Next Step: Compiling A Common Fiqh

In the Name of Allah,

All Praise is due to Allah, The All Knowing, The Wise

Recently, I was sitting with a brother that I admire, and somehow the discussion lead to following one of the four religions (madhaibs) in Islam. As I told him that I do not do taqleed, as it is a form of shirk. His jaw dropped, and he looked at me with his eyes wide opened. After a few second, he told me that a Muslim need to follow one of the four madhaibs. I asked him who decided that. He had no answer. I asked him if he considered me a Muslim. He just smiled. I leave this matter to Allah as he ordered me below.

"As for those who divide their din (religion) and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did." (Quran 6:159)

Main reason for the division among the Muslims is following different sects. Once we connect a group of Muslims to an ideology that is enclosed from all side, it becomes a new sect. It is healthy to have difference of opinion, and following a single scholar is permissible, even when he makes a mistake. What is not permissible is to close the door to Ijtihad, and that is what has caused the progress to stall. Even free thinkers like Albani fell in that trap and end up closing the circle to a label named "Salafi", but there is already division among Salafis that are visible. Following is the order of Allah in the matters of Fiqh.

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Apostle, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.” (Quran 4:59)

I know most of you are not interested in learning about the differences, and think that bickering over minor things is waste, but I assure you that Islam can never progress with divided Ummah, and the division is on the fiqh. Once we establish the fiqh that is the middle path, as ordered by the Prophet (PBUH), unity is all but guaranteed.

During my presentation, someone asked me a very important question. "Isn't Saudi Arabia an Islamic State?" My answer was no, because they are implementing the flawed version of fiqh which is corrupted by the culture. Women's right, Monarchy, etc Similarly, Iran has implemented its version of fiqh and it is a disaster. So, everything comes down to having the fiqh based on Quran and Sunnah.

Current Taqleedi Scholars are bounded by the circle that they cannot cross to go pick up the essential law which will balance the society, hence living a life of pre-Islamic Meccan who claimed to follow the fiqh derived from the Prophet Ismael. They believed in Allah as the supreme God, but they could not go against the traditions handed down by their forefathers. Their argument to Muslims was that their scholars received this fiqh of "intercession to Allah through others", generation to generation, and it is a consensus. How can Muslims claim to go against it? What finally convinced the masses at the end of the Prophet's life was the completion of a system that produced results, and people entered Islam in droves. Following is the proof that Mushriks believed in Allah as the only God, but their understanding (fiqh) got corrupted allowing them to follow rulings that included intercession.

Say: Unto Whom (belongeth) the earth and whosoever is therein, if ye have knowledge? They will say: Unto Allah. Say: Will ye not then remember? Say: Who is Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the Tremendous Throne? They will say: Unto Allah (all that belongeth). Say: Will ye not then keep duty (unto Him)? Say: In Whose hand is the dominion over all things and He protecteth, while against Him there is no protection, if ye have knowledge? They will say: Unto Allah (all that belongeth). Say: How then are ye bewitched? (Quran 23:84-89)

I see alot of talk but no results, so lets try to implement what people also write about. Lets reform the Ummah. Lets compile the fiqh that is the middle path. All the modern fiqh is based on the principles set by Imam Abu Hanifah, and they provide the most flexible framework, so we will use those principal, but will consider all other madhaib's ruling, and select the best one. Purpose is not to produce new rules of fiqh, but to reform some of the rulings that have been corrupted by bias views and opinions. I will take upon myself to setup a website and data storage, so this progress can be tracked. If you like to participate, you will be able to go to the site and do so. At the very least, it will help me sort out the correct fiqh for me to follow. That is my primary motivation. I have enough of listening to the rhetoric, and its time to roll up our sleeves and get our hand dirty.

I have registered to Islamic Online University http://islamiconlineuniversity.com  to learn the principles formally, and I will encourage you to do the same. It is almost free of cost service with a minimal fee.

Next step starts now, and May Allah help us complete this step.

JazakAllah Khairin,

a slave of Allah
AbuArman Jumani