Second congregation in Masjid

http://islamqa.org/hanafi/daruliftaa/8478

What is the ruling of making 2nd jama’ah in the mosque, because there are differences in what people say? Some say “yes” whilst others say “no”. Please give the rulings, especially in the light of the Hanafi and Shafi’i schools of thought. 

ANSWER

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, 

There are three situations with regards to performing a second congregation (jama’ah) in the Masjid:

1) A Masjid that is situated in a marketplace or on a highway for travellers to come and perform their Salat, and it does not have a regular Imam and Mu’azzin. In such a Masjid, it is permissible to carry out a second congregation.

2) The Masjid is in a locality where people offer their Salat and it has a permanent Imam and Mu’azzin, but outsiders came (before the local people) and performed Salat with congregation, then, in this case also, it will be permissible for the local people to perform their Salat in a (second) congregation.

3) If some people from the locality came and offered their Salat in congregation discreetly, of which other members of the locality were unaware, then it will be permissible, for those who were unaware, to come and offer their Salat in (second) congregation.

Besides the above mentioned three situations, meaning the Masjid is not designated for travellers to come and offer their Salat, neither have non-local people performed Salat with Jama’ah, then to perform a second congregation is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) according to the Hanafi, Makruh according to the Shafi’i and Maliki and permissible according to the Hanbali schools.

As far as the Hanafi Madhhab is concerned, there are two famous positions regarding this:

1) The transmitted position from Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah be pleased with him), is that a second congregation in the masjid is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman).

2) That mentioned by many late scholars, and adopted for fatwa in most of the later works, as shown by Imam Ibn Abidin in his Radd al-Muhtar, is that a second congregation is not disliked if performed away from where the first one was performed. This was also the opinion of Imam Abu Yusuf. (See: Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar).

In general, a lot of major Indian Hanafi scholars chose the first position, for many reasons, including:
a) It is Imam Abu Hanifa’s own position, and the general principle (in the Hanafi madhhab) is that one does not leave the Imam’s position unless the evidence of another position is stronger, or if the general practice is contrary to it, or if it would cause general undue hardship,

b) Its textual evidence appears to be stronger,

c) Experience shows that that where the second congregation is practised, people have become lazy with regards to the first congregation.

Evidences:

There are certain narrations of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) which support this:

1) Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Verily I intended to order the Mu’azzin to say the Iqamah and order a man to lead the prayer, then I take a flame of fire to burn all those (including their houses) who had not yet come out of their houses to perform Salat.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, no: 626)

If the second congregation was permissible, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) would have not intended to set fire to their homes, for they could have had an intention to make a second congregation.

2) Abu Bakrah (Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “Once the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) came from the outskirts of Madina al-Munawwara, and intended to offer Salat in the Masjid. He noticed that people had already offered their prayer. So he went home and performed his Salat in congregation with his family members.” (Mu’jam al-Kabir of Tabrani and authenticated by al-Haythami in Majma al-Zawaid)

If a second congregation was recommended or permissible, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) would have not left the virtues of praying in the Masjid for his house. 

3) Also the practice of the Companions (sahaba) shows that not one of them habitually performed Salat in a second congregation. The true meaning of the Messenger of Allah’s words is understood in the light of the practise of the Sahaba (Allah be pleased with them all). 

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Allah be pleased with him) reasons his view with a Hadith narrated by Imam Tirmidhi in his Sunan:

“A person came to the Masjid after the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) had prayed. He (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Who will volunteer to join him for prayer and receive a reward. A person stood and performed Salat with him.” (Sunan Tirmidhi, 1/30)

The answer to this is that the follower was offering a Nafl prayer whilst the Imam was performing his Fard, whereas our discussion is regarding the situation where both the Imam and the follower are performing Fard.

Moreover, where there are evidences for permissibility and prohibition, the evidence of prohibition is preferred, as there is more precaution in it.

To summarise, the three Sunni Fiqh schools hold a second congregation (except in the first three situations) to be Makruh (Tahriman in the Hanafi school), and the Hanbali school permits this.

And Allah Knows Best

[Mufti] Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester , UK 

Minimum people required for Jumuah Jamaat

What is the source for minimum number of people required to pray in congregation behind the imam in the different Madhahib?

please give the source for each madhab, because the salafi sect claim.

"There is no proven evidence (daleel) which states that a specific number is required; for the prayer to be valid it is sufficient for there to be three or more people. It is not permissible for a person who is obliged to pray Jumu’ah to pray Zuhr in its place when there are less than forty people present – according to the correct scholarly view"  

this is the link http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/7718

http://www.askimam.org/public/question_detail/16820

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful 

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh 

Hereunder is a summary of the minimum number of Muqtadis (followers) necessitated by each Maddhab for the validity of Jumuah Salah:  

·        1.Hanafis: there must be a minimum of three followers besides the Imam. Each follower must be such a person who fulfills the requirements of Imamat for other men (i.e. he must be a sane mature male). If one of the followers from the three does not fulfill this requirement e.g. a female or child etc, then the minimum requirement will be unfulfilled; thus, performing JumuahSalah will not be valid. Among the mentioned substantiations for this view are:

o       The word Al-Jumuah itself indicates to the fact that there must be a Jama’ah (congregation) to establish this Salah. Based upon this fact, there is a consensus among all Madhhabs that Jumuah Salah must be performed in congregation. In Arabic grammar, the smallest number used for the plural form is three. Since a congregation is a prerequisite for this Salah, this condition must be fulfilled before the injunction becomes binding on every individual. Therefore, one Imam and two Muqtadis will not suffice because in respect to each individual, the prerequisite of three other people have not been fulfilled. However, according to one opinion within the Hanafi Madhhab, namely the view of Imam Abu Yusuf رحمه الله, two Muqtadis will suffice to fulfill this condition. (Bada’i al-Sana’i, vol. 1 pg. 601, Dar al-Kutub Deoband)

o       Another indicative corroboration for this lies in the Ayah,

إذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

“When the proclamation is made for Salah on the day of Jumuah, hasten towards the remembrance of Allah.”

This Ayah states that when the Muazzin proclaims the Azan on Fridays, the people must hasten towards the Jumuah Salah and Khutbah, which is referred to as the “remembrance of Allah.” The Arabic verbal form of hasten is اسْعَوْا which is in the plural form. This necessitates a minimum of three people in accordance to the rules of Arabic grammar. The fact that the Imam will be performing the Khutbah which is considered as the “remembrance of Allah,” excludes him from the injunction of hastening in the mentioned verse. (Tabyeen al-Haqa’iq, vol.1 pg 532, Ilmiyyah) 

    

·        2. Malikis: the minimum number of followers is twelve local inhabitants of that particular locality excluding the Imam. Substantiations for this view include the following:

o        Jabir رضى الله عنه states that whilst we were performing Jumuah with Nabi صلى الله عليه و سلم a caravan arrived causing all the people besides twelve to scatter. Thereafter the following verse was revealed, “And when they see some merchandise or amusement, they break away to it, and leave you (O prophet,) standing” (Sahih Bukhari v. 3 pg. 10, Dar al-Fikr)

عن جابر رضي الله عنه قال  : أقبلت عير ونحن نصلي مع النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم الجمعة فانفض الناس إلا اثني عشر رجلا فنزلت هذه الآية 

{ وإذا رأوا تجارة أو لهوا انفضوا إليها وتركوك قائما 

·        3. Shafis / Hambalis: there must be a minimum of forty followers upon whom Jumuah Salah is obligatory. Imam Ahmad R.A also has other views spanning from necessitating a minimum of 50 followers to only 3; however, a minimum of 40 seems to be the accepted view as stated in Al-Mughni of Ibn Qudama. Substantiations mentioned for this view are:

o       It is accepted that a specified minimum number of Muqtadis is a prerequisite for the establishment of Jumuah. The original Salah stipulated by the Shar'iah to be performed during this time is actually Zuhr; therefore, it will not be permissible to move away from this standard default ruling without a Shar’i proof. Imam Bayhaqi presents a narration from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud رضى الله عنه which states that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم established Jumuah Salah in Madina Munawwarah and there were forty people present. This is coupled with the Hadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم ,

صَلُّوا كَمَا رَأَيْتُمُونِي أُصَلِّي

“Perform Salah as you see me perform Salah.”

Therefore, this number serves as the proof to move away from the default ruling of performing Zuhr and necessitating the performance of Jumuah. (Hashiyah al-Sharwani ala Tuhfah al-Muhtaj, v. 2 pg. 470, Dar al-Fikr)

o       Another substantiation is the following narration of Abu Dawud,

عن عبد الرحمن بن كعب بن مالك وكان قائد أبيه بعدما ذهب بصره عن أبيه كعب بن مالك أنه كان إذا سمع النداء يوم الجمعة ترحم لأسعد بن زرارة فقلت له إذا سمعت النداء ترحمت لأسعد بن زرارة قال لأنه أول من جمع بنا في هزم النبيت من حرة بني بياضة في نقيع يقال له نقيع الخضمات قلت كم أنتم يومئذ ؟ قال أربعون

Abdur Rahman ibn Ka’b ibn Malik who used to guide his father (Ka’b) after he lost his sight narrates from his father Ka’b ibn Malik that whenever he (Ka’b) used to hear the Azan on Friday, he would pray for mercy upon Sa’d ibn Zurarah. Thus, I asked him, “Whenever you hear the Azan you pray for mercy upon Sa’d ibn Zurarah?” He said, “This is because he was the first person to perform Jumuah Salah for us in Hazm al-Nabeet in Harrah Bani Bayadah which is also referred to as Naqi’ al-Khadimat (place name).” I asked, “How many were you?” He said, “Forty.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, vol. 1 pg. 153, H.M. Sa’eed)

The substantiations mentioned above are by no means the only proofs of the various Madhhabs. There are many other proofs, arguments and counter arguments from the Scholars of the four Madhhabs. The above substantiations are presented to merely give an example of some of their proofs. The Imams of the four Madhhabs applied their Ijtihad (juristic inference) to arrive at their individual conclusions in this matter. In that aspect all of them are correct and will be rewarded based upon the following Hadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم ; “When a judge / jurist issues a verdict after implementing his juristic inference, he will be rewarded two fold if he was correct and he will receive one reward if he erred.” (Sahih Muslim v. 2 pg. 76, Rashidiyah)

عن عمرو بن العاص : أنه سمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :

 إذا حكم الحاكم فاجتهد ثم أصاب فله أجران وإذا حكم فاجتهد ثم أخطأ فله أجر 

It is the duty of every Muslim to follow and adhere to his respective Imam and Madhhab. He should disregard the views expressed on any website which directly or indirectly calls for the desertion of the four Madhhabs. By calling for non-adherence to these four Madhhabs, such people are either promoting picking and choosing the view they wish to act upon based upon their whims and fancies or they are indirectly claiming to have more knowledge that these eminent Imams. Each of the four Imams was an ocean of knowledge in his own right who mastered the various sciences of Islamic knowledge required to qualify as a Mujtahid. The fact that the Muslim Ummah for the past 1300 years accepted them as Mujtahids and followed their juristic rulings is ample testimony to their lofty status. Moving away from the ways of our pious predecessors can be nothing but sheer misguidance and mere obedience to one’s desires.

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم has clearly prophesized the degeneration of the level of knowledge in the following Hadith: 

“Verily Allah will not seize knowledge by suddenly dispossessing it from his bondsmen. However, he will seize knowledge through the seizure of the Ulama (through their demise) until there will come a time where not a single Scholar will remain and the masses will take the ignorant as their leaders. They will ask them and they will issue verdicts without any knowledge; thus, they will themselves be misguided and will misguide others.” (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 1 pg. 39, Dar al-Fikr)

إن الله لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا ينتزعه من العباد ولكن يقبض العلم بقبض العلماء حتى إذا لم يبق عالما اتخذ الناس رؤوسا جهالا فسئلوا فأفتوا بغير علم فضلوا وأضلوا

“Verily, among the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will be lifted, ignorance will be widespread, wine will be drunk and adultery will become rampant.” (Sahih Bukhari vol. 1 pg. 33, Dar al-Fikr)

عن أنس قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم ( إن من أشراط الساعة أن يرفع العلم ويثبت الجهل ويشرب الخمر ويظهر الزنا )

Anas رضى الله عنه states, “I will relate to you a Hadith which no one else after me will relate to you. I heard Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم saying, ‘Among the signs of the Hour is that knowledge will dwindle, ignorance will become widespread, adultery will become rampant, women will increase in number and men will decrease in number to such an extent that there will be one man to care for fifty women.” (Ibid)

عن أنس قال لأحدثنكم حديثا لا يحدثكم أحد بعدي سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول 

 : ( من أشراط الساعة أن يقل العلم ويظهر الجهل ويظهر الزنا وتكثر النساء ويقل الرجال حتى يكون لخمسين امرأة القيم الواحد ) 

These Ahadith prove that knowledge will suffer a gradual decline and that it will take place through the demise of the former eminent Scholars. In our time, we are already witnessing the prevalence of adultery, increase of wine consumption and other intoxicants and the spread of utter ignorance in matters of Deen. The innovative ideology of abandoning the four Madhhabs, consequentially necessitates the belief that the Muslim Ummah for the past 1300 hundred years was misguided and in manifest error. It necessitates the belief that only now Allah Ta’ala decided to “guide” the Ummah by inspiring this new breed of so-called “scholars” who encourage every individual, irrespective of his level of knowledge or lack thereof, to decide on delicate juristic matters of the Shar'iah through his own “research.” Terms such as “blind following” are used to refer to the practice of the Muslim Ummah for the past thirteen centuries. English translations of portions of Bukhari and Muslim are freely distributed to mere laymen and they are expected and persuaded to derive their own juristic rulings. This is something that even the highest caliber of Ulama of the past such as Hafiz Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani, Allamah Nawawi and Ibn Abd al-Barr, despite their mastery in the various Islamic sciences, refrained from doing; on the contrary, they decided to follow one of the four Imams. This new ideology is clearly in contrast to the understood meaning of the previous Ahadith. The knowledge, level of understanding and piety of the people of today do not reach even a fraction of the levels of the Ulama of the past. Therefore, how could one logically consider his personal view or the view of a person claiming to be a scholar over the views of the Imams?

An unbiased and impartial person can easily understand the need to adhere to one particular Madhhab. There are many other examples in our daily life where we resign our trust and reliance to the knowledge of specialists in a particular field (e.g. medicine, law, mechanics etc.). Allah Ta’ala mentions in the Holy Quran, 

فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“Then ask the people of knowledge if you yourselves don’t know.”

Why should the case of our religion, the most important aspect of our life, be any different? Every field has its specialist and the specialists of the Shar'iah were the Imams and Mujtahids of the past. They codified the entire Shar'iah and included the most delicate and intricate of rulings in their compilations. It is now the obligation of every Muslim to adhere to their rulings relying on their knowledge and mastery of the Shar’iah and concentrate more on their devotion, reverence and worship of Allah Ta’ala which is the purpose of the injunctions of the Shar'iah in the first place. 

And Allah knows best

Wassalam 

Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub,
Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah

Why follow 4 imams

AOA, 1. What is the concept of 4 imams. 2. if all are correct then which one to follow and why. 3. can we follow all of them or only one and why. 4. In answer to one question u mentioned that watching animate objects is not correct and at some other place i read that following wrong way for the right purpose is not correct,is it so. 5. I have been reading lots of stuff from foriegn authors to remove my inner problems like procastination, good was to time planning, self managment, self awareness courses. but now i ask Allah to show me the right path” ahe de naseratal mustakiem” is it ok to read …

Answer
http://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/317

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh

A detailed answer is necessary for the various questions of following only one imam, therefore we copy here from the book Contemporary Fatawa by Mufti Taqi Uthmani.

It is true that all the four madhahib are right, and following any one of them is permissible in order to follow the Shariah.  However, a layman who lacks the ability to analyze and distinguish the arguments of each madhhab cannot be allowed to pick and choose between different views only to satisfy his personal desires.  The reason for this approach is twofold:

Firstly, the Holy Qur’an in a number of verses has emphatically ordered us to follow the Shariah, and has made it strictly prohibited to follow the personal desires vis a vis the rules of Shariah.  The Muslim jurists, while interpreting the sources of Shariah never intend to satisfy their personal desires.  They actually undertake an honest effort to discover the intention of Shariah and base their madhhab on the force of evidence, not on the search for convenience.  They do not choose an interpretation from among the various ones on the basis of its suitability to their personal fancies.  They choose it only because the strength of proof leads them to do so.

Now, if a layman who cannot judge between the arguments of different madhahib is allowed to choose any of the juristic views without going into the arguments they have advanced, he will be at liberty to select only those views which seems to him more fulfilling to his personal requirements, and this attitude will lead him to follow the ‘desires’ and not the ‘guidance’ a practice totally condemned by the Holy Qur’an.

For example, Imam Abu Hanifah is of the view that bleeding from any part of the body breaks the wudu while Imam Shafi’i believes that the wudu is not broken by bleeding.  On the other hand, Imam Shafi’i says that if a man touches a woman, his wudu stands broken and he is bound to make a fresh wudu before offering Salah, while Imam Abu Hanifah insists that merely touching a woman does not break the wudu.

Now, if the policy of ‘pick and choose’ is allowed without any restriction, a layman can choose the Hanafi view in the matter of touching a woman and the Shafi’i view in the matter of bleeding.  Consequently, he will deem his wudu unbroken even when he has combined both the situations, while in that case his wudu stands broken according to both Hanafi and Shafi’i views.

Similarly, a traveler, according to the Shafi’i view, can combine the two prayers of Zuhr and Asr.  But at the same time, if a traveler makes up his mind to stay in a town for four days, he is no more regarded a traveler in the Shafi’i view, hence, he cannot avail of the concession of Qasr, nor of combining two prayers.  On the other hand, combining two prayers in one time is not allowed in the HanafiSchool, even when one is on journey.  The only concession available for him is that of Qasr.  But the period of travel, according to Hanafi view is fourteen days, and a person shall continue to perform Qasr until he resolves to stay in a town for at least fourteen days.

Consequently, a traveler who has entered a city to stay there for five days cannot combine two prayers, neither according to Imam Shafi’i because by staying for five days he cannot use the concession, nor according to Imam Abu Hanifah, because combining two prayers is not at all allowed according to him.

But the policy of ‘pick and choose’ often leads some people to adopt the Shafi’i view in the matter of combining two prayers and the Hanafi view in the matter of the period of journey.

It is evident in these examples that the selections of different views in different cases is not based on the force of arguments underlying them but on the facility provided by each.  Obviously this practice is tantamount to ‘following the desires’ which is totally prohibited by the Holy Qur’an.

If such an attitude is allowed, it will render the Shariah a plaything in the hands of the ignorant, and no rule of the Shariah will remain immune from distortions.  That is why the policy of ‘pick and choose’ has been condemned by all the renowned scholars of Shariah, Imam Ibn Tamiyyah, the famous muhaddib and jurist, says in his ‘Fatawa’:

“Some people follow at one time an imam who holds the marriage invalid, and at another time they follow a jurist who holds it valid.  They do so only to serve their individual purpose and satisfy their desires.  Such a practice is impermissible according to the consensus of all the imams.”

He further elaborates the point by several examples when he says:

“For example if a person wants a pre-empt a sale he adopts the view of those who give the right of pre-emption to a contingent neighbor, but if they are the seller of a property, they refuse to accept the right of pre-emption for the neighbor of the seller (on the basis of Shafi’i view)… and if the relevant person claims that he did not know before (that Imam Shafi’i does not give the right of pre-emption to the neighbor) and has come to know it only then, and he wants to follow that view as from today, he will not be allowed to do so, because such a practice opens the door of playing with the rules of Shariah, and paves the path of deciding the halal as haram in according with one’s desires”  (Fatawa Ibn Tamiyyah Syrian ed. 2:285,286)

That was the basic cause for the policy adopted by the later jurists who made it necessary for the common people to adopt a particular madhhab in its totality.  If one prefers the madhhab of Imam Abu Hanifah, he should adopt it in all the matters and with all its details, and if he prefers another madhhab, he should adopt it in full in the same way and he should not ‘pick and choose’ between different views for his individual benefit.

The consequence of the correctness of all the madhahib is that one can elect to follow any one of them, but once he adopts a particular madhhab, he should not follow another madhhab in a particular matter in order to satisfy his personal choice based on his desire, not on the force of argument.

Thus the policy of allegiance to a particular madhhab was a preventive measure adopted by the jurists to prevent anarchy in the matter of Shariah.  But obviously, this policy is meant for the people who cannot carry out ijtihad themselves, or cannot evaluate the arguments advanced by every madhhab in support of their respective views.  Such people have no options but to follow a particular madhhab as a credible interpretation of Shariah.

But the people equipped with necessary qualifications of ijtihad need not follow a particular madhhab.  They can derive the rules of Shariah directly from their original sources.  Similarly, the persons who are not fully qualified for the exercise of ijtihad, yet they are so well-versed in the Islamic disciplines that they can evaluate the different juristic views on pure academic grounds without being motivated by their personal desires are never forbidden from preferring one madhhab over the other in a particular matter.  There is a large number of Hanafi jurists who, despite their allegiance to Imam Abu Hanifah, have adopted the view of some other jurist in several juristic issues.  Still they are called ‘Hanafi’.

This partial departure from the view of Imam Abu Hanifah was based on either of the following grounds: sometimes they, after an honest and comprehensive study of the relevant material came to the conclusions that the view of some other Imam is more forceful.  Sometimes, they found that the view of Imam Abu Hanifah is based on pure analogy, but an authentic Hadith expressly contradicts that view and it is most likely that the Hadith was not conveyed to Imam Abu Hanifah, otherwise he would not have adopted a view against it.

In some other cases, the jurist felt that it is the requirement of the collective expedience of the Ummah to act upon the view of some other Imam, which is an equally possible interpretation of Shariah, and they adopted it not in pursuance of their personal desires, but to meet the collective needs of the Ummah and in view of the changed circumstances prevailing in their time.

These examples are more than enough to show that the followers of a particular madhhab have never taken it as a substitute of Shariah or as its sole version to the exclusion of every other madhhab.  In fact, they have never given a juristic madhhab a higher place than it actually deserved within the framework of Shariah.

Before parting with this question, I would like to clarity another point which is extremely important in this context.  Some people having no systematic knowledge of Islamic disciplines often become deluded by their superficial information based on self-study, and that too, in most cases, through translations of the Holy Qur’an and Ahadith.  By virtue of this kind of cursory study, they presume themselves to be the masters of the Islamic learning, and start criticizing the former Muslim jurists.  This attitude is totally wrong and devoid of any justification.  The inference of juristic rules from the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah is a very meticulous exercise which cannot be carried out on the basis of a superficial study.  While studying a particular juristic subject one has to collect all the relevant material from the chapters of different books, and has to undertake a combined study of this scattered material.  He has to examine the veracity of the relevant ahadith in the light of the well settled principles of the science of Hadith.  He has to discover the historical background of the relevant verses and traditions.  In short, he was to resolve a number of intensive and extensive knowledge which is seldom found in the contemporary ‘Ulema’, who are specialists themselves in the subject, let alone the common people who have no direct access to the original source of Shariah.

The upshot of the above discussion is that all the four madhahib being based on solid grounds, is permissible for a competent Hanafi ‘alim’ to adopt another juristic view, if he has the required knowledge and ability to go into the merits of each madhhab on the basis of adequate academic research without pursuing his personal desires.  But the people who do not fulfill these conditions should not dare to do so, because it can lead to a dangerous state of anarchy in the matter of Shariah. (Contemporary Fatawa p.235 Idara-e-Islamiat)

4. Watching animated objects is not permissible.  To follow the wrong way for the right purpose is also not permissible.

5. It depends on what are the subject matters of the books. If it is about bringing order in one’s life, making you more focused, and creating self awareness, then it is permissible to read such books as they do not conflict the teachings of Shariah. As for reading material to come on the right path and closer to Allah, you will have to read Islamic books and sit in the company of the learned

And Allah knows best

Wassalam

Ml. Ehzaz Ajmeri,
Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah

http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/28974

My Question Is Which Madhab Should I Follow - Sunni , Ahle hadees or Tableegh

Right Now Iam Following Sunni Jamat , But My Some Friends Gave Me Proof And I Too Did Some Research on youtube and Shahih Bukhari

They All say That Our Prophet Muhammed SAWS Did Rafaidan And Ahle hadees Also Do Rafadain , So Iam Confused , I Went To Sunni Jamat Mosque Imam , He Said That is your Friend A Alim , I Said No , He Said Thats All Wrong , Iam Alim I have Studied More I Know So I Should Follow Sunni

But in Sahih Bukhari I Didnt Find Any Hadees Which Sunni jamat Do In Praying . So What Should i do , Please Help Me

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Brother in Islam,

We would like to clarify a few points:

• A Sunnī typically refers to one who ascribes to the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā‘ah, many a times in contrast to the Shī‘ah. It has been reported in Tirmidhī[1] that Nabī (ŝalla Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: “My ummah will divide into seventy three groups, every one of them will be in the fire except one.” The Ŝaĥābah asked, “Which group will that be?” He (ŝalla Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) replied, “The group which will tread my path and that of my companions.” It is from this ĥadīth that the term Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā‘ah is derived. Meaning, “Those who follow the way of Nabī (ŝalla Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions.” In certain parts of the world the term “Sunni” may refer to other sects as well. We are unaware of your exact whereabouts. Perhaps if you provide more details we may direct you to learned people in your area.
• A “madh-hab”, more often than not, refers to one of the four commonly followed schools of fiqh; Ĥanafī (ascribed to Imam Abū Ĥanīfah), Mālikī (ascribed to Imam Mālik bin Anas), Shāfi‘ī (ascribed to Imam Muĥammad bin Idrees Al Shāfi‘ī), and Ĥanbalī (ascribed to Imam Aĥmad bin Ĥanbal).
• Tablīgh means to propagate and spread the message of Islam. Tablīgh is not restricted to a certain group or people, nor is it a madh-hab. If you are referring to the Tablīghī Jamā‘at, as is famously know today, we advise you to join their efforts and assist them. This will be a great means of bringing you closer to Allah Ta‘ālā. 
• Ahlul Ĥadīth (Ahl e Hadith) in the early centuries of Islam referred to[2]:
  • Ø Those ‘ulamā’ who were predominantly involved in narrating aĥādīth and in the various branches of ĥadīth which assist in determining and classifying ahādīth as per their reliability.[3] Or,
  • Ø The followers of the Mālikī or Shāfi‘ī schools of fiqh (Each of the four famous schools of fiqhmentioned above, and every other school of fiqh, relied upon aĥādīth and were engrossed in its study. However, some become famous with the term Ahlul Ĥadīth. This does not discredit the other schools’ involvement in ĥadīth). Or,
  • Ø Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā‘ah (Meaning, it was synonymous to Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā‘ah)

However, roughly in the last two centuries the term Ahlul Ĥadīth, especially in the Indian sub-continent, has been used for non-mujtahids (A mujtahid is[4] an erudite scholar who has deep insight in the sacred subjects and their various branches; fiqh, uŝoolul fiqh, hadīth, usoolul ĥadīth, tafsīr, etc., capable of extracting laws from Qurān and Sunnah, and has a sound chain of teachers leading to Nabī ŝalla Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam[5]) who despite having insufficient knowledge of the Qurān and Sunnah do not follow one of the four famous schools of fiqh.[6]

• YouTube is not a recognized source of deenī knowledge; anyone may upload videos as he/she wills. One must be very careful in acquiring Islamic knowledge. Imām Muslim quotes the famous scholar ‘Allāmah Ibn Sīreen in the introduction of his Al Ŝaĥīh, “Verily this knowledge is dīn, be cautious in choosing who you take your dīn from.” To make it clearer and simpler, if a patient wants medicine, he will consult a qualified doctor. He will not simply go to YouTube or Google and follow the guidance there. He will have to see a doctor who will examine him and advise him according to his specific condition.
• Ŝaĥīĥul Bukhārī is one of the many collections of aĥādīth. It is insufficient and unscholarly to establish raf‘ul yadain or to negate it by merely looking in one book. From the time of the Ŝaĥābah there has been a difference in the ummah regarding raf‘ul yadain. As such, this difference has carried on until today. However, the issue of raf‘ul yadain is one of istiĥbāb. Meaning, some scholars say that it is better to practice raf‘ul yadain and others differ. The issue is not of ĥalāl and ĥarām. 

We advise you to follow the predominantly practiced madh-hab (in light of what was explained earlier) in your area. You may forward details of your whereabouts to admin@daruliftaa.net so that we may guide you to reliable scholars.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Hisham Dawood

Student, Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net