The Proofs determine which of the Differing Opinions
to Follow
By Shaykh Saalih bin Fawzaan Aal Fawzaan
Allaah Says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا
الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ
فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا
O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad),
and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in
anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you
believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for
final determination. [an Nisaa 4:59]
We
hear and read those who say that differing opinions are a ‘mercy’ or that there
is ease for the people in taking differing opinions. We say to these people:
Firstly,
Allaah the Mighty and Majestic Says “if you differ in anything amongst
yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger”. Going back to Allaah is going
back to the Qur’aan and going back to the Messenger is going back to the Sunnah
and after that to the specialised Scholars.
Secondly,
ease is in what Allaah has legislated in His Book and Sunnah of His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. Choosing opinions when they go against the
Book and Sunnah is destructive. Allaah the Exalted Says,
وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا
صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ
بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
"And
verily, this (i.e. Allah's Commandments mentioned in the above two Verses
151 and 152) is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths,
for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for
you that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)." [Al An’aam 6:153]
Some scholars
have said,
Not every differing is taken into account
Except for
the differing that has a portion from the evidence
Thirdly,
we say that taking from sayings that do not have evidence for them is
considered taking lords besides Allaah. Allaah, the Exalted Said about the
Christians,
اتَّخَذُوا
أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ
مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ لَّا إِلَٰهَ
إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
They (Jews and
Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah
(by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to
their own desires without being ordered by Allah), and (they also took as their
Lord) Messiah, son of Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were
commanded [in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)) to worship none but
One Ilah (God - Allah) La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to
be worshipped but He) . Praise and glory be to Him, (far above is He)
from having the partners they associate (with Him)." [at Tawbah 9:31]
When ‘Adee bin
Haatim رضي الله عنه heard
this aayah he said ‘O Messenger of Allaah! We do not worship them. He صلى الله عليه وسلم said ‘Do they not make lawful what Allaah
has made unlawful so they make it lawful and they make unlawful what Allaah has
made lawful so they make it unlawful? He said ‘yes’. He said, ‘so that is their
worshipping them.’
There are some
who say that the times today have changed so it is only appropriate to take
opinions which agree with the people of desires of this era. Saying this means
that the legislation is not suitable for every time and place and that it is
not general for the first of people and the last till the hour is established. The
Messenger صلى
الله عليه وسلم said, “Whoever amongst you lives long will see many
differences. So you should follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly
Guided Khalifahs after me.”
We hear someone
saying that ‘Differences are a mercy’.
We say that mercy is through uniting and
not through differing. Allaah the exalted Says,
وَاعْتَصِمُوا
بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا ۚ
And hold fast,
all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an), and be not
divided among yourselves, [Aali ‘Imraan 3:103]
وَلَا تَكُونُوا
كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ ۚ
وَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
And be not as
those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come
to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment.
[Aali ‘Imraan 3:105]
وَلَا
يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكَ
but they will
not cease to disagree. Except him on whom your Lord has
bestowed His Mercy [Hood 11:118-119]
Those are the
ones who did not differ so Allaah had mercy upon them.
Imaam Maalik
said, “The last of the Ummah will not be corrected except with what corrected
the first part of it.”
There
is nothing that will save you except by clinging to the Book, the Sunnah and
what the Pious Predecessors of this Ummah were upon in every time and place.
Allaah grant success to everyone in what contains goodness and rectification.
وصلى
الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين.
Written
by Saalih bin Fawzaan al Fawzaan
Member
of the Committee of Senior Scholars
27/1/1436AH
Translated by
Umm ‘AbdirRahmaan Tara Hashim 1440/2018
Arabic source:
العبرة بما قام عليه الدليل من
الآراء المختلفة
قال الله تعالى: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ
وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي
شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ
وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً) ، نسمع ونقرأ
لمن يقول الاختلاف في الآراء رحمة والآخر يقول الأخذ بالخلاف فيه تيسير على الناس.
ونقول لهؤلاء
أولاً: الله عزَّ وجلَّ يقول: (فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللّهِ
وَالرَّسُولِ) والرد إلى الله هو الرد إلى القرآن والرد إلى الرسول هو الرد
إلى السنة ويتولى ذلك العلماء المتخصصون، ونقول.
ثانياً: إن اليسر والسهولة فيما
شرع الله في كتابه وسنة رسوله. وأما الأخذ بالآراء المخالفة للكتاب والسنة فهو
مهلكة قال الله تعالى: (وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ
تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ) .
يقول بعض العلماء:
وليس كل خلاف جاء معتبرا إلا
خلاف له حظ من النظر
ثالثاً: نقول الأخذ بالأقوال التي
لا دليل عليها يعتبر من اتخاذ الأرباب من دون الله - قال تعالى عن النصارى (اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن
دُونِ اللّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُواْ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُواْ
إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا لاَّ إِلَهَ إِلاّ َ هُوَ
سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ) ، ولما سمع عدي بن حاتم رضي الله عنه هذه الآية قال يا رسول
الله إنا لسنا نعبدهم قال صلى الله عليه وسلم: (أليسوا يحلّون ما حرَّم الله
فتحلّونه ويحرِّمون ما أحلَّ الله فتحرِّمونه قال: بلى. قال فتلك عبادتهم).
وهناك من يقول إن الوقت
الآن قد اختلف فلا يناسبه إلا الأخذ بالآراء التي توافق أهواء أهل هذا العصر -
وهذا القول معناه أن الشريعة غير صالحة لكل زمان ومكان ولا أن شريعة الله عامة
للأولين وللآخرين إلى أن تقوم الساعة والرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: (فإنه من يعش منكم فسيرى اختلافاً كثيراً فعليكم بسنتي وسنة
الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين من بعدي). ونسمع من يقول: إن الخلاف رحمة -
فنقول الرحمة هي بالاجتماع وليست في الاختلاف والله تعالى يقول: (وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِحَبْلِ اللّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلاَ
تَفَرَّقُواْ) ، ويقول (وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ
كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاخْتَلَفُواْ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ
وَأُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ) ، ويقول جلَّ وعلا: (وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلاَّ مَن رَّحِمَ رَبُّكَ)،
وهم الذين لم يختلفوا فإن الله قد رحمهم.
قال الإمام مالك: (لا يصلح آخر هذه
الأمة إلا ما أصلح أولها)، فلا نجاة إلا بالاعتصام بالكتاب والسنة وما
عليه سلف الأمة في كل زمان ومكان، وفَّق الله الجميع لما فيه الخير والصلاح.
وصلى الله على نبينا محمد
وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين.
كتبة
صالح
بن فوزان الفوزان
عضو
هيئة كبار العلماء
1436-01-27هـ
