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Salafism Explained
It is the cherished goal of every sincere believer to follow in the footsteps of the pious predecessors,
the Salaf. That is the first three generations of Muslims. The men and women of these three eras were
the most accurate embodiments of the sublime teachings of Islam and as such Muslims have always
considered their understanding and practice as the standard. The Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wa
salam) indicated to their unique status in the following saying: The best of my Umma is my
generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them. (Bukhari, Muslim). In our age
there has emerged some confusion as to how the average Muslim is to achieve this goal. We say in
our age because the way that was adopted throughout most of Islamic history by the masses, andvalidated as sound by the vast majority of scholars (see below), is for them to follow (taqlid) one of
the four famous legal schools1
(Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali).
The reason for this was that these four schools were the finest, most rigorous, scholarly, authoritative,
reliable and systematic channels by which a layman could access the sacred sources of the Holy
Quran and Sunna. It seemed an elementary conclusion: Surely whatever understanding of the
teachings of the Quran and Sunna someone could arrive at today, no matter how many Islamic
Universities he has gained certificates from, in comparison to any one of the four great Imams, each
of whom belonged to the age the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) testified was the best
Islamic ages, and each of whom was endorsed as a meticulous authority of Islamic Knowledge by anocean of other erudite scholars and each of whom had his school finely combed and refined by
another array of genius scholars for centuries right up to our own age, it will always be inferior for
the difference in the credentials between the two is the like the difference of the heavens and earth.
That these four schools were so prestigious is actually a historical fact beyond dispute and even
acknowledged by many modern-day Salafi scholars. Where there is a dispute is that according to the
vast majority of the leading Sunni scholars, the lay-people are obligated to only use these schools to
access the legal material (ie rulings, laws and rules) of the Holy Quran and Sunna, as they
themselves are simply not qualified for this immensely important task. The modern Salafi movement
and theAhl-e-hadith group however hold that these four schools are essentially irrelevant and that all
the masses need to do is pick up a copy of the Holy Quran and certain books of hadith and just readthem and do what they say.
This idea that each believer must extract the teachings from the sacred sources himself however is
not new. Throughout Islamic History there have been a handful of isolated maverick voices that have
advocated this idea. It however has always been restricted to being a mere argument found only in
the pages of books. It was never allowed to grow to anything more significant, firstly, because it was
opposed by an ocean of Imams and scholars who saw the terrible consequences it would encourage
and secondly the Khalifs, using their executive powers, checked it from ever becoming anything
more than a quaint intellectual discussion. Thus wherever one travelled in the Muslim world (from
around the 9th
century onwards) one would only ever find seminaries, courts, masjids and learning
circles that adhered to one of the four schools. Then in the 19th century2 as the Khilafah was in its
1The reader can find out more about the erudtion and intellectual sophistication of these schools and the Imams that developed
them by studying a recent book on their lives called, The Four Imams by Abu Zahra.2 Abu Zahra, Tarikh al-Madhaahib al-Islamiyya, p. 208.
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death throes and general decay set in, this idea finally left the books and for the first time ever the
theory was going to be applied on a mass level. In fact in some places it gained considerable sway
and support. Of course, the vast majority of Muslim scholars and major Islamic institutions, like the
thousand year old Islamic university of Al-Azhar in Egypt, have always rejected this idea,3
and it is
only due to the absence of a true Islamic State that it gains any influence over unwary isolated
Muslims.
This contravention of the thousand years plus Islamic tradition has, and there is no way to deny thereality, led to catastrophic consequences. For example, it is perhaps not surprising that virtually all
the extremist Jihadi groups and individuals the world knows today have also been followers of this
very school of thought. From the rebels who caused wanton bloodshed in the Grand Mosque of
Makka in 1979 to the architects of the attacks on the twin towers in 2001, were all well-known
Salafis or salafi-influenced.
The blessing of the four great schools was that they ensured no one could play with the verses and
ahadith to further their political, worldly or materialistic aims under the guise of religion. Once the
reigns of their authority were thrown off and people, who neither had the high-level qualifications or
the inner fear of God, were left to their own devices mayhem was unleashed. This is what Salafism
gave the Umma in its misplaced zeal togo back to the Quran and Sunna. As if the master scholarswho headed the four schools, and their brilliant students after them, were secretly peddling opinions
from other than the sacred sources of the Quran and Sunna.
The four schools provided the Umma with a unique apparatus to ensure that the Quran and Sunna
did not become target practice for every person who knew a smattering of Arabic. Indeed, it is ironic
that one of the claims of the Salafis is that the four schools lead to disunity and sectarianism. By
flinging open the doors of interpreting the sacred sources to every Muslim, the Umma will fragment
in to as many sects as there are Muslims. The toxic fallout from their gross misinterpretations would
haunt an already broken Umma for generations and real Islam would become lost in a mass
confusion of opinions each one stamped with Quran and Sunna. With the four schools, on the
other hand, the whole Umma was and can be soundly united, as each school, in regards to a hugenumber of legal issues actually hold the same view. Secondly, because the followers of one school
know that where the follower of another school differs on some issue, he is not doing so due to his
personal desire or as a result of his ignorance, but because he is earnestly adhering to the opinion of a
reputable and trustworthy Imam, the feelings of love, respect and toleration (each Muslim must have
for another) are kept fully intact.
But let us dwell a little more on how exactly the Salafi call leads to the dangerous corruption
mentioned above. Let us take some examples to illustrate how this precious religion, the greatest gift
to mankind, by rejecting the authority of the four schools can be turned in to a farce. One of the
delicate jobs of an expert scholar (mujtahid), amongst other things, is to penetrate to the heart of the
laws and determine the legal cause or inner meaning/linguistic indication (`illah or dalaalah) for a
ruling. It is an accepted principle if this legal cause or linguistic-indication is absent or present in
some other case, the ruling will be likewise. So for example the cause for the prohibition of alcohol is
intoxication. The scholars saw that this cause is also found in various drugs thus it follows they too
are prohibited according to Islamic law. On the other hand, the jurists observed that the linguistic-
indication for cutting of the hand of the robber (al-Sariq) was theft from a secure place, like a home,
thus they ruled that a person who lifted someone elses property left unsecure in the street , could not
have his hand amputated, because the legal cause or meaning is not found that made cutting of the
hand necessary.
3This is a fact that even proponents of this idea actually admit themselves, see p. 147 of Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, The
Evolution of Fiqh, New Revised Edition 3, IIPH, 2006. On p.147, erroneously referring to the four legal schools as sectarian,
he writes: But, to this day, the majority of scholars remain firmly bound to sectarian Islam in the form of one of the four madh-
habs.
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Let us now leave the secure and tranquil territory of the mujtahid scholars and enter the wild-west
territory of the salafi-minded Muslim. Such a Muslim may well say Allah Almighty ordered the
believers to do ablution before praying thus: O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer,
wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and
(wash) your feet to the ankles. [ Sura al-Maida:6]. Now this verse, he may argue, was first
revealed to the arabs who lived in very hot tempretures of Arabia and spent their time herding
camels etc. It is obvious they would be in no fit state to perform prayer as they reeked of sweat and
other smells, so God commanded them to have a thorough wash first. We today live in a time inwhich we neither herd camels and the weather is mostly cold therefore it goes without saying that
wudu (ablution) is not obligatory for us (maadhallah).
Take another example, a person could argue that riba (usury) was forbidden because it was being used to
exploit people and now the interest rate is not so high and is even fixed in some cases, so it is permitted.
Similarly, a person may argue Allah talaa forbade Zina because there is a risk that the lineage of a child will
become lost through confusion about the identity of the father. Now thanks to science and dna matching we
can know exactly who the father is! So in our modern age of technology and science fornication and adultary
should be permitted or at the least they are not sinful and Haram! The numbers of such diabolical opinions
will be as many as there are Islamic rulings. As one can see this is the virtual destruction of Islam and its
immaculate Shariah. This is the reality of what is being faciliated by some Muslims in their misplaced zeal to
go back to the Quran and Sunnaand to open the doors of Ijtihad(independent judicial reasoning). It was
this mayhem the great Imam Jalal al-Din Suyuti was referring to when he wrote the following sagacious
words:
The difference found in the four Schools in this nation is a huge blessing, and an
enormous virtue. It has a subtle hidden wisdom the intelligent are able to grasp, but the
ignorant are blind of. I have even heard some of them say: The Prophet a came with one
law, so where did the fourmadh-habs come from? (Jazeel al-Mawahib)
Some salafis have finally realised that their rejection of traditional Islam is simply indefensible.
They have thus slowly come with a more sophisticated position which on the face may seem a good
sign. This group now says that it is after all necessary for the lay-people to follow the scholars and
in particular the four schools. Yes, the same four schools other salafis would revile and consider
enemies of the Quran and Sunna.4 They further quickly add that the lay-people however have the
option of choosing between schools and modern scholars who may come with a different opinion.
Following one Madhab, they say, is not obligatory. This view is also weak and as anyone can see it
is actually just another hapless way the pure Religion of Islam becomes open to corruption and
enables people to follow their whims and desires. This position necessarily admits that to leave the
general masses to interpret the sacred sources by themselves can never be tolerated, which
nevertheless is a major improvement and a sign that the Umma is on its way to recovery. What is
noteworthy is that they acknowledge the corruption that comes in not obligating Taqlid (following
the scholars without knowing the detailed evidences). Once that is accepted, appreciating the reason
why scholars went further and obligated for an individual the following of only one school is easy.
For without making one school obligatory will lead to similar corruption will reign and especially
so in the age of the internet, which has made contacting individuals thousands of miles away, easier
than consulting an Imam at the Masjid at the bottom of the road. Thus a person can easily go on
surfing the net till he locates someone who will say the unlawful is permitted. This is not justfiction, it is a reality. You have people today who have scholarly qualifications legitimising for
4 For example, Shaikh Nasir al-Din al-Albani in the third edition of hisMukhtasar Sahih Muslim by Al-Mundhiri, on p. 548,
compares Hanafi fiqh to the Gospel. In later editions this has been removed.
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example, Usury - if its for commercial loans, music, the intermingling of the sexes etc. It was for
this corruption the scholars unanimously declared Taqlid of one school to be obligatory. The reader
may consult the booklet Understanding Taqlid, also by this writer, for further elaboration.
The reader must keep in mind that there are many brilliant scholars present today who meticulously
serve the Umma whilst adhering to one particular school. Thus they perform ijtihad and they utilise
the mechanisms within their school to help the Umma with the new challenges the modern world
throws up. This entails giving Fatawas on new issues that never existed in the beginning of Islam,
forensically deducting the rulings from the rich sacred texts, as well as providing authentic
legalistic arguments to (if a genuine need exists) to suspend an established ruling in the school or
modify it. Whereas this projectingof Islam in the modern age is taking place guided by a
meticulously evidenced methodology (known as usul al-fiqh, developed by genuises of each school5
whose expertise and fear of God was attested to by thousands of other scholars), salafis who deny
the idea of schools, possess a fluid and phantom methodolgy that is often no where written down
thereby making the chance of subverting the sacred law easier. It is this absence of a rigrously
established methodology that has led one of the leading salafi scholars Shaikh al-Albani, for
example, to bring forth some of the most bizarre opinions ever heard in the Umma. He is the one
who declared in hisfataawa that the Palestinians should all leave their land because it is Dar al-
Harb. He also stated, clearly violating the Ijma on the issue, that there is no Zakah to be paid on
trade goods.6
Similarly, in hisAdab al-Zafaf, he forbade golden jewellery for women despite the
entirety of the Umma permitting it. Likewise he, and an ocean of Salafis with him, forbid the
offering of twenty Rakaa`as in the Taravih prayer and consider three Talaqs to constitute only one.
All these examples are the result of a flaw in methodology. One can clearly see, for example, that
Ijma (consensus of the Umma) is not being considered a proof. But all four Imams and the scholars
of Islam genrally have always considered Ijma as a separate independent binding evidence inIslamic law and meticulously upheld it. In the salafi case it is embraced and cited in some places
and unceremoniously ignored in many.
The truth is that the Salafi movement, whichever form it takes, gets away with confusing the unawary
mainly because people are detached from their incredibly sophisticated classical scholarly heritage. The four
schools represented de facto Sunni Islam. When one returns to the works of the leading later Imams, one
finds that they confirm the position articulated in this essay was the postion of the entire Umma. The
Ummas elect accutely grasped the above danger in allowing the layman, or the novice, to interpret the
sacred sources. They thus, as time went on, agreed by consensus that the layman must adhere to one of the
four schools in the matter of implementing the rulings of the religion and this was the best and safest way forthem to follow the Salaf. In this short work we wish to present the reader with quotations from a number of
unquestionable Islamic authorities in Islamic Intellectual history. These quotations will make it clear that the
Umma and its scholars in unison agreed that the masses must adhere to one of the four schools. The final
choice is simple and stark. Either the majority of the scholars of Islam, who unequivocally endorsed the
following of the four schools, had misled the Umma in the way they were to practise Islam and follow the
Salaf or rather it is the cadre of modern reformers who have erred.
What the Scholars Say
5 The principles these scholars set out related to the Arabic language, use of analogy (qiyas), hadith etc. In much of the principles
they concur and differ on some issues. This systematic and authoratative methodoloy is what created unity in the Umma and
engendered a deep respect and appreciation amongs the scholars for the scholars of another of the schools.6Tamaam al-Minna, p.363, Fifth Edition, Dar al-Rayaah, 1998.
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Imam Rajab al-Hanbali writes in his book: Refutation of anyone who follows other than the four
schools:
that is the Mujtahid, assuming his existence, his duty (Farduhu) is to follow what
becomes apparent to him of the Truth. As for the non-Mujtahid his duty is taqld. Elsewherehaving indicated in the latter the rarity of the lofty status ofijtihd, he states: As for all otherpeople who have not reached this level (ofijtihd), it is not allowed (l yasauhu) for them butto do taqldof these Four Imams and to submit to that which the rest of the Ummah submittedto. (Majmoo al-Rasail Ibn Rajab, vol.2 p. 626 and p.624 respectively).
Imam Badr al-Din al-Zarkashistates in Al-Bahr al-Muhit:
There has been established a consensus amongst the Muslims that the truth is restricted to
these (four) schools. This being the case it is not permitted to act upon an opinion from other
than them. Nor is it permitted for ijtihdto occur except within them (i.e. employing theirprinciples (that is the tools of interpretation). (vol.6 p.209)
Imm Shams al-Din Dhahab (673-748 AH) writes in Siyar Alam al-Nubal under Ibn HazmZhirs comment:
I follow the truth and perform ijtihd, and I do not adhere to any madh-hab, I say: yes.
Whoever has reached the level ofijtihdand a number of imms have attested to thisregarding him, it is not allowed for him to do taqld, just as it is not seeming at all for the
beginner layman jurist who has committed the Qurn to memory or a great deal of it to
perform ijtihd. How is he going to perform ijtihd? What will he say? On what will he base
his opinions? How can he fly when his wings have not yet grown? (Vol.18, Pg.191).
Imam al-Haramayn Abu al-Mali Abd al-Malik bin Yusuf al-Juwayni (419-478 AH) writes in hisbookAl-Burhan:
The expert scholars have agreed that it is not permitted for the masses to follow the schools
of particular companions (ajmaa al-Muhaqqiqun ala annal-Awwam laysa lahum an
yataalaqu bi-Madhhib Aayan al-Sahabah). Rather they are obligated (alayhim) with
following the schools of the (four) Imams who thoroughly investigated and researched, who
compiled the chapters (of Fiqh) and mentioned the circumstances of the rulings. (Vol. 2, P.
1146).
Imam Ahmad al-Nafrawi in his famous commentary of the Risalah of Imam Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani,
entitled, Al-Fawkih al-Dawni, also confirms that the Ijma (consensus) of the scholars has beenestablished that Taqld Shakh7is obligatory, that is a Muslim must follow only one of the four schools:
The consensus of the Muslims has been established upon the obligation (Wujub) of following
one of the four Imams today; Abu anfa, Malik, Shafi and Ahmad- May Allah be pleased with
them What we explained before, in terms of the obligation of following one of the four
Imams, is in relation to those who do not possess the capability of performing ijtihd. (vol.2
p.574,Bab Fi al-Ruyah wa al-Tathub,Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1st Edition, 1997).
Imam Al-Jall Shams al-Din al-Mahalli writes in the commentary of the Shafi text Jam al-Jawami`:
And the soundest position (wal-Asahh) is that it is obligatory (yajibu) for the non-
scholar/layman and other than him of those (scholars) who have not reached the rank of
ijtihd, adherence of one particular school from the madh-habs of the Mujtahid Imams
(iltizam madh-hab Muayyan min madhib al-Mujtahideen) that he believes to be preferableto another school or equal to it. (Kitab al-ijtihd, p.93).
7Taqlid Shakshi means following one specific Imam only from the four. More on this can be found in the authors work:
Understanding Taqlid- Following One of The Four Great Imams.
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Imam midi, the great authority in the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence,writes in Al-Ihkam fi Usulal-Ahkam:
The layman and anyone who is not capable ofijtihd, even if he has acquired mastery of
some of the disciplines (Ulum) related to ijtihd, is obligated (yalzimuh) with following the
positions of the Mujtahid Imams and taking his juristic opinions and this is the view of the
experts from the scholars of the principles (Al-Muhaqqiqin minnal-Usulyyin). It was the
Mutazila of Baghdad who prohibited that except if the soundness of his ijtihdbecomes
clear to him. (vol.4, p.278).
Imam Ala al-Din al-Mardawi, the famous Hanbali jurist, in his major Juristic compendium Al-Insaf, cites the statement of the famous scholar Imam Al-Wazir ibn Hubaira (died 560 ah):
Consensus has been established upon taqldof every one of the Four Schools and that the
truth does not lie outside of them. Vol.11 p.169 (Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah).
Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad Ibn Hajr al-Haytamiwrites in Tuhfa al-Muhtaj fi Sharh al-Minhaj:
The claim the layman has no madh-hab is rejected, rather it is necessary (yalzamuhu) for
him to do taqld of a recognised school. (As for the claim: scholars did not obligatefollowing one school), that was before the codification of the schools and theirestablishment. (Vol.12 p.491-Kitab al-Zakah).
Imam Sharani, an undisputed authority in the Shafi school, writes in Al-Mizan al-Kubra:You (O student) have no excuse left for not doing taqldof any madh-hab you wishfrom the schools of the four Imams, for they are all paths to Heaven (p.55 vol.1).
Imam Nawawi, the famous Shafi scholar and author ofRiyad al-Salihin, writes in Al-Majmu SharhAl-Muhadhdhab:
The second view is it is obligatory (yalzimuhu) for him to follow one particular school,
and that was the definitive position according to Imam Abul-Hassan (the father of Imam
al-Haramayn Al-Juwayni). And this applies to everyone who has not reached the rank of
ijtihdof the jurists and scholars of other disciplines. The reasoning for this ruling is thatif it was permitted to follow any school one wished it would lead to hand-picking the
dispensations of the schools, following ones desires. He would be choosing between
Halal and Haram, and obligatory and permissible. Ultimately that would lead to
relinquishing oneself from the burden of responsibility. This is not the same as during the
first generations, for the schools that were sufficient in terms of their rulings for newer
issues, were neither codified nor widespread. Thus on this basis it is obligatory for aperson to strive in choosing a madh-hab which alone he follows. (Vol.1 p.93).
Shaikh Salih al-Sunusiwrites in Fath al-Alee al-Malik fil-Fatwa ala madh-hab al-Imam Malik:As for the scholar who has not reached the level of ijtihdand the non-scholar, they mustdo taqld of the Mujtahid And the most correct view is that it is obligatory (wajib) toadhere to a particular school from the four schools (p.40-41Section on Usul al-Fiqh).
Imam Ahmad al-Wanshirisi records the following fatwa in his famous twelve volume Maliki
compendium called, fatw, Al-Miyar al-Murib an fatw ahl al-Ifriqiyya wa al-Andalus wa al-Maghrib:
It is not permitted (l yajoozu) for the follower of a scholar to choose the most pleasing tohim of the schools and one that agrees the most with him. It is his duty to do taqldof the
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Imam whose school he believes to be right in comparison to the other schools. (vol.11
p.163-164).
Imam Qurtubi, in one of the most authoritative juristic commentaries of the Holy Quran, Al-Jamili-ahkam al-Quran, commenting on verse 7 in Sura Anbiya, writes:
The scholars did not disagree that it is obligatory for the non-scholars (al-mah) to dotaqldof their scholars and they are meant in the verse:Ask the people of Remembrance if
you do not know. And the scholars by consensus (Ajmaoo) stated it is necessary (l budda)
for he who is unable to see to do taqldof someone else who will tell him the direction ofthe Qiblah, if it becomes difficult for him. Similarly, one who does not possess knowledgeor insight of what the Deen teaches, then it is necessary (l budda) for him to do taqldofthat scholar who does. (p.181 vol.11).
Imam Abd al-Hayy al-Lakhnawiwrites in his Majmuat al-fatw, after mentioning the variousviews of the scholars on taqld:
On this subject the soundest view is that the lay-people will be prevented from such
(choosing) of different opinions, especially the people of this time, for whom there is no
cure but the following of a particular madh-hab. If these people were allowed to choose
between their madh-hab and another, it would give rise to great tribulations. (vol.3 p195).
What these statements make amply clear is that taqlid of a reputable scholar is itself necessary and
secondly that each Muslim is duty-bound to learn the detailed rulings in the various spheres of practice
according to one school exclusively to save him from the great sin of following desires. It is possible that a
scholar today may believe (or others believe it about him) that he is able to transmit Islam and the views of
the Salaf (the first three generations), more authentically, faithfully and accurately than the four Imams
since he has the works of all four in front of him. This is a gross mistake, for not only were the capabilities
of the four Imams vouched for by thousands of other eminent scholars who came after them, they all8
also
belong to the age regarding which the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) testified as being the best ofIslamic ages. Neither of these two credentials are found in any latter-day reformist scholar.
There are many other issues related to this topic which cannot even be skimmed over in this short essay.
Some of them however have been dealt with in the authors work: Understanding Taqlid.
And Allah taala alone grants success.
Muhammad Sajaad, 14/Ramadan/1433
8 Except for Imam Ahmad ra whose time comes just after the age of the Tab` Tabi`een.