6 replies to this topic

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

Is it permissible for a Muslim to choose the easiest scholarly opinion?  



Question :


When there is an issue of ikhtilaaf or a difference of an opinion on a matter,I hear alot of people say things like,well, it's a difference of opinion so I am going to do what is easiest for me to do. Is this the correct understanding to get, if not how should one go about choosing an opinion to follow?

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not right for a Muslim to choose the easiest opinion, because in this way he will get out of the obligations of sharee’ah, or most of them, because in most matters – apart from the basic principles of Islam – there are differences of opinion. In the past, they used to say that the one who follows the rukhsah (dispensation, easy option) has become a heretic. It is obligatory to choose the scholarly opinion which is most correct according to the daleel (evidence), if one is qualified to examine and weigh up the matter. If a person is not qualified, then he has to follow the scholar who he thinks is most trustworthy in terms of knowledge, commitment to Islam and taqwa.



‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr (www.islam-qa.com)                    

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

Should the easier fatwa be followed?  



Question :


I know that the normal people are to ask people of knowledge about issues that they do not know and that we are to follow the opinion of someone we trust. However, how do we select between fatawaas of two or three different 'aalims each of whom we trust and who are known for their knowledge and piety and the 'aalims themselves respect each other. So if we select the easier one of the fataawas, are we liable ? Please clarify this important issue.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.  

It is not permissible for you to follow the easier fatwa, rather you have to fear Allaah and not follow your own desires. You should be determined to follow the truth even though it may be bitter to you. With regard to muftis (scholars who issue fatwas), you must look at two important matters  

1)  Their taqwa (piety), awareness of Allaah and righteousness  Their knowledge .  

These two matters are essential to the mufti. They are like the wings of a bird; one is no use without the other. If you see visible signs of righteousness in the mufti, and you can see enough of his awareness of Allaah and piety to make you feel reassured that whims and desires will not lead him to speak about Allaah without knowledge or contrary to the evidence (daleel), then this takes care of the first matter. If we add to that what you can see of his knowledge of the shar’i evidence and his understanding, this will make you feel confident about his fatwas. If you find another who is like him or is close to him in knowledge and taqwa, but he gives a different fatwa, then you have to look for something that will make you feel that the truth is with one of them, such as when one of them mentions and refutes the evidence of the other.

A mufti is like a doctor. Do you not see that some doctors are more knowledgeable than others? Don’t you feel more comfortable with one than another, because you see that he is more concerned with diagnosing your sickness properly, so he listens to your complaints carefully and asks lots of questions related to your sickness. Whilst you may see another doctor who is in such a hurry to take a decision that this makes you complain about him, and he may give you medicine that has nothing to do with your sickness. Just as you try hard to choose the right doctor to treat your body, so you must also try hard to find the right mufti, who is the one who you think will help you to keep your religious commitment sound, even if it is bitter to you.  



Shaykh Sa’d al-Humayd (www.islam-qa.com)                    

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

Tension in the home because of fiqhi differences between husband and wife  



Question :


My husband is a strict follower of the Shafi'ee madhab, while I prefer to choose the fatwa which my mind tells me is based on stronger daleel no matter what the origin of the school is, whenever there is a difference between the well-known madhabs. My husband tells me that I don't have the right to do this since I am not a scholar myself. Is he right?
Please reply if at all possible, because there has been a lot of tension in my household because of this.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

In order to answer this question, we must shed light on three things:

we must point out the importance of avoiding sectarianism in following any school of thought, whether it has to do with fiqh, thought or anything else. We should get into the habit of following the Qur’aan and Sunnah and letting them be our guide.

There is such a thing as the inclination to follow one of the opinions of the fuqaha’, not on the basis of Tarjeeh (weighing and comparing evidence) but because of a desire to follow the easiest way or because it suits one's own desires. A person may find some justification for motives that he thinks are correct, and does not realize they are wrong until later on. Therefore one should only select or give preference to an opinion either by studying the matter and examining the evidence and proofs offered by all sides, which should be done by one who has sound knowledge, or else by following a scholar who is well known to be knowledgeable, religious, pious and righteous, so that one feels confident of his sincerity and wide knowledge.

Keeping the peace in the marital home is more important than disputing as to whose opinion or madhhab should prevail, so long as the issue in question is one in which differences of opinion are permissible and every opinion has some grounds for validity. At the same time, it should be pointed out to the husband, gently and calmly, that it is important to base one’s opinions on sound evidence, and that not every scholarly opinion or madhhab is always correct. The scholars themselves said that their opinions should be discounted if they contradicted well known evidence, as al-Shaafa’i said: “If my opinion contradicts a hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), cast it aside (lit. throw it against the wall).”

If you and your husband are not students of sharee’ah with a firm grounding of knowledge, then you have to refer to one of the scholars and follow his opinions. If you agree on a scholar you can both refer to him, and if your husband chooses someone according to what he thinks is best and you choose someone else, there is nothing wrong with that. Each of you can follow his or her scholar in matters that do not affect the other, but in matters where the husband has authority or responsibility, the opinion of the scholar whom your husband is following should prevail. And Allaah knows best.



Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)                    

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

She argues defiantly with her husband in discussions on fiqh  



Question :


A wife is constantly arguing with her husband about matters of the deen for which there are 2 legal opinions. This is upsetting the husband and could break up the marriage.
She says I can argue with you because the wives of the Prophet often used to challenge and argue with him. However, she is often too "up-front" and disrespectful.
What advice can you offer this couple, in particular the wife?
Please, answer this question as this is turning into a bad situation between the spouses.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

The advice we give to these two spouses is that they are both creatures who should submit themselves to the laws of Allaah, because this is where happiness lies. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses, etc.) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect, etc.) to what is reasonable…” [al-Baqarah 2:228]

So both spouses must treat the other kindly. Marriage is based on love, not on defiance or provocation, because these usually occur between enemies, and if they happen between people who love one another, they usually cause hatred and do the couple no good. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy…” [al-Room 30:21]

So the husband should debate with his wife in a gentle manner, and approach her with the intention of winning her over, not of imposing his views. He should give her room for polite debate, and he should realize that it is not right for him to impose any view on her in a matter of fiqh that concerns her alone. He has nothing to do with it if she is convinced of a different scholar’s opinion, and she is permitted to follow that scholar. The wife must be aware that the husband’s rights are great, that obeying him is obligatory and that pleasing him is part of pleasing Allaah. ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf said: “The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If a woman prays her five (daily prayers), fasts her month (Ramadaan), guards her modesty and obeys her husband, it will be said to her, “Enter Paradise through whichever gate of Paradise you wish.”’” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1573; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 660). The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said, “If I were to command anyone to prostrate to anything other than Allaah, I would have commanded women to prostrate to their husbands. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no woman will fulfil her duty towards her Lord unless she fulfils her duty towards her husband, and if he asks her for herself when she is sitting on a saddle, she should not refuse him.” The phrase “he asks her for herself” refers to the husband asking for intercourse, and the phrase “on a saddle” refers to the saddle used for riding a camel. The hadeeth is urging women to obey their husbands and if they cannot refuse them when they are in this situation (i.e., about to ride off on a camel) then how can they refuse them in other cases? (Hadeeth reported by Ibn Maajah, 1843; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5239, 5295). The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not right for any human being to prostrate to another; if it were right for one human being to prostrate to another, I would have commanded women to prostrate to their husbands because of the great rights that they have over them. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were covered from head to foot with weeping sores oozing pus, and his wife were to come to him and lick his sores (to clean them), this would not fulfil the rights he has over her.’” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 12153; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7725).

If the wife obeys her husband and treats him well for the sake of Allaah, she will earn a great reward with Allaah. By the same token, the man has to be patient with her, treat her well, win her over and teach her what his shar’i rights over her are.

With regard to her comment that the wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to argue with him a lot and challenge him, this is not right at all. They are far above such things. They asked him to spend on them at a time when he had nothing, and he did not have to spend more than Allaah had bestowed upon him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Let the rich man spend according to his means, and the man whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what Allaah has given him…”[al-Talaaq 65:7]

After this, they never repeated their demands again, may Allaah be pleased with them.

One time, the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered upon one of his wives and she gave him honey to drink. Two other wives got jealous because he stayed there for a long time, just to drink the honey. So they agreed that each of them would say that she could smell an unpleasant odour and would comment that the bees that had produced this honey had eaten from a tree that was not good. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was always anxious about having an unpleasant odour. Allaah rebuked them when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“If you two (wives of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), namely ‘Aa’ishah and Hafsah) turn in repentance to Allaah, (it will be better for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) likes), but if you help one another against him (Muhammad  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)), then verily, Allaah is his Mawla (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.), and Jibreel, and the righteous among the believers, - and furthermore, the angels – are his helpers.” [al-Tahreem 66:4]

So they never did such a thing again, may Allaah be pleased with them. So how can this woman forget about the good deeds of the Mothers of the Believers and their good treatment of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which are so well known, and fail to follow their example in this, then try to use as evidence the mistakes which some of them made, which were corrected by Allaah, and which they never did again?

May Allaah help you both to do that which He loves and which pleases Him, and may He reconcile between you.



Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)