The line in the sand - Part 7

Schools of Thought

Quran and Sunnah are the two main sources of knowledge for the believer. Revisiting earlier points is an important reminder that your love for Allah and His Prophet (Muhammad ﷺ) determines how you approach your life and your adherence to Islam. Many are guilty of interpreting hadith and certain rulings to suit their understanding. “We hear and we obey” is overlooked, dismissed.

In an environment in which nothing changes, the literal understanding and application of rulings is much easier. However, the world is made up of multitudes of people from different backgrounds, simply meaning ethnicity, culture and language. With the expansion of Islam came new situations and challenges. While we can say people are ultimately the same, there may be some nuances. Referring to the sources of knowledge in Islam being Quran and Sunnah, the changing landscape created a need for the interpretation of the main sources as new situations arose. When everyone agrees, then the solution is easy. There may, though, be instances where there is no consensus, then what? I am paraphrasing some of the texts of history. The evolution and development of the Islamic legal system and jurisprudence is a subject on its own, far beyond a few paragraphs. The point is that in the first few centuries of Islam, there were certain developments which led to compilations of books and schools of thought, generally known as a madh-hab.

Beyond that lay a dangerous beast. Before, we get into that detail, it must be pointed out that there are four madhahib (pl of madh-hab) prevalent today. However, there were many more that did not survive for many reasons, not one necessarily better than the other. Understanding how matters developed during the period in which these madhahib were given life, you cannot incline to rigidity in any one madhab. This refers to acting in a way or believing that one is right and the other is wrong. These schools of thought did not come to change the shari’ah but came to bring a level of understanding to it. Therefore, the many sins being committed have not been made permissible by any of these schools of thought. Their basis is Quran and Sunnah. Thus, the rulings on tabarruj, dress-code, haircuts, dating, etc have not changed. On the matter of rigidity, sometimes people question you if you do an act of worship slightly differently and will then continue to suggest that you have formed a new madhab. The important thing is to learn and, therefore, if an act or action falls within the framework of the teachings of Islam, it is acceptable. This needs discussion for better understanding. Stick to your madhab, but if someone does one permissible act outside of the madhab, it does not mean that they do it blindly. Overlook or try to understand.

The one who learns and seeks deeper knowledge will incline to study more in depth and will seek out proofs so that he/she continues to strive to follow Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the best way possible. The imams of the madhabs were firm on all aspects of the deen, not only fiqh.

See next: https://capemuslimspeak.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-line-in-sand-part-8.html

See previous: https://capemuslimspeak.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-line-in-sand-part-6.html

On a point of Hijab

 

It is a fact that madaris (plural of madrassah - "Islamic" school) are empty. Everyone stops learning at a young age because we really are busy people. We end up learning from titbits and most of our religious education is not actually obtained from people more knowledgeable than ourselves.

The aspect or issue of hijab is quite interesting as certainly everyone has an opinion on it. Opinions range from it is in my heart, to wearing a scarf, to wearing pants to "I don't care". The issue of Niqaab we will bypass that for today. The issue of hijab is ongoing and people feel proud that they wear hijab. There is agreement that it is a requirement but the application may not meet the requirement. The argument is that "she has a view, I have a view and you have a view". Well, honestly, I don't have a view. And therein lies the crux. We believe that we can have a view or opinion on matters of the deen. This is a recipe for dispute (and disaster) at every level and a time when the ignorant find a voice. I have merely used hijab as an example of how we treat matters of the deen.

There are two primary sources - Quran and Sunnah - and that remains our first port of call. We can debate about issues of deen, till the cows come home, but if there is no reference to the primary sources of knowledge then the argument or debate is futile. There are of course matters where we refer to consensus of scholars but for the most part, all our fundamental matters are dealt with in Quran and Sunnah. The point that one can have an opinion on aspects of deen makes you a scholar of Islam. Nonetheless, the opinion of anyone cannot contradict Quran and Sunnah. Few people will read this, or will want to understand this or will share this, yet they will be in disobedience to our Creator by acting on wrong information when they have an opportunity to seek true guidance or they will speak on matters and advise others while they themselves are ignorant.

The next time you say "I am dressed appropriately", then ask yourself according which Islamic ruling which you got from which source. This actually applies to anything that you think you are doing right but have not thought about the fact that you may actually have followed another blindly without reference to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

And Allah knows best

We pray for His guidance and protection

CT Muslims - Tradition over everything

There is a right and there is a wrong and then there is a grey area. We have been given a way to discern things but do we do this as our lives evolve in its various aspects.

The many ways of doing things may lead to others not seeing  the benefit of one methodology over another. Many will see this blog only as criticism. The truth is that as Muslims we ought to think and ponder over things. Allah speaks much about the Bani Israeel in Quran and many will read it as mere stories or some may even use these ayaat to point a finger at the Jews. This sort of thinking causes us to fail to remind ourselves when we are drifting away from the laws of Allah because we have failed to realise our shortcomings.

Our community is one filled with tradition and, many-a-time, consumed by it. It is a fact that many times either tradition trumps the Islamic ruling or that at times tradition cannot be separated from the religious practices of the people. We either justify some actions or we avoid the topic in its entirety and we condemn the one for objecting to a certain practice or tradition as a madman. There must be a challenge out there for someone to write a book about the laws of Islam versus the many practices and traditions. Such a book that will shed light on the various matters and that we may all be better informed. Issues relating to birth, to marriage and to death and the very many others traditions and practices in between.

 Of the customs is to comment on religious issues either without knowledge on the subject or without the requisite proofs from Quran and Sunnah. Perhaps as a sign of dwindling respect for parents or perhaps people are better informed, but these days one hears less  "my father did so" or "my father said ..." which of course cannot be used of proof (of validity) in religious matters. The other interesting approach is to say that "my Sheikh/Mowlana/Imaam said ...". It may be that the listener did not fully listen the Imam and thus may have omitted something or the Imam may have passed on something without relating the proof or context. This is something that may cause as issue to be lost in translation or rather transmission. Thus it becomes difficult to present your argument, defense or become a proponent of an issue when you say "my imam said ...". Yet, our community life is driven by this concept. The difficulty is then that when there is disagreement, the argument is raised about "ulama bashing" when in fact it is merely a case of contextualising a ruling or correcting a transmitted statement.

The crux of the matter is whether we profess to be a vibrant Muslims community or whether we can attest to being that type of community. It is a question that we can ask and answer individually and collectively. There must be a benchmark though. Were we to made aware of actions and traditions that do not conform to the laws of Islam, will be discard them. We may at this stage deny that we actually have to come to this sort of analysis. There is an opportunity for us to do introspection and as issues are raised, we may find a way to analyse it and take the appropriate action.

May we of those who uphold the Quran and Sunnah and discard those practices that is not in sync with Islam.

And Allah knows Best