We plan to serialise some sections from the draft translation of الجامع لأحكام الصيام ‘Al-Jami li Ahkam as-Siyam’ (A complete guide of the rules of fasting) by Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud bin Abdul Latif al-Uweida this Ramadhan, please note this is a draft translation so please overlook errors.
Introduction
All praise is to Allah (swt) Lord of the worlds, Ar-Rahman
Ar-Raheem, the Owner of the Day of Judgment and prayers and peace are upon the
Messenger of Allah who was sent as a mercy to all mankind. May Allah’s prayers
and peace be on him and on his family and companions.
This is a book about the laws of fasting which I have named
‘Al Jaami’u li Ahkaam As Siyaam’ (A complete guide to the rules of fasting). It
has been written as a follow up to the book ‘Al Jaami’u li Ahkaam As Salaah’ (A
complete guide to the rules of prayer). I have followed the same methodology in
this book. From the beginning of ‘Ahkaam at Tahaarah’ (rules of purification) I
have followed and specified an effective model and methodology for the writing
of Fiqh. The reader now has at his disposal two complete books of Fiqh
representing a specific model.
This was my intention when issuing these two books and I
believe that they are sufficient to act as a blueprint for the fuqahaa
(jurists) and mujtahideen (Scholars) in their work without the need to expand
the examples. I do not claim that I have produced for the reader a complete
series on Islamic fiqh but I only aimed to present the most correct example and
model for the presentation of fiqh. I believe these two books are sufficient to
achieve this purpose.
This methodology that I have used to write fiqh achieves the
following:
1) To present all of the texts from Al Quraan Al Kareem and the As Sunnah
Ash Shareef which relate to an issue (mas’ala) form the issues of fiqh. I have done this without summarizing the
evidences that are in accordance with the Jurist’s own view and which support
his Ijtihaad whilst leaving out all other evidences like a great number of
scholars from the past and present have done.
2) The use of Saheeh and Hasan Ahaadeeth only and leaving all
others categories. This includes all weak forms of Hadeeth, and I mean those
that the Muhaddithoon (Hadeeth Scholars) have agreed upon. These hadeeth are
not allowed to be used by anyone in the deriving of Al Ahkaam Ash Sharee’a and
not even in the merits of actions. As for Ahaadeeth which the Muhaddithoon have
disagreed upon in terms of them being sound or weak, then if it was in agreement
with other sound saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth or if it was alone in its section
then I accepted it. However if it contradicted the saheeh or hasan hadeeth (in
meaning) then it was rejected and left.
3) To show the opinions of the Fuqahaa, Ulamaa and A’immah in every
mas’ala (issue) of the masaa’il to the greatest extent possible. This enriches
the study and it displays the strength of the extracted Ahkaam (rules) in
comparison to others. Its case is like the natural pearls displayed beside
those which are artificial and manufactured and if the natural pearls would
have be shown to people by themselves then the people would not have been able
to sense their beauty and excellence or appreciate their value.
4) To work with all the texts (evidences) related to an issue of
the issues and not neglecting any. This is because the reality of the Nusoos
(texts) is that they are not contradictory to each other in origin. There has
never emanated from the Prophet (saw) ahaadeeth which are contradictory except
and only in the very rare case of Nuskh (abrogation). As for what we see of
ahaadeeth that are contradictory within most of the fiqhi issues then this goes
back to the sanad (chain) and this requires us to look at and explain. The weak
forms of ahaadeeth and by greater reason (baab awlaa) the ahaadeeth al mawdoo’a
(missing link in sanad/chain of narration) need to be distanced. All the weak
ahaadeeth that have no origin to them but have been spread in the books of
fiqh, Usool ul Fiqh need to be separated from those which are sound i.e. saheeh
and hasan.
5) Examining the texts and extracting the Ahkaam from them occurs
only in three ways: By bringing of the texts one with another, by explaining
one text with another text, and this is the strongest method to extract. Or by
explaining a text in accordance with knowledge of the sharee’ah or thirdly with
by explaining the evidence with firm knowledge of the Arabic language which is
distant from weak and strange interpretations. A text is therefore understood
by another text, or by knowledge of the sharee’ah or by submitting to a firm
knowledge of language. In relation to the far off interpretations, regretful
explanations and the process of making the texts agree with the opinion of an
Imaam or madhhab, all of this has to be abandoned from the study of fiqh so
that fiqh and sharee’ah maintains its honour or high status. This is to protect
them against any alien or foreign intrusion or western infiltrations as we have
seen in many books of fiqh particular from authors in our present time.
6) The origin for every Muslim is to be restricted in his actions
by the hukm shar’i. He should commit to it with confidence and contentment and
not to take it and act according it if he is doubtful in its correctness. In
order to help the Muslim with this peace of mind in what he is following is
hukm shar’i, we have proceeded with this methodology which incorporates the
Ahkaam with its evidences, with proofs of its correctness and likewise proofs
for the error in other opinions.
7) The Sahaabah (rah) used to receive/understand the texts of
al-Quran al-Kareem and the as-Sunnah an-Nabawi in a natural way similar to how
we receive speech between and amongst ourselves. This means that by just
hearing the ayah or hadeeth they would understand the desired meaning straight
from the Arabic and sharp intellect and as such rarely disagreed in the
extraction of the Ahkaam. The taabi’oon and taab’i taabi’oon (first and second
generations after the Sahaabah) followed this same methodology and after them
came the period of the Fuqahaa after them. At that time the madhaahib of fiqh
(schools of thought) were established and what accompanied that of partisanship
and intolerance. Fiqh began to take a new orientation and progressively became
distanced from the natural way to ways that could be described as manufactured.
This means that the manufactured means overcame/dominated the Fuqahaa in their
istinbaat (extraction) process. This was the same for every Faqeeh who followed
a Madhhab or Imaam. His efforts were directed to giving victory to his madhhab
or Imaam. They became involved in forms of debate and ‘ilm ul-Kalaam
(scholastic debate) and were affected by it to a lesser or greater extent. In
addition they placed down different Usooli principles, increasing its scope and
complicity so fiqh became manufactured with nobody understanding its precise
details except their respective specialists. With time the process of
receiving/understanding the texts naturally stopped completely. The Istinbaat
(extraction) of Ahkaam became limited to the new breed of fiqh and then even
those who practiced it declined in number gradually until the doors of ijtihaad
were closed.
In relation to this I say that the main reason for the
closing of the doors of Ijtihaad and the disappearance of the mujtahidoon was
due to the fact that fiqh became manufactured with its principles and Usool
which were rarely understood and comprehended by those wishing to learn, let
alone the ordinary people due to its complicated nature and ramifications. The
Ulamaa of every madhhab proceeded to place Usooli principles (qawaa’id
usooliya) specific to his madhhab with all of its branching and ramifications
(additional problems/complications). As a result of the Usooli principles
becoming over complicated, this had ramifications on ijtihaad and the resultant
Ahkaam, to the point where a lot of these Ahkaam were outside of the realm of
soundness.
So that fiqh returns to its natural way and away from these
over complications and ramifications and so that the madhabi differences are
lessened and what accompanies it of partisanship and in addition to create the
path to increase the number of mujtahidoon, I have come up with this
model/methodology which I believe is the most sound for the writing of fiqh.
Inspired by the way that the Sahaabah (rah) received and understood fiqh and
distancing myself from the over complications in understanding. Due to this the
noble reader will find that the Usooli principles rarely appear in this model
and what does appear of it is free of depth or complication.
The difference between the method of the Sahaabah (rah) and
those who came after was that the Sahaabah (rah) use to place the text in front
of them relying on what came to their minds from their understanding of the
Arabic language. In addition to their knowledge and experience of how the texts
lived in their surroundings and circumstances taking the text with simplicity
without complication. As for those who invented the new way of fiqh, they
placed the differing Usooli principles in front of them as their starting point
with all of its branches, complicatedness and details. They then made the
people subservient to these principles. From this many and diverse meanings
sprung out linked to the difference branches and ramifications. This is where
the biggest dispute occurred between them (new fiqh people) as every one of
them held on tightly to a specific meaning/wording that he had understood, and
with the hukm which he had extracted according to what he had put down of the
detailed principles specific to him. He strove to defend it and respond it so
as to seek victory for the madhhab of his Imaam. All of this led to a situation
where the study of fiqh produced a lot of varied and different Ahkaam. This
included the Saheeh (sound), Da’eef (weak) and Shaadh (rare/strange). If a
reader looks at the vast quantity of opinions in every single matter it will
give him a head ache. If someone would like examples of what I have stated then
let him look up the fiqhi opinions in the following issues: When is Laylat ul
Qadr?, Does sleep break the Wudoo?, What is the middle prayer (salaatul
wustaa)? You will find in these issues and others like them huge and wide
differences especially in the book Fathul Baari of Ibn Hajar Al Asqalaani and
also in the Sharh (explanation) Saheeh Muslim by Imaam Nawawi.
8) In relation to getting rid of the manufactured method of
extracting the Ahkaam Ash Sharee’ah and Ijtihaad and the return to the natural
method which was dominant in the first three generations, those of the Sahaabah,
those who followed them and those that followed them. The only way is through
the devotion/dedication to the texts of Allah’s (swt) book al-Majeed and the
noble ahaadeeth through reading, memorisation and explanation. This is a
devotion and pursuit which is correctly described as the eternal living of the
sharee’ah texts which continues years after years, until we have acquired the
ability and knowledge which the Sahaabah (rah) of the prophet of Allah (saw)
possessed. This requires a working relationship with the sharee’ah texts in
understanding, extraction and indications in exactly the same way that we
possess the ability that we work with speech amongst ourselves. We would
therefore understand the texts as we understand our speech amongst ourselves and
without this methodology the doors of Ijtihaad will never be opened. If they
were to be opened however then it would not lead to the correct form of
Ijtihaad which possesses the quality of endurance and continuance.
At this point I have a very important remark to make and
that is that the Mujtahid can either be a Mujtahid Mutlaq or a Mujtahid in a
Mas’ala as is known amongst the fuqahaa. There exists a great deal of benefit
for fiqh and Muslims in both these forms of Mujtahid. As for the Mujtahid in the
Madhhab, who proceeds with ijtihaad in accordance to the Usooli principles
which were established by their Imaam? If this Mujtahid gives free reign to his
mind and understanding in the extraction of Ahkaam and he doesn’t restrict
himself to what his Imaam arrived at then there is no problem in this and the
benefit is like the other categories of Mujtahid. An example of this is Ibn
Mundhir from the Shaafe’iyah. As for when this type of Mujtahid doesn’t exit
from the Ijtihaad of his Imaam and his only aim and goal is to give victory to
his Imaam and madhhab then this form is accused of being away from integrity
and the true context and is in many situations veiled from the sound opinion
and correct Hukm. At Tahaawiy from the Hanafiyyah is an example of this approach.
Here I have another important point and that is that the
Muslims are in need of a radical thought revolution away from imitation in
order to revive and remove from it its backwardness. Islamic fiqh is in need of
this creative non-imitational revolution in order to bring it back to life.
This revolution will not take place however by widening the scope of education
in the Islamic Sharee’ah faculties and universities and will never occur in
this way. This is as long as they continue on their current methodology as they
have, including al Azhar University, adopted the manufactured approach and have
stubbornly latched themselves to it. I sent my book ( al Jaami’u li Ahkaam is
Salaah) to Al Azhar and received the response that this book is not according to
our methodology!!
Therefore we do not find a university or college of
sharee’ah that graduates Mujtahidoon or even Fuqahaa. They only graduate
Muta’allimoon (people who have studied) and Mutafaqqihoon (students of fiqh).
The difference between the Faqeeh and mutafaqqih is that the Faqeeh possesses a
specific opinion of his own in the fiqhi issues whereas the mutafaqqih doesn’t
possess his own opinion and only possesses opinions from other fuqahaa. If we
asked a question in a Mas’ala then he would only respond by saying what the
madhhab of so and so says such and such in the issue. He vary rarely outweighs
between two opinions and even if he attempts Tarjeeh (outweighing) then the
opinion he outweighs isn’t even his own opinion but an opinion of a Faqeeh from
amongst the fuqahaa.
I view that the only real solution is to return to the way
of the Sahaabah (rah) in the way of taking in (the texts) and deriving the
rules. This could be if all of the universities, colleges and centers of
sharee’ah adopted this method and made all curriculums established on its
basis. As long as this does not happen then the situation will remain in a
rigid and lifeless state.
I wanted to mention these eight main points so as to explain
my model and define it as well as to elaborate its aim and need. My hope is
that there will arise from this noble Ummah men who will tread the path of this
methodology returning to the origins of the Islamic fiqh with its beauty and
greatness. They will take the new matters, realities, actions and problems and
derive for them the correct Islamic rulings.
In this book I have stated the number of each hadeeth as it
has been established from its source something which did not occur in the
previous book despite its precision and complete accuracy. This is therefore an
additional benefit making it easier to return back to any hadeeth which the
reader wishes to view its source.
I also committed to righting the name of the person whose
speech was affirmed in the book in the introduction of the narrators in the
case where there were many narrators. This is what I made reference to in the
introduction of the book (al Jaami’u li Ahkaam is Salaah). In this book I have
found it sufficient to cite the established hadeeth number as reference except
in a few instances where there was a need to mention a secondary statement so I
cited a further number.
You will find at the end of the book a reference of all the
sources relied upon for this work. This includes some information so that any
revision will be more efficient and that the truthfulness of the texts
mentioned can be verified. In most of these sources the ahaadeeth have been
ordered as a series of numbers and in some cases according to the subject
matter without citing the number series. So those that have been dealt with
according to the first method I have established the series number (raqm
mutasalsal) and for those of the second method I have cited the page number
where the hadeeth is located. For example (250/4) means the fourth part
(volume) page number 250. However in the case of Al Mu’jam Al Kabeer of Tabari
and Al Musnad of Abi Ya’la Al Moosally the first number represents the part
(volume) whilst the second represents the hadeeth number.
I ask Allah (swt) As Samee’u l Aleem to accept from we what
I have spent in effort and what I have intended to achieve and that this book
is met with the same acceptance as the first book. All praise belongs to Allah
firstly and lastly.
Al –Khamees (Thursday) 28 Jumaada al Awwal 1423 hijri
8th August
2002
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