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Sunna's |
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Fikh of divergence I
Divergence between people in general and the Muslims in particular is due to many reasons. Some of these reasons stem from the disparity in perceptions and comprehensions, and others stem from the way of understanding the legal texts (Koran and the Sunna) or to the nature of their language. Islam put rules for dealing with the divergent matters in order to ward off any kind and disturbance and division.
I. The unity of the Muslim nation is an obligation. The divine texts emphasized on the unity of people and warned about division. Among these texts, we mention: a) From the Noble Koran. The Almighty Allah said: «And adhere to the bond of Allah all together, and do not be divided and remember the grace of Allah upon you when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together, and by His grace you became brethren, and you were on the verge of the pitfall of the Fire and He saved you from it. So, Allah expounds His signs to you that you may be guided». [Surat Al-Imran/The Family of Imran, 103]. The basis of unity is to stick to the Noble Koran. Throughout history, it was proved that the division and the split from Allah's sound and solid way lead to collapse and destruction. The Almighty Allah said: «And do not be as those who are divided and differ after the clear signs had come to them. For such is a grievous chastisement». [Surat Al-Imran/The Family of Imran, 103]. «The believers are brothers; therefore make peace between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may find peace». [Surat Al-Hujurat/The Chambers, 10]. Brotherhood in Islam is an obligation that must be preserved to guarantee the unity of the Muslims.
b) From the Sunna. - Ibn Omar reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Indeed! Allah will not gather my nation on an aberration, and Allah is with the group. So, the one who forsakes the group enters Hell». [Reported by Et-Termidi]. - Ibn Abass reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «He who forsook the group and died will receive the chastisement of Fire». [Reported by Et-Termidi]. - Ibn Omar said that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Stick to the group and beware of division. Indeed! Satan is with the one (i.e. he who is alone) and he alienates from the two. So, he who desires the ease and comfort of paradise sticks to the group». [Reported by Et-Termidi]. - Ibn Omar reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The Muslim is the brother of the other Muslim». [Reported by El-boukhari and Muslim]. - Abi Hurayra reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «By Him in whose hand my soul is (i.e. Allah), you will never enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you share mutual love. Shall I inform you about a matter if you do it you will love each other? Spread peace (the greeting of peace) between you». [Reported by Muslim]. - Anass bnu Mālik reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «Do not have hatred for one another, do not envy one another, do not boycott one another and be brothers o servants of Allah. And it is not permissible for a Muslim to keep away from his brother for more than three days». [Reported by El-Boukhari]. - Abi Ayub El-Ansāri reported that the prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «It is not permissible for a man avoid his brother more than days -in another narration more than three nights. When they meet, each one of them turns away from the other, and the best of them is the one who greets the other first». [Reported by Muslim and El-Boukhari]. - The prophet -may peace be upon him- said: «The believers, in their love, mercy and kindness to one another are like a body: if any part of it is ill the whole body shares its sleeplessness and fever». [Reported by Muslim].
II. The reasons of divergence. Divergence, in fact, existed even between the Sahaba and the Imams, but it was a divergence that was based on logical basis and reasons not on passions and longings.
1- The legal textual reasons. a) From the Noble Koran. In the Koran, there are verses that are definitive and clear and others that are not entirely clear. The Almighty Allah said: «Allah is the one who has revealed the Book to you, some of its verses are definitive, these are the essence of the Book, and others are not entirely clear. Those who have deviation in their hearts adhere to what is metaphorical (not entirely clear) desiring sedition through their own interpretation, but only Allah knows its interpretation. And those who are deeply rooted in knowledge say: "we believe in it, it is all from our lord". Yet only those who possess minds remember». [Surat Al-Imran/The Family of Imran, 07]. The definitive verses are absolute in their indication like that of inheritance, and the verses which are not entirely clear are dubious in their indication, and this is what may lead to a difference in their interpretation. b) From the Sunna. 1- The establishment and non establishment of Ahadith: None of the Sahaba had acquired the entire knowledge of prophecy but only a share of it, and the Sahaba dispersed along with the Ahadith they learnt from the prophet -may peace be upon him-. For this reason, the Ulemas diverged in their opinions. If a given Hadith is proved to be true, the Faqih (the jurisprudent) deduces a legal stance from it. And it may happen that another Faqih disagrees with this stance, because according to him, the Hadith upon which the first based his opinion is not known for him or not established. - Imam Mālik said to Abi Djaāfar El-Mansour when he wanted to order the Muslims to work according to his book El-Muatā': «Indeed! The companions of the prophet -may peace be upon him- dispersed away in different countries, and for each people a specified knowledge, so if you oblige the Muslims to act according to one opinion, it will be a chaos». 2- Divergence in understanding the text: Ibn Omar reported that when the prophet- may peace be upon him- returned from the conquest of Al-Ahzāb (the Allies), Jibreel came to him and hurried him to go to Bani Quraida. The prophet- may peace be upon him- said: «No one will perform the Asr prayer until you arrive to Bani Quraida ». Before they arrived to Bani Quraida, the time of Asr prayer had come and then the Sahaba disagreed on praying it or not. Some of them performed it as stipulated by the Almighty Allah in the following verse: « Indeed prayer is a timed ordinance for the believers». [Surat An-Nissā'/The Women, from the verse 103] and others did not perform it taking into account the surface meaning of this Hadith. The prophet- may peace be upon him- acknowledged the two acts and did not comment on any of them. Therefore, the Ulemas deduced the following rule: «The permissibility of the diversity of correct opinions». - Abu Saād El Khodri reported that "two men set out on a journey and they have but a little palatable water, and when the time of prayer came they performed Tayamum with clean earth and prayed. Later on, they found water within the time of prayer. One of them repeated his prayer and the other did not. When they met the prophet -may peace be upon him- they mentioned the matter to him. The prophet -may peace be upon him- said to the one who did not repeat his prayer: «You followed the Sunna, and your prayer was sufficient for you» and he said to the other: «For you there is a double reward». [Reported by En-Nassaī']. 3- The multiplicity of Ahadith that deal with the same subject: Among these Ahadith, we can refer to those related to the solar eclipse prayer. In fact, many narrations were reported concerning this prayer, therefore the Ulemas differed on the way of performing it. Some of them said that it could be performed by two Rakaāt with two kneeling for each (i.e. they perform two kneeling successively before prostrating) and Abu Hanifa said that it should be performed like the Iīd prayer (that is, with one kneeling only).
2- The linguistic reasons. a) The existence of common words. The Almighty Allah said: «And divorced women must wait for a trial period of three menstruations ». [Surat Al-Baqara/The Heifer, from the verse 228]. In the Arabic version, the "trial period of three menstruations" stands for the word "Qurū'", and in the Arabic language this word may signify either purity or menstruating. Abu Hanifa and Ibnu Hanbal said that the divorced woman must wait for three purities whereas Esh-Shafiī and mālik said that she must wait for three menstruations. b) The basic and the figurative meanings. The Almighty Allah said: «So weigh with justice, and do not fall short in the balance». [Surat Ar-Rahman/The Merciful, 09]. He also said: «And the sky Allah raised it high, and He has established the due Balance». [Surat Ar-Rahman/The Merciful, 07]. The word "balance" in the first verse signifies the tool of measurement, and in the second verse, it has a figurative meaning which is "justice".
3- The nature of human being. Human beings are different in their minds, perceptions, tongues The Almighty Allah said: «And from His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors, surely in that are signs for those who possess knowledge». [Surat Ar-Rūm/The Romans, 22].
Conclusions - The Ulemas divergence is a great mercy and their agreement is sound evidence. - The propriety/correctness that occurs after divergence should be adopted. - The divergence that occurs between the Ulemas due to the above mentioned factors must be based on knowledge and civility. |
