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The Blind Following of Madhhabs

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Author’s Introduction

All praise is for Allaah who guided us to Islaam and Eemaan and granted us understanding of the meaning of His Book, the Qur’aan and the understanding of the Hadeeth  of His Messenger, the best amongst men and jinn, (May the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Prophet Muhammed as long as the night and day last), and Who made it easy for us to follow the path of the noble Companions and those who follow them in righteousness.

Abu ‘Abdul-Kareem Muhammad Sultan al-Ma’soomee al-Khajnadee al-Makkee, the humble servant, needs the benevolence of His all-Powerful Lord. May Allaah help him to act upon His Book and to cling to the Sunnah of the Messenger and grant him a good end.

A question has been put forward to me from the Muslims of the land of Japan, from the cities of Tokyo and Osaka, in the far-east, which is as follows:

What is the true sense of the religion of Islaam?

What does madhhab mean?

Does everyone who is honoured with the Deen of Islaam have to join one of the four madhhabs? That is to be a Maalikee, Hanafee, Shaafi’ee or Hanbalee, or other than that, or is that not binding?

There have been great differences and much argumentation here. When a number of enlightened thinkers of Japan wished to enter into Islaam and to be honoured with Eemaan and so that was put to a Muslim organisation in Tokyo. A group of people from India said that they would have to choose the madhhab of Imaam Abu Haneefah, since he was the Lamp of the Ummah [1], whilst a group of Indonesians from Java said that they must become Shaafi’ees!

When the Japanese heard this, they were very surprised and thought again. The question of madhhabs became an obstacle in their way of  becoming Muslims!

So, our teacher, we should like to hear from your knowledge, that which will be a cure for this illness and poison, if Allaah wills. We hope that you can explain the true state of affairs so that our hearts may become calm and our chests open to the cure for ignorance, for which you will receive reward from Allaah, the Most High and thanks from us, the muhaajireen from Russia.
May Allaah send peace upon you and upon all those who follow the guidance.

Muhammad ‘Abdul-Hayy Qoor Baali’ee, and Muhsin Jaabaak Aughlee
Muharram 1357, Tokyo, Japan.

 

[1] The game of blind-following of madhhabs has played a large role in the spread of fabricated ahaadeeth. Hanafee blind-followers have fabricated various ahaadeeth about the merits of Abu Haneefah an-Nu’maan - rahimahullaahu ta’aalaa - from amongst them:
“There will be in my Ummah a man called Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-Shaafi’ee who is more harmful to my Ummah than Iblees; and there will be in my Ummah a man called Abu Haneefah, he is the lamp of my Ummah.”
[See Lisaan ul-Meezaan of Ibn Hajr (5/7-8), Tadreeb ur-Raawee of as-Suyootee (1/277-278), Tanzeeh ush-Sharee‘ah of Ibn ‘Arraaq (2 /30) and Tareekh Baghdaad of al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee (5/309). [al-Khateeb and al-Haakim have declared this report as a fabrication (moudoo), and the one who is charged with having fabricated it, is Muhammad ibn Sa’eed al-Boorqee. Also see al-Fawaa’id al-Majmoo’ah, Beirut : Maktaba al-Islaamee, p.320, no.1226].
Khateeb collected another report through Anas in which the Prophet  was allegedly quoted as saying, “ There will come after me a man called an-Nu’maan ibn Thaabit, pet-named Abe Haneefah. Allaah’s religion and my Sunnah will be revived by him.” [It has in its chain of narrators Ahmad al-Juwaybaaree, a known fabricator of Hadeeth and Muhammad ibn Yazeed as-Salamee, whose narrations are classified unacceptable (Matrouk) by Hadeeth scholars. (‘Alee ibn ‘Iraaq, Tanzeeh ash-Sharee’ah al-Marfoo’ah (Beirut: Daar al-Kutub al-’Ilmeeyah, 1979), vol.2, p.30, no.10).
These fabricated Hadeeth oppose the clear text of the Qur’aan since the Lamp of the Ummah is beyond doubt the Prophet Muhammad , as Allaah, the Perfect and Exalted, describes him in His Book: “O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as a witness and a bearer of glad tidings and a warner and as one who invites to Allaah by His leave and as a lamp spreading light.”  [Sooratul-Ahzaab :45-46 ]
So look how the blind-followers bestow upon their Imaams the characteristics of the infallible Prophet . Therefore not clinging to a madhhab is the origm, due to the difference between following one who is infallible and following someone fallible since he who blindly-follows a particular madhhab has made following the Prophet  the same as following a scholar who is sometimes correct and sometimes in error

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