Bismillahi Al-Rahmani Al-Rahim
Ibn Rajab On Fraudulent Taqlid
The hadith master and imam Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali authored a wonderful
work where he demonstrated the various ways in which Allah Most High has
preserved the ummah of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). In
addition to illustrating how the Qur'an, hadith, and sunnah of the Prophet
(Allah bless him and give him peace) were recorded and showing how students
should be inspired by the example of Imam Ahmad (Allah be well pleased with
him), he talks a bit about taqlid. Since taqlid was one of yesterday's
issues, it seems appropriate to quote a small passage from it.
The hadith master and imam, Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali
wrote:
If it is asked: "So what do you say about another imam's
school if it has been recorded, corrected, and memorized, just like their
schools?"
It is said: Firstly, this is not known to exist
right now. If we assumed that it did take place right now and conceded the
permissibility of following it and affiliating with it, this would not be
permissible except for someone who visibly shows affiliation to it, gives
fatawa according to it and defends his school.
As for someone who outwardly shows affiliation to one of the famous
imams while he is secretly affiliated with someone else, firmly believing
in his school, this is absolutely impermissible. It is a form of hypocrisy
and outward dissimulation (taqiya): especially if he took money
reserved for the followers of that famous school, such as endowments; or
deceived people, making them believe that the fatwa he gives from the
school he secretly affiliates with is really from the school of the famous
imam.
This certainly is impermissible. It is a deception toward the umma and a
lie toward the scholars of the umma. Whoever ascribes to the imams of Islam
something they did not say, or something known to be contrary to what they
say, is a lair worthy of punishment just as if he had authored a book
following a particular school and in it mentions an opinion he believes to
be from the one he secretly affiliated to without ascribing it to its
proponent; or if the authored book is not confined to a specific school,
and the author outwardly affiliated with a particular imam while secretly
affiliating with another imam and he mentions the opinion of the one he
secretly affiliates with without clarifying that they disagree with the
school the outwardly affiliates with.
All of this is impermissible fraud and deception, leading to tainting and
confusing the scholars' schools.
If he also claims ijtihad, it is more crafty and bitter, and of greater
corruption and more pig-headed. This is absolutely impermissible except for
someone possessing the complete tools of ijtihad: knowing the Qur'an,
sunna, legal rulings of the Companions and the Successors (Allah be well
pleased with them), knowing areas of consensus and difference, and the rest
of the well known conditions for ijtihad. This requires much inspection of
the sunna, knowing its sound from its sick, knowing the schools of the
Companions and their Successors (Allah be well pleased with them), and the
accounts related from them concerning this.
Because of this, Imam Ahmad was strict in the matter of fatwa, and held
back from it anyone who did not memorize one hundred thousand hadiths, two
hundred thousand, and more. The indication of the proof of his claim is
that concerning issues he was independent in his opinions, just like the
other imams; his opinions not taken from someone else. As for someone who
relies solely on conveying someone else's words (whether it be the ruling
or the ruling with evidence): the goal of his toil is to understand it.
Perhaps he did not understand it well, corrupted it, or changed it. How far
this is from ijtihad!
[translation of Al-Radd `Ala Man Ittaba` Ghayr Al-Mathahib
Al-Arb`a. Copyright Musa Furber 1423/2002. All rights reserved. Not to
be cross-posted without permission.]