A Call
for Coexistence
Episode 20
In the name of Allah,
the All–Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Peace and blessing of Allah be upon
Muhammad (SAWS)
In today’s episode, we will continue with
Imam
Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal’s Islamic juristic school of thought. This juristic school of
thought is considered the prevailing school in
Saudi Arabia. Our host today is Dr. Saad Bin-Matar al-Ateiby, a professor at
the Department of Juristic Politics in the High Institute of Judges. Dr. Saad
also teaches at the University of Muhammad Bin-Saud in Riyadh.
His writings are available on this website:
http://www.muslim.net.
The Core of the four
Jurisitc Schools of thought
At the beginning of his
lecture, Dr. al-Ateiby
assured that all Juristic schools of thought are only juridical;
for issues relating to the Islamic creed are indeed agreed upon by all schools.
Prayers, for instance, are obligatory in all juristic schools. In fact, those
schools have focused on jurisdiction theories and the issues related to them.
Dr.
al-Ateiby added that all
Muslim States, throughout Islamic History, used to adopt a particular juristic
school on the basis of the trust they had in a particular Imam. Throughout
history, the Hanafi school has been the most widely spread school. The Maliki
school as well, was spreading in Andalusia and in today’s Morocco and Tunisia.
Although no particular country has adopted the Hanbali school of thought, the
doctrines of the Hanbali School were adopted in the Saudi Kingdom and that is
how it gained its position in the region. The school certainly spread
afterwards, as the Saudi kingdom at the time extended to reach Basra.
In modern times, juristic and
Islamic institutions in Saudi Arabia encourage collecting, writing and
publishing old and new books about the Hanbali school of thought and encouraged
their spread. And although the Hanbali juristic school has become a
widely-spread school, other schools still exist such as the Hanafi School in
some regions of the Hijaz.
No Rejection to a Particular
Juristic School
While Mr. Amr wondered
whether those juristic schools are accepted or rejected by Saudi Arabia’s
renowned scholars and jurists. Dr. Saad stressed
the point that
adopting a particular juristic school of thought does not mean
defending it fanatically, for the doctrines of the four imams are indeed against
fanaticism. The whole issue is that when a juristic school is adopted
somewhere, it becomes the basis of Fatwas
in that place.
Dr. al-Ateiby
also explained that although judges, at the beginning of the third Saudi State,
were bound to refer only to Hanbali books, nowadays, they have the possibility
to refer to the books of other juristic schools, which proves that other schools
are not rejected. Issue which have been modified are only those with references
which included juristic and creed-related mistakes.
The Islamic
jurisprudence before Imam Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal
Regarding the status of
Islamic jurisprudence during the era precededing Imam Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal,
Dr. al-Ateiby
denoted that jurists during that era could be
described as what we call today law interpreters. This was their only role;
they did not come with any jurisdiction other than the one sent by Allah (SWT).
On the contrary, they used to fight any other interpretations that go astray
from Allah’s jurisdiction
The Greatness of Islamic
jurisprudence
It is important to shed some
light on the false yet frequent allegations that Islamic jurisprudence is the
cause of all the stagnation of the Muslims and that Hanbali thoughts which are
spread in Saudi Arabia are probably the main reason behind the hardships
currently facing Muslims.
Dr. al-Ateiby
stressed that the problem lies in
Muslims who overlooked the teachings of their Islamic law. He added that if we
looked at the opinion of Dr. Hopkins, Professor of Philosophy in Harvard
University, we will realize the actual difficulty which hinders Muslim
countries' development. According to Dr. Hopkins, the way for Muslim countries
to develop is not by adopting new systems of thought which maintain that
religion should not intervene with the individual’s daily life. The Islamic
system actually had all necessary inner predispositions to develop, and it is
indeed better than many similar systems in terms of readiness to develop. In
fact, the reason is not due to the lack of the needed means for development, but
rather in people’s lack of use of these means.
There is an even stronger view,
pronounced in 1927 during a conference of jurists, by the Dean of the Faculty of
Law of the Vienna at that time and who was also a Law professor that Islam could
by no means be driven by emotions or courtesy. He said that humanity should be
proud by the fact that a man like Prophet Mohammad (SAWS)
is part of it. Despite his illiteracy, more than ten centuries ago he succeeded
in bringing a law system stating that we, the Europeans, would be very happy, if
they succeed in creating a similar system within two thousand years.
Coexistence among Juristic Schools
As for the difference in
practical aspects of life and how our Imams have set rules for everything, even
the way we can disagree. Dr. al-Ateiby confirms
that following a particular school is
something very usual even in non-Muslim doctrines. Following a particular
school of thought was never a problem, for one is still required to analyse,
study and follow facts and evidence from the Holy Qur’an and the
Sunnah (the Prophet’s tradition)
of the Prophet (SAWS). Imam
ash-Shafi’ey
for example, in his book Al Ummah, cites the various
opinions brought by Islam’s various schools. This shows that he was not a
scholar who expressed his own opinion and banned the opinions of others. What
he did, however, was teach us to look for evidence and truth regardless of in
which school of thought we find it. Similarly, Sheikh Bin-Baz, when he used to
make a Fatwa (a legal opinion concerning Islamic jurisprudence), he used
to mention that there were opinions different from his. At a certain time, the
importance of this issue was not very clear. But now with the spread of
satellite channels, you are addressing people who do know the other opinions.
So you should show that you have indeed examined the other opinion, but that you
prefer this one because you believe it is the closest to the right judgement.
In this episode, we hope to emphasize the
need for coexistence among Islamic doctrines and how can we coexist with each
other in our homes, schools and mosques. It is important to respect and
encourage the difference in opinions among our scientists and preachers on
satellites, pulpits in mosques and on the
internet. This diversity of opinion is primarily concerned with practical, not
fundamental issues. For example, there is no juristic difference in opinions
about the month of Ramadan, fasting,
Ummrah,
or pilgrimage. The difference in opinions, however, lies in the various details
of those matters. In such a case, if we seek a fatwa, we should try to
ask the most pious jurist.
Dr. al-Ateiby asserts that Imam Ezz Ibn
Abdul-Salam confirmed in one of his books that a scientist is forbidden from
giving a judicial fatwa if he did not know all the circumstances related
to the place, time or conditions of that given issue. Thus we can see that the
four great Imams had different
views according to their own circumstances, especially those of Imam
Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal .
Dr. al-Ateiby adds that Imam Ahmad was born
to a great family called Shaiban. Although his mother was an Islamic jurist,
his father and grandfather were military leaders. Hence,
it was very likely for Imam Ahmed to be promoted to the highest
positions, yet he devoted
himself to
scientific and juridical revival and
the study of Hanafi
school
of thought. He had apprenticeship at the hands of Imam ash-Shafi’ey which
gave him an independent vision.
How did Imam Ibn-Hanbal coexist with
other schools?
Imam Ahmad was
the only Imam who did not find faults in other schools. On the contrary, he
learned from others and never talked angrily or attacked anybody except those
who contradicted the Noble Qu'ran and the Sunnah of
the Prophet (SAWS). Imam
ash-Shafi’ey once said to Ibn-Hanabal to inform him if he verifies a
hadith and that he will blindly adopt it, no matter where it came from (from
Hijaz, Iraq, Levant or else where). This goes to show the extent of faith and
confidence the great scholars had in one another.
Many people reported his great piety and how has
was never seen except in mosques or visiting patients. He refused the many gifts
offered to him by caliphs and rulers. Al-Hafiz
az-Zahabiy, a well-known follower of ash-Shafi’ey,
said that Imam Ahmad was the
Mufti
of Iraq and the
Sunnah scholar who had a sober mind and a sharp intellect which he has never
seen the likes of before.
On whether people are becoming more inflexible in dealing with
Islamic jurisprudence in the current era, Dr. al-Ateiby replied that those
Islamic jurisprudence schools still exist in our era, and that we must take what
is good for us without fanaticism for a doctrine or another.
I ask Allah to gather us with
him in jannah
(Paradise), to enable us to learn from him how to co-exist with each other, and
to resolve our conflicts.
Allah (SWT)
says
what can be translated as,
“And
obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not contend together, (and) so you would be
disheartened and your vigor goes away; and (endure) patiently; surely Allah is
with the patient". (TMQ,
8: 46)
