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Subject: Islamic Book!
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Dear Ceci Henningsson,
Thank you for replying to my previous message. I am sending you a small file
containing an Islamic text. It's a brief, useful and non-controversial book
on Islam which matches the context of the books already available from your
site. I hope it will be included in your resources list so that many people
might benefit from it. Its taken from a non-copyrighted publication and its
freely distributable. I have added a short preface where I also make my
E-Mali address available for those who wish to receive more litterature on
the subject. Please let me know if and when the book book will be included
in lysator. The full title of the book is "Understanding The Four Madhhabs".

        Thank you.  Mahdi <mahdi@ipsnet.it>

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In the Name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate

				Electro-Publisher's Preface

This text which I have here reproduced in electronic form is a key-text for=
 the proper understanding of Islamic Scholarship, an understanding that is=
 not exclusive to specialists only but which every lay-Muslim should have.=
 For this reason I have decided to render available on Internet the main=
 text of the booklet, I have although purposely omitted the footnotes which=
 appear in the original booklet published by WiseMuslim Publications, so=
 that those who are really interested in entering the subject fully will be=
 moved to order an original copy of the book from the publisher for the=
 modest price of =A31.00. In the orginal booklet there are 74 footnotes=
 covering the same amount of space of the text itself, and I have found them=
 to be very useful and full full of references. The original publication is=
 not copyrighted and it might be freely reproduced, although it would be=
 wise to contact the publisher in order to benefit from other publications=
 which might have gone into print lately. Anyone interested on other books=
 in English on Islam (in paper form or electronic) should also contact me at=
 the E-Mail address given below, many title since long unavailable have been=
 put back into print in paper form, also I am at present working on the=
 translation from Arabic to English of the "Mukhtasar" of Khalil Ibn Ishaq,=
 the most complete compendium on Maliki fiqh, a book which provides a=
 complete madhhab framework of the early Islamic jurisprudence.

		The Electro-Publisher

				"Mahdi" <mahdi@ipsnet.it>

*********************************************************************
Not copyright
Published 1416/1995 by Wise Muslim Publications
1 Hillcroft Crescent Wembley
Middx HA9 8EE
England
ISBN 0 9520853 1 3

This book is published on behalf of the Sunday Muslim School, Wembley, to=
 whom all profits will accrue.
************************************************************************

			Understanding the Four Madhhahs


				Abdal Hakim Murad


THE UMMA'S greatest achievement over the past millenium has undoubtedly been=
 its internal intellectual cohesion. From the fifth century of the Hijra=
 almost to the present day, and despite the outward drama of the clash of=
 dynasties, the Sunni Muslims have maintained an almost unfailing attitude=
 of religious respect and brotherhood among themselves. It is a striking=
 fact that virtually no religious wars, riots or persecutions divided them=
 during this extended period, so difficult in other ways.

The history of religious movements suggests that this is an unusual outcome.=
 The normal sociological view, as expounded by Max Weber and his disciples,=
 is that religions enjoy an initial period of unity, and then descend into=
 an increasingly bitter factionalism led by rival hierarchies. Christianity=
 has furnished the most obvious example of this; but one could add many=
 others, including secular faiths such as Marxism. On the face of it,=
 Islam's ability to avoid this fate is astonishing, and demands careful=
 analysis.

There is, of course, a straightforwardly religious explanation. Islam is the=
 final religion, the "last bus home", and as such has been divinely secured=
 from the more terminal forms of decay. It is true that what Abdul Wadod=
 Shalabi has termed "spiritual entropy" has been at work ever since Islam's=
 inauguration, a fact which is well-supported by a number of hadiths.=
 Nonetheless, Providence has not neglected the Umma. Earlier religions slide=
 gently or painfully into schism and irrelevance; but Islamic piety, while=
 fading in quality, has been given mechanisms which allow it to retain much=
 of the sense of unity emphasised in its glory days. Wherever the antics of=
 the emirs and politicians might lead, the brotherhood of believers, a=
 reality in the initial career of Christianity and some other faiths,=
 continues, fourteen hundred years on, to be a compelling principle for=
 members of the final and definitive community of revelation in Islam. The=
 reason is simple and unarguable: God has given us this religion as His last=
 word, and it must therefore endure, with its essentials of tawhid, worship=
 and ethics intact, until the Last Days.

Such an explanation has obvious merit. But we will still need to explain=
 some painful exceptions to the rule in the earliest phase of our history.=
 The Prophet himself (s.a.w.s.) had told his Companions, in a hadith=
 narrated by Imam Tirmidhi, that "Whoever among you outlives me shall see a=
 vast dispute." The initial schisms: the disastrous revolt against 'Uthman=
 (r.a.), the clash between 'Ali (r.a.) and Talha, and then with Mu'awiya,=
 the bloody scissions of the Kharijites -- all these drove knives of discord=
 into the Muslim body politic almost from the outset. Only the inherent=
 sanity and love of unity among scholars of the Umma -- assisted, no doubt,=
 by Providence -- overcame the early spasms of factionalism, and created a=
 strong and harmonious Sunnism which has, at least on the purely religious=
 plane, united ninety percent of the Umma for ninety percent of its history.

It will help us greatly to understand our modern, increasingly divided=
 situation if we look closely at those forces which divided us in the=
 distant past. There were many of these, some of them very eccentric; but=
 only two took the form of mass popular movements, driven by religious=
 ideology, and in active rebellion against majoritarian faith and=
 scholarship. For good reasons, these two acquired the names of Kharjism and=
 Shi'ism. Unlike Sunni Islam, both were highly productive of splinter groups=
 and submovements; but they nonetheless remained as recognisable traditions=
 of dissidence because of their ability to express the two great divergences=
 from mainstream opinion on the key question of the source of religious=
 authority in Islam.

Confronted with what they saw as moral slippage among early caliphs,=
 posthumous partisans of 'Ali (r.a.) developed a theory of religious=
 authority which departed from the older egalitarian assumptions by vesting=
 it in a charismatic succession of Imams. We need not stop here to=
 investigate the question of whether this idea was influenced by the Eastern=
 Christian background of some early converts, who had been nourished on the=
 idea of the mystical apostolic succession to Christ, a gift which=
 supposedly gave the Church the unique ability to read his mind for later=
 generations. What needs to be appreciated is that Shi'ism, in its myriad=
 forms, developed as a response to a widely-sensed lack of definitive=
 religious authority in early Islamic society. As the age of the Righteous=
 Caliphs came to a close, and the Umayyad rulers departed ever more=
 conspicuously from the lifestyle expected of them as "Commanders of the=
 Faithful", the sharply-divergent and still nascent schools of fiqh seemed=
 inadequate as sources of strong and unambiguous authority in religious=
 matters. Hence the often irresistible seductiveness of the idea of an=
 infallible Imam.

This interpretation of the rise of Imamism also helps to explain the second=
 great phase in Shi'i expansion. After the success of the fifth-century=
 Sunni Revival, when Sunnism seemed at last to have become a fully coherent=
 system, Shi'ism went into a slow eclipse. Its extreme wing, as manifested=
 in Isma'ilism, received a heavy blow at the hands of Imam al-Ghazali, whose=
 book "Scandals of the Batinites" exposed and refuted their secret doctrines=
 with devastating force. This decline in Shi'i fortunes was only arrested=
 after the mid-seventh century, once the Mongol hordes under Genghis Khan=
 had invaded and obliterated the central lands of Islam. The onslaught was=
 unimaginably harsh: we are told, for instance, that out of a hundred=
 thousand former inhabitants of the city of Herat, only forty survivors=
 crept out of the smoking ruins to survey the devastation. In the wake of=
 this tidal wave of mayhem, newly-converted Turcoman nomads moved in, who,=
 with the Sunni ulema of the cities dead, and a general atmosphere of fear,=
 turbulence, and Messianic expectation in the air, turned readily to=
 extremist forms of Shi'i belief. The triumph of Shi'ism in Iran, a country=
 once loyal to Sunnism, dates back to that painful period.

The other great dissident movement in early Islam was that of the=
 Kharijites, literally, the "seceder", so-called because they seceded from=
 the army of the Caliph 'Ali (r.a.) when he agreed to settle his dispute=
 with Mu'awiya through arbitration. Calling out the Koranic slogan,=
 "Judgement is only God's", they fought bitterly against 'Ali and his army=
 which included many of the leading Companions, until, in the year 38, Imaam=
 'Ali defeated them at the Battle of Nahrawin, where some ten thousand of=
 them petished.

Although the first Kharijites were destroyed, Kharijism itself lived on. As=
 it formulated itself, it turned into the precise opposite of Shi'ism,=
 rejecting any notion of inherited or charismatic leadership, and stressing=
 that leadership of the community of believers should be decided by piety=
 alone.

This was assessed by very rudimentary criteria: the early Kharjites were=
 known for extreme toughness in their devotions, and for the harsh doctrine=
 that any Muslim who commits a major sin is an unbeliever. This notion of=
 Takfir (declaring Muslims to be outside Islam), permitted the Kharijite=
 groups, camping out in remote mountain districts of Khuzestan, to raid=
 Muslim settlements which had accepted Umayyad authority. Non-Kharijis were=
 routinely slaughtered in these operations, which brought merciless=
 reprisals from tough Umayyad generals such as al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. But=
 despite the apparent hopelessness of their cause, the Kharijite attacks=
 continued. The Caliph 'Ali (r.a.) was assassinated by Ibn Muljam, a=
 survivor of Nahrawan, while the Hadith scholar Imam al-Nasa'i, author of=
 one of the most respected collections of sunan, was likewise murdered by=
 Kharijite fanatics in Damascus in 303/915.12

Like Shi'ism, Kharjism caused much instability in Iraq and Central Asia, and=
 on occasion elsewhere, until the fourth and fifth centuries of Islam. At=
 that point, something of historic moment occurred. Sunnism managed to unite=
 itself into a detailed system that was now so well worked-out, and so=
 obviously the way of the great majority of ulema, that the attraction of=
 the rival movements diminished sharply.

What happened was this. Sunni Islam, occupying the middle ground between the=
 two extremes of egalitarian Kharijism and hierarchical Shi'ism had long=
 been preoccupied with disputes over its own concept of authority. For the=
 Sunnis, authority was, by definition, vested in the Koran and Sunna. But=
 confronted with the enormous body of hadiths, which had been scattered in=
 various forms and narrations throughout the length and breadth of the=
 Islamic world following the migrations of the Companions and Followers, the=
 Sunna sometimes posed serious problems of interpretation. Even when the=
 sound hadiths had been sifted out from this great body of material, which=
 totalled several hundred thousand hadith reports, there were some hadiths=
 which appeared to conflict with each other, or even with verses of the=
 Koran. It was obvious that simplistic approaches such as that of the=
 Kharijites, namely, establishing a small corpus of hadiths and deriving=
 doctrines and law from them directly, were not going to work. The apparent=
 internal contradictions were too numerous, and the interpretations placed=
 on them too complex, for the qadis  to be able to dish out judgements=
 simply by opening the Koran and hadith collections to an appropriate page.

The reasons underlying cases of apparent conflict between various revealed=
 texts were scrutinised closely by the early ulema, often amid sustained=
 debate between brilliant minds armed with the most perfect photographic=
 memories. Much of the science of Islamic jurisprudence (usul aI-fiqh) was=
 developed in order to provide consistent mechanisms for resolving such=
 conflicts in a way which ensured fidelty to the basic ethos of lslam. The=
 term ta'arud al-adilla ("mutual contradiction of proof texts") is familiar=
 to all students of lslamic jurisprudence as one of the most sensitive and=
 complex of all Muslim legal concepts. Early scholars such as Ibn Qutayba=
 felt obliged to devote whole books to the subject.

The ulema of usul recognised as their starting assumption that conflicts=
 between the revealed texts were no more than conflicts of interpretation,=
 and could not reflect inconsistencies in the Lawgiver's message as conveyed=
 by the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). The message of Islam had been perfectly conveyed=
 before his demise; and the function of subsequent scholars was exclusively=
 one of interpretation, not of amendment.

Armed with this awareness, the Islamic scholar, when examining problematic=
 texts, begins by attempting a series of preliminary academic tests and=
 methods of resolution. The system developed by the early Ulema was that if=
 two Koranic or hadith texts appeared to contradict each other, then the=
 scholar must first analyse the texts linguistically, to see if the=
 contradiction arises from an error in interpreting the Arabic. If the=
 contradiction cannot be resolved by this method, then he must attempt to=
 determine, on the basis of a range of textual, legal and historiographic=
 techniques, whether one of them is subject to takhsis, that is, concerns=
 special circumstances only, and hence forms a specific exception to the=
 more general principle enunciated in the other text. The jurist must also=
 assess the textual status of the reports, recalling the principle that a=
 Koranic verse will overrule a Hadith related by only one isnad (the type of=
 hadith known as ahad), as will a hadith supplied by many isnads (mutawatir=
 or mashhur). If, after applying all these mechanisms, the jurist finds that=
 the conflict remains, he must then investigate the possibility that one of=
 the texts was subject to formal abrogation (naskh) by the other.

This principle of naskh is an example of how, when dealing with the delicate=
 matter of ta'arud al-adilla, the Sunni ulema founded their approach on=
 textual policies which had already been recognised many times during the=
 lifetime of the Prophet (saws.). The Companions knew by jima' that over the=
 years of the Prophet's ministry, as he taught and nurtured them, and=
 brought them from the wildness of paganism to the sober and compassionate=
 path of monotheism, his teaching had been divinely shaped to keep pace with=
 their development. The best-known instance of this was the progressive=
 prohibition of wine, which had been discouraged by an early Koranic verse,=
 then condemned, and finally prohibited. Another example, touching an even=
 more basic principle, was the canonical prayer, which the early Umma had=
 been obliged to say only twice daily, but which, following the Mi'raj, was=
 increased to five times a day. Mut'a (temporary marriage) had been=
 permitted in the early days of Islam, but was subsequently prohibited as=
 social conditions developed, respect for women grew, and morals became=
 firmer. There are several other instances of this, most being datable to=
 the years immediately following the Hijra, when the circumstances of the=
 young Umma changed in radical ways.

There are two types of naskh: explicit (sarih) or implicit (dimmi). The=
 former is easily identified, for it involves texts which themselves specify=
 that an earlier ruling is being changed. For instance, there is the verse=
 in the Koran (2:144) which commands the Muslims to turn in prayer to the=
 Holy Ka'ba rather than to Jerusalem. In the hadith literature this is even=
 more frequently encountered; for example, in a hadith narrated by Imam=
 Muslim we read: "I used to forbid you to visit graves; but you should now=
 visit them." Commenting on this, the ulema of hadith explain that in early=
 Islam, when idolatrous practices were still fresh in people's memories,=
 visiting graves had been forbidden because of the fear that some new=
 Muslims might commit shirk there. As the Muslims grew stronger in their=
 monotheism, however, this prohibition was discarded as no longer necessary,=
 so that today it is a recommended practice for Muslims to go out to visit=
 graves in order to pray for the dead and to be reminded of the akhira.

The other type of naskh is more subtle, and often taxed the brilliance of=
 the early Ulema to the limit. It involves texts which cancel earlier ones,=
 or modify them substantially, but without actually stating that this has=
 taken place. The ulema have given many examples of this, including the two=
 verses in Surat al-Baqara which give differing instructions as to the=
 period for which widows should be maintained out of an estate (2:240 and=
 234). And in the hadith literature, there is the example of the incident in=
 which the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) once told the Companions that when he prayed=
 sitting because he was burdened by some illness, they should sit behind=
 him. This hadith is given by Imam Muslim. And yet we find another hadith,=
 also narrated by Muslim, which records an incident in which the Companions=
 prayed standing while the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was sitting. The apparent=
 contradiction has been resolved by careful chronological analysis, which=
 shows that the latter incident took place after the former, and therefore=
 takes precedence over it.

The techniques of naskh identification have enabled the ulema to resolve=
 most of the recognised cases of ta'arud al-adilla. They demand a rigorous=
 and detailed knowledge not just of the hadith disciplines, but of history,=
 sira, and of the views held by the Companions and other scholars on the=
 circumstances surrounding the genesis and exegesis of the hadith in=
 question. In some cases, hadith scholars would travel throughout the=
 Islamic world to locate the required information pertinent to a single=
 hadith.

In cases where in spite of all efforts, abrogation cannot be proven, then=
 the ulema of the salaf recognised the need to apply further tests.=
 Important among these is the analysis of the matn (the transmitted text=
 rather than the isnad of the hadith). "Clear" (sarih) statements are deemed=
 to take precedence over "allusive" ones (kinayah), and "definite" (muhkam)=
 words take precedence over words falling into more ambiguous categories,=
 such as the "interpreted" (mufassar), the "obscure" (khafi) and the=
 "problematic" (mushkil). It may also be necessary to look at the position=
 of the narrators of the conflicting hadiths, giving precedence to the=
 report issuing from the individual who was more directly involved. A famous=
 example of this is the hadith narrated by Maymuna which states that the=
 Prophet (s.a.w.s.) married her when not in a state of consecration (ihram)=
 for the pilgrimage. Because her report was that of an eyewitness, her=
 hadith is given precedence over the conflicting report from Ibn 'Abbas,=
 related by a similarly sound isnad, which states that the Prophet was in=
 fact in a state of ihram at the time.

There are many other rules, such as that which states that "prohibition=
 takes precedence over permissibility". Similarly, conflicting hadiths may=
 be resolved by utilising the fatwa of a Companion, after taking care that=
 all the relevant fatwas are compared and assessed. Finally, recourse may be=
 had to qiyas (analogy) An example of this is the various reports about the=
 solar eclipse prayer (salat al-kusuf), which specify different numbers of=
 bowings and prostrations. The ulema, having investigated the reports=
 meticulously, and having been unable to resolve the contradiction by any of=
 the mechanisms outlined above, have applied analogical reasoning by=
 concluding that since the prayer in question is still called "salat", then=
 the usual form of salat should be followed, namely, one bowing and two=
 prostrations. The other hadiths are to be abandoned.

This careful articulation of the methods of resolving conflicting=
 sourcetexts, so vital to the accurate derivation of the shari'a from the=
 revealed sources, was primarily the work of Imam al-Shafi'i. Confronted by=
 the confusion and disagreement among the jurists of his day, and determined=
 to lay down a consistent methodology which would enable a fiqh to be=
 established in which the possibility of error was excluded as far as was=
 humanly possible, Shafi'i wrote his brilliant Risala ("Treatise on Islamic=
 Jurisprudence"). His ideas were soon taken up, in varying ways, by jurists=
 of the other major traditions of law; and today they are fundamental to the=
 formal application of the shari'a.

Shafi'is system of minimising mistakes in the derivation of Islamic rulings=
 from the mass of evidence came to be known as usul al-fiqh (the "roots of=
 fiqh"). Like the other formal academic disciplines of Islam, this was not=
 an innovation in the negative sense, but a working-out of principles=
 already discernible in the time of the earliest Muslims. In time, each of=
 the great interpretative traditions of Sunni Islam codified its own=
 variation on these "roots" (usul), thereby yielding in some cases divergent=
 "branches" (furu', i.e. specific rulings on practice). Although the debates=
 generated by these divergences could sometimes be energetic, nonetheless,=
 they were insignificant when compared to the great sectarian and legal=
 disagreements which had arisen during the first two centuries of Islam=
 before the science of usul al-fiqh had put a stop to such chaotic discord.

It hardly needs remarking that although the Four Imams, Abu Hanifa, Malik=
 ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i and Ibn Hanbal, are regarded as the founders of these=
 four great traditions, which, if we were asked to define them, we might sum=
 up as "sophisticated techniques for avoiding innovation", their traditions=
 were fully systematised only by later generations of scholars. The Sunni=
 ulema rapidly recognised the brilliance of the Four Imams, and after the=
 late third century of Islam we find that hardly any scholars adhered to any=
 other school. The great hadith specialists were all loyal adherents of one=
 or another of the madhhabs, particularly that of Imam al-Sliafi'i. But=
 within each madhhab, leading scholars continued to improve and refine the=
 "roots" and "branches" of their school. In some cases, historical=
 conditions made this not only possible, but necessary. For instance,=
 scholars of the school of Imam Abu Hanifa, which was built on the=
 foundations of the early legal schools of Kufa and Basra, were wary of some=
 hadiths in circulation in Iraq because of the prevalence of forgery=
 engendered by the strong sectarian influences there. Later, however, once=
 the canonical collections of Bukhari, Muslim and others became available,=
 subsequent generations of Hanafi scholars took the entire corpus of hadiths=
 into account in formulating and revising their madhhab. This type of=
 process continued for two centuries, until the Schools reached a condition=
 of maturity in the fourth and fifth centuries of the Hijra.

It was at that time, too, that the attitude of toleration and good opinion=
 between the Schools became universally accepted. This was formulated by=
 Imam al-Ghazali, himself the author of four textbooks of Shafi'i fiqh, and=
 also of "al-Mustasfa", widely acclaimed as the most advanced and careful of=
 all works on usul al-fiqh. With his well-known concern for sincerity, and=
 his dislike of ostentatious scholarly rivalry, he strongly condemned what=
 he called "fanatical attachment to a madhhab". While it was necessary for=
 the Muslim to follow a recognised madhhab in order to avert the lethal=
 danger of misinterpreting the revealed sources, he must never fall into the=
 trap of considering his own school categorically superior to the others.=
 With a few insignificant exceptions in the late Ottoman period, the great=
 scholars of Sunni Islam have followed the ethos outlined by Imam=
 al-Ghazali, and have been conspicuously respectful of each others' madhhab.=
 Anyone who has studied under the gracious and open-minded ulema of=
 traditional Islam will be well-aware of this fact.

The evolution of the Four Schools did not stifle, as some Orientalists have=
 suggested, the capacity for the refinement or extension of positive law. On=
 the contrary, sophisticated mechanisms were available which not only=
 permitted qualified individuals to derive the shari'a from the Koran and=
 Sunna on their own authority, but actually obliged them to do this.=
 According to most scholars, an expert who has fully mastered the sources=
 and fulfilled a variety of necessary scholarly conditions is not permitted=
 to follow the prevalent rulings of his School, but must derive the rulings=
 himself from the revealed sources. Such an individual is known as a=
 mujtahid, a term derived from the well-known hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal.

Few would seriously deny that for a Muslim to venture beyond established=
 expert opinion and have recourse directly to the Qur'an and Sunna, he must=
 be a scholar of great eminence. The danger of people misunderstanding the=
 sources and hence damaging the Shari'a is a very real one, as was shown by=
 the discord and strife which afflicted some early Muslims in the period=
 which preceded the establishment of the Orthodox Schools. Prior to Islam,=
 entire religions had been subverted by inadequate scriptural scholarship,=
 and it was vital that Islam should be secured from a comparable fate.

In order to protect the Shari'a from the danger of innovation and=
 distortion, the great scholars of usul laid down rigorous conditions which=
 must be fulfilled by anyone wishing to claim the right of ijtihad for=
 himself. These conditions include: (a) mastery of the Arabic language, to=
 minimise the possibility of misinterpreting revelation on purely linguistic=
 grounds; (b) a profound knowledge of the Koran and Sunna and the=
 circumstances surrounding the revelation of each verse and hadith, together=
 with a full knowledge of the Koranic and hadith commentaries, and a control=
 of all the interpretative techniques discussed above; (c) knowledge of the=
 specialised disciplines of hadith, such as the assessment of narrators and=
 of the matn; (d) knowledge of the views of the Companions, Followers and=
 the great Imams, and of the positions and reasoning expounded in the=
 textbooks of fiqh, combined with the knowledge of cases where a consensus=
 (ima') has been reached; (e) knowledge of the science of juridical analogy=
 (qiyas), its types and conditions; (f) knowledge of one's own society and=
 of the public interest (maslaha); (g) knowing the general objectives=
 (maqasid) of the Shari'a; (h) a high degree of intelligence and personal=
 piety, combined with the Islamic virtues of compassion, courtesy, and=
 modesty.

A scholar who has fulfilled these conditions can be considered a mujtahid=
 fi'l-shar', and is not obliged, or even permitted, to follow an existing=
 authoritative madhhab. This is what some of the Imams were saying when they=
 forbade their great disciples from imitating them uncritically. But for the=
 much greater number of scholars whose expertise has not reached such=
 dizzying heights, it may be possible to become a mujtahid fi'l-madhhab,=
 that is, a scholar who remains broadly convinced of the doctrines of his=
 school, but is qualified to differ from received opinion within it. There=
 have been a number of examples of such men, for instance Qadi Ibn 'Abd=
 al-Barr among the Malikis, Imam al-Nawawi among the Shafi'is, Ibn 'Abidin=
 among the Hanafis, and Ibn Qudama among the Hanbalis. All of these scholars=
 considered themselves followers of the fundamental interpretative=
 principles of their own madhhabs, but are on record as having exercised=
 their own gifts of scholarship and judgement in reaching many new verdicts=
 within them. It is to these experts that the Mujtahid Imams directed their=
 advice concerning ijtihad, such as Imam al-Shafi'i's instruction that "if=
 you find a hadith that contradicts my verdict, then follow the hadith." It=
 is obvious that whatever some writers nowadays like to believe, such=
 counsels were intended for the Imam's sophisticated pupils, and were never=
 intended for use by the Islamically-uneducated masses. Imam al-Shafi'i was=
 not addressing a crowd of butchers, nightwatchmen and donkey-drovers.

Other categories of mujtahids are listed by the usul scholars; but the=
 distinctions between them are subtle and not relevant to our theme. The=
 remaining categories can in practice be reduced to two: the muttabi'=
 ("follower"), who follows his madhhab while being aware of the Koranic and=
 hadith texts and the reasoning underlying its positions, and secondly the=
 muqallid ("emulator"), who simply conforms to the madhhab because of his=
 confidence in its scholars, and without necessarily knowing the detailed=
 reasoning behind all its thousands of rulings.

Clearly it is recommended for the muqallid to learn as much as he or she is=
 able of the formal proofs of the madhhab. But it is equally clear that not=
 every Muslim can be a scholar. Scholarship takes a lot of time, and for the=
 Umma to function properly most people must have other employment: as=
 accountants, soldiers, butchers, and so forth. As such, they cannot=
 reasonably be expected to become great ulema as well, even if we suppose=
 that all of them have the requisite intelligence. The Holy Koran itself=
 states that less well-informed believers should have recourse to qualified=
 experts: "So ask the people of remembrance, if you do not know" (16:43).=
 (According to the scholars, the "people of remembrance" are the ulema.) And=
 in another verse, the Muslims are enjoined to create and maintain a group=
 of specialists who provide authoritative guidance for non-specialists: "A=
 band from each community should stay behind to gain instruction in religion=
 and to warn the people when they return to them, so that they may take=
 heed" (9:122). Given the depth of scholarship needed to understand the=
 revealed texts accurately and the extreme warnings we have been given=
 against distorting the revelation it is obvious that ordinary Muslims are=
 duty bound to follow expert opinion rather than rely on their own reasoning=
 and limited knowledge. This obvious duty was well known to the early=
 Muslims: the khalifa 'Umar (r a) followed certain rulings of Abu Bakr (r a)=
 saying "I would be ashamed before God to differ from the view of Abu Bakr".=
 And Ibn Mas'ud (r a) in turn, despite being a mujtahid in the fullest sense=
 used in certain issues to follow 'Umar (r a) According to al-Shafi'i: "Six=
 of the Companions of the Prophet (s a w s) used to give fatwas to the=
 people: lbn Mas'ud, 'Uinar ibn al-Khattab, 'Ali, Zayd ibn Thabit, Ubayy ibn=
 Ka'b and Abu Musa (al-Ash'ari). And out of these, three would abandon their=
 own judgements in favour of the judgements of three others: 'Abdallah (ibn=
 Mas'ud) would abandon his own judgement for the judgement of 'Umar, Abu=
 Musa would abandon his own judgement for the judgement of 'Ali and Zayd=
 would abandon his own judgement for the judgement of Ubayy ibn Ka'b."

This verdict, namely that one is well advised to rely on a great Imam as=
 one's guide to the Sunna, rather than relying on oneself is particularly=
 binding upon Muslims in countries such as Britain among whom only a small=
 percentage is even entitled to have a choice in this matter. This is for=
 the simple reason that unless one knows Arabic, then even if one wishes to=
 read all the hadith determining a particular issue, one cannot. For various=
 reasons, including their great length, no more than ten of the basic hadith=
 collections have been translated into English. There remain well over three=
 hundred others, including such seminal works as the "Musnad" of Imam Abmad=
 ibn Hanbal, the "Musannaf" of Ibn Abi Shayba, the "Sahih" of Ibn Khuzayma,=
 the "Mustadrak" of al-Hakim, and many other multi-volume collections, which=
 contain large numbers of sound hadiths which cannot be found in Bukhari,=
 Muslim, or the other works that have so far been translated. Even if we=
 assume that the existing translations are entirely accurate, it is obvious=
 that a policy of trying to derive the Shari'a directly from the Book and=
 the Sunna cannot be attempted by those who have no access to the Arabic. To=
 attempt to discern the Shari'a merely on the basis of the hadiths which=
 have been translated will be to ignore and amputate much of the sunna,=
 leading to serious distortions.

Let me give just two examples of this. The Sunni Madhhabs, in their rules=
 for the conduct of legal cases, lay down the principle that the canonical=
 punishments (hudud) should not be applied in cases where there is the least=
 ambiguity, and that the qadi should actively strive to prove that such=
 ambiguities exist. An amateur reading in the Sound Six collections will=
 find no certain confirmation of this. But the madhhab ruling is based on a=
 hadith recorded in the "Musannaf" of Ibn Abi Shayba, the "Musnad" of=
 al-Harithi, and the "Musnad" of Musaddad ibn Musarhad. The text is: "Ward=
 off the hudud by means ofambiguities".Imam al-San'ani, in his book=
 "Al-Ansab", narrates the circumstances of this hadith: "A man was found=
 drunk, and was brought to 'Umar, who ordered the hadd of eighty lashes to=
 be applied. When this had been done, the man said: "'Umar, you have wronged=
 me! I am a slave!" (Slaves receive only half the punishment.) 'Umar was=
 grief-stricken at this, and recited the Prophetic hadith, "Ward off the=
 hudad by means of ambiguities."

Another example is provided by the practice of istighfar for others during=
 the Hajj. According to a hadith, "Forgiveness is granted to the Hajj, and=
 to those for whom the Haji prays." This hadith is not related in any of the=
 collections so far translated into English; but it is narrated, by a sound=
 isnad, in many other collections, including "al-Mu'jam al-Saghir" of=
 al-Tabarani and the "Musnad" of al-Bazzar.

Because of the traditional pious fear of distorting the Law of Islam, the=
 overwhelming majority of the great scholars of the past -- certainly well=
 over ninety-nine percent ofthem -- have adhered loyally to a madhhab. It is=
 true that in the troubled fourteenth century a handful of dissenters=
 appeared, such as Ibn Taymiya and Ibn al-Qayyim; but even these individuals=
 never recommended that semi-educated Muslims should attempt ijtihad without=
 expert help. And in any case, although these authors have recently been=
 resurrected and made prominent, their influence on the orthodox scholarship=
 of classical Islam was negligible, as is suggested by the small number of=
 manuscripts of their works preserved in the great libraries of the Islamic=
 world.

Nonetheless, social turbulences have in the past century thrown up a number=
 of writers who have advocated the abandonment of authoritative scholarship.=
 The most prominent figures in this campaign were Muhammad 'Abduh and his=
 disciple Muhammad Rashid Rida. Dazzled by the triumph of the West, and=
 informed in subtle ways by their own well documented commitment to=
 Freemasonry, these men urged Muslims to throw off "the shackles of taqlid",=
 and to reject the authority of the Four Schools. Today in some Arab=
 capitals, especially where the indigenous tradition of orthodox scholarship=
 has been weakened, it is common to see young Arabs filling their homes with=
 every hadith collection they can lay their hands upon, and poring over them=
 in the apparent belief that they are less likely to misinterpret this vast=
 and complex literature than Imam al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad, and the other=
 great Imams. This irresponsible approach, now increasingly widespread, is=
 predictably opening the door to sharply divergent opinions, which have=
 seriously damaged the unity, credibility and effectiveness of the Islamic=
 movement, and provoked sharp arguments over issues settled by the great=
 lmams over a thousand years ago. It is common now to see activists prowling=
 the mosques, criticising other worshippers for what they believe to be=
 defects in their worship, even when their victims are following the=
 verdicts of some of the leading Imams of fiqh. The unpleasant, Pharisaic=
 atmosphere generated by this activity has the effect of discouraging many=
 less committed Muslims from attending the mosque at all. No-one now recalls=
 the view of the early ulema, which was that Muslims should tolerate=
 divergent interpretations of the Sunna as long as these interpretations=
 have been held by reputable scholars. As Sufyan al-Thawri said: "If you see=
 a man doing something over which there is a debate among the scholars, and=
 which you yourself believe to be forbidden, you should not forbid him from=
 doing it." The alternative to this policy is, of course, a disunity and=
 rancour which will poison the Muslim community from within.

In a Western-influenced global culture in which people are urged from early=
 childhood to "think for themselves" and to challenge established authority,=
 it can sometimes be difficult to muster enough humility to recognise one's=
 own limitations. We are all a little like Pharaoh: our egos are by nature=
 resistant to the idea that anyone else might be much more intelligent or=
 learned than ourselves. The belief that ordinary Muslims, even if they know=
 no Arabic, are qualified to derive rulings of the Shari'a for themselves,=
 is an example of this egotism running wild. To young people proud of their=
 own judgement, and unfamiliar with the complexity of the sources and the=
 brilliance of authentic scholarship, this can be an effective trap, which=
 ends by luring them away from the orthodox path of Islam and into an=
 unintentional agenda of provoking deep divisions among the Muslims. The=
 fact that all the great scholars of the religion, including the hadith=
 experts, themselves belonged to madhhabs, and required their students to=
 belong to madhhabs, seems to have been forgotten. Self-esteem has won a=
 major victory here over common sense and Islamic responsibility.

The Holy Koran commands Muslims to use their minds and reflective=
 capacities; and the issue of following qualified scholarship is an area in=
 which this faculty must be very carefully deployed. The basic point should=
 be appreciated that no categoric difference exists between usul al-fiqh and=
 any other specialised science requiring lengthy training. Shaykh Sa'id=
 Ramadan al-Buti, who has articulated the orthodox response to the=
 anti-Madhhab trend in his book: "Non-Madhhabism: The Greatest Bid'a=
 Threatening the Islamic Shari'a", likes to compare the science of deriving=
 rulings to that of medicine. If one's child is seriously ill, he asks, does=
 one look for oneself in the medical textbooks for the proper diagnosis and=
 cure, or should one go to a trained medical practitioner? Clearly, sanity=
 dictates the latter option. And so it is in matters of religion, which are=
 in reality even more important and potentially hazardous: we would be both=
 foolish and irresponsible to try to look through the sources ourselves, and=
 become our own muftis. Instead, we should recognise that those who have=
 spent their entire lives studying the Sunna and the principles of law are=
 far less likely to be mistaken than we are.

Another metaphor might be added to this, this time borrowed from astronomy.=
 We might compare the Koranic verses and the hadiths to the stars. With the=
 naked eye, we are unable to see many of them clearly; so we need a=
 telescope. If we are foolish, or proud, we may try to build one ourselves.=
 If we are sensible and modest, however, we will be happy to use one built=
 for us by Imam Malik or Ibn Hanbal, and refined, polished and improved by=
 generations of great astronomers. A madhhab is, after all, nothing more=
 than a piece of precision equipment enabling us to see Islam with the=
 maximum clarity possible. If we use our own devices, our amateurish efforts=
 will inevitably distort our vision.

A third image might also be deployed. An ancient building, for instance the=
 Blue Mosque in Istanbul, might seem imperfect to some who worship in it.=
 Young enthusiasts, burning with a desire to make the building still more=
 exquisite and well-made (and no doubt more in conformity with their own=
 time-bound preferences), might gain access to the crypts and basements=
 which lie under the structure, and, on the basis of their own understanding=
 of the principles of architecture, try to adjust the foundations and=
 pillars which support the great edifice above them. They will not, of=
 course, bother to consult professional architects, except perhaps one or=
 two whose rhetoric pleases them -- nor will they be guided by the books and=
 memoirs of those who have maintained the structure over the centuries.=
 Their zeal and pride leaves them with no time for that. Groping through the=
 basements, they bring out their picks and drills, and set to work with a=
 blind enthusiasm.

There is a real danger that Sunni Islam is being treated in a similar=
 fashion. The edifice has stood for centuries, withstanding the most bitter=
 blows of its enemies. Only from within can it be weakened. No doubt, Islam=
 has intelligent foes among whom this fact is well-known. The spectacle of=
 the disunity and fitnas which divided the early Muslims despite their=
 superior piety, and the solidity and cohesiveness of Sunnism after the=
 final codification of the Shari'a in the four Schools of the great Imams,=
 must have put ideas into many a malevolent head. This is not to suggest in=
 any way that those who attack the great Madhhabs are the conscious tools of=
 Islam's enemies. But it may go some way to explaining why they will=
 continue to be well-publicised and well-funded, while the orthodox=
 alternative is starved of resources. With every Muslim now a proud=
 Mujtahid, and with taqlid dismissed as a sin rather than a humble and=
 necessary virtue, the divergent views which caused such pain in our early=
 history will surely break surface again. Instead of four madhhabs in=
 harmony, we will have a billion madhhabs in bitter and self-righteous=
 conflict. No more brilliant scheme for the destruction of Islam could ever=
 have been devised.



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