The relationship between Fiqh and Hadeeth

The Relationship between Fiqh and Hadeeth

AUTHOR: Imaam Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaanee
SOURCE: Al-Asaalah Magazine (Issue # 7)
PRODUCED BY: Al-Ibaanah.com

[21] Question: What is the relationship between the Science of Fiqh and the Science of Hadeeth? And is a Muhaddith required to be a Faqeeh or just a Muhaddith only?

Answer: A Faqeeh is required to be a Muhaddith while a Muhaddith is not required to be a Faqeeh. This is since a Muhaddith is a Faqeeh automatically due to the nature of his condition. Did the Companions of Allaah’s Messenger, sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to study Fiqh or not? And what was the Fiqh that they used to study? It is that which they used to take from the Messenger of Allaah, sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (i.e. the hadeeth). So they were in fact studying the Hadeeth.

As for those Fuqahaa who study the opinions of the scholars and their Fiqh, while not studying the Hadeeth of their Prophet, sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who is the source of (all) Fiqh, it must be said to them: “You must study the Science of Hadeeth.” This is since we cannot imagine there being a correct Fiqh without knowledge of the Hadeeth, memorizing them, authenticating them and declaring them weak. And at the same time, we cannot imagine there being a Muhaddith that is not a Faqeeh.

Thus, the Qur’aan and the Sunnah are the source for all of the Fiqh. As for the Fiqh that is commonly known today then it is the Fiqh of the scholars and not the Fiqh of the Book and the Sunnah. Yes, some of it exists in the Book and the Sunnah, but some of it consists purely of opinions and scholarly deductions. However, in much of these (opinions and deductions), there is a contradiction on their part with the hadeeth, for they were not able to encompass all the knowledge of it. [Al-Asaalah, Issue #7]

N.B: One of the Salaf said: “If a scholar of Fiqh is not a scholar of Hadeeth he is a Handicap (in terms of knowledge”.

Also some of the blind-partisans may come and say: The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: ” And it is possible that a carrier of Fiqh may not be a Faqeeh, and it is possible that a carrier of Fiqh may give it to one who has more Fiqh than him”.

Shaikh Muqbil Ibn Hadi Al Wadi’ee said: The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) used the word Rubba (it is possible) and in the Arabic language it means that few of the scholars of the scholars of Hadeeth may not be scholars of Fiqh. And this is very rare for we find most of the vast majority of the scholars of Hadeeth being scholars of Fiqh. And as for the scholars of Fiqh, most of them are not scholars of Hadeeth, using spurious narrations to build their argument.

The Fiqh of the Salaf

رأى سعيد بن المسيب رجلا يصلي في وقت النهي ركعات كثيرة فنهاه ، فقال ياأبا محمد يعذبني الله على الصلاة ؟ قال لا ولكن يعذبك على خلاف السنة

Sa’eed Ibn Mussayib (one of the major scholars of those who came after the Companions) saw a man praying many Raka’aats in a time not allowed for prayer and he prohibited him. He then said: Oh Aba Muhammad (referring to Sa’eed) will Allah punish me for prayer? He said: No but he will punish you for conflicting the Sunnah.

قال الشيخ الالباني : وهذا من بدائع اجوبة سعيد بن المسيب وهو سلاح قوي على المبتدعة الذين يستحسنون كثيرا من البدع ويتهمون اهل السنة بأ نهم ينكرون الذكر والصلاة ، وهم انما ينكرون عليهم مخالفتهم للسنة .

Shaikh Al Albani said: And this is from the great answers of Sa’eed Ibn Musayyib and it is a strong weapon against the innovators who make good many innovation and accuse Ahlus Sunnah of disliking rememberance and prayer. And verily they (Ahlus Sunnah) dislike their differing from the Sunnah.

كذلك يقال في الامور الدعوية التى توسع الناس فيها فخالفوا وهم يقصدون الخير

Also this refers to issues in da’wah which people have spread open and as a result have differed and at the same instance they want good.

Shaikh Muhammad Aadam Al Ithiopi

Bismillah Ar Rahmaan Ar Raheem,

This is the biography of a great living scholar of Hadeeth that remains unknown to the Muslims. Although this would go in the Biography section I wanted to show our brothers and sisters the true meaning of the word Alim (scholar of this deen). And also that the aspiing students of knowledge myself included have to try their best to make Rihlah to meet scholars like him and have to work hard to attain this level he is at. In any case this is the Seerah of the Shaikh.

http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8297

هو الشيخ العلاّمة المحدث الفقيه الأصولي النحوي محمد بن الشيخ العلامة علي بن آدم بن موسى الأتيوبي الولّوي .

He is Shaikh Al Allamah Al Muhaddith (scholar of Hadeeth) Al Faqeeh (a scholar of Fiqh) Al Usuuli (scholar of Usuul Al Fiqh) An Nahwi (scholar of Arabic Grammer) Muhammad Ibn Shaikh Al Allamah Ali Ibn Adam Ibn Musa Al Ithiopi.

أخذ العلم عن كثير من علمـاء بلده ومنهـم والده والعـلاّمة الشيـخ عبـد الباسـط بن محـمد بن حسـن الإتـيوبي البُوَرَنّي المِـنَاسيّ وغيـره من العلماء .

He took knowledge from many of the scholars of his country and from them are the Allamah Ash Shaikh Abdul Baasit Bin Muhammad Bin Hasan Al Ithiopi and other than them from the scholars.

حفظ الكثير من متون العلم والمنظومات العلمية كألفية ابن مالك وألفية السيوطي في المصطلح وغيرها من المتون وبرع في علم المعقول والمنقول من نحو وصرف وبلاغة وأصول ومنطق وحديث وفقه وغيرها من علوم الإسلام .

He memorised many of the summarised texts and poems dealing with different sciences like Alfeeyah Ibn Maalik (a 1000 line poem on Arabic Grammer), Alfeeyah As Suyuuti ( 1000 line poem on the science of Hadeeth) and other than it from the summarised texts and he has succeded in going deeply into knowledge that is aqli and knowledge of the evidence from Grammer and Morphology and expression and Usuul Ul Fiqh and Mantiq (not reccommended to study Mantiq) and Hadeeth and Fiqh and other than it from the sciences of Islam.

ثم انتقل إلى بلد الله الحرام مكة المكرمة وهو الآن يدرّس نهاراً في دار الحديث الخيرية وفي مسجدها ليلاً . وقد بذل الشيخ نفسه للعلم ولطلبته في بلد الله الحرام وله الكثير من المؤلفات في فنون العلم وخاصةً في علم الحديث الشريف ,

Then he travelled to the Haraam of Makkah Al Mukarramah and he now teaches at day in Dar Ul Hadeeth and in its Masjid at the night, and the Shaikh himself has worked hard with knowledge and seeking it in the Haraam and he has many authored books in many different sciences especially in the knowledge of Hadeeth.

فمن مؤلفاته

From his books :

1) شرح ألفية السيوطي في الحديث المسمى “إسعاف ذوي الوطر بشرح نظم الدرر , في علم الأثر”ويقع في مجلدين وهذا هو الشرح المختصر على الألفية وله شرح موسع لم يطبع .

1) An explaination of Alfeeyah As Suyuuti in Hadeeth named: “Isaaf Thil Watar Bi Sharh Nadhm Ad Durar Fee Ilm Al Athar”. This contains two volumes and this is his small explaination of this Alfeeyah and he has a larger explaination that has not been published.

2) شرح سنن النسائي المسمى “ذخيرة العقبى في شرح المجتبى ويقع في أربعين مجلد , أبان فيه عن علم واسع واطلاع مذهل وقد طبع منه بضع عشر مجلد .

Explaination of Sunan An Nasaii named: “Thakeerah Al Uqbaa Fee Sharh Mujtaba and it is 40 volumes, he displayed in it his wide knowledge and research and between 13-17 volumes have been published.

3) شرح سنن ابن ماجه المسمى “مشارق الأنوار الوهّاجة ومطالع الأسرار البهّاجة ولا يزال الشيخ في صدد اكماله ولو أُكمِل لوقع في عشرات المجلدات.

Explaination of Sunan Ibn Majah named : “Mashariq Al Anwaar Al Wihaajah wa Matali Al Asraar Al Buhaajah”. The Shaikh is still completing it and if it is completed it would be in tens of volumes.

4) قرة العين في تلخيص تراجم رجال الصحيحين ويقع في مجلد واحد .
5) منظومة في بعض الرواة المدلسين المسماه “الجوهر النفيس , في نظم أسماء ومراتب الموصوفين بالتدليس” وعدَّتها مائة وثمانية عشر بيتاً .

4) Qurratul Ain which is a summary of the biographies of men in the Saheehain (Bukhari and Muslim) and this is in one big volume.

5) A poem on some of the narrators who are Mudallis called: “Al Jawhirah An Nafees Fee Nadhm Al Asmaa Wa Maratib Al Mausufeen Bi Tadlees”. And it adds up to 118 lines of poetry

6) شرح مقدمة صحيح مسلم وهي الآن تحت الطبع .
7) الجليس الصالح النافع بتوضيح معاني الكوكب الساطع وهو شرح أصولي لمنظومة الإمام السيوطي في أصول الفقه ويقع في مجلد ضخم.

6) Explaination of the introduction of Saheeh Muslim and it is now under publishing

7) Al Jalees US Saalih An Naafi Bi Tawdeeh Ma’ani Al Kawakib As Saati’ and it is an explaination of a poem by Imam As Suyuuti on the Fundamentals of Fiqh {meaning the methodology in extracting evidences from Fiqh} (usuul Ul Fiqh) and this is in one large volume.

منظومة في أصول الفقه على منهج أهل السنة والجماعة تفوق الألفين بيت وله عليها شرح طبع بعضه في مذكرات .
9) فتح القريب المجيب في شرح كتاب مدبي الحبيب ممن يوالي مغني اللبيب في علم النحو وهو شرح لمنظومة شيحه العلاَّمة عبد الباسط بن محمد البُوَرَنّي .
وغيرها من المؤلفات التي لم تر النور بعد.

A poem in Usuul Ul Fiqh according to the methodology of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah and it is 2000 lines of potry and he has an explaination of it that has been published in some Mudhakiraat (review papers).

9)Fath Ul Qareeb Al Mujeeb Fee Sharh Mudbaa Al Habeeb Miman Yuwali Mughni Al Labeeb in the knowledge of grammer and it is an explaination of the poem of his Shaikh Al Allamah Abdul Baasit Bin Muhammad

And there are other from his authored books that have not been seen

وكما ذكرنا آنفاً فإن للشيخ دروس في المساء لازالت مقامة إلى الآن في مسجد دار الحديث الكائن بشارع أجياد جنوب الحرم المكي الشريف على مدار الأسبوع على النحو التالي :
* السبت : مصطلح الحديث , شرح ألفية السيوطي , بعد العشاء.
* الأحد : شرح سنن إبن ماجه , بعد العشاء.
* الإثنين : شرح سنن النسائي , بعد العشاء.
* الثلاثاء : شرح الكوكب الساطع , بعد العشاء.
* الجمعة : شرح منظومته في أصول الفقه , بعد المغرب.
فتح القريب المجيب في النحو, بعد العشاء.

And as I mentioned earlier the Shaikh has classes in the afternoon that still go on up to this time in the Masjid of Dar Ul Hadeeth which is in Ajyaad road south of the Haram in Makkah and weekly he gives these classes:

Saturday: Mustalah Hadeeth: Explaination of Alfeeyah As Suyuuti after Isha
Sunday: Explaination of Sunan Ibn Majah after Isha
Monday: Explaination of Sunan Nasaie after Isha
Tuesday: Explaination of Kawakib As Saati’ after Isha
Juma’ah: Explaination of the Poem of Usuul After Maghrib And Fath Ul Qareeb Al Mujeeb In Arabic grammer After Isha.

وله الكثير من الطلاب النجباء , وتخرج على يديه أفواج من طلاب دار الحديث انتشروا في بقاع الأرض . بالإضافة إلى جهوده في الفتوى والدعوة إلى الله .

And he has many students who are noble. And many of the students of Dar Ul Hadeeth have graduated from his hands and have gone all over the earth. And connected to this is his effort in giving Fatwa and Da’wah.

Part 1a: Sincerity and its fruits

This is the essence of studying Islam. We must know that learning the religion is worship and as a result we must be sincere in seeking it. Allah has said: “And they have not been ordered except to worship Allah with sincerity…”. And the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Verily actions are by intentions and everyone will have what he has intended”. These two evidences show that all actions of worship have no value whatsoever until one is sincere in his intention.

And the signs that one has sought knowledge with good intention are:

• Wanting to raise ignorance from oneself and from others. Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal was asked about the intention of one who is seeking knowledge and he said: “He wants by it to raise ignorance from himself and from others”
• Having humility with others. Whether they are lesser or greater than him in knowledge of this religion
• That he takes knowledge from those who are lesser and greater than him and is not filled with pride. And when corrected by one who is less than him he is glad
• To feign ignorance when he hears speech that he heard already
• To feel that he is weak and ignorant and needs to learn more
• Seeking knowledge by beginning with the basic matters first. The sincere seeker of knowledge does not want by it to be known to the people. Rather he seeks it in order to act upon it. And this can only be done when one starts with the small issues before the big issues.

And Allah knows best

Part 1b: The ruling on praying and seeking blessings by the graves of the pious.

I would like our dear readers to look at the spurious narration quoted:

On the authority of Ali Ibn Maymuun, he said: I heard Ash Shafi’e say: “Verily I seek blessings from Abu Haneefah, And I go to his grave every day- meaning as a visitor- and whenever I was in need, I prayed two Raka’ah and go to his grave, and I used to ask Allah my need by the by it”.

This narration in addition to it being one that is false has two matters that have to be dealt with:

1) Seeking intercession and blessings from the dead.

2) Taking the graves as places of prayer

As for the first matter, the scholars have agreed that this is Haraam. In fact, doing so makes one a Mushrik. And the evidences are as follows.

i) The Mushrikuun of the Arabs used to worship Al Laat. Al Laat in addition to being an idol was itself a grave from which the Arabs sought blessings from. I ask Aleem Mohammed: How can you as a writer put the name of Imam Ash Shafi’ee to such a heinous act which the Mushrikuun of the Arabs did themselves? And what is the difference between what you put about Imam Ash Shafi’e (which is of course false) and what was said about the Mushrikuun?

ii) The people of Nuuh did the exact thing that Aleem Mohammed claimed that Imam Ash Shafi’e did. Shaikh Ibn Baaz said: The first time that Shirk appeared was within the people of Noah and the reason for this was Tabarruk of the righteous men (meaning their graves after they died).

iii) The Hadeeth that is narrated in Tirmidhi where some of the Companions (Radiallaho anhum) were passing and they saw some Mushrikuun around a tree congregating around it and hanging their weapons on it. They called it Thaat Anwaat and then some of the Companions who were new to Islam said: “Give us a Thaat Anwaat like they have a Thaat Anwat”. The Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) then said: Allahu Akbar this is the same thing that the children of Isra’eel said to Musa ” Give us a diety like they have dieties”.
Ibnul Qayyim in Ighathatul Luhfaan: “If it is that taking a tree to hang weapons and congregating around it is taking a diety with Allah with the fact that they do not worship it or ask anything of it then what about congregating around the graves and making du’a by it… for the trials of the tree is no match for the trials of the graves only if the people of Shirk and innovation knew”.

The second issue it is taking the graves of the Prophets and the righteous as places of worship. And it is enough to quote two Hadeeths on this matter. On the authority of Abu Marthad Al Ghanawi (Radiallaho anhu) the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Do not pray toward the graves and do not sit on them”. This Hadeeth is authentic and is narrated in Saheeh Muslim.

This Hadeeth shows that the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) commanded us not to pray toward the graves and not to sit on them. This is because praying toward the graves can cause one to enter into Shirk and as we know the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) defended Tawheed and prevented Shirk in all ways possible. Don’t we see that the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said to a man: “Have you made me a deity beside Allah?” when the man told him it is by the will of Allah and you?

Secondly, the Prophet (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) on his death bed said: “May Allah curse the Christians and the Jews, they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship”.

This Hadeeth consists of a du’a by the Messenger (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) upon the Christians and the Jews. And it is also a du’a upon those who have taken the graves of the pious and the Messenger (Salallahu alaihi wa sallam) as a place of du’a and Salaat.

In this narration, which is a lie, it shows that the great Imam, Imam Ash Shafi’ee, using the grave of Abu Haneefah as a place of worship. Using it to make du’a and to fulfill his needs. If this alone was used to show that this narration is a lie it would have been enough. This is why Ash Shaikh Ali Ibn Ghazi At Tuwaijari said: “If the people of innovation use an authentic narration it is a proof upon them rather than for them, and if they use clear evidence to support their innovation in that case it is either weak or fabricated”.