18)
Taqleed
Taqlid can be defined as the acceptance of a mujtahid's
statements (fatawa) without knowing his references (evidences) [an-Nawawi,
Tazeeb; and Qadi Shawkani, Irshad al-Fahul]
There is a consensus amongst the majority of Muslims that we should
follow the four major Imams in matters of Shari'a. Such matters
include:
· Those matters in which there is no direct, single and
clear meaning in sources of Shari'a
· When there exists a difference of opinion between the
Sahaba upon an issue, the Imams have tried to show the similarities
in them
We only observe taqlid in matters of fiqh, not in our
'aqida. The unity of Allah, the finality of the Prophet
Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the Day of
Judgement etc. are matters of 'aqida so they are not concerned with
taqlid.
Some say that it is a form of shirk (polytheism) to observe taqlid
of anyone apart from Allah. In particular, to follow only one Imam
is a bid'a. They say that the evidence from all the Imams should
be read and weighed in order that only those verdicts based upon
strong evidence can be accepted and weak ones rejected.
The view of the Ahl as-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a is that it is impossible
for an ordinary Muslim to go directly to the Qur'an and Sunna and
extract religious laws. This is due to the fact that these sources
of knowledge contain many matters which are unclear - thus requiring
research into many other sources along with the application of rules
which assist in understanding the matter under study. In order to
do this, a person needs to possess both a deep and broad knowledge
of Islam, which is both impractical and not incumbent upon each
and every Muslim. Allah does not expect all Muslims to become scholars,
rather He orders them to refer to those who have knowledge. Consider
the following verse:
"And ask those who recall, if you know not"
[Sura 16, verse 43]
Also, in Sura Nisa:
"If they had referred it to the Messenger and to those of
authority among them, then those of them whose task it is to find
it out would have known the matter"
[Sura 4, verse 83]
For those who have the necessary pre-requisites, such as being
a master of 'ulum al-Qur'an, master of ahadith and their
principles, 'aqa'id, fiqh principles, Tafsir and
its principles, and jarh wa ta'dil (the science of hadith
narrators). They are allowed to take ahkam (legal rulings)
from the Shari'a. Such a person can be called a mujtahid.
However, many great scholars who were qualified to perform ijtihad,
followed Imams. For example, Qadi Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad and Imam
Zafar were able to perform ijtihad but followed the opinion of Imam
Abu Hanifa.
There are many categories of hadith such as mutawatir
(rigourously authenticated), authentic, not authentic, weak and
those which are fabricated.Some are mansukh, which means
that certain matters were at first permissible but later made impermissible
- for instance talking during the salat during the early period
of Islam was permissible but later on made unlawful. This is why
taqlid is a necessity - the scholars have taken all the above into
consideration before issuing their verdict.
Rejectors of taqlid
Those who tried to reject taqlid, like Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya, were
unsuccessful. He was, however, not a muqallid (one who
must do taqlid of a mujtahid) like the ordinary people. Nether the
less, his works of literature contain influences from the Hanbali
school of thought. He always preferred his fatwas to Imam Ahmad's.
His followers also claim that they are not muqallid to anyone and
taqlid is bid'a. But, they always perform taqlid of Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya
and quote fatawa from his books. The following is one such example:
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (the late popular government scholar of Saudi Arabia)
wrote one fatwa against Milad an-Nabi and another against travelling
to the grave of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
He wrote that it is impermissible to celebrate the Milad, as Hafiz
Ibn Taymiyya's research had stated that this was bid'a.Likewise,
he stated that to visit the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) grave is impermissible because this was the opinion of
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya [Ibn Baaz, Milad an-Nabi; and Ziyara
Roza Sharif]
We can see how Shaykh Ibn Baaz is blindly depending upon Hafiz
Ibn Taymiyya's research. The Shaykh also performs taqlid to scholars
such as Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim, Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-Hadi, Shawkani
and Albani.
This is quite astonishing! These people follow their Imams but
still claim that they are not blind followers and call the followers
of the four Imams blind followers! In reality, everyone does taqlid
in one way another. Some follow Imam Abu Hanifa, some follow Hafiz
Ibn Taymiyya. Furthermore, when they are told that a hadith is weak,
authentic or fabricated, they accept this without researching it
themselves. Cosequently, they blindly follow Imam al-Bukhari, Ibn
Abi Hatim, Hafiz Mizayy, Hafiz al-'Asqalani, Hafiz adh-Dhahabi,
and Hafiz Maqdasi. The fact is that these people do not conduct
their own research, but 'blindly' follow the research of their scholars.
When rejectors of taqlid label a hadith as being authentic, weak
or fabricated, they actually imitate scholars of Hadith who have
previously categorised ahadith into the above groups. Also, the
technical terms used by the classical scholars to describe the different
ahadith, such as mursal, mu'dal, shadhdh,
mu'allal, 'aziz, and gharib, are not
mentioned in the Qur'an or Sunna. To utilise these terms is also
a form of taqlid.
Similarly, to accept principles of Hadith and Tafsir and also to
interpret the Qur'an and Sunna in the light of these principles
is to follow the imams who have developed these sciences. People
who do not follow imams should find out the strength of a hadith
directly without referring to any imam. They should also find new
terms to describe the hadith, instead of mursal, shadhdh etc. They
should invent their own principles of Hadith and Tafsir and then
study the Qur'an and Sunna in the light of these new principles.
Only then can they save themselves from 'shirk and bid'a'.
Doubts Raised by the Objectors to Taqlid
Those who oppose taqlid argue that there is no need to follow one
particular Imam. They conduct their own personal research, in the
hope that they will find the Imam that has the best opinion.If they
think that a particular opinion is wrong they will try and find
another until such a time that they follow aspects from all the
four Imams. We say that this is not possible because the Imams have
already performed thorough research into the Islamic sources and
have utilised their own principles to determine the best opinions.
Thus, you have to follow one Imams principle. Otherwise, you are
using your own principles that are most likely to be that of your
desires, such as that which is easy to perform.
Here are some examples: Imam ash-Shafi'i is of the opinion that
if you touch a woman your wudu breaks. On the other hand, Imam Abu
Hanifa says that this action does not break the wudu.Furthermore,
Imam ash-Shafi'i does not accept mursal hadith, unlike Imam Abu
Hanifa. If there exists two hadith, one explaining the Prophet's
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) words and the other explains
the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) practice,
Imam Abu Hanifa accepts the words to have more authority, whereas
Imam ash-Shafi'i says that the practices have more authority.From
these examples we know that we cannot follow two Imams. So how can
we follow four or more Imams at one time?
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya says that when a person begins to follow one
particular Imam without any valid Islamic reason he begins to follow
another Imam - he is actually following his own wishes and not the
other Imam and this is haram. The great scholars have strongly discouraged
for a person to sometimes follow the fiqh of ash-Shafi'i and at
other times the fiqh of Abu Hanifa [Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya,
vol. 20, Chapter of Taqlid]
Thus, from Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya's fatwa we have understood that at
one time we should follow one Imam and taqlid is a necessity.
Some Objections
Common objections raised include: 'When the four Imams have not
asked us to follow them, why do we follow them?' Also, 'When there
is no hadith that recommends following the four Imams, why do we
follow them?'
The answer to this is that we recite the Holy Qur'an in the manner
of the seven qurra' and yet they didn't say 'Follow us!' nor did
the ahadith say we should follow them. Did the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) say only to follow Bukhari and Muslim?
Did the blessed Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
say that Bukhari is the most authentic source after the Holy Qur'an?
What the four Imams meant by saying 'Do not follow us' is, 'Do
not follow our sayings.' We do not follow their sayings but follow
the fatwas they gave after exerting great effort in research from
the Qur'an and Sunna. By saying this they encourage us to follow
their deductions, which are guaranteed to be from the Qur'an and
Sunna. Even Imam Muslim and Bukhari did not ask us to follow them.
They never told us to accept only the ahadith written in their books.
Were there Four Imams Present at the Time of the Sahaba?
The four Imams of Ahl as-Sunna were not present at the time of
the Sahaba, the first generation - just as Imam al-Bukhari and Imam
Muslim were also not present. However, at that early period of Islam,
there were those who possessed great knowledge of Islam and could
therefore be referred to as scholars or Imams. Many Muslims would
resort to them for advice and guidance in Islamic aspects. The foremost
scholars at that time were four in number as explained below. The
four Imams are however, included in the first three generations
and were people from among the best generations. The Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "My generation is
the best, then the next, then the next....".
Hafiz Ibn Qayyim writes that there were four Imams in the time
of the Sahaba:
"In Makka there was 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas; in Madina there
was Zayd ibn Thabit; in Basra there was Anas ibn Malik and in Kufa
there was 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.After they passed away, amongst the
Tabi'un were four Imams; again, they were famous. In Madina there
was Sa'id ibn Musayb; in Makka there was Ata ibn Rab'a; in Yamen
there was Tawus, and in Kufa there was Ibrahim. There were many
other Imams but these were the most famous at that time"
[Ibn al-Qayyim, Alam al-Muwaqqieen,
page 10]
It is clear that before the four Imams of the Ahl as-Sunna
there also existed Imams in the days of the Sahaba, who were also
a source of religious advice. The details of their fatawa are written
in Kitab Musannaf by 'Abd ar-Razzaq and Ibn Abi Shayba's, Musannaf.
Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim says that "There were many Sahaba at the
time but mainly Zayd ibn Thabit, Anas ibn Malik, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud,
and 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas were the most famous and they used to give
a lot of fatwas"
[A'lam al-Muwaqq'in, Chapter on 'Qiyas']
It is the same with the four Imams of the orthodox madhabs
(schools of thought): Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam ash-Shafi'i,
and Imam Ahmad. During their time there were many muhaddithin and
scholars, but people would come to these four Imams as they were
the most famous of their time due to their extensive knowledge and
reliability.
The Four Imams Had Differences Amongst Themselves, So Why Do We
Still Follow Them?
Even Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim had differences between themselves.
Imam Muslim in his book, Sahih Muslim, in the
first part, has criticised Imam al-Bukhari. There also existed many
differences amongst the Sahaba. So does this imply that we should
not follow any of the Sahaba or Muslim or Bukhari as they had differences
amongst them?
Why Don't we Follow the Ahadith in Bukhari and Muslim, and Ignore
the Imams?
1) If we should ignore the Imams and depend only upon Muslim and
Bukhari, why did both these great Imams follow Imam ash-Shafi'i?
Imam Ibn Athir has written that Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim
were Shafi'is
[Ibn Athir, Jamee'ul-usul, biographies
of Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim]
Taki ad-Din Subki has mentioned Imam Bukhri's name in the list
of Scholars belonging to the Shahfi'i school
[Subki, Tabaqat Ash-Shafi'i]
Nawab Siddeeq Hasan Khan has also mentioned Imam al-Bukhari in
the list of Shafi'i scholars[Khan, N, S, H., Abjad al-'Ulum]
When the Imams Muslim and al-Bukhari themselves had to make recourse
to taqlid and following a madhab, then how can the ordinary Muslim
be expected to do otherwise!
2) Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim did not gather all the authentic
ahadith in Bukhari and Muslim. Many authentic ahadith have been
left out. Imam al-Bukhari said: 'I have left many authentic ahadith
out of Bukhari as the book would have been too large [al-'Asqalani,
Muqaddima Fath al-Bari, page 9]
Hafiz Ibn Kathir says that neither Imam al-Bukhari nor Imam Muslim
gathered all the authentic ahadith. Some of the left out
narrations are present in Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Nasa'i and,
Abu Dawud. Furthermore, Imam al-Bukhari himself said that
he knew of more than 200, 000 ahadith that are musnad (hadith with
chain going back to the Prophet, as opposed to marfu' which only
goes back to the Sahaba) [Ibn Kathir, 'Ulum Ahadith and
Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, Biography of Imam al-Bukhari]
3) Bukhari and Muslim are not easy books to follow
as Hafiz al-'Asqalani wrote seventeen volumes of commentary on Bukhari
and Imam Ayni wrote 25 volumes on Bukhari. Imam an-Nawawi
wrote a commentary on Muslim. Yet there were some ahadith
which these great scholars of Islam could not understand. So how
can we encourage ordinary Muslims to pickup Muslim and
Bukhari and start following them?
4) We should not follow only Bukhari and Muslim
otherwise we would become blind followers of Muslim and al-Bukhari
and ignore the hundreds of books of hadith which were written before
Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari were even born!
5) If it is essential to follow only Imam al-Bukhari or Muslim,
then why did Imam al-Bukhari, himself not follow his own ahadith
narrations?For example:
(a) Hafiz al-'Asqalani and Imam Ibn Kathir write that Imam Bukhari
prayed that Allah Most High should take his life during the period
when he was being persecuted by people [al-'Asqalani, Tahdib
Al Tahdib; and Ta'rikh Ibn Khathir, Biography of Imam
Bukhari]
This is despite the fact that Imam al-Bukhari also states a hadith
that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant Him peace) said
that a Muslim should never ask Allah to take his life
[Bukhari, Al-Marda]
(b) Imam al-Bukhari was known to complete the entire recitation
of the Qur'an in one night during the month of Ramadan. This opposes
the hadith narrations which he collected himself that mentions that
the Qur'an should be completed within five to seven days
[Bukhari, Fada'il Qur'an]
Did Not the Four Imams Say "If you find an authentic hadith
which goes against what we say, accept the hadith and ignore us?"
It is correct that if an Imam says something which opposes an authentic
hadith, then we should reject his sayings and follow the hadith.
But what exactly does an 'authentic hadith' mean? Is an authentic
hadith that which is written in Bukhari or Muslim?
Or is it a hadith, which fulfils the criterion of being an authentic
hadith? Or is an authentic hadith that which has been called authentic
by the scholars of Hadith?
If we believe that authentic ahadith are those only to be found
in Bukhari and Muslim, then we would just be blind
followers of Imams al-Bukhari and Muslim. If we say that authentic
hadith are those which fulfil the requirements laid down by hadith
principles, then we would just be blindly following those scholars
who have written down these principles! Also, if we say that authentic
ahadith are those which were claimed to be authentic by muhaddithin,
we would simply be following them "blindly."
It can be concluded, that if we took any of the above opinions
we would still be following someone.
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes that there has never been anyone from
among the Imams who has deliberately opposed the Sunna. When we
find a statement from an Imam which goes against the Sunna, the
hadith in question does not fulfil the requirements of authentication
of that Imam. Thus, each Imam has their own sets of rules which
determine if a hadith is authentic or weak - so what may be an authentic
hadith to one Imam may not be recognised as authentic by another
[Ibn Taymiyya, Rafu'l malam, pages 15-16]
An example can be given by looking at the ahadith which Abu Hanifa
received from his teachers, who were the Sahaba of the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) and their students (Tabi'un).
As these ahadith reached Abu Hanifa through direct narration from
the Sahaba and their students, no question can be raised as to their
authenticity. But when these same ahadith reached scholars of later
generations, the chains of narrators could contain some unreliability.
Therefore, if someone studies a hadith whose narrator is unreliable,
and then says that a fatwa of Abu Hanifa that is based upon this
hadith is contrary to the Sunna, it would be unfair.
Secondly, whatever the four Imams have said was not necessarily
final. Throughout their lives, the Imams have changed their opinions
as they received further information. Also after their deaths, their
students would check their respective Imam's work and modify their
opinions to accommodate the new information. Their students, and
so on, also repeated this again. This structure is known as a school
of fiqh (madhhab).
If a fatwa given by a certain school appears to contradict a narration
in Bukhari or Muslim, it does not mean that it
is against the Sunna as they are following other authentic ahadith,
and therefore, not opposing the Sunna.
Two examples of following blindly
(1) Shaykh Albani writes:
"The hadith, which is attributed to our Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace), and states that 'Isa and Imam Mahdi
(peace be upon them) are the same person is completely untrue. Although
Imam Ibn Majah, Imam al-Hakim, Imam Ibn 'Abdi'l-Barr and other scholars
of Islam have quoted the above hadith in their books. The reason
this narration is false is because both Imam Ibn Hajar and Imam
al-Bayhaqi write that the narrator is Muhammad ibn Khalid, who is
unknown. Furthermore, Imam adh-Dhahabi also considers this hadith
to be false. Imam Sagani said that this hadith is fabricated. Imam
as-Suyuti said that the people have fabricated this hadith. Imam
al-Qurtubi considers this hadith to be weak"
[Albani, N., Silsila Ahadith Da'ifa,
hadith no. 77]
It can be observed from the above, how Shaykh Albani takes the
opinions of an aforementioned Imam as evidence.Moreover, if Imam
adh-Dhahabi says this hadith is untrue then Albani says likewise.
If Qadi Shawkani says this hadith is fabricated then Albani also
says it is fabricated.What can one say about this research - is
Albani following Qur'an, Sunna or the Imams?
If one reads Shaykh Albani's books it can be observed that Albani
is always following Imams. If Albani cannot avoid taqlid then a
simple Muslim would definitelyneed to follow an Imam.
When Albani follows Imams, such as Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani,
adh-Dhahabi, al-'Asqalani, and Ibn Abi Hatim, he is considered a
great scholar and a knowledgeable person.Moreover, when someone
else follows Imam Abu Hanifa, or any of the other three Imams then
they are considered to be ignorant innovators.Therefore, having
observed the above evidence, one has to draw a conclusion that people
have one set of rules for one set of people and another set of rules
for other people.
(2) Shaykh Albani writes that Imam ad-Darimi wrote:
"There was a great famine in Madina, the people went to 'A'isha
(may Allah be pleased with her) to seek guidance.She said to them
to go and make a a hole in the roof where our Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) was buried..When they had done this
it started to rain.There was a good harvest and the camels fattened;
people named that year as a 'fruitful year'.This narration is false
because one of the narrators is weak, who is Sa'id ibn Zahid.Imam
Ibn Hajar says that this narration is not authentic. Imam adh-Dhahabi
says Sa'id's narration is weak; Imam Sa'di says that Sa'id is unreliable;
Imam an-Nasa'i says Sa'id is weak in knowledge, but Imam Ahmed says
that Sa'id is acceptable and the other narrator of this narration
is Muhammad ibn Fadal, who is known to be authentic.However, during
the later stages of his life he suffered memory lapse.We do not
know whether Imam ad-Darimi took this narration from Imam Muhammad,
before or after he started to suffer from memory lapse, therefore
we cannot accept this narration as evidence and Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya
has refused to accept the above narration. He writes in his book
Ar-rad Al-Bakari that the hole in the room of our Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was not present in the
lifetime of 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her).The hole came
into existence during the time of Khalifa Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik,
hence the above narration is false. 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased
with her) told the people to make a hole - this was her personal
option and this is not acceptable"
[Albani, N., at-Tawassul, page
162]
In the above research it can be seen how Albani is again relying
upon Imams, and in particular, how he is blindly following Hafiz
ibn Taymiyya. Now we can ask those people who falsely accuse us
of following Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam ash-Shafi'i.We ask them why
Shaykh Albani is only following Imam Dahahbi, Imam al-'Asqalani,
Hafiz ibn Taymiyya and Shawkani therefore it can be said that if
it is acceptable for Albani to follow Imams then why is it wrong
for anyone else to follow Imams.
Let us now examine Albani's research regarding the above four points
relating to the narration of Imam ad-Darimi.
The first response to Albani's research is that he has only quoted
the opinion of those scholars who considered Sa'id ibn Zahid to
be unreliable. The reason he has chosen to do this is because if
he had mentioned the scholars who had praised Sa'id ibn Zahid, then
he would have to accept their narrations.This opposed his (Albani)
and his Imam's (Ibn Taymiyya) opinion. Let us consider the other
opinions of scholars about Sa'id ibn Zahid.
Imam Bukhari mentions that Sa'id ibn Zahid was truthful and a learned
man of hadith [al-Bukhari, Ta'rikh al-Kabir, Biography
of Sa'id ibn Zahid]
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathir both agree that Imam al-Bukhari
was the one person in the world who knew hadith, texts and narrations
better than anyone else [Ibn Taymiyya, Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya,
vol.3, page 200; also Ibn Kathir, Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, Biography
of Imam al-Bukhari]
Imam Ibn Abi Hatim says Imam Abu Zahra said Sa'id ibn Zahid is
a reliable person [Ibn Abi Hatim, Jarh wa Ta'dil, ,Biography
of Sa'id ibn Zahid]
Hafiz al-'Asqalani writes that Yahya ibn Mu'in said that Sa'id
ibn Zahid was a reliable peson. Also, Imam Ajali and Imam Abu Zahra
say that he was reliable. Imam Naban ibn Hilal says Sa'id ibn Zahid
was a master of hadith. But Imam Daraqutni says that Sa'id ibn Zahid
was weak [al-'Asqalani, Tahdib al-Tahdib, Biography of
Sa'id ibn Zahid]
We are surprised as to why Albani has chosen to discard the opinions
of the aforementioned scholars regarding the reliability of Sa'id
ibn Zahid. If Albani recognised the authenticity of Sa'id ibn Zahid
by trusting the opinion of Imam al-Bukhari and Yahya ibn Mu'in,
he would have no choice but to accept Sa'id ibn Zahid as a reliable
narrator and hence accept the hadith.This would be a logical conclusion
if we remember that Albani's two Imams (Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathir)
have said that Imam al-Bukhari is the most learned person of hadith
in the world.
The second objection of Albani regarding this narration is that
Muhammad ibn Fadal, the narrator of this hadith, suffered from memory
lapse at later stages of his life .We do not know whether Imam ad-Darimi
took this narration from Muhammad ibn Fadal before or after he started
to suffer from memory lapse, therefore we do not accept this narration.
The answer to the above objection is that Muhammad ibn Fadal was
a teacher of both Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim. Imam al-Bukhari
took narrations from him. We have a reliable opinion that Imam al-Bukhari
took the narration from Muhammad ibn Fadal before he started to
suffer from memory lapse. Furthermore, Imam as-Darimi, like Imam
al-Bukhari, was a learned scholar of hadith and was able to understand
and judge when to accept a hadith from a narrator.
Albani's objection can only be valid if we can establish that Imam
ad-Darimi had a habit of taking hadith from narrators that were
suffering from memory problems. There is no proof to suggest this.
If Albani insists upon the idea that Imam ad-Darimi took the narration
from Muhammad ibn Fadaal, that is after he started to suffer from
memory lapse, then someone else may say that Imam al-Bukhari also
accepted narrations from Muhammad ibn Fadal after he started to
suffer from memory lapse as it cannot be established from historical
data as to precisely when he started to suffer from memory lapse.
Hafiz al-'Asqalani has written in his preface to Fath al-Bari
that Imam al-Bukhari took narrations from Muhmmad ibn Fadal before
he started to suffer from memory lapse. However, Hafiz Ibn Hajar
did not state the period in which Muhammad ibn Fadal started to
suffer from memory lapse or to the fact how he knew that Imam al-Bukhari
took narration from Muhammad ibn Fadal before he started to suffer
from memory lapse. We are therefore puzzled as to how Albani has
established his suspicion on Imam ad-Darimi regarding this narration.
Likewise, others may be suspicious about Imam al-Bukhari.
The third objection of Albani regarding this narration is that
during the rule of Walid ibn Malik, the room of 'A'isha, where our
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is buried, was
rebuilt with a hole in the room. From this it can be seen that the
hole was not made by the order of 'A'isha.,Therefore, the narration
that states that 'A'isha gave the order for the hole to be made
is false. However, when Walid ibn Malik rebuilt 'A'isha's room,
the hole was made again. So we cannot be certain that the hole was
in existence before the rebuilding of the room.
Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari and Hafiz ibn Kathir write in their Ta'rikh
that during Walid ibn Malik's
Governmental period the Mosque of the Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) was enlarged and, during this extension,
'A'isha's room (where our Prophet is buried) was enclosed in the
Mosque. But they do not mention anything about a hole. Therefore,
how can it be said that narration regarding a hole is not authentic?
Shaykh Albani says Hafiz ibn Tamiyyah never accepted this narration.
However, Hafiz ibn Taymiyya has accepted this narration elsewhere.
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes:
"During 'A'isha's time there was a famine in Madina and she
opened the roof of her room [where our Prophet is buried]. This
was done because rain is blessing of Allah and it would therefore
fall upon our Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
grave"
[Ibn Taymiyya, Iqtida as-Sirat al-Mustaqim,
page 338]
If this narration was not true then Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya would have
rejected it but he has not rejected it hence further supporting
its validity.
Albani's fourth objection is that this was 'A'isha's personal opinion.
This can be answered by the fact that the Sahaba were alive and
they did not object to what 'A'isha did. Therefore she and the Sahaba
were in agreement.This is evidence for the entire Muslim Umma.
Except Albani.
In conclusion we can say that if Albani needs to fallow Imam adh-Dhahabi,
Imam al-'Asqalani, Imam Abu Hatim, Imam Ibn 'Adi, Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya
and Shawkani. Therefore ordinary Muslims also need to follow Imams
i.e. Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik ,Imam ash-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmed.
Furthermore, Albani's research is unreliable because he has chosen
to ignore opinions which he disagrees with.
An Interesting Event That Helped the Author!
Once a young man came to me and asked me why I did not follow Bukhari
and Muslim only. He then told me to only follow them, rather
than any Imam and not to be an innovator.
I answered him by showing him two ahadith, and asked him to tell
me what he understood by them? One narration was from Bukhari
and the other was from Muslim.The young man was determined
to prove that his interpretation was better than Imam Abu Hanifa
or Imam Malik, because in their time there was no computer to compile
a database of ahadith.
The two ahadith were:
1) Imam al-Bukhari reports that Amar ibn Maymun said: 'I saw a
monkey who had just copulated with another monkey, and the other
monkeys were stoning them, so I also started to throw stones at
them.'[Bukhari, chapter on 'Ayyamul-Jahiliya']
2) Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: "The Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) told 'Ali (may Allah be
pleased with him) to go and execute a Muslim man who was accused
by the people of committing adultery with a slave girl. When 'Ali
found him, he was bathing in a lake.He then called to him and when
he came out of the lake he had no clothes on. 'Ali (may Allah be
pleased with him) saw that this person could not commit adultery
as he was an eunuch.'Ali then let him go [Muslim,
chapter on 'Tawba']
His answer was:
"It is clear from this narration of al-Bukhari that animals
should be married according to Islam, and if they commit adultery,
they should be punished like humans to make their lives more civilized.
Also, from the second hadith, if someone is accused of committing
adultery with a woman, he should be killed, but before killing him
it should be checked whether he is a eunuch or not."
This is one example of the ijtihad made by people who encourage
others to pick up Muslim and Bukhari and ignore
the Imams. As for the correct interpretation, this is discussed
in the chapter, "Bukhari and Muslim Are the Only Sources of
Sunna!"
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