Our madhab is hanbali
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Although you say not to follow only any one of the Imams i.e. Imam
Abu Hanifa etc. Is it true that your rulings and guidance are, as though you
are propagating the ways and teachings of Imam Ahmed bin Hambal ?
Can you site 2-3 examples where in scholars like you of today are not in just
accordance with the Hambali ul Maslak ?
Kindly don`t leave this question for archives as it is done with my previous
Question No. 6765, dated: 6/27/2003.
These are questions which matter to a whole group of my friends and many
re-reverts to Islam.
May Allah bless you and all of us with his Rahmat and guide us to the right
path Amin!.
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Beloved
and dear Brother in Islam, our sole intention is to follow The Quran and the
Sunnah, and Allah is witness that Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal, Imam Shafei, Imam
Malik, Imam Abu Haneefa, and all the good scholars and Imams who served the
Noble Cause of Islam followed the same Quran and Sunnah.
We
respect the opinion of all the noble Imams and scholars who selflessly
dedicated their lives to the Noble Cause of Islam, and documented their
opinions for the benefit of future generations.
May Allah Subhanah reward each one of them for their sacrifices and
their deeds, and grant them all the highest honor in His Kingdom of Paradise.
Allah
Subhanah is our witness, we are neither Hanbali, nor Shafei, nor Maliki, nor
Hanafi; but we, and all the true believers, should be honored to be recognized
only by the name that Allah Subhanah has chosen for the believers: that is,
‘muslims’.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 77-78: O
you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow
down) and do ‘sajdah’ (prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do
righteous deeds: it may be that you attain true success! Exert your utmost for the cause of
Allah, as one should. He has chosen you for His service, and has
not laid on you any hardship in your religion.
Therefore, be steadfast in the
religion of your father Abraham. Allah
had named you ‘muslims’ before this, and has named you (muslims) in
this Quran also, so that the Messenger
may be a witness in regard to you, and
you may be witnesses in regard to the rest of mankind.
Each of
these scholars based their opinions of ‘fiqh’ or jurisprudence on their
understanding of the Quran and Sunnah; and every opinion that is based on the
Quran and Sunnah should be respected and honored by the believers.
To tell
you the truth brother, just as you think that our answers are based on the
opinions of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, some people reading our mails may think our
answers are more in sync with Imam Malik, Imam Abu Haneefah, or Imam Shafei; and
they too would not be wrong! Allah is
our witness, we respect and honor each of the noble Imams and their invaluable
opinions in the matters of Islamic jurisprudence.
If one
trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of
Allah and His Messenger (saws), he can
be assured of never ever being misled;
but if one believes, obeys and
follows any other guidance, other than
that of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
he can be assured of being led astray.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
