Posts Tagged "al-Ramli"
Guidelines for the Mu'tamad (relied upon) verdicts in the Shafi'i madhhab
In the name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate.
There are five levels of the rank of Mujtahid according to the Shafi’i madhhab.
- Mujtahid mutlaq (absolute), e.g. Imam al-Shafi’i, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal rahimahumuLlah ta’ala.
- Mujtahid muntasib (affiliated jurist), e.g. Ibn Khuzaimah, Ibn Mundhir, Muhammad Ibn Jarir and Muhammad ibn Nasr, (Tabaqat al-Shafi’iyyah al-Kubra).
- Mujtahid al-madhhab, e.g. al-Buwaiti, al-Rabi’, al-Anmati, al-Istikhri , Ibn Abi Hurairah, and al-Sairafi.
- Mujtahid al-fatwa wa al-tarjih, e.g. al-Mawardi, Abu Tayyib, al-Tabari, Imam al-Haramayn, Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, al-Ruyani, al-Rafi’i and An-Nawawi.
- Al-Hafiz li l-madhhab and the Mufti.
قلت لا يجوز لمفت على مذهب الشافعي إذا اعتمد النقل أن يكتفى بمصنف ومصنفين ونحوهما من كتب المتقدمين واكثر المتأخرين لكثرة الاختلاف بينهم في الجزم والترجيح لان هذا المفتى المذكور انما ينقل مذهب الشافعي ولا يحصل له وثوق بأن ما في المصنفين المذكورين ونحوهما هو مذهب الشافعي أو الراجح منه لما فيها من الاختلاف وهذا مما لا يتشكك فيه من له أدنى أنس بالمذهب بل قد يجزم نحو عشرة من المصنفين بشئ وهو شاذ بالنسبة إلى الراجح في المذهب ومخالف لما عليه الجمهور وربما خالف نص الشافعي أو نصوصا له وستري في هذا الشرح ان شاء الله تعالى أمثلة ذلك وارجو ان تم هذا الكتاب أنه يستغنى به عن كل مصنف ويعلم به مذهب الشافعي علما قطعيا ان شاء الله تعالى انتهى المجموع شرح المهذب – 1: 47
Imam al-Nawawi stated in the al-Majmu’, “If the one who issuing verdicts in the Shafi’i madhhab intends to give reference, it will not be permissible for him to merely rely on one or two books of the former scholars or even a few books of the latter day scholars because of the excessive differences in their decision and preferences. The responsibility of this mufti is to convey the madhhab of Imam al-Shafi’i radiyaLlahu ‘anhu. He cannot have conviction that what is mentioned in the books mentioned is opinion of Imam al-Shafi’i or his preferred opinion because of the difference of opinions, and this phenomenon is not strange to those who posses even a little recognition with the madhhab. There are cases, when ten authors positively gave a verdict on certain issues, but it is strange in relation to the preferred opinion of the madhhab and against the majority. Sometimes they even go against the clear texts of the imam. You will see some examples of this in this commentary, if Allah ta’ala wishes. I hope if this book is completed, it will be able to dispense a need to other books and will inform the definitive madhhab of Imam al-Shafi’i, Insha Allah ta’ala.”
Imam al-Kurdi stated, “If the shaykhain (al-Nawawi and al-Rafi’i) do not give a preference, then if a mufti is from ahl al-tarjih, he can issue a ruling based on an opinion which the Imams of his madhhab have relied upon. It would not be permissible for him to issue a ruling which is considered weak according to the imams of his madhab, even if it is a preferred opinion according to him. This is because, he is only been asked about the preferred opinion according to the madhhab, not according to himself, unless he notifies the weakness of the opinions. It is permissible to act upon the weak opinion when he clarified that as a weak opinion. If he is not from the people of tarjih, and these are the scholars present in our time, then there are different opinions.”
Among the important figures after Shaykhain are Ibn al-Rif’ah, al-Subki, ’Alam al-khamsah: (1)Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, (2) al-Shihab al-Ramli, (3) al-Khatib al-Shirbini, (4) Ibn Hajar, (5) al-Shams al-Ramli.
It is well know among the later Shafi’i ulama that they relied upon two main commentaries of al-Minhaj.
- Tuhfat al-muhtaj bi sharh al-Minhaj by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (974 H)
- Nihayat al-muhtaj ila sharh al-Minhaj by Imam Shams al-din al-Ramli (1004 H)
Preferences are given to these two commentaries because they had been presented to hundreds of ‘Ulama who had scrutinized and authenticated them.
All the Ulama of Egypt, or at least most of them, have relied upon the rulings of Imam al-Ramli which he cited in his books, especially al-Nihayah. This is because al-Nihayah had been read to the Imam by 400 ulama, and they had criticized, scrutinized and authenticated it. Thus, its authentication had reach the level of tawatur.
The ulama of Hadramawt, Sham, Akrad, Daghistan, Yemen and Hijaz preferred the opinion of Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in his books as the mu’tamad (reliable stand), especially al-Tuhfah.
Among the books of al-Imām Ibn Ḥajar, the order of merit is al-Tuḥfah, Fatḥ al-Jawād, al-Imdād, the fatāwā (legal opinions) and sharh al-ʿUbāb have the same merit, however, giving preference to the commentary is better.
Therefore, the mu’tamad is the opinion of Imam Ibn Hajar and Imam Shams al-din al-Ramli rahimahumaLlah ta’ala.
Imam ‘Umar al-Basri, one of the leading students of Imam Ibn Hajar was asked which should be preferred when there are different opinions between Ibn Hajar and al-Ramli. The conclusion of his answer, “If a scholar had a capacity to look into the source of ruling and its evidences, then he should do so and refer to the evidences mentioned by Shaykhain or other scholars. If he doesn’t have a capacity to do so, then he should choose any of the opinion of Ibn Hajar or al-Ramli.
If Imam Ibn Hajar and al-Ramli rahimahumaLlah ta’ala did not pass a verdict upon a masalah, then the fatwa will be given on the opinion of Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari in Sharh al-ṣaghīr ʿalā al-Bahjah and then, Fath al-Wahhāb bi sharh Manhaj al-ṭullāb. Finally, preference is given to Sharh al-Imām al-Khāṭib al-Shirbīnī.
The order of merit among the ḥawāshī (marginal notes) is as follows: (see al-Fawaid and al-I’ānah).
- Imām ‘Alī ibn Yahya al-Ziyādī (1024 H) hāshiyah on Fath al-Wahhab the commentary of al-Manhaj.
- Imām Ahmad ibn Qasim al-ʿAbbādī (994 H) on Fath al-Wahhab,
- Shihab al-din Ahmad al-Burullusi known as ʿAmirah (957 H) marginal note on al-Maḥallī,
- Shaykh ʿAlī ibn ‘Alī al-Shabramillisī (1087 H) marginal note on al-Nihāyah.
- Shaykh Abu al-Hasan ‘Alī ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ahmad al-Halabī (1044 H) the author of al-Sīrah al-Halabiyyah.
- Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Shaubarī (1069 H), he has the hashiyah on al-Mawahib al-ladunniyyah and hashiyah on Tahrīr al-lubāb.
- Shaykh Muhammad ibn Dawud al-ʿAnānī (1098 H), he has hashiyah on al-Tahrīr and al-Manhaj.
Their opinions are taken if they do not differ with the “al-Tuhfah and al-Nihayah” and the principle of the madhhab.
The Recension and Authentication of The Shafi’i Madhhab and the Contribution of Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and Shams al-din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ramli.
The phenomenon of divergent opinions exists both between the various madhahib, and within one madhhab. Had it been that there are no differences within a particular madhhab, there would not have been the need to single out certain authorities within a madhhab for the purposes of recension and authentication. But differences do exist, as stated, even within one madhhab.
Such being the case, the authorities upon whose recension and authentication reliance will be placed have to fulfil certain requirements. They will obviously have to enjoy a high degree of scholarly repute and pristine character, so as to ensure the requisite eligibility and integrity for the task. And chronologically they need to be placed at the close of a stage of development within their madhhab. It is only one who stands at a watershed juncture such as this who can comprehensively look back upon a legacy, and it is only one capable of such a comprehensive overview of a legacy who is able to perform the task of recension and authentication coherently.
In the Shafi`i madhhab there were two such junctures. The first came after the 5th century. After Imam al-Shafi`i the madhhab developed, initially in Baghdad, and then, from about the middle of the 4th century (circa 350AH) in the twin schools (called tariqahs) of `Iraq (Baghdad and Basrah) and Khurasan (Marw and Nishapur). This period culminated in the works of Imam Abu Is’haq al-Shirazi (died 476AH) in the Iraqi tariqah, and the famous Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (died 505AH) in the Khurasani tariqah.
The task of sifting through the respective fiqh legacies of the two tariqahs then fell to the lot of two scholars of the madhhab, both of whom fulfil the requirements mentioned earlier. They were Imam Abu l-Qasim al-Rafi`i of Qazwin (died 623AH) and Imam Abu Zakariyya al-Nawawi of Damascus (died 676AH).
Thus, by the end of the 7th century the fiqh legacy of the Shafi`i madhhab had undergone a complete recension. This, however, did not mean that development in the madhhab had come to an end. During the following two centuries development would continue unabated in the contributions of scholars the likes of al-Subki, al-Bulqini, al-Isnawi, al-Adhra`i, al-Zarkashi Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya and al-Mahalli. With the dawn of the 10th century there arose once again a need for recension along the lines of the first one. Again, as in the first recension, this undertaking would require the right men at the right time.
These men came to be Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (died 974AH) and Imam Shams al-Din al-Ramli (died 1004AH). Both of them were scholars of the highest competence and virtue, and they lived at the close of the second period of development of the madhhab. Therefore they were suited more eminently and capably than others to perform the undertaking of recension upon a legacy of development of which they themselves were the direct and immediate heirs.
IBN HAJAR
Shihad al-Din Abu l-`Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn Hajar was born in 909AH at Mahallat Abi l-Haytam in the western province of Egypt. He memorized the Qur’an at an early age, as well as Imam al-Nawawi’s Minhaj. His initial studies were under the scholars of Tanta, and thereafter at al-Azhar in Cairo where he studied under the likes of Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, Shihab al-Din al-Ramli (the father of Shams al-Din) and others. He gained a reputation for expertise in various branches of knowledge, but more especially fiqh. From Egypt he traveled for Hajj on several occasions, and eventually he migrated to Makkah where he wrote his major works, taught fiqh and issued fatwa according to the Shafi’i madhhab. His fatawa, on account of his being located in Makkah, traveled far and wide. He was an enormously prolific author whose writings include
Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, a commentary on al-Nawawi’s Minhaj
Al-Minhaj al-Qawim, a coomentary on BaFadl’s Muqaddimah
Al-Fatawa al-Fiqqhiyyah al-Kubra
Al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyyah
Sharh al-`Ubab
Fat’h al-Jawwad
a commentary on al-Nawawi’s Idah fi Manasik al-Hajj
Fat’h al- Ilah, a commentary on al-Tabrizi’s Mishkat al-Masabih
He died at Makkah in 974AH.
AL-RAMLI
Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad was born in Ramlah, a village near Manufiyyah in Egypt, in 919AH. He was the son of a famous Shafi`i faqih and mufti, Shihab al-Din Ahmad al-Ramli. His teachers include his father, Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari and al-Khatib al-Shirbini. After his father’s death he became the chief Shafi’i mufti in Egypt. Such was his eminence that many came to identify him as the Mujaddid of his century. His works include
Nihayat al-Muhtaj, a commentary on al-Nawawi’s Minhaj
Ghayat al-Bayan, a commentary on Ibn Ruslan’s Zubad
a commentary on Shaykh al-Islam’s Tahrir
a commentary on al-Nawawi’s Idah fi Manasik al-Hajj
a collection of his father’s fatwas
He died at Cairo in 1004AH.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IBN HAJAR AND AL-RAMLI
Shaykh `Ali BaSabrayn, in his book Ithmid al-`Aynayn fi Ikhtilaf al-Shaykhayn has indicated the points on which Ibn Hajar and Ramli differ. This list given by him, however, is restricted to the `ibadat only, i.e taharah, salah, zakah, sawm and hajj. The rest of their differences could be gleaned from works such as `Abd al-Hamid al-Shirwani’s hashiyah on Ibn Hajar’s Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, or al-Bujayrimi’s hashiyah on Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya’s Fath al-Wahhab Sharh Manhaj al-Tullab, as well as upon al-Khatib al-Shirbini’s Iqna`. Tabulating all of their differences here would unfortunately not be possible.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Shaykh Taha Karaan
DARUL AL-ULOOM AL-ARABIYYA AL-ISLAAMIYYAH, Western Cape (SA)
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