Hanafi Salafism: An Oxymoron? In examining the methodology of all the great Imams and scholars, we may conclude that they all had the same approach which can be summarized as follows: They consider the Quran and Sunnah as the eternal and infallible sources of legislation. They refer to Arabic language as the main tool to interpret the texts of legislation. They accept the consensus of the Ummah as binding and therefore they see it as a source of legislation. They strive to follow the truth insofar as they are able to. There are a number of statements where the four Imams clearly state that in the case of incongruity between their opinions and a hadith, the hadith should always take precedence. A key Quranic instruction is the verse, O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and 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.( Quran 4:59) Problems have occurred when both Madhabis and Salafis blindly and fanatically adhere to the injunctions of their respective Imams without considering the methodology that accompanies them. Consideration of these fundamental principles, the foundations upon which each Imam built his conclusion, should not be ignored. To illustrate this, we find that great scholars within each school would adopt opinions different to those of their respective Imams. For instance, Imam Abu Yusuf, one of the main students of Imam Abu Hanifah, opined as his teacher did with regards to the permissibility of trading in trusts/endowments (waqf). However, when he visited Madinah, Ismail ibn Ulayyah narrated to him that Umar ibn Al Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) gave away his shares in Khaibar (which were part of a trust/endowment) as charity and never sold them. Imam Abu Yusuf altered his position and said, ‘Had Imam Abu Hanifah known of this, he would have adopted it. (To be continued In Sha Allah)
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 05:34:27 +0000
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