“It was permissible for the imâms of the religion to perform ijtihâd. They wrote down the documents of the conclusions they drew. If someone follows the way concluded by his imâm instead of what a document, an âyat or a hadîth states, or what he himself finds out suggests, he becomes a heretic. Imâm Mâlik, Ahmad and ash-Shâfi’î said so, too.”
These three great imâms of the Ahl as-Sunna and also al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim) said it for those profound ’ulamâ’ called “mujtahid imâms.” A mujtahid had to follow the document, an âyat karîma or a hadîth sharîf, he came across. He cannot follow either the ijtihâd of another mujtahid or his own. This is due to it not being permissible to perform ijtihâd on the subjects clearly stated in an âyat karîma or ahadîth sharîf.
Al-Hâdimî wrote: “We are not mujtahids but muqallids. For us the muqallids, the words of those ’ulamâ’ of fiqh called mujtahids are documents. If an âyat karîma or ahadîth sharîf that we know seems incongruous with their words, it is necessary for us to follow not what we understand from the âyat or the hadîth but their words; it is not permissible to say that they did not see that document or that they saw but could not understand it.”[48]
The lâ-madhhabî author thinks Ibn Taimiyya and his novice Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya are mujtahids. He obeys what they understood of âyats and hadîths and does not like the ijtihâds of the imâms of our religion. Whereas, as he admits above, our imâms wrote down also the âyats and hadîths they took as documents together with the statements they concluded as ijtihâd. This author likens Ahl as-Sunna, who obey the imâms of Islam, to Christians and Jews who, ignoring Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Book, follow priests and rabbis. He becomes so rude as to say that Muslims are polytheists. How nice it would be if he would realize that he himself is in heresy because of following the ignorant, non-mujtahid men who are unable to understand the greatness of the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna.
Ibn ’Abîdîn wrote at the beginning of the subject on tahâra: “Muqallids do not have to find and see the documents of mujtahids.” The Wahhâbî author does not believe this, either. He quotes the hadîth ash-sharîf said onto Mu’âdh, which in fact refutes his heretical beliefs. Because he has a good knowledge of Arabic, his native language, he quotes many âyâts and hadîths in order to show his every word documented. However, because he is poor in reasoning, logic and judgement, he cannot see that the âyats and hadîths he quotes as documents for his words, in fact, bring into light that his argument is corrupt and unsound. He also reports al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) as having said to his disciples, “Take âyats and hadîths and ignore my statements!” Al-Imâm al-a’zam said this to his disciples who were mujtahids, but this author supposes that it refers to muqallids like us and like Ibn Taimiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim, Muhammad ’Abduh, Sayid Qutb and Maudoodi, who should have read and learned the books of an imâm al-madhhab and tried to attain bliss by following that imâm.
This author quotes on page 393 the âyat al-karîma, “If you invite munâfiqs to Allâhu ta’âlâ and to His Messenger, they turn their faces away and do not come,”and likens Ahl as-Sunna to munâfiqs. He says,
“Ahl as-Sunna turn away from âyats and hadîths and insist on following their imâms of madhhabs and thus become polytheists.”
Here, again, he calumniates the Muslims who are Ahl as-Sunna. Because we do not believe their wrong, distorted interpretations of âyats and hadîths, he alleges that we have deviated from the right path. We say to him: “We do not turn away from âyats. We disobey not them but your wrong interpretations of them. Their meanings are not what you understand of them. Their correct meanings were told to as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (râdî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum) by our Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), and the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) learned them by acquiring them from as-Sahâbat al-kiram and wrote in their books what they comprehended. They wrote openly what was stated openly; they performed ijtihâd on ambigous ones things wrote what they understood through ijtihâd. We have been following what these great ’ulamâ’ understood and wrote. We do not want to be deceived and led away from the right path by following the lâ-madhhabî’s misinterpretations. Not we but you are the ones who have turned away from the Book and the Sunna!”
Muhammad Hasan Jân as-Sirhindî al-Mujaddidî (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) wrote:
“The ah’kâm (rules, laws) of Islam were made known to us, the ordinary Muslims, by profound scholars (’ulamâ’) and perfected pious Muslims (sâlihûn). They weremuhaddithûn and mujtahids (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ). The muhaddithûn studied the hadîths and selected the genuine ones. And the mujtahids drew rules from âyats and hadîths. We do all our ’ibâdât and affairs in accordance with these rules. Since we live in a age far later than that of Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) and cannot distinguish nâsikh from mansûkh, and muhkam (with open meaning) from muawwal (with meaning not openly understood) nasses and cannot know how actually concurrent the nasses that seem contradictory are, whe have to follow a mujtahid. Because, there is no way other than following a mujtahid who lived not much later than Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) and who was a profound ’âlim possessing much taqwâ and was proficient in deducing rules and who understood the meanings of hadîths correctly. Even Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, who is now regarded as a great scholar by the lâ-madhhabî, wrote in his “I’lâm al-mûqi’în that is was not permissible for one who did not have these qualities to make conclusions from the Nass, that is, the Book and the Sunna. The bookKifâya says, ‘When an ’âmî (non-mujtahid learns ahadîth sharîf, he is not permitted to act acording to what he himself understands of it. A meaning other than what he understands of it might have to be given to it, or it can be mansûkh. Whereas, the fatwâs of mujtahids are not so.’ The same is written in Taqrîr, the commentary to Tahrîr, which, after saying, ‘It can be mansûkh,’ adds, ‘He has to obey what the ’ulâmâ’ of fiqh said.’ Sayyid as-Samhûdî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), in his Al-’Iqd al-Farîd, quoted Imâm Abu Bakr ar-Râzî, on the authority of Ibn al-Humâm who was one of the superiors of the Hanafî ’ulamâ’, as saying, ‘Profound ’ulamâ’ unanimously declared that non-mujtahid Muslims should be prevented from following [directly] the Companions of the Prophet and that they should follow the words of those ’ulamâ’ who came later and gave the explicit, codified and clear explanations.’ Muhibbullâh al-Bihârî al-Hindî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), who passed away in 1119 A.H. (1707), wrote in his Musallam as-subût and its annotationFawâtih ar-rahamût: ‘Profound ’ulamâ’ unanimously declared that non-mujtahid Muslims should be prevented from following the Companions of the Prophet and that they should follow those ’ulamâ’ who explained Islam in explicit, codified rules. Taqî ad-dîn ’Uthmân ibn as-Salâh ash-Shahr az-Zûrî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) [577-643 A.H. (1181-1234)] deduced from this that it was not permissible to follow anybody other than the four îmâms.’ It is written in Sharh al-minhâj al-usûl: ‘Al-Imâm al-Haramain [’Abd al-Malik an-Nishâpûrî ash-Shâfi’î, who passed away in 478 A.H. (1085)] wrote in his book Burhân that non-mujtahid Muslims should not follow the madhhabs of the Companions of the Prophet. They should follow the madhhabs of the four a’immat al-madhâhib.’
“It is seen that those who do not obey the above-mentioned ijmâ’ of the ’ulamâ’ are heretics, because as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în) were busy with jihâd and disseminating Islam and did not have time to write books of tafsîr and hadîth.Rasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) nûr diffused into their blessed hearts so much so that they did not need to learn through books. Each of them found the right way with the power of that nûr. After the best century [the first century of Islam], there appeared disagrement in opinions and knowledge. There appeared some inconsistent narrations (khabars) related from as-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the Tâbi’ûn. Those who looked for the right path got confused. Allâhu ta’âlâ, as a favour, selected the four sâlih and muttaqî (Allah-fearing) imâms from among this blessed umma. He bestowed upon them the superiority of drawing rules from nassas. He decreed that all Muslims would attain salvation by following them. He ordered Muslims to follow them. This order of Allâhu ta’âlâ is in the 58th âyat karîma of Sûrat an-Nisâ’, which declares: ‘Oh you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Rasûl and obey your Ulu ’l-amr!’ Here ‘Ulu ’l-amr’ means ‘profound scholars who have attained to the degree of mujtahid’ and these ’ulamâ’ are the well-known four [mujtahid] imâms of the four madhhabs. The 82nd âyat of Sûrat an-Nisâ’ clearly states that the superior people who are called Ulu ’l-amr in the above âyat are these mujtahids: ‘Ulu ’l-amr are the ’ulamâ’ who can draw rules from nasses.’Some said that Ulu ’l-amr were ‘rulers’ or ‘governors.’ If they meant ‘those rulers who could draw rules from [or perform ijtihâd based on] nasses,’ they were right. Rulers might have been Ulu ’l-amr if they were ’ulamâ’ but not because they were rulers! The Four Caliphs and ’Umar ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în) were the rulers who were also ’âlims. Ignorant, sinful or disbelieving rulers cannot be like them, for, the Hadîth declares, ‘One should not obey the sin-provoking words of anybody![49] The 15th of the Sûrat Luqmân declares, ‘If they force you to attribute something, which you do not know, as a partner to Me, do not obey this command of theirs.’ The hadîth ash-sharîf clearly defines what ‘Ulu ’l-amr’ means: a hadîth sharîf narrated by ’Abdullâh ad-Dârimî says, ‘The ’ulamâ’ of fiqh are the Ulu ’l-amr.’ Al-Imâm as-Suyûtî quoted Ibn ’Abbâs (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ) in his tafsîr book Itqân as saying, ‘The Ulû ’l-amr are the [four leading] ’ulamâ’ of fiqh and Islam.’This is also written on page 375 of the third volume of At-tafsîr al-kabîr, on page 124 of the second volume of Sharh al-Muslim and in the tafsîr books Ma’âlim at-tanzîl and Nishâpûr. These clear definitions given in âyats and in the books of hadîth and tafsîr show not only that it is necessary to obey the mujtahids but also clarifies that the lâ-madhhabî’s statement, ‘It is polytheism and bid’a to obey somebody other than Allah and the Prophet,’ to be heretical and nonsensical. On this subject, there are many other hadîths and khabars:
“1) Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) asked Mu’âdh ibn Jabal (rahmat-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) how he was going to judge when he ordered him to go to Yemen as a judge. ‘According to Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Books,’ he said. “What if you cannot find [a solution]in Allah’s Book?’ asked Rasûlullâh. ‘I will look at Rasûlullâh’s sunna,’ he answered. And when asked, ‘If you cannot find in Rasûlullâh’s sunna, either?’ Ma’âdh said, ‘I will do it according to what I understand as a result of my ijtihâd.’ Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) put his blessed hand on Mu’âdh’s chest and said, ‘Al-hamdu li’lillâh! Allâhu ta’âlâ made His Rasûl’s rasûl (deputy) gree with Rasûalullâh’s approval.’ At-Tirmidhî, Abu Dawûd and ad-Dârimî wrote this hadîdth sharîf in their books. This hadîths sharîf openly indicates that ‘Ulu ’l-amr’ means ‘mujtahids’ and that Rasûlullâh is pleased with those who obey them.
“2) A hadîth sharîf narrated by Abu Dâwûd and Ibn Mâja says, ‘ ’Ilm is composed of three parts: al-Âyat al-muhkama, as-Sunnat al-qâ’ima and al-Farîdat al-’âdila!’The great scholar of hadîth ’Abd al-Haqq ad-Dahlawî, while exponding this hadîth sharîf inAshi’at al-lama’ât, his Persian commentary to Mishkât, wrote: ‘Al-Farîdat al-’âdila is the knowledge conformable to the Book and the Sunna. It refers to ijmâ’ and qiyâs, for, ijmâ’ and qiyâs were drawn from the Book and the Sunna. Therefore, ijmâ’ and qiyâs were counted as equivalent and similar to the Book and the Sunna and were called al-Farîdat al-’âdila. Thus it was ordered as a wâjib to do one’s deeds conformable to both of them. Consequently, the meaning of the hadîth ash-sharîf became that the sources of Islam were four, namely the Book, the Sunna, ijmâ’ and qiyâs.’
“3) ’Umar ibn al-Khattâb (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) appointed Shuraih as a qâdî and told him: ’Look at what is revealed explicitly in the Book. Do not ask others for such matters! If you cannot find [an answer to what you are asked] in it, resort to the Sunna of Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm)! If you cannot find in it, either, perform ijtihâd and give you answer according to how you understand.’
“4) When plaintifs came, Hadrat Abu Bakr (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) used to look at Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Book and make decisions based on what he found in it. When he could not find in it, he would answer according to what he had heard from Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam). If he had not heard [anything concerning the matter in question], he would ask as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în) and settle the question according to their ijmâ’.
“5) When he was asked to judge, ’Abdullâh ibn Abbâs (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ) used to give the answer he would find in the Qur’ân al-karîm. When he could not find it in it, he would quote what he had heard from Rasûlullâh. If he had not heard anything from him, he would ask Abu Bakr or ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ). When they could not give an answer, he would decide according to his ra’y (observation, reasoning).
“Now, we shall explain that asking mujtahid scholars means asking the four a’immat al-madhâhib. Since the time of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the following centuries up to now, all Muslims have followed (taqlîd) these four imâms. There has formed ijmâ’ on following them. The hadîths, ‘My umma will not have ijmâ’ (will not agree) on dalâla,’ and,‘Allâhu ta’âlâ’s approval is in [your having] ijmâ’; he who deviates from the jamâ’a will go to Hell,’ openly indicate that this ijmâ’ is sahîh.
“The second document which proves that it is wâjib to follow the four imâms is the 71st âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-Isrâ: ‘On that day, We will call each group with their leaders (imâms)!’ Qâdî al-Baidâwî (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) wrote in interpration of this âyat karîma that it meant ‘We will call each umma with the prophet whom they accepted as their leader and with those whom they followed in their religion. The same is written inMadârik. Al-Imâm al-Baghâwî, in his tafsîr Ma’âlim at-tanzîl, quoted Ibn ’Abbâs as saying, ‘They will be called with their rulers who will have taken them to salvation or to heresy,’ and Sa’îd ibn Musayyab as saying, ‘Each people (qawm) will gather around their rulers who will have led them to goodness or to wickedness.’ In Tafsîr-i Husainî [and in the tafsîr Rûh al-bayân], it is written that they will be called by [the name of] their imâm al-madhhab, for example, ‘Oh Shâfi’î’ or ‘Oh Hanafî’ will be said. From this has been deduced that those imâms who were kâmil and mukammil will intercede for those who follow them. Al-Imâm ash-Sha’rânî wrote in his Al-mîzân al-kubrâ: when Shaikh al-Islâm Ibrâhîm ibn al-Lâqânî [(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), a Mâlikî scholar of kalâm] passed away [in 1041 A.H. (1632)], some sulahâ’ saw him in a dream and asked him how Allâhu ta’âlâ had treated him; the Shaikh al-Islâm said that, when the questioning angels seated him, Imâm Mâlik came and said, ‘Is it apt to ask such a person whether he believes in Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Rasûl? Leave him alone,’ and that they left him. It is written again in Al-mîzân:‘The superiors of tasawwuf and the ’ulamâ’ of fiqh will intercede for those who obey them. They will be with them when they submit their souls to Allâhu ta’âlâ, while being questioned by Munkar and Nakîr in the grave and during the Resurrection, Gathering and Judgement and on the Sirât Bridge. They will not forget them. While the superiors of tasawwuf will help their followers at every fearful place, will not mujtahid imâms protect them? These [mujtahid imâms] are the a’immat al-madhâhib. They are the guards of this umma. How furtunate you are my brother! Follow whichever you wish of the four a’immat al-madhâhib and attain happiness!’ As it is seen, everybody will be called by the name of his madhhab’s imâm on the Day of Judgement. The imâm will intercede for those who obey and follow him. All the four A’immat al-madhâhib were superior as such. In the 15th âyat of Sûrat Luqmân, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares, ‘Follow in the footsteps of those who have turned to Me in repentance.’ It has been unanimously reported that the four imâms had the quality of inâba, that is, turning to Allâhu ta’âlâ in repentance.
“The third document which proves that it is wâjib to follow the four imâms is the 114th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat an-Nisâ’. In this âyat karîma, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares: ‘We will drag the person who, after learning the way to guidance, opposes the Prophetand deviates from the Believers’ path along the direction to which he has deviated, and then We will throw him into Hell, the terrible.’ Hadrat al-Imâm ash-Shâfi’î was asked which âyat karîma proved that ijmâ’ was a source [for Muslims]. To find a documentary proof, he read through the Qur’ân al-karîm three hundred times and found this âyat karîma to be the answer. Since this âyat karîma prohibits one from deviating from the believers’ path, it is wâjib to follow this path. The tafsîr book Madârik, after interpreting this âyat karîma, writes: ‘This âyat karîma shows that ijmâ’ as a source, and it is not permissible to ignore ijmâ’ just as it is not permissible to ignore the Qur’ân and the Sunna.’ And the tafsîr al-Baidâwî writes in the intrepretation of this âyat karîma: ‘This âyat shows that it is harâm to ignore ijmâ’. Because it is harâm to deviate from the Believers’ path, it is wâjib to follow this path.’ The sulahâ’ and ’ulamâ’ of this umma said that it is wâjib to follow a madhhab and that it is a great sin to be lâ-madhhabî. To oppose this consensus of the ’ulamâ’ means to disobey this âyat karîma, for Allâhu ta’âlâ declared in the 110th âyat of Sûrat âl ’Imrân: ‘You are of that umma who is benevolent to human beings. You command [them] to do what is right. You prohibit what is wrong.’ The ’ulamâ’ of this umma said that it was very wrong to be lâ-madhhabî and that Muslims should not be lâ-madhhâbî. Therefore, he who, thinking that it is permissible to be lâ-madhhabî, disobeys this command of the ’ulamâ’ will be denying this âyat karîma.
“Question: ‘Are not the Qâdiyânîs, Nitcherîs and other lâ-madhhabî people believers? Doesn’t following them mean following the Believers’ path?’
“Answer: The scholars of these lâ-madhhabî people say that they obey only two of the four sources of al-adillat ash-Shar’iyya. They refuse to accept the other two sources, thus separating from the majority of Muslims and dissenting from the path of Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a. Following them will not save one from Hell. People of the Shâ’î, Khârijî, Mu’tazila, Jabriyya and Qadariyya groups claim to be obeying their scholars, too. We confute the lâ-madhhabî by giving them the same answers they give to these groups.
“The fourth document proving that following a madhhab is wâjib is the 43rd âyat al-karîma of Surât an-Nahl or the 7th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-Anbiyâ’: Allâhu ta’âlâ declares, ‘If you do not know, ask the people of dhikr (ahl adh-dhikr)!’ This âyat karîma commands those who do not know how to do their ’ibâdât and affairs to learn by asking those who know. In the âyat al-karîma, it is commanded [1] to learn by asking, [2] to ask not anybody or the ignorant of Islam but to ask ’ulamâ’, and [3] to ask what is not known. Therefore, when one is not efficient enough to search and find a solution for one’s problem in the Qur’ân al-karîm or the Hadîth ash-sharîf, one should ask and learn from the majtahid [or from the books written by the ’ulamâ’] of the madhhab to which one belongs. If one asks him and acts according to what one learns from him, one will be following(taqlîd) him. If one does not ask or disobeys or denies what the mujtahid said, one becomes a lâ-madhhabî person.
“Who are the ahl adh-dhikr’ mentioned in the âyat al-karîma? Are they the a’immat al-madhhahib or ignorant men of religious post? The answer is in the hadîth ash-sharîfrecorded by Ibn Mardawaih Abu Bakr Ahmad [al-Isfahânî, who passed away in 410 A.H. (1019),] on the authority of Anas ibn Mâlik: Upon saying, ‘One may perform salât, fast and go on hajj and ghazâ, but he might be a hypocrite,’ the Prophet was asked, ‘From where does his hypocrisy come?’ The Prophet said: ‘He is a hypocrite because he despises, dislikes his imâm. His imâm is of ahl adh-dhikr.’ From this, it can be concluded that ‘ahl adh-dhikr’ means ‘Ulu ’l-amr’ which was defined in the explanation of the first document above. According to the genuine (sahîh) reports, Ulu ’l-amr were the ’Ulamâ’ ar-rasikhîn and the four a’immat al-madhâhib. The âyats ‘Only the possessors of ’aql (reason) can understand’; ‘Indeed the possessors of ’aql can understand,’ and ‘Oh the possessors of ’aql! Take warning!’ indicate the superiority of the four a’immat al-madhâhib. Those ignorant and heretical men who have not received faid from possessors of zuhd and taqwâ and from men of Allah and who, having learned some Arabic and Persian, give meaning to nasses, that is, âyats and hadîths, with their narrow minds are very far from having the qualities of the a’immat al-madhâhib. These lâ-madhhabî people are the heretics referred to in the hadîths, ‘Those who, though having no knowledge of tafsîr, interpret the Qur’ân al-karîm by themselves will be seated on stakes of fire in Hell,’ and ‘The time will come when there will be left no ’âlim of Islam and the ignorant, appointed to be religious officers, will issue fatwâ unknowingly. They will not be on the right path and will lead everybody off the right path.’ It is written in the book Mishkât that Jâbir (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh) narrated that once one of his frieds was wounded on the head while on a journey and asked if it was permissible to put on an amulet.[50] He was told it was not and that he should wash his head; his friend washed his head and he died. On arrival in Medina, everything was reported to Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam), who declared: ‘They casued his death. And may Allâhu ta’âlâ cause their death! Why did they not ask what they did not know? The remedy for ignorance is to learn by asking.’ While it was harshly said, ‘May Allâhu ta’âlâ cause their death!’ for those Sahâbîs who did not ask more learned ones but gave a fatwâ by themselves, what should be said to those contemporary people who regard themselves as men of religious authority and who, without having read the books of the Islamic ’ulamâ’, attempt to interpret the Qur’ân al-karîm and the Hadîth ash-sharîf with their empty heads and short sights, and thus destroy Muslims’ religion and belief? It will be correct to call such people the ‘thieves of religion and belief.’ May Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us from the harm of such thieves of the religion! Âmîn! Muhammad Ibn Sîrîn [passed away in Basra in 110 A.H. (729)] said, ‘Be careful about the person from whom you learn your religion! Hadrat Abu Mûsâ ’l-Ash’arî, though he was among the notables of the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm, used to hesitate to issue a fatwâ in ’Abdullâh ibn Mas’ûd’s presence and would say, ‘You should not ask me anything in the presence of this ocean of knowledge,’ for, ’Abdullâh ibn Mas’ûd was more learned and knew more fiqh than Abu Musâ ’l-Ash’arî (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhumâ). Al-Imâm ash-Shâfi’î, though he was a profound ’âlim, omitted reciting the Qunût prayer in the morning salât and the raising of the two hands after ruku’ every time when he performed salât near al-Imâm al-a’zam Abu Hanîfa’s grave. When the reason was asked, he said, ‘My respect for that great imâm prevents me from acting unconformably to his ijtihâd in his presence.’ Al-Imâm al-a’zam was such a superior ’âlim of Islam. To understand his superiority one must be an ’âlim like the great ’âlim al-Imâm ash-Shâfi’î, who knew that al-Imâm al-a’zam was alive in his grave and avoided acting unconformably to his madhhab. Righteously, these great imâms (rahimahumu’llâhu ta’âlâ) were the specialists of fiqh. They enjoyed the glad tiding expressed in this hadîth sharîf related by al-Bukhârî[51] : ‘If Allah wants to do favours for a man, He makes a faqîh of him.’
“In summary, the rules of Islam should be learned from the ’ulamâ’ of fiqh or from the mujtahids of one’s madhhab. One should not learn them from hadîths or tafsîrs. The hadîth ash-sharîf, ‘Each person has been created to do a [certain] work,’ is the document of our words. The ’ulamâ’ of the hadîth ash-sharîf were created to study the hadîhs and to select the sahîh ones, and the ’ulamâ’ of tafsîr to understand correctly and communicate the meanings in the Qur’ân al-karîm; all of them worked hard to carry out their duties and attained their goals. And the ’ulamâ’ of fiqh were created to draw rules from the nasses of the Qur’ân al-karîm and the Hadîth ash-sharîf. These great ’ulamâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ), too, attained the zenith of knowledge and made the job of the ignoramuses like us easier. With the help of their profound knowledge and taqwâ, given by Allâhu ta’âlâ, they made those nasses that seemed unconformable agree with each other and separated those muhkam from those muawwal, those earlier from those later, and those nâsikh from those mansûkh. Therefore, the whole of this blessed umma all over the world has united in following these great imâms and believed that being in their footstpes was the key to the Ah’kâm al-Islâmiyya (Rules of Islam). All ’âlims, fâdils (those virtously superior of their time), sulahâ’, the muttaqî (Allah-fearing), walîs, qutbs, awtâd, and all those who have been on the way of Allâhu ta’âlâ and loved Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) have submitted themselves to these leaders of the Ah’kâm al-Islâmiyya. The collection of the writings of the ’ulamâ’ of hadîth, of the specialists of tafsîr and of the great mujtahid imâms of fiqh made up the Islâmiyyat al-Muhammadî. It is wâjib for us, the ignorant and non-gifted, to follow these great ’ulamâ’ of Islam. The only way to salvation is the way shown by these imâms. Only those who follow this way will attain salvation. Thos