There is no place for sectarian divisions in Islam. Allah says:
” … Fear Him (Allah) and establish prayer and be not of those who associate others with Allah (or) of those who have divided their religion and became sects, each faction rejoicing in what it has” [Qur’an 30: 31,32]
“Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects – you, (Muhammad ﷺ), are not (associated) with them in anything. Their affair is only (left) to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do” [Qur’an 6:159]
If anyone accepts Islam, he has to :
- Testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger.
- To perform the prayers five times a day.
- To pay Zakat (mandatory charity) annually.
- To fast in the month of Ramadan annually; and
- To make the pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime, if one can afford it.
In order to fulfill these five things (commonly known as the five pillars of Islam), all what one needs to follow is the guidance given in the Qur’an and that provided by the Prophet. In the lifetime of the Prophet people took guidance from him directly since he was alive. However, after his death this guidance was transferred to masses through his companions and successors to the companions. In other words, along with the Qur’an now we have to rely on historical accounts dealing with the teachings of the Prophet in order to follow the directives of Islam. Since it’s a matter of faith, Muslim historians and scholars did a great deal in preserving history that relates to the teachings and traditions of the Prophet. The profiles of narrators were established and scrutinized before anything could be accepted from them since attributing anything towards the Prophet which he never said or did is considered a great sin in Islam.
Scholars of various times devoted their lifetime in preserving the teachings of the Prophet. Many of them excelled in the field of Islamic jurisprudence dealing with laws that govern a Muslims daily life. These laws were explained and practically demonstrated by the Prophet in his lifetime. The jurists after studying the Qur’an and the Prophet’s life devised a methodology to extract legal rulings and verdicts commonly knowns as “Usul al-Fiqh” i.e. Principles of Jurisprudence. The jurists expanded on this methodology with some differences among themselves. Different schools of thought eventually left the Muslim world with different schools of jurisprudence that are present to this day.
Point where things went wrong was when people started to blindly follow their Imam (leader) considering his jurisprudence to be the best and most accurate. Instead of seeking guidance from various schools of jurisprudence in order to understand the real source i.e. Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith), Muslims ended up in creating major divisions in their religion on the basis of various madhhabs and their schools of thought, each named after the classical jurist who taught them e.g. Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali.
Real and true Islam is based on the Holy Book (Qur’an) and the Prophet’s Sunnah (Hadith). These two are the true sources of reference and precedent in each and every controversial issue. Allah says:
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith until they make you (Muhammad ﷺ) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decision, and accept (them) with full submission” [Qur’an 4:65]
None of the Imams urged anyone to follow their Madhhab or school of thought, in fact all of the Imams advised:
“Take from where we have taken” i.e. from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
All religious scholars of olden times who were considered to be the luminaries of Islamic knowledge, always brought evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and they always urged people to follow the Quran and Sunnah, and to take counsel from these two sources. It is a proven fact that Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafe’i, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Sufyan Thauri, Sufyan bin Uainah, Hasan Basari, Qazi Abu Yousuf, Muhammad bin Hasan Shaibani, Imam Auzai, Abdullah bin Mubarak, Imam Bukhari, Imam Mulsim and other venerable religious scholars always warned the people against making innovations in religious matters. They always advised people to be careful and cautioned them against following anyone except the Prophet.
Imam Malik said: “The views and opinions of everybody may be accepted or rejected except his who is resting in this grave. While saying this, Imam Malik pointed towards the grave of the Prophet”
All of the four prevalent Imams have said that it is neither permissible nor justified to give a judicial verdict based on their word or deed unless the reason behind that particular word or deed is understood clearly and completely. They have also elucidated:
“If an authentic Hadith is found, then that is my Madhhab”
This means that, if an authentic Hadith is found, their word is repealed at once and has no significance before the Hadith, and their faith is completely in accordance with that Hadith. Likewise, it is also expressed from the four Imams:
“Judge our words on the criterion of Quran and Sunnah, and if you find our words corresponding to the Quran and Sunnah, then accept them, otherwise turn them down”
Later religious leaders with shallow knowledge made it incumbent on people to follow one of the four Imams and prohibited them from following another at the same time. This created divisions among the Muslim community by giving way to abomination, hatred, enmity and hostility. Each individual is accusing the other of being an innovator in matters of religion. One group is blaming the other for a very small and ordinary difference, so much so that one does not hesitate to say infidel and disbeliever to another Muslim. The conflict has reached a level where different sects are found in confrontation with each other all the time. The result of this confrontation is clearly stated in the Qur’an.
“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and (thus) lose courage and (then) your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient” [Qur’an 8:46]
Neither do we see the strength nor patience in Muslim communities. It’s time to realize that it is not necessary to follow any particular Madhhab or a school of thought. These are personal and private opinions, judgements and interpretations of legal points according to religious scholars and jurists. Allah or His Prophet have not made it mandatory for us to follow these opinions and interpretations. The jurisprudence of these Imams was to understand the real source i.e. Qur’an and Sunnah and not to make their jurisprudence a source for creating divisions in religion which is strongly condemned by Allah. What is worth following is the way of Allah and His Prophet and staying united. Allah say:
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided” [Qur’an 3:103]
Practice and Teachings of The Noble Imams
Let us see what these Imams, in whose names we have created various madhhabs, practiced and taught themselves rather than believing in what our religious leaders tell us about them:
It is reported in “Kitab Al-Imta” that Imam Baihaqi reported in his Sunan that Imam Shafi’I said:
“If I say something and it is in discord with the words of the Prophet, in this case discard my opinion and act upon the Hadith”
The discord or discrepancy between the words of the Prophet and any of the Imams is not deliberate. It could have been that a particular narration may not have reached the Imam or the Imam interpreted the narration in some different context or being a human, the Imam simply made a mistake. The important thing is not the reason of discrepancy between Imam’s opinion and the words of the Prophet. Important thing is what the Imam himself said about this discrepancy i.e. discard my opinion and follow the hadith.
This is precisely what early Muslim scholars did. When they found a discrepancy between the Imam’s opinion and the hadith of the Prophet, they discarded the Imam’s opinion. The following historical fact is a simple and straight forward example that throws light on this issue.
Ibn Abi Shaybah was an early Muslim scholar of hadith who was born in 159H, just 9 years after death of the famous Imam Abu Hanifa who died in 150H. Both of them were born in Kufa, Iraq. Ibn Abi Shaybah was considered by many Muslim specialists in hadith to be one of the four most significant authors in the field. He authored a Musannaf work commonly known as Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah. In his Musannaf he names one of the chapters as “Book of Refutation of Abu Hanifa“. In this chapter he lists the discrepancies between the Prophetic traditions i.e. hadith and opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa.
Interesting fact is that he was so close to the time of Imam Abu Hanifa but even then he never declared that his madhhab was Hanafi. On the contrary, he pointed out the issues in which Imam Abu Hanifa’s opinion was in discord with the hadith of the Prophet and published in his book showing that his belief was not of blind following but was to follow the Qura’n and the Hadith of Prophet. There was no enmity between Imam Abu Hanifa and him. His act of giving preference to Hadith over Imam Abu Hanifa’s opinion was something which Imam Abu Hanifa taught himself. As reported in ‘Raudat ul-Ulama Al-Zandwasia’ with a reference from ‘Al-Hadaya’, when Imam Abu Hanifa was asked:
“If you say something that is in disagreement with the Qur’an, what should we do in this case?’ He replied, ‘Act according to commands of the Qur’an and discard my words’ He was again asked, ‘If your words go against the Hadith of the Prophet, how should we act in this situation?’ Imam Abu Hanifa again replied, ‘Discard my words and act upon the Hadith’ Once more he was asked, ‘If your words oppose the words and actions of the noble companions of the Prophet?’ He again repeated his reply, ‘Discard my words and follow the example of noble Companions”
So not following a particular madhhab or a school of thought of a particular Imam is not a new concept unlike what is told by our religious leaders these days. The historical fact that is mentioned above is not a recent sect bashing gimmick by some faction. It is something that happened more than 1200 years ago since Ibn Abi Shaybah died in 235H and reflects what the scholars and Imams at that time believed in.
The other thing that must be mentioned here is that this historical fact should not be used to defame Imam Abu Hanifa. It is just to show that even a great scholar like him can also make mistakes or have limitations. No one considers that the discrepancy between Imam Abu Hanifa’s point of view and hadith was deliberate. Either those narrations that contradict his point of view did not reach him or he made a mistake while applying his reasoning, which is normal and is not condemned. The Prophet said:
“If a judge makes a ruling, striving to apply his reasoning (ijtihad) and he is correct, then he will have two rewards. If a judge makes a ruling, striving to apply his reasoning and he is mistaken, then he will have one reward.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Imam Al-Haramain has also explained this issue. It is narrated in Kafi:
“If a jurist passes a verdict and that verdict is not in accordance with the Hadith of the Prophet, in such case it is obligatory to act in conformation of Hadith and the verdict of the jurist should be ignored and rejected, because the status of Hadith is much higher as compared to jurist’s verdict. If the words of a jurist are acceptable as lawful argument for the common man then the words of the Prophet should be accepted without any further arguments”
Imam Shafi’i says:
“He who follows an individual, concerning the lawfulness or prohibition of things, and a Sahih Hadith is available to lead to a right decision and the reality of the matter, but the blind following of an Imam stops him from accepting that Hadith, against the views he is holding, such a person is making his Imam a god on account of regarding a prohibited thing to be lawful and vice versa”
Shah Waliullah Dahlawee has written in ” Insaf fi Bayan Asbab Al-Ikhtilaf “:
“For the first two centuries of the Hijra era people were not aware of any Madhhab, as a matter of fact, no Madhhab existed at all during that time. For that reason, nobody knew any Madhhab and did not follow anyone except Allah’s Messenger. Venerable Companions of Allah’s Messenger the Tabe’in (those who immediately followed the Companions) and the succeeding generation of the Tabe’in followed their consensus and did not follow any individual. So, anybody who ignores this consensus and opts all the sayings, verdicts and views of any one Imam and does not try to search and confirm it from the two basic sources i.e. The Qur’an and Sunnah, is acting against the tenets of faith. Such a person has gone astray from the right path of Islam”
“Only those things that Allah and His Messenger have made obligatory are worth following. It is obvious that Allah and His Messenger have not made it obligatory to follow any person in religious matters. The golden era of the Prophet, his Companions and their followers passed, but no one made it compulsory to follow a specific Madhhab or person. Many blind followers have been heard saying ‘I am Hanafi, or I am Shafi’i and the fact is quite different from their verbal utterances. They just claim to be Hanafi or Shafi’i and are quite ignorant about the teachings of their Imams. If anyone claims to be a jurist or a writer, he has to prove it, otherwise his claim of being a jurist or writer is false. The same is the case of being a Hanafi or Shafi’i. If they do not understand the teachings of their Imam and have no regard for their sayings, how can they be what they claim to be?”
Blind Following or Taqleed
The modern age Muslims, for successive generations, have been following their religious leaders blindly without looking deep into the matters of faith and worship and into the matters of lawfulness and prohibition of various things. Their following has no approval from the Qur’an and Sunnah; as a matter of fact, the Qur’an and Sunnah contradict their way of action and they should take a warning from it. Allah says:
“They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah” [Qur’an 9:31]
Narrated ‘Adi bin Hatim:
“I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) while I had a cross of gold around my neck. He said: O ‘Adi! Remove this idol from yourself! And I heard him reciting from Surah Bara’ah: They took their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah (9:31). He said: As for them, they did not worship them, but when they made something lawful for them, they considered it lawful, and when they made something unlawful for them, they considered it unlawful.” [Tirmidhi #3095]
Therefore, to blindly follow scholars, so as to consider lawful what they declare lawful and to consider unlawful what they declare unlawful, is like honoring them the status of being lords. This verse of the Qur’an is sufficient for every wise and sensible person to prevent himself from following the religious leaders blindly and giving preference to their words over the Qur’an and Sunnah.
When people who blindly follow (Muqallids) come across a verse of the Qur’an or a Hadith that is contrary to the views of their faith, they interpret it in various ways according to their prefixed viewpoint. They make every effort to defend the point of view of their faith and when unable to find a fair and reasonable interpretation, they lay the matter on the Imam by saying:
“Our Imam is well-versed in the science of Hadith, his scholarship and knowledge is far better than ours. He might be aware of his action, we merely follow him”
One of the scholars of Hanafi sect, says in his book, Usool al Karkhi (published as part of Usool Bazdowi):
1. Rule: Any verse which is against the opinion of our companions, it will be considered to be abrogated or that preference has been given or better would be that it is explained such, whatever is possible
Then he mentions next rule on the same page, that:
2. Rule: All those narrations which come against the opinion of our Companions, It would be considered cancelled or that it is clashing with similar and go to the later evidence, and preference would be given to what our companions have argued with
Whereas the words of the Imams are clear enough:
“Judge our words on the criterion of Quran and Sunnah, and if you find our words corresponding to the Quran and Sunnah, then accept them, otherwise turn them down“
Sanad ibn Anan writes in Madawwanah:
“Any wise, sensible person would not like to find himself to be a fixated follower. I do not say that following is forbidden for everybody, a common man who is ignorant and uneducated is allowed to follow under certain conditions, but it is necessary to understand the arguments of Jurists and Imams. Adopting the views of others without knowing the reason behind it and without checking the validity of the argument is called blind following, such a following does not enhance the knowledge of the follower, yet there is a possibility of going astray. To follow a specific person is a heresy in itself, and we definitely know that this kind of following had not started at the time of Companions of the Prophet. The noble Companions always sought guidance from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and if they did not get a clear answer from these two sources they collectively considered the issue and acted according to the result unanimously agreed upon.
The second generation adopted a similar approach. In the third era great scholars like Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafe’i and Imam Ahmed taught. They also followed the path of venerable Companions of the Prophet. Their era had not seen the blind following of one person. Companions of Imams and their contemporaries too did not follow any one person, they would grasp anything which was in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah from anywhere they got. Companions of Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik opposed them on a number of issues. It is a demonstrable fact that fixated following originated after two centuries which were applauded by the Prophet “
Ibn Jauzi writes in his book Talbees e Iblis:
“To blindly follow is to make knowledge ineffective. The real function of the intellect is to think, ponder, meditate and dig up hidden points and the significance of ideas. The intellect is a light for the guidance of life, Allah has bestowed this light upon every human being. But very few use this, most put off this light and walk in darkness”
Followers of specific Madhhabs regard their own Madhhab as the foundation and base of the religion and see the Qur’an and Sunnah with their own viewpoint. Wherever they find anything contrary to their point of view, they try to interpret it in a way to make it agree with their own belief. This act has divided the Muslim community into different sects and every sect tries hard to prove his correctness and righteousness. Ardent preachers of every sect are busy propagating their viewpoint and proving themselves on the right path accusing others of going astray. Each sect refuses to act according to any other’s point of view and considers them all as outcasts and belonging to another religion, whereas it was expected from all sects to get together around one formula which is common to all i.e.
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided” [Qur’an 3:103]
The Book of Allah is the Rope of Allah extended from the heaven to the earth. Therefore, it is essential for every Muslim man and woman to learn the Qur’an, to understand its meaning and sense and follow the way of the Prophet. Everyone should try to take guidance from the Qur’an and the authentic traditions of the Prophet. If someone is not capable of doing so, he may take help from a religious guide, but should not limit or associate his faith to a specific person or madhhab. While taking help from any guide one should feel free to question and counter question in order to confirm that the provided guidance is in conformation with the teachings of the Qur’an and the way of the Prophet. If one is consulting the jurisprudence of scholars and Imams to extract guidance, which one is unable to derive otherwise, then he should not get fixated with just one school of thought. Consider what is unanimously agreed upon by all.