Asalamu alaikum :-)
Today's post will be about my impression of the orthodox interpretation of Taqlid.
From Muhammad Sajaad's "Understanding Taqlid". I commend Brother Sajaad for expounding the topic of taqlid for us laypeople so that we might understand his viewpoint and the view point of many millions of Muslims who accepted this tradition and were guided by it.
Definition:
Taqlid means following the legal opinions of a scholar without
gaining knowledge of the detailed evidences for those opinions,
(See Imam Ghazali’s Al-Mustasfā, p.579). The non-scholar is
compelled to do this as he is unable to encompass the evidences
to assert his own view on any particular detailed issue related to
the Dīn.
For the past month or so, I have been delving deeper and deeper into the idea that the Qur'an is a text which was meant to be accessible to all people in all times, that they might be able to fully live their lives by it.
Some might say - well of course, that is the whole point of having a din. It's an entire way of life.
I will openly say that I do not hold a single qualification by which the Mujtahid (Expert Scholars) of Sunni Islam hold, mastery of:
1. Arabic Grammar (Nahw and Sarf)
2. The science of Arabic Rhetoric (‘Ilm a-balagha)
3. The sciences of Exegesis (Tafsir)
4. The science of Ḥadīth (‘Ulum al-Ḥadīth)
5. The knowledge of jurisprudence principles (Usul al-Fiqh)
-- Taken from
here.
I understand completely the importance of taqlid in its general sense - that is, when you do not know or have knowledge about a subject, then it is not only wise but sometimes necessary to refer oneself to experts in the field or to the source where one might be able to find that knowledge.
I understand the importance and necessity of studying the 5 realms of knowledge mentioned above by Mr. Sajaad as important to having a firm understanding of classical Arabic, the nature of the Arabic language, the relevance of the revelation with respect to the time/place it was revealed, and knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and also how they have been interpreted.
The issue that I have with the current interpretation of taqlid is 1) you must believe 100% that this person arrived to the most true and unbiased interpretation humanly possible, and 2) you must accept (or at least be aware) that this knowledge is not from divine sources alone. The issue is that, the only divine source we have is revelation, and the only incorruptible source is the Qur'an. The current set of religious laws that most people follow are derived from sources that are not guaranteed to be divinely preserved, sources which have contradictions, sources which are imperfect. Sometimes, these laws are even reflections of what the pagans used to practice (mentioned in the Qur'an on numerous occasions) such as stoning.
For this reason, I believe firmly that no matter how much effort a human being puts into becoming a scholar, there will always be other people who have taken the same course (studying under the scholars) as that person did and will arrive to a different conclusion. Why are there only Four Great Scholars, all of whom are from relatively the same era? Are there only Four Great Opinions? Four Great ways to live your life as a Muslim? Four Great ways to be _______? I personally believe that the Four Great Imams should be revered for their efforts, may Allah reward them all for their works. I believe that their contribution to Islam and the Ummah is immense, as it has helped people to understand what they couldn't have known or understood without their sacrifice. At the same time, limiting the scope of the Qur'an to the opinion of four sources, all of whom are supposed to have deduced their four opinions from just two sources (Qur'an and Sunnah Rasool Allah) is not doing justice to the timeless nature of the revelation of the Qur'an.
You can have all the same evidences in front of you, you can study the Great Four Imams, you can read all six books of Hadith, and finally when it comes to Quranic exegesis, people can and will simply arrive at different conclusions. There is a point when, the exegesis of the Quran leaves the Quran as its source and relies on human based examples/evidence which will inevitably cause an exegetic to arrive at a different conclusion/derivation/justification.
This is the issue. I believe it is a mercy from Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) that we have these
differences in opinion. It's a known fact that after the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salaam) passed away, that the ummah in general related their questions/doubts to those people whom they believed had the most knowledge/who were closest to al-nabi. This makes absolute sense, since, when we are in doubt or when we have a question, we ask someone that we know for advice. It is also a known fact that there were many many many more "schools of thought" with regard to how to follow the Qur'an's guidance, before they were downsized into four schools of thought.
I understand the necessity to study all of these sources in order to have an unbiased approach, or at the very least a holistic approach. Yet it is so necessary to take into consideration the nature of the evidence which you will use to deduce a judgement. All the words that came through the Prophet's (pbuh) mouth when he was relating to us divine revelation is indisputable, this is the Qur'an. His personal opinions, his actions, his sunnah besides the revelation is a relic of his cultural upbringing and indeed very insightful to the kind of man he was - yet this is not divine revelation. If it were so, Allah (swa) could have, with ease, preserved it or mentioned anywhere in the Qur'an that the sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) was obligatory for us to follow as believers. Yet this is not the case.
One of the most misconstrued verses:
4:59 - “Obey Allah, the Messenger and those authorities amongst you,”
This verse and verses with similar constructions where obeying Allah and the Messenger are mentioned have been used by legions of people to justify obeying: scholars, imams, deviant sects, new messengers, disbeliever authorities, etc.
The link that I placed above, was a good effort by the writer to explain why taqlid is necessary. I agree, taqlid is necessary, but not in the exact way that the author of the paper explained - this is my own opinion. First of all, let's take a look at what Mr. Sajaad used as a proof for going to "Scholars" for religious guidance.
Surah 21:7
Elsewhere in the Qur’an, Allah (swa) says, “Ask the people of
Remembrance if you know not,” (Sura al-Anbiyā: 7). This verse clearly
explains that not everyone is a scholar and nor is supposed to be,
otherwise the text would not be exhorting them to ask the scholars,
as they –those being addressed- are already scholars not needing
to rely on others like themselves. Therefore, if taqlīd of the scholars
had, as it is claimed, nothing to do with Islam, this verse should have
instead said: Look to the verses of the Quran and Hadith if you know not.
Muhsin Khan translation of this same verse:
"And We sent not before you (O Muhammad SAW) but men to whom We inspired, so ask the people of the Reminder [Scriptures - the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel)] if you do not know."
Sahih international translation of this same verse:
"And We sent not before you, [O Muhammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message], so ask the people of the message if you do not know."
As you can see, this verse was taken outside of the context of the Surah, which can be found in 21:1-10.
This is not the first time a "Scholar" has taken a verse out of context to get a point across. Another verse taken out of context is: Qur'an - 59:7
usually "Scholars" or other religious people will shorten the verse and quote it as such:
"...And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty."
When in reality, the context of the verse is:
And what Allah restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns - it is for Allah and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and orphans and the [stranded] traveler - so that it will not be a perpetual distribution among the rich from among you. And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty. (Sahih international translation)
The people of the reminder here in verse 21:7 is absolutely referring to the people who Allah (swa) has already sent the previous revelations to.
Once again, a verse has been taken out of context to prove a point. This is in no way a healthy approach to studying the Qur'an and it only leaves people like me, us "laypeople" bitter and resentful at such an approach to explaining to us laypeople exactly why we are incapable of being fully functional Muslims without the work of "Scholars".
Speaking as a layperson, this is what I can say I absolutely know:
- La ilaha il Allah
- The Qur'an is from Allah (swa) and the Qur'an was preserved and protected by Allah (swa) and we have the Qur'an with us today by Allah's (swa) grace alone.
- The Qur'an is a message for all people and for all times. THIS DOES NOT mean that the Qur'an was not understood in a certain context in 7th century Arabia - indeed it was. THIS DOES NOT mean that those lessons which were expounded on or that the examples which were given directly to the people who heard the revelation - that these are not relevant to us simply because we are not 7th century Arabs.
- The generality and universal applicability of the Qur'an, the STARK difference between the true revelation of Allah (swa) compared to the true revelations from before which were masked over by people inserting their own thoughts/ideas/traditions into revelation are exactly what the people did beforehand and it led them astray - this process is also known as corruption.
- The Qur'an is complete and fully detailed (Allah does not run out of words) - 12:111.
- The Qur'an is accessible to all people for religious guidance. Allah repeatedly tells us, stresses to us, to ask ALLAH alone for help, guidance, etc.
- With regard to taqlid, there should definitely be people who dedicate themselves to the study of Islam exclusively as a service to mankind. Their function should not be to determine or bring down rulings as MANDATORY, imposing on us rulings which are not in the Qur'an, but as a way to show people all of the bountiful and endless knowledge that we can gain from the Qur'an and that not a single person who dedicates their life work to studying it will ever unravel nor encompass all that can be learned from it. They can contribute by showing us that human made laws which we can use to govern our secular lives can be in complete harmony underneath the blanket of Islam as long as it is in concordance with the framework which Allah has given to us as guidance in the Qur'an.
- Allah's sunnah (laws, ways, decree) does not change, never (33:62, 48:23).
I pray to Allah (swa) that "Indeed, my prayer, sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds." 6:162.
In this prayer to Allah, I ask that whatsoever that I may learn or benefit from reflecting on what You have bestowed upon mankind as guidance, be accepted by my heart fully and contently without reserve. I pray that I never be misguided by my own faults, or the faults of others, that the nasty pride of our egos be tamed through worshiping You alone, by bowing down to You alone with those who bow down to You alone, and that the ummah, the world, will realize that we are in complete submission to You whether we know it or not. That the world will realize that Allah is more merciful than we can ever imagine, and that there is no ritualistically sound and perfect way for any human being to approach You. There is no divinely ordained culture, or way of approaching you, that the restrictions which you have set upon us are all clear and manifest within the Qur'an. I pray for all mankind to realize that these traditions prescribed to us as mandatory by other human beings, and disguised as "true Islam" are wrought solely by the hands of men themselves and that Allah will never cease to hear our prayers because of some perceived "deficiency" in not following those manmade traditions. Indeed this is an absolutely absurd and ludicrous idea.
Allah is capable of all things and we are incapable and fully dependent upon Allah. To Allah belongs all the asmaa al husna and we can never beautify enough the glorious magnitude of Allah which is beyond our very nature to even begin to understand. What we know is from the Grace of God alone, and that which we don't know is also from God's grace. He proportioned us exactly the way we are to be proportioned, not just physically but in every aspect. Glory be to Allah, most exalted, most merciful, most deserving of our admiration!!
--
A side note:
In Mufti Muhammad Sajaad's work listed above, they related a story about 3 judges:
Imam Nawawi, in explaining this hadith in the Commentary of
Sahih Muslim, The Book of Legal Decisions, writes:
“The Ulama stated that by the consensus of the Muslims this
hadith is about the learned judge who is qualified to judge.
Then indeed he has two rewards; a reward for his striving and
a reward for being right. If he made a mistake then he has the
single reward of his striving. There is an unmentioned prelude
to this hadith, namely that is: ‘If the judge wished to judge and
then made a judgement…’ The scholars added, as for the one
who is not qualified to make a judgement, there is no reward
for him, rather he has committed a sin. His judgement will
not be implemented whether it accords with the truth or not,
because his being correct is by chance and did not stem from
a Shar‘i principle. Thus he is disobedient in all his rulings,
whether they correspond with the truth or not. All his rulings
will be rejected and he will not be excused in any matter. It is
mentioned in a hadith in the Sunan, “Judges are of three kinds;
one in heaven and two in hell. The judge who was aware of the
truth and judged by it, will be in heaven. The judge who knew
of the truth but judged contrary to it, will be in hell. And the
judge who judged by his ignorance, will be in Hell.”
Who is and who is not going to hell is for Allah to judge, and in the Qur'an there are sufficient examples for the kinds of people who will abide therein.
If instead of proclaiming so and so will go to hell, these hadith would have said, "
so and so is on the path of righteous in contrast to
so and so who has erred, and the worst case is
so and so who has severely erred..." This sounds more like wisdom than a prediction of that which we have no knowledge.
