“Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) asked Mu’âdh
how he was going to judge when he ordered Mu’âdh to go to Yemen as a judge.
‘According to Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Book,’ he said. ‘What if you cannot find [a solution] in it?’ asked Rasûlullâh. ‘I will look at Rasûlullâh’s sunna,’ he answered. And when Rasûlullâh asked, ‘If you cannot find it there, either?’ Mu’âdh said, ‘I shall do it according to what I
understand as a result of my ijtihâd.’ Thereupon, Rasûlullâh said, ‘My thanks
be
to Allâhu ta’âlâ who bestows what His Rasûl
agrees upon His Rasûl’s judge.’
Mu’âdh was one of the most learned among the Sahâbîs in the knowledge of fiqh,
halâl and harâm. Therefore, he was a profound ’âlim who was able to make
ijtihâd. It was permissible for him to judge according to his ijtihâd if he
could not find any clear evidence in Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Book and Rasûlullâh’s sunna. But, today and in the past, there have been some people so
ignorant as not to know the laws in Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Book and His Rasûl’s sunna,
but who still think that they can make ijtihâd. Shame on them!”
That outhor has taken these lines from the books of
great ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) as he has taken all his
documentary evidence from them. There was no one who wrote heretical ideas
before Ibn Taimiyya. He was the first to start this cult of false concepts.
Those who came later went too far in this line to the extreme of impetuousity.
They interpreted wrongly the invaluable words they quoted from the books of Ahl
as-Sunna. They said that everybody should learn Arabic and make ijtihâd. They
dissented from the right path and led astray millions of people. The above
quotation refutes their assertions and shows that ignorant people like them do not
have the ability to make ijtihâd, that the conclusions or meanings they derive
are wrong and heretical.
Nowadays, the number of people who do not believe
ijtihâd has been on the increase. They say,
“What is the use of madhhabs. They disunited Muslims. They
made the religion difficult. Allah orders easiness. There is no such things as
a ’madhhab’ in Islam. They have been made up later. I follow the path of
as-Sahâba and do not recognize another path.”
Such words are made up by the ignorant of Islam, who now
cunningly disseminate them among Muslims. After quoting correct statements from
the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna, they add their lies in as if the quotations going
on. The people who see the correct statements consider all what they read as
correct and thus are taken in. The path of salvation is that of the Sahâbat
al-kirâm (ridwân-Allâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în). The hadîth ash-sharîf narrated by al-Baihakî and written in Kunûz ad-daqâ’iq declares, “My Companions
are like the stars in the sky. You follow any one of them, and you will find
the right path.” This hadîth sharîf shows that anyone who follows any one of the Sahâbîs will attain bliss
in both worlds. The hadîth
ash-sharîf
related by ad-Dailamî (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih) declares,
“My companions are good
human beings. May Allâhu ta’âlâ always bestow goodness upon them.” Two hadîths, again related by ad-Dailamî, declare, “Do not talk about the faults of my
Companions!” and, “Mu’âwiya will certainly become a ruler.”
From which source will those who claim that they
follow the path of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm learn this path? Will they learn from
the lâ-madhhabî who came about a thousand years after them? Or will they learn
it from the books of those ’ulamâ’ who lived during the time of and were
educated by as-Sahâbat al-kirâm? The ’ulamâ’ educated by as-Sahâbat al-kirâm
and the students of those ’ulamâ’ formed the ’ulamâ’ of the madhhab of Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ). Madhhab means path. Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a means the Muslims who follow
the path of Rasûlullâh and his jamâ’a, that is, his Companions. The blessed
’ulamâ’ of this path wrote exactly what they learned from as-Sahâbat al-kirâm.
They did not write their personal opinions. There is not a single statement in
their books for which they did not give documents and proofs. The belief of all
the four madhhabs is the same. The path of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm can only be
learned from the books by the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna.
Those who want to be in the path of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm (ridwân-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajma’în) have to belong to the madhhab of Ahl as-Sunna and should avoid upstart, corrupt movements.