Mujtahideen and Hadeeth
Mujtahideen and Hadeeth
1. The first, and according to Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya (rh) , the most common reason why the ruling of an Imaam seems contrary to a Hadith is that the Imaam was unaware of the Hadith.
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya(rh) writes:
"...that the Hadith did not reach him ... and this is the most common factor in most of the opinions of the Salaf that are found to be contrary to some Ahaadith.
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi Rahimahullah has also mentioned this reason in his books "Al-Insaaf" and "Hujjatullah al Baalighah". Some people misinterpret the above regarding it as the only reason. Thus wherever they find the opinion of an Imaam contrary to a Hadith, they attribute it to the Imaam's unawareness of that Hadith. This is however incorrect! Infact, as Moulana Yusuf Ludhianwi(rh) explains, Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya's(rh) regarding it as the most common reason is debatable because:
a) this incidents that he and Shah Waliullah(rh) have mentioned in this regard are very few,
b) this can only apply to such issues that occur very seldom (thus the incidents mentioned by Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah(rh) and Shah Waliullah(rh) are of this nature). This reason however will not apply to such issues that occur frequently (e.g. on a daily basis) eg. whether the muqtadi should recite Surah Fatihah, whether Aameen should be said loudly or softly, whether the hands should be raised (as in the Takbeer e Tahreemah) before and after Ruku', etc. It is impossible that the senior Sahaabah and Taabi'een would be unaware of a Hadith regarding issues that occur so frequently and in public.
2. Shaikh Ibn Taymiyya(rh) writes:
"The second reason is that the Hadith had reached him but in his opinion it is not established because (according to him) one of it's narrators is majhool (unknown), muttaham (accused of fabricating) or of a bad memory."
3. Disagreement ragarding the authenticity or weakness of a Hadith.
Shaikh Ibn Taymiyya(rh) writes that the third reason is that the Mujtahid may on the basis of his ijtihaad regard the Hadith weak even though other Mujtahideen may regard it authentic.
The Shaikh thereafter mentions a few reasons for such disagreement among the Mujtahideen. Some of these reasons are mentioned below:
a) While one Mujtahid regards the narrator of the Hadith as weak, another Mujtahid may regard him as a sound and reliable narrator.
NB The sciences of Rijaal (scrutiny of narrators) and Jarh wa Ta'deel (validating and invalidating of narrators) are very vast sciences and just as scholars of other sciences agree and disagree in various issues, the scholars of these sciences also have their differences.
b) While one Mujtahid is of the opinion that the narrator of the Hadith did not hear it from his teacher (i.e. he claims that there is a breakage in the chain of narrators), another Mujtahid may disagree (i.e. he may argue that the chain of narrators is not broken and that the narrator did hear it from his teacher.)
c) There are two conditions of a narrator:
i. istiqaamat - soundness
ii. iztiraab - disarray or confusion e.g. the narrator becomes confused in the latter part of his life or all his books get burnt, etc. Thus the Hadith that he narrates in the first condition will be correct and the Hadith that he narrates in the second condition will be weak. Now while one Mujtahid may exercise caution not knowing exactly in which condition did the narrator narrate this Hadith, another Mujtahid may be convinced that he narrated it in the condition of istiqaamat.
d) The narrator later forgot the Hadith and this stopped narrating it, or he denied ever having narrated the Hadith. Now while one Mujtahid may regard the above as a defect that renders the Hadith weal and unreliable, another Mujtahid may disagree arguing that despite these defects the Hadith is still sound and sufficient Shar'i evidence to deduce a ruling.
4. The Hadith's not fulfilling certain requirements:
"A Mujtahid may stipulate that the al Khabr ul Waahid (a Hadith that was narrated in every era until the era of codification by only one narrator) of an equitable (just, upright) narrator fulfil certain requirements that may not be necessary in the opinion of others..."
Examples of such requirements are:
a) that the narrator should be a Faqeeh (jurist) if the Hadith that he is narrating is in conflict with qiyaas (analogical reasoning).
b) that the Hadith should be Mash-hoor (narrated by a large number of people) if it is regarding an issue that occurs very frequently.
5) Forgetfulness: "The Hadith reached the Mujtahid and in his opinion it is established, but he did not remember it."
After mentioning three examples Shaikh Ibn Taymiyya(rh) writes: "This occurs frequently among the Salaf (predecessors) and the Khalaf (successors)."
To forget is undoubtedly human nature. Inability to suddenly recall something from one's own memory is not far-fetched. It must however be remembered that such a claim (i.e. that the Imaam forgot the Hadith) cannot be made without any clear evidence. Similarly, it must be remembered that such a claim (i.e. that the Imaam forgot the Hadith) cannot be made without any clear evidence. Similarly, it must be remembered that such a claim will only be valid in rare issues that do not occur very frequently.
Hazrat Abdullah ibn Mas'ood(rd) was of the opinion that the hands should not be raised (as in Takbeer-e-Tahreemah) before and after the Ruku'. Some people claim that this was because he had forgotten that Rasulullah r used to do so. This claim is however baseless! Hazrat Ibn Mas'ood t is among the very first people to accept Islaam. He was blessed with remaining in Rasulullah's r company so long that visitors from outside Madinah often mistook him as a member of the Ahlul Bayt (family of Rasulullah r). He was known as the Attendant of the shoes and pillow of Rasulullah r. Is it possible that a Sahabi of such a high calibre will forget such a common yet important issue like the procedure of Salaah?
6) The sixth reason why we often find the opinion of an Imaam was contrary to a Hadith is that the Imaam was unaware of the implication of the Hadith.
This point is however debatable because although the Fuqahaa may differ in the interpretation of the Hadith, it is impossible that a Mujtahid can be unaware of the implication of a Hadith. Knowledge of lughah (linguistics) is the first requirement of ijtihaad. Thus the person who does not know the meaning of a Hadith cannot be a Mujtahid!
7) The Mujtahid was aware of the deduction that others made from the Hadith but, in the light of certain usool (principles) that he used to observe during the course of istimbaat (deduction of ahkaam), he did not regard such a deduction as correct.
Example: He may be of the opinion that the mere presence of the imperative tense in a Hadith is not sufficient to establish the wujoob (compulsion) of an action.
8) The Mujtahid was aware of the deduction that others had made from the Hadith but, in the light of another daleel (proof), he considered such a deduction as incorrect.
Example:
i) The Hadith under discussion is 'aam (general) but the Mujtahid has at his disposal another daleel that proves that this Hadith is actually regarding a specific situation only.
ii) The Mujtahid may have considered other dalaa'il (proofs) that indicate that the (literal) meaning has not been intended.
9) The ninth reason is the presence of an adverse daleel (proof) that shows that this Hadith is weak or abrogated, and all the Ulamaa regard this adverse daleel as sufficient to oppose the Hadith.
Example:
i) An Aayah of the Qur'aan
ii) Ijmaa' (consensus of opinion)
10) This reason is the is the same as the above except that here the opposite proof is not unanimously regarded as sufficient to oppose the Hadith under discussion.
After mentioning these then reasons Shaikh Ibn Taymiyya(rh) writes:
"These ten reasons are clear. And it is possible that in many Ahaadith the Mujtahid may have such a daleel of which we are not cognizant because, most certainly, the capacities of ijtihaad are vast and we are not acquainted with all that is in the hearts of the Ulamaa.
Bibliography:
i) Raf'ul Malaam - Shaikh Ibn Taymiyya (R.A.)
ii) Ikhtilaaf e Ummat aur Siraat e Mustaqeem (V.2 PG 25-321) - Moulana Muhammad Yusuf Ludhianwi Sallamullah
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brother!
Originally Posted by Muadh_Khan
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