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Click here to read about - THE DEVIATION OF THE SALAFIS
Taqleed, the Islamic concept of following the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen (the
highest class of Fuqaha—Islamic Jurists) is subjected to much scorn, ridicule
and rejection by modernist Muslims schooled in the liberal uneducated in terms
of the Shariah. There exists also another group apart from the modernists, which
has likewise considered it fashionable to argue away the vital Shar’I
requirement of Taqleed. This group comes in the garb of Ulema of Islam. They
have adopted a similar attitude of rejecting Taqleed by virtue of external
un-Islamic influences which they have acquired as a result of them deviating
from the path of the Sunnah. Western liberalism has undoubtedly captured their
minds, hence they labour to create some kind of harmony between the rigid
demands of Islam and the so-called rational dictates of modern reason. Such
modern learned men operating under the designation of Ulema and occasionally
donning even the external garments of Ulema to create a deceptive appearance of
piety, pose the greatest danger to the Iman of the untainted laymen. Most of the
“Islamic” colleges in the Middle Eastern countries and some Madrasahs in
other parts of the world pour out members of this hybrid class of “Ulema”
who find it difficult to distinguish between right and left. They are saddled
with the problem of harmonizing Islam with modernism and in the process of their
evil pursuit they are constrained to abandon any Islamic demand which thwarts or
impedes their ungodly mission. One of the greatest impediments in the endeavour
to modernize Islam to conform to western standards of reason is the Shar’I
demand of Taqleed. Taqleed is a thorn in their flesh and it has to be eliminated
for the attainment of their pernicious goal.
Self-conceit and self-opinion are the products of western liberalism and
materialism. These diseases, gripping, many Muslims in this age, have lamentably
disturbed the equilibrium of Muslim intelligence. The ailing Muslim intelligence
of these times has been so drastically jarred that it is incapable of discerning
the dangerous abyss it is slipping into by shunning the vital and compulsory
injunction of Taqleed. It fails to understand consequence of admut-Taqleed (abandonement
of Taqleed) is the abdication of Iman. Those who shun Taqleed hover on the brink
of kufr.
Incumbent
The incumbency of Taqleed is substantiated by the highest authority of Islam,
viz, the Qur’an Majeed.
Allah Ta’ala declares in the gracious Kitaab:
“Ask the People of knowledge if you do not know”.
This Qur’aanic command establishes the general principle of Taqleed. The
Islamic concept of Taqleed is vital for Iman since Iman is based on total
obedience to a transcendental law termed the Shariah which is not the product of
human reason and man’s intelligence. Man’s intelligence cannot discover the
acts and duties which Divine Pleasure desires for its population. The medium for
attaining the Pleasure of Allah Ta’ala is only by following the teachings of
Rasool (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam)
imparted these teachings to the Sahaabah who were obliged to adopt total Taqleed
of the Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). The Sahaabah achieved the pinnacle of
glory in all fields by means of Taqleed, not by way of pitting their own opinion
and reasoning against the Divine law.
The Second Stage
The second stage of Taqleed applies to the noble Taabi-een or the generation
succeeding the Sahaabah. This was the golden age of the Fuqaha (Islamic Jurists)
who all followed faithfully in the footsteps of the Sahaabah. The illustrious
Fuqaha of this glorious age achieved their lofty ranks in Islamic Knowledge and
Taqwa by sitting at the feet of the Sahaabah and making Taqleed of these
Students and Disciples of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). They never
preferred their opinion in matters pertaining to the Shariah. They followed the
Sahaabah in the way the Sahaabah followed Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
Allah Ta’ala commands in the Qur’an:
“O People of Iman! Obey Allah, obey the Rasul and the Ulul Amr among you”.
The Ulul Amr (the leaders or those in charge of the Ummah), in the first and
highest degree refers to the Sahaabah. Taqleed of the Sahaabah is essential for
salvation in the Aakhirah. When even the great Fuqaha followed the Sahaabah,
then by what reasoning can any other member of the Ummah seek to discard Taqleed?
The Third Stage
The third stage of Taqleed applies to the rank and file of the Ummah. In
regard to the Ummah at large the concept of Taqleed demands total obedience to
the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen or the great Fuqaha who were the sole repositories of
unrestricted Ijtihad on the basis of the Qur’an and Sunnah. After the Sahaabah,
the class known as the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen occupied the loftiest pedestal in
all branches of Islamic Knowledge. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:
“Verily the Ulema are the Heirs of the Ambiya”.
After the Sahaabah the highest candidates for this lofty Office were the
Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen, men such as Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Maalik, Imam Shaafi and
Imam Ahmad Bin Hambal (rahmatullah alayhim). When Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi
wasallam) has appointed men of this caliber to be his Representatives to bear
the Standard of the Shariah and to guide the Ummah, then it does not behove any
Ummah, to become so self-conceited and arrogantly arrogate to himself the right
of discarding the garland of Taqleed.
AIM OF TAQLEED
The aim of Taqleed is total Ittiba (total obedience to the Law of Allah Ta’ala).Taqleed
means to follow. To achieve obedience to Allah Ta’ala. Taqleed is a vital
requirement. The masses in the Ummah can never attain total Ittiba’ of Allah
and his Rasool without resorting to Taqleed of the Fuqaha. Thus, negation of
Ittiba’. Ordinary Muslims are deluded by the spiritually dangerous rhetoric
and reasoning of the proponents of liberalism. The negators of Taqleed endeavour
to put across the idea but Taqleed is a superfluity and an accretion in Islam.
But, Taqleed is imperative for the safety of Iman. In the absence of Taqleed,
the nafs of man steps in and misleads him by exposing him to the vagaries of
desire and the evil prompting of shaitaan. On the contrary, Taqleed holds the Mu’min
securely on the path of Rectitude. By following the through the avenue of
Taqleed, the lowly desire in man is thwarted. Whether the decree of the Shariah
suits him or not, he is bound to offer his total obedience since he has chosen
the Path of Taqleed of the illustrious authorities of Islam. In contrast, the
free-lancer-the one who picks and chooses-makes Taqleed of another sort. He
follows his nafs-his desires-and drifts further from the Path of Haqq. He lands
in dhalaal (deviation) which takes him towards kufr and the destruction of Iman.
The Ulama
The vital importance of Taqleed may be gauged from the fact that even great
Ulama of the caliber of Imam Abu Yusuf were Muqallids. They followed a
particular Math-hab and obeyed the higher authorities of the Shariah. But, puny
and insignificant men hardly possessing a smattering of Islamic knowledge which
they obtained from unreliable sources, today advocate abandonement of Taqleed.
DECEPTION
Those who seek to abandon Taqleed are dwelling in self-deception. They
deceive themselves into believing that they posses adequate ability and
qualifications to embark on the process of deducting Shar’I Masaa-il. But,
they grope lamentably in darkness. There is not a single rule which they are
capable of deducting without resort to the works of Fiqh, they are constrained
to refer to Tafseer, they have to refer to some work of the Mufassireen. If it
is a question pertaining to Hadith, they have no option other than making
Taqleed of the Hadith Kitaabs of such Ulama who themselves were Muqallideen
(followers of Imams). In order to ascertain the authenticity of a Hadith, there
is no alternative other than making Taqleed of the Aimmah Hadith. At no stage
can anyone be independent of Taqleed. But, the negators of Taqleed dupe
themselves by seeking to satisfy their desires in slitting from Math-hab to
Math-hab in picking and choosing rules and opinions which conform to their
whimsical desires and fancies.
The votaries of admut Taqleed(abandonement of Taqleed) consider it below
their dignity to be hitched to any specific Math-hab of the Shariah; they
advocate a policy of picking and choosing from all various Math-hab; when it
suits them they accept a mas’alah from the Hanafi Math-hab; when a mas’alah
in the Shaafi Math-hab appears more in consonance with laxity and desire, they
switch over to that Math-hab; when something more appeasing is discerned in the
Maaliki Math-hab, they opt for that mas’alah. They wonder aimlessly in this
deception deluding themselves. They fail policy of talfeeq (jumping from Math-hab
to Math-hab); they have to follow the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen.
The indispensability of the Fuqaha is accepted even by the opponents of the
Imams, albeit in an implied and subtle way. They are totally incapable of
formulating a single mas’alah without resorting to aid from the illustrious
authorities among the Fuqaha, Muhadditheen and Mufassireen. But, they childishly
trumpet the bugle of the validity of talfeen a conception which is unanimously
unlawful.
The Shar’I Masaa-il handed down by the Fuqaha were not products of
unfettered opinion. The Masaa-il were obtained in the following ways:
(1) From highly reliable Ustaads whose academic, intellectual and spiritual
Chains were linked directly to Rasulullah 9sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
Furthermore, the Chain between these illustrious authorities of Islam and
Rusulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was extremely short in that, this Golden
Chain consisted of very few links. It was the noblest to times closet to
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) a time designated to Rasulullah (sallallahu
alayhi wasallam) a “Khairul Quroon”. (The Best of Times). The Masaa-il of
Deen were consequently obtained directly from the Sahaabah or the disciples of
the Sahaabah.
(2) On the basis of Principles Usool formulated by the Sahaabah. Such
Principles were received by the Fuqaha by way of authentic narration. The short
span of time between the Fuqaha and the Sahaabah was a predominant factor in
ensuring the authenticity and reliability of the Chain of Narration.
(3) On the basis of Usool (Principles which the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen derived
directly from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Unfettered reason and individual opinion
and fancy had absolutely no role in the Masaa-il of Deen prepared by the Fuqaha
for the benefit of posterity.
THEIR MISSION
The nature of the work which Islam had entrusted to these noble souls and the
stupendous treasure of Islamic sciences prepared by them convince all sincere
followers of Islam that the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen were a class created by Allah
Ta’ala for the specific task of systematizing the Shariah and handing it over
in a simplified form to the Ummah for all time to come. Their monumental works
bear ample testimony to their greatness. To this day they remain unparalleled in
the fields of Islam which were their missions. Thus, without the slightest fear
of contradiction, can it be claimed that after the age of the Aimmah –e-Mujtahideen
there never appeared the likes of them. After the Mufassireen, there never
appeared the likes of them. Great men came in all in all ages and indeed every
age will witness great men. But the likes of the Aimmah were never again seen
nor will there ever be men of such high caliber. The greatest among the Ulama in
this age and in all future ages will always be compelled to resort to the works
of the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen. The Principles of the Shariah enunciated by them
are indispensable.
Even such sheikhs and molvies who gone astray and are advocating the
abandonement of Math-habs, find themselves hemmed in by new developments and
phenomena which require Shar’I rulings. They are compelled against their
desires to resort to the principles and the rulings of the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen.
They will then proceed on a spree of picking and choosing from the various
rulings of the Aimmah. But in this process they are steered on by desire. Their
decisions are not governed by the Principles of the Shariah. They employ
unbridled and defective reasoning in isolation of the Principles of the Shariah.
Such deviated men while propagating the abandonment of Taqleed, imply by their
own ruling and opinions that the rank and file of the Ummah should follow them.
They are caught up in an obnoxious attitude of self deception in that they
expect ordinary Muslims to sacrifice the superior Taqleed of the
Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen and adopt the baseless Taqleed of the deviated sheikhs and
muftis of this time-learned men who have lost their Islamic bearings and dwell
in the darkness of compound ignorance.
THE PATH OF ALLAH
Those who are plodding the path of dhalaal (deviation) scorn at the
designations of Hanafi, Shaafi, Maaliki, and Hambali. They sarcastically pose
the question:
“Wherein the Qur’an and Hadith is it stated that Muslim are Hanafis,
Shaafis, Maalikis and Hambalis?”
Similar such stupid question are asked by those who have drifted from
Seeratul Mustaqeem and are now following the path of shaitaan. One does not
require great intelligence to understand the reason for these designation which
most assuredly are not in conflict with Islam. The true and only Path for the Mu’min
is the Path of Allah. But, Allah Himself attributes His Path to certain of His
beloved Slaves.
He states in the Qur’an Majeed:
“Follow the Path of those who turn towards Me.”
In this ayat, Allah Ta’ala does not say:
“My Path “. He says : Sabeela man anaaba ilayya. (The Path of those who
turn towards Me).” Elsewhere in the Qur’an Allah Ta’ala designates His
Path with the title: Millate-e-Ibraaheem. There is therefore nothing Islamically
wrong in relating the Path of Allah to any Islamic personality who acts as the
medium of guidance.
The Aimmah –e-Mujtahideen were the personalities who expounded the Shariah
and simplified the Road of Guidance leading towards Allah Ta’ala. Those who
follow their Ustaad Imam Abu Hanifah are thus called the Hanafis while those who
follow Imam Shaafi are called Shaaafis. The relationship to any particular Imam
is merely by virtue of acceptance of his exposing of the Law of Allah Ta’ala.
In submitting to the rulings of an uprighteous and highly qualified authority of
the Shariah we are effectively thwarting our lower desire (nafs) and by casting
aside our whimsical opinions and fancies we strive with sincerity in Allah’s
path to attain His Pleasure.
In the ayat cited above, Allah Ta’ala commands Taqleed of the Aimmah in
categoric terms. He says:
“Follow the Path of those who turn towards Me.”
In other words: Make Taqleed of the authorities of the Shariah. It is only
the path of these great men of Islam which leads towards Allah Ta’ala. Allah
commands that we adopt Taqleed of those whose who Path leads towards Him. But,
men gone astray and lost in deception advocate that the Ummah abandon “Sabeela
man anaabe ilayya—the Path of those turn towards Me.
Indeed it is most ludicrous for the Ummah to accept that being hitched to
Taqleed for fourteen centuries, right from the time of the Sahaabah, men in this
belated era have discerned the superfluity of this concept and that Allah Ta’ala
can be reached by abandoning what is sacred and what has been proven to be
authentic. The Path of Taqleed is the Rope of Allah Ta’ala. Whoever allows
this rope to slip from his hands, loses himself in baatil.
NAMES
The intransigent demand by ghair-muqallideen (those who have abandoned the
Taqleed of the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen) that we produce from the Qur’an or Hadith
evidence to uphold the correctness of the Taqleed of Abu Hanifah, Shaafi, Maalik
and Hambal is made merely to confuse and mislead Muslims. Lets us ask these
deviates: Where in the Qur’an or Hadith is stated that we should accept and
follow Imam Bukhaari and Imam Muslim (rahmatullah alayhimaa)? Ghair Muqallideen
cite copiously from the works of these two authorities to bolster their baseless
claims against the Muqallideen. These Ghair Muqallideen are rendered helpless
for want of independent Shari evidence to support their claims. They can only
cite ahadith which appear in the kitaabs of the Aimmah-e-Hadith. Again we ask:
What constrains us then to make Taqleed of the ahadith which appear in Bukhaari,
etc.?
Those who seek to shed Taqleed should abstain from attempting to substantiate
their claims on the basis of ahadith which are extracted from Bukhaari and
Muslim. If they cannot accept the stamp of authority of the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen,
they should not expect others to accepts as stamps of authority the sources
which they (the ghair Muqallideen) tender. The renouncers of Taqleed advance in
their support ahadith which they have gleaned from sources which appeared
centuries after Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) whereas the Masaa-il
propagated; by the Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen are based on sources in the closet
proximity to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). The ghair Muqallideen cite
from Bukhaari and Muslim while the Muqallideen narrate from the
Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen whose Ustaads were the Taabi-een and the Sahaabah. The
fallacy of their propagations against Taqleed should now be manifest.
---Mujlisul Ulama of South Africa P.O. Box 3395 Port Elizabeth, 6056 South Africa
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