distinguishes between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong, and every one of us will be held accountable and judged for the intellect and understanding that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has given him. This is what I understood, and this is what became clear to me, so I acted upon it, and my Lord will not hold me accountable and say to me: Why did you contradict your Imam? For it is Allah who guided me to follow the transmitted Sunnah; if I am right, I have two rewards, and if I am wrong, I have one reward." This is a true statement from a Hanafi of the old school.
The Shaykh : The comment that came from the author of the book, who is known as "Abu al-Hasan al-Laknawi," in his book "Al-Fawa'id al-Bahiyyah fi Tarajim 'Ulama' al-Hanafiyyah," when he mentioned this report from "Ismail al-Balkhi," was: "From this it is understood that if a Hanafi leaves the statement of his Imam in one of its issues, he does not thereby leave the school; rather, he remains in the bonds of the school in the form of leaving the school." By this he means that he followed the Imam's principle: "If a hadith is authentic, then it is my school of jurisprudence," so although he contradicted the Imam in this branch, he is still following the Imam in the principle. I was very pleased with this phrase, and therefore I took the opportunity to record it in the introduction to "The Description of the Prophet's Prayer (peace and blessings be upon him)."
The Shaykh : So we do not criticize the Imams; we criticize the followers of the Imams, and the later ones among them, not the earlier ones. "Ibn 'Abidin" mentions in "Al-Hashiyyah" that "Abu Yusuf," a student of Abu Hanifa, contradicted his Imam in two-thirds of the school; so did he, when he contradicted his Imam, attack the Imam? No, but rather, as we quoted earlier from "Ismail al-Balkhi," this is what his independent legal reasoning led him to. So we deny those who said in their principles: if a verse comes that contradicts the school, or a hadith, that is taken to be abrogation, all in one stroke!!
The Shaykh : Fear Allah in the Book of Allah and in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The truth is not restricted to one of the schools of jurisprudence. And for this reason, one of the effects of school partisanship is trials that resemble the trial currently taking place between the Iranians and the Iraqis, with massacres. Between whom? The Hanafis and the Shafi'is. Not Shi'ah and Sunni? No, all of them are from the people of the Sunnah and the community, as they say, but these are Hanafis and these are Shafi'is.
The Shaykh : We have texts in the books of history that some lands were wiped from the face of the earth because of school partisanship, and we have statements that are still recorded. A Hanafi judge in approximately the fifth or sixth century—I no longer remember—said: "If I had any authority, I would take the tax on protected non-Muslims from the Shafi'is"!! This is written, a Hanafi judge; meaning if he were the supreme ruler, he would treat the Shafi'is as he treats the Jews and the Christians.
The questioner : But it is forbidden for us to say: this man is from the Hanafis or this man is from the Shafi'is. Why? Because the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):
When (a person) an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it
لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمنThe Shaykh : We witnessed this in the Great Umayyad Mosque.
The questioner : Yes, so I say: if the Shafi'is and the Hanafis, the four Imams, had not exercised independent legal reasoning, the people would not have differed... they would have feared Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and would not have exercised independent legal reasoning in anything. Independent legal reasoning is known to be a facilitation of people's religious affairs, and not a making of them difficult; this is the concept of independent legal reasoning. And I do not know your response!
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.