Jimāʿ al-ʿIlm - Al-Shafi'i - (3)

Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate.

Al-Rabiʿ ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī related:

I have never heard anyone whom people regard—or who regards himself—as a scholar dispute that Allah, exalted is He, has made it obligatory to obey the command of the Messenger of Allah and to submit to his judgement; that after him Allah, exalted is He, has granted no alternative but to follow him; that no statement is binding under all circumstances unless it is supported by the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger; that everything else is subordinate to these two; and that the duty Allah has laid upon us—and upon those after us and before us—regarding acceptance of a report from the Messenger of Allah is one and the same: it is obligatory and incumbent to accept the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. The only exception is a faction whose view I shall describe, if Allah wills.
Muhammad ibn Idrīs continued: The practitioners of speculative theology then diverged widely over how to authenticate the reports from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Some of them indulged excessively in taqlīd (uncritical imitation), were lax in investigation, inattentive, and hurried in their pursuit of prominence.
God willing, I shall cite for you from the words of every group I have encountered an example that will indicate what lies beyond it.

مدخل ﷽ أَخْبَرَنَا الرَّبِيعُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ الشَّافِعِيُّ قال: ١- لم اسمع أحدا نسبه الناس أونسب نفس إِلَى عِلْمٍ يُخَالِفُ فِي أَنْ فَرَضَ اللَّهُ – Exalté soit-Il – اتباع آمر رسول الله وَالتَّسْلِيمَ لِحُكْمِهِ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ – Exalté soit-Il – لَمْ يَجْعَلْ لأَحَدٍ بَعْدَهُ إِلا اتِّبَاعَهُ وَأَنَّهُ لا يَلْزَمُ قَوْلٌ بِكُلِّ حَالٍ إِلا بِكِتَابِ اللَّهِ أو سنة رسوله وَأَنَّ مَا سِوَاهُمَا تَبَعٌ لَهُمَا وَأَنَّ فَرْضَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى مَنْ بَعْدَنَا وَقَبْلَنَا فِي قبول الخبر عن رسول الله وَاحِدٌ لا يَخْتَلِفُ فِي أَنَّ الْفَرْضَ وَالْوَاجِبَ قَبُولِ الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِلا فِرْقَةٌ سَأَصِفُ قَوْلَهَا إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. ٢- قَالَ: مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ثُمَّ تَفَرَّقَ أَهْلُ الْكَلامِ فِي تَثْبِيتِ الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ تَفَرُّقًا أَمَّا بَعْضُهُمْ فَقَدْ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ التَّقْلِيدِ وَالتَّخْفِيفِ مِنَ النَّظَرِ وَالْغَفْلَةِ وَالاسْتِعْجَالِ بِالرِّيَاسَةِ. ٣- وَسَأُمَثِّلُ لَكَ مِنْ قَوْلِ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ عَرَفْتُهَا مِثَالا يَدُلُّ عَلَى مَا وَرَاءَهُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تعالى.