Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TO THE EVOLUTION OF
FIQH OF
MR BILAL PHILLIPS
َُُِظِشَاؽَ اٌُّْغَِزم
ّ ٌاِ٘ذَِٔب ا
Oh Allah! Guide us upon the straight path.
ْدذثٕب اثى ثىش ثٓ ٔبفغ اٌجظشٌ دذثين املؼزّش ثٓ عٍُّبْ دذثٕب عٍُّب
ٍُٗ ؤْ سعىي اهلل طًٍ اهلل ػ: املذين ػٓ ػجذ اٌٍمٗ ثٓ دَٕبس ػٓ اثٓ ػّش
ًٍوعٍُ لبي إْ اهلل ال جيّغ ؤِيت ؤو لبي ؤِخ حمّذ طًٍ ا هلل ػٍُٗ وعٍُ ػ
ػالٌخ وَذ اهلل ِغ اجلّبػخ وِٓ شز شز إىل إٌبس
On the authority of Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him)
from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), who
said: "Verily Allah will not gather my Ummah (or he said
the Ummah of Muhammad) upon misguidance and
Allah's hand is over the group and whoever dissents
from them departs to Hell."
The rest of the hadiths on this concept will be explained in
the sub-heading The Division of Muslims because of
Madhabs or anti-Madhabs!!!
Those who accuse this Umma of misguidance are simply
those who did not inherit from the generations before it.
Their absurd claim of directly following the three blessed
generations totally flattens the integrity of the Umma and
actually proves the promise of protection of Allah’s Message
as ineffective. Guiding the people was the aim in preserving
the Quran. What is the purpose of the act when the aim is
lost?
What is Shariah?
Shariah is the straight path which comprises of the practical
laws and commandments. The Quran mentions Shariah in
these words (Quran 42:13).
What is Fiqh?
Fiqh is the understanding of the shariah. The Quran mentions
fiqh in these words. (Quran 9:122)
َوَِب وَب َْ اٌْ ُّ ِؤ ُِٕىَْ ٌَُِٕ ِفشُوا وَبفَّخً َفٍَىِال َٔ َفشَ ِِٓ وًُِّ ِفشِلَخٍ ِِّٕهُُِ ؿَبِئفَخٌ ٌََُِّزف ََّمهُىا
َْفٍِ اٌذَِِّٓ وٌَُُِٕزِسُوا َل ِى َِهُُِ ِإرَا َس َجؼُىا إٌَُِِهُِِ ٌَؼٍََّهُُِ َذِزَسُو
It is not possible for all the Muslims to set out together. So,
why not a group from every section acquire the understanding
and insight of deen and warn their people when they return so
that they may guard themselves (against evil)?
ِٓ َشد: مسؼذ إٌيب طًٍ اهلل ػٍُٗ وعٍُ َمىي:مسؼذ ِؼبوَخ خـُجب َمىي
وٌٓ رضاي ٘زٖ األِخ،ٍ وإمنب ؤٔب لبعُ واهلل َؼـ،َٓاهلل ثٗ خريا َفمهٗ يف اٌذ
دىت َإيت ؤِش اهلل،ُ ال َؼشُ٘ ِٓ خبٌفه،لبئّخ ػًٍ ؤِش اهلل
دذثٕب حمّذ ثٓ ؤيب ػّش املىٍ دذثٕب عفُبْ ػٓ ِٕظىس ػٓ جمب٘ذ ػٓ ؤيب
ِؼّش ػٓ اثٓ ِغؼىد لبي اجزّغ ػٕذ اٌجُذ ثالثخ ٔفش لششُبْ وثمفٍ ؤو
ُثمفُبْ ولششٍ لًٍُ فمٗ لٍىهبُ وثري شذُ ثـىهن
Ibn Masood said “there gathered near the House three persons
amongst whom two were from Quraish and one was a Thaqafi
or two were Thaqafis and one was a Quraishi” then Ibn Masood
said “ Qaleelun Fiqh-hu qulubihim wa kaseerun sha-h-mu
butuni-him” Their hearts had little Fiqh and their
bellies had lots of fat.
*The sahabi of the prophet is describing the characteristics of
the Munafiqeen as having little Fiqh.
املششوني فمبٌىا َب سعىي اهلل خشج إٌُه ٔبط ِٓ ؤثٕبئٕب وإخىإٔب وؤسلبئٕب
وٌُظ هلُ فمٗ يف اٌذَٓ وإمنب خشجىا فشاسا ِٓ ؤِىإٌب وػُبػٕب فبسددُ٘ إٌُٕب
ُلبي فئْ مل َىٓ هلُ فمٗ يف اٌذَٓ عٕفمهه
A seed is planted in the earth and the stem springs out of the
soil. The branches grow upon the stem and the fruits come on
the branch.
SEED STEM BRANCH FRUIT
The seed is the source from which the whole tree emerges.
The Quran and Sunna is the seed of Islam from which all the
teachings emerge. The stem is what is seen above the ground
and the DEEN emerges from the Quran and Sunna which is
the complete code of life and the total sum of Islamic
teaching. The shariah can be likened to the branches which
are numerous thus the shariah of each messenger was
different from the other. The Fiqh is the fruits of the Shariah
that is the interpretation of the Shariah.
QURAN & SUNNA DEEN SHARIAH FIQH
(Quran 2:2)
(Quran 2: 185)
َِش ِهشُ َسَِؼَبَْ اٌَّزٌِ ؤُٔضِيَ فُِِٗ اٌْ ُمشِآُْ ُ٘ذّي ٌٍَِّّٕبط
The month of Ramadhan in which the Quran was sent down
for the guidance of mankind.
The Sunna
The sunna is also a primary source of guidance for Fiqh issues.
ََُُِب ؤََُّهَب اٌَّزََِٓ إَُِٓىا ؤَؿُِؼُىا اٌٍَّـَٗ وَؤَؿُِؼُىا اٌشَّعُىيَ وَؤُوٌٍِ اٌَْإ ِِشِ ِِٕى
O believers, Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and the
authorities among you.
The Companions
Can the companions of the prophet be a means of guidance
for the people?
َُُِظِشَاؽَ اٌُّْغَِزم
ّ ٌاِ٘ذَِٔب ا
ihdi-nas siratal mustaqeem) Oh Allah! Guide us upon the
straight path.
ََوَِٓ َُـِغِ اٌٍَّـَٗ وَاٌشَّعُىيَ فَإُوٌَـٰئِهَ َِغَ اٌَّزََِٓ ؤَِٔؼََُ اٌٍَّـُٗ َػٍَُِهُِ َِّٓ إٌَّجُِِّني
ذنيَ ۚ َودَغَُٓ ؤُوٌَـٰئِهَ سَفُِمًب
ِ ٌَِاٌشهَذَاءِ وَاٌظَّب
ُّ وَاٌظِّذَِّ ِمنيَ و
anam Allahu alayhim min an-Nabiyeena wa-s
Siddiqeena wa-s Shuhadai wa-s Saleheena). Those who
obeyed Allah and the Messenger are with those who upon
whom is the favors of Allah. They are : the Prophets and the
Truthful and the Martyrs and the Pious.
According to this verse the favored are 4 distinct groups: the
prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the pious. We are told
to walk in the path of these 4 groups as indicated in verse 6 of
Surah Fateha. An interesting point which must be understood
is that Allahu ta’ala is relating the path of guidance to the
personalities of Islam and not to abstract values- a concept
which misguided sects fail to comprehend.
ٍَِوَاٌغَّبِثمُىَْ اٌْإَوٌَُّىَْ َِٓ اٌْ ُّهَب ِجشََِٓ وَاٌْإَٔظَبسِ وَاٌَّزََِٓ ارََّجؼُىُُ٘ ثِئِدِغَبٍْ سَّػ
جشٌِ رَذَِزهَب اٌْإَِٔهَبسُ خَبٌِذََِٓ فُِهَب
ِ َاٌٍَّـُٗ ػَِٕهُُِ وَسَػُىا ػَُِٕٗ وَؤَػَذَّ ٌَهُُِ جََّٕبدٍ ر
ُُُِؤَثَذّا ۚ رٌَِٰهَ اٌْ َفىِصُ اٌْؼَظ
radi-Allahu anhum wa radu anhu) The first of those who
emigrated and the supporters and those who follow them in
goodness, Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased
with Him. He has prepared for them paradise beneath which
rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great
success.
ََُِِِِ٘ثٍُهُُِ وََّثًَِ اٌَّزٌِ اعَِزىِلَذَ َٔبسّا َفٍََّّب ؤَػَبئذِ َِب َدىٌَِ ُٗ رَ َ٘تَ اٌٍَّـُٗ ثُِٕىس
َْظشُو
ِ ِوََرشَ َوهُُِ فٍِ ُظٍَُّبدٍ ٌَّب َُج
The example {of misguidance} is like a person who lit a fire
and when it brightened the environment, Allah took away
their light and left them in total darkness so they cannot see.)
ٍَِِّثًَُ اٌَّزََِٓ َُٕ ِفمُىَْ َؤ ِِىَاٌَهُُِ فٍِ عَجًُِِ اٌٍَّ ِٗ وََّثًَِ دَجَّخٍ ؤَٔجََزذِ عَجِغَ عََٕبثًَِ ف
ٍُُِْوًُِّ عُُٕجٍَخٍ ِّبئَخُ دَجَّخٍ ۚ وَاٌٍَُّٗ َُؼَبػِفُ ٌَِّٓ َشَبءُ ۚ وَاٌٍَُّٗ وَاعِ ْغ َػ
The example of those who spend their wealth in the path of
Allah is the grain from which seven ears shoot forth. Each ear
bears a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies for whom He
likes. Allah is Infinite and All-knowing.
دذَث إٌيب ؤسثؼخ: ؤٌُظ َمبي:ٌٗ ًُ ؤٔٗ ل- ؤَؼب- وسوَٕب ػٓ ؤيب صسػخ
ِٓ و، وِٓ لبي را لٍمً اهلل ؤُٔبثٗ ؟ ٘زا لىي اٌضٔبدلخ:آالف دذَث ؟ لبي
ِٓ حيظٍ دذَث سعىي اهلل لجغ سعىي اهلل ػٓ ِبئخ ؤٌف وؤسثؼخ ػشش ؤٌفب
ِٕٗ ممٓ سوٌ ػٕٗ ومسغ،اٌظذبثخ
It was said to Abu Zara’ ,” Is it not that the prophet had
40 000 hadiths?” Abu Zara’ said,”One who said this may Allah
destroy him. This saying is from Zindiqs, Who can encompass
all the hadiths of the prophet, for when the prophet passed
away there were 114,000 companions who had narrated
hadiths from him and heard from him.
Benefit
Those with keen insight can easily understand that the
companions of the prophet were divided into 3 categories: the
Muhaddithin, the Mufti and the Mujtahid. Within the
Muhaddithin there were 3 further categories: numerous
narrations, average narrations and few narrations. If a
companion narrates lots of hadith it does not mean that the
companion is also the most knowledgeable scholar. Take for
example Hazrat Abu Huraira. He narrated the most hadith
(5374 according to Baqi b. Makhalad- reported by M.M.Azami
in Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature) but he was
not among the companions who were Mujtahids. This fact
must open the eyes of those Muslims who say that based on
the narrations that is available today, they think that they can
act as Mujtahid and can derive all the legal rulings directly
from the Quran and Hadith. This mentality was more
appropriate in the case of Abu Huraira who was a direct
student of the prophet. Having more hadith at your disposal
does not guarantee you that you have the most knowledge of
religion. If such is the case in regards to Abu Huraira than
where do the so-called scholars of today stand – those who
claim that there is no need to follow the mujtahid Imams.
Having the proper understanding about the actual meanings
and the application of the hadith together with all the
qualifications listed below can only equip a person with the
title and the right to being an absolute Mujtahid. All those
companions who did not possess such qualification among
the companions sought the help of the Mujtahid among the
companions to understand and follow the religion.
The Sahaba were with the prophet, then the taba-een were
with the companions and then the at-ba at-taba-een were
with the taba-een.
Imam Bukhari
The Jami-us-sahih of Imam Bukhari contains 9082 hadith
but without repetition it goes down to 2602. This number
does not include ahadith mauqufah and sayings of successors
as per Muhammad Mustafa Azami in his book -Studies in
Hadith Methodology and Literature ed. 1977.
َّ ِب ؤدخٍذ يف وزبيب اجلبِغ إال ِب طخ:فمذ سوَٕب ػٓ اٌجخبسٌ ؤٔٗ لبي
ورشوذ ِٓ اٌظذبح ملالي اٌـىي.
"We narrated from Bukhari that he said, 'I have not
included in the book al-Jami’ other than what is sahih
and I did not include other sahih hadiths for the fear
of making it too lengthy.”
Al-Dhahabi in Tadhkirat al-huffaz pg 556 said,
Ibn Umar said, the prophet said on the day of Ahzaab: “No
one among you prays `Asr except at Banu Quraida”. They
encountered the time for Asr salat on the way, some said we
will not pray until we reach there (Banu Quraida) while some
said but we will pray Asr as it wasn’t meant from us that way
(it wasn’t prohibited). The matter was mentioned to the
prophet and he did not scold any of them.
1. Mujtahid Mutlaq
They had numerous students who would learn from them and
there were those who themselves had reached the grade of
Ijtahid so that there were scholary discussions amongst them
to arrive at a ruling.
2. Mujtahid fil-Madhab
These were Mujtahids who used the usul (principles) of the
Mujtahid Mutlaq. They did not separate themselves from the
circle of their Imams and made their own Ijtihads but their
Ijtihads were included within the madhab of their Imams.
These students then classified and codified and further
explained the rulings so that scholar of lesser degree can
benefit from them.
3. Mujtahid fil-Masala
They did Ijtihad in novel situations according to the usul of
their Imams.
4. Ashab al-Takhrij
Those who would explain, unclear rules derived by mujtahids.
5. Arbab at-Tarjih
Those who preferred one of the several riwayas coming from
mujtahids. (narrations or opinions of the mujtahids as
narrated).
6. Muqallids
The common Muslim who were incapable of distinguishing
weak riwayas from genuine ones.
1st reason
- For not claiming absolute ijtihad is of precaution, that if
the room was opened up for absolute ijtihad then
instead of 4 there would be infinite madhabs in
existence. And if Taqlid (being a Muqallid of Imams) is
thought to be haram (as some feeble minds claim) then
every common muslim is entitled to ijtihad which is
absurd and ignorance. The issue of Taqlid will be dealt at
a later stage.
2nd reason
- for not claiming absolute ijtihad is the fact that the
previous generations had the privilege of a rich content
of prophetic sayings from which they derived the rulings
while the later generations did not receive all but
reduced portions of it in the natural process of transfer.
Read the Paragragh on Imam Bukhari and
Imam Ahmad bin Hambal for full explanation.
The absolute Ijtihad was done by the contemporaries of the 4
Imams of Fiqh but as the time elapsed their fatwas which
were not documented became forgotten. The requirement of
absolute ijtihad was too strict which was not met by the many
later scholars. Not everyone became hafiz of hadith, let alone
the other rigorous conditions mentioned earlier for the
absolute ijtihad. The later scholars did not claim absolute
ijtihad due to the above 2 reasons because of the 4 sets of
usuls employed by the 4 imams were sufficient. The Ijtihad
where the scholars used the principles of their own madhabs
in novel situations was always practiced. This is the unbiased
explanation of the allegation that Ijtihad was abandoned by
the umma because it is an absolute lie - the accusers never
explained to their audience the different types of Ijtihad and
its requirements and the foolishness of their position is that
they expect every layman among the muslim to be a mujtahid.
Those who follow these types of so-called scholars must think
a million times as to whether these are even fit to be leaders
of the Muslims.
Taqlid
ََِْب ؤََُّهَب اٌَّزََِٓ إَُِٓىا ؤَؿُِؼُىا اٌٍَّـَٗ وَؤَؿُِؼُىا اٌشَّعُىيَ وَؤُوٌٍِ اٌَْإ ِِشِ ِِٕىُُِ ۖ فَئ
َِرََٕبصَػِزُ ُِ فٍِ شٍَِ ٍء َفشُدُّوُٖ إًٌَِ اٌٍَّـِٗ وَاٌشَّعُىيِ إِْ وُٕزُُِ ُر ِؤ ُِٕىَْ ثِبٌٍَّـِٗ وَاٌَُْ ِى
اٌْأ ِخشِ ۖ رٌَِٰهَ خَُِشْ وََؤدِغَُٓ رَ ْإوًٍَِب
O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and
those with authority among you. If ye differ in anything
among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye
do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best and most
suitable for end result.
There are many subtle meanings inside this verse yet many
superficial scholars use this same verse to deny the concept of
the authority of the ulul-amr (the ones in authority). The
obedience to Allah is unconditional and the obedience to the
prophet is also unconditional but the obedience to the ulil-
amr is not unconditional. Their obedience is conditional.
Using this partial meaning they deny the concept of following
the authorities. They say that the obedience of the ulil-amr
depends on the following of the correct interpretation of the
Quran and Sunna. This statement might look pleasant on the
outset but it is unfounded during deeper analysis.
٘زا ؤطً طذُخ َؼزّذ ػٍُٗ ىف اٌجشبسح: ًلبي احلبفظ احملمك اجلالي اٌغُىؿ
ٌٗ ثإىب دُٕفخ سمحٗ اهلل و يف فؼٍُخ اٌزبِخ
Imam Ibn Hajar Haythami after mentioning the hadith
from sahih Muslim, Shirazi, Abu Nuaym and Tabrani
wrote that Al-Hafiz al-Muhaqiq Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti
said ,”this is actually the gladtidings about Abu Hanifa
and in complete superiority for him.”
Weak in hadith
The enemies of Imam Abu Hanifa spread lies about him that
he did not have enough knowledge of hadith so that the next
attack of them would be directed on his ijtihad. They did in-
fact accused him of basing most of his ijtihad on opinion.
Below are some facts which will shed light on this baseless
accusation.
و لذ روش ِٕهُ االِبَ ؤثى دفض اٌىجري ؤسثؼخ آالف و لبي غريٖ ٌٗ ؤسثؼخ
آالف شُخ ِٓ اربثؼني
Imam Abu Hafs al-Kabeer has mentioned 4000 teachers of
Imam Abu Hanifa and he said apart from it (the 1st statement)
he (Imam Abu Hanifa) had 4000 teachers from the Taba-een.
Imam Al-Azam
The greatest Imam! Why do the objectors have to put the
meaning against the intended usage? In denial the objectors
use another technique to misuse correct statements in their
propaganda and they say that the greatest Imam is our
Prophet - who is the Imam of all the Prophets. While this is
true, the application has bad intention against the Imam (Abu
Hanifa).
ٌََمَذِ جَبءَوُُِ سَعُىيٌ ِِّٓ ؤَٔفُغِىُُِ َػضَِضْ َػٍَُِِٗ َِب ػَِٕزُُِّ َدشَِضْ َػٍَُِىُُ ثِبٌْ ُّ ِؤ ِِٕني
ُُِْسَءُوفْ َّسد
There had come to you a messenger from among you, it
grieves him that you are in pain, yearning for your benefit, to
the believers he is most kind and most merciful.
Isn’t this proof enough that the shafii scholars praised Imam
Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafii himself declared that all scholars
of fiqh were children of Imam Abu Hanifa?
لٍذ ِبٌه وُف سؤَذ ؤة دُٕفخ فمبي سؤَذ سجال ٌى وٍّه يف اٌغبسَخ
ٗؤْ جيؼٍهب ر٘جب ٌمبَ حبجز
Imam Shafii said, ‘I asked Imam Malik about Imam Abu
Hanifa. Imam Malik declared the caliber of Imam Abu Hanifa
to Imam Shafii that if he claimed a pillar to be of gold he will
establish undeniable proof for it.’
Why are these facts ignored and those who really created the
division and accused the whole Muslim umma of shirk and
bidah have become the claimants of the right path? The
Muslims must wake up in the face of these facts and realize
the innocence behind the masked face of neo-khawarij!!!
1st Objection
Those who follow the Imams of Madhab in Fiqh are
accused of following the Imams without
understanding the evidence and the Quran ( surah
17: verse 36 is quoted as a proof).
The Quran says (17:36)
Verse 34 – ۖ ُُٖذ
َّ وٌََب َر ْمشَثُىا َِبيَ اٌَُْزُُِِ إٌَِّب ثِبٌَّزٍِ ٍَِ٘ َؤدِغَُٓ دَزًَّٰ َِجٍُغَ ؤَش
ِْ اٌْ َؼهِذَ وَبَْ َِغِئُىًٌب
َّ وََؤوِفُىا ثِبٌْ َؼهِذِ ۖ إ
Do not misuse orphan’s property except in the way that is
best, until he reaches maturity. And fulfill [every]
commitment. Indeed, the commitment is ever [that about
which one will be] questioned.
Verse 35 – ْوََؤوِفُىا اٌْىًََُِ ِإرَا ِوٍْزُُِ وَصُِٔىا ثِبٌْمِغِـَبطِ اٌُّْغَِزمُُِِ ۖ رٌَِٰهَ خَُِش
وََؤدِغَُٓ رَ ْإوًٍَِب
Be honest in measure when you measure, and weigh with an
even balance. That is the best [way] and best in result.
Where in the verse does it say that you must not follow the
trusted authorities of Islam in their Ijtihad? They are mis-
quoting parts of the verses with wrong application to confuse
the Muslims.
2nd Objection
On page 57 Mr. Bilal Phillips writes….”because the
number of Sahaabah who settled there (Iraq) was
small, Hadeeths were not nearly as available there
as in Hijaaz.”
لبي اٌجخبسي دخٍذ إىل اٌشبَ و ِظش واجلضَشح ِشرني وإىل اٌجظشح ؤسثغ
ِشاد و ؤلّذ ثبحلجبص عزخ ؤػىاَ وال ؤدظً وُ دخٍذ إىل اٌىىفخ
واٌجغذاد ِغ احملذثني
3rd Objection
The Muslims believe that the madhabs are divinely
ordained. Mr Bilal Phillips writes on page 7”. At the
same time he may be informed that there are three
other canonical schools, and that all four schools
are divinely ordained and infallible.”
They accuse the Muslims that they think the madhabs are
divinely ordained when the reality is that the muslims
believe as per the hadith that the saved group is a
promise of Allah through the urgency of the prophet’s
hadith and in reality an extension to the promise that
the Quran will be preserved by Allah himself.
4th Objection
“Madhabs are hard to explain to new converts,
therefore it is not practical.”
This is not the criteria for anything to be right or wrong.
Suppose a concept is hard to explain to a group of
people, does it mean that the concept must be trashed
like some groups think? No, the hard to explain excuse is
only existant from the perspective of the beholder. It
might not be as hard if the opposite view is also
explained. It must be borne in the minds of the muslims
(and anyone who is interested in learning Islam) that the
presence of 4 different madhabs have made the practice
of Islam easy for the people. A person is not expected to
practice on the legal deductions of all the madhabs at
the same time but he can choose any one madhab which
is easy for him and practice on it. How can this be hard?
Actually it is easier than practicing on something where
there is no option.
5th Objection
6th Objection
How can you follow the ijtihad of the Mujtahid who
has erred?
Imam Bukhari in his sahih, Book of holding on to the
Quran and Sunna, chapter 21, brings the hadith.
ُػٓ ػّشو ثٓ اٌؼبص ؤٔٗ مسغ سعىي اهلل طًٍ اهلل ػٍُٗ وعٍُ َمىي إرا دى
احلبوُ فبجزهذ مث ؤطبة فٍٗ ؤجشاْ وإرا دىُ فبجزهذ مث ؤخـإ فٍٗ ؤجش
The prophet said, “Iza hakamal hakimu fa-(i) jtahada
summa asaba falahu ajrani wa iza hakama fa- jtahada
summa akhta-a fa lahu ajrun.” When a Mujtahid deduces a
legal ruling (hukm) and hits (the correct ruling) for him is 2
rewards and when he deduces and misses (the correct ruling)
for him is 1 reward.
The question is that why does Allahu ta’ala give reward on the
wrong ruling? The mujtahid who passed the judgement did it
in good trust and good intention. He did not think that the
ruling was wrong because if he knew that it was wrong why
would he rule like that in the first place? The decision of
whose deduction is right and whose is wrong is in the
knowledge of Allah and not on the people to decide. The
people trust the mujtahid and act on the ruling and Allahu
ta’ala will give reward according to your intention just like HE
rewarded both the mujtahids; the one who was right in the
sight of Allah and also to the one who erred in the sight of
Allah. The main focus in this matter is that Allahu ta’ala will
decide on the day of Judgement who was right and who was
not and it is not the matter to be decided by the non-
mujtahids like so many rampant today.
7th Objection
Pg 57 „Evolution of Fiqh‟ states “The few Hadeeths
which these Iraqi scholars considered accurate
were only accepted after the fulfillment of very
strict conditions. The natural result of this
development was that the Iraqi school of thought
and its scholars depended more on reason and
logic than on the narrated Sunnah of the Prophet.”
Thirdly, how can the hadith reaching the Kufans were mostly
unauthentic and the ijma reports that reached them were
authentic? Since both these reports reach through the same
way of transmission, both must be mostly sound or both must
be mostly unsound. The defamers of madhabs have divided
the hadith and ijma reports making one unauthentic and the
other authentic.
10th Objection
Mr Bilal Phillips writes on pg 70 “The Sunnah in its
entirety was also collected and recorded in books of
Hadeeth by the end of this stage.”
ٍُ لَب َ فَُِِٕب إٌَّجٍُِّ طٍٍ اهلل ػٍُٗ وآٌٗ وع: ُػَِٓ ػُ َّشَ سػٍ اهلل ػٕٗ َ ُمىِي
ِخٍْكِ دَزٍَّ َدخًََ ؤًَُِ٘ اٌْجََّٕخِ ََِٕبصٌَِهُُِ وَؤًَُِ٘ إٌَّبس
َ ٌْ فََإخَِجشََٔب ػَِٓ ثَذِءِ ا،َِمَبِّب
َُُِٗظ رٌَِکَ َِِٓ َدفِظَُٗ ؤََغَُُِٗ َِِٓ َٔغ
َ ِ َدف،ََُُِِٕبصٌَِه.
The companion Umar said: “the prophet stood amongst us and
told us everything from the beginning of creation up until the
time when the people of paradise will enter paradise and the
people of hell will enter hell. Whoever memorized it (that
much) was saved and whoever forgot it that (much) was
forgotten.”
Just for the sake of argument if we believe that all Sunna were
recorded then the next question is that: did all of those
recording reach us? It is a natural phenomenon that the
original writings will decrease as they get destroyed but the
new writings will emerge. It is clearly explained by this
example ,that suppose 1000 years from today there were 1000
books on Islamic subjects. What are the chances that those
same 1000 books are available today? Maybe 100 will survive
the onslaught of time. But it is very much possible that today
there are 1 000 000 books on Islamic subjects. What would
you call that? An increase of knowledge or the decrease of
knowledge! The contemporary knowledge increased but the
original knowledge was not transmitted fully to the
succeeding generations.
Where are all the hadith that were recorded? Even Imam
Bukhari’s entire knowledge of hadith is not available today let
alone all the hadith of the prophet. How can a person do
absolute ijtihad in such a case?
11th Objection
On pg 74 Mr Bilal Phillips writes,” In Hanafi
madhab a sahih hadith is not enough to be taken
as a legal proof because the sahih hadith has to be
mashoor hadith in order to be taken as proof.”
On the same page Mr Bilal Phillips again writes
that “Imam Abu Hanifa took ijma as proof over his
own opinion.”
How is it possible that Imam Abu Hanifa is rejecting sahih
hadith as proof and at the same time he is taking ijma over his
opinion as proof? Is Sahih hadith of the prophet greater than
ijma or is ijma greater than sahih hadith? Mr Phillips is
twisting things around to degrade the principles adopted by
the Imams. Imam Abu Hanifa never rejected any sahih hadith
of the prophet. How can he when he is taking even the ijma or
a single statement of a sahabi in the absence of ijma? The
mutawatir hadiths were given the same legal status as the
verse of the Quran in terms of its reliability called Qati-yaat.
All it means is that whatever ruling can be derived by the
verse of the Quran if it is clear in evidence (Suboot) the same
ruling will be derived by the mutawatir hadith if it is clear in
evidence (suboot). The sahih hadith which is less than
mutawatir called ahad will not carry the same legal position.
Why is Mr Phillips twisting the principles of Hanafi Fiqh to
prove is agenda?
12th Objection
On page 74 , Mr Phillips writes , “ Imam Abu Hanifa
chose one opinion of the sahaba if there were many
opinions on the subject and in the absence of Ijma
of sahaba on the subject.”
On page 51 of the book he writes…”Only one Madh-
hab existed during the period of the Righreous
Caliphs.
On page 80, Mr Phillips again writes,” Imaam
Maalik gave full weight to the opinions of the
Sahaabha, whether they were conflicting or in
agreement, and included them in his book of
Hadeeth, al-Muwatta‟.
And why did Imam Malik gather all the conflicting opinions
of the sahaba in his al-Muwatta and gave them full weight if it
was a matter of right and wrong? He should have gathered
only the right opinions and given them full weight. Why did
he also give full weight to wrong opinions of the companions
as per page 141 of Mr Bilal Phillip’s book? According to Mr
Bilal Phillips disagreement is not mercy and is wrong.
13th Objection
On page 72 Mr Phillips writes, Imam Abu Hanifa
studied for 18 years under his teacher Hammad bin
zayd who was the greatest scholar of hadith of his
time.”
On page 75 Mr Phillips writes,” Iraqi scholars had
few hadith due to less number of sahaba in Iraq.”
First of all Imam Abu Hanifa was not the student of Hammad
bin Zayd but he was the student of Hammad bin Abu
Sulemaan. Imam Hammad Bin Zayd was the student of Imam
Abu Hanifa and was among the trusted Hafiz of Hadith of his
time.
Secondly Imam Abu Hanifa himself is the one who for the
first time codified the knowledge of fiqh so he must have
learn fiqh from Hammad bin Abu Sulemaan in the form of
hadith of the prophet.
14th Objection
On page 103 Mr Phillips writes, „the hadith were
complied after the 4 madhabs.‟
Here Mr Phillips is implying that since the hadith were
compiled later the madhabs did not have access to all the
hadith.
15th Objection
On page 104 Mr Phillips writes,”The Imams of Fiqh
based some of their rulings on weak hadith. For
example Imam Ahmad bin Hambal ruled that
vomiting breaks wudoo and the hadith of Ibn Majah
on this subject is daif.”
This is like matching apples to oranges. Did Imam Ahmad Bin
Hanbal say that he used the hadith of Ibn Majah to derieve
the ruling? Imam Ibn Majah came after Imam Ahmad bin
Hambal. Why does Imam Ahmad need the hadith of Ibn
Majah? Even if Imam Ahmad used the same text of hadith for
his ruling, he did not have the chain of Ibn Majah. Imam
Ahmad will have his own chain because he is before Ibn
Majah. Why does the weak chain of Ibn Majah even affect
Imam Ahmad’s ruling?
Secondly, does the weak chain of any narration means that
there is no other chain available? Who arrived at this
conclusion? Weak chain means the weakness of that specific
chain only, not the weakness of Matn (text) so another chain
which is stronger will remove the weakness from the weak
narration.
16th Objection
Mr Bilal Phillips writes on page 73,” Because of
their leaning towards hypothetical Fiqh which
often introduced an issue with the question, “what
if so and so happened?”, they became known as
the what-iffers or Ahl ar-Ra‟I (the opinion people).”
َْخشِ لَى
َ ٌَِب َغ
17th Objection
On page 115 Mr Phillips writes „The schools of Fiqh
were completely formed and the minutest of
details worked out. The laws for what had
occurred, as well as what might occur, were already
deduced and recorded due to the extensive
development of speculative Fiqh. This left little
room for Ijtihaad and originality. As a result,
they‟re developed and over dependence on the
works of earlier scholars of the Madhhabs”.
18th Objection
Mr Phillips writes on page 115,”Some unqualified
individuals began to claim the right to make
ijtihaad in order to twist the religion to suit their
wishes. Consequently, many incompetent scholars
began making rulings, which misguided the masses
on a number of issues. In the ensuring confusion,
the reputable scholars of the day tried to close
the door of Ijtihaad in order to protect the
Sharee‟ah from being tampered with.”
Those who claimed full ijtihad with the slogan of Quran and
Sunna without the qualification of the Mujtahid as outlined in
the earlier pages and with Bukhari and Muslim Slogan had to
end up following their whimps and desires. Naturally enough
the exponents of Taqleed did not do taqleed of the Mujtahids
but ended up doing taqleed of their ego in the absence of
above qualifications.
19th Objection
On page 118 Mr Phillips writes that Imam
Shawkani said that Taqleed is haram.
The blanket statement means that Ijtihad is fard for everyone.
Is it possible that every Muslim can do ijtihad having all the
required qualifications? What would that do to Mr Phillips
one madhab ideology because the number of madhabs would
be same as the number of people doing ijtihad? Not 4, but
millions.
20th Objection
On page 122 Mr Phillips writes, „The four Madh-
habs became totally incompatible and the Muslim
Ummah was virtually split into four religious
sects.‟
21st Objection
On page 125 Mr Phillips writes , „ Little do they
realize that their preference of their Imaam‟s
opinion over the Prophet‟s (s.w.) statement is itself
in total opposition to the stand taken by their own
Imaam, and is in fact bordering on a form of Shirk
known as “Shirk fee Tawheed al-Ittibaa.‟