Did it come from the Shaykh of Islam that he said it is not required to follow the imam in everything?

The questioner : They say, "O Shaykh, the Shaykh of Islam said such and such, and the Shaykh of Islam is the one who holds this view."

The Shaykh : What does he hold?

The questioner : He holds that it is permissible to sit for the rest and not follow the imam, according to what was told to me.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The questioner : This is the statement.

The Shaykh : I do not know, in any case. Whoever follows a scholar meets Allah in a safe state, but not blind following. In the name of Allah, what I know about Ibn Taymiyyah as a general principle is that he says to follow the imam in matters of disagreement. As for this specific detail, I have no knowledge of it. Do you?

The questioner : I have no knowledge.

The Shaykh : You have no knowledge? It was said to you, meaning?

The questioner : When I was following the imam, he said, "No, because the Shaykh of Islam said it is not required to follow the imam."

The Shaykh : No, this is as a rule regarding the disagreement about Ibn Taymiyyah.

The questioner : He says, "No" in this issue, meaning?

The Shaykh : In this issue, no.

The questioner : As for you speaking about this issue...

The Shaykh : There is no god but Allah.

Another questioner : The fatwas discussed this issue, like being late to the taslim.

The Shaykh : How did you say? Late to what?

Another questioner : The Shaykh : Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him).

The Shaykh : Late to the taslim, what?

Another questioner : The Shaykh of Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) spoke in the fatwas about the sitting for rest. If the imam does not sit for it, he said it is like being late to the taslim.

The Shaykh : Like being late to the taslim, what does that mean?

Another questioner : If you are slightly late to the imam, meaning some people are late, this is the statement of the Shaykh of Islam (may Allah have mercy on him).

The Shaykh : Okay, did you read in the fatwas that he says to follow the imam in matters of disagreement?

Another questioner : He mentioned this.

The Shaykh : So how do you reconcile the general principle with the specific detail?

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : This is it. And students of knowledge should note something: the fatwas mentioned in the Majmu' al-Fatawa of Ibn Taymiyyah, without doubt, you should keep in mind with me the full temporal reality, but do not make it a mental reality that these fatwas are a collection from decades of Ibn Taymiyyah's scholarly life, is that not so?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, and a strong student of knowledge feels that what happens to him has happened before to those who are much more knowledgeable than him. And I am speaking now about myself: the opinion of a scholar develops with the elevation of his knowledge, study, and reading. He may have an opinion in the past, then his opinion changes, just as it happens to me often in some hadiths, in authenticating and weakening them, and rarely in some jurisprudential issues. The issue we were discussing earlier, the follower saying "Ameen" aloud: I had previously, about twenty years ago, preferred saying it silently. Then, recently, a few years ago, it became clear to me that the followers say it aloud with the imam. So a person develops; he does not stay fixed on an opinion. That is why Imam al-Shafi'i had two madhhabs: an old madhhab and a new madhhab. That is why Abu Hanifa, and indeed the Imam of the Sunnah, Imam Ahmad, had many statements on the same issue. This does not mean he is contradictory, as some ignorant people claim, but rather that he progresses in knowledge and advances in knowledge. Then he is not ashamed if people say, "By Allah, he used to say this, then he said that." This is not ignorance; he is not ashamed because he knows that following the truth is more worthy. So Ibn Taymiyyah in his fatwas, it is not strange at all to find two contradictory statements in them, let alone two similar but different statements. And so on. I do not know if you have read his fatwa answering the question about tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means) through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and that it is permissible. Have you read this fatwa? Yes.The Shaykh : He says, "It is like this," and then he says, "It is like this." So, he is ignorant and does not feel ashamed, because he knows that following the truth is the most deserving course. Ibn Taymiyyah, in his fatwas, is never to be criticized for finding two contradictory statements in them, let alone two similar statements that differ slightly, and so on. I do not know if you have read his fatwa answering a question about seeking nearness to Allah through a means (tawassul) via the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and that it is permissible. Have you read this fatwa? Yes.

Another questioner : It is in the fatwas.

The Shaykh : It is in the fatwas.

Another questioner : In a second book.

The Shaykh : This contradicts a noble rule in tawassul and wasilah (means) by Ibn Taymiyyah.

The questioner : He has a new book printed from the manuscripts that refutes this thing.

The Shaykh : I tell you, a noble rule exists in the same fatwas. So what I mean is to say that this was his opinion in the past, at the beginning of his scholarly life. So we do not say that just because it is mentioned in the fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah, that this is his opinion. It is possible that this is his opinion and he died upon it, and it is possible that it was his old opinion and then he turned away from it to something else. And so on. This benefits us greatly in knowing the stronger position from the weaker position among the statements of the Imams. I remember well that in his fatwas he says, "And I have not seen this from anyone else: that the follower must follow the imam in what the scholars disagreed upon." I have not come across this specific detail. If the transmission is correct as was said earlier, then this may have been before he established that rule and before he laid down that principle. The principle is that he comes with the Sunnah, as you do, and as everyone does. The principle for a person is to remain upon the Sunnah. If it becomes clear to him that this principle should be departed from, as Ibn Mas'ud did with his Imam, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), then at that time, the opinion in the branch changes in accordance with the principle.