The document discusses six foundational principles of Islam: 1. The religion is best understood through the Quran and authentic Hadith. 2. Scholars must differentiate the religious message from its carriers or interpreters, and refer back to the primary sources when experts disagree. 3. Even Imam Abu Hanifa said that the Hadith takes precedence over his own opinions. 4. Islam as a religion is perfect, but individuals are fallible. 5. The Quran guides some and misguides others by design. 6. Differences arise when attaching to certain scholars rather than the Prophet and Companions.

1. Taqleed: Following the deen, blindfolded
by Raja Zia ul Haq
I begin with the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the
Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the
Worlds. Peace and blessings be on the Messenger
of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬and on his family and his righteous
companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
The following is a humble attempt to explain six
foundational principles of our beautiful deen of Islam
and the responsibility of a student of knowledge in
understanding them.
1. ROLE OF SUNNAH
The deen of Allah is best understood from principles derived from the Qur’an and
authentic Sunnah.
Thus it is essential for us that as and when we get the knowledge of (1) the book of Allah
and (2) the authentic sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (‫ ,)ﷺ‬we should follow that, and
leave all else aside. For that is the principle at the very core of our shahadah of: La’illaha
il’Allah Muhammadur rasool’Allah ‫ال اله إال ﷲ محمدا رسول ﷲ‬
“And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, leave it.
And fear Allah: truly Allah is severe in punishment.”
[Surah Al-Hashr 59:7]
“It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah
and His Messenger to have any option about their decision…”
[Surah Al-Ahzab 33:36]
“Say (O Muhammad, to mankind): ‘If you (really) love Allah, then follow me (i.e. the
way of Prophet Muhammad ‫ .)ﷺ‬Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And
Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’”
[Surah Aal-e-Imran 3:31]
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad ‫)ﷺ‬
judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your
decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.”
[Surah An-Nisa 4:65]
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2. 2. MESSAGE VS. CARRIER
We have to differentiate between the message (Qur’an & Sunnah) and the carrier
(scholars/ muhadditheen/ mufassarreen). This is similar to the scientific statement of the
law vs. the one who stated the law.
The Law is complete and perfect. No one can claim perfect understanding of it, thus if the
experts differ, they MUST take it back to the source and find the best possible opinion,
Without sticking to the view of only one of the experts.
“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad ‫ ,)ﷺ‬and those
of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst
yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and in the Last
Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination.”
[An-Nisa 4:59]
An example that I have heard people quoting in opposition to the above ayah and in their
attempt to defend the following only one particular school of thought e.g. Hanafism is
that of a Hospital and its specialist doctors. The questioner would ask: if your son was ill,
would you take him to an expert doctor or a student doctor who studies under several
doctors?
Let us consider the above example. It’s a great example, let me explain why. Say if you
picked ONE specialist “Senior Specialist (1)” as the one to whom you always go for check-
ups/medication/surgeries etc. Now you also know that, for example, there are three other
specialist at the Hospital. These four are now the most famous specialist and there are
plenty of other specialists also but they might not be as famous or well-known.
Note here that the four specialist doctors are being compared to the four imams; Imam
Abu Haneefah, Imam Shaafai’i, Imam Maalik and Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal.
Now imagine this. If you had to go in for surgery and your Dr. “Senior Specialist (1)” was
recommending a certain procedure – all other specialists disagreed with his opinion;
would you still go ahead with the surgery? Knowing fully well that the other specialists are
also taking knowledge from the same central source.
In the same way, we have the four imams who have often had differences of opinion due
to several reasons, namely:
• Not having ALL the authentic ahadith available during their times
• Relying on fabricated ahadith (by mistake) or weak ahadith when authentic had not
reached them
• Difference in classification of hadith narrators as dependable/trustworthy or not, and
so on
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3. Figure 1. Total Knowledge vs. The Specialists
Today when all the ahadith books have been compiled and collected, with the vast
majority categorized in very clear classification of ahadith such as: sahih, hasan, da’eef,
mau’du etc. – now if an expert relies purely (and blindly) on the opinion of only one of the
imams, rejecting all other sound and more correct opinions, that would be fatal and
dishonest on his part.
Notice that I said “if an expert relies” instead of saying “if a common man relies”
(explained in detail at the end, in the summary section). The expert has the breadth of
knowledge of fiqh & usool ul fiqh, ahadith & classification of ahadith; it is these scholars of
today who have to be honest in letting the general public know what the most correct
opinions are, even share the views of the great imams and let the public know that blind
following of anyone except Allah & His Messenger (‫ )ﷺ‬is not allowed.
“And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing, and the
sight, and the heart, of each of those one will be questioned (by Allah).”
[Al-Isra 17:36]
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4. 3. EXAMPLE OF IMAM ABU HANEEFAH (rahimahullah)
All the scholars were unanimous in taking from the source (Qur’an and authentic Sunnah)
and attaching to the message and not the person who may have propagated it.
The first of them is Abu Haneefah Nu'maan ibn Thaabit, whose companions have narrated
from him various sayings and diverse warnings, all of them leading to one thing: the
obligation to accept the Hadeeth, and to give up following the opinions of the imams
which contradict it:
(a) "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab."[1]
(b) "It is not permitted[2] for anyone to accept our views if they do not know from where
we got them."[3]
In one narration, "It is prohibited[4] for someone who does not know my evidence to give
verdicts[5] on the basis of my words."
Another narration adds, "... for we are mortals: we say one thing one day, and take it back
the next day."
In yet another narration, he said to his student, "Woe to you, O Ya'qub![6] Do not write
down everything you hear from me, for it happens that I hold one opinion today and
reject it tomorrow, or hold one opinion tomorrow and reject it the day after
tomorrow."[7]
(c) "When I say something contradicting the Book of Allah the Exalted or what is
narrated from the Messenger (‫ ,)ﷺ‬then ignore my saying."[8]
4. ISLAM IS PERFECT, MAN IS NOT
The deen is infallible (as a whole) but personalities are not (as a whole) with the exception
of Messengers.
This is similar to one particular law where a scientist may be correct vs. dozens of other
theorems where the same scientist is incorrect. The established law is always correct but
the scientist who stated the law may be incorrect - in other areas. Therefore, the truth is
to be followed wherever it is found not the expert behind the truth.
Just because Newton stated the law of gravity, does not mean that he is to be followed in
all of his opinions in physics, despite the fact that he was a leading expert in his field.
History tells us that many scientists disagreed with him on several accounts and many of
his other theories were proved wrong by other scientists. Would it be wise to follow
Newton blindly in all affairs of science and build the entire infrastructure of modern
science on that premise?
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5. 5. QUR’AN GUIDES & EVEN MISGUIDES MANY
Many of the divisions and splitting into sects occurred because of the Qur’an itself exactly
according to Allah's plan.
“It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad ‫ )ﷺ‬the Book (this Qur'an). In it are
Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book (the Ahkaam,
Faraa'iz and Hudud); and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there
is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof,
seeking Al-Fitnah (trials), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its
hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say:
"We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And
none receive admonition except men of understanding.”
[Aal-e-Imran 3:7]
In another place the Qur’an states:
“Verily, Allah is not ashamed to set forth a parable even of a mosquito or so much more
when it is bigger (or less when it is smaller) than it. And as for those who believe, they
know that it is the Truth from their Lord, but as for those who disbelieve, they say:
"What did Allah intend by this parable?" By it He misleads many, and many He guides
thereby. And He misleads thereby only those who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious,
disobedient to Allah).”
[Al-Baqarah 2:26]
6. THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROPHET (‫ & )ﷺ‬HIS COMPANIONS
These differences and splitting into sects occur when people attach themselves to a
certain school of Understanding or to certain personalities without referring to the
explanation of the Prophet and the Companions. For salvation lies only in sticking to the
Companions methodology and knowledge.
The Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said:
"The best of the people are my generation, then those after them, then those after
them." [Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i & others.]
The Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said:
“I enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey even if it be an Abyssinian slave, for
those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my
sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Beware of
newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every
innovation is going astray.” [Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4607]
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6. In the Hadith of the 73 sects, the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬described which will be the saved sect:
“All of them (the sects) will be in Hell Fire except one.” They (the Companions) said:
“Allah's Messenger, which is that?” Whereupon he said: “It is one to which I and my
companions belong.” [Authentically reported from at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 171]
"And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajiroon and the Ansar, and also those who
followed them exactly (in Faith). Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well
pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell
therein forever. That is the supreme success."
[At-Tawbah 9:100]
“So if they believe in the like of that which you (the Prophet & his Companions) believe,
then they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So
Allah will suffice for you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.”
[Al-Baqarah 2:137]
Neither the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬nor his companions were following a particular school of
thought such as Hanafism or Shafiism or Malikism. They were solely upon the Qur’an and
sunnah, and that is where salvation lies.
QUESTION: WHO IS ALLOWED TO DO TAQLEED?
? Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, hafidhahullaah, said:
"As for the permissible form of blind-following (at-taqleedul-mubaah), then it is for
the common person (’aamee) who, if he does not follow the people of knowledge,
then he will stray from the path. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said:
"Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know. " [an-Nahl 16:43]
And taqleed is not done to just anyone. Rather, it is done to one who is accredited with
knowledge and piety; and he is known to the people for this."
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullaah, said:
"When a Muslim is faced with a problematic situation, he should seek a verdict from one
whom he believes will give him a verdict based upon what Allah and His Messenger have
legislated; whatever school of thought (madhhab) he belongs to. It is not obligatory upon
any Muslim to blindly follow a particular individual from the scholars in all that he says.
Nor is it obligatory upon any Muslim to blindly follow a particular madhhab from the
scholars in all that it necessitates and informs. Rather, every person’s saying is taken or
left, except that of the Allah’s Messenger (‫ .)ﷺ‬To follow the madhhab of a particular
individual because of an inability of knowing what has been legislated, is from that which
is permissible; it is not from that which is obligatory upon every individual - if they have
the ability to know what has been legislated without this path of blind-following (taqleed).
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7. So each individual should fear Allah as much as he is able, and seek knowledge of what
Allah and His Messenger have ordered; doing what is commanded and keeping away from
that which is forbidden."
Ibn al-Qayyim, rahimahullaah, said about the prohibitted types of taqleed:
,
"It is of three types:
Firstly: totally turning away from what Allah has revealed, but rather being satisfied with
y
the taqleed of one’s for-fathers.
fathers.
Secondly: doing taqleed of someone when you do not know whether that person is from
those whose saying can be taken.
Thirdly: doing taqleed after the proofs have been established and it becomes apparent
established
that the evidence contradicts the view of the one to whom taqleed is done."
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, rahimahullaah said:
rahimahullaah,
"How strange it is that a people who know the chain of narration of a hadeeth ( (isnaad)
and its authenticity, yet still they follow the opinion of Sufyaan [ath Thawree]; even
icity, [ath-Thawree];
though Allah, the Exalted, said:
,
"Let those beware, who oppose the command of the Messenger, lest some trial (
Let (fitnah)
befalls them, or a painful punishment is inflicted upon them. " [an-Noor 24:63]
Noor
Do you know what the fitnah is? The fitnah is shirk! Since the rejection of some of his
!
sayings could cause something of deviation to enter the heart, and thus be destroyed."
SUMMARY
Role of the Scholars
Is it not permissible for an Islamic scholar (muhadith) to do taqleed
taqlee
(blindly) We find that even the students of the great imams
(blindly). ven
followed their imams, up until evidence became clear to them on
the contrary on different fiqh issues. At that point, they refused to
do taqlee and adopted the better opinion.
eed
Al-Buwayti, al-Muzani, al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajr were followers of Imam al-Shaafa’i, but
Nawawi al-
they were also mujtahids in their own right and differed with their imam when they had
evidence. Similarly Ibn ‘Abd al-
-Barr was a Maaliki but he differed with Maalik if the correct
view was held by someone else. The same may be said of the Hanafi imams such as Abu
Yoosuf and Muhammad al-Shaybaani, and the Hanbali imams such as Ibn Qudaamah, Ibn
Shaybaani,
Muflih and others.
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8. The fact that a student studied with a madhhab does not mean that he cannot go beyond
it if he finds sound evidence elsewhere; the only one who stubbornly clings to a particular
madhhab (regardless of the evidence) is one who lacking in religious commitment and
intellect, or he is doing that because of partisan attachment to his madhhab.
Role of the lay-person
We can categories lay-persons into two broad categories, namely:
a) Uneducated or illiterate
b) Educated (in the worldly sense)
A first type of lay-person (uneducated/illiterate) who does not have the means to educate
himself, can do taqlid (blindly) to save himself from going astray; by adhering to one of
the four schools of jurisprudence.
The second type, is an educated person (a lay-person, who is not a scholar); he too can do
taqleed up to a certain point but he must not be rigid in this. Instead, he should stick to
the best and most sound opinion which tallies the most with the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Once the truth has become clear to him, he should follow only that.
A point to note here is that seeking “ilm” has been made an obligation on us by the
Prophet (‫ .)ﷺ‬And there are many verses in the Qur’an which state the same:
“and say: ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge’”
[Ta-Ha 20:114]
“Say: ‘Are those who know, equal to those who know not?’ It is only men of
understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allah’s Signs and Verses)”
[al-Zumar 39:9]
“And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it (this Qur’an) is the
truth from your Lord, so that they may believe therein, and their hearts may submit to it
with humility”
[al-Hajj 22:54]
This “ilm” is the knowledge of the deen. Therefore, this obligation is even more significant
for the person who has the means to a good education, that he should educate himself in
the deen. Thereby he can question the scholars and ask for the proof (daleel) behind each
ruling and not follow them blindly. He should fear his own accountability that while he
was acquiring knowledge of history, physics and English literature… why did he not take
the time to study the deen of Allah? For that is of utmost importance and our very reason
for existence.
“I did not create the jinn and man except that they should worship Me.”
[Adh-Dhariyat 51:56]
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9. So at the very least, an educated person must be well grounded in the fundamentals of
Islam, principles of tawheed and the importance of sunnah, for his own salvation. This
does not mean that he has to study ‘usool ul fiqh’, the laws of inheritance or become a
muhadith; rather he should be able to judge for himself if something seems to be
conflicting with the fundamentals of the deen – and therefore question the scholar on it,
until he is satisfied. This is the bare minimum.
NOTE: It is important to note that an educated person must not do “fatwa shopping”. He
must follow the opinion which he finds to be the most authentic (and truest to the source)
and not the one that suits him most for his worldly benefits.
And Allah knows best.
FOOT NOTES
[1] Ibn `Aabideen in al-Haashiyah (1/63), and in his essay Rasm al-Mufti (1/4 from the Compilation
of the Essays of Ibn `Aabideen), Shaikh Saalih al-Fulaani in Eeqaaz al-Himam (p. 62) & others. Ibn
`Aabideen quoted from Sharh al-Hidaayah by Ibn al-Shahnah al-Kabeer, the teacher of Ibn al-
Humaam, as follows:
"When a hadeeth contrary to the Madhhab is found to be saheeh, one should act on the hadeeth,
and make that his madhhab. Acting on the hadeeth will not invalidate the follower's being a Hanafi,
for it is authentically reported that Abu Haneefah said, `When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then
that is my madhhab', and this has been related by Imaam Ibn `Abdul Barr from Abu Haneefah and
from other imaams."
This is part of the completeness of the knowledge and piety of the Imaams, for they indicated by
saying this that they were not versed in the whole of the Sunnah, and Imaam Shaafi'i has
elucidated this thoroughly (see later). It would happen that they would contradict a sunnah because
they were unaware of it, so they commanded us to stick to the Sunnah and regard it as part of their
Madhhab. May Allaah shower His mercy on them all.
[2] Halaal
[3] Ibn `Abdul Barr in Al-Intiqaa' fi Fadaa'il ath-Thalaathah al- A'immah al-Fuqahaa' (p. 145), Ibn al-
Qayyim in I'laam al- Mooqi'een (2/309), Ibn `Aabideen in his Footnotes on Al-Bahr ar-Raa'iq (6/293)
and in Rasm al-Mufti (pp. 29,32) & Sha'raani in Al-Meezaan (1/55) with the second narration. The
last narration was collected by `Abbaas ad-Dawri in At- Taareekh by Ibn Ma'een (6/77/1) with a
saheeh sanad on the authority of Zafar, the student of Imaam Abu Haneefah. Similar narrations
exist on the authority of Abu Haneefah's companions Zafar, Abu Yoosuf and `Aafiyah ibn Yazeed;
cf. Eeqaaz (p. 52). Ibn al-Qayyim firmly certified its authenticity on the authority of Abu Yoosuf in
I'laam al-Mooqi'een (2/344). The addition to the second narration is referenced by the editor of
Eeqaaz (p. 65) to Ibn `Abdul Barr, Ibn al-Qayyim and others.
If this is what they say of someone who does not know their evidence, what would be their
response to one who knows that the evidence contradicts their saying, but still gives verdicts
opposed to the evidence?! Therefore, reflect on this saying, for it alone is enough to smash blind
following of opinion; that is why one of the muqallid shaikhs, when I criticised his giving a verdict
using Abu Haneefah's words without knowing the evidence, refused to believe that it was a saying
of Abu Haneefah!
[4] Haraam
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10. [5] Fatwaa
[6] Referring to Imam Abu Haneefah's illustrious student, Abu Yoosuf (rahimahullah).
[7] This was because the Imaam would often base his view on Qiyaas (Analogy), after which a
more potent analogy would occur to him, or a hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam)
would reach him, so he would accept that and ignore his previous view. Sha'raani's words in Al-
Meezaan (1/62) are summarised as:
"Our belief, as well as that of every researcher into Imaam Abu Haneefah (radi Allaahu `anhu), is
that, had he lived until the recording of the Sharee'ah, and the journeys of the Preservers of
Hadeeth to the various cities and frontiers in order to collect and acquire it, he would have accepted
it and ignored all the analogies he had employed. The amount of qiyaas in his Madhhab would have
been just as little as that in other Madhhabs, but since the evidences of the Sharee'ah had been
scattered with the Successors and their successors, and had not been collected in his lifetime, it
was necessary that there be a lot of qiyaas in his Madhhab compared to that of other imaams. The
later scholars then made their journeys to find and collect ahaadeeth from the various cities and
towns and wrote them down; hence, some ahaadeeth of the Sharee'ah explained others. This is the
reason behind the large amount of qiyaas in his Madhhab, whereas there was little of it in other
Madhhabs."
Abul-Hasanaat Al-Lucknowi quoted his words in full in An- Naafi' al-Kabeer (p. 135), endorsing and
expanding on it in his footnotes, so whoever wishes to consult it should do so there.
Since this is the justification for why Abu Haneefah has sometimes unintentionally contradicted the
authentic ahaadeeth - and it is a perfectly acceptable reason, for Allaah does not burden a soul with
more than it can bear - it is not permissible to insult him for it, as some ignorant people have done.
In fact, it is obligatory to respect him, for he is one of the imaams of the Muslims through whom this
Deen has been preserved and handed down to us, in all its branches; also, for he is rewarded
under any circumstance: whether he is correct or wrong. Nor is it permissible for his devotees to
continue sticking to those of his statements which contradict the authentic ahaadeeth, for those
statements are effectively not part of his Madhhab, as the above sayings show. Hence, these are
two extremes, and the truth lies in between. "Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who came
before us into the Faith; and leave not, in our hearts, any rancour against those who have believed.
Our Lord! You are indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful." (Al-Hashr 59:10)
[8] Al-Fulaani in Eeqaaz al-Himam (p. 50), tracing it to Imaam Muhammad and then saying, "This
does not apply to the mujtahid, for he is not bound to their views anyway, but it applies to the
muqallid."
Sha'raani expanded on that in Al-Meezaan (1/26):
"If it is said: `What should I do with the ahaadeeth which my Imaam did not use, and which were
found to be authentic after his death?' The answer which is fitting for you is: `That you act on them,
for had your Imaam come across them and found them to be authentic, he would have instructed
you to act on them, because all the Imaams were captives in the hand of the Sharee'ah.' He who
does so will have gathered all the good with both his hands, but he who says, `I will not act
according to a hadeeth unless my Imaam did so', he will miss a great amount of benefit, as is the
case with many followers of the Imaams of the Madhhabs. It would be better for them to act on
every hadeeth found to be authentic after the Imaam's time, hence implementing the will of the
Imaams; for it is our firm belief about the Imaams that had they lived longer and come to know of
those ahaadeeth which were found authentic after their time, they would have definitely accepted
and acted according to them, ignoring any analogies they may have previously made, and any
views they may have previously held."
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