TAQLEED OF AN INDIVIDUAL DURING THE TIME OF THE COMPANIONS AND
THEIR FOLLOWERS.
Companions did not make Taqleed rigidly adhering to one scholar
in all issues
but rather the Companions approached different scholars and
adhered to the disparate
Fatwas, which were received from the different scholars amongst
the Companions. This
is normally referred to as Taqleed in general. There are
abundant references to Taqleed
of a particular individual in the books of Sunnah. A few examples
are offered below.
Imam Bukhari narrates from Ikrimah that the people of Madinah
asked Ibn Abbas
about a woman who - during Hajj - makes her first Tawaaf and
then enters her menstrual
period before she can make her final Tawaaf. Ibn Abbas told them
that she could go
home without completing her final tawaaf. The people of Madinah
said:
"We will not take your opinion over the opinion of Zaid ibn
Thabit."
This narration is found in the Mu'ajjam of Isma'ili from Abdul
Wahhab Thaqafi.
The words of the people of Madinah in this narration are :
"We do not care
whether you give us this Fatwa or you don't. Zaid ibn Thabit
hold the opinion that this
woman should not go home [but wait until she is able to complete
the final tawaaf]." 41
Also, this narration is found in the musnad of Abu Dawood
Tayalisi from Qatada
where the words of the people of Madinah are:
39 Kanzul Ummal - vol. 3, page 317
40 'Illamul Muqi'een - vol. 1, page 9
41 Fathul Bari - vol. 3, page 468 and Umtadul Qari - vol. 4,
page 777
"We will not follow you, O Ibn Abbas as you go against the
opinion of Zaid."
Ibn Abbas replied: "Ask your companion Umme Saleem when you
reach Madinah
[Whether my opinion is correct or not]" 42
Two points are clear from this dialogue between Ibn Abbas and
the people of
Madinah. The first is that the people of Madinah regarded and followed
Zaid ibn Thabit
as an authority. His opinion was given preference over any other
scholar. In fact, the
narration in the Mu'ajjam of Ismai'ili tells us that Ibn Abbas
gave the people of Madinah
proof of his Fatwa by referring them to Umme Saleem.43 Despite
this proof, the people of
Madinah still maintained that they trusted the opinion of Zaid
ibn Thabit and his
statement was proof enough. Ibn Abbas did not object to this
behavior from the people of
Madinah. He did not approach the people nor has anything
different been narrated. He
instructed them to return to Zaid and confirm the ruling with
Umme Saleem. Zaid did
confirm the opinion of Ibn Abbas with Umme Saleem and retracted
his previous opinion.
The latter part of the narration is confirmed in the books of
Muslim, Nisaai, Baihaqi and
others.44 Certain quarters contend that if the people of Madinah
were among those who
practiced Taqleed, why did they bother to confirm the Hadith
from Umme Saleem?45
This contention is based on the misunderstanding that while
making Taqleed of a
certain Mujtahid, continuing research into the Quran and Sunnah
is somehow forbidden
or dormant. Those who reject Taqleed base many arguments on this
misconception. The
nature of Taqleed in essence is that a person who does not have
the immediate tools to
derive Hukm Shari'ah from the Qur'an and Sunnah directly relies
upon the opinion of a
Mujtahid and acts upon it. The concept of Taqleed does not
hinder seeking knowledge of
the Quran and Sunnah. This seeking of knowledge continues even
whilst practicing
Taqleed. For this reason hundreds of scholars - who practiced
the Taqleed of an
individual - continued to write commentaries of the Quran and
Sunnah and expand their
scholastic horizons. If during research an opinion of a certain
Mujtahid was conclusively
proven to be against the Quran and Sunnah, the
"unsound" opinion would be relinquished
and the stronger evidence would be adopted.
If a Muqallid (someone who follows a Mujtahid) finds that the
opinion of his Imam is
contrary to a Hadith, this is not necessarily antithetical to
Taqleed. The narration in
question, rather, prove that both Taqleed and constant
examination and re-evaluation of
primary evidence were both in vogue simultaneously. The people
of Madinah took
counsel from Zaid who confirmed the Hadith with Umme Saleem and
retracted from his
original position. This approach enabled reconciliation between
a confirmed Hadith and
the opinion of an Imam, but the key to this narration is the
firm stand of the people of
Madinah:
42 Abu Dawood Tayalisi in his Musnad - page 229
43 The people of Madinah met with Ibn Abbas again and informed
him that the Hadith (from Umme
Saleem) was as he mentioned. Umtadul Qari - vol. 4, page 777
44 Fathul Bari - vol. 3, page 468/469
45 Tahreeke Azade Fikr, by Maulana Ismail Salfi - page 132
"We will not take your opinion over the opinion of Zaid ibn
Thabit"
If this is not following (making Taqleed of) an individual, then
it begs the question what is?
Imam Bukhari has narrated from Huzail ibn Shurahbail that some
people asked Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari a question on inheritance. Abu Musa replied
advising them to ask Abdullah ibn Mas'ood. They did so and Abdullah gave them
an answer, which was very different from that of Abu Musa. When Abu Musa heard
of Abdullah's Fatwa, he acknowledged his learning and said:
"Do not ask me anything as long as this great scholar is
present amongst you."
The fact that Abu Musa acknowledged the superior knowledge of
Abdullah ibn Mas'ood and then actually instructed others to ask him all their
questions concerning the Deen, is in fact a mandate for following an individual.
Certain quarters contend that although Abu Musa instructed people not to follow
him as long as Abdullah was present, this does not necessitate that he
prevented them from asking other Companions who were still present. Abu Musa
was merely emphasizing that since Abdullah is more knowledgeable than myself;
people should refer to him in all matters. The answer to this contention is
that this incident occurred in Kufa during the time of Uthman where Abdullah
ibn Mas'ood was the established scholar. As of yet Ali had not arrived in Kufa.
So of the understanding of Abu Musa's statement is merely that "when a
superior scholar is present, why go to a lesser scholar?" then it still
refers to the fact that Abdullah should be followed in Kufa since there was no
one who could match his knowledge. A narration in the Mu'ajjam of Tabarani
tells us that Abu Musa was asked a question about suckling and he made a
similar statement: "Do not ask me while this (scholar) from the companions
of the Prophet is present amongst us." So it is clear that the
circumstances and environment under which Abu Musa made this statement supports
the idea of following a specific individual. Taqleed of a specific individual
was not unfamiliar to the Companions.
Imam Tirmidhi and Imam Abu Dawood have both narrated that when
the Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen (as a
governor), he asked him:
"How will you judge if you are asked to do so?"
Mu'adh said: "I will judge according to the Book of
Allah."
The Prophet: "And if you do not find it in the Book of
Allah?"
Muadh: "Then I will judge according to the Sunnah of His
messenger."
The Prophet : "And if you do not find it in the Sunnah of
the Messenger, or in the Book of
Allah?"
Muadh: "Then I will exercise my opinion and I will not be
negligent with it."
The Prophet then patted the chest of Mu'adh with his hands and
said: "All praise is due
to Allah Who has guided the emissary of His Messenger towards
that which He guided
His Messenger." 46
The Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam sent one of the best
scholars from amongst the
Companions. He appointed Mu'adh RA as a governor, judge, mentor
and Mujtahid for
the people of Yemen and ordered, him to be followed. He allowed
him, not only to give
Fatwas based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, but also to use and
exercise his own judgment.
It is clear that the Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam decreed
the people of Yemen to practice
Taqleed of an individual. 47 To argue that this Hadith deals
with judicial practices and not
with Ijtihad and Taqleed48 is misguiding. Aswas ibn Zaid said
that Mu'adh ibn Jabal
came to us in Yemen as a teacher and as a governor. We asked him
regarding how the
inheritance should be distributed of a man who had died leaving
behind a daughter and a
sister. He ruled that both the daughter and the sister should
receive half each.49 Here
Mu'adh RA ruled as a Mufti and did not offer any proof for his
ruling. His view was
implemented by merely accepting and following it as in Taqleed.
However, even
though Mu'adh RA did not offer any explanation for his ruling,
his opinion was based on
the Qur'an and Sunnah. There is another Fatwa of Mu'adh RA in
which he used his
discretion and exercised his Ijtihad. Abu Aswad Al-Dailami said
that when Mu'adh RA
was in Yemen, people came up to him with a case of a Jew who had
died and left a
Muslim brother him. Mu'adh said:
46 Abu Dawood in the chapter of judgements by opinion
47 A certain critic - who has labelled myself and others who
practice Taqleed as infidels - has written the
following comments: "before offering the hadith as a proof,
perhaps he should have examined whether the hadith
was sound or not" (At-Tahqeeq fi Jabawab Taqleed: Page 47),
Then, the above mentioned critic has quoted the
famous objection stated by Shaykh Zurqaani from the footnotes of
Abu Dawood. Perhaps the person in question
himself would like to observe how - in the process of condemning
Taqleed - he has used the principle of taqleed
himself by quoting Shaykh Zurqaani's objection to the hadith as
sufficient proof against my argument. Morever, he
seems to have found it sufficient to quote the footnotes of Abu
Dawood in arguing in the integrity of the Hadith. If
anything, perhaps he could have read and summarised the comments
Ibn Qayyim has made on this hadith refuting
Zurqaani's objections. Ibn Qayyim has argued that none of the
transmitters of this hadith have been classified as
liars or as weak. Their memory and integrity have not been
questioned at all. Besides, there is another chain from
Khatib of Baghdad which links us directly to hadith of Mua'adh
RA whose narrators are all known as authentic and
reliable. Also, the Ummah's acceptance of this hadith is a very
important factor in seeing the authenticity of the
hadith. (Ilaamul Muq'ieen vol.1 page 172)
48 as mentioned in Tahreeke Azadi Fikr, by Muhammed Ismail
"I have heard the Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam say
that Islam increases (gives)
and does not decrease (take away)."
So Mu'adh then ruled that the Muslim should inherit from the
Jew.50 Here
Mu'adh RA used a Hadith whose background had nothing to do with
inheritance, but still
used it to form an opinion which was accepted and followed by
the people of Yemen.51
There is yet another incident which has been narrated in the
Musnad of Ahmed
and in the Mu'ajjam of Tabarani which says that when Mu'adh came
to Yemen, a woman
from Khaulan met him and offered salaams to him.
"O dear man! Who has sent you?" she asked him.
"The Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam has sent me"
replied Mu'adh.
"The Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam sent you so that
makes you the messenger of the
Messenger of Allah."
"So won't you inform me of Islam O' messenger of the
Messenger?" she continued
"Ask me what you wish," replied Mu'adh.52
49 Bukhari vol. 2, page 99
50 Musnad of Ahmed: vol. 5, page 230 and 236 Hakim has also
narated this Hadith and classified as
sound even though Bukhari and Muslim did not narrate it. Dhahabi
said that it is a sound hadith
(Mustadrak of Hakim vol. 4, page 345)
51 It should be noted that this ruling was Mua'dh's own
conclusion. The opinion of the majority of other
Companions is based on a hadith which says that a Muslim does
not inherit from a non-Muslim.
52 Al-Haithami in Majma'us Zawaid vol.4 page 307/308. Also Ahmed
and Tabarani from the narration of
Abdul Hamid ibn Bahraam from Shahar who were known to weak, but
they also have been authenticated
It is clear that Mu'adh RA was sent as a representative of the
Prophet sallalahu
alaihi wa sallam. People would ask of him questions about
Islamic issues and he would
answer. The above mentioned woman verified his status and then
proceeded to ask him
questions. Mu'adh RA obliged her and answered her questions. One
of her question was
"What are the duties of a wife towards her husband?"
In reply to this question, Mu'adh
RA did not quote the Quran nor Hadith, but merely explained the
broad Islamic
principles. He did not offer any proofs for his answer. After
all, Mu'adh RA is the one
about whom the Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam said that he
was the most informed of
what is Halal and what is Haram.53 The Prophet sallalahu alaihi
wa sallam also said:
"Mu'adh will be raised on the Day of Judgment far ahead of
Scholars to a
distance that one can shoot an arrow".54
Not only did the people of Yemen follow Mu'adh RA, but so to did
other
Companions. Abu Muslim Khaulani said that he went to the mosque
in Damascus and
saw a group of Companions gathered there (and in the narration
of Kathir ibn Hisham,55
there were close to 30 Companions of the Prophet sallalahu
alaihi wa sallam ). Among them,
there was a young man whose eyes had antimony in them and who
had white teeth. Each
time they differed in an issue, they would refer to the Young
man. Abu Muslim asked
who the young man was and he was informed that it was Mu'adh ibn
Jabal. 56 In yet
another narration of this incident, the words are:
"And whenever they differed in an issue, they would refer
it to Mu'adh and accept his
decision as final."57
Mu'adh ibn Jabal RA was among those Companions RA who were
scholars and
about whom the Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam said that:
"the most informed about what
is Halal and what is Haram."
53 Nisaai; Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah - all with sound narrators
(Tadeebul Asmaa wal Lughaat by Nawawi
vol 1, page 99)
54 Musnad Ahmed from Omar RA (Fathur Rabbani: Vol 21, page 352)
55 Musnad of Ahmed vol. 5 page 236
56 Ibid
57 Ibid page 233
He was also followed by several other Companions. The Prophet
sallalahu alaihi wa
sallam sent him to Yemen as a governor, judge and as a scholar
whose opinion should be
listened to and followed. The people of Yemen obliged and this
is the essence of Taqleed
of an individual. There is a narration in the Sunnan of Abu
Dawood in which Amr ibn
Maimoon Al-Awdai said:
"Mu'adh ibn Jabal RA came to us in Yemen as the messenger
of the Messenger of
Allah. I heard his Takbeer in Fajr and found that he had a deep
voice. I developed an
affinity with him and I did not leave his company until I buried
him in Syria. Then, I
searched for the most learned scholar after him and found
Abdullah ibn Mas'ood. I
stayed with him until he died."58
In this narration, Amr ibn Maimoon searched for a scholar after
Mu'adh RA
passed away. He stayed with Mu'adh RA and Ibn Mas'ood RA merely
to seek
knowledge of Islamic Law. So as long as Mu'adh was alive, he
consulted him and when he died, he
consulted Ibn Mas'ood RA. Referring to only one scholar is known
as
following an individual.
Likewise, the Tabi'een followed individual Companions. The
following are some
examples:
Imam Sha'bi said:
"Whoever wishes to take an authority in rulings and
judgments should apply the
statements of Omar RA."59
Imam Mujahid said:
"When people disagree about an issue, they should see what
Omar RA did and
accept it."60
Imam Aa'mush said about Ibrahim al-Nakha'i:
"Ibrahim did not consider anybody's opinion to be better
than Omar RA and Ibn
Mas'ood RA when they both agreed upon an issue. When they
disagreed, Ibrahim would
prefer Ibn Mas'ood's opinion over Omar's" 61
58 Abu Dawood: vol 1, page 62 and Ahmed: vol. 5, page 231
59 'Ilaamul Muqi'een vol.1, page 15
60 Ibid
61 Ibid Page 13 and 14
Abu Tamimah said:
"We came to Syria and found people were forming an
entourage around one
person. I asked someone who this person was and he told me that
he was the most
learned of the Companions of the Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa
sallam and who was still alive.
He was Omar al-Bakkali RA". 62
Imam Ibn Jarir Tabari said:
"No scholar had students who wrote his Fatwas and arranged
his views in Islamic
except for Abdullah ibn Mas'ood. Even Abdullah used to forsake
his view completely
and give preference to Omar if he disagreed with him, but they
disagreed very
infrequently."
Sha'bi said, "Abdullah did not recite the Qunut in Fajr.
Omar had recited the Qunut,
then Abdullah would have most definitely recited it also."
63
The several examples provide ample evidence of following one
particular
individual during the illustrious era of the Companions RA.
There are various degrees of
Taqleed. These differ with the qualifications of a person.
Following one particular Imam
does not exclude the possibility of deferring to another in
different issues. This would not
impede the general permissibility of following or making Taqleed
of an individual. For
example, there are issues where Hanafi scholars have not applied
the view of Imam Abu
Hanifa and have in fact given Fatwas contrary to the Imam's.
However, they are still
considered as followers of the Hanafi School of jurisprudence.
This issue will be
elaborated upon under the discussion and its various degrees.
Shaykh Ibn Qayyim Al
Jawziyya has used these very examples to show the fallibility of
Taqleed.64 The argument for Taqleed is
correspondingly advanced by the very same Ahadith65 employed
by Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyya.
62 Ibid page 14
63 Ibid page 16
64 Ibid vol. 2, page 170
65 Maulana Habib Ahmed Kiranwi has in his work "Inhaa us
sukoon", the Introduction to 'Ilaanus sunan
(vol. 2, page 4-69) giving satisfying answers to the arguments
raised by Ibn Qayyim
The narrations above conclusively prove that both forms of
Taqleed: absolute
Taqleed (or Taqleed in general) and Taqleed of an individual
both existed during the
time of the Companions RA. The truth is that both forms of
Taqleed are sanctioned and
permissible for those who cannot extract rules directly from the
Qur'an and Sunnah.
Shah Waliyyullah of Delhi writes:
"The criticism against Taqleed does not apply to the person
who acknowledges
that he should follow only the Prophet's sallalahu alaihi wa
sallam statements, that is to say
what Prophet sallalahu alaihi wa sallam made halal and what he
made haram. Since this
person does not possess the knowledge enumerated by the Prophet
sallalahu alaihi wa sallam
and is not capable of reconciling apparent contradictions, nor
does he have a structured
method of extracting rules from those statements, he should
follow a righteous scholar
assuming that he is right in his opinion, provided that the
scholar follows the Quran and
Sunnah and give Fatwas based on them. However, if this
assumption of the follower is
found to be wrong, he must withdraw from following that scholar
immediately without
any questions of debates. How can anyone doubt this line of
thinking since the practice
of asking for Fatwas and giving Fatwas has been in vogue from
the time of the Prophet
sallalahu alaihi wa sallam . There is no difference if he asks
the scholar whom he follows all
the time or whether he asks him sometime [as in following a
particular scholar] and
others on other occasions [or practicing Taqleed in general] as
long as the scholar meets
the criteria which we have mentioned."66
66 Hujatul al Baaligah - vol 1 page 156 published by Salfiyah,
Lahore 1395 and 'Iqdul Jeed, page 39 -
published by Maktaba Mujtaba, Delhi, 1344.
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