Ijmaa on Taqleed

[slave of allah]

as a muqallid myself i wanted to know whether or nt there is actually ijmaa of the ulema that you have to follow an imaam and what is there main proofs for it.

[abuhajira]

As posted by Br. Hamoudeh...


The following is a bibliography based on books, articles, lectures, opinions and other material of which the greatest part can be found on the internet. It regards the subjects of Madhaahib, Taqleed, Ijtihaad and other related matters. These works are by and include numerous scholars and students, contemporary ones as well as of the past, from the four Sunni schools of law. It is a good overview for those who are interested in mainstream and orthodox views of the subjects discussed. The overview is alphabetically ordered by the author’s name, divided between authors and publishers as well as contemporary and historical works.

Contemporary Authors: Ashraf, Muhammad; Azzam, Mostafa; Bayat, Zubayr; al-Buti, Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan; Desai, Ebrahim; Dhorat, Khalid; Fadel, Mohammed; al-Haaj, Murabit; Haddad, Gibril Fouad; Kadodia, Hussein; Karamali, Hamza; Keller, Nuh Ha Mim; Mangera, Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf; Murad, Abdal Hakim; Umm Nabeel; Rabbani, Faraz; Rasheed, Amjad; Saleem, Ridhwan ibn Muhammad; Shakir, Zaid; Usmani, Taqi.

Contemporary Publishers: al-Adaab, Ask Imam, Dar al-Ulum Bury, Guiding Helper, Majilis of South Africa, Waqf Ikhlas.

Historical Authors: Gangohi, Mahmood Hasan; al-Jawziyya, Ibn al-Qayyim; Kawthari, Zahid; al-Qurtubi, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali; al-Subki.


Contemporary Authors

Taqleed and following of the Four Great Imams
by Mufti Muhammad Ashraf

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Madhhab
by Shaykh Mostafa Azzam

What is Taqlid or Ittiba?
by Mufti Zubair Bayat

Why Does One have to follow a Madhhab? A Debate with Shaykh al-Abassi
by Shaykh Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti
translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
from the book al-la Madhhabiyya Akhtaru Bid`atin Tuhaddidu al-Shari`a al-Islamiyya
(Non-Madhhabism: The most dangerous Innovation threatening the Islamic Law)

al-Salafiyya: Marhala Zamaniyya Mubaraka, la Madhhab Islami
(Ancestralism: a Blessed Era rather than an Islamic School)
by Shaykh Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti

The evidence in Ayat and Ahadith for Taqleed
by Mufti Ebrahim Desai

The Concept of Taqlid Simplified
by Mawlana Khalid Dhorat

Validity of Ijtihad
by Mohammed Fadel

Fatwa on Following One of the Four Accepted Madhhabs
by Shaykh Murabit al-Haaj
translated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson

Non-Madhhabism & Following a Madhhab
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

A Question on Madhhab Discord
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

The Statement "If the Hadith is Authentic, that is my Madhhab"
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

Talfiq - Mixing Madhhabs
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

Talfiq Impermissible: Early Generations
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

Following things from different Fiqhs
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

Definition of a Mujtahid Mutlaq
by Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

Taqleed as Wajib
by Talib Husain Kadodia

Switching Madhhabs: Lack of Teacher
by Shaykh Hamza Karamali

Why Muslims Follow Madhhabs
by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

What is a Madhhab
by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
from his interview with Q-News in 1995.

Seeking Out Dispensations & Following Another School
by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

Seeking Out Dispensations: Following another School
by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

Choosing a School of Fiqh
by Shaykh Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf Mangera

Understanding the Four Madhhabs
by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad
from the book Understanding the Four Madhhabs

Understanding the Four Madhhabs
by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad
with extensive notes from Sidi Azhar Usman

Unity through Schools of Thought
by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad

Understanding Madhhabs: A Beginner's Guide and FAQ
by Umm Nabeel

Why Madhabs? Isn't It Like Christianity?
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

The Fatwa in the Madhhab & How To Take Sacred Knowledge
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Commoners Do Not Have a Madhab?
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Is Following a Madhhab Fard?
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mujtahids & Method
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

When can I follow another Madhhab?
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Objection to Following Another Madhab
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

How Fiqh is Derived
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Joining between Evidences and Ijtihaad
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mixing between Shafi`i and Hanafi
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

The way of Fatwa and the way of Taqwa
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Following another Madhhab in `Ibadat and Mu`amalat
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Following another Madhhab is allowed
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Selecting rulings from another Madhhab: Hardships
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Choosing and Picking from Madhhabs
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Objection to Following Another Madhhab
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Following another Madhhab: Difficulties
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Imam Shah Waliullah on Madhhabs
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Should I Leave the Hanafi Madhhab: Sunnas, Beards, Trousers
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Switching from Shafi`i to Hanafi
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Acceptance between Schools
by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Recommended to avoid the Differences of Opinion of other Schools
by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Talfiq and its Unlawfulness
by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Following Other Schools
by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Seeking out Dispensations: Corruption
by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed

Asking for "Evidences" is a clear Daleel of your Ignorance
by Shaykh Ridhwan ibn Muhammad Saleem

: Introduction to Following a Madhab
lecture in RM by Imam Zaid Shakir

The 4 Schools of Thought in Islam
by Mufti Taqi Usmani
from Contemporary Fatawa

The 4 Schools of Thought in Islam
by Mufti Taqi Usmani
from Contemporary Fatawa

The Legal Status of Following a Madhhab
by Mufti Taqi Usmani


Contemporary Publishers:

On the Necessity of Following Qualified Islamic Scholarship
published by al-Adaab

The Share`e role of Taqlid
published by Ask Imam

Verdict on Taqleed: Necessity of Taqleed from Shari’ah P.O.V.
by Talibun Dar al-Ulum
from Holcombe, Bury UK

Talfeeq in the Maliki School, Maliki Fiqh Principles
from the book The Guiding Helper

The 4 Imams on Madhahib and Taqleed
from The Deception of the Salafi Sect
published by The Majilis of South Africa

Incumbency of Taqleed
published by The Majilis of South Africa

A Letter on Taqleed
published by The Majilis of South Africa

Following the Imams of the Madhhabs
from the book Advice for the Muslim
published by Waqf Ikhlas


Historical Authors:

On Taqleed
by Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi

On Taqleed
by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya
from Ilam Al Muqaqqin
(The Instruction of those who sign Formal Legal Opinions)

The book al-la Madhhabiyya Qantaratu al-Ladiniyya
(Anti-Madhhabism is the Archway of Atheism)
by Imam Zahid al-Kawthari

On Taqleed
by Imam al-Qurtubi
from the book Jami li-Ahkam al-Qur'an

The book الرد على من اتبع غير المذاهب الأربعة
Radd 'ala man Ittaba'a Ghayr al-Madhahib al-Arba`a
(Refutation of those who follow other than the Four Legal Schools)
book by Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali

The book Ma`na Qawl al-Imam al-Muttalib: Itha Sahha al-Hadith fa Huwa Madhhabi
(Meaning of the saying of the Muttalibi Imam: "If a Hadith is authentic, then it is my Madhhab")
by Imam al-Subki

I would appreciate any additions.

Ma`salam

[abuhajira]

Other informative threads..

How is is possible not to follow madhab?
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...hlight=taqleed

A look in to a statment of Imam Sahib saying not to follow him without knowing proof:
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...hlight=taqleed

An Interesting post on the aspect of mixing Madhab
http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...ight=ibn+ajiba

These are some, you may realize why we closed your previous thread asking the very same question. There is enough material on the forum foryou to learn from.

[amjedm]

for the list. Shouldn't this be a sticky (if it already is, please can you let me know where)?

[slave of allah]

jazakallah bro

but i jus need specifics proofs on that there is ijmaa that we must follow an imaam. some a new muslim or a staunch ghair muqalid can read and be conviced. jazakkah neway ill go fru da links 1 by 1. u shud stik them on stiky cos its vital info here and it would save people from keep asking these ques

[amjedm]

...or a staunch ghair muqalid can read and be conviced..

brother as you're aware Guidance is only from Allah

Some will find it of benefit but others will try to find faults etc.

[mh16388]

brother as you're aware Guidance is only from Allah

Some will find it of benefit but others will try to find faults etc.

I find Ibn Taymiyyah's quote as something that benefits both ghair muqallids and muqallids. laymen and scholars.
"Ibn Taymiyyah censured the scholars for blindly conforming to the precedence of early jurists without any resort to the Qur'an and Sunnah. He contended that although juridical precedence has its place, blindly giving it authority without contextualization, sensitivity to societal changes, and evaluative mindset in light of the Qur'an and Sunnah can lead to ignorance and stagnancy in Islamic Law. Ibn Taymiyyah likened the extremism of Taqlid (blind conformity to juridical precedence or school of thought) to the practice of Jews who took their rabbis as gods besides God."

He has basically said that if you have become a scholar it is wrong for you to blindly follow what is taught without reason, understanding and belief.
However the word 'scholar' clearly means scholar not a layman.

so if you are a layman it can be inferred that you have to study the fiqh in depth to become a scholar. and study from a scholar you trust. so for a layman taqlid is must. for how would you understand a subject if you denounce beliefs established by years of study?your knowledge isnt that advanced for you to give 'verdict' or a fatwa...but there should not be any censorship on 'questioning'...for how will a pupil learn if he doesnt ask his teacher a question?but he will never learn if he says out right his teacher is wrong.
liken taqlid to secular education and you will see the connection.


if ive said something wrong i am open to criticism.
you may ask why i have 'none' next to madhab. it is because i am learning the hanbali fiqh. i havent yet mastered it and become a scholar.

[amr123]

What is the proof??

I guess you didn't look into the above posted resources. Here is the translation of a short fatwa by Shaykh Murabit Al Hajj who is one of the best scholars of Islam alive today.


Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj's fatwa on Following a Madhab
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Amongst the most important replies that I have given, is my reply concerning the one who has deviated to the point where he censures the importance of studying the branches [furu'] of jurisprudence, and we seek refuge in Allah from the deviation of such a wandering deviant. Would that he simply had claimed independent reasoning (ijtihad) for himself only, and Allah is his reckoner, but abandoned the call of Muslims to leave that which is incumbent upon them. In our reply to such a one, we make mention what the scholars of the methodological bases of Islamic jurisprudence (usuli’un) and the Imams of jurisprudence themselves have said about such a matter. As for my labelling him a deviant, it is only because he has desired to impose upon common people the precious rank of absolute independent reasoning [ijtihad], about which Muhammad an-Nabigha said,



And ijtihad in the land of the Moroccans,
The western phoenix has taken to flight with it.


I say in reply, that the following of qualified scholarship (taqlid) is an obligation on anyone other than an absolute mujtahid. I shall make mention of all his prerequisites if Allah wills. [Sidi Abdullah Ould Hajj Ibrahim] has said in his Maraqi as-Sa’ud:

“[taqlid] is necessary for other than the one who has achieved the rank of absolute ijtihad. Even if he is a limited [mujtahid] who is unable [to perform absolute ijtihad].”

Commenting on this line, [Sidi Abdullah] said in Nashru al-bunud,

“It means that taqlid is an obligation on anyone who is not an absolute mujtahid, even if he has achieved the limited rank of ijtihad muqayyad . . . [until he says], ‘And ask the people of the reminder, if you yourselves do not know.’”

By using the line of Muhammad an-Nabigha above, I am in no way claiming that all ijtihad has been severed in every land; how [could I say such a thing] when [Sidi Abdullah] says in Maraqi as-sa’ud:

“The earth will never be void of a mujtahid scholar until its very foundations shake.”

He also said,

“[Regarding] the necessity of binding to a specific madhhab, the [scholars] have mentioned its obligation upon anyone falling short [of the conditions of ijtihad].”

He says in Nashru al-bunud,

“It means that it is incumbent for whoever falls short of achieving the rank of absolute ijtihad to follow a particular madhhab.”

Again, in Maraqi as-Sa’ud, Sidi Abdullah says,

“The consensus today is on the four, and all have prohibited following [any] others.”

He says in Nashru al-bunud,

“This means that the consensus of the scholars today is on the four schools of thought, and I mean by the schools of Malik, Abu Hanifa, Shafi’i and Ahmad. Indeed, all of the scholars have prohibited following any other school of an independent and absolute mujtahid since the eighth century when the school of Dawud adh-Dhahiri died out and until the 12th Century and all subsequent ones.”

In the chapter concerning inferential reasoning, from Maraqi as-sa’ud, [Sidi Abdullah] says,

“As for the one who is not a mujtahid, then basing his actions on primary textual evidence [Qur’an and hadith] is not permissible.”

He says in Nashru al-bunud,

“It means that it is prohibited for other than a mujtahid to base his actions upon a direct text from either the Book or the Sunna even if its transmission was sound because of the sheer likelihood of there being other considerations such as abrogation, limitations, specificity to certain situations, and other such matters that none but the mujtahid fully comprehends with precision. Thus, nothing can save him from Allah the Exalted excepted following a mujtahid. Imam al-Qarafi says,

‘And beware of doing what some students do when they reason directly from the hadith, and yet they don’t know their soundness, let alone what has been mentioned [by the Imams] concerning the subtleties involved in them; by doing this, they went astray and led others astray. And whoever interprets a verse or hadith in a manner that deviates from its intended meaning without proof [dalil] is a kafir.’”

As for the conditions of the absolute and independent ijtihad, they are mentioned in the Maraqi as-sa’ud in the following line and what follows:

“And that [word ‘faqih’] is synonymous with the [word] ‘mujtahid’ coupled with those things which bear upon [him] the burden of responsibility,

Such as his being of extreme intelligence by nature, and there is some debate about one who is known to reject juristic analogy [qiyas]

He knows the [juristic] responsibilities through intellectual proofs unless a clear transmitted proof indicates otherwise.

[Sidi Abdullah] says [in his commentary] Nashru al-bunud,

“This means that among the conditions of ijtihad is that [the mujtahid] knows that he must adhere to the intellectual proof which is the foundational condition [al-bara’atu al-asliyya] until a transmitted proof from a sacred law indicates otherwise.”

He then goes on to mention the other conditions of a mujtahid:

[The sciences of] grammar, prosody, philology, combined with those of usul and rhetoric he must master.

According to the people of precision, [he must know] where the judgements can be found without the condition of having memorized the actual texts.

[All of the above must be known] according to a middle ranked mastery at least. He must also know those matters upon which there is consensus.

[Moreover, he must know] things such as the condition of single hadiths and what carries the authority of great numbers of transmissions; also [knowledge of] what is sound and what is weak is necessary.

Furthermore, what has been abrogated and what abrogates, as well as the conditions under which a verse was revealed or a hadith was transmitted is a condition that must be met.

The states of the narrators and the companions [must also be known]. Therefore, you may follow anyone who fulfils these conditions mentioned above according to the soundest opinion.

So, consider all of the above-mentioned, and may Allah have mercy upon you, and [may you] see for yourself whether your companion is characterized by such qualities and fulfils these conditions—and I highly doubt it. More likely, he is just pointing people to himself in his demands that the people of this age take their judgements directly from the Book and Sunna. If, on the other hand, he does not possess the necessary conditions, then further discussion is useless.

In Muhammad ‘Illish’s, Fath al-‘Ali al-Malik, there are many strong rebukes for those who wish to force people to abandon the study of the judicial branches and take directly from the Book and the Sunna. The actual text of the question put to him is as follows:

“What do you say about someone who was following one of the four Imams, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with them, and then left claiming that he could derive his judgements directly form the Qur’an and the soundly transmitted hadiths, thus leaving the books of jurisprudence and inclining towards the view of Ahmad bin Idris? Moreover, he says to the one who clings to the speech of the Imams and their followers, “I say to you ‘Allah and His Messenger say’, and you reply ‘Malik said’ and ‘Ibn al-Qasim said’ or ‘Khalil said.’”

To this, Imam ‘Illish replies:

“My answer to this all this is as follows: Praise be to Allah, and Prayer and Safety be upon our Master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. It is not permissible for a common person to abandon following the four Imams and take directly from the textual sources of the Qur’an and the hadiths for the simple reason that this entails a great many conditions that have been clarified in the books of usul. Moreover, these conditions are rarely met by the great scholars, especially in these last days in which Islam has become a stranger just as it began a stranger.”

Ibn ‘Uyyana, may Allah be pleased with him, has said,

“The hadiths are a source of error except for the jurists.”

What he means is that people, other than the scholars, might interpret a tradition based on an apparent meaning, and yet [the hadith may] have another interpretation based on some other hadith that clarifies the meaning or some proof that remains hidden [to the common people]. After a long discussion, he remarks,

“That as for their saying, ‘How can you leave clear Qur’anic verses and sound hadiths and follow the Imams in their ijtihads, which have a clear probability of error,’”

His answer to them is as follows:

“Surely the following of our [rightly guided] Imams is not abandoning the Qur’anic verses or the sound hadiths; it is the very essence of adhering to them and taking our judgements from them. This is because the Qur’an has not come down to us except by means of these very Imams [who are more worthy of following] by virtue of being more knowledgeable than us in [the sciences of] the abrogating and abrogated, the absolute and the conditional, the equivocal and the clarifying, the probabilistic and the plain, the circumstances surrounding revelation and their various meanings, as well as their possible interpretations and various linguistic and philological considerations, [not to mention] the various other ancillary sciences [involved in understanding the Qur’an] needed.

“Also, they took all of that from the students of the companions (tabi’in) who received their instruction from the companions themselves, who received their instructions from the Lawgiver himself, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, divinely protected from every mistake, who bore witness that the first three generations of Muslims would be ones of virtue and righteousness. Furthermore, the prophetic traditions have also reached us through their means given that they were also more knowledgeable than us through their means given that they were also more knowledgeable than those who came after them concerning the rigorously authenticated (sahih), the well authenticated (hasan), and the weak (da’if) channels of transmission, as well as the marfu’u, mursal, mutawatir, ahad, mu’dal and gharib transmissions.

“Thus, as far as this little band of men is concerned, there is only one of two possibilities: either they are attributing ignorance to Imams whose knowledge is considered by consensus to have reached human perfection as witnessed in several traditions of the truthful Lawgiver, upon him be prayers and peace, or they are actually attributing misguidance and lack of din to Imams who are all from the best of generations by the testimony of the magnificent Messenger himself, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Surely, it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts in our breasts.

As for their saying to the one who imitates Malik, for example, “We say to you ‘Allah says’ or ‘the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, says’ and you reply, ‘Malik says’, or ‘Ibn al-Qasim says’, or ‘Khalil says’, for example,” our response is that the follower who says, “Malik says . . . etc.,” means that, “Malik says based on his deep understanding of the Word of Allah, or of the words of the Messenger, or of those firmly adhering to the actions of the companions, or of the tabi’in who understood clearly the Word of Allah and the word of the Messenger of Allah or took their example from the actions of His Messenger.” And the meaning of [a follower] saying “Ibn al-Qasim said . . .” is that he has [faithfully] transmitted what Malik said based on his understanding of the Word of Allah or of what Ibn al-Qasim himself understood from the word of Allah the Most Exalted. And the meaning of him saying, “Khalil said . . . .”, for example, is that he is transmitting only from those [Imams] aforementioned. As for Malik and Ibn al-Qasim, they are both Imams whose spiritual and judicial authority is agreed upon by unanimous consensus of this Umma; and they are both from the best of generations.

As for the one who leaves their leadership and says, “Allah said and His Messenger said . . . ,” he has relied solely on his own understanding despite the fact that he is incapable of having any precision in the verses and hadiths that he quotes since he is unable even to provide chains of transmission [with any authority], let alone that he lacks knowledge concerning the abrogated, the absolute and the conditional, the ambiguous and the clarifying, the apparent and the textual, the general and the specific, the dimensions of the Arabic and the cause for revelation, the various linguistic considerations, and other various ancillary sciences needed. So, consider for yourself which is preferable: the word of a follower who simply quotes the understanding of Malik, an Imam by consensus—or the word of this ignoramus who said “Allah said and His Messenger said . . . .” But it is not the sight that goes blind, but rather the hearts in our breasts.

Furthermore, know that the origin of this deviation is from the Dhahiriyya who appeared in Andalucia [Muslim Spain] and whose power waxed from a period until Allah obliterated all traces of them until this little band of men set about to revive their beliefs. Imam al-Barzuli said, “The first one ever to attack the Mudawwana was Sa’id bin al-Haddad .”

If you consider carefully the above-mentioned texts, you will realize that the one who censures you from following [the Imams] is truly a deviant. And I am using the word “deviant” to describe them only because the scholars [before me] have labelled this little band and their view (madhhab) as deviant. Moreover, you should know that those who condemn your adherence to the Imams have been fully refuted by Muhammad al-Khadir bin Mayyaba with the most piercing of refutations, and he himself called them, in his book, “the people of deviation and heterodoxy.” He called his book, Refuting the people of deviation of heterodoxy who attack the following [taqlid] of the Imams of independent reasoning, and I used to have a copy but no longer do. So, my brother, I seriously warn you from following the madhhab of these people and even from sitting in their company, unless there is an absolute necessity, and certainly from listening to anything they have to say, because the scholars have declared their ideas deviant. Ibn al-Hajj says in his book, al-Madkhal,

“Umar ibn al-‘Aziz said, ‘Never give one whose heart is deviant access to your two ears, for surely you never know what may find fixity in you.’”

I ask Allah to make you and me from those who listen to matters and follow the best of them.

Shaykh Murabtal Haaj, Mauritania

[The Fake Shaykh]

The Obligation of Taqlid

by Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Fazl al-Rahman 'Azmi