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:

Dear Brother Burhan

Assalamualaikum wrwbh

Q Kindly give me details about why there are differences in Aimma (Immams),if it is not too much but in some cases there are more differences amongst them why?

Kindly give me reasons of their differences in detail, inshallah Allah(swt) will reward you.

Jazakumullah Khair

(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:

Why is there a difference of opinion?

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.

The deen or way of life called Islam effects every aspect of a believers life, and thus its understanding is absolutely vast and limitless. Thus, when the scholars of Jurisprudence or ‘Islamic Fiqh’ gave their opinion on a particular matter in the deen, they give it according to their best understanding of the Quran and Sunnah. That does not necessarily mean that one was right and the other was wrong because the base root of both their guidance was always the Quran and the Sunnah. The most one can say when one finds a difference of opinion amongst the scholars of Jurisprudence is that although both are in accordance with the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, the opinion of one had more wisdom or was closer to the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah than the other.

We, as believers, must realize and understand that our duty is not to follow an opinion because it has originated by a Hanafi school of thought or because it has originated from a Shafei or Jaffariyah school of thought, etc. Our duty as believers is follow the Quran and Sunnah, period!; and accept whichever opinion in our knowledge, is closest to the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 59: O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best and most suitable for final determination.

My dear and beloved brother, the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws) in the way of life called ‘Al-Islam’ is absolutely vast as it comprehends every single aspect on one’s life. The Quran itself was revealed over a period of 23 years, and the Messenger of Allah (saws) implemented and taught the Quran to the believers and thus established his (saws) Sunnah over the same period.

One must appreciate and understand that it is the beauty and the vastness of the deen, that in the matters of Jurisprudence or Fiqh, there are situations where more than one way may be legal and permissible, and the Messenger of Allah (saws) over the period of 23 years may have done an act or deed in more than one way; thus allowing for the vastness and easy implementation of the deen.

Let me quote you two very very simple examples to explain:

The guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to the believers when urinating is to sit down and relieve oneself; but there are authentically recorded hadiths where it states that the Messenger of Allah (saws) urinated standing! Now if one tries to analyze these two hadiths without looking at the situation and conditions and exceptions, it may seem contradictory to each other!

Similarly, the Messenger of Allah (saws) guided the believers to pray the five prayers at their five different appointed times; but there are several authentic hadiths where the Messenger of Allah (saws) combined the dhuhr and asr prayers, and the magrib and isha prayers! Again, if one tries to analyze these two hadiths without looking and studying the situation and conditions and exceptions, one may conclude that they are contradictory to each other!

Thus, when a scholar of a school of thought gives his opinion and bases his opinion on one of the hadiths without clarifying the other; and the other gives his opinion on the second hadith without clarifying the first; it would obviously seem to the student that there is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars; whereas there is a possibility that both might be right in following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Allah Subhanah Himself relates an incident in the Glorious Quran, where Prophets like Sulaiman (a.s.) and Dawood (a.s.) had a slight difference of opinion:

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiyaa verses 78-79:

78 And remember (Prophets) Dawood and Sulaimaan, when they gave judgment in the matter of the field into which the sheep of certain people had strayed by night: We did witness their judgment.

79 To Sulaimaan We inspired the (right) understanding of the matter: to each (of them) We gave Judgment and Knowledge;

If one sees and studies the above Aayahs of Surah Anbiyaa, one will realize that even Prophets of the stature of Prophet Dawood (a.s.) and Prophet Sulaimaan (a.s.) differed on a matter; and Allah Subhanah declares that He inspired Prophet Sulaimaan (a.s.) to the right and best understanding of the matter! It is not to say that Prophet Dawood (a.s.) was wrong in his judgment, but just that Prophet Sulaimaan’s (a.s.) judgment was better than Prophet Dawood’s (a.s.), although both could have been legal, permissible and correct, for Allah Declares that to both of them He bestowed Judgment and Knowledge.

Thus, my beloved brother, one should appreciate the vastness and beauty of the deen of Islam, and not allow the Shaytaan to bring about confusion and dissension in the deen and its unity, simply because one scholar has a different opinion from the other on a small matter in Jurisprudence, because it may be that in his understanding and knowledge he has given more weight to one Aayah or one Hadith over the other.

The most important thing one must understand is that there is absolutely no difference of opinion amongst all the eminent ‘Aimmahs’ and scholars regarding the basic foundations of the deen like Tawheed (Oneness of Allah Subhanah), the Rasaalat (the Message), the Aakherat (Hereafter), or in any of the aspects of ‘Aqeedah’ or faith. It is only when it comes to small matters of Law or Jurisprudence where there might arise a little difference of opinion, and that difference is amongst the beauty of the vastness of the understanding of knowledge in Islam.

When one has true knowledge, one learns to study and appreciate the various opinions of the scholars and seeks the wisdom behind their understanding of the deen. It would only be considered righteousness to respect and honor the opinion of each of the many ‘Aimmahs’ and eminent scholars of the deen, and the sacrifice and striving they did in the Cause of Allah Subhanah by preserving their knowledge for the benefit of future generations. We, as true believers, must respect and honor each and every one of the ‘Aimmahs’ and eminent scholars, and follow the guidance which is closest to the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah. Our duty as believers in Islam is not to follow any one chosen ‘Imam’ from amongst the many eminent ‘Aimmahs’, but the duty laid upon us is to unconditionally follow only Allah and His Messenger (saws). If we were to follow only one ‘Imam’ then we would restrict and deprive ourselves of the wisdom and knowledge of the other ‘Aimmahs’, and that would neither be intelligence nor righteousness!

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