Note that not every report concerning knowledge of the unseen is considered a marfu' report.

The Shaykh : Here is a subtle point that must be noted. Not everything narrated or said by a Companion that relates to matters of the unseen is necessarily considered a marfu' report. It is necessary to distinguish. If the matter of the unseen spoken of by the Companion relates to the Islamic Shari'ah and to what Allah revealed to the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then it is considered a marfu' report. However, if it has no relation to the Islamic Shari'ah, but rather relates to what occurred in ancient times, then it is possible that it is from the Isra'iliyyat, meaning that the Companion received this report from some of the People of the Book who had embraced Islam. If such a possibility enters the report, it falls outside our statement that it has the ruling of a marfu' report. This is an observation that students of knowledge must note: the difference between a report that may be considered a marfu' report and a report that is not necessarily considered a marfu' report. This is what I intended to clarify. Please proceed.

The questioner : Regarding the ijtihad of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the matter of the triple divorce, is this not ijtihad in a place where there is an explicit text?

The Shaykh : In what?

The questioner : Ijtihad in a place where there is an explicit text, whereas there is no ijtihad in a place where there is an explicit text.

The Shaykh : In the issue of divorce?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : No, we said what we said earlier so that we would not say this phrase: "There is no ijtihad in a place where there is an explicit text." This is a statement on which there is no disagreement among the scholars.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : If 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had said, "May Allah not permit it, every divorce pronounced with the wording of three is three," that would be ijtihad in a place where there is an explicit text, and it would be rejected. But as I mentioned earlier, the real issue is clarification, so that we do not say, even as a possibility, such a thing regarding 'Umar's (may Allah be pleased with him) ijtihad on the subject of divorce. 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, meaning: "I see that people have hastened in a matter in which they had patience." This means that the Wise Lawgiver legislated for them divorce with one pronouncement and a waiting period, then another pronouncement and a waiting period, and so on, as we indicated earlier in the verse . In this way, Allah gave the divorcer time and a place for reflection and deliberation. For example, if he does not find life pleasant with his wife, the Wise Lawgiver tells him to divorce her with a revocable divorce, think about the outcome, and permits him to take her back, as you know, twice during the waiting period. But the third time, it is not permissible for him until she marries another husband.
The Shaykh : Those who combined the triple divorce in one pronouncement and executed it upon their wives have contradicted the Shari'ah. The Wise Lawgiver gave them patience, but they hastened in the matter. After studying this issue, our master 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) looked into the matter and did not apply the ruling he saw. Then he said, "It has become apparent to me that I will execute it upon them as a punishment for them, not as a change of the ruling of the Shari'ah, but as a punishment for those who hastened by contradicting the Shari'ah." He made it three. This is from the category of ta'zir (discretionary punishment), not from the category of changing the ruling, because he did not utter any word that contradicts the original ruling of the Shari'ah. And he knew, as we mentioned earlier, that this was the case in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in the time of Abu Bakr, and in his own time. Therefore, he did not execute this ruling until he thought, considered, consulted, and so on. Then he said, "It has become apparent to me that I will execute it upon them," and he announced that whoever combines the divorce in the wording of three, we will separate him from his wife. This is not from the category of change, but from the category of ta'zir. Then there is something I must mention on this occasion. The Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as you know, truly did not fear blame from anyone in the matter of Allah. If they had not known that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, in what appeared to him regarding executing the divorce with the wording of three as three, was a mujtahid whose ijtihad was permissible and not contrary to the Shari'ah, they would have hastened to disapprove of it. They would have hastened to disapprove of it, because there was no showing off among them, no hypocrisy, and they did not fear blame from anyone in the matter of Allah. The story that is narrated, and although there is weakness in its chain in my opinion, is that when 'Umar gave a sermon on Friday and informed the people that it had reached him that people were exaggerating in the mahr (bridal gift) of their women, and that if it reached him that a man took a mahr of more than four hundred dirhams, like the mahr that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) took for his daughters or paid to his wives, he would take the excess and add it to the treasury of the Muslims. An old woman stood up and said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, the matter is not in your hand. Allah the Exalted said: " Then a man said, "The man erred and the woman was correct." This is a story, as I said, in whose chain there is a man named Majdal ibn Sa'id, and the scholars are divided between those who weaken his narration and those who improve it. As a rule, some weaken his hadith and some improve it. We are with the weakening. The point is that it is an example that they did not fear blame from anyone in the matter of Allah. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, while giving a sermon on Friday, when 'Uthman ibn 'Affan entered, said, "What is the matter with one of you being late for the Friday prayer and not attending the dhikr, meaning the khutbah?" 'Uthman said, "O Commander of the Faithful, it was not until I heard the adhan that I came to it." 'Umar said, "And the adhan too? Did you not hear the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): " Because 'Uthman did not mention the ghusl; he did not say, "I heard the adhan and hastened to perform ghusl and came." He said, "I heard the adhan and came." And also? Where are you? And the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): So the congregation did not have the social hypocrisy that exists today. They would disapprove of things even simpler than that. But at the same time, they respected the opinion of the Commander of the Faithful, because, as you know, this is in reality a very great virtue for him . Therefore, they did not mean to fear blame from anyone in the matter of Allah on one hand, and on the other hand, they respected the ijtihad of the Commander of the Faithful because he generally spoke the truth and did not deviate from it by a hair's breadth. This is what we testify to Allah. And Allah knows best. Yes.