I know that the ordinary Muslim does not have the knowledge to examine the evidence for two views and determine which view is most likely to be correct, and he has no choice but to ask a scholar whose knowledge he trusts. But what that means is that he should not check his heart at all (and see how he feels) or use his mind or intellect to see where it may lead him if he reads the evidence of all sides. I have the habit of not asking just one shaykh, because there are some trustworthy shaykhs who may have strict and harsh views that are not based on any proper understanding of real-life situations. So I resort to examining the evidence of both sides, such as one who says that all Islamic groups are outside of the saved group. Therefore I am relying on two things: 1. following evidence and 2. relying on the principle that ease is one of the aims of sharee‘ah. Sometimes I ask a question and receive an answer that I find too lenient, so I ask someone who is more strict, and if he gives me an answer based on clear evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah, I follow his view, and vice versa. Sometimes I ask a question and get an answer that I find very strict and harsh, so I ask another shaykh, and if his opinion is easier (and supported by evidence), I follow it. An example of that is the view that a prayer does not have to be repeated if the worshipper omits one of the conditions of prayer out of ignorance, because the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not instruct anyone to repeat prayers in which mistakes had been made out of ignorance. Moreover this also entails hardship, because every once in a while I find out about a mistake that I used to make in the prayer, out of ignorance, so do I have to make up for the prayers in every case, and will I have to spend the rest of my life making up prayers?
My question is:
Is what I am doing correct, which is the idea that the ordinary Muslim should follow convincing evidence if he has some doubts about some fatwa that he has been given, and he should keep away from fatwas that are clearly very strict, because ease is one of the aims of sharee‘ah? To explain further, the examples I gave above about the choice of view that I follow is because there is hardship in the opposite view, are as follows: not repeating prayer because of having omitted one of its prerequisites out of ignorance; not regarding as a disbeliever one who listens to people mocking the religion when he does not approve of their actions; and covering the feet with the socks when praying, without making the abayah long enough to cover the feet, so that I can move more easily.
Praise
be to Allah
Firstly:
The danger that all people must avoid – whether they are
scholars or ordinary Muslims – is choosing on the basis of whims and desires
and that which suits their wishes, and deliberately choosing fatwas on the
basis of which the Muslim may be trying to break free from all restrictions
and be excused from all obligations, or from obligations that are contrary
to his own desires, or that are difficult for him to do, even if there is
only the slightest hint of difficulty. That is because his nafs (self) is
inclined towards evil, and it seeks and desires it.
Anyone who is like this is in grave danger, because the
likely outcome for such a person is that he is going to free himself from
the commands and prohibitions ordained in sharee‘ah, because the desires of
the nafs know no limits. Therefore if whims and desires become the standard
that governs his choice of fatwas, then in that case he will start finding
legitimate reasons to follow his whims and desires, at which point it will
become difficult to treat the problem and find a remedy. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And I free
not myself (from the blame). Verily, the (human) self is inclined to evil,
except when my Lord bestows His Mercy (upon whom He wills). Verily, my Lord
is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[Yoosuf 12:53]
“and follow
not your desire for it will mislead you from the Path of Allah”
[Saad 38:26]
“But as for
him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure
evil desires, and lusts,
Verily, Paradise will be his abode”
[an-Naazi‘aat 79:40-41].
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible for the mufti to choose whatever view
or opinion he likes without examining which view has the stronger evidence
or without paying attention to examining the evidence and, rather, to be
content, when choosing a view, with the mere fact that this was the view of
some imam or was the view adopted by a certain group, and thus he chooses
whatever he wants of options and views, so that whenever he sees a view that
is in harmony with what he wants and which suits him, he chooses it, so that
what he wants and what suits him becomes the criterion, on the basis of
which he regards one view as more likely to be correct than others. This is
haraam according to the consensus of the ummah.
This is like what was narrated by al-Qaadi Abu’l-Waleed al-Baaji
from one of the people of his time – who set himself up to issue fatwas: he
used to say: What I promise my friend is that if he asks me for a ruling or
a fatwa, I will choose for him the view of some mufti that suits him.
He [Abu’l-Waleed] said: Someone I trust told me that he had
an issue and wanted a fatwa concerning it [asking on behalf of someone
else], so some of the muftis gave him a fatwa that could be harmful to him,
and the man concerned was absent. When he came, he asked them himself, and
they said: We did not know that this fatwa was for you. So they gave him
another fatwa that suited him. He said: There is consensus among the Muslim
scholars, those whose views are counted with regard to consensus, that
(choosing what suits one) is not permissible. Maalik (may Allah have mercy
on him) said, concerning the difference of opinion among the Sahaabah (may
Allah be pleased with them): Some of them got it wrong and some of them got
it right, so you have to examine their views and figure out the right
answer.
To sum up, it is not permissible to choose views or issue a
verdict concerning a religious issue on the basis of whims and desires,
choosing on the basis of what you prefer and what suits you, so that a
person chooses the view that suits him or suits the view of the one whom he
wants to appease, then he adopts it, gives verdicts on that basis, rules in
accordance with it, and rules against his enemy and gives him a verdict to
the opposite effect. This is the worst of evildoing and the greatest of
major sins. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek.
End quote from I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een (4/162)
This idea was referred to in the books of the scholars under
the heading of: the prohibition on seeking out concessions, because seeking
here is deliberate, i.e., one is actively looking for concessions, motivated
by whims and desires, for the purpose of finding a way and being able to go
along with one’s desires, and trying to free oneself from the rulings. This
is what is not allowed and is prohibited.
Sulaymaan at-Taymi said:
If you were to adopt the concessions and odd verdicts of
every scholar, you would end up behaving in the most evil manner.
Abu ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-Barr commented on that as follows:
This is consensus, and I do not know of any difference of
opinion. Praise be to Allah.
End quote from Jaami‘ Bayaan al-‘Ilm wa Fadlihi
(2/927)
Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is it permissible for one who is following a particular
madhhab to follow a different madhhab concerning some issues when doing so
may be more beneficial for him, or to seek out concessions?
He replied:
It is not permissible to seek out concessions.
End quote from Fataawa an-Nawawi (p. 235)
Imam ash-Shaatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the accountable person were to seek out the concessions
given by various madhhabs concerning any issue he is faced with, and he were
to seek out every view that suits his whims and desires, then he would be
drifting away from the path of righteousness and would get carried away in
following whims and desires, and he would be going against what is
well-established by the Lawgiver, and he would be turning away from what is
given precedence by the Lawgiver.
End quote from al-Muwaafaqaat (3/123)
Secondly:
But if the ordinary Muslim examines the evidence presented by
the mujtahid scholars and muftis, and takes into consideration the issue of
extraordinary hardship to which one of the opinions may lead, then a
particular conviction developed in him because of what he read of the
comments and explanations given by the scholars, and because of their
quoting a great deal of evidence to support some of their views, then in
that case there is nothing wrong with him following the view of which he is
convinced, within the guidelines mentioned above.
Moreover, in that case, there is nothing wrong with following
what he chooses, even if it is the most lenient view, because he has not
chosen the most lenient view on the basis of whims and desires. Rather he
has chosen it within the framework of legitimate shar‘i guidelines, and that
is what he felt at ease with on the basis of convincing evidence and on the
basis of thinking positively of Islamic laws and regulations, that it should
not put undue and extraordinary hardship on people. He has not deliberately
intended to seek out concessions or find a way of avoiding religious duties.
Rather we call upon ordinary Muslims to follow this path, and
we do not prefer for the ordinary Muslim to follow the view of one who gives
him fatwas and to accept whatever fatwas he hears from him. Rather we urge
him to research, reflect and think, and to try to learn more about how to
research shar‘i matters and increase his knowledge of Islam. But he should
do that on the basis of knowledge and with the help of the scholars, without
trying to do research independently and come up with new views, or
criticising the scholars and going against their opinions.
Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If he sees different fatwas from two muftis, then there are
five scenarios according to our companions:… The fifth scenario is that he
should choose, and he may choose whatever view he wants. This is the most
correct view according to Shaykh Abu Ishaaq ash-Shiraazi and al-Khateeb
al-Baghdadi, and it was narrated by al-Mahaamili at the beginning of al-Majmoo‘
from most of our companions. It was also the view favoured by the author of
ash-Shaamil in cases where one thinks equally well of both muftis. … What
appears to be the case is that the fifth view is the most correct, because
the ordinary Muslim is not qualified to engage in ijtihaad; rather what he
must do is follow the view of a scholar who is qualified to engage in
ijtihaad, and he has done that by following the view of whichever of them he
chooses.
End quote from al-Majmoo‘ (1/56)
As it is the case that the scholars allowed the one who seeks
a fatwa to follow the view of whoever he wants, provided that he is a faqeeh
who is qualified to engage in ijtihaad, and that he does not follow his
whims and desires, then it is more appropriate to say that it is permissible
to follow the view which the ordinary Muslim feels comfortable following
because of its strong evidence and because he is convinced of it.
The Shaafa‘is narrated from al-‘Allaamah Ibn Daqeeq al-‘Eid
that he regarded this type of choice between two muftis as permissible,
provided that one feel at ease with following that particular view, and
provided that he does not think that that person would be toying with the
religion or being too lenient. The evidence for that condition is the hadith:
“sin is that which wavers in your heart.” This clearly indicates that with
regard to that which wavers in your heart, doing it is a sin.
End quote from al-Bahr al-Muheet (8/377).
It says in al-Maswaddah fi Usool al-Fiqh (p. 518):
Even if it is permissible for the ordinary Muslim to follow
the view of whomever he wants, what we understand from the statements of our
companions and others is that it is not permissible to seek out concessions
(and odd views) only. Ahmad narrated a similar view from the early
generations and spoke of it. ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad narrated that his father
said: I heard Yahya al-Qattaan say: if a man chose every concession so that
he follows the scholars of Madinah with regard to listening to singing, and
he follows the view of the scholars of Kufah with regard to nabeedh, and he
follows the scholars of Makkah with regard to mut‘ah (temporary marriage),
he would end up becoming an evildoer. End quote.
Moreover, the permissibility of following the easier view
becomes clearer if the opposite view could cause a great deal of difficulty
or extraordinary hardship, and there is no evidence for that view that is
clear and unambiguous that the accountable person can see, or no proof
reached him at all concerning this issue, or with regard to the proof and
evidence of different views it is not possible to determine which view is
more likely to be correct. If the accountable person has decided to check
for himself and find out which view has stronger evidence, or if the various
views are contradictory and he does not have any evidence to suggest that
one view is stronger than another, then in that case there is no blame on
him if he chooses one of the two views on the basis of which is easier, or
on the basis of warding off hardship, because warding off hardship is an
significant shar‘i principle, and there are many shar‘i texts that point to
it in general terms.
For more information, please see the answer to question no.
223879
You may also find more information in the following
questions: 105721, 148057
and 224164
We should point out here that the three issues that you
mentioned in your question have been answered on our website:
In fatwa no. 193034 we have
explained that if a woman failed to cover her feet when praying, she does
not have to make up previous prayers.
In fatwa no. 153367 we explained
that it is better for a woman to cover her feet with a long garment, but it
is acceptable instead to cover her feet by wearing socks that cover the
entire foot.
In fatwa no. 149104 we explained
that whoever listens to mockery of Islam and approves of it has fallen into
apostasy. But in the case of one who listens to it but hates it in his
heart, we have not come across any scholar who describes such a person as a
disbeliever, even though he incurs sin if he is able to oppose it or
denounce it but does not do so.
And Allah knows best.
