The Ruling on a Follower Contradicting His Shaykh
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We have heard that you advise a student of knowledge who is committed to studying under a specific shaykh in whom he trusts regarding his knowledge and integrity. If this shaykh has a ruling that contradicts the evidence, does this student follow him on the basis that he is a follower (muqallid), or does he contradict him in some matters where he sees the truth to be with someone else? Please give us a ruling, and may Allah reward you.
This is a question that does not apply, because he did not trust this shaykh in his knowledge and integrity. That means he teaches him based on evidence. If that is the case, how can the student bring evidence from another shaykh? Yes, he has the right, if he learns from another shaykh that he says something contrary to his own shaykh and brings evidence, to present this to his shaykh.So he says: I heard a scholar say, "This ruling is such and such, and the evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted or the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," and he looks at the shaykh's opinion. Because some scholars sometimes say what is right according to their understanding of the right, and they may miss either the knowledge or the understanding. This is clear now, especially among the brothers—may Allah reward them with good—who claim to follow the hadith. You find one understanding a hadith other than its intended meaning, so he issues rulings based on it. Or he understands a hadith, but there is another hadith that specifies it, restricts it, or abrogates it, and he is unaware of it. So if you are confident in a scholar, have received knowledge from him, and consider him your shaykh, and he is the intermediary between you and the Shari'ah of Allah, then if you hear from another scholar who contradicts his saying and mentions the evidence, present it to your shaykh. Perhaps your shaykh will say, "Yes, this is how it was reported, but this hadith is specified by the other hadith."
An example of that is: I heard a shaykh say: Everything that comes out of the earth has zakah, whether it is little or much.By the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (In that which is watered by the rain, one-tenth is due, and in that which is watered by irrigation, half of one-tenth is due). Now, he issued a ruling and provided evidence. What did he rule? That everything that is watered has one-tenth if it is watered by the rain, and half of one-tenth if it is watered by irrigation. The apparent meaning of the hadith is that whether it is little or much, and whether it is from grains and fruits or from other things, and you heard a scholar say this: Everything that comes out of the earth has zakah, its little and its much, either one-tenth or half of one-tenth.And the evidence is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (In that which is watered by the rain, one-tenth is due, and in that which is watered by irrigation, half of one-tenth is due). And you heard from your shaykh that zakah is not obligatory except in what amounts to five wasqs or more. The scholar who told you that in that which is watered by the rain, one-tenth is due, ruled based on what appeared to him. He had a general hadith that was not restricted or specified. But your teacher has broader knowledge. He said this hadith is general, but it is specified in what reaches the nisab. What reaches the nisab has zakah, and what is below it does not have zakah.
The questioner: What if he relies on books and tapes?The Shaykh: He does not contradict books and tapes. If you know the scholar's voice and you trust his knowledge and integrity, then follow him. But my point is that a person—for example—trusted a scholar and became a student under him, attending his lessons, reading to him, and relying on his opinion. He heard another scholar say something contrary to his opinion and provide evidence. He does not have the right to go to the second scholar until he consults his shaykh. If he consults his shaykh, it may be that his shaykh has more knowledge than the first scholar.
This is a question that does not apply, because he did not trust this shaykh in his knowledge and integrity. That means he teaches him based on evidence. If that is the case, how can the student bring evidence from another shaykh? Yes, he has the right, if he learns from another shaykh that he says something contrary to his own shaykh and brings evidence, to present this to his shaykh.So he says: I heard a scholar say, "This ruling is such and such, and the evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted or the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," and he looks at the shaykh's opinion. Because some scholars sometimes say what is right according to their understanding of the right, and they may miss either the knowledge or the understanding. This is clear now, especially among the brothers—may Allah reward them with good—who claim to follow the hadith. You find one understanding a hadith other than its intended meaning, so he issues rulings based on it. Or he understands a hadith, but there is another hadith that specifies it, restricts it, or abrogates it, and he is unaware of it. So if you are confident in a scholar, have received knowledge from him, and consider him your shaykh, and he is the intermediary between you and the Shari'ah of Allah, then if you hear from another scholar who contradicts his saying and mentions the evidence, present it to your shaykh. Perhaps your shaykh will say, "Yes, this is how it was reported, but this hadith is specified by the other hadith."
An example of that is: I heard a shaykh say: Everything that comes out of the earth has zakah, whether it is little or much.By the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (In that which is watered by the rain, one-tenth is due, and in that which is watered by irrigation, half of one-tenth is due). Now, he issued a ruling and provided evidence. What did he rule? That everything that is watered has one-tenth if it is watered by the rain, and half of one-tenth if it is watered by irrigation. The apparent meaning of the hadith is that whether it is little or much, and whether it is from grains and fruits or from other things, and you heard a scholar say this: Everything that comes out of the earth has zakah, its little and its much, either one-tenth or half of one-tenth.And the evidence is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (In that which is watered by the rain, one-tenth is due, and in that which is watered by irrigation, half of one-tenth is due). And you heard from your shaykh that zakah is not obligatory except in what amounts to five wasqs or more. The scholar who told you that in that which is watered by the rain, one-tenth is due, ruled based on what appeared to him. He had a general hadith that was not restricted or specified. But your teacher has broader knowledge. He said this hadith is general, but it is specified in what reaches the nisab. What reaches the nisab has zakah, and what is below it does not have zakah.
The questioner: What if he relies on books and tapes?The Shaykh: He does not contradict books and tapes. If you know the scholar's voice and you trust his knowledge and integrity, then follow him. But my point is that a person—for example—trusted a scholar and became a student under him, attending his lessons, reading to him, and relying on his opinion. He heard another scholar say something contrary to his opinion and provide evidence. He does not have the right to go to the second scholar until he consults his shaykh. If he consults his shaykh, it may be that his shaykh has more knowledge than the first scholar.