Accusing the People of Hadith of Lacking Jurisprudence.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The reality is that this is a question that just came to mind, a story about understanding or following the principles of jurisprudence. I was talking to Tahir about a book I am currently reading titled "The Religious Dialogue" by a man named Jamal Sultani. The book appears to be published by the Sunnah Library in Cairo. This library seems to have published a collection of books in defense of the Sunnah. This book is a critique of al-Ghazali's book, "The Prophetic Sunnah Between the People of Jurisprudence and the People of Hadith." Al-Ghazali attempts in this book to deny that the People of Hadith possess knowledge of jurisprudence.
The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
The questioner : And of course, this book responds to him and says that it has not been established throughout the ages that the People of Hadith lack jurisprudence. When you make this distinction and say that the People of Hadith do not have jurisprudence, it is impossible for them to be People of Hadith unless they have jurisprudence. Al-Ghazali's book surely reached you, or you read it, or it was summarized for you. The man, in reality, using reason rather than transmission, gives justifications for modern arts such as ballet, singing, and visual arts, and the like, and does not attribute them to scientific evidence... He attributes them to general taste and general thought. Then he asks, what do we say to people like these? Consequently, he attempts to disparage what he calls intellectual deviation, or what he calls jurisprudential disorder, or the like. So now, to add to this... Is there really, among the scholars of the Muslims, a view that one who specialized in hadith and became proficient and skilled in it can be ignorant of the principles of jurisprudence? Is that possible? Or does specialization in the science of hadith necessarily imply an addition to the principles of jurisprudence?
The Shaykh : This is an embarrassing question, Abu Yahya.
The questioner : Do you remember this... He was an expert in hadith, but it was not a condition that he was a jurist.
Al-Halabi : But this is different from that.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : But your expression, Professor Adnan, that he was an expert in hadith is lenient. We do not want to enter into this regarding the People of Hadith or not. First, the correct thing, or the correction of the expression—and do not hold me to this—is to say he was an expert in indexing books of hadith. He was not an expert in the science of hadith. Indexing books of hadith is one thing, and expertise in hadith, the science of hadith, the terminology of hadith, and distinguishing its authentic from its weak is entirely another thing. A second thing, and this is a fundamental difference. There is a vast difference between one who studies hadith, and this brings us back to what Abu Yahya raised at the beginning of the session regarding Arab nationalists. When we said to him, "Well, is their creed derived from Islam? Do they adopt the creed of Islam because Arab Islam brought it?" I want to say that studying hadith to be hostile to the People of Hadith and the Ummah of Hadith does not make one a hadith scholar, even if he were more knowledgeable than al-Bukhari in his time, because he did not study it to understand it. So there is a vast difference between this, especially if he is a disbeliever. I say that even if he were a Muslim hypocrite, he would not be a jurist in hadith, because he studies it to track the stumbles of the Muslim Ummah. Exactly as the missionaries do when they insert a specific study of the Qur'an, their goal being to pick up what can be taken as an argument against the Muslims, or an argument from the Muslims, an argument for them, or an argument against the Muslims.
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. There is a vast difference between these people and those who study the Qur'an to draw near to Allah Mighty and Majestic and to understand its rulings, so that they may draw near to Allah Blessed and Exalted is He by implementing them. Then those who study the Sunnah, first to distinguish its authentic from its weak, and second to know its general from its specific, its absolute from its restricted, and so on. From here comes jurisprudence. We all know that Islam is what Allah said, what the Messenger of Allah said, and we know that in what is said "the Messenger of Allah said," there are many things that are not valid to attribute to the Messenger of Allah. So this German, Wensink, when he compiled the Key to the Treasures of the Sunnah, or later when he cooperated with some of his disbelieving compatriots in compiling a dictionary of hadith terminology, these people did not intend by this to know, as we now utilize these efforts to discover what may be hidden from us of hadiths, of routes for these hadiths, and so on. They compiled these to exploit their Arabization in the path of slandering our religion, not to understand the religion. Therefore, it is not an accurate expression to say about any of these disbelievers, or about those who work in the service of the Sunnah and hadith solely for a livelihood, that these are experts in hadith. Absolutely not. And we know individuals who worked in the service of the Sunnah for years, but you do not see the effect of this service in their bodies, or in their words, or in their lives, or in their homes. Why? Because they studied it as a profession.
The questioner :[Al-Baqarah 2:171] .
The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, a hadith that you authenticate fully supports this research, and it is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : These two do not come together except in a pious, pure Muslim. As for jurisprudence in the religion alone, without good conduct, this is as our brother mentioned, and the professor mentioned some examples.
The Shaykh : Yes, by Allah, this is a very good hadith. May Allah send prayers upon Muhammad. But today, I am not pleased with what is happening today. It seems the situation is like this.
Abu Layla : ... You are doing well, Shaykh.
The questioner : I said... .
The questioner : He beautifies it for me... Our MasterThe Shaykh : I am sitting missing his sharpness.
The Shaykh : Hehehe.
The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
The questioner : And of course, this book responds to him and says that it has not been established throughout the ages that the People of Hadith lack jurisprudence. When you make this distinction and say that the People of Hadith do not have jurisprudence, it is impossible for them to be People of Hadith unless they have jurisprudence. Al-Ghazali's book surely reached you, or you read it, or it was summarized for you. The man, in reality, using reason rather than transmission, gives justifications for modern arts such as ballet, singing, and visual arts, and the like, and does not attribute them to scientific evidence... He attributes them to general taste and general thought. Then he asks, what do we say to people like these? Consequently, he attempts to disparage what he calls intellectual deviation, or what he calls jurisprudential disorder, or the like. So now, to add to this... Is there really, among the scholars of the Muslims, a view that one who specialized in hadith and became proficient and skilled in it can be ignorant of the principles of jurisprudence? Is that possible? Or does specialization in the science of hadith necessarily imply an addition to the principles of jurisprudence?
The Shaykh : This is an embarrassing question, Abu Yahya.
The questioner : Do you remember this... He was an expert in hadith, but it was not a condition that he was a jurist.
Al-Halabi : But this is different from that.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : But your expression, Professor Adnan, that he was an expert in hadith is lenient. We do not want to enter into this regarding the People of Hadith or not. First, the correct thing, or the correction of the expression—and do not hold me to this—is to say he was an expert in indexing books of hadith. He was not an expert in the science of hadith. Indexing books of hadith is one thing, and expertise in hadith, the science of hadith, the terminology of hadith, and distinguishing its authentic from its weak is entirely another thing. A second thing, and this is a fundamental difference. There is a vast difference between one who studies hadith, and this brings us back to what Abu Yahya raised at the beginning of the session regarding Arab nationalists. When we said to him, "Well, is their creed derived from Islam? Do they adopt the creed of Islam because Arab Islam brought it?" I want to say that studying hadith to be hostile to the People of Hadith and the Ummah of Hadith does not make one a hadith scholar, even if he were more knowledgeable than al-Bukhari in his time, because he did not study it to understand it. So there is a vast difference between this, especially if he is a disbeliever. I say that even if he were a Muslim hypocrite, he would not be a jurist in hadith, because he studies it to track the stumbles of the Muslim Ummah. Exactly as the missionaries do when they insert a specific study of the Qur'an, their goal being to pick up what can be taken as an argument against the Muslims, or an argument from the Muslims, an argument for them, or an argument against the Muslims.
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. There is a vast difference between these people and those who study the Qur'an to draw near to Allah Mighty and Majestic and to understand its rulings, so that they may draw near to Allah Blessed and Exalted is He by implementing them. Then those who study the Sunnah, first to distinguish its authentic from its weak, and second to know its general from its specific, its absolute from its restricted, and so on. From here comes jurisprudence. We all know that Islam is what Allah said, what the Messenger of Allah said, and we know that in what is said "the Messenger of Allah said," there are many things that are not valid to attribute to the Messenger of Allah. So this German, Wensink, when he compiled the Key to the Treasures of the Sunnah, or later when he cooperated with some of his disbelieving compatriots in compiling a dictionary of hadith terminology, these people did not intend by this to know, as we now utilize these efforts to discover what may be hidden from us of hadiths, of routes for these hadiths, and so on. They compiled these to exploit their Arabization in the path of slandering our religion, not to understand the religion. Therefore, it is not an accurate expression to say about any of these disbelievers, or about those who work in the service of the Sunnah and hadith solely for a livelihood, that these are experts in hadith. Absolutely not. And we know individuals who worked in the service of the Sunnah for years, but you do not see the effect of this service in their bodies, or in their words, or in their lives, or in their homes. Why? Because they studied it as a profession.
The questioner :
like that of one who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries
كمثل الذي ينعق بما لا يسمع إلا دعاء ونداءThe Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, a hadith that you authenticate fully supports this research, and it is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)
Two characteristics do not come together in a hypocrite: good conduct and jurisprudence in the religion
خصلتان لا تجتمع في منافق حسن سمت وفقه في دينThe Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : These two do not come together except in a pious, pure Muslim. As for jurisprudence in the religion alone, without good conduct, this is as our brother mentioned, and the professor mentioned some examples.
The Shaykh : Yes, by Allah, this is a very good hadith. May Allah send prayers upon Muhammad. But today, I am not pleased with what is happening today. It seems the situation is like this.
Abu Layla : ... You are doing well, Shaykh.
The questioner : I said... .
The questioner : He beautifies it for me... Our MasterThe Shaykh : I am sitting missing his sharpness.
The Shaykh : Hehehe.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.