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In the penultimate post to this series, here is a comment on the issue of passing Fatwa according to the non-preferred position based on the unity of Muslims. Ibrahim al-Mukhtar Ahmad Umar (d. 1389 AH), the Hanafi Mufti of Eritrea, said:
وكلما يؤدي إلى إئتلاف المسلمين وتوحيد صفوفهم يقدم على ما يؤدي إلى الإختلاف والمنازعات، لأن درء المفاسد مقدم على جلب المصالح حتى ولو كان هناك مفضول يؤدي إلى الائتلاف فإن العمل يكون عليه، ويترك الأفضل لأجل الألفة. قال الحافظ جمال الدين الزيلعي في كتابه في الرواية في مبحث البسملة: “ويسوغ للإنسان أن يترك الأفضل لأجل تأليف القلوب واجتماع الكلمة خوفا من التنفير، كما ترك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بناء البيت على قواعد إبراهيم لكون قريش كانوا حديث عهد بالجاهلية وخشي تنفيرهم بذلك ورأى مصلحة الإجتماع على ذلك، ولما أنكر الربيع على ابن مسعود إكماله الصلاة خلف عثمان قال الخلاف شر. وقد نص الإمام أحمد وغيره على ذلك في البسملة وفي وصل الوتر وغير ذلك مما فيه العدول من الأفضل إلى الجائز المفضول مراعاة لائتلاف المأمومين ولتعريفهم السنة وأمثال ذلك وهذا أصل كبير في سد الذرائع”. والائتلاف وتوحيد الصفوف وإبطال التفرقة بين المسلمين من أجود الأمور المشروعة، ويتأكد طلبه في العبادات الإجتماعية وعلى الأخص في شهر رمضان لأنه موسم سنوي تصوم فيه الجوارح عموما عن مسالك الغرور وتتباعد فيها الأنفس الطاهرة عن محبطات الأجور وتتسابق فيه لطلب الربح في تجارة لن تبور… فلنكن من زبائنها ومروجيها قال جل شأنه (شرع لكم من الدين ما وصى به نوحا والذى أوحينا إليك وما وصينا به إبرهيم وموسى وعيسى أن أقيموا الدين ولا تتفرقوا فيه).Of course one is entitled to what many consider to be a highly flawed obsession with the Mu'tamad. It is a model of Ifta that is certainly not revelation from the heaven. There are other competing models, one of which is the preservation of unity being paramount and taking precedence over the Mu'tamad, as per what Ibrahim al-Mukhtar is saying here. I raised this on the Multaqa chat a few years ago. Most agreed actively or through silence. But there was still a vocal minority that couldn't fathom a model of Ifta that was different to their obsession with precedence and the Mu'tamad. I'm taking the liberty to reproduce some part of that discussion in the next post, anonymising everyone to their initials apart from myself. You can have a chuckle at the fanaticsm when you get to the end.
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7. Dangers of treating Ifta as Qada
Most Muftis don’t even know how to behave like a Mufti, and instead unwittingly act like judges in the manner of verdicts they issue.
For example, some prospective religious couples are taught to enter into marriage as if they just came out from the back of an acrimonious divorce, meaning they are educated to implement the letter of the law (Fiqh) on themselves. In reality, the letter of the law (Fiqh) - in matrimonial rights at least, but also commercial law as the citation from Kashmiri (d. 1352 AH) will soon state - is for judges to consider when there is an actual dispute that arises. It is not the place to start a marriage of love from. The Qur'an is fairly clear: وعاشروهن بالمعروف. It left it very open on how couples should live together and share responsibilities. It does not have the type of stilted, bookish approach that many later books of Fiqh have. Furthermore, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did many household chores himself. Such aspects of the Sirah aren't really represented in Fiqh rulings that were developed later on - the type of rulings that are designed to actually settle disputes among quarrelsome married couples (or divorcing couples). Imam al-Kashmiri highlights one of the biggest pitfalls in Ifta: Muftis pretending to be Qadis and they don’t even understand that Ifta has much more leeway than Qada:
وإذا علمت هذا فاعلم أن مسائل الديانات كلها يفتى بها المفتى ولا يحكم بها القاضي، وهكذا مسائل القضاء يحكم بها القاضى ولا علاقة بها للمفتى فإن الديانة والقضاء قد يتناقضان حكما أى يكون حكم الديانة نقيض ما في القضاء، وقد صرحوا أنه لا يجوز لأحدهما أن يحكم بحكم الآخر، والمفتون اليوم غافلون عنه، فإن أكثرهم يفتون بأحكام القضاء، ووجه الابتلاء فيه أن المذكور في كتب الفقه عامة هو مسائل القضاء، وقلما تذكر فيها مسائل الديانة، نعم تذكر تلك في المبسوطات، ولا تنال إلا بعد تدرب تام، ولعل وجهه أن القاضي في السلطنة العثمانية لم يكن ينصب إلا حنفيا، بخلاف المفتين فإنهم كانوا من المذاهب الأربعة وكان القاضي الحنفي ينفذ ما أفتوا به، فشرع المفتون بتحرير حكم القضاء لينفذ القاضي، فاشتهرت مسائل القضاء في الكتب وعملت مسائل الديانة، ثم لا يجب أن تتفق الديانة والقضاء بل قد يختلفانHe goes on to say:
وبالجملة فباب المسامحات والمروءات مفقود من الفقه مع كونه أهمHe adds:
ولذا أقول فيما أظن والله تعالى أعلم: إن من البيوع الفاسدة ما لو أتى بها أحد جازت ديانة، وإن كانت فاسدة قضاء، وذلك لأن الفساد قد يكون لحق الشرع بأن اشتمل العقد على مأثم فلا يجوز بحال، وقد يكون الفساد لمخافة التنازع ولا يكون فيه شيء آخر يوجب الإثم، فذلك إن لم يقع فيه التنازع جاز عندي ديانة، وإن بقي فاسدا قضاء لارتفاع علة الفساد وهي المنازعة، ويدل عليه مسائلهم في باب المضاربة والشركة، فإنها ربما تكون فاسدة مع أن الربح يكون طيبا، وراجع الهداية، ونبه الحافظ ابن تيمية في رسالته على أن من البيوع ما لا يقع فيها النزاع، فتكون تلك جائزة، فإذا أدخلتها في الفقه وجدتها محظورة، لأن أكثر أحكام الفقه تكون من باب القضاء، والديانات فيها قليلة
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أقول ولقد صدق فيما قال عن الشيخ ابن عابدين، وهذا غير ما يستدل له بالأحاديث الضعيفة الواهية والموضوعة الساقطة وغير ذلك من الأسباب الكثيرة التي تجعل الكتاب ساقطا في عيون المحققين وغير معتبر أصلا ولقد كنت شرعت في جمع بعض ما يوجد من هذا القبيل في الدر المختار وفي حاشية رد المحتار، فجمعت في مدة وجيزة جدا لا تتجاوز عن أسبوع واحد مقدار عشر مسائل من كتاب الصلاة فقط من غير بحث وتفتيش زائد، وهي مخالفة لنصوص علمائنا المحققين كالإمام محمد بن حسن والطحاوي والإمام الجصاص والمحقق ابن الهمام وشارح المنية وغيرهم، ثم رأيت كتاب التحرير المختار على رد المحتار للعلامة الرافعي، فعدلت عما كنت شرعت، لأن العلامة الرافعي لم يبق لمن يذر، ولم يغادر صغيرة ولا كبيرة إلا أحصاها عليه، وهو مطبوع وموجود في أيدي الناس، وإن كان يستعصي فهمه على كثير من أدعياء العلم، ولذلك الصواب مع من قال: إنه لا يعتمد على ابن عابدين كاعتماده على كتب المحققين، لا سيما رد المحتار الذي صار مرجع كل من يدعي العلم ويفتي من غير تحقيق وتدقيق، ولقد أكثر العلماء المحققون النقد على كتابه، فقال العلامة المحدث الفقيه الشيخ عبد إلهي في رسالته رفع الستر عن كيفية إدخال الميت وتوجيهه إلى القبلة في القبر: ولقد عجبت من صنيع صاحب الدر المختار حيث صرح بوجوب التوجيه، ثم قال: ولا ينبش ليوجه عليها، وأعجب منه صنيع صاحب رد المحتار حيث كتب تحت قوله ”لا ينبش“: أي لو دفن مستدبرا لها وأهالوا التراب لا ينبش، لأن التوجه إلى القبلة سنة والنبش حرام، بخلاف ما إذا كان بعد إقامة اللبن قبل إهالة التراب، فإنه يزال ويوجه إلى القبلة عن يمينه (حلية من التحفة)، فإن الشارح اختار وجوب التوجه، فكيف يصح شرح كلامه بمذهب السنية؟ فالشارح في واد والمحشي في واد آخر وقال العلامة المرحوم الشيخ محمد بخيت في إرشاد أهل الملة: وأقوال ابن عابدين نقل هذه العبارة عن الرحمتي كما صرح بذلك في رد المحتار واستحسنها، لكنه تصرف فيها بما أخرجها عن معناها… إلخ، وأنقل لك بعض عبارات التحرير المختار لتطلع عليها فأقول: قال العلامة عبد القادر الرافعي في التحرير المختار لرد المحتار: قول الشارح ”ويسن أن يلصق كعبيه“ قال الشيخ أبو الحسن السندي الصغير في تعليقاته على الدر: هذه السنة إنما ذكرها من ذكرها من المتأخرين تبعا للمجتبى، وليس لها ذكر في الكتب المتقدمة كالهداية وشروحها، وكان بعض مشائخنا يرى أنها من أوهام صاحب المجتبى، ولم ترد في السنة على ما وقفنا عليه وكأنهم توهموا لذلك مما ورد أن الصحابة كانوا يهتمون بسد الخلل في الصفوف حتى يضمون الكعاب والمناكب، ولا يخفى أن المراد هنا إلصاق كعبه بكعب صاحبه لا كعبه مع كعبه الآخر…قلت: ولعل الشيخ أبا الحسن لحظ إلى الآثار الواردة في أن التراوح بين القدمين في الصلاة أفضل من إلصاقهما…وقد ذكر الآثار الواردة في التراوح. انظره: (سندي) أقول: وقد غفل ابن العابدين عن التنبيه عليه. قال في رد المحتار ١/ ٣٥٢: إن الجلسة الأخيرة تخالف الأولى في التورك. قال في التحرير المختار ١/ ٥٩: مخالفة الجلسة الأخيرة للأولى في التورك مذهب الشافعي، وليس مذهبا لنا وهذه أنموذج من كتاب التحرير المختار، ولم أنقل هنا إلا ما كان فهمه سهلا جدا، وهناك مسائل كثيرة فيها بسط وتوضيح وفهمها يستعصي على بعض المتفقهين فضلا عن غيرهم، ومن أراد الزيادة فعليه بكتاب التحرير، وهذه كلها خلاف ما ألفه من الرسائل، فقد ألف رسالة وسماها العلم الظاهر في نفع النسب الطاهر، أثبت بالأحاديث الواهية - التي مظانها الكتب المجهولة - نجاة السادة والأشراف مهما فعلوا، وأول الآيات القرآنية والأحاديث الصحيحة النبوية إلى ما يوافق هواه وله رسالة أخرى سماها إجابة الغوث ببيان حال النقباء والنجباء والأبدال والأوتاد والغوث، وجعل أساس هذه الرسالة الأحاديث الموضوعة عند المحدثين كما لا يخفى، وأما استدلاله بالأحاديث الموضوعة فكثيرة جدا، منها استدلاله بحديث ”من ترك الجمعة التي قبل الظهر لم تنله شفاعتي“، وهو حديث موضوع كما في تخريج أحاديث الهداية لابن حجر والتحرير المختار وغيرها، ومنها: حديث ”ناكح اليد ملعون“ فإنه موضوع كما نقله صاحب التحرير المختار من ملا علي القاري وغيره، إلى غير ذلك وأما عدم فهمه للأحاديث واستدلاله بها على ما لا تدل فكثير أيضا، كما فعل في حديث ”اسمعوا وأطيعوا ولو أمر عليكم عبد…“ في باب الإمامة 1/406 من رد المحتار طبع مصر. قال العلامة الرافعي في التحرير المختار 1/269: لا يصح الاستدلال بهذا الحديث على صحة سلطنة المتغلب لأنه لا مبايعة، ولأنه محمول على ما إذا أنفذ الإمام سرية أو جيشا وأمر عليهم أميرا، يجب على العسكر أن يطيعوه في أمر الحرب، كذا حمل هذا الحديث الإمام… (من السندي)
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6. Dangers of relying overly or solely on Ibn Abidin
Many Hanafi institutons in the Arab world and the Sub-Continent are overly reliant on Ibn Abidin’s (d. 1252 AH) Radd ‘l-Muhtar for fatwa. It is considered to be the primary source of information. On Ibn Abidin and his book, Ghulam Mustafa Sindi (d. 1424 AH) writes in his Sharh Mukhtasar ‘l-Quduri:
وابن عابدين - يعني صاحب (رد المحتار) - على سعته وضخامته ترك أكثر المواضع من غير تحرير وغفل عن التنبيه على أكثر ما فيه من الأغلاط، والعذر له في ذلك أنه ينقل من كتب المذهب ما تيسر له النقل، فإذا لم يجد سكت، فإن تكلم شيئا من عند نفسه خانته قواه، ولقد سمعت ممن هو أعلم من ابن عابدين وأوسع منه اطلاعا وأدق نظرا يقول: إذا رأيت ابن عابدين يقول في آخر كلامه ”فافهم“ فاعرف أنه قد اعتمد على نظره فأخطأ. ولهذه الأسباب شكا بعض المخلصين للإسلام من حالة قضاة المسلمين والمحاكم الإسلامية الذين كانوا يقضون بما في كتب ابن عابدين وغيرهم فقال: ثم تدلى الأمر وتنزل درجة بعد درجة، حتى انتهى الأمر في عصرنا هذا إلى اعتماد الفقهاء على استظهارات ابن عابدين وأبحاث الشرنبلالي وفتاوى ابن نجيم وآراء ابن كمال باشا ومفهومات عبارات قوم من المتأخرين - جعلوا قولهم دينا منزلا وشريعة متبعة، وصاروا يبحثون في أقوالهم ويأخذون منها الأحكام، وضاعت كتب الأئمة واندرست ولم يبق في أيدي الناس منها شيء، وصار الاعتماد على كتب قوم من المتأخرين لخصوا كتب من قبلهم بأفهامهم وفسروها بآرائهم، فأساؤوا العمل فيها وبدلوها وشوهوا وجه محاسنها، وليس من دواء لهذا الداء إن كان للمسلمين بقية حرص على شريعتهم غير هجر هذه الكتب المشوهة المشوشة والرجوع إلى كتب الأئمة والثقات... (ملخصا من كتاب التعليم والإرشاد: 1/40).
In reference to من هو أعلم من ابن عابدين, the footnote (not by Sindi) in the printed book suggests it might be Abd ‘l-Qadir al-Rafi’i (d. 1323 AH), a Lebanese Hanafi scholar who moved and taught in Egypt, and was considered the foremost Hanafi Mufti in Egypt. However, that is not possible as Sindi was born after Rafi’i passed away. There is a chance it is Kifayatullah Dehlawi (d. 1372 AH), but that cannot be asserted with certainty.
Sindi adds to the following in the footnote (see following post), which is a damning assessment on Ibn Abidin’s quality of output in Radd ‘l-Muhtar. It should be noted that, like any other work, it has its positives. The issue here is that I for one don’t take any lectures on Taqlid and adherence to a school from any Mufti cohort whose verdicts are highly deficient due to an over reliance on Ibn Abidin.
(Continues)
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5. Dangers of one-dimensional Ifta, and such Fatawa remaining online for years and decades for all and sundry
Ifta is a precarious subject in that not only is a Mufti obligated to pass fatwa according to what he deems to be the correct view, he also has to analyse the impact that verdict would have on the Mustafti - and wider society if he is (unwisely) passing fatwa in public or on an online website.
There is a difference between a theoretical exercise of arriving at the strongest opinion and applying a view to a real-world situation, which might not be in accordance with what the scholar deems to be the strongest opinion. The ability to analyse the situation of a questioner requires experience with the real world, far beyond a classroom situation. Not only that, this also requires extensive understanding of the difference of opinion of scholars, so that the Mufti can pass fatwa according to that or refer the questioner to a Mufti who would be willing to pass fatwa according to that.
It is the height of irresponsibility of these pro-Mu’tamad Ifta knuckleheads to claim that only the Mu’tamad is valid when passing fatwa, but then proceed to disregard all the other factors a Mufti must take into consideration, not least what is appropriate for the questioner - and what impact that will have on the Muslim world if they - as they usually tend to do - recklessly pass their fatwa for all and sundry on the Internet, as if they are the biggest hotshots on the internet. Worse still, those fatwas stick and remain unchanged for decades.
Tahqiq 'l-Manat means the application of a ruling to a real life situation. This is a type of Ijtihad that can never go away. Shatibi states that this level of Ijtihad remains until the Day of Resurrection. It is an innate ability to analyse and assess, and does not fall under the usual conditions of Ijtihad (knowledge of Quranic verses, prophetic Hadith, consensus, Arabic language...). Even if the Fatwa is well documented in your school, for you to pass that Fatwa to the Mustafti in front of you is your Ijtihad. Even maintaining a Fatwa that was already previously implemented is Ijtihad, as it means one is of the view that the Fatwa remains suitable for practice. When one issued public Fatwas for mass consumption, the risk of self-misapplication becomes much higher. A clever Mufti avoids such scenarios.
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4. Dangers of literalism in Ifta
In his Ahkam ‘l-Qur'an, Ibn ‘l-Arabi (d. 543 AH) of the Andalusian Malikis put it best. When there was a case of brigandry and some Muftis thinking they were doing good by adhering to the letter of the law when they drew a distinction between wealth and a woman’s honour, Ibn 'l-Arabi spoke out:
ولقد كنت أيام تولية القضاء قد رفع إلي قوم خرجوا محاربين إلى رفقة، فأخذوا منهم امرأة مغالبة على نفسها من زوجها ومن جملة المسلمين معه فيها فاحتملوها، ثم جد فيهم الطلب فأخذوا وجيء بهم، فسألت من كان ابتلاني الله به من المفتين، فقالوا: ليسوا محاربين، لأن الحرابة إنما تكون في الأموال لا في الفروج. فقلت لهم: إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون، ألم تعلموا أن الحرابة في الفروج أفحش منها في الأموال، وأن الناس كلهم ليرضون أن تذهب أموالهم وتحرب من بين أيديهم ولا يحرب المرء من زوجته وبنته، ولو كان فوق ما قال الله عقوبة لكانت لمن يسلب الفروج، وحسبكم من بلاء صحبة الجهال، وخصوصا في الفتيا والقضاء
It’s not as if such silly literalism was stamped out. Such Zahiri Muftis survive up to this day. One writes on the question of viewing Tarawih from Makkah broadcast in Ramadan:
It is wrong to watch fair programmes also on television. Yes, one can see it using internet.Another Zahiri Mufti writes:
It is permissible for women to exercise using dumbbells. This is provided that they do not go to the extent that their body starts to look muscular. That would not be appropriate and may even fall within the ambit of prohibition.A third Zahiri Hanafi writes:
In conclusion, it is impermissible to buy and eat hot cross buns, as there is resemblance with the disbelievers and it promotes their false ideology and views. There are many halaal foods available in the market, some of which are tastier than the hot cross bun.Then you have one Fatwa issued by some of our contemporary Ahnaf that would put the Saudis to shame:
It is not permissible for her to emerge from her home without dire need and necessity and without observing Hijaab (Purdah)… It is not permissible for a female to drive in the absence of any one of the abovementioned conditions.It is a problem that comes right from the top and many seminaries are guilty of instilling such an attitude in Ifta students,
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3. Dangers of a Mufti relying solely on books
In relation to those who think they are passing fatwa out of Taqlid of books and past scholars, but in fact are actually undertaking Ijtihad without qualification, Kamal al-Marzuqi - a Tunisian scholar - states:
من الخلط الفقهي الظاهر توهم أن الفتوى تكون بالتقليد مع أنها رتبة اجتهاد، بلا خلاف يعتبر في هذا، وهذه آفة في الزاعمين التمذهب اليوم، تجد أحدهم يفتي تقليدا بلا أهلية ويحسب أنه بذلك فر من إشكالات اللامذهبية وهو في أكبر إشكالاتها واقع وأحد أبواب الفساد الكبرى المشرعة إفتاء الناس بمجرد المنقول في الكتب، لم تختلف كلمة جماعة العلماء في ذلك.
Ibn ‘l-Qayyim lays into Muftis who pass fatwa based solely on what is written in the books and takes up no other consideration. From al-I’lam:
وهذا محض الفقه، ومن أفتى الناس بمجرد المنقول في الكتب على اختلاف عرفهم وعوائدهم وأزمنتهم وأمكنتهم وأحوالهم وقرائن أحوالهم فقد ضل وأضل، وكانت جنايته على الدين أعظم من جناية من طبب الناس كلهم على اختلاف بلادهم وعوائدهم وأزمنتهم وطبائعهم بما في كتاب من كتب الطب على أبدانهم، بل هذا الطبيب الجاهل وهذا المفتي الجاهل أضر ما على أديان الناس وأبدانهم، والله المستعان
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In modern Hanafi madrasas, the Ifta specialisation is frequently seen as the pinnacle of a student's education. Nonetheless, the instructional methodology pertaining to this field of study necessitates a serious review. At this time, we can divide Ifta training into two different methods: the Retrieval approach and the Derivation method. The Textual Retrieval Trap “The first, and sadly most usual, way to teach a student is to have them find an answer that already exists. The learner finds the problem, looks it up in a secondary source like Fatawa Hindiyya or Radd al-Muhtar, and writes it down. This is basically a "copy-and-paste" paradigm, which means that it is a process of transmission (Naql) rather than legal reasoning. This strategy is useful for typical, resolved issues, but it doesn't help people really understand them. It produces graduates who can quote a text but don't know how it works. The outcome is often a fatwa with a few lines of English language followed by a list of Arabic citations that look nice but don't really do justice to the fiqh. The Importance of Derivation (Takhrij) The second method is even stricter; it teaches the student how to find the legal reason (Illah) of a problem. If an exact answer cannot be located in the classical texts, which is becoming more prevalent in our time, the student must have the ability to traverse the approach of the Hanafi jurists. They need to find similar situations (Naza'ir), figure out the governing rules, and come up with an answer that fits with the Madhab's principles and concepts. This is the art of Takhrij. The Problem of Modernity When we look at the present world, it becomes clear that this second way is necessary. You can't find solutions to problems with new medical technologies, bitcoin, or digital rights by looking up words in a book from the 1600s. Is a PDF copyright a kind of Mal (property) or Haqq (right)? Is a video call a "gathering" for a contract? Does praying while sitting on an aeroplane mean you have to do it again (I'adah) when you land? Think about a very unlikely situation: What would a Muslim do if they went to Mars and had to do Tayammum on Martian soil? Do they use the Earth moon or the two moons of Mars to figure out the lunar month? You won't find "The Chapter of Mars" among Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani's writings. There is no exact answer. But the answer is there. It can be found by looking for the main ideas and common threads in the Shariah. The answers that are hidden is where real learning starts. These questions will stop a student who has just been taught how to retrieve information. A student who has learnt how to derive would know that the answer to a modern bioethical question might not be in a typical chapter. It could be in the logic of the chapter on Wells or the chapter on the freed slave. The decision is based on the principle, not the title of the chapter. A trainee will only understand this relationship if they go beyond just translating rulings and really think about how the law works. We need more than just surface-level research to make good Muftis. To master the Hanafi writings, you need to really understand the hierarchy of the Mutun (Mukhtasar), the Shuruh (Commentaries), and the Usul. Before a Takhasus student attempts to answer today's hard questions, they need to stop merely looking for quotes to copy and start seeking rules to follow.Liaquat Zaman, source
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2. Dangers of making Ifta into a parroting exercise
The dangers of parrot Ifta are spelt out in clear terms by scholars across the generations. This is on top of the fact that the notion adhering to a Madhhab, or the Mu’tamad of a Madhhab, in the process of Ifta being necessary renders the following subjects entirely redundant: Maqasid, Usul, Siyasah, and Qawaid Fiqhiyyah. What on earth would be the relevance of studying these subjects if Ifta according to the Mu’tamad is mandatory?
In fact, Illish (d. 1299 AH), the Maliki Shaykh of Azhar - who takes this “illogic” to its natural conclusion in his Fath ‘l-Ali al-Malik - says that it is not even necessary to study the evidence for any of the Fatawa of the school:
يجب علينا العمل براجح أو مشهور مذهبنا وإن لم نعلم دليله ولا قوته ولا الاتفاق عليه، فإنه حجة علينا ما دمنا في ربقة التقليد، ونظرنا في الأدلة والاتفاق والاختلاف فضول، إذ وظيفتنا محض التقليد واتباع الراجح أو المشهور من المذهب
Is this the type of parrot Ifta we need nowadays? Is this what the Ummah has ever needed? Do we want to adopt the standard set by the pedagogically incompetent Shaykh of Azhar, who was living under a politically turbulent period in Egypt that was on the cusp of falling to the British? Is that really the standard for us nowadays as well? That we abandon any discussion on evidence? I'm sure most sane people will agree that his proposition was absolutely preposterous.
In fact, Ibn ‘l-Subki (d. 771 AH) goes the other way, suggesting that parrot Fiqh is a sign of ignorance - and therefore a sign of the approach of the Day of Judgement! From his Raf’ ‘l-Hajib:
فكم من فقيهين يعرفان مذهب الشافعي، فكم من فقيهين يعرفان مذهب الشافعي وأبي حنيفة، ثم إذا سئلا عن مأخذهما، لم يحيرا جوابا، ووجدا حاملي فقه وليس بفقيهين، وأكثر أبناء زماننا كذلك، فواها على الفقه، فإنه لم يبق من سحابه إلا اليسير من ظله، والله لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا ينتزعه من صدور العلماء، ولكن يقبض أهله
Liaquat Zaman writes in a post called “The Ifta Dilemma”, which I'll reproduce in the next post.
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Moving on, I want to highlight some of the pitfalls in Ifta, some of which overlap others:
1. Dangers of a Mufti not having awareness of what other schools state
2. Dangers of making Ifta into a parroting exercise
3. Dangers of a Mufti relying solely on books
4. Dangers of literalism in Ifta
5. Dangers of one-dimensional Ifta, and such Fatawa remaining online for years and decades for all and sundry
6. Dangers of relying overly or solely on Ibn Abidin
7. Dangers of treating Ifta as Qada
One might ask how is any of this connected to the issue of adherence to a school? Well it is very simple: those who are part of this institution with all its centuries-long flaws, pitfalls, and systemic faults have no right to lecture, impart, or impose their view of obligating adherence to a school - which is how they largely operate in Ifta - onto others who don’t see the Shariah built that way.
1. Dangers of a Mufti not having awareness of what other schools state
If one is trained only in the Hanafi School, that does not make him eligible to pass fatwa according to the scholars. At best, it might make him eligible to be a parrot. Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi (d. 790 AH) of Grenada, Andalusia, said in al-Muwafaqat:
جعل الناس العلم معرفة الاختلاف: فعن قتادة: من لم يعرف الاختلاف لم يشم أنفه الفقه. وعن هشام بن عبيد الله الرازي: من لم يعرف اختلاف القراءة فليس بقارئ، ومن لم يعرف اختلاف الفقهاء فليس بفقيه. وعن عطاء: لا ينبغي لأحد أن يفتي الناس حتى يكون عالما باختلاف الناس، فإنه إن لم يكن كذلك رد من العلم ما هو أوثق من الذي في يديه. وعن أيوب السختياني وابن عيينة: أجسر الناس على الفتيا أقلهم علما باختلاف العلماء. زاد أيوب: وأمسك الناس عن الفتيا أعلمهم باختلاف العلماء. وعن مالك: لا تجوز الفتيا إلا لمن علم ما اختلف الناس فيه. قيل له: اختلاف أهل الرأي؟ قال: لا، اختلاف أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، وعلم الناسخ والمنسوخ من القرآن ومن حديث الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم. وقال يحيى بن سلام: لا ينبغي لمن لا يعرف الاختلاف أن يفتي، ولا يجوز لمن لا يعلم الأقاويل أن يقول هذا أحب إلي. وعن سعيد بن أبي عروبة: من لم يسمع الاختلاف فلا تعده عالما. وعن قبيصة بن عقبة: لا يفلح من لا يعرف اختلاف الناس
The lesson that can be derived from this is that, post-Alimiyyah, a Hanafi student who aspires to be a parrot mufti will go to some random Darul Ifta...but a Hanafi graduate who wants to become an actual jurist proceeds to acquire a decent level of training in other schools from their sources and scholars.
Abdullah al-Juday’ bars anyone who is trained only according to one school to pass fatwa, especially in a multi-Madhhab society:
لا يصلح البتة أن يكون هناك من يتصدى للإفتاء وفق مذهب واحد في مجتمع متكون من أبناء المذاهب المختلفة والانتماءات المتشتتة، وإن هذا ليؤدي إلى الكوارث والفوضى في الفتيا، والمفتي بحق من يعرف الأقوال ويعرف أي قول يلائم المستفتي بناء على حاله وسؤاله ومدى حاجته
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It is now 2015. The Witr issue flares up yet again after this same ex-student, a graduate, assumes the role of a Mustafti and submits a question to Korangi on the issue. A few months later, the answer from Korangi is issued, boasting the stamps of both Rafi and Taqi Usmani. The answer is then shared by the same person within the same emailing group, with no further comment.
In response, believing the Mustafti had shared it approvingly, Mohamed-Umer Esmail (d. 1441 AH), also an ex-student and a graduate of Korangi (and Dewsbury), remarks:
Jazak Allah khairan for providing the fatwa. It made my night! I remember this issue being discussed and debated at DUK in 1998 and some of the Scholars whose signature I see on this fatwa had differed strongly on this issue. This goes to show how open our Akabir are in terms of changing their opinion when needed or when strong evidence is presented. I recall being labeled too liberal when I once said that Hanafis can pray Witr behind an Imam of another mazhab as long as he prays Witr according one of the acceptable ways. My opinion was based on the opinion of most of the Scholars who signed this fatwa though at the time there was no documented detailed fatwa on the issue. So basically when a younger scholar says something based on his ijtihad or in this case hearing from the Akabir, it is too liberal, but when it comes from our Akabir, we accept it or at least most of us:). Jazak Allah khairan again for sending this fatwa.A few days later, the Mustafti replies:
Assalamu 'alaykum Ml. Umer sahib, My pleasure. I must inform you that there is a strong and impressive counter-argument being posted to our asatidha kiram at DU Karachi soon (hopefully, this week).Hang on a second. Was initial Istifta not supposed to be a sincere question to the Mufits of Korangi? It seems that had he got the preconceived answer he wanted, he would have shouted it from the hilltops. But he got the opposite and was now working on a refutation. Not only that, it seems his purpose of sharing the Korangi Fatwa was to elicit points of refutation from other participants in the group! And against one own’s teachers no less! Not that disagreeing with one’s teachers is bad. It seemed the Mustafti had trhown his toys out of the pram, having asked the question only to get the answer he wanted. What was surprising was that, knowing he was the Mustafti in the initial Istifta and now 'acknowledging' he was party to a refutation against the very answer offered to him, that nobody reading this pointed this out. Esmail’s email is followed up by Ibn Shabbir, who in 2016 wrote an expanded list of Hanafi scholars who approved praying Witr behind a non-Hanafi. It is published on his website. (Years later, Bilal Mahmudi reproduced a refutation on Ibn Shabbir - an unconvincing one for the same reasons that not praying behind the Imam of another Madhhab is discredited.) Eventually, this Mustafti conspires with Zameelur Rahman no less to produce a refutation against his own teachers, and allows its release into the public domain! Fast forward to May 2017, and this Mustafti, who has been obsessed and mentally occupied with this petit issue for the best part of four years, shares both the Korangi Fatwa and its refutation. For good measure, he digs up and shares a Fatwa from Khayrul Madaris in Multan stretching all the way back to August 1996, stating Witr behind a Shafi'i Imam is disallowed - it a flawed edict that is essentially based on yesterday's research that might have impressed people 20 years ago but is actually worthless. The end. Korangi, a prestigious Darul Ifta seminary in the world, was subjected to the duplicitous shenanigans of one of its ex-students - a total bigot who wants to bite their heads off over this petit Witr issue. Is this the mannerism of a supposed Mufti of Islamic law? Did being a card-carrying TS fanatic stop this individual from such douchebaggery? Well it's not the first time he's behaved in an appalling manner. (continues)
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The end. Korangi, a prestigious Darul Ifta seminary in the world, was subjected to the duplicitous shenanigans of one of its ex-students - a total bigot who wants to bite their heads off over this petit Witr issue. Is this the mannerism of a supposed Mufti of Islamic law? Did being a card-carrying TS fanatic stop this individual from such douchebaggery? Well it's not the first time he's behaved in an appalling manner.
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It is now 2015. The Witr issue flares up yet again after this same ex-student, a graduate, assumes the role of a Mustafti and submits a question to Korangi on the issue. A few months later, the answer from Korangi is issued, boasting the stamps of both Rafi and Taqi Usmani. The answer is then shared by the same person within the same emailing group, with no further comment.
In response, believing the Mustafti had shared it approvingly, Mohamed-Umer Esmail (d. 1441 AH), also an ex-student and a graduate of Korangi (and Dewsbury), remarks:
Jazak Allah khairan for providing the fatwa. It made my night! I remember this issue being discussed and debated at DUK in 1998 and some of the Scholars whose signature I see on this fatwa had differed strongly on this issue. This goes to show how open our Akabir are in terms of changing their opinion when needed or when strong evidence is presented. I recall being labeled too liberal when I once said that Hanafis can pray Witr behind an Imam of another mazhab as long as he prays Witr according one of the acceptable ways. My opinion was based on the opinion of most of the Scholars who signed this fatwa though at the time there was no documented detailed fatwa on the issue. So basically when a younger scholar says something based on his ijtihad or in this case hearing from the Akabir, it is too liberal, but when it comes from our Akabir, we accept it or at least most of us:). Jazak Allah khairan again for sending this fatwa.A few days later, the Mustafti replies:
Assalamu 'alaykum Ml. Umer sahib, My pleasure. I must inform you that there is a strong and impressive counter-argument being posted to our asatidha kiram at DU Karachi soon (hopefully, this week).Hang on a second. Was initial Istifta not supposed to be a sincere question to the Mufits of Korangi? It seems that had he got the preconceived answer he wanted, he would have shouted it from the hilltops. But he got the opposite and was now working on a refutation. Not only that, it seems his purpose of sharing the Korangi Fatwa was to elicit points of refutation from other participants in the group! And against one own’s teachers no less! Not that disagreeing with one’s teachers is bad. It seemed the Mustafti had trhown his toys out of the pram, having asked the question only to get the answer he wanted. What was surprising was that, knowing he was the Mustafti in the initial Istifta and now 'acknowledging' he was party to a refutation against the answer offered to him, that nobody reading this at the time pointed out why he was working on a refutation against the answer he himself sought from Korangi. After all, he already knew their opinion beforehand via YouTube. Also, there was no indication in the Istifta he already had his own view. Esmail’s email is followed up by Ibn Shabbir, who in 2016 wrote an expanded list of Hanafi scholars who approved praying Witr behind a non-Hanafi. It is published on his website. (Years later, Bilal Mahmudi reproduced a refutation on Ibn Shabbir - an unconvincing one for the same reasons that not praying behind the Imam of another Madhhab is discredited.) Eventually, this Mustafti conspires with Zameelur Rahman no less to produce a refutation against his own teachers, and allows its release into the public domain! Fast forward to May 2017, and this Mustafti, who has been obsessed and mentally occupied with this petit issue for the best part of four years, shares both the Korangi Fatwa and its refutation. For good measure, he digs up and shares a Fatwa from Khayrul Madaris in Multan stretching all the way back to August 1996, stating Witr behind a Shafi'i Imam is disallowed - it a flawed edict that is essentially based on yesterday's research that might have impressed people 20 years ago but is actually worthless.
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Being trained to adhere to the Mu’tamad of a single school in Ifta doesn’t render a person shielded from abjectly falling into desire and predilection in other ways. Corruption in Ifta and among Muftis is as old as the hills. Molvis’ use and abuse of Darul Iftas across the world is rife, contrary to what some would believe that they are just one-off stories or a few bad apples. Ibn 'l-Qayyim and others highlight numerous horror stories in Fatwa. In the Ottoman period, you have Hanafis, even Hanbalis, passing Fatwa that fratricide is permitted in order to preserve political stability; one Hanbali scholar - the famous Mar'i al-Karmi (d. 1033 AH) - went as far to listed fratricide to be from the virtues of the Ottoman rulers!
But it’s not just Muftis. You’ll find many Mustaftis ask leading questions - and the gullible Mufti walks right into the trap. Mustaftis are known to offer half truths to present their rivals in the worst possible manner in the question (Ahmad Raza Khan, “Alahazrat”, comes to mind here, but it’s not only him). They will try to get an answer that settles scores with another party. Typically, they present questions with a neutral tone and/or a hypothetical framing, but will readily apply it to a real person once the answer is returned.
Sometimes, a Molvi submitting a loaded or leading question will even turn around and refute the Darul Ifta when he does not get the answer he wants. Following hawa (desire) is shouted from the hilltops by these lot when it comes to adhering to a school, but this shouty preaching rarely extends to the above scenarios that they perpetrate, because apparently, they can't ever possibly follow desire given that they consider themselves to be the vanguards of the faith. In reality, these nutjobs perpetrate a far worse form of Ittiba' 'l-Hawa than those who do not strictly adhere to a school. There are even instances that, when these fanatical Molvis did not receive the fatwa they desired, they conspired to refute the Darul Ifta, of which they were ex-students.
The year is 2013. The month is January. It is a digital circle - an emaling group - of a bunch of young Muftis and Molvis in the West. It has been brought to the attention of one British graduate and ex-student of Darul Ulum Korangi that Muhammad Rafi Usmani (d. 1444 AH) observes Witr in the Haramayn behind the non-Hanafi Imam. He expresses surprise and wants to probe this further, as this goes against his personal convictions of disallowance. He is presented with an audio of Rafi Usmani stating he prays behind the Haramayn Imams. The issue dies down for a couple of years. The aforementioned clip is left buried to gather dust, as evidenced by its low view count. But this ex-student could not let go and started to think of ways to establish the Hujjah on his own teachers...
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Essentially, what we have now are three reasons why a Mufti ought to adhere to a specific school:
1. Because of Qiyas on Qada
2. Because that is the terms dictated to a Mufti employed by these Awqaf
3. Because of preventative measures against potential chaos in
All three are debatable. Let's start with the third point, that not adhering to the Mashhur/Mu’tamad of a school can potentially lead to mass chaos in Ifta. On this argument, Hatim al-Awni responds to it the best:
إن فوضى الإفتاء لا يمنع منها الإلزام بمعتمدات المذاهب، وإنما يمنع منها عدم الخروج عن الإجماع الحقيقي، وعدم الخروج من مجموع أقاويل السلف فيما يدخل في الإجماع المركب بشرطه المعتبر (الذي بينته في كتابي: اختلاف المفتين)، بإيجاب أن يكون للمفتي إمام معتبر بالاتفاق قد سبقه إلى قوله
هذا هو ما يضبط الفتوى وينجيها من الفوضى، وليس الإلزام بما لا تستطيعون الاستدلال على وجوب التزامه
وما مثل الملزمين بمعتمدات المذاهب السابق ذكرهم إلا كطبيب وجد مريضا بالسكر فحماه من السكر وكل ما يرفع السكر في دمه، ومنعه أيضا من أغذية أخرى لا علاقة لها بمرضه بحجة أنها قد تفتح شهيته للسكر، ومنعه أيضا من النشاط الحركي بحجة أنه يتطلب طاقة تجعله يتطلب السكر. فكان تضييقه هذا سببا في عدم التزام المريض بالحمية الصحيحة، وسببا في تفاقم المرض، فضلا عن كونه تضييقا غير علمي
فإذا كان دافع المتمذهبين هو حماية الدين والفقه من فوضى اللامذهبيين ومن دعاوى الاجتهاد عند أدعياء السلفية المعاصرة، وليس دافعهم التعصب المذهبي: فعليهم أن يلتزموا بالحمية الكافية للمرض، دون غلو غير علمي لا يحقق الهدف، بل ينكسه
On the second point, then that was dealt with in the Awqaf issue, and that it is contentious for Awqaf to even have these stipulations. But even if the link between Awqaf and Ifta is considered valid, that does not work for a Mufti who is not employed by a Madhhab-based Waqf, which is the case for almost all Muftis in today's world.
To the first point, then that is a straightforward analogy (Qiyas) on Qada. As discussed before, the mandate to to adhere to a school can be imposed by:
• the Chief Justice (in the case of a Qadi), or
• the terms of the Waqf where he is serving (in the case of a Mufti serving in that (Waqf), or
• by the Head of Government/State/Governor (in the case of both Qadi and Mufti).
But even this is a contentious point, as was dealt with in the previous series of posts dealing with Qada and Awqaf. The analogy (Qiyas) of Ifta (Maqis) on Qada/Awqaf (Maqis Alayh) is only as good as the arguments in favour of adherence in the Maqis Alayh, which themselves are highly disputed. Such a contentious basis of adherence to a school in Ifta can in no way impose a universal obligation of Taqlid Shakhsi - especially not in relation to personal practice.
Furthermore, the link between Muqallid Mufti (one passing fatwa by way of “parroting” his school's position) working as a Mufti and him operating in his personal practice is tenuous. In fact, the reverse is as applicable: just as he's allowed to act on a non-Mu'tamad view in his personal practice, he should be allowed to pass fatwa according to that view as well. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974 AH) entertains this discussion in his al-Fatawa al-Kubra al-Fiqhiyyah, although he disagrees with it as he was a strong proponent of adhering to the official position of the school in both Qada and Ifta (not in personal practice). Haytami added that even when a judge is appointed without any restrictive conditions attached to his judgeship, he would still have to stick to a school if that is the prevailing urf (custom) in judicial society, as per the rule: والمعروف عرفا كالمشروط شرطا. He then extended this rule in Qada to Ifta, stating that it is implicitly understood that a Mufti ought to adhere to a school in the process of Ifta.
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It can be safely inferred that the job of Ifta was never as "official" as a job as a Qadi. This is why the Ottomans allowed Muftis from all schools, but for judges only Hanafi ones were appointed in the Ottoman heartlands. Judges have adjudicatory jurisdiction that Muftis do not. But many scholars said they are similar in that one is representative of the school according to which he professes to pass rulings. So Ifta is linked to Qada.
Ifta is also closely linked to the Awqaf issue: many scholars would dare not to venture away from his designated school lest they be deprived of their jobs, or be grassed up for being too experimental with their opinions. As a result, de facto, Ifta switched from being an issue that was the sole dominion of Mujtahids to one where a scholar of a specific Madhhab may only pass fatwa according to that Madhhab. The flexibility that early scholars had to offer an alternative ruling was curtailed to a great extent.
Again, this was hotly contested by multiple scholars, both in theory and in practice. Subki (d. 756 AH) for example went against the Shafi’i School, as M. Taha Karan (d. 1442 AH) expertly analysed in his article: https://www.ilmgate.org/answering-an-allegation-against-imam-as-subki/
But this article deserves qualification. Subki, being who he was, could perhaps get away with what another scholar could not, as was previously mentioned vis-a-vis Mizzi (d. 742 AH) and Jaunpuri (d. 1438 AH). Stories of scholars working in these Awqaf being grassed up for straying from the Madhhab are not hard to find. In fact, in this very same article, the suggestion is that Bulqini (d. 805 AH) was at the level of Mujtahid - as was Subki - but did not exercise it to the degree that he could have. Also, as Ala’i (d. 761 AH) suggested, going against the Madhhab was tolerated in issues that weren’t considered to be hallmarks of the Madhhab. Ala’i too was discussed in earlier posts.
Qadis and Muftis having similar duties was well understood across the scholarly landscape. Regarding the imposition of a single Madhhab on a Mufti in Ifta as a continuation of the Qada ruling he proffered, Ibn 'l-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said in al-I’lam:
وطرد هذا أن المفتي متى شرط عليه ألا يفتي إلا بمذهب معين بطل الشرط
Back to the theme of the Madhhab-based Awqaf and the want to preserve one’s job, Muhammad al-Hajwi (d. 1376 AH), a Maliki scholar from Fez, in his eyeopening al-Fikr al-Sami Fi Tarikh ‘l-Fiqh al-Islami, states:
هناك بالمشرق أوقاف خاصة بالشافعية، وأخرى بالحنفية مثلا، ومدارس لا ينال التدريس بها إلا من كان مقلدا لأحد المذاهب الأربعة، ووظائف كذلك من قضاء وفتوى، فكان هذا العمل مما أوجب بقاء العلماء مقلدين، ولو بلغوا درجة الاجتهاد.
In a nutshell, again, the imposition of adherence to a school in the context of Ifta developed as a result of a combination of socio-religious factors pertaining to the Awqaf, Qada, and institutional authority. It did not have much to do with any Shar'i evidence. In no way should anybody be inferring from this “adherence to a school in Ifta” phenomenon that Taqlid Shakhsi upon the Ummah is an obligation in personal practice. Indeed, many scholars who did make adherence obligatory in Ifta never extended that obligation to personal practice. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami is a prime example of that.
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On Ifta: Contextualising the obligation upon Muftis to adhere to the school’s correct position, and incorrect inference from it that Taqlid Shakhsi is mandatory upon all individuals
This is the next series of posts on faulty inferences for the obligation of Taqlid Shakhsi. I will index this and all previous posts at the end of these series. There are still at least three/four more rounds to go after this series.
We have previously discussed the institutions of Qada, Awqaf, and the Mihrabs as pitfalls for the Taqlid Shakhsi fanatic who erroneously infers from them that adherence to a school is an obligation. In similar fashion, the institution of Ifta is also prone to such an incorrect inference.
Many quotes have already been mentioned supporting the idea that, in Qada and Ifta, a Qadi and a Mufti must adhere to the school’s mainstream positions. It was also made clear though that those same scholars explicitly said that this obligation did not extend to their personal practice, let alone the practice of the clueless layman.
I have been hard-pressed to find anyone who made it mandatory upon the layman Muqallid to adhere to a school’s Mufta Bihi/Mu’tamad positions, or that he must ask the Mufti for precisely that. The minority of scholars that do state it is an obligation either mention he should try to choose the best available Madhhab, after which they have no obligation to ask for the Mu’tamad views of a scholar in that school; or they mention that he should adhere to a school for precaution, but even this camp did not make it the responsibility of the layman to seek out the ‘official’ position of the school.
To the contrary and in opposition to this minority, there are considerable quotes - literally in their hundreds - that support the notion that a layman is at liberty to ask any scholar, as the obligation of Taqlid Shakhsi elicits obligations that the Shariah never imposed on the layman, namely: knowledge of what a Madhhab is, knowledge of who the scholars of his Madhhab are so he refers only to them, and knowledge of scholars from other Madhhabs so he avoids them. Framed as such, it is virtually impossible to argue that adherence to a school a de jure obligation on the layman. A sample of this was discussed when even the battle-hardened Hanafi Fuqaha discussed a Hanafi seeking fatwa from a Hanbali Mufti in Kitab ‘l-Sawm: https://t.me/KnowledgeRevival/16567.
Ibn ‘l-Rif’ah (d. 710 AH) of the Shafi’is says with regards to a layman potentially being completely unaware of any school, let alone its machinations:
قال في الحلية: كان الشيخ أبو نصر يعلل ذلك بأن الزوج عقد النكاح على رأي من التزم مذهبه فيه، فأوجب عليه حكم اعتقاده، وهو وقوع الطلاق، وهذا فيه نظر فإن الزوج قد لا يعرف مذهبا
(Abu Nasr here probably refers to Ibn ‘l-Sabbagh (d. 477 AH), the teacher of the author of حلية العلماء aka Abu Bakr al-Qaffal al-Shashi (d. 507 AH), though this is a grey area as Ibn ‘l-Sabbagh in his al-Shamil explicitly said that divorce cannot occur in a Wali-less marriage; it is possible that Ibn ‘l-Sabbagh changed his view later on in life, or that this is another Abu Nasr altogether.)
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Nicholas Kristof became a columnist for The Times Opinion desk in 2001 and has won two Pulitzer Prizes.
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He now keeps a blown-up print of the settlers’ photo of him on the wall of his office. To try to make sense of what I found, I called up Ehud Olmert, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2009. Olmert told me he didn’t know much about sexual violence against Palestinians but was not surprised by the accounts I had heard. “Do I believe it happens?” he asked. “Definitely.” “There are war crimes committed every day in the territories,” he added. So we return to the point I noted at the beginning of this column: Supporters of Israel were right in 2023 that whatever our views about the Middle East, we should be able to repudiate rape. “Where the hell are you?” Netanyahu asked the international community then, demanding that it condemn sexual violence committed by what the Israeli government has called the “Hamas rapist regime.” Hamas has indeed brutally violated human rights. Israeli officials should look to their own violations as well — in particular at what a 49-page United Nations report last year called Israel’s “systematically” subjecting Palestinians to “sexualized torture” committed with at least “an implicit encouragement by the top civilian and military leadership.” Think of it this way: The horrific abuse inflicted on Israeli women on Oct. 7 now happens to Palestinians day after day. It persists because of silence, indifference and the failure of American and Israeli officials alike to answer Netanyahu’s query: Where the hell are you?
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A Gaza journalist shared with me his account of the abuse he suffered after he was detained in 2024. “No one escaped sexual assaults,” he said. “Not all were raped, I would say, but everyone went through humiliating, filthy sexual assaults.” On one occasion, he said, the guards zip-tied his testicles and penis for hours while beating his genitals. For days afterward, he said, he urinated blood. On one occasion, he said, he was held down, stripped naked, and as he was blindfolded and handcuffed, a dog was summoned. With encouragement from a handler in Hebrew, he said, the dog mounted him. “They were using cameras to take photos, and I heard their laughs and giggles,” he said. He tried to dislodge the dog, he said, but it penetrated him. Other Palestinian prisoners and human rights monitors have also cited reports of police dogs being coached to rape prisoners. The journalist said that when he was released, an Israeli official warned him: “If you want to stay alive when you return, do not speak to the media.” So why was he willing to speak? “There are moments when remembering feels unbearable,” he said. “My heart felt it might stop while talking to you about it just now. But I remember there are people still in there. So I speak up.” Multiple accounts indicate that sexual violence has been directed even at Palestinian children, who are typically imprisoned for throwing stones. I located and interviewed three boys who had been detained, and all described being sexually abused. One, a shy boy in a Hilfiger shirt who was 15 years old at the time of his arrest, declined to say whether he had also witnessed actual rapes. But he said threats were routine: “They’d say, ‘Do this or we’ll put this stick up your butt.’” The other boys told very similar stories of sexual violence as part of beatings and noted that the threats of rape were directed not only at them but also at their mothers and siblings. Israeli settlers are not an official arm of the state in the same way that the prison system is, but the Israel Defense Forces increasingly protect settlers as they attack Palestinian villagers and use sexual violence to drive Palestinians to flee. “Sexualized violence is used to pressure communities” to leave their land, according to a new report by the West Bank Protection Consortium, a coalition of international aid groups led by the Norwegian Refugee Council. The consortium surveyed Palestinian farmers and found that more than 70 percent of households that had been displaced reported that threats to women and children, particularly of sexual violence, were the decisive reason for leaving. “Sexual violence,” said Allegra Pacheco of the coalition, “is one of the mechanisms driving people from their land.” In a remote Jordan Valley hamlet of Bedouin farmers, I met a 29-year-old farmer, Suhaib Abualkebash, who recounted how a gang of about 20 settlers rampaged through the homes of his family, beating adults and children alike, stealing jewelry and 400 sheep — and also cut off his clothes with a hunting knife and then tightly zip-tied his penis and yanked. “I was afraid they would cut off my penis,” Abualkebash told me. “I thought this was the end for me.” Some may wonder whether Palestinians fabricated accusations of sexual assaults to defame Israel. To me that seems far-fetched, because none of those I interviewed sought me out or knew who else I was speaking to, and they were reluctant to speak. Yet there is some evidence that Israel’s sexual abuse has become so frequent that norms are changing and Palestinian victims are becoming a bit more willing to speak out. “For six months I couldn’t speak about it, even to my family,” said Mohammad Matar, a Palestinian official who told me that settlers stripped him, beat him and poked him with a stick in the buttocks while talking about raping him. During the attack, the assailants posted a photograph on social media of him blindfolded and stripped to his underpants. With time, Matar decided to speak out to try to break the stigma.
اکنون در دسترس! پژوهش تلگرام ۲۰۲۵ — مهمترین بینشهای سال 
