Legality of the Four Schools of Sunni Islamic Thought

Are lay-Muslims obliged to follow only one of the four schools of jurisprudence of the Ahlus-Sunnah w'al-Jama’ah? Are there any other options that one can follow? Regarding this oft-debated issue, there is a difference between learning and applying.

When it comes to applying, abiding by a certain legal school of jurisprudence for laymen is not obligatory in every matter as they are eligible to adopt the legal opinion of other juristic scholars and mujtahidun. Therefore, ordinary laymen have no certain legal school of jurisprudence because they follow the juristic opinion of the scholar they ask.

This is the established opinion for the Hanafis. The renowned Hanafi scholar Imam ibn ‘Abidin stated in his commentary in reference to Imam ash-Sharnibali that he said,

“One does not have to abide by a certain legal school and he is permitted to follow an opinion which opposes the opinion of the juristic legal school which he follows. He is allowed to adopt two opposite opinions in two separate incidents that are not related to each other. He is not permitted to nullify an action he did by the virtue of following the juristic opinion of another scholar because engaging in an action is similar to passing a verdict by a judge with no appeal.”

This opinion is supported by Allah as He asserted the obligation of following scholars in general with no specification or dedication to one scholar over the other. Allah says:

…if ye realize this not, ask of those who possess the Message.
[Quran 16:43]

Also when people posed their questions at the time of the Prophet’s Companions and the scholars of the next generation, they did not abide by a certain school but they rather asked eligible scholars without limiting themselves with the opinion of someone while denying the opinion of the other.

Following one of the opinions of the mujtahidun, eligible scholars who practice independent legal reasoning, ijithad, is in fact, following the truth. All the mujtahidun are correct and this means that each of them follows his own independent legal reasoning which led them to believe in the validity of the concluded ruling. As one chooses to follow any of the scholarly opinions of these renowned mujtahidun, he should not believe that this is the only correct juristic opinions and other opinions are invalid.

As for the issue of learning and studying different legal schools of jurisprudence, following a certain school of jurisprudence is inevitable. The four schools of jurisprudence of the Ahlus-Sunnah w'al-Jama’ah were well served and deeply studied by generations of renowned scholars in a way that other schools of jurisprudence were not subjected to. The four schools were well edited and the popular and favored opinions were highlighted and backed with authentic supporting evidence. The biographies of the renowned scholars of each school were documented and their methodologies of deriving juristic legal rulings were scrutinized so each of them became an independent school of jurisprudence that benefits those who seek religious knowledge.

Therefore, if following a certain legal school of jurisprudence is not mandatory then what is the Divine Wisdom behind having four different legal schools of jurisprudence with so many various juristic opinions? Why the scholars do not agree on one juristic opinion and base their opinions only on definite authentic legal evidence?

The issues of the shari’ah are divided into two categories.

The first category has to do with issues that reached the Muslims’ consensus such as the number of the obligatory prayers, specifying the month of fasting, destination of prayer, location of pilgrimage, prohibition of intoxicants, adultery and usury and other matters which formulate the Islamic identity. These matters are not subject to dispute as the legal evidences of these matters are definite.

The second category has to do with issues which the scholars differed about. The reason for their different opinion is related to the fact that Allah made the supporting legal evidences for these issues speculative and not definite which means that the evidence bears the possibility of multiple ways of understanding it.

The shari’ah could have been formed of only the first category which refers to matters of consensus with no disputes among scholars. But the fact is that Allah decided for this religion to be the final Divine Word from Heaven to Earth and it is Last Testament from Allah to the whole of Creation. Therefore, the second category was solid evidence and an eye witness to testify to the flexibility of the shari’ah and its applicability in different times, various geographical locations, all circumstances and diverse people.

Prophet Muhammad conferred the validity of differences in understanding the possible legal evidence when he said to his companions,

“No one among you prays the afternoon prayer until you reach the tribe of Banu Qurayza.”

Some of the Prophet’s companions abided by the literal understanding of the Prophet’s words and refused to pray the afternoon prayer until they reached the tribe of Banu Qurayza which was after the sunset prayer. Other companions understood the embedded meanings behind the Prophet’s words, which was some sort of encouragement and stimulation not to be late in arriving to Banu Qurayza, so they prayed the afternoon prayer while along their way to Banu Qurayza before the sunset prayer was due in accordance with following the spirit of the text and not its literal meaning. These two different opinions resemble the two different intrinsic natures of human beings; abiding by the literal meaning of the text and embracing the spirit of the text.

The Prophet did not deny the opinion of any of the two parties which indicates the legality and permissibility of differences in understanding and opinions as this kind of differences falls under variation and not contradiction. Therefore it was said,

“Differences among my Ummah is a Mercy.”

If the legal evidences on these matters were definite, there would be no room for scholarly debate. It was according to Allah’s Divine Wisdom that the legal evidences on these matters were speculative and probable to make it easier on people so this is one of the beauties of religion.

Confrontations and disputes only occurred among some Muslims who did not understand these prominent meanings of the concept of ‘difference’ in the philosophy of the shari’ah. They, unfortunately, dealt with speculative issues with the mindset of one exclusive opinion that does not bear the possibility of change or alteration and at the same time they deem their opponents as wrong or innovator in religion and this attitude is prohibited and not allowed.

— Mufti Ali Goma'a, transmitted via Sidi Terence Helikaon Nunis of A Muslim Convert Once More

History and Source of Islamic Law

As a religion which includes doctrine, law and ethics, Islam forms a complete and comprehensive worldview for human life. Islamic Law, fiqh, for its part, is the means by which we are capable of producing appropriate rulings through derivation from the revelatory foundational texts of prophecy. Such foundational texts come in two forms, which are, the ‘recited,’ that is, the Holy Qur’an, and the ‘unrecited,’ that is, the pure Prophetic Traditions, Sunnah.

After its initial period of direct legislation in the time of the Prophet, Islamic Law has undergone many stages, each of which has its own distinctive features and impact on its current form. It is appropriate, then, that there be a study of these stages, which is not simply a description and explanation of the past, but which also serves the present by contributing to greater expertise and depth in understanding the Shari’ah.

The purpose of studying the history of any science is to come to know its foundational principles, central concerns, and ultimate goals and benefits so that we may better learn from it. Islamic Law is no exception to this, for it is not simply a collection of legal rulings in matters of ritual worship or transactions; rather, it is a complete methodology for all the various facets of human life: doctrine, ritual worship, society, economics, law-making, and politics. Indeed, in its later stages, Islamic Law evolved to be an impressive edifice, organizing civilization in all of its social interactions and human relationships with sophistication and nuance.

This, of course, gives the study of the history of Islamic Law a great importance, because fiqh treats human life in all its details and forms, such that it might be said that the Shari’ah is the basis upon which the entire ummah is built, and the logic that serves as the focal point for Islamic Civilization.

Linguistically speaking, the word shari’ah has two meanings. The first is ‘a source of flowing water meant for drinking.’ Secondly, it means a ‘straight and unwavering path,’ as Allah Almighty Says:

Then We put thee on the Path: so follow thou that…
[Quran 45:18]

Thereafter, Shari’ah came to express, in the language of the jurists, the rulings prescribed by Allah for His servants, so that they may become proper believers. These rulings are known as the Shari’ah because they are decisive – there is no deviance from their program, nor divergence from their objectives.

Tashri’, legislation, is the enacting of the Shari’ah, that is to say, the setting down of its principles and explication of the order and system that both individuals and groups are to comply with. Of course, in this manner of speaking, Islamic Legislation properly existed only in the lifetime of the Prophet, because Allah has not given the power of legislation to anyone other than His Prophets. And in this, the Prophet Muhammad relied on two types of revelation: ‘the recited,’ the Qur’an itself; and the ‘unrecited,’ the Sunnah.

Based on this, it might be said that the history of Islamic Legislation refers only to that which took place during the Prophet Muhammad’s life, and does not include the many discrete rulings which thereafter revealed themselves to the minds of the mujtahidun. However, the scholars have tended to expand the referent of this branch of knowledge. As Sheikh Muhammad ‘Ali as-Sa’ayis said,

“The history of Islamic Legislation is a discipline in which is treated the nature of Islamic Law during the lifetime of the Prophet, as well as in subsequent eras. It specifies the different time periods in which rulings came to be, and elucidates what occurred during them with respect to abrogation, specification, expansion, etc. It also discusses the jurists and mujtahidun and their relationship to these rulings.”

The Islamic Shari’ah is a Divine Law, meaning that it is prescribed by Allah Himself. The differences between it and the positive law are as follows:

1. The Shari’ah is a sacred religious law, through which one is taught how to worship Allah, compliance with which is considered obedience to Allah deserving of reward, and violation of which is sinful disobedience meriting punishment.
   Although it may also specify worldly punishments, it is connected to the afterlife in terms of reward and punishment, as opposed to positive legislation which does not deal with what is in people’s hearts.
2. Islamic Law seeks to elevate Man, purify his heart, and refine his soul. Positive legislation simply strives to regulate society without regard to individual’s character and ethics.
3. Islamic Law commands the good and forbids the evil, whereas positive legislation is concerned only with prohibitions. It does not compel good works except incidentally.
4. Islamic Legislation pronounces on both the internal and external actions of man, whereas positive law restricts itself to the external and observable.
5. The Principles of Shari’ah do not apply to one people at the exclusion of another, or to one time period at the exclusion of another. They are universal principles to fulfill the needs of all people regardless of nation or era, and raise their standing in all eras.
   As for positive legislation, it is specific to a given group in a given time, and so is in need of change whenever that constituency evolves and their particular demands change.

Regarding the sources of Islamic Legislation, the first source is the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the Revealed Speech of God which is inimitable, whose recitation is considered worship, and which has been mass-transmitted to us. It is definitively authentic, qat’iy ath-thubut, though some of its verses may not be completely definitive in their meaning, qat’iy adh-dhalalah, but only probable.

The Word of Allah, the Qur’an, is absolute; that is to say, it is independent of time and place; it addresses all, not just those at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, nor simply those in the Arabian Peninsula but the Qur’anic discourse is catered to all of humanity belonging to all regions and generations.

The Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet in portions over twenty-three years, the majority of which he spent in Mecca. Allah says in the Qur’an:

It is a Recitation which We have divided, in order that thou might recite it to men at intervals...
[Quran 17:106]

For this reason, scholars have partitioned the Qur’an into two phases, the Meccan and the Medinan, though they have differed on the precise criteria for this categorization.

The most accepted opinion is that the Meccan is that portion of the Qur’an revealed before the Prophet’s migration, hijrah, and the Medinan is that which was revealed after it even if some of it was technically revealed in Mecca.

An alternative opinion is that the Meccan is whatever was revealed in Mecca even if it was after the migration, and the Medinan is that which was revealed only in Medina.

A third opinion is that the Meccan is that which is addressed to the people of Mecca, and the Medinan is that which was revealed addressing the people of Medina.

The benefits of understanding this categorization are the following:

1. We come to know which verses came later, thus reliably consider what to abrogate, qualify or specify.
2. We come to know the history of legislation, and the wisdom of its gradual application.
3. We come to develop a confidence in the Qur’an, and its sound transmission to us without any alterations.

Anyone who has read the Qur’an will have noticed that the Meccan verses have their own exclusive characteristics not found in the Medinan, even though the latter are an extension of the former in terms of rulings and legislation.

Since the pre-Islamic Arabs were idolaters, associating partners with Allah, while denying the Day of Judgement, and because their eloquence was well-known, the Meccan Revelations were concerned with addressing them with that which was appropriate for their situation: providing proofs and clear-cut arguments in an effort to invite them to monotheism, to make clear their evil ways, to prove Muhammad's Prophethood, to offer them parables, to admonish them with lessons from previous nations, to establish proofs for Creation, and to engage in rational debate.

It is only upon the formation of a group of believers in Allah, His Angels, His Scriptures, His Appointed Messengers and the Day of Judgement, and their subsequent enduring of extreme difficulties, and migration to Medina, that the Medinan verses were revealed, comprising the rulings of Islam, and its limits and penal codes; explaining the principles of legislation; setting out rules for society, relationships between family members, and the connection between individuals and groups.

Below are the most prominent features of the Meccan and Medinan verses respectively:

Regarding the Meccan Revelations, they can be recognized by their distinguishing features that,

1. Through the Signs of Allah in Creation, they call to monotheism, the exclusive worship of Allah, the affirmation of Prophethood, the prophetic mission, and rewards and punishments; through rational proofs, they respond and debate with the polytheists; they also mention the Day of Judgement and the Hellfire.
2. They establish the general principles of legislation and ethics upon which society is based; they expose the scandals of the polytheists in terms of bloodshed, unjustly usurping the wealth of orphans, burying their daughters alive, and other practices.
3. They recount stories of the prophets and past nations, so that unbelievers may come to know the fate of those who came before them; they also console the Prophet Muhammad and his companions so that they may endure their abuses, and be assured of victory over them.
4. They appeal to the reader aesthetically by using powerful language, short verses, and choice words.
5. The mode of address in the Meccan verses are very broad and general, often taking the form of “O mankind,” or “O Sons of Adam.” In contrast, the Medinan verses primarily address the believers, very often with the phrasing, “O you who believe,” or the Jews and Christians referred to as, “O People of the Book”
6. Covenants recur often in Meccan verses. There are approximately thirty examples of establishing covenants in this period, whereas there is only one example in the Medinan verses, which is:

The unbelievers think that they will not be raised up for Judgment.
Say, "Yea, by my Lord, ye shall surely be raised up: then shall ye be told the truth of all that ye did..."
[Quran 64:7]

Regarding the Medinan Revelations, they can be recognized by their distinguishing features that,

1. They are an explanation of laws governing rituals, transactions and relationships, penal codes, inheritance, virtues of struggling in the Path of Allah, family structure, and the relationship between state and society, along with the principles and main concerns of lawmaking.
2. They address the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians, inviting them to Islam, making clear the manner in which they have handled previous scriptures, and indicting them for deviating from the truth, dissenting among themselves out of envy after knowledge had come to them.
3. They reveal the real behavior of the hypocrites, munafiqun, exposing that which they tried to conceal, analyzing their mentalities, and making clear their danger to true religious traditions.
4. They are lengthy passages setting down the Shari’ah, and clarifying its objectives and goals.

Regarding the objectives of the Qur’an, there are three principal objectives:

• That it serve as Guidance for Mankind, which can be further categorized into two types:

• A general Guidance for all people, as Allah Himself says:

Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur'an as a Guide to Mankind with manifest Signs for Criterion and Judgment...
[Quran 2:185]

And again:

Verily this is no less than a Message to the worlds:
[Quran 81:27]

•  A specific Guidance catered for believers, as Allah also says:

It is a Guide and Glad-Tidings for the believers
[Quran 27:2]

And Allah doth advance in Guidance those who seek guidance...
[Quran 19:76]

… Say: "It is a Guide and a Healing to those who believe…"
[Quran 41:44]

• That it be a manifest sign in support of the Prophet. In other words, the Qur’an stands in the world as a Sign attesting to the Message of the Prophet Muhammad, and endures throughout all of time forever as an Everlasting Miracle articulating Guidance and the True Faith, superior to all others, as Allah says:

It is He Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion: and enough is Allah for a Witness.
[Quran 48:28]

• That creation is capable of worshiping Allah through its recitation, and that they may be rewarded for simply repeating His Words.

Those who rehearse the Book of Allah, establish regular prayer, and spend in charity out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a commerce that will never fail: for He will pay them their meed, nay, He will bestow unto them even more so from His Infinite Bounty; for He is the Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate service.
[Quran 35:29-30]

The second source of Islamic Legislation is the Prophetic Tradition, that is, the Sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad.

The Sunnah is defined as statements, actions, tacit approvals, or qualities related about the Prophet. In terms of statements, we may take the example of that which is related from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said,

I heard the Prophet say: “Actions are by intentions. So, every person will have that which he intended.”

In the category of actions are included all actions of the Prophet that have reached us, such as his manner of doing ablution, wudu’, and of performing the pilgrimage, hajj and so on and so forth. As an example, we have a hadith from the Prophet saying,

“Pray as you have seen me pray.”

Similarly in his final pilgrimage, he said,

“Take the hajj rituals from me.”

Tacit approvals consist of the Prophet’s affirmations of the statements or actions of some of the companions, either through his silence and, therefore, lack of repudiation, or through his expressed agreement and commendation. Examples of this include the narration of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri who said,

Two men set out on travel. When the time for prayer came, neither of them had any water in their possession. So they performed tayammum and prayed. Thereafter, they came across water while the time of prayer had not expired. One of them performed his regular ablutions and repeated his prayer, while the other did not do so. Then, they came to the Prophet and mentioned to him what had transpired. He said to the one who did not repeat the prayer,

You have achieved the Sunnah, and your prayer was valid.

And to the one who performed the ablutions and prayed again, he said,

You have two rewards.

As for qualities, many of the Prophet’s qualities and characteristics have been related. Some scholars have even taken to compiling these, such as Imam at-Tirmidhi in his work, ash-Shama’il.

Regarding the types of rulings found in the Sunnah, we have many:

• Rulings that echo and emphasize the rulings of the Qur’an. An example of this is a hadith related by the Companion Anas ibn Malik who said that the Prophet said,

“The wealth of a Muslim is not permissible to another except with his agreement and permission.” 

This is in agreement with the verse:

O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities; but let there be among you traffic and trade by mutual good-will...
[Quran 4:29]

• Rulings that clarify and explain general Commandments in the Qur’an. An example of this is that which clarifies the amounts for zakat.

• Rulings that restrict or specify general commands of the Qur’an. An example is the general Qur’anic Command to amputate the hand of the thief, which the Sunnah specified is to be done at the wrist. Another example is the general Qur’anic prohibition against eating carrion
  However, the following hadith from Abdullah ibn ‘Umar exempts seafood from this prohibition.
  According to ibn ‘Umar, the Prophet said,

“Two types of blood and two types of carcasses have been made permissible for us to eat:
of the carcass, fish and locusts; and of the blood, liver and spleen.”

Forbidden to you are carcasses, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah...
[Quran 5:3]

• New rulings not mentioned in the Qur’an, because the Sunnah is an independent source of legislation. In this regard, it is not unlike the Qur’an. It is reliably transmitted that the Prophet said,

“I have been given the Qur’an and something like it with it... So mandatory upon you is the Qur’an. What you find deemed permissible in it has been made permissible for you, and what you find deemed impermissible in it has been made impermissible for you. So, neither the domesticated donkey nor any predator with fangs is permissible for you.” 

This means the Prophet was given the Qur’an and something like it, the Sunnah. The rulings of both must be followed, and from this we come to know of the prohibition against eating both domesticated donkeys and fanged predators, as well as the prohibition against eating birds with claws, and the rulings on the inheritance of the grandmother, and so forth.

We may categorize the rulings mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah as follows,

• Doctrine: Belief in Allah, and His Angels, Scriptures, Prophets, as well as the Day of Judgement, and Fate, the good and the bad, and all that follows from the above, such as belief in the Unseen, matters of eschatology, Allah’s Reckoning, Paradise and Hell.
• Ritual worship: Rulings about the relationship between Allah and His servant, in terms of their exclusive worship of Him. These include prayer, alms-giving, fasting, pilgrimage, and all the conditions, constituent parts, obligations, and encouragements associated with the above.
• Personal status: Rulings related to the regulation of family matters. These include marriage, dowries, divorce, the rights and obligations of married life, maintenance obligations, inheritance laws, and things related to these matters.
• Transactions: Rulings concerning people’s relationship with one another, and their financial transactions like sale, interest, loans, pawning, sureties, representationship and proxy, partnership, and agricultural contracts; as well as the economic principles of Islam in general.
• Public policies and governance: Rulings related to the system of governance, and the principles of political leadership towards their constituents; as well as the rights and obligations of each. These include discussions on the status of the ruler, governors, and viziers and the judiciary.
• Punitive law: Rulings on punishing criminals, including lex talionis, blood-money, and mandatory and discretionary punishments.
• International law: Rulings related to the relationship between Islamic polities and others in terms of war, peace, security, and treaties.
• Rulings related to eating, drinking, and clothing: what is permissible and what is not. The general rule is that of permissibility unless textually proven to be forbidden.
• Ethics, virtue, and social protocol: These include the etiquette of social gatherings, visiting one another, greetings, seeking permission in some matters, and eating and drinking in gatherings, as well as encouragement to virtues such as humility, forbearance and patience.

The third source of Islamic Legislation is Consensus,  Ijma’. Linguistically, it means to be determined and tenacious. In fiqh terminology, it is the agreement of the Ummah of Muhammad on a matter of religious significance.

Imam al-Ghazali maintains in his al-Mustasfa min ‘Ilm al-Usul that this agreement removes any doubts or alternative possibilities that might arise through an exclusive reliance on the proof itself. For this reason, an object of such a consensus must be acted upon; it is impermissible to oppose it.

A consensus must be based on evidence, for it is wrong to adopt an opinion without evidence in matters of Shari’ah. The Islamic Nation cannot unanimously agree on an error, as is narrated in numerous ahadith. An example is that which is narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn Dinar on the authority of ibn ‘Umar, who said that the Prophet said,

“Allah will not unite my ummah on misguidance. The Hand of Allah is with the greater group, and whoever deviates from it, takes himself to Hell.”

Sheikh Abu ‘Isa explained that, according to scholars, the ‘group’ refers to the people of fiqh and ahadith.

Another example is narrated by Anas ibn Malik who said,

“I heard the Prophet saying,

My ummah will not unite on misguidance; if you see them differing, follow the majority.” 

The basis of ijma’ may be a text from the Qur’an or Sunnah, or it may equally be an analogical argument, custom, or other types of ijtihad. There are two types of ijma’:

1. Express consensus, which is when all mujtahidun agree on a matter in an explicit and clear manner; each of them articulates his opinion, and they all coincide.
2. Tacit consensus, which is when some mujtahidun offer their opinion on a matter, all the others come to know of it and they remain silent, offering neither objection nor corroboration.

There is still great importance for ijma’ in our times. Consensus is a valid legal source, from which we can come to know the legal rulings about new occurrences happening in our day and age. We believe this is only possible in the present circumstances through the formation of fiqh councils encompassing all mujtahidun from the different parts of the Muslim World. There should be a specific place set aside for these councils, and they must be given what they need to carry out their research. They must carefully study these new matters, arrive at the proper rulings, and disseminate them in regular periodicals or specialized works so that people can refer to them and other scholars may further offer their opinions in them. If what is arrived at amounts to a consensus, and this consensus corresponds to that of the texts of the jurists, the ruling must be followed and acted upon.

The fourth source of Islamic Legislation is Analogical Reasoning known as Qiyas. Imam al-Ghazali in his al-Mustasfa defined Qiyas as the application of one case to another because of a common element between them for the purposes of affirming or denying a judgement on both of them.

The scholars proved the authoritativeness of qiyas through many evidences. These include the verse:

…take warning then, O ye with eyes to see!
[Quran 59:2]

Here, the ‘warning,’ or in other translations, the ‘lesson,’ means to apply the moral of a tale from one account to another like it if they share a common meaning, as ibn ‘Abbas maintained. Other proofs include the verses:

… if they had only referred it to the Messenger or to those charged with authority among them, then the ones who can draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.
[Quran 4:83]

And,

… nothing have We omitted from the Book...
[Quran 6:38]

The latter means that the narrations in the Qur'an speak of every matter in the world one may encounter even if it is not directly spoken of. There may be accounts within the Qur'an, the moral message of which could be applied elsewhere due to a share commonality of the events.

We may add to these verses other evidences, such as the hadith about the Prophet sending Hazrat Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yemen. Before he did so, he asked him,

“If a judicial matter comes to you, how will you judge?”

Hazrat Mu’adh replied,

“I will judge by the Book of Allah.”

The Prophet questioned again,

“And if you don’t find it in the Book of Allah?”

Hazrat Mu’adh responded,

“Then, by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet questioned once more,

“And if you find it neither in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah nor His Book?”

Hazrat Mu’adh answered,

“I will exercise my judgement, and will not refrain from doing so.”

The Prophet struck his chest, and said,

“Praise be to Allah Who endowed the messenger of the Messenger of Allah with that which pleases the Messenger of Allah.”

There are evidences other than these four, though they are disagreed upon. Some have reckoned them to number over forty. There are additional sources of Shari’ah, adopted by some and rejected by others. These include juristic discretion, istihsan; the presumption of continuity, istishhab; cutting off means to the forbidden, sadd adh-dhara’i; public welfare, al-masalih al-mursala and many others.

Now let us move on to the great historical periods of Islamic Legislation.
The first of them is the Prophetic Epoch. This was during the lifetime of the Prophet himself, peace be upon him.

The manner of legislation in the time of the Prophet did not depend on legal reasoning based on hypothetical circumstances and occurrences, nor was there a codification of the law and rulings as was the case in subsequent periods. Rather, legislation in this period proceeded in step with the reality of the Prophet’s worldview.

It was clear to the Muslims at the time that if they were confronted with a matter requiring a judgement, they were to refer it to the Prophet, and it would be answered through a verse, or some verses, revealed to him from Allah, or through a hadith. On occasion, the ruling would be clarified to them through the Prophet’s own actions, or through his approval or rejection of the actions of another.

Regardless of what the Prophet’s response was, it would not emanate except from a Revelation from his Lord either through the Qur’an or his Sunnah, as Allah says in the Qur'an:

Nor does he speak of his own desire. It is no less than Inspiration sent down to him.
[Quran 53:3-4]

We may draw three conclusions from this discussion:

1. Legislative authority in this period rested exclusively with the Prophet. And the reference for legislation at this time was revelation in its two forms, the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
2. The verses of the Qur’an were revealed according to specific circumstances, or as a response to a question. Very few were not preceded by an event or query which motivated it. This is what the scholars mention in the science of asbab an-nuzul, the Circumstances of Revelation.
3. Islamic Law was not all revealed at once.
4. Rather, it came gradually in parts in the form of Qur’anic verses and ahadith.

Next comes the Epoch of the Salaf as-Salehin helmed by the Noble Companions, Sahaba; the Followers, Tabi’un; and the Righteous Caliphs, al-Khulafa Rashidun.

With the death of the Prophet came an end to active revelatory legislation of the Qur’an and Sunnah. However, these were the two great resources left behind for subsequent generations from that period. And so, law began to develop and expand in the period of the companions and followers.

This happened because the jurists encountered new circumstances which were not present during the lifetime of the Prophet, but they remained duty-bound to come to know Allah’s Ruling in these new matters. These new matters arose in part as a result of the wars of this period, and so, they had to address the nature of relations among Muslims, and between Muslims and non-Muslims, especially during war. This, in turn, led to a number of legal matters, such as rules relating to the Islamic Conquests, and the expansion of the Islamic Empire and Muslims’ interactions with the people of those lands, for every land has its own customs and traditions, ʿUrf.

As a result, the companions and followers embarked on the task of determining the rulings concerning these matters. So they performed ijtihad, made use of their opinions in light of the principles and objectives of the Shari’ah. This is how the notion of ijtihad bi'r-ra’y or independent reasoning arose as an independent source of Islamic Law; of course, it did not exist during the time of the Prophet when recourse could be made to Revelation.

Evidently, any ijtihad based on ra’y will give rise to differences of opinion, and this is what happened in this period. In some cases, though, the jurists engaged in ijtihad and found themselves in agreement. This agreement is considered a consensus, ijma’; this is how ijma’ came to be a source of law; this also did not exist during the Prophet's lifetime.

In addition, challenges emerged to the Sunnah as a result of the jurists being spread out in different locales and encountering different occurrences. So, the need was felt to investigate the Principles of the Sunnah and ensure that there existed some who preserved it by discussing and relating it, and by extracting rulings from it. In this period, the jurists treated novel matters by searching for a ruling in the Book of Allah. If they did not find it there, they turned to the Sunnah. If they still did not find an appropriate ruling, they turned to ra’y and ruled according to their ijtihad.

There is no doubt that this is a sound methodology, for the jurists did not resort to their own ra’y unless they could not find anything in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Although, they were not all equal in this matter, for some of them made extensive use of ra’y, and some used it sparingly.

Imam ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah said in ‘Ilam al-Muwaqqi’in,

“The task of issuing fatawa then fell to the companions – the elite of Islam and faith, the army of the Qur’an and ar-Rahman.
They were amongst the ummah, the most tender of hearts, the most profoundly knowledgeable, the least pretentious, the most eloquent, the truest in faith, the most general in giving advice, and the closest to Allah.
They varied between those who issued numerous fatawa, those who gave only a few, and those who occupied an intermediate position between these.”

We may enumerate seven companions who used ra’y extensively:

1. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab
2. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib
3. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud
4. ‘Aisha binte Abu Bakr
5. Zayd ibn Thabit
6. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas
7. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar

Those who occupied an intermediary status in this regard included:

1. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq
2. Umm Salamahsour
3. Anas ibn Malik
4. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri
5. Abu Hurayrah
6. ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan
7. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As

The rest gave fatawa only occasionally, such as the likes of:

1. Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah
2. Abu Talha
3. Abu Dharr
4. Umm ‘Atiyyah
5. Safiyyah

Following the Epoch of the Salaf comes the Epoch of the Two Parties of Ijtihad bi'r-Ra’y.

Ijtihad bi'r-ra’y in this period was based on an assessment of the underlying causes, ‘illas, of rulings and a consideration for public welfare. The jurists were in one of two camps in this regard:

1. Those who were cautious of ra’y and made only occasional recourse to it
2. Those who were not intimidated by the use of ra’y and resorted to it whenever they felt the need

The majority of the first camp, known as the school of the people of ahadith, was in Medina and the Hejaz.

Their major representative was Imam Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib, one of the famed seven jurists who learned fiqh from the companions and spread it in Medina. Imam Sa’id was one of the most prominent followers in terms of learning, religiosity, piety and virtue, and so is often known as the jurist of jurists. The seven jurists are:

1. Imam Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib
2. Imam ‘Urwa ibn Zubayr
3. Imam Qasim ibn Muhammad
4. Imam Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn al-Harith
5. Imam ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utba ibn Mas’ud
6. Imam Sulayman ibn Yasar
7. Imam Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit

The majority of the second group, the school of the people of ra’y, could be found in Kufa and Iraq. Their principal proponent was Imam Ibrahim ibn Yazid an-Nakha’i, the sheikh of Imam Hammad ibn Abu Sulayman.

This period came to an end without there being any codification of either of the sciences of fiqh and ahadith. There were, however, some preliminary attempts. Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, for example, wrote to his representative in Medina, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn ‘Umar ibn Hazm, to look for what there was of the ahadith, or Sunnah, of the Prophet and write it down. However, the Caliph died before his agent could complete what he was ordered to do.

Next came the Epoch of the Mujtahidun. This period began at the outset of the second hijri century and extended to the middle of the fourth. In this period, fiqh grew and flourished, and the questions it treated multiplied in an unprecedented manner. This phenomenon is due to a number of reasons, including:

• The regard of the Abbasid Caliphs for law and the jurists. This is evident in their closeness to the jurists, and their resorting to them for their opinions.
• The expansion of the Islamic Empire which stretched from Spain to China. In these vast lands, it became necessary to take account of the various customs and traditions of the people as long as they did not contravene the foundational texts. Therefore, people’s ijtihad differed based on the variation of their customs and traditions.

• The emergence of great mujtahidun with superior qualifications and talents, and their work in developing fiqh in order to respond to the needs of the state for organization and laws. Furthermore, they formed schools which were populated by distinguished jurists.
• The compilation of the Sunnah, which enabled the jurists to distinguish the sound from the weak ahadith, and, so, make better use of them in a more convenient fashion. The Sunnah, of course, is the very subject matter of fiqh, and one of its most important sources.

After the Epoch of the Mujtahidun came the Era of Taqlid

This period began midway through the fourth century and continued until the fall of Baghdad in 656 AH. This is the period of the stagnation of fiqh, for the jurists tended towards taqlid although the standard until then was that there be an independent mujtahid not bound to a specific madhhab, juristic school of thought, but rather restricted only by the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah and that which acceptable ijtihad leads him to – acceptable ijtihad being an extraction of legal rulings from the two great sources, the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

In this period, the ambitions of the jurists were weak. They considered themselves deficient, and incapable of following in the footsteps of previous mujtahidun, despite their mastery in fiqh, and the ease with which they could now access the Sunnah source material.

Among the reasons for the prevalence of taqlid among all but a rare few of the jurists were:

1. The weakness of the political power wielded by the Abbasid Dynasty. The Islamic Empire was no longer what it once had been – it had now been split up into portions with small states governing the many fractured areas. This has a serious impact on the lives of jurists, and the development of law.
2. The various schools of thought had now been codified in a comprehensive manner, after a refining of its major issues and concerns, and the organization of its content. This led to a certain contentment with this juristic heritage, and a feeling of being able to dispense with further investigation and derivation of rulings.
3. A lack of confidence in oneself, and a fear of ijtihad. The jurists accused themselves of weakness and deficiency, and considered themselves incapable of taking the rulings directly from the original sources. They thought it best and most suitable that they restrict themselves to a well-known madhhab, to stick and abide by to its rulings, and to learn its methodology, usul, without diverging from them.

In this period, the gate of ijtihad was closed. For, when the jurists saw that the claims to ijtihad were being made only by those who were incapable of it, they feared that the religion of the people would be corrupted by inferior fatawa based on neither knowledge nor understanding. So, they pronounced on the closing of the gate of ijtihad, to safeguard from this corruption and to protect the people.

However, the truth is that ijtihad persisted and did not disappear entirely. It was simply that ijtihad had to be preceded by the fulfillment of certain conditions – whoever possessed the requisite capacities was entitled to perform ijtihad; whoever did not, it was prohibited for him to issue fatawa without knowledge.

Despite this stagnation, the jurists undertook many beneficial tasks, including:

1. Determining the operational legal causes for rulings transmitted from their a’immah, for not every position had been transmitted with its reasoning.
2. Extracting the principles of derivation from the rulings of the madhhab, so that the methods of ijtihad adopted by the imam may be known.
3. Weighing the different opinions transmitted from the imam, and choosing some over others. For it could have been that the transmitted opinion was retracted without the transmitter knowing this fact; or alternatively that there was a subtle difference between two variant opinions which explained the difference between them; or again that one opinion was adopted according to a strict analogy, while another was adopted for other considerations out of a jurist’s discretion. So, the jurists of this period would grant preponderance to some of these opinions over others in light of the principles of their established madhhab.
4. Organizing the fiqh of their madhhab, by categorizing, explaining and commenting on the rulings, and supporting them with evidences; and mentioning points of conflict with other madhahib, the reasons for these disagreements, and the evidences in support of their madhhab’s positions.

There is no doubt that these contributions constituted a great service to fiqh, by expanding and explaining the field.

Finally, we have the Modern Epoch. This period begins with the fall of Baghdad in the seventh century and extends to our times. Fiqh did not recover from this stifling environment and the jurists did not change their approach. So restrictiveness became widespread.

There were, though, a few individuals here and there who were dissatisfied with taqlid and called for unrestricted ijtihad based on direct interaction with the Qur’an and Sunnah, and not restricting oneself to a specific madhhab. However, these were few in number, and the majority of the muqallid jurists did not accept their criticisms. So, the jurists of this period oriented themselves towards writing, specially towards statements of doctrine which came to be so terse that they began to impair and obscure the intended meanings, resembling instead aphoristic writing. These texts, called the mutun, were in need of commentaries, shuruh, to explain their meanings and clarify ambiguities. Then, notes and comments appeared in the margins of these commentaries: these were called glosses, hawashi.

Writing, however, was not restricted to these genres. There were also books of fatawa: responses to questions posed by the people as to their daily practical lives. These individual responses were gathered either by their author or by others, and organized according to the chapter scheme of books of fiqh. Also, many of these fatawa were accompanied either by evidences from the texts of the school, madhhab, or the mufti, or by evidences from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and other primary sources without reference to a specific madhhab.

The Modern Epoch also consists of the Modern Revival Epoch which we are in today. In our era, we are witnessing a revival of fiqh from a variety of perspectives: a greater regard for the discipline of fiqh in university teaching; the comparative study of fiqh; an exposure to its distinguishing characteristics and features; and an attempt to reconcile the culture of law with the culture of the Shari’ah. We hope for an increase in the regard being accorded to the Shari’ah and fiqh so that it reclaims its original standing as law proper, and that the state undertakes appropriate legislation as was the case in the past.

One of the phenomena of the contemporary revival of fiqh is the resurgence of writing in the discipline. Among the reasons for this is the storming of the field by extreme tendencies, who have sought to critique religious texts. And so many serious writings have emerged as a sort of response to this orientation, delineating the manner of interacting with the Shari’ah texts, and presenting the Principles of Islam. This genre has fulfilled its role of strengthening the confidence of Muslims in their religion and heritage.

Other phenomena include the formation of fiqh councils, scientific meetings, Islamic universities. In addition, there have been other institutions which have played the crucial role of bringing the different schools of thought together, and teaching fiqh according to the different madhahib, and so contributing greatly to minimizing and limiting partisanship between the schools.

Many contemporary scholars have distinguished themselves in this field in both the east and the west, contributing to this revival, and to the study of fiqh from a variety of directions. An example of this is Dr ‘Abdul-Hakim Jackson, professor at the University of Michigan in the United States. He has many studies of fiqh, including his book titled Islamic Law and the State: The Constitutional Jurisprudence of Shihabuddin al-Qarafi.

A genre that has emerged as part of this revival is the fiqh of minorities. The word ‘minorities’ is a political term indicating a constituency within a nation-state that belongs to a linguistic, ethnic, or religious group other than that of the majority. It is best to include this as a sub-genre of fiqh in the general sense – which includes both the doctrinal and practical aspects of the Shari’ah. This is the meaning intended by the Prophet when he said,

“He for whom Allah wishes good, He gives him understanding in religion.”

So, the fiqh of minorities is that portion of fiqh which evinces a regard for the connection of the legal ruling with the circumstances of such a group and the place in which they live. It is, in other words, a fiqh for a group that finds itself in special circumstances: some things may be appropriate for it that are not appropriate for others. The one who treats such matters is in need also of knowledge of the social sciences, especially sociology, economics, finance, law, political science and international relations.

Today, we are in need of placing such a fiqh on a strong footing, which in reality is already well established in a number of legal principles, such as:

• Legal obligation is based on one’s capacity to fulfill the obligation, as in the verse,

On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear...
[Quran 2:286] 

• The Shari’ah is built on ease and facility. The Qur’an says,

…Allah intends every facility for you, He does not want to put you to difficulties...
[Quran 2:185]

…and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion…
[Quran 22:78]

• There are both supererogatory actions and dispensations in the religion. People of strength are entitled to perform the former, while people of weakness are entitled to take advantage of the latter. In both cases, what is sought is ease. As such, it is necessary to make things easy for those living outside Muslim lands.
• The scholars have also settled on a famous principle, namely that fatawa change with time, place, custom and circumstances. This is what is meant when we differentiate between those who live within Muslim countries and those who live outside of them.

— Mufti Ali Goma'a, transmitted via Sidi Terence Helikaon Nunis of A Muslim Convert Once More

Creed of the Ahlus-Sunnah w'al-Jama'ah

The word for creed in Arabic is ‘aqidah. Linguistically, it means to bind a knot firmly and tightly. And in the terminology of the sciences, it is a belief held strongly and with conviction in the hearts of humans, whether it be true or false. This strong belief is a motivator to action, such as is the case with the belief of a Muslim in the absolute necessary existence of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and the veracity of the Prophet sallallahu wa alayhisalam.

History attests to the fact that all peoples at all times have had an ideology or religious creed to which they assent, which moves them to action and which has an impact on their behavior and conduct. The Islamic creed consists of a firm belief that Allah, Lord of the Worlds, is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth; that there is only one Allah Who can be characterized by all perfections, Who Transcends all deficiencies, and Who is unlike any other being; that Muhammad is His Prophet and Messenger to the Worlds, and that he fulfilled this mission in the most perfect and complete manner; that the Qur’an is His Book, truthful and untouched by any falsity; and that what it conveys of matters unseen – for example, Angels, other Prophets, Paradise, and Hell – is all true.

The Messenger believeth in what hath been Revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His Messengers: "We make no distinction between one and another of His Messengers." And they say: "We hear and we obey; We seek Thy Forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys." 

On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns. Pray: "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins and grant us Forgiveness, and have Mercy on us, Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith."
[Quran 2:285-286]

This set of beliefs moves he who possesses them to hold fast to the rules of the shari’ah and the commands and prohibitions of the Qur’an and the sunnah.

The first tenet of belief is the belief in tawhid, that is, to believe in the Oneness of Allah, worshiping Him alone, and affirming this belief of His Essence, His Qualities and His Actions. It is also to affirm that there is no entity which resembles His Indivisible Essence; that there are no qualities which resemble the Divine Qualities, in which plurality is not possible such that one can say Allah has two Wills or two independent sets of Knowledge, for example; and that His Actions do not admit of any association – there is, that is to say, no action other than His, and any action of another is to be regarded as acquisitive, kasb.

What has been said by the theologians with regards to monotheism can be simplified as follows: It is the belief that Allah is other than anything that can be conceived by the imagination; it is the belief that His Essence in no way resembles other entities, nor does It compromise His Qualities; tawhid is, in fact, a developed science derived from certain and definitive proofs since it enables one to establish religious beliefs via argumentation and repelling doubts; and it is concerned with the Essence of Allah, and what is necessary, impossible, or permissible to affirm of It. It is also concerned with the Messengers, what they brought affirming the existence of a Creator. Finally, it treats Revelatory Data, and the necessity to believe in it.

The benefit of the science of tawhid is that it leads to knowledge of Allah through definitive proofs, and the attainment of eternal happiness as a result. Because it is connected to the knowledge of Allah and His Prophets, it is the most noble of sciences. As the Arabic saying goes: Things are ennobled by that which they are connected to.

Learning this science is an individual obligation for every person, male or female, as established by the verse which directs all to:

Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah... [Quran 47:19]

Technically, the obligation is to know the creed in a general way, i.e. it is wajib 'ayni; while a knowledge of the particulars and details is a communal obligation, i.e. it is wajib kifa'i.

The science of tawhid discusses three matters:

1. Divinity – that which has to do with Allah,
2. Prophecy – that which has to do with Prophets and Messengers, and,
3. Revelation – that which treats matters which cannot be proven except through revelatory reports.

Regarding proofs, these are of two types: purely rational, such as that which establishes the Existence of a Creator through the Creation of the Heavens, the Earth and ourselves; and the Revelatory, which is in fact a combination of rational and revelatory premises, because the veracity of a report can be established only by reason. These proofs may establish definitive certainty in shari’ah matters when they are mass-transmitted or accompanied by empirical evidence. However, in cases where they do not accord with a reason-based proof, the latter is given priority, for to disregard reason would be to disregard both types of proofs since the latter is a hybrid.

Let us first look at the argument from epistemology and ontology. The philosophers say that that which may be known are either non-existent, existent in the mind, or existent in the world. And that which has extra-mental, worldly existence is either necessarily existent, i.e. it is impossible that it not exist, or it is contingently existent.

The theologians say that the existent is that which has a reality in the world, and it is either Eternal or it is Created. The Created is further divided into two: the Substance and the Accident. The contingent, al-mumkin, is that which is necessarily in need of a cause. It may be either existent or non-existent, in equal probability. The contingent is always Created, never Eternal.

The Essentially Necessary is Allah, Who is Simple, not compound. This is because to be compound means to be contingent, created and admitting divisibility. This also means He does not admit association because that would entail being compound. Allah transcends all and every similitude. His Qualities include Life, Knowledge, and Power. These Qualities are Eternal, and do not compromise His Necessity of Being, nor do they render Him needy of anything, for His Qualities are not other than Him.

To be created means to be preceded by non-existence. The world is everything other than Allah the Exalted. The world is made of substances and accidents. Substances are entities that are independent of place. Accidents are qualities that are connected to substance, such as color, taste, smell, life, death, will, power, and knowledge.

The Createdness of the World is proven as follows: All of existence can be classified as either Eternal or Created. The Eternal is that which is preceded by nothing else. It is necessary of existence. It is impossible for the eternal to not be, for eternality contradicts non-existence. The Created is that existent which is preceded by another. It may both exist and not exist. So, when it is distinguished by existence rather than non-existence, it is in need of something that performs that distinguishing for it. This Entity is a Creator characterized by Volition and Power.

All that is not void of created entities is Created. Nobody in the world is void of Created accidents and changeable states. The qualities of the bodies change, and they move from one state to another. The reality of changeable entities is that in fact one state is annihilated and another is created. This is known in the case of the new state by observation, and in the case of the old state because, if it were eternal it would not have become non-existent.

Therefore, it is necessary to believe firmly that the world, all its bodies, including all sorts of vegetation and animals; all actions; all utterances; and all beliefs are Created. They came to exist after non-existence.

Belief in the Existence of the Creator is the first pillar of Islamic doctrine. All other doctrinal principles are built upon it. And believing in this existence is the only path to attaining a correct understanding of Creation, and the meaning of existence in this world.

The world that we see is contingently existent which means that the mind precludes neither its existence nor non-existence. Therefore, there must be some external cause which made it existent, and distanced it from non-existence. In its default mode, the world and its entities are possible of both states. And the Cause that made it existent and not non-existent is what we call Allah, the Exalted.

Every rational person, through observation, has the ability to know necessarily that Creation came into existence after non-existence, i.e. it was Created. That which is Created is in need of a Creator. An infinite regression of such creators is impossible, as all rational people agree. Infinite regression means that a created entity has a creator, and that creator has its own creator, and on and on with no end. This infinite regression, on whose impossibility all rational people agree, cannot be avoided except by positing an Eternal Creator, Who is in need of no other, Whose Existence needs no Originator. This is Allah, the Necessarily Existent, Who is not a compound being nor multiple. He is One.

If all existences were simply contingent, and none of them were necessary, this set of contingently existent entities – which encompasses all existent entities – would be in need of an Originator. This is because the set is itself contingent, a compound entity made of a set of contingent entities. However, the Necessary of Existence is Independent in His Existence. He does not need any other entity for His Existence. And He is outside of this set. Therefore, He is the Creator.

Contemplating and knowing Allah is an obligation by consensus, whether it is by Revelatory means as the Ash’ariyyah say, or by rational ones as the Mu’taziliyyah say. The primary obligation is to know Allah, and the means to achieving it is speculation so it is also an obligation. However, speculation is not possible without an intent to engage in it. Therefore, the intention is also an obligation, indeed the first obligation. By contemplation it is meant as the tools and methodologies through which knowledge is organized so as to lead from one piece of information to another. Alternatively, it is defined as abstracting the mind away from insignificant matters and orienting it to the objects of reason. When this is done properly, what results is necessary knowledge.

This is an obligation, because in matters of doctrine, following another based on his or her authority is a sin for someone who is capable of engaging in theoretical and rational thought. If he is not capable of this, it is not a sin. Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi says,

"Our companions agree that the masses are believers and knowers of Allah, and they will populate Heaven, as we are informed in reports and as is agreed upon by scholars. For their natural state leads them to Monotheism and belief in the Creator’s Eternality and the Createdness of all else, even if they are unable to articulate this in the terminology of the theologians."

Imam Saifuddin al-Amidhi reported agreement that those who attest to the correct doctrine based on authority are not disbelievers.

The difference of opinion obtains when we turn to the judgement in the Hereafter. In matters of this world, there is no disagreement that we are to judge based on apparent attestations alone. So, he who attests to the doctrine of Islam is to be treated as a Muslim, and not pronounced a disbeliever. So, he may marry other Muslims; he may lead the prayer; his slaughtered meat may be consumed; Muslims may inherit from him, and he from them; and he is to be buried in their cemeteries.

Now let us move on to the subject of belief, Imaan, which is to attest to all that is brought by the Prophets and is known necessarily to be of the religion, both in generalities and particulars, everything brought forth by Muhammad constitutes submission to Allah, Islam, outside of which there is no Salvation. As Allah says in the Qur'an:

Say: "Truly, my prayer and my sacrifice, my life and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds: No partner hath He: this am I Commanded, and I am the first of those who bow to His Will."
[Quran 6:162-163]

It is necessary that one submit to this, for there is no salvation in the eyes of Allah except by entering into Islam:

Say: "We believe in Allah, and in what has been Revealed to us and what was Revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets, from their Lord; we make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will (in Islam)." If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost.
[Quran 3:84-85]

Islam is the Religion of Allah with which all other Messengers had been sent:

Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian, but he was true in faith and submitted his will to and joined not gods with Him. [Quran 3:67]

The formula of testimony is:

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah;
And I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

For one who is capable of uttering it, it is obligatory for the validity of his faith. It may be uttered in a language other than Arabic, though it is better to use the Arabic wording. Simply uttering the words is not sufficient if the speaker does not understand the meaning of what he is reciting.

Articulating the formula of testimony is a condition of one being considered a Muslim in legal matters, such as inheritance, marriage, leading prayer, being eligible for the funeral prayer, burial in Muslim cemeteries, and being subject to the demand to pray and pay the zakat. This is because silent affirmation in one’s heart, though it constitutes belief, is hidden, and we are in need of a visible sign of one’s Islam.

He who attests with his tongue, but not his heart, is a hypocrite. Though he is not a Muslim in the eyes of Allah, he is to be regarded as a Muslim in this world, provided he does not betray any visible indication of his disbelief, such as prostrating to an idol or abusing a copy of the Qur’an.

The rejecter is one who refuses to utter the formula of testimony. He is a disbeliever both in the eyes of Allah and in the consideration of people in this world. An affirmation of the heart is of no consequence. He who is confronted by doubts must seek to dispel them either through rational speculation or by asking someone of knowledge. He who is confronted by temptations should seek refuge in Allah, and say “I believe in Allah and His Messenger.” Concerning the children of Muslims are considered believers, and are to be treated as such in this world even if they never articulate the formula of testimony their whole lives.

Regarding the Nature and Attributes of Allah, there are some things that cannot be affirmed of Allah. In short, He is Transcendent, and free of anything that indicates createdness or deficiency of any sort. Therefore, one may not attribute to Him accidental attributes like taste, color, smell, or pain. Nor is He restricted to directionality. Nor can we ascribe to him adjacency, for He is not bound by area. Neither the Earth nor the Heavens surround Him. He has neither limits nor measure.

Anything that is distinguished by directionality is restricted to a space, and therefore is capable of being joined to substances and separate from them. Anything that admits such a joining and separation with substance is connected to substance, and not void of it. Anything that is not void of substance is created like the substance it is connected to. In contrast, Allah transcends space, and connection to bodies.

We believe that the Creator of the world cannot be restricted by space, nor can He have an end. For a thing may not be so restricted except by something else, nor can he have an endpoint except by imposing a limitation on him by another entity. But the Creator is neither created, nor restricted, nor limited in any way. As Allah says:

Seest thou not that Allah doth Know (all) that is in the Heavens and on Earth? There is not a secret consultation between three, but He makes the fourth among― them nor between five but he is the sixth nor between fewer nor more, but He is with them, wheresoever they be: in the end will He tell them the truth of their conduct, on the Day of Judgment. For Allah has Full Knowledge of all things.
[Quran 58:7]

It is impermissible to attribute to Allah movement or rest, going and coming, being in a place, connectedness and disconnectedness, physical proximity and distance, size, body, form, measure, directions, or sides.

There are the Attributes which Subsist in the Divine Essence. They number seven or eight, the difference in number being due to scholarly disagreement. These attributes are eternal like His Names. If they had been created, this would mean affirming something created of the Divine Essence. It would also mean that Allah was once without them. Finally, it would indicate the need for something to endow the Divine Essence with this quality, which contradicts His Absolute Self-Sufficiency, His lack of need of anything other than Him. These are in contrast to the attributes of action which are not eternal according to the Ash’ariyyah.

The Attributes of the Divine Essence are of neither the essence, nor of other than it. The former is obvious, for it is well known that the Reality of the Essence is not the same as that of its Attributes, otherwise they would be identical. As for the latter, what is meant is that They are not of a separable other. For these Attributes are not separable from the essence, even though Their Reality is not that of the essence itself.

Whoever directs his worship to the Attributes alone has committed disbelief. And whoever connects his worship to the Essence alone has sinned. The correct path is to worship the Divine Essence characterized by Its Attributes.

These Attributes are,

1. Existence: This means the Existence of His Essence, uncaused by any other. It is impossible that He did not Exist. This sort of Perfect Existence is affirmed only of Allah. All others partake in a subordinate mode of existence, both preceded and succeeded by non-existence. This is an Affirmative Attribute, affirmed of the Essence Itself.
2. Eternality: This is a Negative Attribute, which is to say that it negates that which is not worthy of Allah – in this case, createdness, and so previous non-existence. What is meant is the Eternality of the Essence – that It never came into existence. For if It were not Eternal, It would be created, and thus in need of a creator, which creator would itself be in need of a creator. This would regress infinitely. As such, He must be Eternal. We believe that Allah has always been. A report in the Sahih of Imam Muhammad ibn Hibban has it that, "There was Allah, and there was none other than Him."
3. Everlastingness: This is also a Negative Attribute intended to exclude non-existence from His Essence. Just as we may not contemplate a cause for the generation of the Necessary Existent, we may not admit a cause for Its destruction. If we were to admit such a cause, there would be no Necessary Existent. The proof that Allah’s Existence has no end is that It would then not be Eternal, because Eternality contradicts non-existence. The existence of all other creation has both a beginning and end, except for Paradise and Hell, which had a beginning but no end. We know this through revelation and not reason.
4. Absolute Uniqueness: This is also a Negative Attribute indicating a lack of resemblance between Allah and Creation, for He is neither a body nor an accident, neither a universal nor a particular. He similarly transcends all states and attributions that, for example, can be said of humans and other entities, such as sleep, heedlessness, hunger, thirst, and need. The proof of this Attribute is that if Allah were not opposed to all created things in all qualities, He would resemble them in their createdness, or they would resemble Him in His Eternality. That is impossible.
   We believe that Allah cannot be characterized by those qualities which characterize creation. These latter are the essence of createdness, such as being restricted to a place or time, having bodily or mental needs, or weakness or incapacity. Allah is completely Transcendent. Nothing even remotely resembles him. He has neither ancestors nor descendants. Nor does he have friends and enemies in the manner commonly spoken of, though we may use these words to mean sincere devotees, on the one hand, and those who transgress his commands, on the other.
   However, it is true that we may describe humanity by some qualities we attribute to Allah, such as Knowledge, Power, Will, and Perception. However, we distinguish by stating that these attributes are Essential Attributes of Allah, but not essential attributes of humans. In the case of the latter, they are bestowed unto us as Blessings.
5. Subsistence in Himself: This means that He has no need for any other. We believe that Allah subsists in Himself. He has no need for an entity to generate Him, nor for a space to encompass him. He has been Allah since before the generation of anything else, and before the generation of time and space itself. Nor does He have directionality, though some anthropomorphists have said that He is characterized by "aboveness." This is invalid. As Qadhi 'Iyadh has said, "There is no disagreement among the Muslim jurists, ahadith scholars, theologians, thinkers, and lay people that the apparent meaning of verses that mention Allah being in the Heavens, such as ‘Do ye feel secure that He Who is in Heaven will not cause you to be swallowed up by the Earth when it trembles?’ are not to be taken literally, but rather are to be interpreted."
6. Oneness: This is also a Negative Attribute in that it denies something that is not appropriate to Attribute to Allah, that is, multiplicity or quantity. Allah is neither composed of parts, nor made up of particulars subsumed under a Universal. He does not have two sets of Knowledge or two Wills that complement one another, nor does He have a Knowledge or Will that partakes in the knowledge or will of others.
7. Power: This is an Eternal Attribute of the Divine Essence through which all things come to be and come to an end in accordance with His Will. What is necessary for every Muslim to know and believe is that Allah is capable of all things. The proof that Allah is characterized by power is that if He were not Omnipotent, He would be characterized by incapacity. This is impossible.
8. Will: This is also an Eternal Attribute of the Divine Essence which has to do with realizing some of the potentialities of contingent beings. Allah’s Will is One. It originates and annihilates some things.

There are also other attributes. These include Knowledge, Life, Speech, Hearing, and Sight.

Regarding the Beautiful Names of Allah, He Himself says:

The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them...
[Quran 8:180]

The Names of Allah are Eternal like His Essential Attributes. This Eternality is taken to mean that either that they were suitable of Allah from pre-eternality, or that they always indicated the meaning of those names. Some like Sheikh ibn ‘Arabi took them to be equal in that they all pertain to One Essence, Allah, even though they may differ in the world. Others took them to be of varying degrees of importance.

"Allah" is itself the Greatest Name, above all others. Ninety-nine of these Names have been enumerated in a hadith in Imam at-Tirmidhi’s book on the authority of Hazrat Abu Hurairah, but Imam an-Nawawi has said that the scholars have agreed the Names and Attributes that are listed there do not exhaust the Names and Attributes of Allah. The position of the Ahlus Sunnah w'al Jama'ah is that His Names and Attributes are taught to us, for this is what indicates Allah’s Permission. This may take the form of either being in the Qur’an and sunnah, or it may be established by consensus of prevalent use, such as the Existent, the Necessary and the Eternal.

Now let us turn towards the subject of Prophecy. In Arabic, the word "prophet," "nabi," is taken from the word for "news" or "report," for the Prophet reports about Allah. The Prophet is also the one who is reported to, in the first instance, since Gabriel brings him news.

Terminologically, the word "prophet" refers to a pure human who is inspired by a Revelatory Code of Conduct on which he himself acts, even though he may not be called on to propagate it. If he is in fact called upon to propagate, he is a "messenger" or "rasul."  All Messengers are Prophets, but not all Prophets are Messengers.

The Sending of Messengers is a Great Bounty from our Lord because the phenomenon is a rational possibility, but He is under no obligation to send Messengers.

Allah has named twenty-five Prophets in the Qur’an. Their Prophethood must be believed in. It is not permissible for a Muslim to be ignorant of them. There are yet others not mentioned by name or in detail in the Qur’an. We know of them only generally, and so must believe in them in that general manner. That is to say, we must believe that Allah sent many Prophets and Messengers to every nation and group in a variety of places and times. It is ignorant to think that Allah specified only the Arabian peninsula and its surrounding areas for Prophecy.

There are five necessary requirements for Prophethood:

1. Prophets only arise among humans, not among jinn or angels.
2. Prophets must be characterized by trustworthiness and honesty, and innocence from sin.
   This is so that their testimony may be believed, and held to a high standard.
3. Prophets must be characterized by a perfect rationality, precision, and uprightness.
4. Prophets must have propagated to the people everything they had been ordered to propagate.
5. Prophets must have not concealed anything.

There is disagreement on whether a prophet must be male. Those who said he must be a male rely on the verse:

Before thee, also the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted Inspiration: if ye know this not, ask of those who possess the Message. [Quran 21:7]

Those who say it is not a condition that a prophet must be a male point to verses which say that the mother of Moses was inspired as well:

"So We sent this Inspiration to the mother of Moses…" [Quran 28:7]

And that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was listed in a context where many other Prophets were listed:

Those were some of the Prophets on whom Allah did bestow His Grace ― of the posterity of Adam, and of those whom We carried in the Ark with Noah, and of the posterity of Abraham and Israel ― of those whom We Guided and Chose...
[Quran 19:58]

The greatest of Prophets is the Final Prophet, Muhammad. Muslims are duty bound to love him, as we learn from numerous of ahadith.

Regarding miracles, these are the Actions of Allah in which the conventional laws of nature are broken at the hands of His Messengers so that the Messenger’s truthfulness and the veracity of his Message may be affirmed. It may be speech, like the Qur’an, or an action, such as the gushing forth of water between Muhammad's fingers, or an absence, such as the inability of the fire to burn Abraham.

The conditions for a miracle are that it be from Allah Himself, it be a breaking of the conventional laws of nature, it be inexplicable, it be at the hands of someone who claims prophecy so that his Prophethood may be established, it be in accordance with what is being claimed and what is claimed not be disproven by the miracle itself, and it not precede the claim but be made in conjunction with it.

Therefore, Prophet Jesus’ speech in his infancy, wet dates falling on Lady Mary from a dry palm tree, cutting the chest of Prophet Muhammad and washing his heart, clouds forming a shadow over him to protect him from the sun along with the peace greetings that he used to hear from stones before his prophecy are considered miracles.

The Prophet's greatest miracle was the Qur’an itself. He also had material sensible miracles, such as the splitting of the moon, the greetings offered to him by stones, trees speaking to him, the gushing forth of water between his fingers, and others.

It is obligatory for a Muslim to believe firmly that there is no Cause in the world other than Allah, and that all the apparent causes we see in the world of phenomena are deputized by Allah Himself. There is however no harm in using language that indicates causality of things other than Allah if one's beliefs are sound on this matter. For example, one might say, "This medicine was of benefit to me," or "This doctor cured me," or "The rain this year caused there to be a good crop" without any harm of falling into disbelief.

This is why there is no harm in a Muslim seeking intercession with Allah via the Relics of Prophets, as long as he believes that the only Cause is Allah. This fits with the language used with respect to the apparent causality of the world. The most obvious instance of such is the Qur’anic verse:

We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures. [Quran 21:107]

If Allah has said of the Prophet that he is the cause of mercy to His servants, there is no harm in invoking this honor He has granted the Prophet.

There is also no difference between invoking him during his life and after his death. This is because his bodily life was never the reason for invoking him in this manner, such that we may say this is no longer possible.

Regarding belief in Revelation, the word used for this, sam’iyyat, refers to all that which can be known only through reports that partake in certainty. One may not be a believer in Allah in his heart, mind and soul without believing in both the seen and the unseen. The unseen we believe in is that which is not visible, which may not be perceived purely through rationality.

Believing in the unseen is the first pillar of piety. This means believing in

1. Allah,
2. the Reality of the Angels of Allah,
3. the Authority of the Divine Scriptures inspired by Allah
4. the Messengers of Allah,
5. the Reality of the Last Day and that it will undoubtedly come,
6. Fate, good or bad, and that there is nothing in the world except it was willed by Allah.

Believing in the unseen includes also believing in the existence of the Jinn whose existence is proven by definitive texts. Allah says in the Qur’an,

And He created the jinn from smokeless fire. [Quran 55:15]

So the jinn are created from fire and are asked to worship Allah Almighty and follow the Prophets and Messengers as Allah says:

I have only created the Jinn and Man so that they may serve Me. [Quran 51:56]

Also the jinn are divided into believers and disbelievers recorded in the Quran,

"Amongst us are some that submit their wills to Allah and some that swerve from justice."
Now those who submit their wills― they have sought out the Path of Righteousness.
[Quran 72:14]

Satan is one of the jinn but was expelled away from Allah’s Mercy and earned Allah’s Wrath on himself because of his disobedience towards Allah’s Direct Command to prostrate to Adam as was narrated in the Qur’an:

Behold! We said to the angels "Bow down to Adam": they bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the jinn, and he broke the Command of his Lord… [Quran 18:50]

Allah’s Eternal Wrath on Satan deems him to enter Hellfire but his Punishment is postponed until Judgment Day where he will be sentenced to excruciating pain along with those who were seduced by Satan and followed his path of evil. The jinn are inhabitants of Earth and are able to see humans unlike humans who are unable to see jinn as Allah explained in the Qur’an saying:

… for he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them... [Quran 7:27]

Regarding the Throne, we believe it is the greatest of creation, and it is where Allah will present Himself on the Judgment Day. This Throne will be carried by eight angels on that Day but we are unable to attribute any sort of a defined or detailed description of this Throne due to a lack of knowledge about it.

We also believe in the Divine Footstool but similarly we have no available data describing it. What we know for sure though is that neither the Throne nor the Footstool are dwellings of Allah. In other words, Allah did not create the Throne out of need for elevation or superiority and did not create the Footstool out of a need for sitting down.

We also believe in the Divine Tablets, al-Lawh al-Mahfuz, and this is the first of creation. It is preserved well within the Bayt al-Ma'mur directly underneath the Divine Throne. Its length is of one-hundred years. Before creating anything else Allah ordered the Pen, the second creation of all, to write. It asked what it was to write. It was told,
“All that is going to be.”

Akin to the Throne and the Divine Footstool, the same goes for creating the Pen; it was not created for writing previously unknown knowledge nor angels asked to record the deeds of humans out of fear of forgetfulness.

Regarding belief in Paradise and Hell, these are two created entities, the first an Eternal Abode of Reward, and the latter an Eternal abode of Punishment and Fire, of levels and each person will occupy the level in accordance with his deeds. Some people might assume that the Eternality of Heaven and Hell comes in opposition to Allah’s saying in the Qur’an:

…everything will perish except His Own Face. To Him Belongs the Command, and to Him will ye all be brought back. [Quran 28:88]

But the correct interpretation of this verse is that everything in its own right amounts to nothingness because of its inability of independent self existence.

We also believe in the Reservoir from which the Prophet will serve the believers of his nation in the hereafter and we believe that whoever drinks from it shall never be subjected to thirst.

Regarding the Hour and its signs we believe there are some obvious signs like the appearance of Gog and Magog, the Emergence of the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west and the appearance of smoke. These Signs, specially the ones that are backed by definitive proofs from the Qur’an, are absolute tenets of belief and whoever denies their veracity is deemed to be a liar and a disbeliever. These Signs are part of Revelation which the mind does not have much say in as they are believed in through revelatory reports. For example, Allah says in the Qur’an:

Until the People of Gog and Magog are let through, and they swiftly swarm from every hill.
[Quran 21:96]

The questioning in the grave is authenticated by numerous prophetic reports. It is believed that the soul returns back to the body with all its five senses intact and its intellectual ability persevered to be questioned in the grave and receives its due punishment or enjoy its grace. After the burial of the dead and the dismissal of people attending his or her funeral, two angels called Munkar and Nakir are responsible for asking the deceased three questions in the language that is understood by the deceased.

The angels ask the dead about the two parts of the testimony of faith namely the Oneness of Allah and the Prophethood of Muhammad. Prophets and Saints are exempted from these questions as well as Martyrs who died for the Sake of Allah along with children because they were not eligible to understand Commands and Prohibitions ordained by Allah.

Allah Almighty has the Power to gather back the scattered particles and atoms of the body resided in a grave or spread in a desert or kept in the belly of an animal and form the human body again to be asked about his or her life on Earth. The scholars of the Ash’ariyyah theology reached a consensus that both the body and the soul combined either suffer from the ailments or enjoy the grace in the grave.

The return of the body to the spirit on the Day of Judgment is believed in as all the particles of the body is gathered again to return it to its original state to form the full human body. Allah Almighty possesses the Ability to reorganize these particles because of His Unlimited Power and Divine Knowledge.

We also believe in the Resurrection of the dead and taking them out of their graves for the Reckoning. In this day all human beings, jinn,and angels shall be resurrected along with beasts and animals.

Regarding the belief in Intercession of the Prophet on this day, it is obligatory and this noble status of wasilah is the supplication or prayer which the Prophet saved for his people until Doomsday. The meaning of intercession entails forgiveness for whoever attested to the Oneness of Allah and the Prophecy of Muhammad even if this person committed the gravest of sins.

All the other prophets also have the Right of Intercession in the Day of Judgement along with the angels, the gnostics and the martyrs. The first intercessor among all these is Prophet Muhammad. As for the intercession of others, it occurs only after reckoning and punishment over small and grave sins which were not forgiven by Allah. The importance of intercession lies in honoring the intercessor in this day and showing his great position in the sight of Allah. Therefore, the Forgiveness of sins other than polytheism is possible both through logic and revelation as intercession deems forgiveness possible. As for polytheism, it is deemed impossible through Revelation for a polytheist to be forgiven.

The Ash’ariyyah creed refuses to make a judgement of disbelief on any sinful believer in this world and it is similarly impermissible to pass a verdict of his or her eternal stay in Hellfire for sins whether minor or major. The correct approach is to delegate the whole issue to Allah.

Regarding the belief in the crossing of the Path that stretches over Hell, all will have to pass over it as a test and among the passers are the prophets, the gnostics and those who enter paradise without previous subjection to reckoning and judgement over their deeds. The description of the path is that it is thinner than a hair and sharper than a blade. Whoever is deemed to enter Paradise will succeed in crossing his way over to Heaven and whoever is deemed to enter Hell will fall over the bridge straight down to Hell.



— Mufti 'Ali Goma'ah, transmitted via Sidi Terence Helikaon Nunis of A Muslim Convert Once More