Explanation of the author's statement: "From al-Muqni' by the Imam al-Muwaqqi, Abu Muhammad, according to a single opinion, which is the stronger position in the madhhab of Ahmad"

The Shaykh : He says "A concise summary in fiqh from al-Muqni'". "From al-Muqni'" is a genitive phrase describing the concise summary. "From al-Muqni' by the Imam al-Muwaqqi, Abu Muhammad". Al-Muqni' is the name of the book. His statement "the Imam al-Muwaqqi" is a slight leniency, for al-Muwaqqi is not like Imam Ahmad, or al-Shafi'i, or Abu Hanifa, or Malik. However, he is a qualified imam, meaning he has followers who support his opinions and follow them, so he is an imam in this sense. As for the rank of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and the like, he did not reach that level. In recent times, people have frequently used the title "imam" for everyone—imam, imam, imam—so that even the lowest level of scholars is called an imam. This would be a minor issue if it did not extend beyond the word to the meaning, because when I see someone described as an imam, his opinions become a model for me, even though he does not deserve it. This is like their current claim that everyone who is killed unjustly is a martyr. This is forbidden; it is not permissible to testify for every specific person. For this reason, al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled this issue: "Chapter: It is not said that so-and-so is a martyr". Yes, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) prohibited this. One may be a martyr, perhaps... his camel... is an exaggeration. A man may be a martyr, and the place of martyrdom is the heart, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If we were to permit this for ourselves, we would permit it for this man who died upon faith to say that we testify he is in Paradise, because he is a believer, and every believer is in Paradise. And this is not permissible.
The important point is that some people today do not consider such matters; they do not account for them, or they are unaware or negligent of the fact that and that he will be held accountable for every word. Yes, you say that one who is killed while oppressed is a martyr. Correct. One who is killed by a building collapse or drowning is a martyr. One who is killed in the path of Allah so that the word of Allah is supreme is a martyr. But to testify for a specific person, no. Yes. "The Imam al-Muwaqqi" is a passive participle intended to describe him with this attribute, becoming his name or title. Yes, we say yes, it is a title for this scholar (may Allah have mercy on him). Al-Muqni' is a medium-sized book that mentions the two opinions, the two narrations, and the two aspects in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, but without mentioning the evidence or commentary, except rarely. He has a book above it called al-Kafi, which mentions the two opinions, or the two narrations, or the two aspects in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, or the two possibilities, but it mentions the evidence and reasoning, though it does not go beyond the madhhab of Imam Ahmad. He has a book above that called al-Mughni, which is comparative fiqh, mentioning the two opinions and narrations from Imam Ahmad and from other scholars from the Salaf and the Khalaf. He has a concise book called "al-Umdah in Fiqh", which is concise according to a single opinion, but he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions the evidence along with the rulings, combining both. For this reason, it was said about it:
"Al-Kafi sufficed the people, and al-Muqni' satisfied a seeker *** with fiqh from a lengthy book.
And al-Mughni in fiqh sufficed one who is a researcher *** or a word to that effect, and al-Umdah is what one relies upon to achieve [his goal]".
These are four books by this man (may Allah have mercy on him), Abu Muhammad, whose name is Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi, and he passed away in the year 620 (may Allah have mercy on him), in the year 620. How many years is that? Drop 620 from 1306... 1306 minus 620 is 686. Where is the calculator? 620... 700 years and 86. Now we are studying this concise summary for the children of knowledge. This concise summary is like the child, and al-Muqni' is like the mother. So we are actually studying the child of the child... as I told you before, "according to two opinions." The meaning of "according to two opinions" is that it is more than one opinion, because it may come with three opinions or more in an issue. His statement "according to a single opinion" means he does not bring more than one opinion, in order to be concise and not scatter the student's mind, because if you bring scattered opinions to a beginner student, he becomes confused and cannot grasp anything. So it is best for the beginner student that only one opinion be mentioned to him until it is firmly established in his mind, and then he is trained to know the two opinions and to distinguish the stronger from the weaker. He said "and it is the stronger position in the madhhab of Ahmad". "The stronger position" means from the two opinions, and there may be only one opinion in the issue, in which case this concise book agrees with the concise book of the original. His statement "the stronger position in the madhhab of Ahmad": "Madhhab" in language is the name for the place of going, or its time, or the going itself, meaning it can be a verbal noun, a name of place, or a name of time. But in technical terminology, a person's madhhab is what the mujtahid said with evidence, and what he died holding. This is the madhhab. So you find the madhhab of Ahmad, the madhhab of al-Shafi'i, the madhhab of Malik, meaning what he said with evidence and died upon. If his opinion changed, which of the two is his madhhab? The last one is his madhhab. And what the mujtahid said excludes what the muqallid said, because the muqallid has no madhhab, and he does not have knowledge. The muqallid said that Ibn 'Abd al-Barr stated that by the consensus of scholars, he is not among the scholars. For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Nuniyyah: "Knowledge is knowing the guidance with its evidence". This knowledge "is not that, and following [a scholar] are equal". True. Are they equal? The one who knows the guidance with its evidence and the one who does not know it? No, they are not equal. Rather, some poets said: "There is no difference between a follower [of a scholar] and a beast *** that is led between the tent and the corner". Yes.
But despite this, following [a scholar] is permissible out of dire necessity by the text of the Qur'an for one who cannot reach knowledge by himself, so his obligation is to follow [a scholar]. Allah the Exalted said: And sometimes a matter befalls a person that he cannot manage to consult the sources to know the evidence in it, so at that time he has no choice but to follow [a scholar] out of dire necessity. But if he is able to know the truth by its evidence himself, that is what is obligatory upon him. He says "the madhhab of Imam Ahmad". Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Shaybani, the imam of the people of the Sunnah, the imam of the people of hadith, the imam of the people of fiqh (may Allah have mercy on him). He is the imam of the people of the Sunnah in creed and tawhid. He underwent trials in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for which we hope for him elevation of ranks and expiation of sins. It is known that he was the only one, along with a few others who can be counted on fingers, who stood firm against al-Ma'mun and his helpers who distorted the words of Allah. But he (may Allah have mercy on him) was the most severe of them, and he (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him) was more steadfast than the others in the eyes of the common people. For this reason, people waited to see what Imam Ahmad would say about the creation of the Qur'an. But he (may Allah have mercy on him) resolved to say that the Qur'an is the speech of Allah, revealed and not created, even though they would beat him with whips until he fainted and drag him on donkeys through the markets, because he said the word of truth. They wanted him to say the word of falsehood, but he resolved. So what did Allah reward him with? He rewarded him by making him an imam who are certain that the outcome is for the righteous and for the patient, especially in a matter concerning religion. And for this reason, he was the imam of the people of the Sunnah without dispute. This imam (may Allah have mercy on him), being an imam in hadith as known by those who read al-Musnad, was also an imam in tawhid and creed, and an imam in fiqh. And praise be to Allah the Great, how did Allah make for him these followers who served his words with the greatest service after the service of the words of Allah and His Messenger. And yet he only authored a few books, but his words were written and memorized until they became an independent madhhab. Know that the scholars' statement "the madhhab of so-and-so" is intended to mean two things: the personal madhhab and the technical madhhab. The common usage among the later scholars, when they say this is the madhhab of Ahmad or the madhhab of al-Shafi'i or the like, is usually the technical madhhab, to the extent that the imam himself may say something contrary to what is called his madhhab, but they make his madhhab what they agreed upon. So here, in "the madhhab of Ahmad," his intention is the technical madhhab, not the personal madhhab in the madhhab of Imam Ahmad.