Q. Could you please explain the status of the four schools of thought and the reasons for the major differences between them. Is it obligatory for a Muslim to strictly follow one of these schools, or could one take up verdicts and rulings from schools other than his own? Is it obligatory to follow rulings based on qiyas and ijmaa’?

M.M. Ahmad, Jeddah

A. Islam spread into wide areas shortly after the Prophet’s death. Life in these areas presented numerous situations which had no ruling in the Qur’an and the Sunnah to show the Muslims how to behave concerning them. Moreover, the passage of time presents new situations and problems, all of which need to be considered in the light of Islam, so as to determine the right Islamic conduct concerning them. This means that scholars need to come up with answers to such questions on the basis of Islamic teachings outlined in the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

Muslim scholars started to do so right from the early days of Islam. The Prophet’s companions included a number of scholars who were able to deduce rulings on the basis of the Qur’an and what they heard the Prophet saying in different situations. This established a tradition of construction and deduction which allowed that a ruling is available to cater for all cases. Over a period of two or three generations, the process led to a movement toward schools of thought or schools of law in various areas. With the turn of the first century of the Islamic era, the founders of some of these schools were looking into all matters relevant to Islamic life in their generation. We find Imam Malik in Madinah and Imam Abu Haneefah in Iraq distinguished for their scholarship and having students from far and wide learning under them. A short while later, Imam El-Shafie and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal gained wide fame and reputation.

A school of thought is established through a process of several generations of scholars following the same lines of deduction and construction. These scholars will also be of high caliber, able to deduce new rulings for new situations. They follow the same lines as their school and its founder.

In the history of Islam, there were numerous scholars of high caliber. They continued the tradition of diligent scholarship. At the time of the founders of the four schools, there were many others who were of equal and even better caliber, and they ruled on numerous questions, but there were not many scholars over several generations to follow in their tradition. That is why they did not become associated with independent schools of thought. Otherwise their views remain valid in the questions they considered. There is no virtue in having only four schools of thought. Indeed we have many more.

There is no ruling that one must follow a single school of thought. Indeed, very rarely anyone does that. A scholar who has studied these schools of thought will take rulings from each, according to suitability to different situations. If he is considering a question put to him, he will try to give the ruling which is most suitable for the person concerned, with little regard to the person’s own school of thought. That is because there is no obligation to follow any of them. For example, if a couple get married and the woman’s father or guardian is not present. The woman acts for herself and consents to the marriage in front of witnesses. If the case is put to a scholar, he does not ask the couple which school of thought they follow. He will rule that the marriage is valid, in spite of the fact that three schools of thought do not approve of it. He will take the fourth school’s view which approves of it, because otherwise he would make the couple adulterers and their children illegitimate.

An ordinary person will not realize what rulings are made on the basis of qiyas, or analogy, and ijmaa’, or unanimity of scholars. When he is told of a ruling that has been approved by scholars, he should implement it unless he has a legitimate objection to it on the basis of accurate knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

A woman’s dress at work

Q. My wife works as a nurse in a hospital in Jeddah. The hospital management do not allow Filipino nurses to wear Islamic hijab while they are attending to their work, although this is allowed to Egyptian and Syrian nurses. I have been arguing with my wife that she should leave her job, because it is more important to obey God’s law, but she is reluctant to do so, since we need her salary. Please advise.

K. Abdulkareem, Jeddah

A. I am very surprised that this could happen here in Saudi Arabia. The management has no right to impose such a rule or to make it applicable to some nurses, but not to others. Most probably, the management does not consider Filipino nurses as Muslim because they imagine that the Philippines is a non-Muslim country. However, there should be an easy solution to the problem. Your wife should either approach the owner of the hospital, since it is a private hospital, and complain of the discrimination. Failing that, she could ask some of the nurses who wear the Islamic dress to support her in making an official complaint on the matter. Certainly, should the case be known, the management will retreat from this attitude which cannot be supported on any grounds.

Praising a person to his face

Q. A friend of mine argues that it is not permissible in Islam to praise someone to his face. Others argue that such praise encourages him to do more good. Moreover, medals, awards and certificates of appreciation are given by different bodies in appreciation of good work done by different people. Please comment.

G. Nabi, Madinah

A. There is no doubt that Islam does not encourage praise to one’s face in public. Some people may begin to feel that they are superior to others when they are praised time after time for their good work. Moreover, praise is shunned when it is offered to a governor, ruler, or a person in authority, even one’s superior at work. That is because in most cases the praise is made for ulterior motives, or to win favor with the person who is so praised. There is often an element of hypocrisy in such praise.

On the other hand, when a person praises another in private with the intention to encourage him to do more good actions, and without any personal or ulterior motive, then that is acceptable. People do like to feel appreciated.

If such appreciation will encourage a person to do more good work, and there is no question of hypocrisy in the matter, then praising a person for the qualities he certainly has is appropriate. The point concerning medals and awards does not come in the same category, because that is a gesture of appreciation, not praise.

Spreading the Islamic message

A letter from Mr. Ahmad Gazali of Jeddah takes up the issue of conveying the message of Islam to all mankind, as it is meant for them all. Yet many people living today will go through life with little knowledge of Islam, if any. He wonders how are these to be judged by God on the Day of Judgment.

There is no doubt that the message of Islam is addressed by God to all mankind. Everyone is called upon to believe in it, declaring that there is no deity except God, and that Muhammad is God’s messenger. This, however, places a duty on Muslims to make the message of Islam known to people and to call on them to believe in it. This was the duty of the Prophet while he was alive. He certainly delivered his message complete, intact. After he passed away, the task was undertaken by his companions and his followers. It will continue to be undertaken by his followers in succeeding generations.

Having said that, the fact remains that the message of Islam does not reach many people, or if it reaches them, it is presented in a distorted image. How are such people to believe in Islam. Obviously, they are not expected to do so, because people believe in a message if they are convinced of its truth.

If they are not, how are they to be blamed for not accepting it. Hence, it is the duty of the Muslim community to make the message of Islam known to people.

Scholars are in agreement that people who do not receive the message of Islam, or obtain only a distorted image of it, are not held responsible for that failure.

Thus, they are not to account for something that was not of their own making. Scholars agree that the responsibility for this lies at the doorstep of the Muslims themselves. Conveying God’s message is a duty incumbent on every Muslim as an individual and as a member of a community. However, the responsibility is more communal than individual. As for the people who do not receive the message of Islam in its true image, they are treated like those who lived before the advent of Islam. God states in the Qur’an that He would not punish anyone for not believing in Him until they have been sent a message.

That means that they should actually receive the message in order to be accountable under its provisions. Many people living today do not receive the message of Islam as it should be presented. Such people God will deal with them on the Day of Judgment on the basis of His justice and mercy. He is the most just of judges and the most merciful.