Q. A fatwa was issued without any quotation from the Qur’an or the Hadith that the prayer of any Hanafi person behind an imam who belongs to Ahl Al-Hadith is null and void. Please comment.
Mohsin, Jeddah
A.1. This is a very serious question, because when we say that a prayer behind a certain imam is not valid, we are actually saying that this imam is not a Muslim. If we consider him a Muslim, then praying behind him is valid. When Muslims go into a mosque, they simply join the congregational prayer. They do not ask which school of thought the imam follows, or what particular view he adopts. Such matters are irrelevant. This means that whoever issued this fatwa considers all people who are called Ahl Al-Hadith to be non-Muslims. It is important, then, to know who Ahl Al-Hadith are and how acceptable their stand is.
In plain language, the term Ahl Al-Hadith means “the people of Hadith, or who follow Hadith”, and “Hadith” is anything the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, did or approved. This means that by definition every Muslim belongs to the people of Hadith. When a person makes the essential declaration of Islam, i.e. the kalimah, stating his belief in God’s oneness and in Prophet Muhammad’s message, he accepts everything the Prophet said or did or approved as valid and applicable to him. Needless to say, all schools of thought can be called Ahl Al-Hadith in this wider sense. Indeed, the imams of all four schools have stated that they abide by the Hadith without hesitation.
However, the term is used in certain communities to refer to a particular group of people who refer to the Hadith directly, not through the schools of thought. Their scholars take from all schools of thought, and may even adopt a view that none of these schools approves, preferring to refer to the Hadith directly adopting a ruling on its basis. The danger in this approach is two fold: 1) it opens the way for people who are not qualified to issue a fatwa or ruling based on a Hadith, without a thorough study to learn how it should be applied; and 2) people may issue a ruling on the basis of a particular Hadith without relating it to other statements by the Prophet or indeed to Qur’anic statements.
In recent years there has been some hardening of attitude, with people who call themselves Ahl Al-Hadith showing disrespect of schools of thought and their followers. This was countered by denunciation of those who reject the four schools in preference for Hadith. It is such hardening of attitudes and the exchange of insults and derogatory terms that led to this type of division. We can certainly do without any division of this sort. Islam is broad-minded, and accommodates all people within the framework of its teachings, based on ease and serving people’s best interests.
What is needed is an accommodating approach. People should always respect the other point of view. What we should remember is that we all seek God’s pleasure and hope to earn reward from Him. Our ways may be different, but if we all agree that we follow the guidance provided by the Prophet Muhammad, through eminent scholars, then there is no difference between us.
As for this fatwa, it represents the extreme opposite of what I have just said. It takes a very rigid attitude and cannot be supported by any evidence. In fact, it betrays complete ignorance of Hadith, its role and status, as well as ignorance of the schools of thought and what they represent. It must be discounted altogether.
