Islam Matters
In our move forward whatever
steps are taken should be taken
with a positive and respectful
attitude towards the scholars
of the past. We need to build
upon our rich tradition, not break away from it.
continued on page 30
opinions categorized as reliable
scholarly opinions. This was all done
to ensure that we are as close as
possible to the truth.
The unique and unprecedented
science of Usul ul Fiqh (principles
of jurisprudence) emerged for
this very reason. It was formed to
establish how rulings can be derived
from religious sources and what
makes a certain opinion stronger
than another. Indeed, even a basic
understanding of the mechanisms of
development of Islamic law would
show the ridiculousness of dismissing
a unanimously accepted ruling as a
“random man’s opinion.”
Another thing at play here is an
underestimation of the women in
the previous eras. The underlying
assumption is that women in the eras
before were ignorant and oppressed,
and thus bought into whatever men
told them God was telling them.
Only now women have finally woken
up, started thinking for themselves,
and are fit to save themselves from
the injustice of the past.
This is a result of reading histories of
women from non-Muslim societies
into Islamic history. The truth is,
women from the early days of Islam
were very learned regarding the
teachings of Islam. The wives of the
Prophet a after all lived with him
and saw his every action. The female
companions of the Prophet a also
had direct access to him and never
hesitated to ask questions when they
needed. They never hesitated to right
a wrong as we see can in numerous
incidents. They, in turn, related what
they learned to the next generations,
both men and women. The rulings
of menstruation, etc., are all based
on narrations by these women
themselves.
If men were being biased and unfair,
these women would be the first to
speak out. These women, especially
the Ansar women, were known for
being loud and bold, never hesitant
to correct an error. And the men,
too, were God-fearing and accepted
the truth when shown it. The famous
story of Umar g declaring his
intention to put a limit to the dowry
and an old woman standing up in the
masjid to question the validity of this
proposal is a clear testament to this.
Men may have been the most
prominent scholars but that does
not mean women had no role in the
scholarly tradition. Classical fiqh
rulings come from interpretations
of both men and women. It was
after all, Aisha j whom the female
companions used to consult
regarding menstruation and when
to pray or not to. It is her and other
female companions’ narrations (in
particular Hamna bint Jahsh and
Fatima bint Abi Hubaysh) that form
the basis of the fiqh rulings on this
subject. Fiqh and hadith books have
pages of discussion on the many
intricacies of this topic; indeed, it
is often considered one of the most
complex chapters of fiqh with regards
to the variety of circumstances and
rulings. It wasn’t something just
invented and brought forward based
on the whims of scholars without any
basis. The same methods and level of
scholarship was used in this subject as
in any other subject of fiqh.
There is a more fundamental issue
at stake here. What was the purpose
of Allah preserving the Qur’an if
the religion was not meant to be
preserved? Allah did not just promise
to preserve the words of the Qur’an,
He had promised to preserve the
teachings, the practices, the entire
religion forever. And that was done
through the scholars. Religious
knowledge and religious law has been
protected, preserved, and passed
down from generation to generation
through the work of these scholars.
This protection is necessary for Islam
to remain. It is simply not possible to
accept Islam as the true unchanged
religion and then to believe that
scholars have been wrong or biased
for so long and only now we have
discovered it. The Prophet a himself
had promised, “My Umma will never
agree on an error/misguidance, so
stay with the majority...” Any stray
opinions, opinions opposing the
Qur’an and Hadith were quickly
battled away before they became
law. Scholars willingly suffered years
of jail defending the truth instead
of giving in to please rulers who
wanted to bend religious law in their
favor. It was Allah’s protection that
protected this religion in this manner.
The scholars were guided by the
admonition of the Prophet a that
this knowledge is a trust from Allah,
and whoever invents something from
himself in the matter of deen will
be responsible. They remembered
12 January - February 2020 | AL-MADINAH