REFUTING CLAIMS ONTARIQA NAQSHBANDIYYA (5)
Then they said – as translated into English:
<<And they leave out the recitation of al-Fatiha in Salat al-Janazah, whereas in the Shafi‘i madhhab the Fatiha is fardh and a rukn of the funeral prayer.>>
Comments:
1. Many Naqshbandi followers including myself never leave out the recitation of Surat al-Fatiha when praying Salat al-Janaza as imam, so the above generalization is incorrect.
2. This being said, it is established for other than the Shafi‘is that the Fatiha is not recited, and that is the madhhab of Abu Hanifa (rah) and Malik (rah). It is a well-known difference of opinion which never necessitates disapproval, let alone accusations of bid‘a or dalala, or being outside Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a, or being outside Islam, or having to repent.
3. Indeed, the prayer of the Shafi‘i follower is valid behind an imam who does not read Surat al-Fatiha in Salat al-janaza or reads it to the intention of du‘a and praise of Allah—as Hanafis and Malikis do—rather than as part of Qur’an or as recitation of it (because if they read it at times, they do so as a sunna not a fard).
4. As for us the Basmala is an Aya (verse) of al-Fatiha and an indissociable part of its being a rukn (integral); so whoever does not read the Basmala in the Fatiha has invalidated one of the integrals of Salat; however, WHEN A NON-SHAFI‘I IMAM BELIEVES IN THE SOUNDNESS AND PREVALENCE OF HIS OWN MADHHAB’S POSITION AND PRACTICES THAT POSITION IN HIS SALAT, A SHAFI‘I FOLLOWER’S SALAT IS VALID EVEN IF THAT POSITION IS DEEMED INVALID IN THE SHAFI‘I MADHHAB. This is why the salat of the Shafi‘i pilgrims is valid and correct even behind the imams of Mecca and Medina who do not recite the Basmala—whether out loud or silently—or anywhere else in the world, and it has been said that the majority position of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama‘a is that Basmala is not part of the Fatiha.
5. The scholars of the Salaf never condemned such madhhab differences because they had great minds and because they always practiced mercy towards the Umma of the Prophet (saws). In fact they warned against severity over this issue. Qatada, Qubaysa and Sa‘id bin ‘Aruba said: “Whoever did not study the legal divergences has not yet smelled the scent of fiqh, and will not achieve success, and is not counted among the scholars of knowledge!”
مَنْ لَمْ يَسمَعِ الخِلَافِيّاتِ لم يشُمَّ رائحة الفقه بَعْدُ،
ولن يَفلَحَ، ولا يُعَدُّ من أهل العلم.
ولن يَفلَحَ، ولا يُعَدُّ من أهل العلم.
Imam al-Layth bin Sa`d said: “The people of knowledge are the people of leeway!”
أهل العلم أهل التوسعة.
Note also the famous saying “The differences of the Umma are a mercy” which is an agreed-upon rule among the pious Salaf such as the Seven Jurists of Medina, ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, and the Four Imams among many others.
اِخْتِلَافُ الأُمَّةِ رَحْمَةٌ.
قاعدة متَّفق عليها عند السلف الصالح.
قاعدة متَّفق عليها عند السلف الصالح.
It is even a consensus (ijma‘) which none breached except the Mu‘tazila, Ibn Hazm al-Zahiri and Muhammad Nasir al-Albani in our time. Al-Nawawi rebutted Ibn Hazm in harsh terms and other Ahl al-Sunna scholars rebutted the rest, may Allah have mercy on all of them.
6. All of the above is part of the “undisputed givens” (musallamat) of legal principles, such as what Ibn Qudama gave as an axiom in his Creed entitled Lam‘at al-I‘tiqad, saying: “The consensus of the imams of fiqh is an overwhelming proof and their disagreement is a vast mercy.”
إجماعُ أئمّة الفقه حُجَّةٌ قاطعة، واختلافُهم رحمةٌ واسعة.
Ahmad b. Taymiyya often cites the above rule in his writings.
Therefore we do not consider it correct to adopt the Mu‘tazili-Zahiri-Wahhabi trend—which is rigid on appearance and forms, but in fact is lax and negligent on objectives and realities; nor do we buy curses in exchange of mercy; nor do we turn ease into difficulty. Rather, we apply the directive of Imam Sufyan al-Thawri (ra): “When you see anyone do something over which there is a definite difference of opinion, and you follow a different position, do not forbid them!”
إذا رأيتَ الرجل يعمل العمل الذي قد اختُلِف فيه،
وأنت ترى غيرَه، فلا تَنْهَهُ!
وأنت ترى غيرَه، فلا تَنْهَهُ!
Meaning: even when you do not consider him to be following the correct position; yet you must not forbid him.
Likewise Imam al-Nawawi (rh) said in the chapter on al-Amr bil-ma‘ruf wan-nahy ‘an al-munkar in Sharh Sahih Muslim:
“SCHOLARS ONLY CONDEMN WHAT THERE IS CONSENSUS ABOUT; AS FOR WHAT IS DIFFERED ABOUT, CONDEMNATION IS IMPERMISSIBLE! because according to one of two positions, every mujtahid (top verifying scholar) is correct. This is the preferred position of many of the verifying scholars or even their majority.”
العلماء إنما يُنْكِرون ما أُجْمِعَ عليه؛ أما المختَلَفُ فيه، فَلَا إِنكارَ فيه.
Imam al-Suyuti reaffirmed this rule in al-Ashbah wan-Naza’ir in Shafi‘i fiqh.
And Allah knows best. Blessings and peace on our Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy, and may Allah protect his Community, the Umma of Mercy, from intransigent views and people. "The intransigent will perish" (Hadith). May Allah take us back to him as believers and enlighten our graves with His Mercy!
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