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الْكُتُبُ الَّتِي لَا يَجُوزُ الِاعْتِمَادُ عَلَيْهَا فِي الْإِفْتَاءِ · Books That May Not Be Relied On for Fatwa
وُجُوهُهُ السِّتَّةُ لِعَدَمِ الِاعْتِمَادِ عَلَى الْكُتُبِ فِي الْإِفْتَاءِ · The Six Reasons a Book May Not Be Relied Upon
[تَعْرِيفٌ] عَدَمُ الِاهْتِمَامِ بِالتَّصْحِيحِ، وَشِدَّةُ الْإِيجَازِ فِي التَّعْبِيرِ، وَتَرْجِيحُ خِلَافِ الرَّاجِحِ، وَنَقْلُ الْأَقْوَالِ الضَّعِيفَةِ، وَعَدَمُ الِاطِّلَاعِ عَلَى حَالِ الْمُؤَلِّفِ، وَعَدَمُ عِلْمِ الْمَنْقُولِ عَنْهُ
- Six reasons a book cannot be trusted for fatwa: (1) no concern for verifying the text, (2) excessive terseness, (3) preferring a view contrary to the rajih, (4) transmitting weak opinions, (5) the author's reliability being unknown, (6) not knowing who an opinion is transmitted from
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٥١ — p. 51
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الْفِقْهُ لَا يُنَالُ إِلَّا بِالتَّفَقُّهِ عَلَى أُسْتَاذٍ · Why Mere Book-Lookup Fails: Fiqh Requires a Teacher
[مَعْنًى] الْفِقْهُ لَا يَحْصُلُ بِمُجَرَّدِ الْقُدْرَةِ عَلَى مُرَاجَعَةِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ مِنْ مَظَانِّهَا، وَلَوْ كَانَ كَذَلِكَ لَكَانَ الْفِقْهُ أَسْهَلَ شَيْءٍ؛ فَكَثِيرًا مَا يَكُونُ الصَّحِيحُ فِي كِتَابٍ آخَرَ، وَقَدْ تُطْلَقُ الْمَسْأَلَةُ فِي مَوْضِعٍ وَتُقَيَّدُ فِي آخَرَ
- Fiqh proficiency is not attained merely by being able to look an issue up in its usual sources — if it were, fiqh would be the easiest thing. The correct position is often found in a different book, and a ruling stated unrestricted in one place may carry hidden conditions given elsewhere
[مَعْنًى] قَاعِدَتَا ابْنِ نُجَيْمٍ: إِطْلَاقَاتُ الْفُقَهَاءِ غَالِبًا مُقَيَّدَةٌ بِقُيُودٍ يَعْرِفُهَا صَاحِبُ الْفَهْمِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ؛ وَأَنَّ الْمَسَائِلَ اجْتِهَادِيَّةٌ مَعْقُولَةُ الْمَعْنَى لَا تُفْهَمُ عَلَى التَّمَامِ إِلَّا بِمَعْرِفَةِ وَجْهِ بِنَائِهَا
- Ibn Nujaym's two principles: jurists' unqualified statements are usually restricted by conditions known only to someone with sound understanding; and such rulings are ijtihad-based and rationally intelligible, so they cannot be fully grasped without knowing the reasoning they rest on
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٥١ — p. 51
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الْكُتُبُ الْمُتَأَخِّرَةُ غَيْرُ الْمُحَرَّرَةِ كَالْأَلْغَازِ · Later, Unedited Books Are Like Riddles
[النَّصُّ] الْكُتُبُ الْمُتَأَخِّرَةُ، خُصُوصًا غَيْرُ الْمُحَرَّرَةِ كَشَرْحِ النُّقَايَةِ لِلْقُهُسْتَانِيِّ، وَالدُّرِّ الْمُخْتَارِ، وَالْأَشْبَاهِ وَالنَّظَائِرِ وَنَحْوِهَا؛ فَإِنَّهَا لِشِدَّةِ الِاخْتِصَارِ وَالْإِيجَازِ كَادَتْ تَلْتَحِقُ بِالْأَلْغَازِ، مَعَ مَا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السَّقْطِ فِي النَّقْلِ، وَتَرْجِيحِ مَا هُوَ خِلَافُ الرَّاجِحِ، بَلْ مَا هُوَ مَذْهَبُ الْغَيْرِ
- Later works, especially unedited ones such as al-Qahistani's Sharh al-Niqaya, al-Durr al-Mukhtar, and al-Ashbah wa'l-Naza'ir, are so condensed they nearly become riddles, and contain errors in transmission and, at times, a preference for a non-Hanafi position altogether
[مَعْنًى] لَا تَجُوزُ الْفَتْوَى مِنَ التَّصَانِيفِ غَيْرِ الْمَشْهُورَةِ؛ وَمِنَ الْكُتُبِ الْغَرِيبَةِ: مُلَّا مِسْكِينٍ شَرْحُ الْكَنْزِ وَالْقُهُسْتَانِيُّ، لِعَدَمِ الِاطِّلَاعِ عَلَى حَالِ مُؤَلِّفِيهِمَا
- Fatwa may not be given from unfamous compilations; among the "unfamiliar/questionable" books: Mulla Miskin's Sharh al-Kanz and al-Qahistani (d. 962H, also reported 952H), since the biographical reliability of their authors is unknown
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٥٢ — p. 52
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تَتَبُّعُ خَطَإٍ وَاحِدٍ عَبْرَ عِشْرِينَ كِتَابًا · One Original Error, Copied Across Twenty Later Books
[النَّصُّ] وَقَدْ يَتَّفِقُ نَقْلُ قَوْلٍ فِي نَحْوِ عِشْرِينَ كِتَابًا مِنْ كُتُبِ الْمُتَأَخِّرِينَ، وَيَكُونُ الْقَوْلُ خَطَأً أَخْطَأَ بِهِ أَوَّلُ وَاضِعٍ لَهُ، فَيَأْتِي مَنْ بَعْدَهُ وَيَنْقُلُهُ عَنْهُ
- An opinion may appear across roughly twenty later books, yet it is a mistake first made by whoever originated it; everyone after him merely copied it, one from another
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٥٣ — p. 53
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مِثَالٌ: انْقِلَابُ فَتْوَى الِاسْتِئْجَارِ عَلَى تَعْلِيمِ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَى مُجَرَّدِ التِّلَاوَةِ · Worked Example: The Inverted Ruling on Paid Quran Recitation
[النَّصُّ] الْأَصْلُ أَنَّ الِاسْتِئْجَارَ عَلَى الطَّاعَاتِ بَاطِلٌ، لِأَنَّهَا قُرَبٌ تَقَعُ عَنِ الْعَامِلِ نَفْسِهِ؛ وَالْمُفْتَى بِهِ صِحَّةُ الِاسْتِئْجَارِ عَلَى تَعْلِيمِ الْقُرْآنِ اسْتِحْسَانًا لِخَوْفِ ضَيَاعِهِ، لَا عَلَى تِلَاوَتِهِ الْمُجَرَّدَةِ
- The base rule is that hiring someone for an act of worship is void, since such acts are devotions that accrue to whoever performs them; the actual fatwa permits payment, by istihsan, only for TEACHING the Qur'an, out of fear it would otherwise be lost — never for bare, unaccompanied recitation
[مَعْنًى] أَكْثَرُ مَنْ جَاءَ بَعْدَ صَاحِبِ الْجَوْهَرَةِ تَابَعُوهُ عَلَى هَذَا الْخَطَإِ الصَّرِيحِ، حَتَّى قَالَ ابْنُ عَابِدِينَ: بَلْ عَامَّةُ أَهْلِ الْعَصْرِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ. وَصَارَ الْقَارِئُ لَا يَقْرَأُ لِوَجْهِ اللهِ خَالِصًا بَلْ لِلْأُجْرَةِ، وَهُوَ الرِّيَاءُ الْمَحْضُ؛ قَالَ قَاضِيخَانْ: إِنَّ أَخْذَ الْأَجْرِ فِي مُقَابَلَةِ الذِّكْرِ يَمْنَعُ اسْتِحْقَاقَ الثَّوَابِ
- Most authors after the author of al-Jawhara followed this clear error, until Ibn ʿAbidin says most of his own era's scholars held it too. The reciter ends up reciting not purely for Allah's sake but for the wage, pure showing-off; Qadikhan states that taking payment in exchange for dhikr itself blocks any reward from being earned at all
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٥٥-٥٧ — pp. 55-57
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مِثَالٌ: خَطَأُ عَدَمِ قَبُولِ تَوْبَةِ سَابِّ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عِنْدَ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ · Worked Example: The Mistaken Claim That a Prophet-Curser's Repentance Is Never Accepted
[النَّصُّ] نَقَلَ صَاحِبُ الْفَتَاوَى الْبَزَّازِيَّةِ: يَجِبُ قَتْلُهُ عِنْدَنَا، وَلَا تُقْبَلُ تَوْبَتُهُ وَإِنْ أَسْلَمَ، عَازِيًا ذَلِكَ إِلَى الشِّفَاءِ لِلْقَاضِي عِيَاضٍ وَالصَّارِمِ الْمَسْلُولِ لِابْنِ تَيْمِيَّةَ؛ وَتَابَعَهُ عَامَّةُ مَنْ جَاءَ بَعْدَهُ حَتَّى ابْنُ الْهُمَامِ
- Al-Fatawa al-Bazzaziyya claimed execution is obligatory with no accepted repentance even upon re-embracing Islam, attributing this to al-Shifa (Qadi ʿIyad (d. 544H), a Maliki source) and al-Sarim al-Maslul (Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728H), a Hanbali source); nearly every later author followed him, down to Ibn al-Humam (d. 861H)
[مَعْنًى] الْأَصْلُ الْمَنْقُولُ فِي كُتُبِ الْمَذْهَبِ الْحَنَفِيِّ كَكِتَابِ الْخَرَاجِ لِأَبِي يُوسُفَ: الْحُكْمُ حُكْمُ الْمُرْتَدِّ، وَتَوْبَتُهُ مَقْبُولَةٌ فَتَسْقُطُ عَنْهُ الْقَتْلُ، خِلَافًا لِمَا اشْتَهَرَ خَطَأً؛ وَحَتَّى ابْنُ تَيْمِيَّةَ نَفْسُهُ صَرَّحَ فِي مَوَاضِعَ أَنَّ التَّوْبَةَ مَقْبُولَةٌ عِنْدَ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ
- What is actually transmitted in Hanafi sources (such as Abu Yusuf's al-Kharaj) is that the ruling is that of an apostate, whose repentance IS accepted, dropping the execution — the opposite of what became mistakenly famous. Even Ibn Taymiyya himself states elsewhere explicitly that repentance is accepted according to the Hanafis
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٥٨-٦٠ — pp. 58-60
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قِصَّةُ ابْنِ عَابِدِينَ فِي فَتْوَى الْوَقْفِ · Ibn ʿAbidin's Own Cautionary Tale — His Correct Fatwa Rejected
[النَّصُّ] كُنْتُ أَفْتَيْتُ مَرَّةً بِمَسْأَلَةٍ فِي الْوَقْفِ مُوَافِقًا لِمَا هُوَ الْمَسْطُورُ فِي عَامَّةِ الْكُتُبِ، وَقَدِ اشْتَبَهَ فِيهَا الْأَمْرُ عَلَى الشَّيْخِ عَلَاءِ الدِّينِ الْحَصْكَفِيِّ، فَذَكَرَهَا فِي الدُّرِّ الْمُخْتَارِ عَلَى خِلَافِ الصَّوَابِ، فَوَقَعَ جَوَابِي بِيَدِ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ مُفْتِي الْبِلَادِ، كَتَبُوا فِي ظَهْرِهِ بِخِلَافِ مَا أَفْتَيْتُ بِهِ مُوَافِقِينَ لِمَا وَقَعَ فِي الدُّرِّ، وَزَادَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَكُمْ خِلَافُهُ لَا نَقْبَلُهُ مِنْكُمْ
- Ibn ʿAbidin recounts issuing a correct fatwa on a waqf matter, only for al-Haskafi (d. 1088H)'s own Durr al-Mukhtar to have erred on the same point; a group of local muftis rejected his correct ruling in favor of the Durr's wording, one even declaring they would not accept his view even if it differed
[مَعْنًى] فَانْظُرْ إِلَى هَذَا الْجَهْلِ الْعَظِيمِ، وَالتَّهَوُّرِ فِي الْأَحْكَامِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ، وَالْإِقْدَامِ عَلَى الْفُتْيَا بِدُونِ عِلْمٍ وَبِدُونِ مُرَاجَعَةٍ
- Ibn ʿAbidin's own verdict on the episode: look at this gross ignorance, this recklessness in matters of Sharia, this readiness to give fatwa without knowledge or verification
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٦٣ — p. 63
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عَدَمُ جَوَازِ الْإِفْتَاءِ لِمَنْ طَالَعَ الْكُتُبَ بِنَفْسِهِ بِلَا أُسْتَاذٍ · Self-Study Without a Skilled Teacher Does Not Qualify One to Give Fatwa
[النَّصُّ] لَا يَجُوزُ الْإِفْتَاءُ لِمَنْ طَالَعَ الْكُتُبَ بِنَفْسِهِ وَلَمْ يَتَفَقَّهْ لَدَى أُسْتَاذٍ مَاهِرٍ، وَيَجِبُ تَعْزِيرُ مَنْ خَالَفَهُ
- It is not permissible for one who has merely studied the books by himself, without training in fiqh under a skilled teacher, to give fatwa — and whoever does so anyway must be disciplined (ta'zir)
[مَعْنًى] ابْنُ حَجَرٍ الْهَيْتَمِيُّ، سُئِلَ عَمَّنْ يُطَالِعُ الْكُتُبَ الْفِقْهِيَّةَ بِنَفْسِهِ بِلَا شَيْخٍ وَيُفْتِي: لَا يَجُوزُ لَهُ الْإِفْتَاءُ بِوَجْهٍ مِنَ الْوُجُوهِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ عَامِّيٌّ جَاهِلٌ لَا يَدْرِي مَا يَقُولُ. بَلِ الَّذِي يَأْخُذُ الْعِلْمَ عَنِ الْمَشَايِخِ الْمُعْتَبَرِينَ لَا يَجُوزُ لَهُ أَنْ يُفْتِيَ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَلَا مِنْ كِتَابَيْنِ
- Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974H), asked about someone who self-studies fiqh books with no teacher and gives fatwa: it is not permissible for him in any respect, since he is an ignorant layman who doesn't know what he's saying — even one who DID study under recognized shaykhs may not give fatwa from just one or two books
[مَعْنًى] النَّوَوِيُّ: لَا يَجُوزُ الِاكْتِفَاءُ وَلَوْ بِعَشَرَةٍ أَوْ عِشْرِينَ كِتَابًا؛ فَقَدْ يَجْزِمُ نَحْوُ عَشَرَةٍ مِنَ الْمُصَنِّفِينَ بِشَيْءٍ وَهُوَ شَاذٌّ بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَى الرَّاجِحِ فِي الْمَذْهَبِ
- Al-Nawawi: not even ten or twenty books suffice, since some ten authors might all state something definitively that is actually anomalous relative to the madhhab's true preferred view
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٦٣-٦٤ — pp. 63-64
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الشُّرُوطُ الثَّلَاثَةُ لِلْمَاهِرِ الَّذِي يَصْلُحُ لِلْإِفْتَاءِ · The Three Conditions of a Mufti Qualified to Give Fatwa
[التَّعْرِيفُ] ١- الْمَهَارَةُ التَّامَّةُ فِي الْفِقْهِ، تَحْصُلُ بِالِاشْتِغَالِ فِيهِ وَتَدْرِيسِهِ وَمُذَاكَرَتِهِ مُدَّةً مُعْتَدَّةً. ٢- التَّفَقُّهُ لَدَى أَسَاتِذَةٍ مَهَرَةٍ وَالتَّمْرِينُ عَلَى الْإِفْتَاءِ عِنْدَهُمْ، فَلَا يُفْتِي إِلَّا إِذَا شَهِدَ لَهُ مَشَايِخُهُ بِأَهْلِيَّتِهِ. ٣- الْحُصُولُ عَلَى مَلَكَةٍ نَفْسَانِيَّةٍ تُسَمَّى "فِقْهَ النَّفْسِ" وَ"جَوْدَةَ الْقَرِيحَةِ"، وَذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ
- The three conditions: (1) full mastery of fiqh through sustained study, teaching, and review; (2) training under skilled teachers with hands-on practice, never giving fatwa until one's own teachers attest to competence; (3) an internalized faculty called "fiqh al-nafs" or "soundness of instinct," which is a divine grace granted to whom Allah wills
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٦٤ — p. 64
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وُجُوبُ تَعْزِيرِ مَنْ تَسَوَّرَ مَنْصِبَ الْإِفْتَاءِ بِغَيْرِ أَهْلِيَّةٍ · Obligation to Discipline Whoever Usurps the Post of Fatwa Unqualified
[النَّصُّ] فَيَلْزَمُهُ إِذَا تَسَوَّرَ هَذَا الْمَنْصِبَ الشَّرِيفَ، التَّعْزِيرُ الْبَلِيغُ وَالزَّجْرُ الشَّدِيدُ الزَّاجِرُ لِأَمْثَالِهِ عَنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ الْقَبِيحِ الَّذِي يُؤَدِّي إِلَى مَفَاسِدَ لَا تُحْصَى
- Whoever wrongly climbs into this noble post without qualification must receive severe disciplinary punishment, harsh enough to deter others like him from an act that leads to countless corruptions
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٦٤ — p. 64
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يُفْتَى بِظَاهِرِ الرِّوَايَةِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُصَرَّحْ بِتَصْحِيحِهَا · Fatwa Follows Zahir al-Riwaya Even Without an Explicit Tashih Statement
[النَّصُّ] مَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمَسَائِلِ الَّتِي رُوِيَتْ فِي الْكُتُبِ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ رِوَايَةً ظَاهِرَةً، يُفْتَى بِهِ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُصَرَّحُوا بِتَصْحِيحِهِ؛ نَعَمْ لَوْ صَحَّحُوا رِوَايَةً أُخْرَى مِنْ غَيْرِ كُتُبِ ظَاهِرِ الرِّوَايَةِ، يُتَّبَعُ مَا صَحَّحُوهُ
- Any issue transmitted as a zahir al-riwaya narration is given as fatwa even without an explicit statement of authentication; but if scholars explicitly authenticated a different narration from outside those books, that authenticated one is followed instead
[مِثَالٌ] فِي الدُّرِّ الْمُخْتَارِ: ظَهْرُ الْكَفِّ عَوْرَةٌ عَلَى الْمَذْهَبِ (أَيْ ظَاهِرِ الرِّوَايَةِ)، وَفِي مُخْتَلَفَاتِ قَاضِيخَانَ: أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِعَوْرَةٍ، وَأَيَّدَهُ شَرْحُ الْمُنْيَةِ بِثَلَاثَةِ أَوْجُهٍ، وَقَالَ: فَكَانَ هُوَ الْأَصَحَّ وَإِنْ كَانَ غَيْرَ ظَاهِرِ الرِّوَايَةِ
- Worked example: al-Durr al-Mukhtar states the back of the hand is 'awrah "per the madhhab" (i.e. zahir al-riwaya); Qadikhan's Mukhtalafat holds it is not, a position Sharh al-Munya supports with three arguments and calls the asahh view, even though it is not the zahir al-riwaya opinion
📖 مَوْضِعٌ ص ٦٥ — p. 65
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