Weekly Classroom Themes – Secondary

Differences of Opinion

In the Name of Allah; Most-Merciful, Most-Compassionate.

Far too often we become fixated upon the differences of opinion - between mathahib, between scholars, between various groups and so on. I'd like to inshaAllah quote something from the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at length, which will inshaAllah give us much food for thought on this problem:

"As the Muslims were preparing to march towards the district of Banu Quraizah [after the Battle of the Trench, also know as the Battle of the Confederates], the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them, "Let no one (among you) pray 'asr until (you reach) Banu Quraizah." The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) disagreed about the meaning of this command. Some of them felt that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was simply trying to encourage them to get to their destination as quickly as possible - before sunset, preferably - and that he (peace be upon him) did not literally mean that they should not pray 'asr on time. These Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) stopped and prayed 'asr on time before they reached Banu Quraizah. Others understood the Prophet's command literally: They were not to pray until they reached Banu Quraizah. The time for 'asr came and went, and they didn't pray it because they had not yet reached their destination. Only after they reached Banu Quraaizah did they pray 'asr.

"Once everyone reached Banu Quraizah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reproached neither of the two groups, which established an important precedent in Islamic legislation - the precedent of having disagreements about secondary issues in Islamic jurisprudence and of recognizing the fact that the proponents of each opinion (if they try their best to arrive at the truth) are rewarded.

"This incident is referred to during the discussion of a variety of issues in Islamic jurisprudence. For one thing, it establishes the permissibility of deducing laws from the Qur'an and Sunnah. Also, it shows us that it is not possible for Muslim scholars to end their disagreements about secondary issues in jurisprudence - and there is nothing wrong in that. To try to end such disagreements is a foolish waste of time. For whenever there is a case in which scholars have to derive laws from their understanding of revealed texts, they will often disagree, an inevitable outcome given the disparity in understanding and intelligence among human beings. Had it been possible for the scholars of our generation to end such differences, the same would have been accomplished during the lifetime of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). But even they disagreed about a number of issues in jurisprudence. A scholar who judges by the literal meaning of a revealed text cannot be blamed, and the same goes for a scholar who derives a more specific and less literal ruling from a revealed text. Whoever is wrong in a given issue has no sin upon him for that, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

"If a judge rules, having tried his best (to arrive at the correct ruling), and is then correct, then he has two rewards. And if he judges having tried his best, but then is wrong, then he has one reward." [reported in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Muslim, Tirmidhi, ibn Majah, an-Nasai', and Musnad Imam Ahmed]

al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) commented on this story saying: The deduction from this story that every mujtahid (scholar giving ruling) is always correct is far from being plain. The story only proves that one who tries his best and works diligently to arrive at a correct ruling should not be scolded, blamed, or reproached; or in other words he has not sinned. In a nutshell, the story describes how some Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) took to a literal understanding of what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, not minding that the time for prayer was finished, because they gave precedence to a later prohibition over a previous prohibition - the prohibition of delaying prayer until after its timing had ended. Their opinion was also based on the idea that, if one is busy in a military matter, one may delay the prayer, which is exactly what they had to do during the days of the trenches. Other Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not take to a literal understanding of the prohibition, rather, they felt that the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave that command simply to encourage them to hurry and to arrive at Banu Quraizah as soon as possible. The conclusion drawn from this story by the majority of scholars is that one does not sin when one tries one's best to arrive at the correct view in a given matter; this is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reproached neither of the two groups. Had any of them sinned, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have reproached specifically those who had sinned.

[The Noble Life of the Prophet, Vol. 3, p. 1418-1420.]

Questions:

Why should we avoid fixating on differences of opinion?

How do communities benefit from differences of opinion?

Research a topic and all the different opinions associated with it. Which opinion did you find the best evidence for?

Week 21

Jurayj

In the Name of Allah; Most-Merciful, Most-Compassionate.

Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates a long hadeeth, which is also narrated in various chains other than the one listed here, and in longer versions, about a pious man named Jurayj. From this Prophetic narration we can take many benefits - let us begin with the hadeeth:

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'No human child has ever spoken in the cradle except for Isa ibn Maryam, peace be upon him, and the associate of Jurayj.' The Prophet of Allah was asked, 'Who was the associate of Jurayj?' The Prophet said: 'Jurayj was a monk who lived alone in his hermitage. There was a cow-herd who used to take shelter at the foot of his hermitage, and a woman from the village used to come to the cow-herd. One day his mother came and called, "Jurayj" while he was praying. He asked himself, "My mother or my prayer?" He thought that he should prefer the prayer. She shouted to him a second time and he asked himself, "My mother or my prayer?" He thought he should prefer the prayer. She shouted a third time and again he asked himself, "My mother or my prayer?" He thought he should prefer the prayer. When he did not answer her, she said: "Jurayj, may Allah not let you die until you have looked in the face of the prostitutes." Then she left.

Then the village woman was brought to the king after she had given birth to a child. He asked, 'Whose is it?' She replied, 'Jurayj's.' He asked, 'The man in the hermitage?' She answered, 'Yes.' He ordered, 'Destroy his hermitage and fetch him to me.' His hermitage was hacked down with axes until it collapsed. Jurayj's hand was bound to his neck with a rope and he was dragged along and paraded through the district of the prostitutes. He saw them and smiled. They were staring at him along with the other people. The king said, 'Do you know what this woman claims?' He asked, 'What does she claim?' He said, 'She claims you are the father of her child.' He asked her, 'Is this what you claim?' 'Yes' she replied. Then he asked, 'Where is the child?' They replied, 'It is the one who is in her lap.' He turned to the child and asked, 'Who is your father?' He [the baby] said, 'The cow-herd.' The king said, 'Shall we build your hermitage out of gold?' He replied, 'No.' He asked, "Of silver?' He answered, 'No.' The king asked, 'Then of what shall we make it?' He said, 'Put it back the way it was.' The king then asked, 'What made you smile?' He said, 'Something that I knew. My mother's supplication overtook me.' Then he told him about it.

The above-mentioned version of this hadeeth is a shorter version, as narrated by Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) and was recorded by Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy upon him) in his text al-adab al-mufrad (narration 33). The story and narration are sahih, however the isnad used in the above-listed version of the hadeeth is not as strong as other narrations. Interesting in that Imam Bukhari has included this narration in more than one of his "books" (or sections) of Sahih al-Bukhari, which shows us the variety and plentifulness of beneficial information contained within.

First of all - who is Jurayj, the main actor in this narration? Our teachers explain to us that Jurayj was from Bani Israel, who was a monk and who was known for his lengthy prayer. We also assume that although he is from Bani Israel, that Jurayj lived after the time of Isa (peace be upon him) because monkhood was not common before his time. And Allah knows best. The narration begins by telling us about infants who speak, which in and of itself is a strange, uncommon and miraculous event. Our scholars tell us that even through the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said 'No human child has ever spoken in the cradle except...' it is understood that this was a part of his style of education and emphasis and in this case there are in fact other children who spoke while very young - as is narrated in other Sahih narrations. On occasion the Orientalist may use this as a means to attack Islam, saying it is not consistent. We respond however, in explaining that this is similar to other situations - such as when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is asked about 'the best...' or 'the worst' and in such cases advice is given specifically to that person in that time and in that context, rather than an ultimate best or worst. Here again, and Allah knows best, emphasis and context are coming into play and it does not exclude other sahih narrations about children speaking.

Having established that such an event is miraculous and strange, one wonders the purpose of infants speaking - and this can be learned by evaluating the contexts of all the cases of children speaking. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that there are four babies who spoke, and there are other narrations which may lead us to believe that there are more, however many of these narrations are weak or fabricated. For example, Isa (peace be upon him) is mentioned in the narration and his speaking as an infant was proof of innocence for his mother, Maryam. Without going into detail of all the other existing narrations of children speaking, we can say that a commonality is the speaking of an infant acts as a miracle of proof - either against oppression or to uphold innocence, and Allah knows best. The case of Jurayj also fits this understanding and context.

Our scholars, in evaluating the Arabic language and other existing narrations add an interesting point of information: that the three times the mother of Jurayj called upon him were not moments apart, but rather extended periods, such as days. And, that the hermitage of Jurayj was in a difficult place to reach, upon a hilltop. Also, they tell us that this was likely a non-obligatory prayer. How powerful then, and how important is dutifulness to the mother, and parents in general. Imam Bukhari puts this hadeeth under the chapter (section) of 'The Supplication of Parents.' We also know from another hadeeth that the supplication of the mother against the child is accepted by Allah, and are answered without a doubt. May Allah guide us to be dutiful and good to our parents.

Finally Jurayj makes a recognition that it was in fact his sin and mistake that brought about this trial and test - a recognition that the greatest and most pious are able to do, they see that it is in fact their own weakness and mistakes that cause harm for themselves. As a result they seek forgiveness, mercy and contentment with Allah. The believers will always be put to trial and be tested - as it is the experience of the Prophets (peace be upon them all).

Questions:

Who was Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him)?

Who was Jurayj?

What lessons can we take away from the Prophetic narration mentioned?

Week 22