The Mufti his petitioner and emulation (Coming soon)

The chapter of Ijtihad starts by defining what is so that we do not become confused. Imam hattab says a Mufti is a Mujtahid Imam which means that this person a level of legal authority and autonomy to give out legal rulings (within his ability). Imam Juwaynis defines the abilities of the mufti “Whether he be a scholar of fiqh (Jurist) both in the principles the roots and the branches and he must know the official positions of the school and the differences of opinion.”

Usul

Imam Hattabs says regarding the definition of the usul means “the proofs principles and evidences found within fiqh which are mentioned in the science of usul al fiqh and including it within fiqh.” Imam hattab also says that Imam Juwayni has a relaxed definition meaning his own is sharper and more aligned in meaning. It is also possible that the usul could mean the fundamental issues which are like its roots from which other things branch off What Imam hattab is intended to mean is either by usl it’s the types of evidences (someone who knows them well) or the rulings themselves that are branched off.  

Branch

What Imam juwanynis means by the branch is the issues which are expended and discussed within the books of fiqh so someone who knows the furoo’ they know the actual rulings on most of the issues listed. In an example in this book, we are studying we do not learn rulings except what is listed as examples but the data the underlying operating system of the fiqh

Khilaf

Imam Hattab says khilaf means “topics in which there are differing opinonis from the Ulema.” A bonus point to add is that He (the Mujtahid) should also know things in which there is no khilaf (upon) the reason for this is for him to not be mislead or lenient upon a thing in which there is no leniency (this is connected to the chapter of Ijma). He needs to know the official opinion of the school. If someone is an absolute Mujtahid mutluq then they are able to go against the established understanding in many things but if someone is a limited mujthid mujtahid muqayid (someone restricted to his own madhab but not the others) then the Mujtahid muqayid would stick with the views of the founder of the madhab in our case that is Imam Malik. In the Hanafi madhab the students often times went against Abu Hanifa and sometimes the students’ viewpoints become more dominant than Abu Hanifa himself whereas in the Maliki school Imam Maliks opinions tend to be the top opinions more often than not.

Whats the benefit of knowing khilaf?

Imam Hattab says the benefit is that people can use these differing opinions sometimes without transgressing against the Madhab or the relying upon his own authority. That means he can use someone else’s authority in a judgement rather than himself so it’s less frowned upon to quote a different opinion than to use your own thoughts.

Kamal al ala

Imam Juwayni says another thing a Mujtahid Imam needs is kamal al ala which is referring to the mental tools so he is saying the Mujtahid Imam should have all of the required mental tools. Imam Juwayni says kamal al ala means “sound of mind (good understanding) it can also mean is someone who knows what is needed in extrapolating rulings knowledge of Grammer Arabic language science of the hadith narrators (Ilm al rijal) so that the Mufti can give a fatwa from the best sources that are unimpeachable by the critic (cannot be removed or argued against) if someone is taking narrations from the relied upon books of hadith such as the muwatta or sahih bukhari or Muslim then he does not have to have detailed knowledge of Ilm al Rijal.” This means the average Muslim does not have to know the intricate details of hadith science and for this reason Imam Bukhari compiled the books of hadith so that ilm al rijal knowledge would not be fard al ayn upon the Muslims. “The mujtahid mufti should also know the tafsir of the verses related to Ahkam as well as the hadith related to ahkam as these are needed for ijtihad.” This is very reasonable you don’t have to be a hafiz of Quran you simply need to memorize the information relevant to the fiqh Ahkam to be implemented. “You should know the fiqh related to these ayat and this does not include knowledge of stories.” The stories referring too is most likely the israeliat which are the stories narrated from the Christians and Jews which are interested concepts and ideas but is not something that is binding or a definitive proof within Islam. “it is not a condition for someone to be a mufti to have memorized the entire Quran nor even the ayat which pertain to ahkam nor to possess al compassing knowledge of hadith and traditions and narration which deal with ahkam.” He simply means you do not have to be a Islamic prodigy and master all things related to ahkam although that would be far superior than not but not required

Imam hattab says about imam shafi’i

Imam Hattab says “Imam Shafi once mentioned that all of the sunnan none of these all converge within one person.” That means that one mean does not possess all knowledge within the religion Imam hattab adds “The intention is that someone should be generally knowledgeable about the hadith which deal with Ahkam well known among people of knowledge and he should also know the fiqh which pertain to these hadith.” The same would ring true for the ayat. This shows the shifting bar of ilm across Islamic history in much of Islamic history most of the world was illiterate and had total incorrect understanding of the world and in Islam which is very different from modern literate times so this is very important as that would apply to a lot of Muslim who are generally interested into Islam but they would not consider themselves as mufti but would to some level apply to them. As it was said to be if you are living in the west and you have studied up to Risala Ibn abi zayd then you are a faqih meaning in your own right for that time period and area but not specifically which is also what Imam Hattab means in a generalized sense.

The conditions of the mustafti (the person who seeks the fatwa)

“Of the conditions is that he be among the people of taqlid (following)” which is a muqallid which is the opposite of a mujtahid they are followers of the mufti. This means they go to the mufti when hey have question and they obey when he gives them a ruling “and that means not being among ahlul ijtihad”. It is haram for a mujtahid to do Taqlid when he reaches a high station of knowledge as he is not dispensing with the capacity that Allah has graced him with as well as it being redundant to follow someone whom possibly knows less that the Mujtahid Imam himself.

2 Issues to consider

Qala musanaf imam juwayni conditions of a person who seeks a fatwa is they be a person of taqlid, Imam hattab adds “a person of ijtihad would not fulfill the requirements of a m.” This means a mujtahid would not seek the fatawah and it is not realistic that all the Muslims would be a mujtahid. So, they follow what the mufti says, the mufti gives a fatwa and the muqallid follow it and there 2 issues to consider here

1. You can’t do taqlid of anyone you must do it from a mujtahid
2. It is not permissible for a muqallid to follow a mufti in his actions as opposed to what he says

Regarding the 2^nd point

What he means is that if an ignorant person basically sees the mufti doing something and he interprets it in his own way without asking him he cannot go off of that inference if it is halal or haram because there may be fiqh and condition in the actions that he does not yet understand. If a muqallid is on the road with a mujtahid and he sees the mujtahid shortening his prayers he would think that 2 rakat is the normative practice instead of 4 because he did not ask but went off of his actions alone.

Mujtahid cannot do taqlid

Someone who is mujtahid cannot do taqlid of someone else according to Imam hattab and Imam juwayni and that is the main view, Imam hattab adds “and it’s a less sound opinion to say it is permissible (that a mujtahid follows someone else.”

What does Taqlid consist of according to Imam juwayni

 “Accepting the words of the speaker without a hujjah (a proof).” Imam hattab adds “that he mentions.” This means you don’t accept baseless claims but rather its possible that you don’t know the reason and daleel of the claim although it is there. The prophet said and mention of rulings as a proof of this, the prophet would tell people to do things but he did not always tell them why (the deep underlining logic of the matters) once they accepted him as a prophet many would do what he asked to carry out. The proof of that is his prophet and companionship and his miracles the Quran itself is a miracle Imam juwayni makes this point and Imam hattab agrees and adds upon that.

There is another def of taqlid

“Accepting the words of the speaker and you do not know from where he got it.” This is just rephrasing what we previously mentioned in a slightly differing word choice, you trust the knowledge given to you by the Mujtahid Imam once you believe his qualifications. “If we state the prophet would speak analogically and do ijtihad then not simply suffice with revelation then it would make sense that acceptance of his statements represents taqlid” which means if not everything the prophet did was revealed then the prophet knows on a fundamental level if not all of his actions were divine revelation then it would be considered taqlid but if we take the ibn sina understanding of revelation is that everything the prophet did was revelation and had a divine inspired mind.

On the other hand

If the prophet does not do things on himself but everything, he does is revelation as per the statements of the Quran “He does not speak from idle whims in hua winha he speaks from revelation revealed.” If that is the case then you cannot call following the prophet as doing Taqlid as its is revelation from Allah himself unlike Taqlid, the debate is on the mind of the prophet when giving ahkam does he figure things out himself in an infallible way or is it all revalation.

Imam hattabs view on this

There is disagreement upon this issue meaning the prophets ijtihad the true is according to Imam hattab which is pro ijtihad “This is the position of ibn hajib and others.” Sheikh dhahabi is mentioned in the footnotes, I agree with Imam hattab that the prophet used his own mind and reason at times in his life but his mind was guided by Allah to be infallible and moral and is a moral guide for all of mankind. If the prophet is a body without a personal will then the prophet, then like a puppet or Allah himself is manifesting within the body of the prophet which is heresy and not my view although there is different of opinion found in sunni thought of the prophets’ actions and his mind and thoughts across sunni Islam.

Some say la yajuz

Imam hattab tells us more “Some say the prophet did not do ijtihad and those who stated he did ijtihad in regards to matters of opinion and warfare” this 3^rd view is that the prophet does not do ijtihad in law he is guided by Allah but in matters of opinion without revelation he would use his own reasonings in things like wars, the prophet did command and fight in multiple battles and there were times where the prophet took the view of the companions. In the battle of the trench salman al faris came with the idea to build a trench and the prophet agreed and implemented it.

The correct position

Imam hattab adds “the correct position is that the prophets individual reasoning was never wrong (in matters of Ijtihad.)” The footnote mentions sheikh sahawi a great shafi’I scholar who is alive in the year of 2024 says when Imam hattab says it is the case the prophet did ijtahid “they agree the prophet did ijtihad according to his ability and guided by the certainty of revelation and no one of his ummah worshipped god except like how the prophet did.”

Imam hattab speaks

Imam Juwaynis statement “as for independent reasoning it is to exercise one’s abilities to achieve that is like a complete capacity to arrive at the goal and the goal is to observe and research the divine proof (adeela shariah) to arrive at an affirmed position on a divine ruling of the shariah.” What Imam juwaynis is saying is try your hardest to observe and analyze the proof and arrive at a hukm (Islamic legal ruling) according to both Imams we are reading (Juwayni and Hattab). If a Mujtahid is kamal al a’la perfected the tools of ijtihad (his ability to perform ijtaihad) as mentioned previously he is a mujtahid mutluq (absolute mujtahid) or we can say a supreme Mujtahid. A Mujtahid mutluq can come up with his own positions on almost anything, and you can also have a mujtahid al madhab who is someone who is capable within his own madhab to extract proof and adding onto the text and views of his Imam (of the madhab in our case Imam Malik).

Mujtahid of the fatwa

Someone who is capable of arriving at a fatawa within that madhab, they can choose between multiple views of the madhab and which is more appropriate. The Mujtahid mutluq hwhis is above the madhab, the Mujtahid al madhab he has mastered the madhab and you have mujtahid of fatwa which is similar as the ashab ut tarjih to make a educate preferential choice between multiple options.

In our times

In pre literate societies it was rare to be literate if you were literate and studies a bit of islam you would be the Alim of the village but in our times everyone can read and right and have accessed the Islamic source material, for some salafis the Saudi clerical class are fitting the definition of Mujtahid mutluq Imam and would follow their views above the views established in the Hanbali school and of the classical view points in favor of the well known Salafi mujtahid Imams, If you are not salafi some would take Sheikh tahir ul Qadri and mufti taqi Usmani as mujtahid mutuqlim and this is for all groups and sects have someone they trust the most

Success and failure of Mujtahids

If someone does ijtaihad and they get it right they get 2 rewards, one reward for sincerely trying to serve the ummah and using ijtihad and a 2^nd reward for getting it correct. If the Mujtahid sincerely does ijtihad but is wrong still get rewarded and the proof for this is upcoming Imam hattab says he has no sin unless he was not proficient in taking ijtahid meaning if he did not think about it hard enough or rushed the answer. When the highest practical authorizes are human which makes this very relevant the prophet is not alive anymore despite being the highest authority but we rely upon his followers, even smart humans are fallible and makes mistakes the Ummah will not unite upon misguidance even if a large imam makes a mistake the truth will always win in the long run. Imam hattab says “and among our scholars there are some who say every mujtahid in furoo’ is correct based on the verdict of Allah.” that Allah has made it so the mujtahid has the reward, “This is the view of Abu hassan (al ashari).” He means Abu hassan al Ashari the founder of the ashari school and baqalani who is another ashari theologian who was very influence in the ashari school of thought perhaps equal or more than Imam ashari himself. This is very important Imam Hattab “what is transmitted from Imam malik that the correct position is only one.” Which also be translated to the truth is singular which means that there is an objective reality and not an unclear reality, Allah wants a specific action of way of practicing and there is a singular most correct way but Allah in his mercy is being lenient when the Muslims are wrong. To say that all religions are true then it would mean the truth is not one and there is not a single objective reality which is not my view and the view of Islam. We have mubah and makruh this gives us room for different view and opinions if a thing is more correct other things can be less correct but valid but there is ultimately a best most accurate truth. Imam Hattab speaks and says “as for things in the branches of the shariah which have an indubitable clear-cut view the truth is one by agreement and if the mujtahid misses due to unawareness, then he still would not have sinned.” This shows there is a lot of leeway of the mujtahidun! Despite what we are saying in fiqh that we can have correct or incorrect views and Allah will forgive the incorrect view this concept does not extend to aqeedah you can’t make an error in theology and Allah will just accept it to the same degree “because this would lead to permissive to the misguidance of the trinity or the Zoroastrians or the majoos who believe in the 2 origins of the world light and darkness, the kuffaar who reject tawheed reject the promise of the afterlife.” The majoos believe in the concept of light and darkness and this takes on the concept of two Gods this also refutes the concept of smart men who do not accept Islam can be given the afterlife.

Aqeedah is not like fiqh

Not all aqeedah issues are do or die but Aqeedah in general is not like ijtihad where you can be constantly wrong and rewarded. “And this is adding the general to the specific like the mulhid.” Mulhid in modern Arabic means atheist but in the past, it could mean like an atheist or a heretic. If you have someone who Is like a mu’tazali who deny the attributes of Allah and have deviant believe such as the afterlife and the nature of the Quran etc Imam hattab calls Mu’tazali as heretics but they are in the realm of Islamic discussion Mu’tazali have heretical viewpoints are a different category of Islamic thought.

Ahlul Qibla

This is the concept that all the different Muslim groups who ascribe to Islam are within the realm of Islam to some degrees are referred to as people of Qibla with the exception of the Qadiyanis being the exception, what this means is that the Mu’tazali has incorrect viewpoints but they did not reject Islam. In modern times the Salafi movement which controls Saudi arabia allows the Shia to do hajj despite them being people of heretical view but they do not allow Christians and Hindus to enter at all (sadly now they do allow limited tourism but the general rule is they don’t allow them to enter) which shows a certain level of understanding that they are people of Qibla.

The prophet said

Whoever strives gets 2 rewards etc… found in bukhari and Muslim, and Bukhari also have another hadith about a judge who gets a reward even when wrong due to his sincere effort. The prophet also mentions about the mujtahid (he who strives and struggles) Imam hattab mentions in this section that When the prophet said someone who strives and exerts, he does not mean a master mujtahid a mujtahid mutluq but it’s actually a general statement, “someone who does not possess complete anility in mujtahid is not from the people of ijtihad and taqlid is required of him.” Imam hattab is saying this person will be sinful if he does not do taqlid unless he is from the 3 categories of mujtahid, if you are less than a mutluq then you do ijtahid of the mujtahid tier which is above you! There is also a version of this hadith if the mujtahid who gets it right gets 10 rewards and the chain is acceptable is find according to Imam hattab.

Closing remarks

Imam hattab writes “This is the last of what we have of making more easy in writing a commentary of the waraqat may Allah make is sincere seeking his noble face and benefit us in this life and life after death he is all hearing and near and who responds to supplication and we seek refuge in him from knowledge that which does not benefit us we seek refuge from hearts that do not fear god and prayers which are not answered and souls that are not quenched by Allah I seek refuge in you or Allah in the evil of these 4 things we ask Allah the might by the prestige and glory of his noble prophet to reform the corrupt that is in our hearts and make us content with that which he is content with and forgive us and our parents and our sheikhs and their parents our brothers and companions that we love and for those who made us to pray and all the Muslims Amen.” Imam hattab mentions knowledge that does not benefit us because if it does not benefit then it takes away from that which does benefit. This was completed by the author Imam hattab who says “I completed this on Monday the 10^th of safr in the year 953H Alhamdulillah’s. He began this project at the beginning of the month of Muharram in that year.” That means this sharh was written (finished) in 1 year on a Monday and we are finishing this book on a Monday as well in the year 2024 (3/4/24) so it is very befitting.