Shaykh Mashhur bin Hasan Al Salman Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 43 | Size: 1 MB
Unto Ahl ul-Hadeeth is a Madhhab which is
mentioned within the compendiums, it is a Madhhab which has
distinguishing characteristics and particularities. Between it and the
madhhab of the fuqaha, and the Dhahiri Madhhab, are signs which are
hidden from some students. There are indications, and actually clear
texts, within the hadeeth and narrations, which contain a clear mention
of the madhhab of Ahl ul-Hadeeth. The madhhab of Ahl ul-Hadeeth and the
Madhhab of Ahl us-Sunnah, the Madhhab ul-Athar, is the Salafi Madhhab.
‘Salafiyyah’ and ‘Ahl ul-Hadeeth’ are two synonymous terms, however the
terms ‘Ahl ul-Hadeeth’ and ‘Ahl us-Sunan’ are relayed in some Prophetic
texts and in some narrations from the Companions and the Successors. The
good starts off altogether then its components split up like material
objects. During the first illustrious era all of the people were like
police and security officers and the ’Ulama were Khutaba’, Qudat
(judges) and Imams of Masajid. Knowledge and action, the rulers and the
people were all united and undivided, then the reasons for strength
within the Ummah became scattered and divided, and as is said this was
in regards to concrete matters of life as it was also for matters of
fiqh.
The Sahabah (radi Allahu ’anhum) have the
most knowledge among the people headed by the four rightly guided
Caliphs especially Abu Bakr and ’Umar, may Allah be pleased with all of
them. Fiqh is not merely babbling statements and then expounding and
verifying them, rather fiqh is to achieve the truth which Allah loves.
If we are to look within the compendiums of lengthy fiqh works and we
tried to find the fiqh of Abu Bakr and ’Umar with a fine tooth comb we
would only find but a little. This is as opposed to the fiqh that we
find for example from the younger Sahabah like Ibn ’Abbas, Ibn ’Umar,
Jabir and others. This is because momentous events constantly crop up
and matters arise which were not found among those people before, so the
Sahabah needed to express their views and clarify what was obligatory
upon them. Abu Bakr and ’Umar were the way of living during their era as
they were during the era of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu ’alayhi
wassallam), and the slogan of Abu Bakr, despite the emergence of Ridda
during his time, “I will send forth Usamah’s army”2 which raised the
banner of following (the Prophet, sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) and not
to estimate the benefits and harms based on what opposes the
instructions which are sensed or based on the text. So from the
beginning the banner of following (Ittiba’) was raised because in
following the guidance of the Prophet (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam),
his heart and mind became open to the blessing of the Revelation. Abu
Bakr believed in al-Isra wa’l-Miraj while the minds of the disbelievers
became narrow in regards to it, to the extent that Abu Jahl said to Abu
Bakr, after being informed of the Miraj: “If I were to gather all of the
kuffar of Quraysh in front of you would you tell them what you told
me?” Abu Jahl found Abu Bakr’s (radi Allahu ’anhu) affirmation strange,
yet this was the Companions manner.
The Companions dispersed into different
countries and the Sunnah which was in their chests also disseminated
within the different countries and some countries are distinguished with
some aspects of the Sunan. To the extent that Muhammad ibn ’Abdullah
al-Hakim an-Naysaburi,3 the author of al-Mustadrak, authored a work on
the regions which were distinguished by the Sunan of the Prophet
(sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam). When the Companions dispersed throughout
the lands the Sunnah also became dispersed on account of their
diffusion. Imam ash-Shafi’i acknowledges in his book Jami’ ul-’Ilm that
it is difficult for one man to compile all the hadeeth of Allah’s
Messenger (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam), due to the dispersal of the
Sunnah at that time. Hadeeth was fiqh and fiqh was hadeeth and there are
tens of events about issues in which the Sahabah and Tabi’in were asked
and they did not say a word except that they traced a hadeeth back to
the Prophet (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) and this is a very important.
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2 Translator’s note (’AbdulHaq
al-Ashanti): When the Prophet (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) was in his
last days before his death, Usamah bin Zayd (radi Allahu ’anhu) and his
army were on an expedition which was instructed by the Prophet
(sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) and the Prophet (sallallahu ’alayhi
wassallam) had ordered them to leave promptly due to Usamah’s youth. Yet
when the expedition heard of the death of the Prophet (sallallahu
’alayhi wassallam) Usamah and his troops returned with Usamah helping
with the Janazah. Abu Bakr ordered the expedition to be resumed in
accordance with the Prophet’s wishes (sallallahu ’alayhi wassallam) even
though some of the tribes had revolted and the Ridda Wars had just
began. Usamah’s troops reached al-Balkha’ in Syria where they were
successful.
3 Translator’s note: Abu ’Abdullah Muhammad ibn ’Abdullah al-Hakim
an-Naysabur, rahimahullah (321-403 AH/933-1021 CE), the leading
Muhaddith of his age. He was born in Nishapur (aka Naysabur) and had
many teachers in Khurasan, Iraq, Transoxiana and elsewhere. He also had
many students including Imam al-Bayhaqi.
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