Questions regarding revisionist versions of the Madhabs today

[SeekerOfGuidance]

Throughout the ages, a divergence tends to develop between the original rulings of the Madhab, and the views of the ulama of a particular era. The role of the Mujaddid and the Muhaqqiq is to revive the original teachings. There is compelling evidence that such a revival in scholarship and tahqeeq took place last century at the the school of Deoband. A group of ulama emerged who produced innumerable scholarly works which resembled, as attested to by scholars globally, the works of the early classical scholars. Since their focus was the Hanafi Madhab, a revival of the original teachings of the Hanafi Madhab took place.

These Muhaqqiqs did not accept the rulings of the latter day fuqaha, without first deriving and verifying the actual ruling from the Usuls of the madhab, and according to usool ul-Fiqh of the Hanafi madhab. If the ruling differed, they adopted and revived the original ruling. Any view attributed to the Hanafi Madhab had to be based on reliable quotes from the founders of the madhab and verified by the early Fuqaha.

For a glimpse of the extent to which this divergence has developed between the ruling of the contemporary ulama and the Madhab, one only needs to observe how the following erroneous rulings, which are completely contrary to the ruling of the Madhab, are propagated widely by Hanafi scholars both in the sub-continent and the Arabian peninsula:

1) Building over the graves is permissible, and even recommended.

2) Trimming the beard below a fist-length is permissible. Some Hanafi ulama go as far as claiming that shaving is permissible.

3) Letting the trousers hang below the ankle is permissible if done without pride.

4) Attributing exclusive qualities of Allah to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace). For example, many ulama today attribute Ilmul ghayb (such as knowledge of the last hour) to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) despite the fact that the classical fuqaha have condemned such a belief very harshly. It is stated in the authoritative Hanafi texts, that anybody that attributes the ghayb to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has committed Kufr!

There is nothing to indicate that the state of the other three Madhabs would not have deteriorated in the same manner.

Due to the clear disparity between the categorical commands of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) as understood by the Salaf, and the rulings of ulama who claim to be faithful representatives of the Madhabs, many sincere Muslims develop an inevitable distrust for the ulama, and fall for Salafism. One only needs to look at the following thread to see how certain groups of ulama have been pulling the wool over the eyes for so many years:

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...ing-on-graves)

In this thread I wish to discuss certain rulings attributed to a Madhab, which appear (at least on the surface) quite clearly contrary to the rulings issued by the early fuqaha.

[kakarot_999]

Throughout the ages, a divergence tends to develop between the original rulings of the Madhab, and the views of the ulama of a particular era. The role of the Mujaddid and the Muhaqqiq is to revive the original teachings. There is compelling evidence that such a revival in scholarship and tahqeeq took place last century at the the school of Deoband. A group of ulama emerged who produced innumerable scholarly works which resembled, as attested to by scholars globally, the works of the early classical scholars. Since their focus was the Hanafi Madhab, a revival of the original teachings of the Hanafi Madhab took place.

These Muhaqqiqs did not accept the rulings of the latter day fuqaha, without first deriving and verifying the actual ruling from the Usuls of the madhab, and according to usul al-Fiqh of the Hanafi madhab. If the ruling differed, they adopted and revived the original ruling. Any view attributed to the Hanafi Madhab had to be based on reliable quotes from the founders of the madhab and verified by the early Fuqaha.

For a glimpse of the extent to which this divergence has developed between the ruling of the contemporary ulama and the Madhab, one only needs to observe how widespread the following erroneous rulings, which are completely contrary to the ruling of the Madhab, are propagated by Hanafi scholars both in the sub-continent and the Arabian peninsula:

1) Building over the graves is permissible, and even recommended.

2) Trimming the beard below a fist-length is permissible. Some Hanafi ulama go as far as claiming that shaving is permissible.

3) Letting the trousers hang below the ankle is permissible if done without pride.

4) Attributing exclusive qualities of Allah to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace). For example, many ulama today attribute Ilm al-ghayb (such as knowledge of the last hour) to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) despite the fact that the classical fuqaha have condemned very harshly. It is stated in the authoritative Hanafi texts, that anybody that attributes the ghayb to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has committed Kufr!

There is nothing to assume that the state of the other three Madhabs have not deteriorated in the same manner.

Due to the clear disparity between the categorical commands of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) as understood by the Salaf, and the rulings of ulama who claim to be faithful representatives of the Madhabs, many sincere Muslims develop an inevitable distrust for the ulama, and fall for Salafism. One only needs to look at the following thread to see how certain groups of ulama have been pulling the wool over the eyes for so many years:

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...ing-on-graves)

In this thread I wish to discuss certain rulings attributed to a Madhab, which appear (at least on the surface) quite clearly contrary to the rulings issued by the early fuqaha.

And what is your qualification by the way? I mean we need to know whether you are a man of credibility before we consume everything you give us like blind sheep? I'm sure you agree akhi, because I know you're sincere and you would want us to research more about this issue but the truth is that some of us (although a minority) are not really as sincere and we will actually accept everything you give us without a thought.
Hope that didn't offend you beloved akhi.

[SeekerOfGuidance]

And what is your qualification by the way? I mean we need to know whether you are a man of credibility before we consume everything you give us like blind sheep? I'm sure you agree akhi, because I know you're sincere and you would want us to research more about this issue but the truth is that some of us (although a minority) are not really as sincere and we will actually accept everything you give us without a thought.
Hope that didn't offend you beloved akhi.

I only wish to discuss some of the rulings that are usually discussed on this forum anyway - for example the issue of trimming the beard which you asked regarding as well.

I wish to ask questions of knowledgable brothers on this forum regarding certain rulings being propagated by scholars today, which appear to contradict the rulings of the early fuqaha of the Madhab. I have contacted certain prominent scholars myself regarding some of the issues, and the answers were shockingly deficient to say the least.

[kakarot_999]

I only wish to discuss some of the rulings that are usually discussed on this forum anyway - for example the issue of trimming the beard which you asked regarding as well.

I wish to ask questions of knowledgable brothers on this forum regarding certain rulings being propagated by scholars today, which appear to contradict the rulings of the early fuqaha of the Madhab. I have contacted certain prominent scholars myself regarding some of the issues, and the answers were shockingly deficient to say the least.

You are going to ask knowledgable brothers to teach you about whether the teaching of scholars is true or not? LOL. It's like asking a student whether what his teacher is teaching him is wrong or right.

[UntoldTruth]

You are going to ask knowledgable brothers to teach you about whether the teaching of scholars is true or not? LOL. It's like asking a student whether what his teacher is teaching him is wrong or right.

it has been my experience that scholars can be silent.... Even when they know....

I found students to be more forthcoming with proofs and evidences..... and are willing to discuss, while scholars may not be willing to....

[kakarot_999]

it has been my experience that scholars can be silent.... Even when they know....

I found students to be more forthcoming with proofs and evidences..... and are willing to discuss, while scholars may not be willing to....

It what sense do you mean they were silent? You mean you sent them an old email and they haven't responded? Maybe they never got to reach it due to the large amount of emails they get. Or did you question them in public? Maybe them saying that thing will be harmful towards them and so they didn't say it. BUT if you went to them in private and you told them and they remained silent and they didn't give you a reason, then okay, you have an excuse, but that doesn't discredit their nobility.

[UntoldTruth]

It what sense do you mean they were silent? You mean you sent them an old email and they haven't responded? Maybe they never got to reach it due to the large amount of emails they get. Or did you question them in public? Maybe them saying that thing will be harmful towards them and so they didn't say it. BUT if you went to them in private and you told them and they remained silent and they didn't give you a reason, then okay, you have an excuse, but that doesn't discredit their nobility.

I simply said they were silent... All the above... Some times you have to ask several scholars just to get an answer... I think the reason they don't answer is they want you to submit to them... Obey them without question..... Scholars don't like difficult questions, they like question like, how many times a day do you have to pray??? If I break my wudu in the middle of the prayer, should I stop praying and make wudu and pray again???? They like questions that everybody already knows the answers to....

[kakarot_999]

I simply said they were silent... All the above... Some times you have to ask several scholars just to get an answer... I think the reason they don't answer is they want you to submit to them... Obey them without question..... Scholars don't like difficult questions, they like question like, how many times a day do you have to pray??? If I break my wudu in the middle of the prayer, should I stop praying and make wudu and pray again???? They like questions that everybody already knows the answers to....

Becareful what you imply towards the beloved scholars for they are the messengers of the messenger. They are among those who fear Allah the most according to an interpretation of an ayat and they are those who allow us to still live islam in times of corruption. Maybe you haven't met real scholars, because they are the most open and gentle people I've ever met.

[SeekerOfGuidance]

I would like to ask the scholars and knowledgable brothers here whether the following four statements are correct regarding the Shafi'i Madhab on the issue of trimming/shaving the beard:

1) Other than solitary opinions, the ruling for shaving is the same as that for trimming.

It seems there is no distinction between shaving and trimming in the Shafi'i madhab. According to the Shafi'i fuqaha, hadiths such as the one regarding Ibn Umar (radhiyallahu anhu) trimming to a fistful, are inadmissible as evidence to override the command to lengthen the beard. These Hadiths were deemed too weak to be used as a concession to the command to grow unrestrictedly. Imam Ghazali's use of such Hadith was refuted by the major Shafi'i fuqaha.

2) The ruling by the majority of fuqaha before and after Imam Nawawi was that the command to lengthen the beard is of the wujoob category, in agreement with the other three Madhabs.

From: http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?...14618&CATE=414

"The majority of scholars have understood the above-mentioned hadiths—all of which command Muslims to grow full beards—in their immediately obvious sense, coming to the conclusion that it is unlawful to completely shave the beard. This position has been transmitted from the imam of our school, Imam Shafi`i (may Allah be pleased with him and have mercy on him), and a number of Shafi`i scholars—both early and late—have adopted it as their preferred position. Among the early Shafi`is who held this position are the two great imams, Qaffal al-Shashi and Abu `Abdullah al-Halimi. Among the late Shafi`is who held this position are the two imams, Ibn al-Rif`ah and Shihab al-Adhra`i."

3) There were scholars after Imam Nawawi who adopted taqleed of Imam Shafi'i and the early fuqaha rather than Imam Nawawi on this issue.

"...Among the late Shafi`is who held this position are the two imams, Ibn al-Rif`ah and Shihab al-Adhra`i."

4) Imam Nawawi's ruling regarding shaving is Makruh, but his ruling regarding plucking a few grey hairs is Haram.

http://www.sunnipath.com/library/Hadith/H0004P0297.aspx

[SeekerOfGuidance]

My primary aim in starting this thread is this:

Certain rulings, at least on the surface, appear to contradict the rulings issued by the early fuqaha. Someone here might know the answer why. I have contacted scholars directly but the answers were very unsatisfactory to say the least.

Any clarification by the scholars here would be very useful for me