Majmu' al-Fatawa

Name: Majmu' al-Fatawa
Author: Ibn Taimiya

The collection of Fatwas

Ibn Taimiya

مجموع الفتاوى — ابن تيمية

16,874 pages

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This monumental work compiles the legal opinions, theological treatises, and responsa of Ibn Taymiyyah (influential Damascene Hanbali scholar of the Mamluk era, d. 728 AH). It comprehensively covers diverse Islamic sciences, including jurisprudence, creed, ethics, and Quranic exegesis.

Index of the books, epistles, and questions contained in the Collection of Fatwas of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya

Part 1: Tawḥīd al-Ulūhiyya (Oneness of Divinity)

Introduction

A Principle Concerning Unity and Division, Their Cause and Outcome

Section on the hadith: “Three things against which a Muslim’s heart bears no malice”

A principle on God’s oneness and the exclusive devotion of intention and action to Him

A summary of the foregoing

The obligation to devote worship and reliance exclusively to the Creator

The greatest servants of God are those who humble themselves before Him the most

Happiness in dealing with people lies in treating them for God’s sake

On God’s words: “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those You have blessed, not those who have incurred wrath nor those who have gone astray.”

On the servant’s asking only of God

On acts of worship being founded upon the divine Law and adherence

A Comprehensive Section

On associating partners with God being the gravest of sins

On what moves hearts toward God

On the names given to what is worshiped besides God

On the intercession negated in the Qur’an

Tawassul and the Wasīla

The Book’s Opening Sermon

The Meaning of Tawassul

Benefiting from Intercession and Supplication Has Conditions

Intercession on the Day of Resurrection

Whoever Seeks Nearness to Allah through Something Not Commanded or Recommended Is Astray

Grave Visitation Is of Two Kinds: Lawful and Innovated

Intentionally offering prayer at the graves of the righteous, without intending supplication, is unlawful and forbidden

Prayer Is the Best Bodily Act of Worship

Our Religion Is Founded on Two Principles: Worshipping God Alone and Worshipping Him as He Has Prescribed

The Good Sunnah—God Rewards Its Initiator and Those Who Follow Him

Benevolence toward People Is Part of Worship

The Meaning of the Straight Path

On the Wasīla and Tawassul, and the People’s Confusion Caused by the Vagueness and Ambiguity of the Two Terms

Swearing an Oath by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

A Servant’s Request “by Allah” Is Not an Oath

Asking “by the Right of So-and-So”

The Distinction Between the Creator and the Created

Asking “by the Right of Kinship”

Legitimate Tawassul through Supplication and Intercession

Muʿāwiya did what ʿUmar had done before the Companions

After greeting the Prophet ﷺ, whoever wishes to supplicate for himself should face the qibla

The Prophet’s supplication ﷺ: that his grave not be made into a worshipped idol

Traveling to the Prophet’s ﷺ mosque is recommended

The Garden between the House and the Minbar

“The first thing Allah created was the intellect” is not a ḥadīth

The meaning of the word kalima

The wasīla we have been commanded to seek is obedience

Nothing may be declared forbidden except on the basis of a sharʿī proof

Hadiths on asking through created beings and tracing their chains of transmission

There is no hadith in this chapter that can be relied upon for a sharʿī ruling

Nothing may be deemed obligatory or recommended except on the basis of a sharʿī proof

Critique of the isnād of al-Tabarānī’s hadith on an incident that occurred in the time of ʿUthmān

Tracing the Messenger’s Sunnah

A Companion’s statement is authoritative proof when no other Companion contradicts it

Vowing to anyone other than God is forbidden, and so is swearing

Only God may swear by any of His creatures, a privilege not granted to the creatures

The meaning of the Jews’ seeking victory through the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)

Quranic Verses in the Prophetic Narratives and Their Denunciation of Every Form of Shirk

Tawassul through righteous deeds in two ways

He was asked which forms of seeking intercession and tawassul through the prophets and the righteous are permissible and which are not

The reality of tawassul and seeking intercession is tawassul through supplication

The Creator is far too exalted to act as an intercessor to any creature

The supplication of one who is absent is nearer to being answered

It is impermissible to adjure a creature by another creature

It is not prescribed to intentionally pray toward a grave

Section: The prohibition of shirk applies equally to prophets and all other creatures

He was asked about one who says: “I ask You by the right of those who ask of You.”

A debate between the Shaykh and the monks, establishing proof against them

Section: On bowing when greeting

Section: On the polytheists’ enslaving themselves and their children to others besides God

Part 2: Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyya (Oneness of Lordship)

Preliminary Principle

Laying Down the First Principles and Establishing the Proofs

The Dependence of Contingent and Originated Beings upon the Eternal Necessary Being, and an Explanation Thereof

Completing the Refutation of the Negators and the Attribute-Deniers

A Principle on the Foundation of Affirmation, Negation, Love, and Hate

On the Deviants Resembling the Sabians

On the Perfection of the Soul and the Divergence of People Concerning It

Section: On the True Nature of the Ittihādiyya Doctrine

Section: Whoever Claims Prophethood and Permits the Unlawful Is a Disbeliever

Section: That Simply Conceiving the Ittihādīs’ Doctrine Suffices to Demonstrate Its Invalidity

Section: On the Reality of the Ittihādīs’ Doctrine

Section: On What Has Been Built upon Their Doctrine’s Foundational Principle That the Existence of Creatures Is Identical to the Existence of the Lord

Section: On Ibn ʿArabī’s Doctrine and Its Refutation

Section: On Ibn ʿArabī’s Statement that the Existence of the Entities Is Identical to the Very Existence of the Truth, and Its Refutation

Section: On al-Sadr al-Fakhr al-Rūmī’s View that Existence Is Superadded to Essence, a View in Which He Openly Declared Unbelief

Section: On Those Who Do Not Distinguish Between the Quiddity of Existence, nor Between the Absolute and the Particular

Section: On the doctrines of those who dissent from Ahl al-Sunnah, some of which are drawn from the philosophers’ statements

Section: The Ittihādīs’ doctrine is composed of three elements

Section: In Refutation of the Ittihādīs’ Doctrine

Section: Clarifying Some Expressions of Ibn ʿArabī’s Doctrine That Elucidate His View

Section: On Some Matters That Reveal the Unbelief of the Ittihādīs and the Corruption of Their Minds

Section: Among the Ittihādīs’ greatest principles is the saying “Allah was when nothing was with Him, and He is now as He was”—the last part is a lie about Allah

Section: On the Ittihādīs’ claim that Pharaoh was a believer—and the refutation of them

Section: On what Ibn Isrāʾīl said—“The command is of two kinds: one with an intermediary and one without.”

Section: On what the scholars and believers uphold

Section: The believer’s heart must be grounded in knowledge of God and love for Him

Section: Two distinct essences do not have the very essence of one unite with that of the other unless they become a third essence

Section: Hadiths and Qurʾānic verses on nearness that involve no union

Section: On two meanings that constitute the essence of religion, certainty, and faith

Section: On some individuals who, overcome by the (spiritual) state, fell into a kind of incarnation or union

Section: When the specific doctrine of union that resembles incarnation—and the form of union that contains some element of truth—are understood, what that doctrine implies in its absolute sense likewise becomes clear

Section: On the error in that

Section: Just as one bears witness to His Lordship, one bears witness to His universal Divinity

Section: On clarifying the outright falsehood of incarnation and union

Section: On how the unbelief of the proponents of incarnation and union in the Worshiped One leads them to worship certain creatures under the pretext of incarnation and union

Section: The Union of Essence with Essence Is False

Section: On Denying Offspring for God and Denying That He Is a Father

Section: The Ittihādīs go beyond ascribing a child to God, to asserting that the Lord is united with him

Part 3: Mujmal Iʿtiqād al-Salaf (A Concise Statement of the Salaf’s Creed)

The Tadmuriyya Epistle, or: Verified Affirmation of the Divine Names and Attributes and Clarification of the True Reconciliation between Sharʿ and Qadar

What the servant is required to uphold concerning the divine attributes and decree

Tawḥīd of the Divine Attributes and the Salaf’s Position Concerning Them

The Messengers’ Method of Affirming the Divine Attributes

The Muʿaṭṭila’s Method of Affirming the Divine Attributes

Some Philosophers Described God through Negations and Relations, without Affirmative Attributes

Agreement in Names and Attributes between God and Some of His Creatures Does Not Entail Likeness

Section: Clarification of the Two Principles for Refuting the Denial of the Attributes or of Some of Them

Principle One: Discourse concerning some attributes is like that concerning the others — a clarification

Principle Two: Discourse concerning the attributes is like that concerning the Essence — a clarification

Section: On the two analogies advanced to refute those who denied the attributes—wholly or partially—in their attempt to avoid likening and comparison

Analogy One: The paradisiacal delights God has described—foods, garments, and the like—bear the same names as worldly delights yet are not identical to them; hence denying any likeness regarding God’s attributes is even more warranted.

Analogy Two: The Spirit—A Clarification of How It Is Used as Evidence

Section: On the Comprehensive Conclusion, Which Contains Principles

Principle One: God, exalted be He, is described through affirmation and negation

Principle Two: Whatever the Messenger reports from his Lord must be believed—whether we understand its meaning or not—and where affirmation or negation is disputed, one must withhold judgment until the intent of the affirmer or denier is clear.

Principle Three: Clarifying the saying that the apparent meaning of the texts is—or is not—intended

Principle Four: Clarifying the pitfalls incurred by one who supposes that some—or all—of the Divine attributes resemble the attributes of created beings, and then seeks to negate what he has thus understood.

Principle Five: That we know what we have been informed of in one respect, not in another.

The word “taʾwīl” is used in three senses

The concurrence of the Divine Names in signifying His Essence despite their varied meanings

The meaning of iḥkām and tashābuh, whether applying to the entire Quran or confined to some of its parts

The misguidance of those who confuse the Creator’s existence with that of the creature

What Imām Ahmad rejected of taʾwīl

The blameworthy and false taʾwīl

Sixth Principle: A criterion is indispensable for discerning what may and may not be affirmed or denied of God, for relying merely on the denial of resemblance or on unqualified affirmation without resemblance is unsound.

What should be said to the denier when he bases his negation on the claim that this entails resemblance

Clarification of the Muʿtazilite claim that whoever affirms an eternal attribute for God is a likener and assimilator

Response to the claim that if something resembles another in one respect, whatever applies to that other applies to it in that respect, and so on

Mention of certain issues over which many leading dialecticians have been confused, such as: Is God’s existence identical with His essence?

Explanation of the unsoundness of the method pursued by those who deny the divine attributes, wholly or partially, when seeking to absolve God of what He must be absolved of

The method of those who deny anthropomorphism by relying on the denial of corporeality and spatial confinement is unsound in several respects

On the fact that, in the methods of affirmation, the mere denial of anthropomorphism is not sufficient for affirmation

The avenues for declaring God transcendent are wide-ranging; one need not confine oneself merely to denying anthropomorphism and corporeality

Whatever imperfection a creature is declared free of, the Creator is even more entitled to be declared free of it.

The Seventh Principle: Much of what revelation points to is likewise knowable by reason

Disagreement among the scholastic theologians over the fundamental principles on which the proof of prophethood depends

A mention of some of the methods followed by the imams in affirming the attributes

The reality of the two opposites and their classifications

Reply to the claim that privation and possession are not contrasted in the same way as negation and affirmation

The second foundational principle: Tawhīd in acts of worship

All the prophets followed the religion of Islam — proof of that from the Qur’an

Should the earlier nations who followed the prophets’ religion be called “Muslims”?

Exposition of the errors into which the majority of the mutakallimīn have fallen concerning the definition of Tawhīd and its categories

The doctrine of Jahm, the Najjāriyya, the Darāriyya, the Kullābiyya, the Ashʿarīyya, the Karrāmiyya, and the Muʿtazila concerning affirmation of the attributes, predestination, and the divine threat

Tawhīd of Divinity: Its Realization and Its Scope

The Obligation to Believe in and Obey the Messenger ﷺ

The Obligation to Believe in Allah’s Creation and Command, His Decree and Law

The Three Deviant Sects Concerning Qadar: Their Identification and the Doctrine of Each

Affirmation of Causal Means Between Ahl al-Sunna and Ahl al-Bidʿa

By What Is the Goodness and Badness of Actions Known?

The word “fanāʾ” is used in three ways

The Servants’ Need to Seek Forgiveness

The Reconciliation between Command and Decree in the Qur’an

Worship Necessarily Requires Sincerity of Religion and Conformity to the Sharʿ

The Categories of People in Worshiping God and Seeking His Aid

The Superiority of the Earliest Generations

The Wāsiṭiyya Creed

A Debate on the Wāsiṭiyya Creed

Section: On your statement that I seek to delegate judgment to a specific individual—this is not permissible

Section: On the opponents’ utter incapacity for rigorous disputation

Section: On what the author said to al-Taybarsī, envoy of the Sultan’s deputy

The Fundamental Principle of Ahl al-Sunna wa’l-Jamāʿa

On praying behind the imam even when his inner condition is unknown

On the prohibition of declaring a Muslim an unbeliever for a sin he has committed

On the Muslims’ unanimous agreement upon the two testimonies, without any doubt or misgivings

On the fact that whoever turns away from the Qur’an and faith regards the intellect alone as the foundation of his knowledge, making the Qur’an and faith subordinate to it

On the fact that worship is connected to obedience to God and His Messenger

On the fact that deviation from the middle course occurs in most matters among the majority of people

On Imām Ibn Taymiyya’s Praise of Shaykh ʿAdī and His Followers

On the Fact that Whatever Excess or Negligence People Fall into in Matters of Religion Is Solely Due to Satan’s Misguidance

On the Hadīths Reported by Those Who Have Departed from the Sunnah

On Excessive Veneration for Certain Shaykhs, for ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and for the Messiah

On Ahl al-Sunna’s Adherence to the Sunna in Their Statements about the Qur’an and the Attributes of God

On the Obligation to Maintain Moderation and Balance concerning the Companions and the Prophet’s Relatives

On the ruling concerning causing division within the Umma and testing it with matters not ordained by God or His Messenger, such as saying to someone, “You are Shikīlī or Qarqandī.”

Part 4: Mufassal Iʿtiqād al-Salaf (A Detailed Statement of the Salaf’s Creed)

Question: What is your view on the Salaf’s creed and that of the later generations— which of the two is correct, which do you follow, and who is meant by the Saved Sect?

Section: On establishing that the Salaf were more knowledgeable and sounder in judgment than those who came after them, and that their opponents have a greater claim to ignorance and hashw

Section: On the fact that anyone entrenched in his innovation believes his qiyās applies consistently

Section: On the fact that the Messenger and the Salaf knew the reality of what God disclosed about Himself and the Last Day, and made that clear to the ummah

Section: Clarifying the statement of one who said that the Hashwiyyah are of two categories—one that does not refrain from hashw and anthropomorphism, and the other that masks itself with the doctrine of the Salaf

Section: Then the objector said: Ibn al-Jawzī, in his Refutation of the Ḥanbalīs, said, “They have affirmed for God an eye, a form, a right hand … and so on.”

Section: On the two categories of statements—those established from the prophets and those not transmitted from them

He said: Inferring that something is disliked merely because it is a bidʿa is a major principle.

He was asked about a man who said: “If the Muslims are muqallids, and the Christians and Jews are likewise muqallids, then how can the Christians and Jews be refuted and their doctrine invalidated in that case?”

Section: Clarifying the ways of addressing someone who does not acknowledge the prophethood of any prophet

He was asked about the spirit—whether it is eternal or created—and about the position of Ahl al-Sunna concerning it, etc.

He was asked about a man who said: “If the true nature of the jinn—and their attributes—has not been made clear to me, then I will not follow the scholars in anything.”

He was asked about the believing jinn: Are they obligated to observe the subsidiary duties of Islam—such as prayer and fasting—or are they charged only with mere belief and nothing more?

He was asked about reconciling the two Hadiths: “The sperm-drop remains forty days as a sperm-drop …” and “When the sperm-drop is forty-two nights old, Allah sends an angel to it ….”

His statement regarding the one who said: “Every newborn is upon what has previously been fixed for him in Allah’s knowledge that he will ultimately reach.”

He was asked about the meaning of the Hadith: “Every newborn is born upon the fiṭra,” and whether his ﷺ saying, “The wretched one is he who is wretched while still in his mother’s womb,” is specific or general, and whether Allah will resurrect the livestock and wild beasts on the Day of Resurrection or not.

He said: Allah has mentioned the guardian angels appointed over the children of Adam—those who record his deeds—in various passages of His Book.

He was asked: Are the angels appointed over a servant the same ones at all times?

He was asked about the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “If a servant intends a good deed but does not carry it out …” (the ḥadīth): since the intention is a secret between the servant and his Lord, how do the angels become aware of it?

He was asked about the presentation of religions at the time of death—does this have any basis in the Qur’an and the Sunnah or not? And what is meant by the “trial” in his ﷺ statement, “You will indeed be tested in your graves?”

Section: On the fact that the doctrine of the rest of the mutakallimīn affirms the Major Resurrection, people’s rising from their graves, and the reward and punishment that occur there and in the Barzakh

All the messengers warned of the Major Resurrection

He was asked about the believing soul: do the angels receive it and carry it up to the heaven where Allah is?

He was asked: Does the deceased speak in his grave?

He was asked about Munkar and Nakīr’s interrogation of the deceased upon death—when the soul re-enters his body and he sits up to answer them—and whether this would require a second death

He was asked about the minor and the infant: if they die, are they tested?

He was asked about the minor: is he revived and questioned, or revived without being questioned? What is he questioned about? And are the legally accountable and those not accountable equal in this revivification and questioning?

A Treatise on the Punishment of the Grave

He was asked about the Punishment of the Grave: is it on both the soul and the body, or on the soul without the body?

He said: a questioner asked: With what will people be addressed on the Day of Resurrection?

He was asked about the Balance: is it merely an expression of justice, or does it have two pans?

He said: As for the children of the unbelievers, the soundest opinion concerning them is: “Allah knows best what they would have done.”

He was asked about the unbelievers: will they be called to account on the Day of Resurrection or not?

He was asked about the believing servant: does he become a disbeliever because of sin or not?

He was asked about a Muslim who performs a deed that incurs the Fire: if he enters Hell, how can he still be described as being in Paradise while he is in the Fire?

He was asked about intercession for the major sinners of the Umma of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): will they enter Paradise or not?

He was asked about the children of the believers: will they remain in the state in which they died, or will they grow up and marry?

He was asked: Do the inhabitants of Paradise procreate?

He was asked about a man who, when told that it is reported from the Prophet ﷺ that the people of Paradise eat and drink, replied, “Whoever eats and drinks must urinate and defecate …”; does this denial make him a disbeliever whose execution is obligatory, or not?

He was asked: Do the inhabitants of Paradise eat, drink, and have intercourse, enjoying it as in this world?

Section: That the best of the prophets after Muhammad ﷺ is Abraham—peace be upon him

He was asked about someone who says that persons other than the prophets can reach their rank such that they feel secure from God’s scheming—does holding this belief make one sinful?

He was asked about a man who said that the prophets are protected from major sins but not from minor ones, whereupon another man declared him an unbeliever—is the speaker mistaken or correct?

He was asked about two men who disputed over the matter of God’s prophet Jesus—peace be upon him

He was asked: Is it authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ that God revived his parents so that they embraced Islam at his hands, and then died afterward?

He was asked about the hadith reports that the Prophet ﷺ saw Moses praying in his grave

He was asked about the sacrificial son of God’s friend Abraham—was it Ishmael or Isaac?

He was asked about al-Khadir and Elijah—are they both still alive?

He was asked: Was al-Khadir a prophet or a walī?

He was asked: Does the Prophet know the Hour?

The Comparative Merit of Angels and Humans

Section: On the Comparative Merit of Angels and Humans

Section: On the Best Women of the Ummah—Khadīja, ʿĀʾisha, and Fāṭima

Section: On Ibn Ḥazm’s Aberrant Claim That the Prophet’s Wives Are Superior to the Ten Companions Promised Paradise

Section: Which Is Superior—Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, or al-Khiḍr?

Issue: On the Relative Superiority of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿAlī

Issue: On Preferring the Three over ʿAlī

He was asked about a man committed to the Sunnah who feels uncertain about preferring the Three over ʿAlī because of ḥadīths concerning Imām ʿAlī.

He was asked about the statement of Shaykh ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Zayd that the best generation is the one who saw the Messenger of God ﷺ …: What is the evidence for preferring Abū Bakr over ʿUmar, ʿUmar over ʿUthmān, and ʿUthmān over ʿAlī? And is a person who prefers the less excellent to the more excellent subject to punishment?

Section: On the Enemies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Rightly Guided Imams

He was asked about the faith of Muʿāwiya (may God be pleased with him)

Section: On the fact that the method by which the faith of a single Companion is known is the same method by which the faith of his peers is known … etc.

Section: On the three factions into which people divided concerning Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya

He was asked about a group that had banded together for various corrupt practices, some of whom claim that the religion became corrupted earlier—namely, from the time the caliphate was taken from ʿAlī.

He was asked: Is it sound, according to the scholars, that ʿAlī fought the jinn in the well?

He was asked: Is it sound, according to the scholars of learning and ḥadīth, that Imām ʿAlī said, “When I die, mount me on my she-camel and release her; wherever she kneels, bury me,” and so on?

Section: Whoever accompanied the Prophet ﷺ is absolutely superior to anyone who did not

He was asked about two men who disputed concerning the reviler of Abū Bakr al-Siddīq.

Part 5: The Divine Names and Attributes I

He was asked about the verses and ḥadīths on the Divine attributes, such as His saying: “The All-Merciful rose over the Throne.”

The Salaf’s way is most deserving of being followed.

The proofs for divine elevation and istiwāʾ

The proofs from the Qurʾān and Sunnah contradict the claim of the attribute-deniers

Disputes must be referred solely to the Sharīʿah; otherwise they lead to misguidance.

The Salaf of the Ummah confronted the attribute-deniers with refutation and clarification

Describing God as He has described Himself or as His Messenger (peace be upon him) has described Him

The Conclusive Word on Istiwāʾ

Those who deviate from the truth fall into three groups

The Taʾwīl of the Attributes Is Among the Things Known Only to Allah

Ibn al-Mājishūn’s Refutation of the Jahmiyya

Imām Abū Ḥanīfa’s View on Whoever Denies Any of the Matters of Faith

The Eminent Scholars’ View on the Meanings of Istiwaʾ and Maʿiyya, and that Nothing Resembles Allah

Imām al-Khaṭṭābī Relates the Sunni Doctrine concerning the Divine Attributes

Imām al-MuHāsibī’s View on Understanding the Quran

Imām Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Khafīf’s View

Refraining from Disputation in Religion

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr’s View

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī’s Statement

Section: On Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī’s Refutation of the Muʿtazilites, the Jahmites, and the Ḥarūriyya

Imām al-Juwaynī’s View

The Consensus on Affirming the Attributes and Rejecting Anthropomorphism

The Categories of People Concerning the Verses on the Divine Attributes

Two Groups among the Affirmers: The Attribute’s Apparent Sense Is Intended for God in a Manner Befitting His Majesty

Asked about God Most High’s Exaltation and His Istiwāʾ over His Throne

The Sufis’ Falling into Hulūl (Divine Indwelling)

God Described Himself with Various Attributes

Ibn Mundah’s Refutation of Some Who Tried to Interpret the Verses on the Divine Attributes and Went Astray

He Was Asked about God’s Elevation above All Other Creatures

The Views of the Salaf Imams

The View of Ibn Abī Zamanīn, One of Mālik’s Disciples

Section: Refutation of Those Who Interpreted “istawā” as “istawlà”

Section: The Earth’s Position Relative to the Heaven, and the Heaven’s Position Relative to the Throne, as Described by the Prophet (peace be upon him)

Principle: On Affirming His Loftiness, Exalted be He

He was asked about two men who debated the issue of affirming the divine attributes and loftiness.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) is protected from concealing revelation

The Companions were the most knowledgeable about God’s Book, and their differences in interpreting it signify understanding

Section: On the various grounds for the obligatory affirmation of loftiness and the like for God Most High

The Jahmites and the refutation of their views

The Wāqifah who neither affirm nor deny—implications arising from their position

The stance of the Muslim Imams toward the Jahmites

Al-Ashʿarī’s view on the matter of istiwāʾ accords with Ahl al-Sunnah

The view of the Muʿtazilites, the Jahmites, and the Harurites

The view of the Muslim Imams on the matter of istiwāʾ—such as al-Ājurrī, Ibn Abī Zayd, al-Talamankī, and others

He was asked about Allah’s words: “The Most Merciful rose over the Throne,” and the Prophet’s words: “Our Lord descends every night to the heaven of this world.”

The doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah: affirming the attributes and denying any likeness

Are istiwāʾ and divine descent to be affirmed in their literal sense?

The linguistic meanings support the Salaf’s view

The scriptural proofs show that God is free from any resemblance to His creation

Reconciling God’s transcendence with His nearness to those who supplicate and worship Him

God’s withness does not entail indwelling

The view of the Salaf of the Ummah

Concluding the discussion of nearness to God, which is attained through worship

On the believers’ nearness to God and the Lord’s nearness to their hearts

He was asked about two men who differed over whether God is in heaven or is not confined to any place

He was asked about someone who believes that God is confined to a direction: is he an unbeliever or a sinner?

Account of a Debate on Direction and Spatial Confinement

He was asked about verses on God’s non-resemblance to the world

The Necessary Premises That Must Be Conceded and the Proof of Separateness Derived from Them

God’s Elevation and Non-Resemblance Are Known by Innate Disposition

The theologians apply the term “separateness” in four senses

Refutation of the Deniers of God’s Elevation

Demonstrating the Invalidity of the Deniers’ Proofs for Their Claim

Terms are of two kinds: those found in the Quran, the Sunnah and consensus, and those for which no scriptural evidence exists.

People who challenge the self-evident with speculative reasoning fall into four categories

The Meaning of Tajsīm

Section: On Imām Ahmad’s statements in refutation of the Jahmiyyah

Refutation of the Jahmiyyah concerning their claim that istiwāʾ means istīlāʾ

The Prophet’s approval of asking about Allah with the question “Where?”

He was asked about the ḥadīth of the Divine Descent

Allah is to be described as He has described Himself

The true nature of those who deny the Divine attributes

The Salaf’s doctrine: affirming the Divine attributes and denying any resemblance

Allah shares no attributes with His servants, even if the names are identical

The issues of the Divine attributes comprise three matters

Section: Knowledge of the unseen is possible only through knowing what we have witnessed

The disparity among creatures in their attributes is incomprehensible—so what of God’s attributes?!

Whoever denies the divine istiwāʾ likewise falls into anthropomorphism

The negation of the divine attributes is false

Section: The question “How does He descend?” is equivalent to asking “How did He perform the divine istiwāʾ?”

Does the Throne become vacant when He descends?

False interpretations of the descent

Hadiths affirming the attributes of coming and descent, and the views of the Salaf

The People of Hadith have three opinions regarding the Throne’s vacancy

Ibn Mandah’s view on the question of Divine establishment (istiwāʾ) and indwelling (ḥulūl)

Imām al-Ashʿarī’s interpretation of Divine establishment (istiwāʾ) and descent (nuzūl)

Ibn Rāhūyah’s exposition of the meaning of descent (nuzūl)

Interpretation by some Sunni scholars of the hadith of descent and similar texts, and reports concerning Imām Ahmad’s interpretation

The manner of Divine coming and the differences of opinion about it

Affirming Divine Elevation and refuting hulūl (the doctrine of indwelling)

The Salaf’s view on the Divine istiwāʾ over the Throne

The various views on Divine istiwāʾ and tajsīm (corporealism)

Jabr (divine compulsion) and the unqualified use of the term

The assertion that Divine nuzūl necessitates relocation and motion—and its refutation

The various views on the Almighty’s words: “Then He withholds the one upon whom He has decreed death.”

What is ascribed to the Lord differs from what is ascribed to the creature

God’s nearness to His servants and His drawing near to them

When does God descend to the lowest heaven?

The meaning of His words: “And none knows its interpretation except God”

Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī’s statement on divine elevation and other matters, and where he was correct and where he erred

The testimony of divine oneness and the description of believers’ tawhīd

God is seen, but not in the manner we know

The Salaf’s view on divine maʿiyya

Interpreting divine nearness as knowledge

The meaning of divine nearness in the verse: “And We are nearer to him than you”

The meaning of His saying: “And We know what his soul whispers”

The claim that God is closer to a thing than the thing itself

Section: On absolving God of deficient attributes and affirming the scholars’ views on istiwāʾ and exaltedness

The error of whoever claims that “istiwāʾ” means “ʿamada” in the verse, “Then He istawā toward the heaven while it was smoke.”

The meaning of His exaltedness over the creatures

Section: On the disagreement over the meaning of the ḥadīth of descent

Creation is distinct from the created

The Dahriyya view that the world is eternal

The invalidity of inferring from God’s words, “I do not love those that set,” that motion is intrinsic to the Deity

Interpreting “setting” as motion opened the door to distorting words from their proper places

The innovators among the scholastic theologians opened the door to corrupt ijtihād

Imam Aḥmad’s ordeal over the question of the Qur’an’s creation

Al-Rāzī’s reply to the scholastic theologians at the end of his life

Consensus of all religious communities that the heavens and the earth were created in six days

Motion, transition, transformation, and the opinions concerning them

Meaning of “There is no might and no power except with Allah”

Part 6: The Divine Names and Attributes II

Section: On a servant’s drawing near to God, and the opinions of the philosophers, the dialectical theologians, and Ahl al-Sunna

He said: On nearness and its types

Affirming God’s Nearness

Opinions on God’s Nearness

Section: On the servant’s nearness to his Lord and the Lord’s nearness to him

Section: On the spirit and the loving heart—do they move, or do they merely change from one attribute to another?

He was asked about someone who says: “The apparent meanings of the texts concur in affirming corporeality, and God is exalted above that; therefore the safest course is to treat this as part of the mutashābih … etc.”

The Jahmites: attribute-negators and anthropomorphists

The View of the Salaf and the Imams

Section: On whoever says, “Whenever rational evidence points to corporeality, that belongs to the mutashābih … etc.”

The Muʿtazilites say: the attributes indicate corporeality

Section: On the principal doctrines of the sects and the grounds on which they rest

The Ashʿarīs, in what they affirm, are an offshoot of the Hanbalīs, while the Hanbalī dialecticians are an offshoot of Ashʿarī rational analogy.

The majority of jurists and Sufis hold that practice is more important than wrangling over verbal formulations.

Section: On concrete, mental, verbal, and written existence

Section: On the fact that the Ahl al-Sunna’s way of following the prophets is what leads to the truth

He was asked about the attribute of perfection and the attribute of deficiency, and about what is affirmed for God and what is negated from Him.

Affirming perfection for God and the meaning of perfection

The philosophers call perfection “completion.”

The Book of God affirms God’s perfection

Section: On regarding perfection as possible in existence and free of deficiency

Section: Affirming the attributes is the truth conveyed by the Messenger—may God bless him and grant him peace

Refutation of the Negators

Attributes of deficiency and their impossibility for the Perfect One

Section: On the atheistic philosophers’ denial of the attributes and their refutation

Section: On refuting those who say, “If the attributes subsist in Him,” and their refutation

Section: On the claim that attributes are accidents that subsist only in a composite body, that whatever is composite is dependent, and a refutation of that

Section: On refuting those who say, “If actions subsist in Him, He would be a locus of temporal events.”

Section: On refuting the denial of specific report-based attributes

In linguistic usage, resemblance is not identicalness

Section: Concerning those who say that the term “munāsaba” is ambiguous and may denote kinship

Section: On the invalidity of the claim that mercy is weakness and feebleness

Section: On the invalidity of the claim, with regard to God, that anger is a boiling in the heart

Section: Refuting those who say that laughter is lightness of spirit

Section: On amazement

Section: Refuting those who say, “If there were something in His dominion that He does not will, then He is deficient.”

Section: Refuting those who deny prophethood

Section: Refuting those who claim that His greatness necessitates approaching Him through an intermediary

Section: Refuting those who deny the divine attributes

Section: Refuting the claim that perfection and imperfection are relative qualities

Section: On the verse, “To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so invoke Him by them”

Section: A principle concerning the issues of the divine attributes and acts in terms of their eternality and obligatoriness

People hold two opinions concerning the statement: “When Allah speaks, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth hear.”

The schools of thought concerning the divine attributes

Chapter: The Jahmiyyah’s denial that Allah spoke to Moses, peace be upon him

Section: On Aḥmad’s statement, “Allah has always been speaking, knowing, and forgiving.”

The Hadith scholars’ view concerning Allah’s speech

Section: The Qur’an is Allah’s speech, before He created the creation.

Section: On the obligation to believe in the Divine descent

Section: On affirming Allah’s coming to the Gathering on the Day of Resurrection

Al-Hākim’s view: The Qur’an is uncreated

Allah’s Speech is not detached from Him; it is beneath Him, neither other than Him nor identical with Him.

Chapter: The Discourse Concerning the Qur’an

Allah’s Silence

The Discourse Concerning Hearing and Sight

Section: Concerning the Name and the Named

Section: Concerning Those Who Said that What Is Meant by the Name Is Other than the Named, and that the Names Are the Spoken Words

The Name of God Encompasses His Essence and Attributes

The Atheists Deny His Names

He Was Asked about One Who Claimed that Imām Ahmad Denied God’s Attributes

Refutation and Evidence Based on the Tribulations that Befell the Imām

Section: On the Volitional Attributes

Al-Rāzī Refutes the Deniers

The Qur’anic Verses as Evidence for the Volitional Attributes

Section: On the Will and Love

Section: On Hearing, Sight, and Looking

Section: On Actions

Section: Among the Negators, some reject the attributes completely, while others affirm them but maintain that nothing subsists in His essence

People’s disagreement over multiple opinions concerning the Will

Section: al-Rāzī, al-Āmidī, and others’ rebuttal of the Negators’ arguments

God is described as possessing jealousy

Worshipping the righteous is a form of polytheism

The obligation to follow the revealed Book and the sent Prophet

Section: On describing God—exalted be He—by the active attributes

Section: On what Imām al-Rāzī said concerning the issue of the volitional attributes

Section: Imām al-Rāzī’s statement concerning the story of the Friend (Abraham)

Section: On how all the scriptural proofs concerning the Divine Attributes that the proponents of falsehood cite do not support their view but rather testify to the truth

An exposition of the rational proofs for the Salaf’s doctrine

Is the act a single eternal thing like the will, or is it itself originated?

Section: On the attempt by the leading scholastic theologians to reconcile the proofs

Is the attribute of faith eternal?

The philosophers say: matter is eternal

Section: Refutation of the second argument advanced by those who claim that speech is created

Refutation of the claim that an attribute is an action

Attributes pertain to the action, not to the mere object of that action

Section: On the arguments of the philosophers and theologians concerning the world’s origination and its eternity

Section: Refutation of those who assert the world’s eternity

He was asked about the reply to the Muʿtazila concerning the denial of the attributes

Applying the term “al-Dhāt” to the self

Refutation of the philosophers’ denial of the attributes

The Medinan Epistle on the Literal and Figurative Senses of the Attributes

Addressing the epistle to Imām Shams al-Dīn and exhorting him to patience

The Soundest Path: Belief in God as It Has Come From Him

Discourse on the Interpretation of the Attributes and the Opinions Concerning Them

Mention of the Hand and the Salaf’s View Concerning It

The Error of Jahm ibn Safwān

Section: On the Interpretation of the Light and Refutation of Those Who Espouse It

Refutation of the Contradiction in Interpreting the Verse: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.”

Discussion of the Most Beautiful Names

Refutation of Those Who Claim that Affirming the Light Implies Origination

Some Tafsīr Works Contain Transmission Errors, Especially in Reports Ascribed to Ibn ʿAbbās

Attribution to God May Be an Attribution of Creation

The Anthropomorphists’ Statement Regarding the Light

He was asked about the Prophet’s statement: “The Black Stone is God’s right hand on earth,” etc.

His statement concerning the hadith about believers seeing their Lord in Paradise

Follow-up on the hadith: “The Marketplace of Paradise”

Additions to the wording of certain hadiths—are they abrogation?

Follow-up on the hadith’s chains of transmission

Do believing women see God in the Hereafter?

It must not be said that femininity hinders the attainment of the promise, or that masculinity is a requisite.

God’s words: “For those who have done good is the best reward, and more” — a general statement

Exposition of the proof cited by those who say: women are not included in the vision unless there is evidence

Refutation of those who adduce evidence that women will not see Him

Women’s Attendance at the Friday Prayer

He was asked: What is the meeting with God that the humble are described as expecting?

The term “meeting” includes the sense of seeing

Do the unbelievers see their Lord and then are they veiled from Him?

The question of the believers’ seeing their Lord—one of the points agreed upon by the Salaf

No rational evidence precludes seeing God

The question of God’s love for the believer

Faith in the hearts varies in degree

Is the love of meeting God a love for bliss?

His Letter to the People of Bahrain

It is obligatory to believe that Muslims will see their Lord

Three opinions on whether unbelievers will see their Lord

People following what they used to worship

No one may claim that unbelievers will see their Lord without qualification

He said regarding the Prophet’s statement: “There was light—how could I see Him?”

Section: On the Prophet’s ﷺ seeing his Lord

He was asked about those who claim to see God in this world with their eyes

He was asked about the hadith: “Indeed, God calls out with a voice.”

The gist of affirming the Divine attributes and the stance of the Salaf of the Ummah

Atheists liken God to non-existent things

The position on the attribute of speech is founded on the fundamental principle concerning the attributes

The disagreement concerning God’s speech with a voice

The doctrine that the servants’ voices in reciting the Qurʾān are pre-eternal is an innovation

Imām al-Bukhārī’s view that God speaks with a voice

Section: Refutation of the claim that no attribute may be affirmed for God on the basis of a single ḥadīth

Speech encompasses both the wording and the meaning

The Epistle on the Throne, or “The Encompassing”

The reports indicate the Throne’s distinctness from created beings

The Throne is domed

The philosophers’ utmost limit is to infer from observed sensory phenomena

The Throne is above created beings, and the Creator is above it

The Meaning of Resolve

The Misconception Concerning Belief in the Sphericity of the Throne

He was asked: Do the Throne and the Footstool truly exist, or are they metaphorical?

He was asked about the shape of the heavens and the earth: are they both spherical?

He was asked about the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the structure of the two luminaries and the stars.

A discussion of the celestial sphere and the stars

He was asked: Did God create the heavens and the earth before the night and the day?

He was asked about the variation of night and day from one land to another

Part 7: Faith

The Greater Book of Faith

He said: Know that faith and Islam together comprise the whole religion

The distinction between Islam and faith, whether they coincide or stand apart, clarified by scriptural texts

When God and His Messenger deny someone faith: is the negated perfection merely recommended or strictly obligatory?

Answer to the one who said: “If the true believer is he who fulfils the obligations and refrains from the prohibitions, God the Exalted said, ‘Those are the believers in truth,’ yet He mentioned only five things … etc.”

Exegesis of God’s saying: “Indeed, repentance rests with God only for those who commit evil in ignorance” — the verse

The origin of reason, and when is a human being called rational?

What khushūʿ entails

God’s condemnation of hardness of heart

When does prayer restrain from indecency and wrongdoing?

Description of the God-fearing

Hadiths Whose Authenticity Is Disputed

Scholars’ opinions are subordinate to the word of God and His Messenger

The obligation to make the Messenger the judge in every dispute among people

Consensus is a binding proof—but is its import definitive or conjectural?

Clarifying that the import of the Book and the Sunnah is one

Clarifying the meaning of: “Whoever cheats us is not one of us,” and similar statements

Sins are of three kinds

The meaning of the ḥadīth: “The truest names are Hārith and Hammām”

Clarifying what Allah has permitted and prohibited among foods

The concession Allah has permitted for the servants’ need: explaining the meaning of the ḥadīth concerning it

Are all of the servant’s utterances recorded?

Dispute among the Murjiʾa: Does faith necessitate obedience?

Section: The scope of the terms “unbelief” and “hypocrisy” when they are mentioned separately and when together, and what each of them covers — the word “polytheists” may be linked only with the People of the Book, or with all five religions.

Section: The scope of the words “righteous,” “martyr,” and “truthful,” whether mentioned singly or together with other terms

Section: The scope of the term “wronging oneself” when used without qualification

Who Are the Oppressors’ Helpers?

Whoever Approves of Being Worshiped and Obeyed in Disobedience to God Deserves the Threatened Punishment, Even if He Did Not Order It

The scholars’ dispute over the permissibility of taqlīd for someone capable of independent inference

The Arab polytheists acknowledged God’s lordship

The three kinds of injustice

Matters specific to qualified injustice

What the unqualified terms “righteousness” and “corruption” encompass

Answer to the claim that, while the variation of wording by absolute and qualified forms is undeniable, the word “faith” denotes deeds only metaphorically

The classification of discourse into literal and metaphorical arose only after the first three centuries

Scholarly opinions on metaphor in the Qur’an and beyond

Scholars’ and commentators’ statements on the names that God taught Adam

The conventional literal sense and when it became so

Distinguishing between literal sense and metaphor

The uses of the terms “kalām” and “kalimah”

The ruling on deferring clarification from the point of address until the time of need

Demonstrating the invalidity of the claim that the literal sense is whatever first comes to mind when a term is used without qualification

Dividing speech into literal and figurative is an invalid division

Refutation of those who say that the Qur’an contains figurative language

What the word “libās” is used to denote, and the Qur’an’s indication of that

Examples cited by those who affirm that the Qur’an contains figurative language

What the word “insān” encompasses

Response to the one who says: “Verbal indicators are conventional and their indication of meaning is literal, whereas situational indicators are figurative.”

What must be known about interpreting the Qur’an and Hadith

If it is said that prayer, pilgrimage and the like are rendered invalid when any part of them is left out—whereas faith is not nullified merely by sin

The Murjiʾa’s reliance on personal opinion and contravention of the Book and the Sunnah

Section: How Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī championed Jahm’s view of faith yet upheld the Sunnis’ view of making an exception in affirming faith, and the reason for this contradiction

The Sunnis’ refutation of the Jahmiyya on the issue of faith

The first person in Islam known for defining speech solely as meaning

The Karrāmiyya’s concurrence with the Murjiʾa and Jahmiyya that everyone’s faith is equal

Most later scholars who upheld Jahm’s view adopt the exception doctrine concerning faith

Does ignorance of some attributes constitute ignorance of the one described, or not?

Clarifying the assertion: “Faith in the Hereafter brings no benefit; reward is granted only for faith in this world.”

On the assertion of those who upheld Jahm’s doctrine that faith is merely one aspect of Islam, and a refutation of the invalidity and self-contradiction of this view

On the Quranic evidence that absolute faith entails works

On what is meant by faith when it is coupled with Islam or with righteous deeds

What the term “worship” encompasses when used absolutely or in a qualified sense

What the terms “righteousness” and “sin” encompass when used absolutely or in a qualified sense

What the terms “misguidance,” “deviation,” and “poverty” encompass when used absolutely or in a qualified sense

What the term “recitation” encompasses when used absolutely or in a qualified sense

Statements of the Salaf and Sunni Imams on the interpretation of faith

Section: On the fact that conjoining one thing to another in the Quran and in all speech implies a distinction between them

No innovation occurs except through abandoning a Sunnah

When the term “command” is used without qualification, it encompasses prohibition

Jurists’ disagreement over a husband’s declaration to his wife: “If you disobey my command, you are divorced.” When he forbids her and she disobeys, does that fall under his command?

Section: When the term “faith” is used without qualification in the Qur’an and Sunnah, it conveys the same meaning as the terms “righteousness,” “piety,” and “religion.”

Section: On the signification of God’s Names for His Essence and Attributes, and the signification of the names of the Qur’an and the Prophet

The error of Jahm and his followers in supposing that faith is nothing more than the heart’s affirmation and knowledge

The polytheists erred concerning two fundamental principles

The Murjiʾa fall into three categories

The soundness of the claim that whoever believed and died before deeds became obligatory for him died a believer

Answer to the Jahmiyya who claim that the Qurʾān denies faith to any but those whose hearts tremble and does not class these works as part of faith, and who therefore maintain that whoever omits them is not a believer because their absence proves the absence of knowledge in his heart

Section: Explaining the Murjiʾa claim that the faith in the heart is nothing but affirmation alone, with no acts of the heart

The jurists’ dispute concerning the hypocrite zindīq who conceals his heresy: does he inherit and is he inherited from?

Legal rulings apply only to outward deeds

Section: If it is said, “Since absolute faith encompasses everything God and His Messenger have commanded, the loss of any part of it nullifies faith, which would necessitate declaring the sinful disbelievers … etc.”

Section: The increase of faith is recognized from several aspects

Section: On God’s affirmation in the Qur’an of Islam without faith

If someone is not a true believer, is he called a Muslim?

The negation of absolute faith does not imply hypocrisy

The ruling on the perpetrator of a major sin according to the Muʿtazila

People hold three opinions concerning the meaning of the term “Islam”

The Interdependence of Islam and Faith

The True Difference between Islam and Faith

God’s Command to Enter into the Whole of Islam

The Causes of Hypocrisy among Those Who Became Hypocrites during the Prophet’s Lifetime

That the expressions found in the Qur’an and Hadith, once their meaning as explained by the Prophet is known, do not require proof from linguists or anyone else

Is the word “faith” synonymous with the word “affirmation,” etc.?

The meaning of “Faith is not achieved by wishful thinking nor by outward adornment …”

Most of the disagreement among Sunnis on the issue of faith is merely verbal

Are there legal terms whose meanings the Lawgiver has shifted from their original linguistic sense, or do they retain that linguistic meaning in the Sharīʿa, with the Lawgiver merely adding rulings rather than altering the names’ meaning?

Muslims unanimously declare anyone who does not profess the two testimonies to be an unbeliever, unlike with the other pillars.

Can faith and hypocrisy coexist in one servant?

The soundness of the assertion: “We submitted out of fear of the sword.”

Exposition of the Sunni position that faith is speech and action, and that it increases and decreases

Section: Response to the question, “If the outward acts God has made obligatory are more than these five, why did he say, ‘Islam is these five’?”

Section: Muhammad ibn Nasr said, “They argued that faith is what he has described, citing the verses in which God calls prayer and the other acts of obedience ‘faith,’ and so on.”

Evidence from the Sunnah that deeds are included in faith in God, His angels, His books, and His messengers

Is it correct to say, “A disbeliever, God willing”?

Disbelief is of two kinds

Faith is speech, deeds, and intention

Faith According to the Muʿtazila

The righteous are of varying degrees

Two individuals may be equal in the heart’s faith—in knowledge and affirmation—though one possesses bodily works that the other’s body cannot perform

The promise of Paradise is contingent upon the name of Faith

The scholars’ consensus that, outwardly, the designation “Muslims” applies to the hypocrites

Can faith and hypocrisy coexist in one person? An exposition of the differing opinions

Religion and its adherents comprise three ranks

The term “Islam” encompasses affirmation and acts of obedience

Clarifying the Murjiʾa’s error in their claim: “Inward faith can be perfect and complete without acts of obedience.”

Imam Ahmad’s statement on Islam as an affirmation that establishes the foundation of faith

Clarifying the statement of one who says: “God has called faith by the same name with which He called Islam, and has called Islam by the same name with which He called faith.”

The question of Divine Decree and what the various sects say about it

Abū Thawr’s refutation of the Murjiʾa concerning faith: Does it increase and decrease? Is it speech alone, or speech and action? Or affirmation and action?

The terms mujmal, mutlaq, and ʿāmm in the terminology of the imams

Clinging to qiyās while disregarding the scriptural texts is the path of the innovators

Imām Ahmad’s distinction between knowledge and the heart’s affirmation

Imām Ahmad’s proof that deeds are part of faith

Clarification of the claim that faith is a single entity and identical among the children of Adam

Answer to the one who equated Islam with faith

Does Islam decrease as faith decreases, and what is the ruling on making an exception with regard to it?

The ruling on the statement of one who says: “I am definitely a believer, and I am a believer in the sight of God.”

A single name may be affirmed or denied according to the rulings pertaining to it

Why did the Prophet ﷺ refrain from punishing the hypocrites?

People's opinions regarding making an exception in faith

Those who require making an exception have two grounds

The Salaf and Sunnah Imams’ doctrine: making an exception in faith is permissible

Causes of God’s Love for His Servant or His Wrath against Him

Ahmad and others’ dislike of asking a man, “Are you a believer?”

What Ahmad and the other Salaf intended by making an exception in faith

Clarifying the exception in the Almighty’s saying: “You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills.”

The jurists’ dispute about someone who, by adding an exception, intends affirmation rather than contingency: is he considered to have made a valid exception, or must he pay the expiation if he breaks his oath?

The Middle Book of Faith

Section on the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ was asked about Islām, īmān and iḥsān, and his reply

Why was there no hypocrisy before the Hijra?

Explanation of the Qurʾān’s mention of the believers and the hypocrites, and of their attributes

When did the term “zindīq” first appear, and what is its true meaning?

Is the referent of Īmān and Islām one and the same?

The scholars’ dispute over those whom the Qurʾān and Sunna ascribe Islām but not Īmān: are they hypocrites who are inwardly unbelievers, or does the category also include people with some measure of Īmān?

Clarification of the Īmān that is denied of the Bedouins

The Khārijites were the first to declare the People of the Qibla unbelievers on account of sins

Clarification of the Muʿtazilites’ view concerning those guilty of major sins, and a refutation of it

Causes that remove the punishment of sins from the servant

Section: That declaring unbelief on account of mere sins and consigning sinners to eternal Hellfire is a view held by none of the leading scholars or the early generations of the community—and likewise the stance of withholding judgment regarding those guilty of major sins.

Section: On the dispute among people over the term “believer” and over faith—some of it verbal, but much of it substantive.

The doctrine of the Salaf: faith rises and falls, and it is permissible to make an exception concerning it.

The rationale of those who deny that faith can diminish

Ahmad and other imams explicitly affirmed that the Murjiʾa are not to be declared unbelievers

The view of Jahm and the Karrāmiyya on the definition of faith

Are the branches of faith concomitant in their absence?

Must the name cease with the loss of some parts?

Faith and hypocrisy may coexist in a person

The branches of faith may be concomitant when strong, but not concomitant when weak

Withholding the name of faith from a person when its required perfection is absent, even if he retains some of its parts

People’s dispute over intention without action: does it entail punishment?

The difference between resolve and intention

Is the term “faith” synonymous with the term “assent”?

The term “acknowledgment” entails commitment and has two aspects

Clarification of the claim that full power, without decisive will, entails the existence of the intended object and necessitates its realization

Clarification of the statement of the philosophers and their followers: that pleasure is the perception of what is congenial

Is affirmation in the heart alone sufficient for faith?

What is meant by the terms “intellect” and “ignorance”

The ruling on one who holds that mere knowledge and affirmation necessitate everything included in the definition of faith and all that is called faith

Account of what al-Ashʿarī stated in “al-Maqālāt” about the views of the Murjiʾah sects on faith

Account of what al-Ashʿarī stated in “al-Maqālāt” about the overall creed of Ahl al-Sunnah

Al-Ashʿarī’s creed is that of Ahl al-Sunnah and the People of Hadith

Section: The term “faith” is sometimes applied to what is in the heart—its inward statements and acts, such as affirmation, love, and the like

A single term’s denotation varies when it is used alone and when it is paired

What faith encompasses when it is used alone

What faith encompasses when it is paired with Islam

Why was Abū Ṭālib’s support for the Prophet ﷺ not accepted?

Why was the Salaf’s denunciation of the Murjiʾah so severe?

Refutation of those who adopt Jahm’s view that reviling God and His Messenger, speaking of the Trinity, and every utterance of unbelief is not inward disbelief but only an outward sign of it, etc.

Section: On the several ways in which faith varies through increase and decrease

Refutation of the claim that love neither increases nor decreases

Differences among created beings in their love for God

The misguidance of those people of kalām and rational inquiry who claim to have fully known God—so that no attribute of His remains unknown to them—and who assert that whatever they do not know and have no proof for is nonexistent in reality.

Section: On the requisite of inward faith—whether it is a component included within the very name of faith, such that the term “faith” signifies it by implication and generality, or whether it is merely a necessary consequence, effect, and fruit of faith, the term “faith” indicating it only by way of entailment.

Clarification of the claim that the term “faith” includes works only figuratively

Clarification of the error of those who say that outward righteous deeds are not required by the inward faith in the heart and that the heart’s faith can be complete without them

A person’s rectitude is not attained merely by knowing the truth without loving and following it

The philosophers are worse than the Jews and Christians — an explanation of that

Section on reconciling the hadiths that mention the five pillars of Islam with those in which some of them are omitted

When were prayer, zakāh, fasting, and hajj made obligatory?

The scholars’ dispute over declaring someone who abandons any of the four obligatory acts an unbeliever after he has acknowledged their obligation

Faith increases and decreases, and faith and hypocrisy can coexist in a servant

Imām ʿAlī’s stance toward the Harūrīyah

Reply to one who said: “God has commanded jihād against the disbelievers and the hypocrites; since a hypocrite outwardly follows the rulings of Islam, how can he be fought?”

Section: On the fact that ihsān is defined by his ﷺ statement, “To worship God as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He sees you.”

Section: On mentioning some of the previously stated principles

What the term “Islam” entails

Answer to the question: How could Pharaoh’s people be polytheists when God has reported that Pharaoh denied the Creator, and polytheism occurs only in someone who acknowledges God?

Warning Muslims against resembling the Jews and Christians

Section: The term “Islam” is used in two ways

Explanation of the two levels of Islam

Section: The foundation of faith is faith in God and His Messenger

He was asked: Concerning faith in God Most High—Is there any station or state higher than it? etc.

What the term “faith” encompasses, unrestricted and restricted

The best of good deeds is monotheism, and the worst of sins is polytheism

Faith is affirmation and action

Is one punished for intention without action?

Section: Clarifying the inquirer’s question, “Is the attribute of faith a light that God casts into a servant’s heart, by which the servant, when it enters his heart, recognizes truth from falsehood?”

Section: Clarifying the inquirer’s question, “Does the initial occurrence of faith have a cause?”

Section: Clarifying the inquirer’s question, “Concerning the causes by which faith is strengthened until it is perfected, in their proper order—should one start with asceticism, with knowledge, or with worship, or should he combine them according to his capacity?”

Section: On the path to attaining strong faith

Section: On faith—Is it created or uncreated?

Agreement among the Muslim imams that human actions are created

The later scholars’ view on the creation of faith

Is the servant compelled or not?

Section: On the different views regarding the question of istithnāʾ in faith

He was asked about the meaning of the Prophet ﷺ’s hadith, “When a servant commits adultery, faith leaves him and hovers above his head like a canopy …,” and whether the adulterer, while committing adultery, is a believer or not.

People fall into three groups concerning the sinner, such as the adulterer and the drinker

He was asked about the meaning of the Prophet ﷺ’s saying, “No one will enter Paradise whose heart contains even a mustard-seed’s weight of arrogance,” and whether this hadith applies to believers or to unbelievers.

Clarifying the claim that Muslims enter Paradise by virtue of Islam

The Sunni doctrine concerning the sinners of the Muslim community

He was asked about the innovation of the Marāziqa, who affiliate themselves with Shaykh ʿUthmān ibn Marzūq

People’s views on the exception in faith

Clarifying the Marāziqa’s claim that reviling the Companions is not expiated by repentance

One of the Marāziqa’s innovations: declaring other Muslim groups unbelievers and deeming their blood and wealth lawful

Part 8: Divine Decree

Section: On the Lord’s Omnipotence

People’s Statements regarding the Lord’s Omnipotence

What is non-existent is not a thing in external reality

Servants’ actions and everything else are included in the Lord’s omnipotence

The Lord’s own actions are included in the Lord’s omnipotence

Opinions concerning God Most High’s saying: “And they went at dawn, resolved and able.”

Omnipotence is His power to act

Their statement: “An inanimate object is called neither alive nor dead” — and the reply

The principal argument of the negators: were He to admit motion, He would not be without it, and an infinite succession of events would be entailed

The attribute-negators and their statement: “God has sent down nothing to any human being.”

The permanence of His being omnipotent in eternity past and eternity future

Every creature is one of His favors in various respects

God’s condemnation of those who disbelieve after having believed

Monotheism is the beginning and the end of religion

There is wisdom in everything God creates

The views of the scholastic theologians on wisdom

The fundamental principle of the deniers of wisdom

The meaning of the Almighty’s statement: “I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”

He was asked for a detailed explanation of will, permission, the writing, the ruling, the decree, prohibition, and other matters—whether religious or cosmic.

He was asked about people who say that Allah’s will applies to both the past and the future, and others who say it applies only to the future and not to the past—what is correct?

He was asked about the Prophet’s hadith: “Indeed Allah took two handfuls and said, ‘This is for Paradise…’—did He take them Himself, or did He command one of the angels to do so?”

It is obligatory to believe in Allah’s prior decree

Allah has appointed for things the causes by which they come to be

To fixate on causes is shirk, and to disregard them is a fault in the Sharīʿa

The groups that went astray concerning the Divine Decree

The wisdom in reciting “You alone we worship and You alone we seek help” in every prayer

An exposition of the servant’s state before and after the Divine Decree

He was asked: Does the Creator—exalted be He—misguide and guide?

He was asked about the goodness of God’s will in creating the creatures, and whether He creates for a cause or without one.

The position of those who say that the creatures were created and the commandments issued without any cause, and their argument

The position of those who regard the final cause as eternal just as they regard the efficient cause as eternal

The position of those who say that He produced the effects and enjoined the commanded duties for a praiseworthy wisdom

The dispute between the Muʿtazilites and others over the question of rational judgments of good and evil

Refutation of those who say that his mission harmed a group of people, such as the polytheists and the People of the Book

None of God’s names contains evil; evil is mentioned only with respect to His acts

The name “al-Muntaqim” is not among the established Beautiful Names of God.

The majority of Muslims and others—such as the imams of the four schools—do not agree with the Muʿtazilites in denying God’s power

The ruling on marrying women from the People of the Book and the polytheists, and on consuming their slaughtered animals

The Tawhid of the scholastic theologians who affirm the divine decree and will without affirming love and hate is the Tawhid of the polytheists—an explanation

Sects that fall under the designation “al-Qadariyya”

The types of people with respect to the Law and the Divine Decree

The Divine Decree is to be believed in, not used as an argument

The fundamental assertion of the al-Qadariyya: that a servant’s act of obedience is the same as his act of disobedience

The doctrine of the Salaf: that the servant is a real agent, endowed with will and power, while they also affirm, “God created everything.”

The doctrine of the Muʿtazila and those inclined toward jabr

The terms “action,” “deed,” and “making” encompass various kinds.

The Qadariyya’s claim that God creates unbelief and wickedness within the servant as retribution

Among the Muʿtazila’s corrupt principles

God is not to be described by anything from among His creations

Explanation of the issues in which the Muʿtazila gained the upper hand over the Ashʿarīs

The expressions “effect,” “compulsion,” and “provision,” and similar terms are ambiguous—an explanation

People’s dispute over what is meant by ability and power

Explanation of the philosophers’ error in saying that only one proceeds from the One

Many affirmationist theologians conceded to the Muʿtazilites that a voluntary agent can prefer one of his two possible acts over the other without any determinant

The invalidation of causes and the rebuttal of its proponent

A Summary of the Salaf’s Creed

The Jahmiyyah’s denial of His love

Rebuttal of those who claim that this implies His being perfected by something other than Himself, and that He was therefore deficient beforehand

The Sects’ Views on His Will, Love, and Pleasure

Infinite Regress and Circularity

He was asked: Did God will sin from His creatures, or not?

He was asked about ʿAlī’s saying: “Let no servant hope in anyone but his Lord, nor fear anything but his sin.”

The evidences cited by those who affirm the Divine Decree and those who deny it, and a clarification of the error of both groups

The meaning of “Let no servant hope in anyone but his Lord”

Every good and blessing that reaches a servant is from God

Every cause has a partner and an opposite — an explanation

The meaning of “Turning to causes is shirk”

Motions are either natural, volitional, or forced

The meaning of “He fears only his sin”

The meaning of their statement: “Erasing causes as causes is a deficiency in reason”

The meaning of their statement: “Disregarding causes entirely is a flaw in the Sharia”

Supplication and reliance on God are among the greatest causes

What reliance on God encompasses

No one may invoke the Divine Decree to justify sin

He was asked about the verse: “Our only word, when We intend a thing, is that We say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is”—for if the addressee already exists, bringing about what already exists is impossible, and if it is nonexistent, how can the nonexistent be addressed?

The difference between the creative command and the prescriptive command

Is the nonexistent, in its state of nonexistence, a thing or not?

Section: On the verse, “I did not create the jinn and humankind except that they worship Me,” and whether the lām signifies outcome or purpose?

Will in the Book is of two kinds

Section: On the reports and verses about being content with God’s decree—if sins were outside God’s decree, that would be impossible, etc.

Section: On the meaning of the verse, “Call upon Me and I will answer you,” in conjunction with the Prophet’s saying, “The Pen has dried concerning what is to be.”

If supplication is among what is destined to occur, what benefit is there in commanding it when its occurrence is inevitable?

He was asked about the divine decrees: do they arise from wisdom or not? If they do, did God will from people the very acts they perform? And if the will has already preceded, what then is the meaning of there being an excuse in that case?

On the distinctions whereby it becomes clear that the good is from God and the evil from the self

God bestowed upon the children of Adam two things that are the foundation of happiness

The Qadariyyah and the Creation of the Servant’s Will

The error of those who say, “God creates an evil in which there is no good.”

Everything that befalls a person—be it good or evil—is a blessing.

Oneness, justice, might, and wisdom among the Salaf, the Jabriyya, and the Muʿtazila

Two answers concerning the claim, “No decree befalls a believer except that it is good for him,” while sins have nevertheless been decreed against him.

The benefits found in the Most High’s statement: “then it is from yourself.”

Allah created creation for His worship

The follower of the messengers commands people with what the messengers commanded them to do

The sins with which a person is tested—although they are Allah’s creation—serve as a punishment for failing to carry out what He commanded

The servant’s own sin is the sole cause of misfortunes, whereas the causes of the good he attains are innumerable

When a sin originates within the self, one cannot hope for perfect happiness while that evil remains

The Unsoundness of the Jahmiyya’s Claim That Reward and Punishment Occur Without Wisdom

The Muʿtazilites and the Doctrine of an Intermediate Station Between Two Stations

The Innovations for Which Jahm Became Known

Sufi Shaykhs Upholding Jahm’s Innovations

He was asked about someone who believes that good is from God and evil from Satan, and that evil is in the servant’s power—if he wills he commits it and if he wills he refrains, etc.

He believes in the Divine Decree and does not use it as a pretext

The servant’s will and the Lord’s will

The ruling on one who uses the Divine Decree as a pretext for sins

He was asked about good and evil, the cosmic Divine Decree, and the legal command and prohibition

He said: The hadith of Alī recorded in the Sahīh when the Prophet ﷺ visited him and Fāṭima …—this hadith is an explicit condemnation of anyone who opposes the command with the Divine Decree

He was asked about some verses that oppose the command with the Divine Decree

Section: On the Qadariyya falling into three classes—their doctrine and the refutation of them

He was asked about people who argue by the prior Divine Decree

Section: On arguing by the prior Divine Decree with His saying, “Indeed, those for whom the best has already preceded from Us…”—the verse

Section: On demonstrating the falsehood of whoever says, “We have no power in any of our actions.”

Section: Clarifying the statement of one who says, “Adultery and other sins are written against us,” arguing by the prior Divine Decree.

Section: On demonstrating the falsehood of whoever says, “Adam did not disobey.”

Section: Clarifying the statement of one who says, “Whoever says, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ will enter Paradise,” citing the hadith as proof.

He was asked: “If God’s prior knowledge and decree have already fixed the felicity of one person and the wretchedness of another, then there is no point in wearing oneself out with deeds, for what is written will inevitably occur.”

Clarifying the Prophet’s answer to that in several hadiths

Clarifying the error of those who say that if a thing is known and written, that suffices for its existence and it needs no agent or causes

The reality of knowledge and its explanation with regard to God Most High

Clarifying the statement of one who says that actions are not sought for their own sake, but rather to obtain happiness and avert misery, and that the existence of the actions has already preceded

Clarifying a question posed by some people: If something has been written and is certain to occur, then, were the servant not to perform the act, would the written decree change?

Clarifying the varieties of the Qadariyya who claim that God’s prior knowledge negates command and prohibition, and pointing out their contradictions

Ability in the Book of God

The view that one is charged with what is beyond capacity

Section: On the two kinds of charging with what is beyond capacity

Section: On the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “Adam prevailed over Moses,” when he invoked the Divine Decree against him

Categories of people regarding the notion held by some that Adam invoked the prior decree to deny blame for sin

The doctrine of the Ittihādīya

Discussion of the people’s dispute over moral goodness and badness, and how these are known

Does fanāʾ lift legal responsibility?

The doctrine of al-Hallāj

Section: Clarifying the correct view concerning the story of Adam and Moses

Section: That the Qur’an and the Sunnah clarify that Adam prevailed over Moses in argument when Moses sought to blame the one who had caused their calamity

The meaning of Allah’s words: “So be patient for your Lord’s decree and do not be like the Companion of the Fish.”

The intended meaning of “the muhājir” in Allah’s words: “And those who migrated for the sake of Allah after they had been wronged.”

The believer is commanded to be patient regarding what has been decreed.

Explanation of the supplications that the servant is required to invoke.

Categories of people concerning anger for Allah’s sake and the witnessing of the divine decree

Explanation that those who seek God solely through will and love without regard for command and prohibition, and likewise those who discriminate—by their own will—between what they deem good and enjoin, are both following their own desire

The doctrine of Ibn Kullāb and al-Ashʿarī on the divine will

The reason Ibn ʿAqīl objected to someone asking for the pleasure of beholding God’s Face

Al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham: the first to deny that God speaks

What follows from perfect love for God and His Messenger

Polytheistic love

By what does a person become a Muslim, a ḥanīf monotheist?

Section: Clarifying the opinions on the servant’s ability and the correct view according to the Book and the Sunna

The disagreement among people over the servant’s ability to act contrary to what Allah knows or wills

Section: On attributing purpose to God’s actions, and setting out the various sects’ views on the matter

Section: On what the Imam reported about someone who supplicated, saying: “O Allah, by Your power with which You say to the heavens and the earth, ‘Come, willingly or unwillingly,’ and they say, ‘We come willingly.’”

He was asked about the reality of the servant’s acquisition: what is it, and does it have any effect on the existence of the action or not?

Exposition of the Qadariyya’s misguidance regarding human actions

Does the servant’s capability affect the existence of his action?

Exposition of the statement: “If we negate causal efficacy, it necessitates that God alone performs the act and that compulsion follows.”

The servant is truly an agent and possesses will and volition.

Answer to the one who asked: “How are reward and punishment grounded in the servant’s action, how is it correct to call him a true agent, and how does his action depend on his capability?”

The reason for the difference between creation and acquisition

He was asked about the servants’ actions: are they eternal or were they created when humankind was created, etc.

Presentation of the opinions on the servants’ actions

The arguments the Jahmiyya used to claim the Qur’an is created, and Imām Aḥmad’s reply

The argument of those who say that actions are God’s decree

Explanation of the claim that deeds constitute the religious laws and that the laws are uncreated

What is meant by the words “law,” “command,” and “decree”

Clarification of the correct view regarding the question: “What is the proof against those who say that the servants’ actions—movements and otherwise—are part of the divine decree predetermined before the creation of the heavens and the earth?”

What the Jahmiyyah’s statement—“The Qur’an is Allah or other than Allah”—entails

Ahmad’s rejection of the doctrine of ḥulūl, and a report of what he wrote on the debate between al-Jahm and the Samanīyah over the createdness of the Qur’an

Section: On the view that making an exception concerning definite, certain past events is an innovation

The assertion that the Qur’an’s letters are not part of God’s speech, and that His speech is merely a meaning subsisting in His Essence, is a false doctrine first introduced by Ibn Kullāb.

An exception pertains to future events

Is it permissible to make an exception concerning faith?

Section: On the issue of deeming things good or evil and the dispute concerning it

People on the issue of deeming things good or evil: two extremes and a middle position

The goodness of things is known through three factors

He was asked: Concerning the servant—can he carry out obedience whenever he wills or not? If he wills to abandon sin, is he able to do so or not? And when he does good he attributes it to God, whereas when he does evil he attributes it to himself?

If the worshiper is unable to perform some obligatory elements of the prayer, those elements are waived

Whoever says that God has commanded the servants to do what they are incapable of is lying

Will in the Book of God is of two kinds

The scholars disputed over ability: must it coincide with the action, or must it precede it?

What the servant must know concerning his performance of good or bad deeds

The categories of people concerning the Divine Decree

He was asked, in poetic lines, about the servant’s actions—whether he acts by choice or under compulsion

The first to deny God’s prior knowledge, and the views concerning it

Section: Explaining those who invoke the Divine Decree to abandon what is commanded, commit what is forbidden, or reject the scriptural texts on promise and threat

The misguidance of those who suppose that Adam invoked the Divine Decree against Moses regarding the sin

Invoking the Divine Decree arises from following one’s desires

Clarifying that the polytheists’ argument—and their rejection of His commands and prohibitions by invoking the Divine Decree—is invalid

The claim of the philosophers who maintain the universe is eternal constitutes greater unbelief than that of the Arab polytheists

Section: On the consensus of the early Imams that human beings possess will, ability, and the power to act

The claim of Jahm and his followers that man is compelled

Section: On the consensus of the Salaf and the Imams concerning belief in the Divine Decree—that whatever He wills occurs and whatever He does not will does not—and that no one has any proof against God for neglecting a command or committing a forbidden act

The denial by Jahm and his followers of wisdom and mercy

The Will in the Book of Allah

Does command necessitate will or not?

Section: On the statement, “How can the servant have choice in his actions while he is compelled to perform them?”

Section: On the questioner’s statement, “For they have explicitly asserted that he is compelled with respect to volitions.”

Section: On the questioner’s statement, “For they have explicitly asserted that he is compelled with respect to volitions, that he is not truly the doer of his actions, and the ruling is well known.”

Section: On the questioner’s statement, “And from this it follows that the act has no effect on what pertains to the agent.”

Section: On the import of the Almighty’s words, “And you do not will except that Allah wills.”

Section: On the questioner’s statement, “And for everything, then, if it were admitted, the Creator would have no decree.”

Section: On the questioner’s statement, “Or if it were so, the necessary consequence of its being would be its origination, and the assertion is abandoned.”

Section: On the questioner’s statement, “Nor is it to be said, ‘God’s knowledge concerns what He chooses, for what is chosen is inscribed.’”

Section: As for his statement, “And jabr—if valid—would make one coerced, and in your view the coerced person is excused.”

The meaning of jabr, coercion, and choice

What is the ruling if a man is coerced into committing zinā?

The ruling on a coerced person concerning contracts such as sale and marriage

The dispute among sects over the injustice from which God must be declared free

He was asked about the slain person: did he die at his appointed term, or did God cut his term short?

He was asked about high and low prices: are they from God Most High or not?

He was asked about what Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī said in Minhāj al-ʿĀbidīn regarding guaranteed and apportioned provision, etc.

Types of earnings with respect to permissibility and prohibition

The intended meaning of the term “worship” when used without qualification

The misguidance of those who assume that reliance on God dispenses with the means prescribed by the Sharīʿa

Section: Among the wayfarers on the path to God are some who, even while fulfilling God’s commands of jihad, knowledge and other duties, are unable to earn a livelihood

Section: Explaining that earning a livelihood is sometimes obligatory and sometimes recommended

Section: On the assertion that the prophets and the saints never sought provision

Prohibition of asking people except in cases of necessity

He was asked: Does provision increase and decrease, and is it what one consumes or what one owns?

Section: Two things are meant by provision

He was asked: Concerning a man who commits highway robbery and theft, or consumes the unlawful and the like— is that the provision God guaranteed for him, or not?

He was asked about wine and the unlawful— is that God’s provision for the ignorant, or are they consuming what has been decreed for them?

He was asked about Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir’s saying: “I contended with the decrees of the Truth by the Truth, for the Truth.”

He was asked about Ibn Nabāta’s saying: “I disavow any might and power except toward Him.”

Part 9: Logic

He was asked: What do you say about logic, and is someone who calls it a communal obligation right or wrong?

The unsoundness of the claim that logic is a communal obligation and that the knowledge of anyone lacking expertise in it is unreliable

Types of syllogisms according to the logicians

Clarifying the error of those who claim that intuitive self-evidence and innate disposition may judge in favor of something whose falsity syllogistic reasoning makes clear

The early logicians did not mention the premises received from the prophets, whereas the later ones did and classified prophetic knowledge among intuitive matters.

The agreement of the religious communities on the general reality of prophethood, yet some of them believed in certain prophets and rejected others

Logic has no pathway to knowledge of prophethood

Logic does not yield universal concepts in the mind

Causal syllogism and how it differs from inclusive syllogism

Metaphysics: most of it is knowledge of mental judgments, and the truth it contains is meager.

No one in the first three centuries paid attention to logic

Aristotle was the first to formulate the discipline of logic

The logicians’ wisdom contains no command to worship God alone

The logicians’ monotheism and how their specious arguments have led many adherents of religions astray

Each person of authority and learning may oppose the messengers or follow them—evidence from the Qur’an

Section: Describing the general nature of the logicians’ discourse

Most of the logicians’ discourse is not free of contrivance

Most of their discourse on definitions is of no benefit, and much of their discourse on syllogisms and proofs is false.

The errors and misguidance into which many people have fallen because of logic become clear in several ways

First: Their claim that a conception which is not self-evident can be acquired only through definition is false

Second: They have never produced an undisputed definition for anything

Third: Those who employ definitions are only a small minority among humankind

Fourth: God has given the son of Adam ways to know things without verbal definition

Fifth: Definitions are universal statements, and conceiving their meaning does not preclude other things from sharing in them

Sixth: A definition belongs to the realm of words, and it must be preceded by conceptualization

Seventh: A definition distinguishes the definiendum from everything else, but it does not furnish a conception of its essence

Eighth: Sense perception supplies an absolute conception of the essence, whereas determining its universality or particularity is the province of the intellect.

Ninth: Knowing that both shared and particular attributes exist is correct, but designating some of them as essential and others as mere concomitants is unsound.

Tenth: The assertion that the mind does not apprehend this except after that, etc.

Eleventh: Their claim that the essence is composed of genus and differentia, etc.

Twelfth: That although these essential attributes can be known, they do not yield a conception of the definiendum’s true essence.

Thirteenth: That when a definition comprises two parts, each part must be conceived.

Fourteenth: That definitions must involve differentiation.

Fifteenth: That God taught Adam all the names, distinguishing each denoted thing with a name that indicates its specific difference from the shared genus, and so on.

Sixteenth: What they mean by the common and the specific essential attributes.

Discussion of the absolute syllogism and the class of syllogisms.

The aforementioned syllogism yields no knowledge except through an affirmative universal proposition.

Certain specific matters are better known without logic than through it.

On what basis do the logicians maintain that certainty cannot be attained except through the principles they deem productive of it?

Abridgment of “Advice to the People of Faith in Refutation of Greek Logic”

The reason the Imam composed his refutation of the logicians

Summary of the discourse on logic in four sections

Refutation of their claim that a definition imparts the conception of things

Falsity of their claim that the essential precedes as a form in the mind

Section on their claim that nothing of the judgments is known except through the syllogism they have described

The claim of the philosopher-logicians regarding the angels and God

Clarification of the error of those who claim that every theoretical science needs only two premises, no more

The error of construing the hadith “Every intoxicant is wine, and every wine is unlawful” as a syllogistic form

The logicians’ universal propositions in theology are more corrupt than the universals of natural philosophy, and most of their discourse in this field is mere false conjecture.

Demonstrating the invalidity of the logicians’ assertion that their syllogism is what produces certainty

The error of the later scholastic theologians and rationalists who asserted that syllogism has no place in rational inquiries, but only in Sharʿī matters

The dispute over what is meant by the term “syllogism” and its linguistic clarification

Definition of the inclusive syllogism and the analogical syllogism

The sciences are three—natural, mathematical, and divine—and the subject matter of each science

The origin of the logicians’ philosophy laid down by Pythagoras

Al-Ghazālī and others on the logicians’ sciences

The origin of the formulation of logic from geometry

The logicians’ denial of what the messengers reported

The reason Ibn Sīnā turned to philosophy

Aristotle and his followers: the most ignorant school in divine science, while most of their discourse on natural philosophy is sound

Clarifying that the falsehood and contradiction in the logicians’ discourse does not entail their wretchedness in the Hereafter unless messengers have been sent to them

What the logicians mean by the effect’s concomitance with its cause

An a fortiori analogy is employed with respect to God

The a fortiori analogy that the Salaf adopted

People’s dispute over the names and attributes: are they literal of the Creator and metaphorical of the creature, or vice versa, or literal of both?

Section: On their division of the genus of proof into syllogism, induction, and analogy

The division of the syllogism into categorical and conditional types

The logicians’ confinement of proof to syllogism, induction, and analogy—without evidence

Section: On the refutation of their assertion that reasoning must comprise exactly two premises, no more and no less

One indication that restricting reasoning to two premises is invalid: their statement regarding the definition of the syllogism, and so forth

The separated syllogism and the connected syllogism

The dispute among people about the cause

The rational thinkers’ description of logic

The unsoundness of the claim that learning logic is a communal obligation or a prerequisite for ijtihād

There is more truth with the People of the Book and the polytheists than with the logicians

Demonstration that a single premise may suffice to obtain the desired conclusion

The dispute among logicians about whether knowing the two premises is sufficient for knowing the conclusion

When is it known that something is a proof?

Muslim scholars criticize the logicians’ method

Is it correct to say, “the Philosopher of Islam”?

The reason many people find logic confusing

According to the logicians, there are three kinds of argument: syllogism, induction, and analogy

Resemblance syllogism and inclusive syllogism

Response to their claim about logic: that it consists of sciences refined by intellects and accepted by the virtuous

Section: On the arguments they advanced that induction is inferior to the inclusive syllogism, and that the analogical syllogism is inferior to induction

Section: On the fourth position—namely their claim that syllogism or demonstration yields knowledge of propositions, making it the subtlest of the positions

Definition of Evidence and Demonstration

Who Benefits from the Science of Logic?

The term “dawr” is applied to three kinds

The form of the syllogism does not impair its validity, yet it furnishes no knowledge of existents.

Demonstration that everything obtainable through the inclusive syllogism is obtainable through analogical syllogism

Every syllogism must contain a universal proposition, and that proposition must ultimately be known without recourse to syllogism; otherwise circularity would ensue.

The Quranic method for demonstrating the possibility of resurrection

The cause of the disagreements among the logicians

Al-Ghazālī was the first to blend logic into the Muslims’ foundational principles

Some of Ibn al-Nūbakhtī’s remarks in refutation of the logicians

Universal general propositions do not exist in external reality as universals—therefore syllogistic reasoning cannot establish the specific existence of any given particular

The repeated middle term in the inclusive syllogism is the operative ground of the ruling in analogical reasoning

If it is said: How do you know that the common attribute entails the ruling?

Recognizing similarity and difference is among the foremost attributes of the intellect

Clarifying that one must not think that the balance God revealed is the logic of the Greeks

Prophets and saints have knowledge stemming from revelation and inspiration that lies beyond the logicians’ syllogism

A summary of the discourse concerning the logicians and clarification of their condition

Section on regulating the universals of logic and the defects therein

The foundations on which the science of logic is built

The distinction between essential attributes and accidental attributes

Syllogism and its materials

Section: On people’s opinions concerning the meaning of the term “syllogism”

Section: On the view that the flaw in logic lies only in demonstration and definition

Section: On what the Imām wrote in his summary of Greek logic

He was asked about books on logic

He was asked about the intellect—whether it is an accident—and about the spirit that governs the body: is it the soul? Can its mode be known? Is it an accident or a substance? And can its seat in the body, and that of the intellect, be identified?

The intellect in the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, and in the sayings of the Companions, the Successors, and the other imams of the Muslims

The reality of the soul and a mention of the opinions concerning it

Is discourse on substances and accidents exclusively a concern of logic?

The reality of the Lord according to Aristotle and his followers

Philosophers’ opinions on God’s speech

Section: On the term “intellect” according to Muslims and the majority of rational thinkers

Section: That the spirit governing the body, which departs from it at death, is the very spirit breathed into it, and that it is the same soul that leaves at death

Section: That the terms “spirit” and “soul” are used to express several meanings

Section: On the inquirer’s question, “Does the spirit have a knowable modality?”

Section: On the inquirer’s question, “Is the spirit a substance or an accident?”

Section: On the speaker’s question, “Where is the spirit’s dwelling place in the body?”

Section: On the speaker’s question, “Where is the intellect’s dwelling place in the body?”

He was asked: “Which is better, knowledge or intellect?”

Section: On the fact that God created the human heart so that one may know things through it, just as He created the other organs and senses

The heart: master of the organs

The heart, the eye, and the ear are the primary means by which knowledge is acquired

Meaning of “Lo, everything besides God is false”

Meaning of “The heart is to knowledge as a vessel is to water, a receptacle to honey, and a valley to a flood”

Meaning of “If you put the heart where it does not belong, without a vessel, it is a lost heart”

Part 10: The Science of Spiritual Conduct

The Iraqi Treatise

Spiritual Stations and States

People fall into three ranks in their bodily actions

Sins accompanied by faith are not everlasting in the Fire

The evil of innovation lies in the fact that it is not expiated in the Fire

Truthfulness and sincerity establish faith and Islam

Description of those who are truthful in their claim to righteousness

Islam: Submission to God’s command

Section: Inward deeds such as love for God and sincerity are required of both the common people and the elite.

Sadness is forbidden

Sadness for the sake of religion is rewarded

God’s right upon His servants

Trust in God and seeking His help are the servant’s means to attain his goal

The Meaning of Prescribed Asceticism

The precedence of divine knowledge and the written decree does not negate striving through deeds

God intends ease for people

The Qadariyya have nullified the value of human striving

People fall into different categories concerning the trials with which they are tested

People fall into four categories in their view of the divine command

Tawakkul is that in which the requirements of monotheism, reason, and the Sacred Law converge

The phrase “Ḥasbī Allāh” is uttered for both benefit and harm

Action must be accompanied by riḍā and tawakkul

Patience in the face of affliction and its ordained measure in the Book of God

Contentment with the divine decree: Is it obligatory or recommended?

Contentment with prohibited acts is not sanctioned

Two perspectives establish the obligation of praising Him

The divine decree accompanied by patience is good—how much more so with contentment?

Loving God and His Messenger is among the greatest obligations of faith

Sincere devotion of religion to God—that is religion

The Messenger established the pure religion and, by it, suppressed the polytheists

The Jews equate the Creator with the created

The perfection of love is loving God Himself

Love necessitates jihad

Absolute union is false

Fear and hope stem from love

Loving the Messenger of Allah is obligatory because of one’s love for Allah, and the same applies to loving his Companions and relatives

Allah’s love for His servant, and the Jahmiyya’s denial of the reality of love from both sides

Worship and obedience stem from love

Listening to poetry that arouses love

Praise for those who turn to listening to the Qur’an and condemnation of those who turn away from it

Worship of God must involve love, fear, and hope

Love has two foundations: the love of the common people and the love of the elect

Seeking forgiveness at the conclusion of deeds

Section: On the diseases of the hearts and their cure

Bodily disease: corruption of the body and a weakening of its movement

Section: The disease of the heart is a type of corruption in its perception and will

The death of hearts: ignorance

The Quran removes the disease of hearts

Purification of the heart

Deeds have an effect on the heart

Injustice is one of the heart’s diseases

Hypocrisy is the most dangerous of the heart’s diseases

The meaning of the Straight Path

Section: Envy—one of the heart’s diseases

The meaning of envy and its types

The cause of envy

The greatness of the rank of one whose heart is free from envy

Envy leads to injustice

Envy is prevalent; only a few escape it

Envy is the companion of hatred

Section: Miserliness and envy make the soul hate what benefits it

People are divided into two opinions regarding passionate love

Whoever is tested by passionate love but remains chaste and patient will be rewarded

One is afflicted with the forbidden form of passionate love because his faith is weak

Section: On the Diseases of the Heart and Their Cures

God’s Book Treats the Diseases of the Heart

Diseases of the Heart Are of Two Kinds: Corruption of Perception and Corruption of Natural Motion

The Envier’s Hatred of God’s Blessing Is a Disease

Taqwā Protects a Person from What Harms Him

The Most Important Remedy: Establishing the Self upon the Easy Hanifiyya

Calamities Are a Purification from the Heart’s Diseases

He Was Asked about Worship and Its Branches, and the Reality of Servitude

Worship of Allah Is the Goal He Loves

The Root Meaning of Worship

Whoever thinks that al-Khidr or anyone else is exempt from the divine command because of beholding the Divine Will is worse than the unbelievers

Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is obligatory for warding off the harm of sins as far as one is able

“Whoever beholds the Divine Will is relieved of legal obligation”—a baseless claim

The polytheists invoke the Divine Decree and thereby fall into unbelief

The root of the misguided person’s error: placing his own analogy before the scriptural text

What God has enjoined upon His servants by way of means: worship and reliance on Him

A created being’s perfection lies in realizing servitude to God

The sincere servants are those delivered from sins

People excel one another in the reality of faith

Asking a created being is fundamentally forbidden but allowed out of necessity

Complaining to the Creator does not contradict patience

One who seeks leadership is a servant to whoever assists him

The essence of jihad is striving to attain what Allah loves

Whoever is too proud to worship Allah will worship something else

Arrogance entails shirk

Ibrāhīm al-Khalīl, imam of the upright and sincere monotheists

Khulla: the perfection of love

The sweetness of faith

The greatest of Christ’s commandments: to love God

Righteous deeds are indispensable, both obligatory and recommended

Kinds of Fanāʾ

Whoever claims that the masses have one dhikr and the elite another is misguided

Refutation of Those Who Maintain that Dhikr Should Be Made with the Isolated Divine Name

The Totality of Religion Is Two Principles

He Was Asked about the Prophet’s Saying concerning the Supplication of Dhū’l-Nūn

The Meanings of Supplication in the Qurʾān: Worship and Petition

The Linguistic Meaning of Salāh: Supplication

Allah the Exalted says: “Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers.”

Describing Need and Poverty Is a Petition by One’s Condition

Majesty and Honor Are Among the Affirmative Attributes

Why Was Dhū al-Nūn’s Supplication a Cause for the Removal of Distress?

The Servant Must Cling to Fear and Hope

Supplication Is Proper Only for God

God Pairs Tawhīd and Seeking Forgiveness in Several Quranic Passages

The lawful is whatever God and His Messenger have declared lawful, and the unlawful is whatever God and His Messenger have declared unlawful.

Islam Is a Form of Action

When the heart attains true affirmation and love, actions inevitably follow

The difference between ostentation and self-conceit

The distressed person's invocation: “There is no god but You”

The funds the Prophet ﷺ distributed fell into two categories: those with fixed beneficiaries and avenues of expenditure, and those that required his discretionary judgement

Since worship pertains to Him, exalted be He, the prescribed invocations are articulated with His Name

Faith is not attained until obedience to God and His Messenger is dearer to the servant’s heart

The prophets’ established infallibility fulfils the purpose of messengership

A discussion of God’s Prophet Joseph

Love and affection among believers stem from their love for God

The true measure is the perfection of the final outcome, achieved through repentance and seeking forgiveness

Is acknowledging one’s sin while affirming God’s oneness a sufficient cause for its forgiveness?

When acknowledgment includes repentance, it is a sufficient cause for forgiveness

Does acknowledging a specific sin suffice to remove what was incurred by multiple sins, or must one bring every sin to mind?

Repentance for some sins but not others is like performing some good deeds but not others

If the intention is a general repentance, it covers everything one considers a sin

The reason relief comes when hope in created beings is cut off

Part of God’s complete favor toward His servants is that He sends them hardship and harm

The meaning of the term “dhawq”

The fanāʾ found in Sufi discourse is explained in three ways

Religious obligation is conditioned on the attainable knowledge and ability

Will is what separates the people of Paradise from the people of Hellfire

Necessity arising from a forbidden cause does not render the prohibited permissible

The corruption of the people owing to the corruption of the Caliphate and the rise of hypocrisy

The innovation of the Qadariyyah and the Companions’ refutation of it

The fundamentals of the Sunnah are adherence to what the Messenger’s Companions were upon

The early originators of the methods of rational opinion, kalām and Sufism blended them with principles from the Qurʾan and Sunnah, whereas the later generations stripped those methods of these foundations

Sufism encompasses both the praiseworthy and the blameworthy

So-called innovations whose praiseworthiness is confirmed by the Sharīʿa

Principle: Sins that harm others in their religion or worldly life merit a harsher punishment in this world, whereas sins whose harm is limited to the sinner himself may incur a severer punishment in the Hereafter, even if no punishment is inflicted in this life

Section: On practices of certain Sufis that violate the Sharīʿa and the censure thereof

Accepting a person’s state has two meanings

Those to whom one’s state should not be surrendered

Section: On acts of worship and the distinction between those that are Sharīʿa-sanctioned and those that are innovated

The foundation of religion: the lawful is what God and His Messenger have declared lawful, and the unlawful is what God and His Messenger have declared unlawful

The foundation of acts of worship: prayer, fasting, and recitation

Solitary Retreats

Invoking the single Name is an innovation

The Emptying and Purification Brought by the Messenger (peace be upon him)

Section: On solitary retreats in deserted places and abandoned mosques

Section: On the command to believe in what was given to the prophets

Recommended and legislated acts must be supported by Sharʿī evidence

Section: On Satan’s beautification of innovative acts of worship for their practitioners

Refutation of those who claim to receive directly from God

Question: On the deeds of the people of Paradise and the people of Hellfire

Section: Is seclusion or mixing with others preferable for the spiritual seeker?

He said: The best of deeds is the testimony of faith

Section: Prayer is the greatest of the obligations

Some False Sufi Beliefs Concerning Prayer

Prayer Necessarily Requires Intellect

Whoever Loses His Intellect Is Exempt from the Means of Drawing Near to God

Loss of Intellect Through Something Forbidden

The Lifting of the Pen Entails Neither Praise, Commendation, nor Reward

Whoever Speaks about Religion without Knowledge Is a Liar

He Was Asked About Someone Who Says, “The Paths to God Are as Numerous as the Breaths of Creatures.”

He Said: Every Believer in All Circumstances Needs Three Things — a Command to Obey, a Prohibition to Avoid, and a Decree to Accept with Contentment.

Types of Faith-Based Spiritual Conduct

Categories of People with Respect to the Permissible Aspects of Kingship and Wealth

Section: Sound examination of the evidences and means yields knowledge, and sound intention and means yield action.

The Sign of the Annihilation of Your Will

It is necessary to examine extraordinary phenomena—their causes and their ends

God commanded striving and seeking His help, and forbade helplessness

Section: On the wayfarer’s never willing anything of his own, and on his not willing, alongside God’s will, anything else

The wayfarer to God never departs from the command of the Sacred Law

Whoever is tested without having sought it is aided, whereas he who courts tribulation is in danger

Section: If you are in the state of ḥaqīqa, oppose your passion and, in general, follow the command; this has two divisions: taking from the world only one’s necessary sustenance while abandoning the self’s portion, and accepting any inward directive that does not conflict with the Sacred Law.

Commanding something means commanding its requisites

Surrendering to an unrestricted act without coercion is not from the Sacred Law

Those who claim ḥaqīqa without knowing the Sacred Law’s commands and prohibitions are astray

Section: On the dream-vision of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir and his relating from God the ḥadīth: “Whoever comes to Us, We welcome him from afar, and whoever acts by Our power, We make iron pliant for him.”

He was asked about Ihyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn and Qūt al-Qulūb

Section: On the ranks of adhkār

Disliked Supplication

The invocation of the single name is not prescribed

Among the causes of corrupt beliefs: departing from the Sharīʿa and the prophetic path

Section: The straight path in asceticism, worship, and scrupulous piety

Patience in abstaining from forbidden acts is obligatory

Following whims

Greed and Its Effect

Desire Takes Control of the Heart

Supplicating the Lord to Grant the Requested Thing Is Preferable to Stinginess

The Seeker of Leadership Is Pleased by Praise and Hates Advice

Section: On Love and Its Effect upon Souls

Love for God Benefits the Servant

Categories of Dreams

Section: On the Comprehensive Principles of Asceticism and Scrupulousness

People Fall into Three Categories with Respect to Religion and Worldly Life

Section: On Purifying the Soul by Avoiding Prohibitions and Fulfilling Obligations

Hurling Obscenity and the Censure of Those Who Wish to Make It Public

If a Believer Is Forbidden from a Wrongful Act, He Must Abandon It

Zakāh Necessitates Purification

Sins Occur When Souls Do Not Comply with God’s Command

Sins: Do They Nullify an Equal Amount of Good Deeds?

Asked about someone who studied fiqh, then abandoned worldly life and wealth, roamed the earth, and left his child and relatives

Shunning one’s family and children is not among what God loves

The intended meaning of siyāḥa

Asked about “haqq al-yaqīn,” “ʿayn al-yaqīn,” and “ʿilm al-yaqīn”

People concerning the Hereafter are of three degrees

People concerning the fruit of tawḥīd are of three degrees

Asked by Abū al-Qāsim al-Maghribī — Advice on What Leads to the Soundness of Religion and Worldly Life

Two rights are incumbent upon the servant

Sins are erased by repentance, seeking forgiveness, and righteous deeds

The best deeds after the obligatory acts

Persisting in dhikr, the best of which is “There is no god but Allah”

He was asked about beautiful patience, beautiful pardoning, beautiful shunning, and about piety and patience

Patience with the divine decree: four kinds

Patience and piety in the Book of Allah

Mercy and Patience

He was asked: Does contentment mean not asking for Paradise and not seeking refuge from the Fire?

Contentment is of two kinds

Loving God through what He has prescribed is preferable to seeking tribulation

Supplicating with the transmitted prayers is desirable; do not wish for affliction

The Vision of God

The love between God and His servants is mutual

Seeking Paradise and seeking refuge from the Fire is the path of the Prophets

The Servants' Path to God's Pleasure

A servant’s supplication to his Lord is of three kinds

He was asked about someone who firmly resolved to commit a forbidden act but was unable to carry it out—does he incur sin?

When decisive intent is coupled with a person’s doing what is within his power, he is regarded as a complete doer

Section: Distinguishing between the mere intender and the actor in matters short of decisive intent

A distinction between the intent arising from passing thoughts and persistent intent

Repentance by one who is incapable of committing the act

The Jahmiyyah fell into error regarding the foundation of faith

Love and desire for a thing necessitate hatred of its opposite

The root of polytheism is adopting rivals

The heart’s statements and actions are of three categories

Issues concerning the conflicting wills that gather in the heart

Part 11: Sufism

The Sufis and the Poor

A Question on Poverty and Sufism

He was asked about a man who says: “Poverty is not an act of worship we were commanded to adopt; rather, we were commanded to follow God’s orders and shun His prohibitions …”

We must follow what the wording in the Book and the Sunnah indicates

The intended meaning of the word “poverty” in the Book and the Sunnah, and in the statements of the Companions and the Followers

People, with respect to obeying the religious command and showing patience toward what is decreed for them, fall into four categories

He was asked about Ahl al-Suffa: how many were they, and were they in Mecca or in Medina? … etc.

Section: On explaining the condition of Ahl al-Suffa and other poor Muslims

No Companion—whether from Ahl al-Suffa or others—turned begging from people into a profession

Section: On the ruling concerning anyone who claims that any Companion—whether from Ahl al-Suffa or others—fought alongside the disbelievers or fought the Prophet and his Companions

The Obligatory Tawḥīd

Belief in the Messengers Is the Second of Islam’s Two Foundations

Clarification of the soundness of the claim that Ahl al-Suffa heard what God said to His Messenger on the Night of the Miʿrāj

Section: Preferring Ahl al-Suffa over the Ten Companions and others is an error and misguidance

Section: Listening to mukāʾ and tasdiya was practiced by neither the Companions nor the Successors

Section: The verse, “And keep yourself patient with those who call upon their Lord,” is general

Section: The hadith, “No group gathers without a friend of God among them,” is fabricated

Section: The friends of God are those who have believed and are God-fearing

Section: The poor in the Book of God are of two kinds

The reason the poor precede the rich to Paradise

He was asked about a group who say that the Prophet ﷺ came to the door of the People of the Ṣuffa and asked permission; they said, “Who are you?” He said, “I am Muhammad.”

He was asked about a group who transmit ḥadīths without any chain of transmission.

Sound spiritual states like those mentioned in the ḥadīth: “Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine …”

The claim that the People of the Ṣuffa refrained from jihad is false

The claim that the People of the Ṣuffa knew what God revealed to His Prophet on the Night of the Miʿrāj is false

He was asked about a group who gather in an assembly, dress one of their number in the garb of “futuwwa,” pass around a draught of water mixed with salt that they drink, and claim that this is part of the religion, etc.

Section: On explaining the conditions stipulated by the shaykhs of “futuwwa”

Section: On the linguistic meaning of the word “fatā”

The term “zaʿīm” is like the words “kafīl,” “qabīl,” and “damīn”

Section: The Prophet ﷺ was created from the same substance as other humans, and no human was created from light

Section: On the Prophet ﷺ establishing brotherhood between the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār upon his arrival in Madīna

Is the Companions’ mutual inheritance—established by the bond of brotherhood—still operative or abrogated?

The conditions that people undertake in samāʿ

Section: On Shaykh ʿAdī ibn Musāfir, his lineage and his donning the khirqa

He was asked: “Did Abū Bakr thread his way with a cloak, and did the angels on his account do the same with a cloak?”

He was asked about the meaning of the saying, “Love of the world is the root of every sin”: is this in respect of acts of disobedience or of amassing wealth?

He was asked about the saying, “Show favours to the poor, for they will one day possess a dominion—indeed, what a dominion!” and about the meaning of ʿUmar’s statement, “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was conversing with Abū Bakr and I was between them like a black man.”

Section: On establishing the soundness of the saying, “We are in So-and-so’s blessing,” or, “Since his arrival among us, blessing has come.”

He was asked about a Sufi who said to someone, “The paupers of the markets …,” and so on.

He was asked about someone who said, “The poor and the rich do not surpass one another except through piety …,” and so on.

Section: On clarifying the people’s dispute over which of the two is superior—the patient poor man or the grateful rich man

People, with respect to wealth and poverty, fall into three categories

He was asked about the true nature of praise and gratitude, and to what each of them pertains

A summary of a debate on praise that took place between Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Marḥal

Between praise and gratitude there is generality and specificity

The Criterion between the Friends of the Most Merciful and the Friends of Satan

Who are the Friends of God, and who are the Friends of Satan?

The obligation to distinguish between the friends of God and the friends of Satan

The best of the firmly resolute prophets

Why the Arab polytheists claimed they were God’s people

The obligation to believe in every messenger God has sent and every scripture He has revealed

The Greek philosophers were polytheists who worshipped idols and the heavenly bodies

Section: Some people have faith yet harbor a branch of hypocrisy

Section: The friends of God are of two ranks—the forerunners and the people of the right hand

The deeds of the forerunners and the people of the right hand

The division of the prophets into servant-messengers and prophet-kings

Section: On Allah’s mention of His friends—the moderate and the forerunners—in Sūrat Fāṭir

Section: Since Allah’s friends are the believing and God-fearing, and people differ in faith and piety, they likewise differ in Allah’s friendship accordingly

Section: On the fact that Allah’s friends have nothing that outwardly sets them apart from other people in permissible matters

Section: On the fact that being Allah’s friend does not require infallibility or freedom from mistakes

People fall into three categories when following Allah’s friends in what they say

The prophets must be obeyed, unlike Allah’s friends

How to recognize a friend of Allah

That the spiritual reality is the essence of religion, agreed upon by all the prophets and messengers, although each of them had his own law and path

That the prophets are superior to Allah’s friends who are not prophets

Ibn ʿArabī’s assertion that the Seal of Allah’s friends is superior to the Seal of the prophets

The philosophers’ doctrine concerning God, His attributes, the angels, prophethood, and the jinn

The Sufis—adherents of the doctrine of unity—their assertion concerning the angels, and a clarification of their opposition to the Book and the Sunnah

The true nature of the Sufis—adherents of the doctrine of unity—is their denial of the foundations of faith

Ibn ʿArabī’s contradiction of the Messengers

The categories of maʿiyya and the Salaf’s statements on the matter

On how many people confuse religious realities with cosmic realities

Predestination is no excuse for sinners

Hadith: “Adam and Moses met” — two groups went astray concerning it

On the difference between will, command, decree, permission, prohibition, raising, sending, speech, and making—between their cosmic and their legal forms

The Occurrence of Karāmāt for God’s Friends and Its Cause

Karāmāt that Occurred to the Companions, the Followers, and the Righteous

Examples of the People of Satanic States

The Differences between the Karāmāt of God’s Friends and the Satanic States that Resemble Them

The Categories of People with Regard to Extraordinary Phenomena

On the obligation to know that God sent Muḥammad ﷺ to all humans and jinn, that both are required to follow him, and that anyone to whom the proof of his message has been established yet does not believe in him is a disbeliever

The Various States of Jinn with Humans

A Principle Concerning Miracles and Karāmāt

The Reality of the Miracle and the Difference Between It and a Karāma

God Endowed Our Prophet with Every Kind of Miracle and Supernatural Wonder

Section: On the Types of Supernatural Wonder and Which of Them Are Religiously Praiseworthy, Blameworthy, or Permissible

Section: On Explaining God’s Cosmic Words and His Religious Words

Categories of Supernatural Wonders According to Their Relation to Knowledge, Power, Religion, and the Cosmos, and an Explanation of the Best of Them

Section: On the Ways of Knowing Existing Things and Unveiling Them

The Methods for Shariʿa Rulings and a Clarification of the Agreed-Upon and the Disputed

The Comprehensive Statement on Masālih (Interests)

People’s Disagreement over Rational Good and Evil

When Is an Action Invalid?

Is What Is Good from a Creature Also Good from God, and What Is Evil from a Creature Also Evil from Him? Clarifying These Problems through Preliminaries

On the Sufis’ Discourse Concerning “the Seal of the Saints” and Their Exaltation of His Rank

The Ruling on Using the Title “the Seal of the Saints,” and Clarifying Who Is the Best of the Saints in This Umma

Clarifying the Meaning of the Ḥadiths: “He Will Have the Reward of Fifty of You,” “My Umma Is Like Rain; One Cannot Tell Whether Its Beginning or Its End Is Better,” and “The People Whose Faith Is Most Astonishing Are Those Who Believe in the Hanging Pages.”

On Clarifying the Points in Which al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī Went to Excess in His Book “The Seal of Sainthood”

On the Claim that Those Who Affirm Prophethood Attain Knowledge of God Most High Through the Establishment of Prophethood, Without Reflection or Inference from Rational Proofs

He was asked: Did the Prophet ﷺ say, “Increase me in bewilderment about You”? And some of the gnostics said, “The beginning of knowledge is bewilderment, and its end is bewilderment,” etc.

On the Censure of Bewilderment and a Mention of Those Who Have Praised It

The Intended Meaning of the Saying, “The beginning of knowledge is bewilderment, and its end is bewilderment.”

The Ruling on One Who Despairs of Attaining Knowledge of God and His Oneness, and What Is Incumbent upon Him

The Intended Meaning of al-Junayd’s Saying, “The intellect of the intelligent ends in bewilderment.”

He was asked about a man who loves a scholar; whenever they meet and then part, the man undergoes something like fainting because of the separation, and so on.

He was asked: What is the wisdom behind the fact that those engaged in dhikr, contemplation, and the like are granted unveilings, karāmāt, and other states that are not opened to those occupied with knowledge and its study, and so on?

A Clarification of the Types of Knowledge

Preferring one action over another may be unrestricted or restricted—an example

He was asked about a group who had persisted in riyāḍa for a time, then imagined they had become essentialized, saying: “We no longer care what we do now, and the commands and prohibitions are merely conventions for the common folk.”

The ruling on one who denies some manifest, mass-transmitted obligations or denies the prohibition of certain manifest, mass-transmitted forbidden acts

No one is declared an unbeliever until the proof has been established against him

A person is not declared an unbeliever for his ignorance of the rulings—whether he lives in a remote desert away from scholars, is newly entered into Islam, or has not received the knowledge by which the proof is established

Explanation of their assertion: “We have become pure essences, and we no longer care what we do now.”

Explanation of their assertion: “The essence of prophethood comes down to wisdom and benefit.”

The invalidation of their argument based on His—Exalted be He—words: “And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.”

The misguidance of those who invoke the story of Moses and al-Khidr to permit departing from the Sharīʿa

The term “Sharʿ” is used in three senses

He was asked about the hadith reported concerning the Abdāl: is it sahih or maqtuʿ? … etc.

The terms “al-Ghawth” and “al-Ghiyāth” belong exclusively to God

What is meant by the terms “al-Awtād,” “al-Qutb,” and “al-Badal” in some people’s discourse

The term “Khātam al-Awliyāʾ” is invalid

Ibn Taymiyya’s Debate with the Charlatans of the Batāʾihiyya

Asked about “al-Murshida”: Its Origin and Composition, and Whether It May Be Read

The Ordeal of Imam Ahmad and the Imams of the Sunnah

The Ahl al-Sunnah Doctrine on the Attributes of God—Mighty and Majestic

Philosophers and Their Like Describe God with Negative Attributes

The Doctrine of the Author of “al-Murshida” on the Divine Attributes

He was asked about a man who, together with another person, disputed over someone who had recited “al-Murshida”.‎

He was asked about a group affiliated with the shaykhs who were turned in repentance from highway robbery, murder and theft and were required to perform the prayer … should the legal penalties for the prayer be enforced or not?

The Ruling on Uncovering the Head, Twisting the Hair, and Carrying Snakes

Section: On What Has Been Mentioned About Excessive Veneration of the Shaykhs

Help Is to Be Sought Only from God

Section: On the Corruption of Children by Teaching Them to Beg and Preventing Them from Lawful Work

Section: On the Ruling Concerning Vows Made for the Dead—Prophets, Shaykhs, and Others—or for Their Graves or for Those Residing by Their Graves

Section: On the Ruling Concerning Men Befriending Unrelated Women, Being Alone with Them, and Looking at Their Concealed Adornment

Section: On the Ruling Concerning Swearing by Other than God

Section: On the Fact that Enjoining What Is Right—and Likewise Forbidding What Is Wrong—is the Truth with Which the Messengers Were Sent

Section: On the Statement, “You belong to Shaykh So-and-so, and he is your Shaykh in this world and the Hereafter”

Section: Clarifying the Statement, “God is Pleased by the Shaykhs’ Pleasure and Angered by Their Anger”

Section: On the Prophet’s Statement, “A Person Is with Those He Loves”

The Difference between Love for God and Love alongside God

Matters That Clarify Love for God and Love for Other Than God

Explanation of the saying: “If you have a need from a king, you approach him through his courtiers; likewise, one approaches him through the shaykhs.”

He was asked about a group who gathered for various corrupt practices, etc.

He was asked about someone who fraternizes with women and exhibits a kind of sleight of hand.

He was asked about a group who gathered for corrupt practices, some of whom say: “The ultimate realization is to abandon religious obligation,” etc.

He was asked about the practice newly introduced by the renunciant mendicants of keeping company with youths and fraternizing with women, etc.

God’s friends are of two kinds

Gratitude expressed by giving some of one’s wealth

He was asked about the nature of the samāʿ of the righteous and about listening to melodically chanted odes

The Companions’ samāʿ and how it was practiced

The praiseworthy effects of lawful samāʿ

The falsity of the claim that, upon being promised the poor would outstrip the rich to Paradise, they entered ecstasy and tore their garments

The unlawfulness of gathering to listen to melodized verses accompanied by hand-clapping and the like

The Imams’ condemnation of gathering for practices such as whistling and clapping

Among those who promoted the unlawful samāʿ are Ibn al-Rāwandī, al-Fārābī, and Ibn Sīnā

The harms and corruptions that result from listening to whistling and clapping

Musical instruments and the scholars’ statements about them

Better than a thousand in asceticism

A comprehensive statement on listening

He was asked about listening

The best listening in the prayers

The effects of lawful listening on the human being

Some shaykhs’ attendance at the innovated listening and their subsequent renunciation of it

The harmful effects of forbidden listening

The ruling on those who regard singing and clapping as acts of worship and devotion

The error of those who imagined that the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions attended sessions of whistling and clapping

The ruling on dancing on an upper floor

He was asked about someone who said, “Samāʿ is forbidden to others but lawful for me”; does that make him a fāsiq or not?

He was asked about people who dance to singing accompanied by the duff, then some of them prostrate to one another as an act of humility—what is the ruling on that?

He was asked about a man who loves samāʿ and dancing; someone advised him and recited these verses:

He was asked about those who conjure fire and “signs.”

He was asked about a peasant whose religion and prayer are unknown; a local shaykh had given him an ijāza, yet he continues to eat snakes, etc.—is it permissible to give him charity or not?

He was asked about a man who keeps to his house, prays there without attending the congregation, and when he goes out for the Friday prayer he does so with his head covered…—should his conduct be accepted or must he be reproved?

The ruling on congregational prayer

He was asked about a group who meet with the intent of committing major sins; one of the shaykhs tried to stop them but could do so only by gathering them for a duff-accompanied listening session…—is this permissible?

Clarifying the error in the shaykh’s method

Lawful samāʿ as mentioned in the Qur’an

The states of the people of lawful samāʿ

The statement “Is samāʿ lawful or unlawful?”—an ambiguous expression that needs clarification

The misguidance of those who make samāʿ a path to God Most High

Section: Samāʿ, addressings, and conversations are of three kinds, inward and outward

Section: On existence in wakefulness and in sleep

He was asked about someone who claims that when certain shaykhs hold samāʿ, men of the unseen attend, angels descend and dance with them, and that the Prophet is present

He was asked about women who wear large turbans being told they will not see Paradise, although the ḥadīth says: “Whoever says, ‘There is no god but Allah’ will enter Paradise.”

He was asked about sins and major sins mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah: do they have a definitive limit by which they can be recognized?

The criterion for identifying a major sin, and which definition is preferable—and why?

He was asked about drinking wine and committing fornication: which of the two is the greater sin in God’s sight, and what are the major sins referred to in the verse, “If you avoid the major sins you have been forbidden…”?

He was asked about a man addicted to forbidden acts who nevertheless maintains the five daily prayers, invokes blessings upon the Prophet, and engages in remembrance: do his prayers and seeking forgiveness thereby expiate his sins?

Section: On the acceptance of a servant’s repentance from any sin other than shirk

Section: On the fact that repentance and seeking forgiveness are for neglecting obligatory duties and committing forbidden acts

Section: On a servant’s seeking forgiveness and repentance for what he did and failed to do while in a state of ignorance

Section: On the fact that God Most High declared the ugliness of the unbelievers’ deeds before the messenger came to them

Section: On the fact that God Most High commanded people to repent of the evil deeds they had committed and that those deeds were ugly in their eyes

Why was innovation more beloved to Iblīs than sin?

People’s dispute over obligation and prohibition: can they be realised without punishment for neglect?

A person’s repentance from his good deeds takes several forms

Section: One must seek forgiveness and repent for inner thoughts which, if spoken or acted upon, would merit punishment

He said: “Seeking forgiveness brings the servant out of a disliked act into a beloved one … etc.”

He was asked about the Prophet’s saying: “Whoever seeks forgiveness is not deemed persistent…"

He was asked about a Jew or a Christian who embraces Islam: does any sin remain upon him after becoming Muslim?

Part 12: The Qur’an Is Truly the Speech of God

General Principle: On the Qur’an and the Speech of God

Disagreement Is of Two Kinds: in Interpretation and in Revelation

The Believers and the Qur’an’s Affirmation of That

The Wisdom in Mentioning the Former Messengers and in Reiterating the Story of Moses and Pharaoh

Section: That Faith in the Messengers Must Be Universal, with No Distinction Made between Any of Them

Section: That DifferentiRation May Be by Measure, Attribute, Quantity, or Quality

Section: On How Some Have Fallen into Disbelief in Part of What God Revealed, as the Former Peoples Did

The miracles with which God supported His Messenger ﷺ are greater than those with which He supported anyone else

Section: On the Derivation of Innovations from Disbelief

The Philosophers’ Position with Respect to Prophethood

The Qur’an elucidates the condition of those who failed to esteem God as He deserves

Section: The Jahmiyya as the Cause of the Emergence of Taʿṭīl

Section: The Sifatiyya and Their Opposition to the Heretical Sabian Attribute-Negators

The Agreement of Some Hadith Scholars, Sufis, and Jurists with Them and the Reason for It

The Majority View across All Sects Concerning Speech, and the Sunni Position on the Speech of God and the Qur’an

He Was Asked about the Letters that God Revealed to Adam

The View of the Salaf and the Imams Concerning the Qur’an and the Speech of God

The Disagreement over the Speech of God and the Umma’s Division into Six Sects

The Philosophers and Prophethood

The claim that no attribute inheres in God, but that He instead created speech in something other than Himself

The Salaf’s View on Speech

Section: On the disagreement about the letters spoken by human beings and its cause

Section: On the dispute about the letters that God revealed to Adam

Abā Jād, its interpretation, and a discussion of the authenticity of the hadiths transmitted about it

“Abjad Hawaz” Are Not Proper Names

Human Speech Is Created

Considerations of the Attributes

The Origin of the Arabic Script

The Proponents of Ḥulūl Regard All Speech as Eternal

Reason Does Not Contradict What the Messenger Said

Discussion Concerning the Letters

Imām Aḥmad’s Rejection of the Claim That the Letters Are Created, and Likewise the Salaf

Ibn ʿAqīl’s Opinion

The Speech of God and all His other attributes are unlike the speech and attributes of created beings

The Speech Is God’s Speech, and the Voice Is the Reciter’s

Two fundamentals must be observed concerning the question of speech: God’s speaking of the Qur’an and other revelations, and the transmission of that speech from God.

The scholars’ disagreement over adding vowel marks and dots to Qur’ān codices

The Letter and the Word in the Language of the Arabs and in the Theologians’ Terminology

What the grammarians mean by the term “word”

Section: On What Is Meant by the Term “Letter” and the Classification of Letters

The Levels of Knowledge

Distinguishing letters by whether they are attested in the Book and the Sunnah or not

Section: Explaining that the Qur’an is the Speech of God and that it contains no speech from anyone else

The Meaning of Sending Down

The Invalidity of the Jahmiyya’s Claim that God’s Speech Is Created

The Similarity between the Claim that the Qur’an Is Created and the Status of the Hebrew Torah

The Meaning of the Book

The Invalidity of the Claim that the Qur’an Was Composed by Gabriel

The Eternity and Origination of Sounds

The Muʿtazilites and Ashʿarīs agreed with Ahl al-Sunna about God’s speech in one respect and differed in another

Section: On the Origin of the Dispute Concerning God’s Speech

The divergence of people into three positions on the temporal origination of bodies and the celestial spheres

Section: The Dispute Concerning God’s Speech on the Basis of the Previous Disagreement

Can a Letter Exist Without a Sound?

Refutation of Those Who Affirm the Eternity of the Universe

Those Who Distinguish Between the Necessary and the Contingent, and Between the Creator and the Created

He Was Asked About the Threefold Disagreement Among People Regarding God’s Speech

Altogether, the Views Number Seven

The Philosophers and the Jahmites

The Kullābites and the Ashʿarites

The dispute over the name: is it the thing named or something else?

The Hishāmites and the Karrāmites

The View of the Majority and the Hadith Scholars

Whoever says that the Qur’an is not the Speech of God, but that only part of it is, is an innovator

The falsity of the Muʿtazilites’ claim that attributes do not subsist in God Most High

Refutation of the Muʿaṭṭila on the grounds that God’s Speech is free from temporal origination

Refutation of the one who says, “Just as His Essence is exalted above the attributes of creation, so too is His true Speech.”

The claim of anyone who says, “My utterance is from the Speech of God,” is false

The Imam’s clarification of al-Ashʿarī’s view

Jahm and those like him

The issue of the Qur’an and people’s confusion about it

The Philosophers’ Contradiction in Claiming the Soul’s Eternity and the Origination of Bodies

The Philosophers’ View Invalidates the Muʿtazilites’ View

Al-Rāzī’s Discussion of the Concord between Rational Proofs and Sound Scriptural Evidence

Question: Clarifying what one is obliged to believe—that the contents of the muṣḥafs are God’s eternal Speech

The duty regarding the general public is to affirm what is established by revealed text and consensus and to refrain from delving into particulars.

Whoever says that the reciter’s voice and the scribe’s ink are uncreated is mistaken

The correct position is to follow the established texts

Section: On the Descent of the Qur’an and the Word “Descent”

The word “descent” is of three types

The Descent of Iron

He was asked about the Almighty’s words: “And if any of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection.”

The Qur’an Is Sent Down from God

The Qur’an Is a Communication from God, and the Sunnah Likewise from the Messenger, peace be upon him

Section: On the Meaning of His Words: “Indeed, it is the word of a noble Messenger”

Refutation of the Eternity of Human Acts

The Kullābiyya and Their Differentiation Between the Qurʾān’s Meaning and Its Letters

Section: On God’s Speaking to Moses, peace be upon him

The Error of Whoever Says, “It Is Figurative”

Speaking Is of Three Types

Section: On People’s Disagreement over the Creation of the Qur’an and Its Being an Attribute of God

The Error of Whoever Says, “The Qur’an in the Mushaf Is Like Physical Objects in Paper”

The Invalidity of the Jahmiyyah’s Analogy Concerning the Assertion That the Qur’an Is the Speech of God

Section: On God’s Statement, “Then grant him asylum until he hears the Speech of God,” and Other Verses That Contain the Word “tanzīl”

God’s Statement, “Indeed God the Exalted will gather it and recite it; then, when We recite it …”

The Kalābiyyah’s Disagreement Regarding the Salaf’s View

The reports indicate that God calls out with a voice

Utterance, Recitation, and Reading

The Jahmiyyah were the first innovators regarding the divine attributes and names

The Salaf’s View on the Meaning of Speaking

The Karrāmiyyah agreed with the Kullābiyyah in their view of speech

“Body” in Arabic usage and among the speculative theologians, in their view of speech

He was asked about those who claim that the speech of every creature is eternal, and about the ruler’s duty toward them

God’s attributes are included within the meaning of His Names

On the issue of uttering the Qur’an and the dispute concerning it

Refutation of the claim that the reality of knowledge is taken from something other than what the Messenger (God bless him and grant him peace) brought

Condemnation in the Book of the people of division and disagreement

Section: On the fact that logicians arrange conclusions upon premises

Qiyās is of two kinds

Qiyās al-awlā is employed by the Salaf, as are rational syllogisms

The Sufis declare Ibn Sabʿīn to be a disbeliever

Belief in the attributes is the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah

Refutation of those who say, “God’s speech that He did not reveal is uncreated, whereas the Qurʾān is created.”

Imam al-Bukhārī and His View on Kalām

The Kullābiyya distinguish between essential attributes and volitional attributes

The Salaf’s View on Kalām

The Kullābiyya’s Divergence from Ahl al-Sunna

Section: On the offshoots of the negating Lafẓiyya and the claim that the Qur’an’s letters are not part of God’s speech

The Levels of Existence

Divine decree and writing are first general, then detailed

God’s Speech Is Not Separate from Him

Section: On those who criticized the Verbalists, yet fell into an even greater polytheism

Section: Concerning those who said, “Our utterance of the Qur’an is created, the recitation is other than the recited, and the writing is other than the written.”

Section: Imām Ahmad’s texts are the soundest writings on this subject

Meaning of the Almighty’s words: “No human being has God spoken to except by revelation.”

Definition of Absolute Speech

Section: On Our Speaking the Speech of God

Scholarly Dispute over the Alphabetic Letters and the Names Revealed in the Qur’an

Refutation of the Jahmiyyah

Imam Ahmad’s Disputation with Ibn Makkī

Imam Ahmad’s statements on the createdness of human speech and of servants’ actions

The reason for drawing attention to Imam Ahmad’s foundational doctrine

Imam Ahmad’s persistence in revisiting the issue and his refutation of the Jahmiyyah

Imam Ahmad’s ordeal and the rebuttal of those who claimed he said that out of fear of people

Their specious argument is that they found people discussing the letters of the alphabet

Imam Ahmad denounces those who claimed that the letters are created

The rulings concerning the letters vary with their meanings and with the identity of the speaker

The letters in God’s Book are from the Speech of God

Speech is attributed to the one who composed its meanings

Section: Is it obligatory to censure one who openly voices a position that contradicts the Qur’an and the Sunnah?

Section: Is one who voices something that contradicts the Qur’an and the Sunnah to be declared an unbeliever?

Section: On the issues of takfīr and tafsīq, and the related matters of loyalty and enmity, killing, and inviolability

The Jews were obliged to affirm what is incumbent upon us

When someone is reproached for abandoning part of īmān, it is understood that this is the obligatory īmān.

Section: On the issue of rulings

The Khārijites and the Muʿtazilites hold that major sins necessitate Hellfire

Section: On declaring the people of innovation and caprice to be unbelievers, based on what they themselves have stated

Declaring the Jahmīs to be unbelievers

Not declaring the Murjiʾites to be unbelievers

Not declaring those who prefer ʿAlī to be unbelievers

There are errors in religion for which one is neither declared an unbeliever nor deemed sinful

Two foundational principles: to assert what contradicts the Messenger’s ﷺ message is unbelief, and blanket takfīr is akin to a blanket threat of punishment

He was asked about a man who claimed that God did not speak to Moses but only created the speech in the tree, which Moses heard, and that God did not speak the Qurʾān to Gabriel.

Al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, the first to put forth this claim

Al-Shāfiʿī pronounces takfīr on anyone who says the Qurʾān is created, and the other imams refute the claim.

Refutation of the claim that, when God creates speech within something else, He thereby becomes its speaker.

The consensus of the Salaf and the imams that the Qurʾān is created

He was asked about two men who disputed concerning God’s speaking to Moses—peace be upon him

People, concerning speech that consists of letters and sound, fall into three categories

He was asked about one who said, “God spoke to Moses and his ears heard it,” and about another who said, “God spoke to him through an intermediary.”

He was asked about the Qur’an that we recite, which is present within us during recitation: is it the speech of God that subsisted in Him when He uttered it and was one of His attributes, or not?

The speech that is transmitted is the speech of the transmitter.

Section: The Qur’an Is the Speech of God That He Spoke

He was asked about two men: one of them said, “The recited Qur’an is speech,” while the other said, “It is the speech of Gabriel.”

The ruling on one who says: “The Qur’an is the speech of Gabriel.”

He was asked about someone who says: “Speech is other than the speaker, and utterance is other than the one who utters it … etc.”

The correct view regarding speech

He was asked: Is the mushaf itself the Qur’an, or only its written text?

Section: On the Book’s Mass Transmission

He said, regarding the dispute over the letters: Are they created or uncreated?

He was asked about someone who says: The vowel marks and dots are part of God’s speech.

Section: On the Qur’an and Speech—Is it letters and sound, or neither letters nor sound?

He was asked about two men: one holds that the Qur’an is letters and sound, while the other holds that it is neither letters nor sound.

Dots and vowel marks are a clarification of iʿrāb

God spoke the Qur’an with its letters and meanings

The root of the confusion concerning the question of God’s Speech

The ultimate end of heresy concerning God’s Speech is denial and unbelief

He was asked about an old copy of the Qur’an: if it becomes torn, what should be done with it?

Part 13: Introduction to Qur’anic Exegesis

The Criterion between Truth and Falsehood

Section on the Criterion between Truth and Falsehood, and on God’s Clarification of it through His Book and His Prophet

The intended meaning of “the Criterion” in His statement: “and He sent down the Criterion”

The intended meaning of “the Criterion” in His statement: “and whatever We sent down upon Our servant on the Day of the Criterion”

An aspect of the Criterion: distinguishing between right and wrong, and between the wholesome and the impure

Some of the distinctions between the Creator and the creature

The origin of the term “al-mathal” and what is meant by it

Section: On the fact that He—glorified be He—treats identical matters equally, judging each thing, in creation and command, by the same ruling as its counterpart

The intended meaning of the term “al-ikhtilāf” in the Qur’an

Clarification of the meaning of the term “al-sunna”

Al-Suddī’s statement that hypocrisy is of three kinds

The statements of the Salaf are more beneficial than those of later scholars in every branch of the religious sciences

Section: When the interpretation of the Qur’an and Hadith is known from the Prophet ﷺ, there is no need for the statements of linguists or anyone else

Among the principles unanimously agreed upon by the Companions

The cause of the innovation of rebellion

The reason for distrusting Shiʿite narrations

Shiʿite sects and their doctrines

When did the Qadariyya arise, and what is the origin of their innovation?

The dispute over the will and the creation of human acts

The Khārijites’ doctrine concerning sinners among the People of the Qibla

The ruling on making an exception in matters of faith

Jahm’s doctrine concerning faith

The Murjiʾites’ doctrine concerning sinners among the People of the Qibla

Classifying the sectarians

The origin of the dispute over “names and rulings” in faith and Islam

Faith varies in degree in two respects

The doctrine of the Murjiʾah, Jahmiyyah, and Karrāmiyyah regarding faith

Anyone who opposes what the Messenger brought has neither knowledge nor justice

Numerous authentic texts affirm the excellence of the earliest generations

The argument of those who oppose the Sunnah

ʿUmar is the best of the inspired muḥaddathūn

Revelation is of two kinds: one from God and one from Satan

Error is sometimes from the jinn and sometimes from the person himself

The jinn are legally accountable like humans

The meaning of the verse: “Our Lord, some of us benefited from one another.”

The jinn’s possession of humans is due to three causes

Opinions concerning the believers among the jinn, and whether they will be rewarded and enter Paradise

Why can the jinn not be angels?

The Christians’ misguidance concerning the Messiah—peace be upon him

The Mu‘tazilites are better than the Rāfida

The Ashʿarites refuted certain innovations of the Muʿtazilites, the Rāfida, the Jahmites, and others—benefiting a great many people

The Bukhāriyya and Dirāriyya’s opposition to the Muʿtazilites concerning predestination, names and rulings, and the execution of the threat of punishment

Section: If it is said, “Since the Gospels in their possession state that the Messiah was crucified and that, a few days after the crucifixion, he came to them saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ without their claiming that Satan assumed his likeness—then where is the Gospel about which God said, ‘Let the People of the Gospel judge by what God has revealed therein’?”

Christians are not agreed on the crucifixion of the Messiah

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “They have no knowledge of it; they follow only conjecture,” and on the other verses in which God censures those who follow nothing but conjecture

Ijtihād in “Tahqīq al-Manāt”

The Definition of Fiqh and a Response to the Claim: “Fiqh is a Matter of Conjecture—How, then, can you call it Knowledge?”

What if two reports conflict, one possessing a sound isnād and the other an established mursal?

A Response to Their Claim: “Fiqh is a Matter of Conjecture”

Section: There are three matters here—the first is the preponderant conjecture in the reasoning mujtahid’s own mind… etc.

Explaining the implications of the claim: “There is no inner ruling that must be sought through ijtihād, nor any evidence for it”… etc.

If “error” is taken to mean sin, then the mujtahid is not in error—neither in fundamentals nor in subsidiary matters.

Explaining that each faction possesses knowledge the other lacks, in most of the issues over which people have disagreed

Section: On the Jahmiyya and the Muʿtazila’s shared denial of the divine attributes

Section: On the principle that the sum of the Criterion between Truth and Falsehood is to deem what God sent with His messengers and revealed in His books as the truth that must be followed

The Prophet’s ﷺ clarification is of two kinds — an explanation thereof

Knowledge is of three kinds

People’s disagreement over knowledge of the Resurrection and the goodness or badness of actions

Al-Rāzī’s attack on adducing report-based scriptural proofs

Section: The people of innovation differ over and oppose the Scripture, adduce the ambiguous passages as proof, and treat their innovative assertions as decisive and binding upon others

Two opinions regarding the ambiguous passages—an exposition thereof

What the Salaf meant when they said: “Only Allah knows the interpretation of the ambiguous passages.”

It is obligatory to take the words of Allah and His Messenger as the primary source and to treat people’s statements—whether they accord with them or contradict them—as ambiguous and summary.

The foundational principle on which the deniers of the divine attributes built their negation, and that the kalām condemned by the Salaf is only the false discourse that contradicts revelation and reason.

What Ibn Sīnā and his followers innovated in arguing from the contingent to the Necessary Being

The reality of the statement of the early and later Jahmiyya

Clarification of the statement of the Hishāmiyya and the Karrāmiyya

The corruption into which the various sects have fallen originates with the Jahmiyya

The established fundamentals are the prophets’ fundamentals

The Foundation of Worshiping God, Mighty and Exalted

The Wisdom behind God’s Repetition of Pharaoh’s Story in the Qur’an in Multiple Places

The Negators’ Chief Argument for Declaring the Lord Free of Imperfections

The Prophets’ and Others’ Path Concerning God’s Speech, Mighty and Exalted

Retribution for Those Who Oppose or Revile the Messengers

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī’s words in al-Ibānah on the creed he holds in opposition to the Jahmiyyah, Qadariyyah, Khārijites, and others

The Main Reliance of the Muʿattilah, the Attribute-Negators

Al-Jaʿd ibn Dirham, the first to introduce attribute-negation (taʿtīl) into Islam, and the cause of the Abbasid State’s collapse

The Kings of Egypt Seek Nūr al-Dīn’s Aid Against the Christians

What Hūlāgū Did to the Muslims

Al-Maʾmūn and the Miḥna over the Claim that the Qurʾān Was Created

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak’s Statement on the Jahmiyya’s Claim about the Qurʾān

The True Nature of the Jahmiyya Negators’ Doctrine

The Incompatibility of Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam with the Qurʾān, with Selected Statements from the Advocates of Waḥdat al-Wujūd

The Term “Fanāʾ” May Refer to Three Things

The Meaning of “Ilāh”

Section: That the Mutakallimūn Went Astray Because They Associated with the Philosophers and Took Their Ideas from Them

Section: That the First Schism in Islam Was the Khārijite Schism

Declaring the People of Innovation unbelievers is based on two invalid premises

The Religion of the Khārijites

Section: On the Emergence of the Qadariyya in the Final Era of the Companions and an Explanation of Their Doctrine

The Root of the Qadariyya’s Misguidance

The Apostasy of the Yūnusiyya during the Reign of Ghāzān

Some shaykhs imagined that the impulses they sense in their hearts are from God, whereas they may in fact be from Satan or his allies

The doctrine of the compulsionist Jahmī Qadariyya is a greater contradiction to what the messengers brought than the doctrine of the deniers.

The Qur’anic verses the compulsionists cite as proof show the falsity of the deniers’ doctrine.

A Treatise on Esoteric and Exoteric Knowledge

Question about those who claim that the Qur’an has an esoteric layer—followed by further layers up to seven—and who cite a ḥadīth in support, etc.

Clarification of what is meant by the expression “the esoteric”

Section: If by “esoteric knowledge” one means knowledge kept hidden from most people—or from some of them—then it is of two kinds

The Qarmatians’ claim that the Qur’an and Islam have an esoteric aspect that contradicts the exoteric

The Esotericists’ Interpretation of Certain Verses

Some Esoteric Interpretations by Sufis and Philosophers

The book “Haqāʾiq al-Tafsīr” by Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī comprises three types.

Divinely Bestowed Knowledge

People’s Opinions on the Causes of Acquiring Knowledge

Section: Clarification of the statement, “The Prophet ﷺ assigned each people what suits them,” etc.

Demonstration of the falsity of the report attributed to ʿUmar that he said: “The Prophet ﷺ and Abū Bakr were conversing, and I was like a Zanj between them.”

Clarification that the Prophet ﷺ entrusted Ḥudhayfa with a secret unknown to anyone else.

Ascertainment of the operative cause (taḥqīq al-manāṭ) and examples

The ḥadīth of Abū Hurayra—“I retained two satchels from the Messenger of Allah … ”—is not esoteric knowledge that conflicts with the outward sense, as some have claimed: an explanation

Explanation of the meaning of the ḥadīth: “Knowledge is like something hidden; none knows it except those who possess knowledge of God … ”

The Companions never displayed outwardly anything that conflicted with what they concealed inwardly

The Crux of the Matter Concerning the Esoteric and the Exoteric

The Rāfiḍa are the most ignorant of the sects and the farthest from understanding transmitted and rational knowledge

The Messenger ﷺ has conveyed the Message and clarified for the people what was revealed to them

Clarification of the error of those who claim that al-Khiḍr departed from the Sharīʿa and that, therefore, other saints may do whatever was permitted to him

Some people prefer certain saints over the prophets

The Garland on Ambiguous Verses and Interpretation

Introduction to Qur’anic Exegesis

The motive behind the Imām’s writing of this introduction

Section: On the duty to know that the Prophet ﷺ clarified for his Companions the meanings of the Qur’an

Section: On the fact that disagreement among the Salaf in exegesis is slight

Exegesis of the Almighty’s words: “And whoever turns away from My remembrance”

Disagreement over the interpretation of the Straight Path

The benefit of knowing the cause of revelation

Scholars’ disagreement over the Companion’s statement, “This verse was revealed concerning such-and-such.”

One cause of disagreement is when the wording can bear two meanings

Disagreement in Qur’anic exegesis is of two kinds

The people of Mecca are the most knowledgeable in Qur’anic exegesis

The Companions and Successors do not deliberately lie against the Messenger

When does a solitary report yield knowledge?

What is meant by the science of hadith defects

Explaining the second of the two grounds of disagreement—knowledge obtained through reasoning rather than transmission

Exegeses in which it is rare to find errors

The Muʿtazilites, Rafidites, Qarmatians, and Sufis composed exegeses on the basis of their own doctrinal principles

The five principles of the Muʿtazilites

Principles shared by the Muʿtazilites and the Khārijites

Some of the curiosities found in Rafidite exegesis

Ibn ʿAtiyya’s exegesis and similar works follow the Sunnah and the mainstream more faithfully than al-Zamakhsharī’s exegesis

Section: On Clarifying the Best Methods of Qur’anic Exegesis

The stance toward Isrāʾīlī reports

Section: If we do not find exegesis in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, or from the Companions, we refer to the statements of the Tābiʿīn

Qur’anic exegesis based solely on personal opinion is forbidden

Section: That those who hold fast to the Qur’an—in knowledge and state, in recitation and in listening, both inwardly and outwardly—are the true Muslims

Those who deviate from the Qur’an are four groups

Section: On the question about “applying the Qur’an according to its apparent meaning”

He was asked about the Prophet’s saying, “Whoever interprets the Qur’an according to his own opinion, let him take his seat in the Fire”: given that commentators differ over a single verse, if that difference is based on opinion, how can salvation be attained, and if it is not based on opinion, how did the disagreement arise?

He was asked about a soldier who had copied by hand Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, al-Bukhārī and the Qur’an, etc., and which Tafsīr is closest to the Book and the Sunna: al-Zamakhsharī, al-Qurtubī or al-Baghawī?

The Soundest Tafsīrs

He was asked about the Prophet’s saying, “The Qur’an was revealed on seven ḥurūf”: what is meant by them? What caused the differences among the reciters? And is it permissible to recite—and to pray—using the anomalous readings?

The First to Compile the Qur’anic Readings

The Seven Ḥurūf Do Not Entail a Contradiction in Meaning

The Ruling on Reciting Readings That Depart from the ʿUthmānī Muṣḥaf, and on Performing the Prayer with Anomalous Readings

Are the Seven Readings One of the Seven Ḥurūf?

The Order of the Sūrahs Is Textually Stipulated

The Claim That Ibn Masʿūd Permitted Recitation by Meaning Is a Lie

The Cause of the Divergence among the Qurʾān Reciters

He Was Asked About Collecting the Seven Canonical Readings: Is It Sunnah or an Innovation, and Were They Gathered in the Prophet’s Lifetime?

Section: On Dividing the Qurʾān into Portions, on the Timeframe for Its Recitation, and on the Prescribed Amount of Fasting and Night Prayer

The Ruling on Reversing the Order of Sūrahs

The Sahābah’s manner of dividing the Qurʾān into portions is the best

Reciting from the Ends and Middles of Sūrahs

The length or brevity of worship varies according to the differing benefits

Question about a group completing the Qurʾān with the readings of ʿĀṣim and Abū ʿAmr who, on reaching Sūrat al-Ḍuḥā, did not pronounce the tahlīl or the takbīr until the end of the recitation: is this practice preferable, and how sound is the ḥadīth concerning those proclamations?

Is the basmala a verse of the sūrah?

Question about the claim attributed to Imām Mālik that whoever writes a muṣḥaf in a script other than the ʿUthmānic orthography has sinned or even disbelieved: is this correct, given that most muṣḥafs today are not in the ʿUthmānic script?

Question about some people who recite the Qurʾān with mistakes, a critic reproached them, and one of them said: “Each error earns ten good deeds.”

Question about a man who recites the Qurʾān for fear of forgetting it and in hope of reward: is he rewarded for reading it as study and out of fear of forgetting, or not?

Part 14: Qur’anic Exegesis 1 — al-Fātiḥa to al-Aʿrāf

Exegesis of Sūrat al-Fātiḥa

Section: On the Names of the Qurʾān

He was asked about certain ḥadīths: are they authentic, and has any reputable authority transmitted them with a sound isnād?

Section: On the ḥadīth concerning Sūrat al-Fātiḥa

Section: Allah, Exalted be He, says in the Mother of the Qurʾān: “You alone we worship, and You alone we seek for help.”

Which is better: numerous bowings and prostrations, or prolonged standing?

The obligation of worship and seeking help, which Allah has paired together in the Qurʾān

People with respect to worship and seeking help fall into four categories

Section: Allah says at the beginning of the sūrah, “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.”

The meaning of “God” and “Lord,” and the reason why “You alone we worship” precedes “You alone we seek help from”

Section: On the souls’ acknowledgment of God as Lord preceding their acknowledgment of Him as Deity

Section: On the fact that all created beings are servants of God Most High, and that He is their Lord, Sovereign, and God, etc.

The meaning of “Whatever God wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will does not come to pass”

Existing evil is neither absolute evil nor pure evil

The root of sinful acts is either ignorance or a perceived need for them

Is it permissible to justify an affirmative ruling by a negative attribute, while they maintain that a negative can be justified only by a negative?

Every creature is in need of Him

The term “ʿabd” covers two meanings: one who worships under compulsion and one who worships voluntarily

The servant is in need of God insofar as He is the One he worships

An exposition of people’s states when they ask (of God)

Supplication is answered through sound belief and perfect obedience

The servant’s need of God for learning what benefits him—namely, religious knowledge

The servant’s constant need for God to guide him to the straight path

The falsity of the statement, “God has already guided them, so they do not need to ask.”

Exegesis of the straight path

Exegesis of Sūrat al-Baqara

Section: On what Sūrat al-Baqara contains in affirming the foundations of knowledge and the principles of religion

He said: “This is an exegesis of verses that have proven difficult, among them His saying: ‘Indeed, whoever commits a sin and his sin encompasses him…’”

Section: Concerning His saying, “and We were not absent,” and an exposition of the meaning of the unseen

Section: On the origin of the parable and its types

Qiyās in the language of the Salaf and in the terminology of the logicians

Casting parables with respect to meanings is of two kinds

Most of the parables cast in the Qur’an—some are explicitly termed a parable and others are not; examples thereof

The importance of knowing the forms of negation and universality

The parables cast in the Qur’an—some are explicitly termed a parable and others are not; examples thereof

He said: An exegesis of difficult verses—including the two verses, “Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews”—and of the circumstances of their revelation

Section: On God’s dividing those He censures among the People of the Book into text-corruptors and unlettered people, in His words “Do you then hope that they will believe you …” and the related verses

Exegesis of God’s words: “Retaliation (qiṣāṣ) has been prescribed for you”

He said: Concerning God’s words, “Retaliation (qiṣāṣ) has been prescribed for you in cases of killing,” there are two opinions

If it is said: “The blood money (diyyah) for a free man equals that for a free man, and the blood money for a woman equals that for a woman, while the values of slaves remain unequal.”

The ruling on damages caused by Muslims to unbelievers and vice versa, and on losses incurred through interpretive error

Is a Muslim executed for killing a dhimmī?

He says: If one asks: in the verse “They ask you about the sacred month—fighting therein,” which is classified as badal al-ishtimāl, the inquiry was about the fighting itself, so why was the month mentioned first?

He was asked about God’s words, “Do not marry polytheist women”; since scholars allow marriage to Christian and Jewish women, are they counted among the polytheists or not?

Section: Concerning His words, “and he does not believe in God and the Last Day,” and His words in the verse of al-Nisāʾ, “and they do not believe in God and the Last Day.”

People, in matters of giving, fall into four categories

The Pairs in the Qur’an

Section: Concerning His words, “And if you disclose what is within yourselves or conceal it”—the verse

Explanation of the Companions’ state when it was revealed, and whether it is abrogated

None of the Salaf said that a servant is capable only while performing the act and that, before the act, he lacked capability

The verse indicates that God calls one to account for what is within the souls

Definition of capacity

The heart is the origin of all actions and words

Can the heart harbor affirmation and denial with nothing appearing on the tongue or the limbs?

The condition of Muslims who fight one another during times of civil strife

He said: “Know that God bestowed upon His Prophet Muhammad the concluding verses of Sūrat al-Baqara … etc.”

Section: On the supplication cited at the end of the sūra: “Our Lord, do not call us to account if we forget or err,” and what follows

Reply to the objection: “If it is known that the supplication has already been granted, how can asking for it be a purely devotional act when the desired end is attained without our prayer?”

Whatever God commands and whatever He forbids is solely for a wise purpose

Consequences of the Muʿtazila’s denial of the wise purpose arising from the command itself

The foundational principle on which the Jahmiyya built their denial of wise purpose in action

Some of the consequences of sins

The interpretations of Allah’s statement: “Our Lord, do not burden us with what we have no strength to bear.”

When does disagreement over rulings constitute mercy?

The obedient servant of Allah enjoys the bliss of faith in the paradise of this world.

Paradise according to the Bātiniyya

Paradise according to the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims

The Purpose of the Bātiniyya and the Philosophers Behind Enjoining Asceticism

Hulagu’s Preference for Philosophers and Astrologers over Jurists

Exegesis of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān

Exegesis of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ

His statement: On Allah’s saying, “And those who follow their desires wish …”—the verse

Meaning of the ḥadīth: “Whoever falls in love, remains chaste, conceals it, is patient, and then dies is a martyr.”

He was asked about Allah’s words: “Those whose nushūz you fear—admonish them” and “When it is said, ‘Rise up,’ then rise up,” seeking clarification of how this nushūz differs from that.

Section: On Allah’s saying, “Indeed, Allah does not love whoever is arrogant and boastful,” etc.

Section: On Allah’s combining haughtiness and boastfulness with miserliness

Section: On people’s saying, “The human being is a weak tyrant,” and what his weakness and his domineeringness are due to

He said: His words, “Whatever good befalls you is from Allah,” following His words, “All is from Allah”; had He confined Himself to the collective attribution, the sinner would have shunned blaming himself … etc.

What ensues from the fact that good is from Allah and evil is from one’s own self

Section: On His words, “Whatever good befalls you is from Allah,” the verse, and some of the great wisdoms it contains

Section: On what the Qur’anic terms “good” and “evil” encompass

Section: On the fact that a second sin may serve as punishment for the first

Section: On the fact that the sins a person commits come from himself, even though they are decreed for him

Section: The Qadariyya have no right to use the verse, “Whatever evil befalls you is from yourself,” as proof

Section: Some have thought that the verse is outwardly contradictory, for He said, “Say, ‘All is from Allah,’” and then distinguished between good and evil, saying, “Whatever good befalls you …”

Section: On what the Qur’anic commentators have mentioned concerning His words, “And if evil befalls them, they say, ‘This is from you.’”

Section: On the fact that what the Messenger ﷺ brought is not the cause of any calamity; rather, calamities befall a servant because of his sins

Section: Clarifying His words, Exalted be He: “And if good befalls them, they say, ‘This is from Allah.’”

Section: On the fact that the verse, “Whatever good befalls you is from Allah,” is a refutation of the Jahmite Compulsionists and those like them

Section: If acts of obedience and blessings are decreed, and sins and afflictions are decreed, why is a distinction made between the good—which are blessings—and the evil—which are calamities, attributing the former to Allah and the latter to the human being?

Section: On the fact that the servant must know that every good he possesses is from Allah’s grace—so he should thank Him—and that evil arises only through his sins—so he must repent to Him and seek His forgiveness

Evil is never attributed to Allah by itself; rather, only in one of three ways

Statement of the misguided sects concerning the creation of human acts

Section: Clarifying the claim of the Qadariyya deniers and the Compulsionists that, if it is possible for God to misguide one person, it is likewise possible for Him to misguide all people, etc.

Section: On how the verse, “Whatever good befalls you is from God,” entails that the servant must remain constantly grateful and seeking forgiveness

Everything God has created—even when it contains a partial, relative evil—harbors many times more universal good, wisdom, and mercy

Section: Whatever good deeds a person performs occur solely by God’s will, mercy, and power

When is a person rewarded for performing good deeds and refraining from sins?

Section: People have disputed about refraining—Is it an existential act or merely a non-existence?

Section: Reward and punishment pertain only to a positive act—namely, the performance of good deeds

Section: Sins originate in injustice and ignorance

Section: Heedlessness and desire are the root of all evil

Survey of the exegetes’ views on the verse: “Repentance is incumbent upon God only for those who commit evil in ignorance.”

Section: God—glorified be He—has bestowed upon the children of Adam two things that are the root of happiness

The wisdom in the creation of evil

The reason why most of those who enter Paradise are the poor

The doctrinal stances of the Salaf, the Qadariyya, and the Jahmiyya concerning wisdom, praise, divine decree, and other issues

The doctrinal stance of the Muʿtazila concerning wisdom and other issues

Is the phrase “ḥaqq mā qāla al-ʿabd” the Prophet’s own wording?—and what is correct regarding it

Why did God not create the soul inclined solely toward good, without evil?

Answer to the objection: The Prophet ﷺ said, “God never decrees anything for a believer except that it is good for him,” yet He has decreed sins that merit punishment for him—so how can that be good?

The Gravest Sins

What Is Meant by the Word “ummah”

Whoever Seeks to Be Obeyed Apart from God Is Like Pharaoh

Section: That the sins of commission with which a servant is tried—though created by God—are a punishment for his failure to do what God created him for

Is the servant punished for the mere absence of the commanded act?

Section: Among the verses that mention punishment for the absence of faith is His saying, “We will turn their hearts and their eyes …”

Section: That the misfortunes which befall a person have no cause but his own sin—being thus confined to himself—whereas the good that reaches him is not limited in its causes

Section: That when the evil deed issues from the soul—being itself vile and blameworthy—He characterizes it as vile, as in His saying: “The vile things are for the vile men, and the vile men for the vile things.”

The unsoundness of the Jahmites’ doctrine regarding wisdom, justice, and the like—and likewise of those who follow them

The Muʿtazilites’ doctrine of the intermediate position between the two states

The Jahmites’ doctrine and the spread of their teaching during al-Maʾmūn’s rule

The agreement of many Sufis with the Jahmites on issues of actions and predestination

The Soundness of al-Junayd’s Path

Clarification of the claim that a profligate may be honored with the karāmāt of the foremost saints

The root of evil is worship of the self and Satan, and the origin of polytheism among Adam’s descendants lay in associating righteous human beings with God.

Ibn ʿArabī and the like likening the saint to God Almighty

Section: The servant should seek good only from God; it comes from God alone, and gratitude is due to Him

God’s censure in the Qur’an of those who ascribe partners to Him after He removes hardship from them and showers them with His favors

God’s praise of those who worship and obey Him in times of ease and hardship

Tawḥīd of Lordship as a Cause for Tawḥīd of Divinity

Tawḥīd of Divinity entails carrying out what is commanded and abandoning what is forbidden

Tawḥīd of Lordship as Proof against the Polytheists—How?

The Qadariyya’s View on Human Actions

Permission is of two kinds: one signifying will and creation, and another signifying permissibility and authorization

Clarifying the “permission” in His words: “Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?”

Opinions on intercession—those that are affirmed and those that are denied

There is no sheer repetition in the Qur’an; every discourse must contain benefits.

Intercession is granted to whoever says “There is no god but God” with heartfelt sincerity.

The misguidance of those who think that intercession is obtained through acts that involve polytheism.

The notion held by some later scholars that the phrase “then from yourself” really means “is it then from yourself?”, implying that all good and bad deeds come from God, not from oneself.

On God’s words: “And who is better in religion than one who submits his face to God”

Evidence that the religion of Islam is the best

On God’s words: “And do not argue on behalf of those who betray themselves”

Section: It is impermissible to argue on behalf of a traitor, and for a person to plead his own case when he himself has been treacherous

Exegesis of Sūrat al-Māʾidah

Exegesis of Sūrat al-Anʿām

Part 15: Qur’anic Exegesis 2 — al-Aʿrāf to al-Aḥzāb

Sūrat al-Aʿrāf

Sūrat al-Anfāl

Sūrat al-Tawba

Sūrat Yūnus

Sūrat Hūd

Sūrat Yūsuf

Section: On Joseph’s words, “God forbid! He is my master,” and what is meant thereby

Does Joseph’s statement, “Mention me to your lord,” contradict tawakkul?

Is it possible to coerce someone into sexual immorality?

Explanation of the words: “Then Satan made him forget the remembrance of his Lord.”

Joseph’s motive for refraining from sexual immorality: fear of God

Permissibility for a husband to defend his honor, even by killing the aggressor

The prohibition of usury, even if the usurer consents

No weight is given to the consent or authorization of one ignorant of the harm entailed in the act

Section: Two lessons in Joseph’s statement, “My Lord, prison is dearer to me…”

Section: That the Prophet’s ﷺ decision—for himself and his family—to endure confinement in the Valley of Banū Hāshim for several years was superior to Joseph’s situation

Joseph’s patience amid powerful inducements

The account of Muslim ibn Yasār and the Bedouin woman who invited him to herself

The issue of prophetic infallibility

Clarifying the weakness of the reports concerning intentional visits to shrines and supplicating there

Among the fundamentals of Islam: distinguishing what Allah sent Muhammad with and not mixing it with anything else

He was asked about Allah Most High’s words: “Say, this is my path; I call unto Allah” (the verse)

What the call to Allah entails

What the Meccan surahs contain

The caller who invites others must have, in what he calls them to, two elements

When the call to Allah is a communal obligation

Conditions for undertaking the call to Allah

The caller who enjoins and forbids has the right to defend himself against harm

The Purpose of Jihād

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “Until, when the Messengers despaired and thought that they had been denied,” and the variant readings thereof

The Meaning of Zann in the Book and the Sunnah

Emulating the Prophets Through Their Stories

Clarification of Yaʾs and Istiʾyās Mentioned in the Verse

Clarification of the Prophet’s ﷺ Statement in the Verse: “You are more knowledgeable about the affairs of your worldly life.”

Believing the Prophet ﷺ Concerning What He Reports from Allah

The Prophet ﷺ May Form an Assumption

Permissibility of Narrating Weak-Chain Ḥadiths Concerning Divine Promise and Threat

Sūrat al-Raʿd

Sūrat al-Nahl

Sūrat al-Isrāʾ

Sūrat al-Kahf

Sūrat Maryam

Sūrat Tāhā

Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ

Sūrat al-Hajj

Sūrat al-Muʾminūn

Sūrat al-Nūr

Section: On Meanings Derived from Sūrat al-Nūr

The Wisdom behind Punishing the Fornicator Publicly

Does Someone Who Publicly Proclaims His Innovation and Immorality Have Immunity from Backbiting?

Love of Lewd Acts Stems from a Disease in the Heart

Being Harsh toward Disbelievers and Hypocrites Is Obligatory

Combining Stoning with Flogging

A Woman’s Veiling and Protection

The Testimony of Dhimmīs Against One Another

May an upright non-Muslim assume guardianship over his non-Muslim child’s property?

Stepdaughters: When Do They Become Unlawful to Marry?

No One Is to Be Stoned Except with Evidence

Is the Testimony of Children Accepted in Cases of Bodily Injuries?

Exile in the Sunnah

The Scholars’ Disagreement on Exiling the Highway Robber from the Land

The Essence of Hijrah

The Ruling on a Woman Who Imitates Men

Explanation of the Almighty’s saying: “The adulterer shall marry none but an adulteress or an idolatress …” — the verse

Explanation of the Prophet’s saying: “Be chaste and your women will be chaste …”

The Permissibility of Constraining a Woman When She Commits Adultery

Section: On the believer’s need to test anyone he wishes to accompany or associate with

Section: On the fact that, just as God has made fornication a grave sin, He has likewise made its false attribution—namely, qadhf—grave

Explanation of God’s statement: “Indeed, those who love that fornication be spread …”

The reason some people are fond of listening to Sūrat Yūsuf

Listening to the speech of the innovators and examining their books

Explanation of God’s statement: “Have you not seen those to whom it was said, ‘Hold back your hands’ …” (the verses)

Section: On God’s statement: “And those who accuse chaste women but then do not bring four witnesses …”

Does the testimony of four witnesses—like that of the openly immoral and disobedient—avert the ḥadd penalty from the slanderer?

Is the slanderer of a person notorious for sexual immorality subject to the ḥadd penalty?

An exposition of the probity stipulated for witnesses

His remarks on Allah’s words: “Indeed, those who slander the chaste, unsuspecting [believing] women …” — the verses

Is the repentance of someone who slanders the Prophet’s wives accepted?

Whoever slanders a chaste woman—whether a slave-woman or a dhimmī—who has a husband or a chaste child is liable to the hadd penalty for slander

Explanation of Allah’s words: “And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him to a Fire” — the verse

Section on Allah’s words: “O you who believe, do not enter houses other than your own” — the verses

Seeking permission is of two kinds

The adornment whose display is forbidden

Is hijāb only for free women and not for slave women?

Warning against keeping company with beardless youths and what goes beyond that

A woman must veil herself from other women or even from a maḥram when temptation is feared

Lowering the gaze from people’s homes

Is a person in a state of janābah ritually impure?

Knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah is a collective obligation

Is memorizing the entire Qur’ān and its meanings, as well as knowing the whole Sunnah, obligatory for every individual?

Some of the benefits of lowering the gaze

What is encompassed by Allah’s words: “And do not stretch your eyes toward that with which We have provided groups of them”

Section: On His words, “And repent to Allah all together, O believers, so that you may succeed,” and the benefits contained therein

He was asked about Allah’s words: “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze,” the two verses

Does touching a beardless youth invalidate ablution?

The ruling on looking lustfully at the face of a beardless youth

Two kinds of lowering the gaze

The ruling on looking at flowers, trees, and rivers

Three benefits for whoever lowers his gaze

Sūrat al-Furqān

Sūrat al-Naml

Sūrat al-Aḥzāb

Part 16: Qur’anic Exegesis 3 — al-Zumar to Tabbat

Sūrat al-Zumar

Sūrat al-Shūrā

Sūrat al-Zukhruf

Sūrat al-Ahqāf

Sūrat Qāf

Sūrat al-Mujādila

Sūrat al-Talāq

Sūrat al-Taḥrīm

Sūrat al-Mulk

Sūrat al-Qalam

Sūrat ʿAbasa

Sūrat al-Takwīr

Sūrat al-Aʿlā

Section: On Ibn Fūrak’s words in his book addressed to Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāʾīnī: “Do you not say that He is seen without being in a direction?”, etc.

The Unsoundness of the Claim that God Is Seen without Direct Vision or Face-to-Face Encounter

Clarification of the Unsoundness of the Statement: “He is seen without being in a direction, and likewise others see Him.”

Section: On the Divergence in Ibn Fūrak’s Statements Concerning the Affirmation of the Divine Attributes

Section: On God—glorified be He—Ascribing Highness to Himself

Whatever Negative Attributes God Has Described Himself With Must Necessarily Contain an Affirmative Meaning

The Jahmiyya and Other Opponents of the Salaf, and Their Stance on Affirming the Attribute of Highness

Ibn ʿArabī’s Denial of the Attribute of Highness

Section: As for those who describe Him as being above and below … they do not describe Him as greater than all things, etc.

The Evidential Basis of Ahl al-Sunna, the Muʿattila, and the Hulūliyya

Section: On the word “al-Aʿlā” being in the elative (afʿal al-tafḍīl) form

The wisdom behind selecting “Allāhu Akbar” as the emblem of prayer and other rites

Is tasbīḥ required during bowing and prostration?

“al-Aʿlā” encompasses every sense of loftiness

On how the command to perform tasbīḥ necessitates declaring Him free from every defect and imperfection and affirming His attributes of perfection

On God’s words: “He who created and proportioned, and He who decreed and guided,” and an explanation that conjunction entails both commonality and distinction

Explaining that God created all things with wisdom and for a purpose

The Jahmites’ denial of divine wisdom, and the philosophers’ denial of divine will

On the fact that every creature must be guided to the purpose for which it was created and decreed

On what is implied by the Almighty’s words: “the One who decreed and then guided.”

The statements of the Qur’anic exegetes concerning God’s decree and His guidance

Variant Qur’ānic readings of the word “qadar”

Many of the early exegetes’ interpretations are given merely by way of example

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “Who brings forth the pasture, then turns it into blackened stubble.”

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “So remind, if the reminder benefits,”—the verses

What is meant by guidance in the Almighty’s words, “But as for Thamūd, We guided them,” “For every people there is a guide,” and “Guide us to the straight path.”

Reconciling the Almighty’s words, “So turn away from them; you are not to blame,” and, “And remind, for the reminder benefits the believers.”

Clarifying the Almighty’s words: “He who fears will remember, and the most wretched will avoid it.”

Section: On what is entailed by the Almighty’s words, “He who fears will remember.”

Section: A discussion of the Almighty’s words, “Whoever fears the Most Merciful unseen and comes with a penitent heart,” together with His words, “He who fears will remember.”

Section: Explaining that the Almighty’s words, “Perhaps he will remember or fear,” and “And what will make you know? Perhaps he will purify himself, or take heed and the reminder will benefit him,” do not contradict the verse, “He who fears will remember.”

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “None remembers except one who turns in repentance.”

Section: On the fact that “remembrance” is an all-encompassing term for everything God has commanded to be remembered.

Specificity entails that the proof is established; it does not confer merit.

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “Yet the most wretched will avoid it,” up to His words, “nor does he live.”

Section: On the matters in which God brought Abraham and Moses together

The intended meaning of the Almighty’s words: “he mentioned the name of his Lord”

Section: On the fact that Abraham and Moses upheld the foundation of the religion—an explanation of that

Section: On the fact that Ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jamāʿa affirm for God what He affirmed for Himself and declare Him free of resembling His creation, unlike the misguided Jahmites and their ilk

The vile epithets hurled by the Jahmites at Ahl al-Sunna

The Jahmites’ discourse is found among both their early and later adherents

Sūrat al-Ghāshiya

Sūrat al-Balad

Sūrat al-Shams

Sūrat al-ʿAlaq

Section: On the fact that the first revelation to the Messenger ﷺ clarified the fundamentals of the religion

Gratitude to God is obligatory, even if there were no threat

The first revelation from the Qur’an and what it contained

The Jahmiyyah’s denial that Adam was created from clay

Section: Clarifying the theologians’ method for proving the Creator and prophethood

Definition, and whether it yields a depiction of the thing defined

Section: Clarifying the invalidity of the theologians’ method for proving the origination of bodies

Section: On the fact that He—exalted is He—sometimes mentions the creation of man in summary and at other times in detail, with an explanation of that

Opinions on the Almighty’s words: “Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low”

Explanation of the Almighty’s words: “So what, after this, makes you deny the Judgment?”

Explanation of the Almighty’s words: “Is not Allah the most just of judges?”

Section on the Almighty’s words: “Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous” up to His words: “what he did not know”

The intended meaning of the word “karam”

The Jahmiyyah and the affirmation of the divine attributes

The sects’ statements regarding the willing and doing of a specific thing

Is it permissible to attribute determination to God?

Al-Ashʿarī’s method in his book “Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn wa Ikhtilāf al-Muṣallīn”

The school of thought closest to Abū al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī’s position

Section: Clarifying that the Prophet ﷺ was sent with kindness and mercy toward people and with patience in the face of their harm, etc.

Section: On what is implied by His statement “al-Akram”

The intention of those among Ahl al-Sunna who said, “The name is the Named.”

Section: On the implication of the annexation in the phrase “rabbika” in His words, “Read in the name of your Lord” and “Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous.”

By what is God known?

The First Call of the Messengers

What does Pharaoh’s question, “And what is the Lord of the worlds?” mean?

Explanation of the Almighty’s words: “Is there any doubt about God?”

If knowledge and acknowledgment of God are innate to every nature, how can many rationalist scholars deny this? An explanation

Sound innate nature necessitates knowledge of God

Section: On the reason why a human being forgets himself and what is within him

Section: On God’s words, Most High: “He who created—created man from a clot.”

Section: On the ways of affirming the attributes of perfection

Exegesis of the Divine Name “al-ʿAliyy”

The Christians’ error in asserting that God is a substance and has three attributes—namely, the hypostases

What is implied by God’s words: “He taught man what he did not know”

Section: On the signification of God’s words, “In the name of your Lord who created,” and His words, “He taught by the pen; He taught man what he did not know,” for affirming His actions and His speech

Section: On the signification of Āyat al-Kursī

Section: On the fact that one of the greatest principles is a person’s knowledge of the active attributes by which God has described Himself

The types of the active attributes and the scholars’ statements concerning them

Recitation and reading, and what is meant by them

Section: On the dispute among people concerning the intransitive acts, such as istiwāʾ and coming

Those who affirm the reported attributes hold two views concerning them, and the dispute concerns the interpretation of His saying, “then He istawā toward the heaven,” and the like.

The positions of the sects regarding what God has mentioned in the Quran concerning istiwāʾ, coming, and the like

Discussion of the Throne and why it is so named

The disagreement among Ahmad’s followers about what Ḥanbal narrated from him concerning the coming

Ibn Kullāb’s position on God’s elevation above the universe

Al-Juwaynī and his followers’ position on the scriptural attributes

Is what the Qur’an reports about the attributes and other matters beyond anyone’s understanding?

Explanation of citing the Almighty’s words, “When the help of Allah and the victory come,” as proof

The various groups’ statements on affirming the terms “zawāl” and “intiqāl”

Allah’s descent to His creation does not negate His exaltedness

Declaring Allah free of anything that contradicts His perfect attributes

It is impermissible, when declaring Allah free of imperfection, to rely merely on the absence of scriptural or transmitted evidence

The scriptural evidences must be known both in their chains of transmission and in their texts

Clarifying the view that the reports in the two Ṣaḥīḥs and other collections are solitary narrations that do not yield knowledge

A discussion of the text and isnād of the ḥadīth: “Indeed His Throne—or His Footstool—encompasses the heavens and the earth … and it creaks beneath Him like the creaking of a saddle.”

The Qurʾān’s discourse on the greatness of Allah, exalted be He

Section: On the Prophet’s clarification of the principles that lead to the truth, and likewise the verses pointing to Allah and to His names and attributes, in the most excellent manner

The innovators’ principles contradict the truth

Clarification that the rational doctrines of the philosophers, the Jahmiyyah, the Muʿtazilah and others contradict what the Messenger ﷺ conveyed and conflict with plain reason

The sects’ views on will and power

Section: On the point that one should not say, “A thing can only be known by affirming all of its entailments” — an explanation

Section: On the fact that what the Messenger ﷺ brought is from God’s knowledge — an explanation

Section: On the obligation to refer, in the fundamentals of religion, to the Book and the Sunnah

Some groups err in understanding the Qur’an when using it as evidence for their beliefs

The way of the Muslim imams is to make the Qur’an the guiding authority in both the fundamentals and the branches of religion

Section: On the coherence of the short sūrahs at the end of the Muṣḥaf

Sūrat al-Bayyinah

Sūrat al-Takāthur

Sūrat al-Humaza

Sūrat al-Kawthar

Sūrat al-Kāfirūn

Sūrat Tabbat

Part 17: Qur’anic Exegesis 4 — al-Ikhlāṣ to al-Nās

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the reports on the merit of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Zalzala, al-Kāfirūn and al-Fātiḥa, and whether this preferential ranking also extends to the Divine Names and Attributes or not.

Reports on the merit of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ

Reports on the merit of Sūrat al-Zalzala, “Qul yā ayyuhā al-Kāfirūn”, and al-Fātiḥa

Section: Is part of God’s speech superior to other parts, and what does it mean that Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ equals one-third of the Qur’an?

The superiority of the Qur’an over the revealed scriptures

The meaning of God’s words, “the best of stories,” and the benefits contained therein

The view of Ahl al-Sunna and the hadith scholars on tilāwa and the Qur’an: is it the recited Qur’an or not?

The Qur’an as overseer over the earlier scriptures

The proportion of scholars’ and people’s sciences to what the Qur’an contains

Does the Sunna abrogate the Qur’an?

The superiority of Āyat al-Kursī

The spread of the denial of varying excellence among Qur’anic verses amid the rise of Jahmite innovations concerning the Qur’an

The view of the Kullābiyya and the Sālimiyya concerning God’s speech

Section: Explaining that some of God’s speech is superior to other parts

The view of the majority of jurists on the varying degrees of obligation and prohibition

The discourse on the relative excellence of God’s attributes

The Salaf’s rejection of the Jahmiyyah doctrine concerning the Qur’an

Explanation of the Salaf’s view on the relative excellence of God’s attributes

Section: Texts and reports on the relative excellence of some of God’s Speech over others and the proper derivation of evidence from them

Section: Explanation of the scholars’ opinions on “Qul huwa Allāhu Aḥad” being equivalent to one third of the Qur’an

The contents of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ regarding the affirmation of attributes of perfection and the negation of all attributes of deficiency

Explanation that the names al-Aḥad and al-Ṣamad imply God’s freedom from every imperfection and defect

Ibn Taymiyya’s critique of some of the contents of al-Ghazālī’s “Jawāhir al-Qurʾān”

Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ and al-Māzarī’s view on the meaning of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ being equivalent to one-third of the Qurʾān—and a critique of it

Are things singled out for commands and prohibitions without any cause or wisdom?—opinions on the matter

Clarification of the claim that the reward of one who recites “Qul huwa Allāhu Aḥad” is multiplied to equal what a reciter of one-third of the Qurʾān receives without such multiplication

Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ being equal to one-third of the Qurʾān does not entail that it is superior to al-Fātiḥa

Two grounds cited by those who find it problematic that Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ equals one-third of the Qurʾān

The merit of acts of worship differs according to the worshipper’s state

Section: Clarifying the Salaf’s view on superiority among God’s attributes

Refutation of the claim that God’s attributes are only negative or relational

The wisdom behind the presence of the definite article “al-” in the name al-Ṣamad but not in Aḥad

The foundational doctrine of the Jahmites and the Muʿtazilites concerning God’s attributes

The difference between what is ascribed to God by way of description and what is ascribed to Him by way of ownership

What Ibn Baṭṭāl reported from al-Ashʿarī and others denying any superiority among the parts of the Qur’an

Imām Aḥmad’s response when asked about his statement on the Qur’an

Imām Aḥmad’s refutation of the Jahmiyyah’s claim

Is the attribute identical with the entity described, with the Essence, or something added to it?

Statements of those affiliating themselves with Ahl al-Sunnah on the Qur’an and the Speech of God after the Miḥna of Imām Aḥmad

The view of the Jahmiyyah and the Qadariyyah on the servant’s power to act

The view of al-Jahm on wisdom, mercy, and causal means; those who agreed with him, and its refutation

The wisdom behind the prohibition of eating the flesh of beasts of prey and shed blood

Opinions on the Almighty’s words: “Whatever verse We abrogate …”

Verses of tawḥīd are superior to all others

The reason for the revelation of “Say: He is Allah, One”

When was Āyat al-Kursī revealed?

Section: The categories of people concerning the wisdom behind command and prohibition and the ascription of good and evil

Shaykh al-Islām was asked to explain the Prophet’s statement about Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, “It equals one-third of the Qur’an,” and how that can be so despite its few letters

Is it sufficient to recite Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ in place of the rest of the Qur’an?

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about someone who recites the Qur’an: should he recite Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ once or three times?

Section: On the Exegesis of Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ

Statements of the Salaf Concerning the Meaning of “al-Samad”

The Linguistic Origin of the Words “al-Samad” and “al-Sayyid”

The Salaf’s Statement Regarding God’s Words: “wa sayyidan wa ḥaṣūran”

The Meaning of the Hadīth: “thumma iʿrif ʿifāsahā wa wikāʾahā”

The Meaning of Derivation and Whether the Verb Is Derived from the Maṣdar or Vice Versa

Section: The Reason the Definite Article al- Is Added to al-Ṣamad but Not to Aḥad

The Beginning of the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth

The Significance of the Words “al-Aḥad, al-Ṣamad” in Establishing That Allāh Has Neither Child, Parent, nor Equal

People’s Dispute About What Allāh Brings Forth of Animals, Plants, and Minerals: Do the Substances of These Bodies Originate, or Do Only Accidents Occur?

How the Bodies Are Restored in the Hereafter

The Meaning of al-Badʾ and al-Iʿāda Mentioned in the Qur’an

Section: Generation Necessarily Requires Two Origins

Refutation of the Christians on the Claim That Christ Was Created from Two Origins

Section: Are accidents—such as satiety and quenching—generated?

Is the creation of Eve from Adam called generation?

Section: God’s statement “He begets not, nor is He begotten,” and other like verses, encompasses all the kinds mentioned in this chapter regarding certain nations

Section: Refuting the claim of the Arab polytheists that the angels are God’s daughters, the claim of the Christians that the Messiah is God’s son, and the claim of the Jews that ʿUzayr is God’s son

Exposition of the invalidity of the Christians’ statement

The meaning of His statement: “and a spirit from Him”

Section: Refuting the philosophers’ assertion that the world emanated from a self-necessitating cause, and that from it proceeded one intellect after another until ten intellects and nine souls were completed

What the philosophers claim about intellectual generation is a greater disbelief than the assertion of the Christians and the Arab polytheists

The Arab polytheists, Christians, and Jews acknowledge that God created the heavens and the earth, unlike the philosophers

Section: On some speculative theologians citing Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ to claim that God is a body, others citing it to deny corporeality, and a refutation of both groups

The claim that affirming the attributes entails corporeality

Imām Aḥmad’s refutation of the Jahmiyya and the heretics

The Salaf’s aversion to the speculative theologians’ approach to newly-coined terminology

The stance of the Sunni Imams toward the speculative theologians’ approach to newly-coined terminology

The terms “jism” and “jawhar” and similar expressions are innovated.

The meaning of “jism” in the Arabic language and among the speculative theologians

The claim that God is a “jism” or is not a “jism” requires elaboration

How “Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad” signifies divine transcendence and the affirmation of the attributes of perfection

The dispute over the terms “taḥayyuz” and “jihah” and similar expressions

The true nature of the intelligible substances affirmed by the philosophers

The philosophers’ doctrines: “the First Cause — the Higher Philosophy — the First Wisdom”

The nāmūs according to the philosophers

The ignorance of Aristotle and his followers regarding God, the angels, the prophets, the Scriptures, and the messengers

Reason for the ancient Greeks’ interest in the science of astronomy and the planets

The Muslim heretics’ appeal to the ḥadīth “The first thing God created was the intellect” to affirm the Intellects and Souls

The scholastic theologians are more knowledgeable about divine rational truths and closer to Sharīʿa-based matters than the philosophers

The origin of the rise of the heretical Bāṭinī Qarmatians

The reality of the soul: is it a body or an accident?

Statements of the Companions and the Successors concerning the soul

“Mutahayyiz” in linguistic usage and in the theologians’ terminology

The theologians’ disagreement concerning what the Mutahayyiz is composed of

The philosophers’ position on the rational soul

Section: On the deniers’ use of certain terms—such as “compound,” “composed,” and “divisible”—to negate what Allah has affirmed for Himself, and an explanation of that

An explanation of what the philosophers mean by their statement that the Messenger’s ﷺ discourse is a kind of imaginative depiction

Citing the claim of certain self-identified Sunnis that the Messenger ﷺ did not know the meanings of the verses on the divine attributes revealed to him

Al-Ghazālī’s claim that Imām Ahmad upheld taʾwīl

Clarifying the meaning of taʾwīl in the Qur’an and according to the early and later generations

Clarifying that Ibn al-Mājishūn and Imām Ahmad took this stance regarding the mutashābih

The Salaf’s view concerning istiwāʾ

The true nature of the mutashābih known only to Allah and those firmly grounded in knowledge

The error of those who claim that Allah revealed words whose meaning is unknown to the Messenger and the entire ummah.

The correct view regarding the pausing point in Allah’s words: “And none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly grounded in knowledge.”

The inconsistency of the linguists’ statements concerning the mutashābih

What the early and later generations have said concerning the mutashābih indicates that its entire meaning is known.

The people of bidʿah are of two kinds

Section: Explaining that God and His Messenger have set out the foundations of tawḥīd and īmān with complete clarity

Section: That the correct meaning—namely the denial of any likeness, partner or peer—is affirmed by Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ and by His words, “Do you know of any namesake for Him?”

Meaning of the saying: “al-Ahad or al-Samad, or the like, is that which is neither divisible nor separable, or is non-composite, and the like.”

How Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ encompasses the various kinds of transcendence and praise

The Origin of Shirk among People

The Shirk of the Arabs and Its Cause

Clarification that the Prophet ﷺ closed the doors of shirk for the people

The Companions also closed the doors of shirk for the people

Intending to pray in Masjid Qubāʾ

The Recommendation to Visit the Graves of the People of al-Baqīʿ and the Martyrs of Uhud

The Ruling on Visiting the Graves of the Prophets and the Righteous

Places That May Be Intentionally Visited for Worship and Those That May Not

Disagreement Among the Scholars Concerning the People of Mecca: Do They Shorten or Combine Their Prayers?

Abraham and Muhammad—each is a Friend of God

The Companions and Successors’ Disapproval of Selling Kharāj Land

Disagreement Among the Scholars Concerning Land Captured by Force: Must It Be Divided as War Booty, or Does It Become Fayʾ?

The Wisdom Behind Permitting War Booty Exclusively to This Ummah

The Rāfiḍah’s Veneration of Shrines

The Wisdom Behind the Prophet’s Prohibition of Prayer at Sunrise and Sunset

Sūrat al-Falaq

Sūrat al-Nās

Part 18: Hadith

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about Hadith: its definition and categories

Prophetic ḥadīth: the Messenger’s words, deeds, and tacit approvals

What is reported about the Infallible before prophethood in ḥadīth

The Messenger’s sayings constitute legislation, encompassing obligation, prohibition, and permissibility

Section: The singular ḥadīth and its meaning

A ḥadīth is deemed singular even if it contains multiple stories

Section: If a ḥadīth is authentic, is it true?

Definition of the authentic ḥadīth and its categories

Disagreement over a ḥadīth’s authenticity

Section: Categories of ḥadīth

Imām al-Tirmidhī’s classification of ḥadīth

Categories of weak ḥadīth according to the ḥadīth scholars

Section: On the types of narration and the names of those types

What validates narration and establishes continuity

Reading before a teacher (ʿarḍ): is it superior to direct hearing (samāʿ)?

Handing over (munāwala), correspondence (mukātaba), and authorization (ijāza)

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the meaning of their expression: “hasan”, “mursal”, or “gharīb”

The mursal category of Hadith — the hasan classification according to al-Tirmidhī

The sahīh-hasan-gharīb narration — the mutawātir — and the solitary report received with acceptance

The criterion employed by al-Bukhārī and Muslim

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the meaning of the scholars’ statement, “This is a weak hadith.”

Types of Reports

Types of Error in Reports and Their Causes

Acceptance of Narration

Additions and Omissions in a Hadith with a Sound Chain of Transmission

Mutawātir Hadith

Refutation of the Kalām Theologians for Their Disparagement of the Later Hadith Scholars

The Monotheism Claimed by the Kalām Theologians and a Refutation of Them

Hadiths that Some Jurists Cite as Evidence for Invalid Matters

Section: When was Imām Ahmad stringent about chains of transmission, and when was he lenient?

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about a group united in various forms of corruption, such as their claim that no mutawātir hadith is authentic.

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about a man who listens to books of ḥadīth and tafsīr yet refuses to listen to Abū Nuʿaym’s Hilya.

Shaykh al-Islām’s view regarding Abū Nuʿaym and his writings

Shaykh al-Islām was asked whether someone who transcribes the Qur’an and the Ṣaḥīḥs of al-Bukhārī and Muslim is rewarded

The forty ḥadīths that the Imām transmitted with chains of narration

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the authenticity of ḥadīths ascribed to the Prophet ﷺ, including: “Neither My earth nor My heaven contains Me …” and “Love of this world is the root of every sin.”

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the qudsī ḥadīth: “I have not hesitated over anything I will do as I hesitate over taking the soul of My believing servant …”

The Types of Will in the Book of God

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about the ḥadīth: “O My servants, I have forbidden injustice …”

The meaning of injustice and God’s negation of it

Opinions regarding the actions of God

Section: “I have made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another”

Types of injustice

The heart has two faculties: knowledge and intention

Retaliation and its legal basis

Section: God’s beneficence toward His servants

Categories of Guidance

Sins as a Cause of Misguidance

Section: “O My servants, all of you are hungry except those whom I have fed …” etc.

The Obligation of Reliance on God

Taking the Means

Section: “O My servants, you sin by night and day …” etc.

Forgiveness of sins is of two kinds: special forgiveness for those who repent

Sins for which repentance is not accepted

General forgiveness

Section: The servants’ righteousness and wickedness: their obedience and disobedience

Section: His—exalted is He—saying: “O My servants, you will never be able to reach My harm and so harm Me, nor reach My benefit and so benefit Me.”

Section: The servants’ righteousness and wickedness—their obedience and disobedience

Section: “If the first and the last of you, the humans and the jinn among you …”

The meaning of “It did not diminish what is with Me”

The meaning of “from what is with Me” or “from My dominion”

Section: “O My servants, it is only your deeds; I keep count of them for you …”

Categories of people in ascribing good and bad deeds

Section: On explaining the hadith of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn: “Allah was, and nothing was with Him,” “and His Throne was upon the water.”

Sayings of the eternalist philosophers

The meaning of Allah’s having ordained the decrees before creating the heavens and the earth

The meaning of pre-eternity

Commentary on the hadith “Actions are only by intentions”

Preface

The hadith text and its isnād

Section: Islam revolves around three hadiths

Section: The meaning of intention

Section: Does the statement “Actions are only by intentions” contain an implicit ellipsis or a restriction?

Section: The linguistic meaning of irāda (will) and niyya (intention)

Section: The types of intention according to the scholars

Section: Which acts of worship require intention, and which actions do not?

Section: Intention in the sense of sincerity in action

Section: The locus of intention is the heart, and the ruling on verbalizing it

Section: The meaning of “innamā”

Section: The meaning of “innamā” in the verse “Only those are believers who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble”

Faith increases and decreases

Section: “So whoever’s migration was to Allah and His Messenger …” etc.

Section: Khutbat al-Hājah

Commentary on the hadith “Islam began as something strange”

Section: His ﷺ saying, “Islam began as something strange …” etc.

His ﷺ saying, “Then it will return as something strange.”

The Prohibition against Allying with the Unbelievers

His ﷺ saying, “Indeed, God will send a wind that takes the soul of every believer …”

Section: His ﷺ saying, “The likeness of my Umma is the likeness of rain.”

He was asked about the hadith: “Seven do not die, nor perish, nor taste annihilation.”

The report is from the words of some scholars

Section: Explanation of the hadith “I have been given comprehensive speech.”

His words in the hadith of distress: “O Allah, I am Your servant, the son of Your servant …”

A Subtle Principle Concerning Love

Section: His words: “A person will be with those he loves”

Claiming love without action is invalid

Clarifying the difference between love for Allah and love for others

Relying on people to intercede instead of Allah

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about al-maskana and the hadith, “O Allah, let me live as a miskīn…”

Section: Chastity and Self-Sufficiency

Section: The gravest of the major sins—disbelief and arrogance

Section: Three saving qualities and three destructive qualities

Question about some hadiths: Are they authentic, and has any recognized authority transmitted them with a sound isnād?

The first thing God created was the intellect

“I have been commanded to address people …” etc.

Question about the hadiths: “Whoever circumambulates the House seven times …”, “If a shepherd were to pass by ʿArafāt …”, and “Whoever performs Hajj but does not visit me …” etc.

The hadith reported about the remission of injustices

Question about the hadith: “Whoever teaches you a verse …” etc.

Question about the meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Whoever rebukes an innovator …”

Question about someone who heard a man say: “If you had done such-and-such, none of this would have happened to you.”

Question about the story of Iblīs

Section: The book “Tanaqqulāt al-Anwār” and the lies and fabrications it contains

What do you say about storytellers who recount the Prophet’s expeditions, etc.

The claim that the moon entered the Prophet’s collar—and the tales of King Dahhāq and King Khattār—are fabrications as well

Combat with the jinn is among the fabrications

Discussion of Moses’s staff and Noah’s Ark, and the fabrications associated with them

Affirmation of the Companions’ great virtues

The prophets were not created from the Prophet Muhammad

His statement: “I was a prophet while Adam was between spirit and body”

Hadith: “Charity is incumbent on every Muslim …” etc.

He was asked about hadiths that storytellers transmit through chains of narration—among them:

Part 19: Usūl al-Fiqh 1: Following

Section: The truth without falsehood is what the messengers brought from God

The obligation to follow the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus—unlike anything else: an explanation

Clarifying the evidence for the universality of the message to both humans and jinn

Section: On the obligation to believe in the universality of Muḥammad’s message

Muslims and the majority of the sects of unbelievers and polytheists acknowledge the existence of the jinn

The jinn have volition and act

Reports that are mutawātir among the specialist scholars, though some people deny them — a clarification

The reason for prohibiting incantations whose meaning is not understood

Are the verses confined to the type of cause or to the specific cause?

The meaning of tanqīḥ al-manāṭ and the differing views regarding some of its subsidiary issues

The meaning of takhrīj al-manāṭ

Muhammad’s ﷺ call is universal to both humans and jinn, and he did not allocate any legal ruling exclusively to the Arabs

The Prophet ﷺ linked legal rulings to the operative qualities of what Allah loves and what He hates

Scholars disagreed over what constitutes matrimonial compatibility

The majority of scholars hold that the Arab stock is better than others

Matters that are exclusive to Quraysh and Banū Hāshim

There is no evidence for those who deny the existence of the jinn

The jinn’s belief in the Qur’an

What results from the corruption of human nature

The reason for the prohibition against performing istinjāʾ with dung and bones

Ibn ʿAbbās’s opinion on the Prophet’s ﷺ addressing the jinn and the jinn coming to him

On the jinn’s legal accountability and the application to them of the same enjoining of good, forbidding of evil, and call to God as with humans

The jinn’s possession of humans and its cause

Places where the jinn are found

The reason why the people of error and innovation frequent the jinn’s haunts

The argument of those who employ the jinn, citing Solomon

The wisdom behind the prohibition of killing household snakes

The jinn assuming various forms

Section: On Satan assuming the form of the one who is invoked, whether alive or dead

Section: On the desirability of performing ruqya for the epileptic using supplications and remembrances

Iblīs’ coming to the Prophet ﷺ with a flaming missile, and the fiqh lessons contained in it

What is the ruling if Satan passes in front of the worshiper?

What an exorcist dealing with jinn should beware of and avoid

Āyat al-Kursī and Warding Off Satan from the Possessed Person

Beating the possessed person is actually inflicted on the jinni

The prohibition of ruqya whose meaning is unknown

Categories of people regarding belief in possession

Abū Mūsā’s question to the woman who had a jinn companion

On the permissibility of writing passages from the Book of God and remembrances for an afflicted or other sick person in lawful ink, then washing them off and having the water drunk

On sufficing with the (prophetic) message and relying on the Prophet ﷺ without generally following anyone else, and the evidences for that

The misguidance of those who deem absolute obedience to an imam, shaykh, or scholar obligatory

On the innovation of the renegade Harūrīs

A comprehensive principle on holding fast to the Book of Allah, the obligation to follow it, and explaining guidance through it in all matters people need for their religion

A beneficial principle on the obligation to hold fast to the Message, that happiness lies in following the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—and misery in opposing him

A principle regarding sciences, beliefs, rulings, evidence, and intents: do they follow their object and conform to it, or does the object follow and conform to them?

The Stairways of Attainment

A Principle on Judging Mujtahids as Correct, Mistaken, or Sinful

Can anyone, through his own ijtihād, know the truth in a disputed matter?

The Qadariyya’s claim that people are equal in ability

The excuse for al-Najāshī, the believer from Pharaoh’s family, Pharaoh’s wife, and others like them who neither emigrated nor observed all the prescribed laws

Clarification that the prescribed laws are only binding after one has knowledge of them

Section: On the fact that the sharīʿa-based sciences and the rational sciences may stand in a general–particular relationship, and that one of them may also serve as a co-ordinate counterpart to the other

What Is Meant by the Sharīʿa-Based Sciences

Most of the major issues of the fundamentals of religion are known through reason

Most Philosophers and Speculative Theologians Are Ignorant of the Scope of the Sharīʿa-Based Sciences

What Is Meant by the Sharīʿa Ruling

Section: On the terms to which God has attached rulings—some are defined by the Sharīʿa, some by language, and some by people’s customary usage

The Terms “Khamr” and “Water”

Section: On the Term “Hayd”

Section: On the Prophet’s Command to His Community to Wipe over the Khuffayn

Section: On God and His Messenger Making Qasr and Fitr Contingent upon the Designation of Travel

Section: On the Ūqiyya in the Messenger’s Language

Measures of Dirhams and Dīnārs According to Common Custom

The Wusq, the Sāʿ, the Mudd, and the Dhirāʿ

Section: On the Term “Feeding” Not Being Quantified by the Sharīʿa

Are the Jizya and the Diyya Quantified by the Sharīʿa?

The Kharāj Is Quantified by the Sharīʿa

Section: On the Qurʾān’s Proof That Whatever Intercourse Is Forbidden through Nikāḥ Is Likewise Forbidden through Ownership by the Right Hand

Istibrāʾ (the womb-clearing waiting period)

Section: On the Prophet’s Ruling That the Diyya Is Payable by the ʿĀqila

Disagreement among the Jurists over the ʿĀqila

Section: On God’s Unrestricted Mention of the Recipient Categories in the Khums and Fayʾ Verses, and That Whoever Infers Mandatory Equality from the Wording Contradicts the Qurʾān and the Sunnah

Section: On the Taqlīd Forbidden by God and His Messenger

Is it permissible for a scholar capable of deriving evidence to engage in taqlīd of someone else?

An Incapable Person’s Taqlīd of a Scholar

Clarification of the Taqlīd Prohibited by Scriptural Text and Consensus

What Allah forbade the People of the Book remains binding on them after the advent of Muhammad ﷺ and is lifted only by following him

Condemnation of Those Who Conceal Knowledge

The Two Types of Consensus

The Ruling on One for Whom a Text Is Established but Who Knows of No Scholar Who Adopts It

The Scholars’ Dispute over Consensus: Is It Conclusive or Probable Evidence?

The Companions’ Approach to Teaching Spiritual Conduct and Drawing Near to God

The Cause of the Disagreement among the Theologians, the Spiritual Wayfarers, and the Jurists

The Scarcity of Innovations in the Early Generations of this Community and Their Proliferation in the Later Generations

He was asked about someone who says that the textual proofs do not suffice for even one-tenth of one-tenth of the Sharīʿah, etc.

Clarifying the Error of the One Who Says This

What the Term “Maysir” Encompasses

What the Term “Ribā” Encompasses

Khulʿ Is Not Talāq

Types of Sound Qiyās

Section: The Servant Has Three—Or at Times Two—States in the Commanded Acts of Worship

Complete and Deficient Worship in the Lawgiver’s Wording and in the Jurists’ Terminology

The Definition of Complete Faith

The same person—or the same act—may be commanded from one aspect and forbidden from another

Rational Possibility and Legal Sufficiency

By What Is an Act’s Goodness Achieved?

The Distinction between Alternative, Absolute, and Specific Obligations

That the Terms Sharīʿa, Sharʿ, and Shirʿa Encompass All of the Doctrines and Acts Legislated by God

Part 20: Usūl al-Fiqh 2 — Adherence to a Madhhab

He said: God, exalted be He, has guided us to Himself through what He has conveyed to us in His Book and through the words of His Prophet, peace be upon him.

All the Messengers Agree on the Doctrinal, Theoretical, and Practical Fundamentals—An Explanation

The Meaning of Worship and What Loving God Entails

The Caller Between Ijtihād and Taqlīd and What Is Incumbent upon Him

He Was Asked About the Meaning of the Scholars’ Consensus: May a Mujtahid Disagree with It, What Does It Signify, and Is a Companion’s Statement Authoritative Evidence?

The Meaning of Consensus

The opinions of some imams, such as the four jurists, are neither authoritative evidence nor a consensus

The Four Imams forbade people to imitate them and instructed them to follow what the Qur’an indicates and what is authentically established from the Sunnah—examples are given

The obligation to follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah when disagreement arises

The opinions of the Companions when they agree and when they differ

He was asked about ijtihād, istidlāl, taqlīd, and ittibāʿ

He was asked: Is every mujtahid correct, or is only one correct?

The intended meaning of the word “error” and the contexts in which it is used

The word “sin” in the Book and the Sunnah

Categories of error

Clarifying Imām Aḥmad’s view on declaring error and on refraining from it

Scholars’ dispute over the mujtahid’s adherence to the inner ruling

When a verse admits two meanings and the apparent one is unknown to some people

The mujtahid who errs has a reward

Section: On Forgivable Error in Ijtihād

Section: On God’s distinguishing between what comes before the message and what follows it in names and rulings

He was asked: Were al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī … mujtahids or were they muqallids?

He said: When a heart inhabited by taqwā prefers on the strength of its own judgement alone, that preference is sharʿī.

The error of whoever denies that ilhām is one of the sharʿī avenues

The meaning of “In every believer’s heart there is an admonisher”

Exposition of the Most High’s saying: “Light upon Light”

On the conflict of good deeds, or of sins, or of both together when they coincide

What the revealed laws differ on and what they do not

A scholar and one who calls to God must exercise ijtihād in enjoining and forbidding, while observing the rule of committing the lesser of the two harms

Explanation of the Almighty’s words: “We do not punish until We send a messenger”

Section: Good deeds and acts of worship fall into three categories — rational, millī, and Sharʿī

Section: Every act of worship and every other commanded matter—whether obligatory, recommended, or disliked—falls into the categories of rational, millī, and Sharʿī.

Explanation of What Is Meant by the Rational, the Millī, and the Sharʿī

Types of Rational Acts of Obedience and Worship

Section: On how most jurists discuss Sharʿī and rational acts of obedience, most Sufis follow millī and rational acts of obedience, and most philosophers confine themselves to rational acts of obedience

Section: On how truthfulness is the foundation of good deeds and lying the foundation of evil deeds

Section: Clarifying that all good deeds are justice and all evil deeds are injustice

There are two kinds of injustice toward people

Section: On verbal justice and truthfulness

Principle: that the category of performing what is commanded is greater than the category of abandoning what is forbidden, and that the category of abandoning what is commanded is greater than the category of committing what is forbidden, etc.

Faith in God and His Messenger is the greatest of good deeds, and unbelief the greatest of sins

Some kinds of unbelief are more severe than others

The first sin by which God was disobeyed

The position of Ahl al-Sunna on the question of takfīr

The sin of one who commits a prohibited act is removed by repentance and by performing good deeds

One who neglects a commanded act must make it up, unlike one who commits a prohibited act

The ruling on abandoning the Five Pillars of Islam

The rationale for executing the adulterer, the highway robber, and the apostate

Earthly punishment is no indication of a sin’s severity

Clarifying that the people of innovation are worse than those who commit sins

The cause of mankind’s misguidance and error is failure to affirm the truth

The root of this Ummah’s misguidance and error is neglecting good deeds, not committing sins

The comprehensive words in the Qur’an encompass complying with the command and the threat of punishment for the sin of neglecting it

Most of what God condemned the polytheists for in the Qur’an was their shirk and their arbitrary prohibitions

God—Exalted be He—created creation for His worship

Commanding something is a prohibition of its opposite through necessary implication

The jurists’ dispute over a man who tells his wife, “If you disobey my command you are divorced,” and she violates his prohibition

Everything God has commanded has its cause and requisite within the hearts

Doing good deeds necessitates abandoning evil deeds

Doing good deeds necessitates further good deeds

God sent the messengers and revealed the scriptures on knowledge and deeds with pure words and righteous actions

Prohibition and negation are not self-sufficient; they must be based on prior affirmation and command

Prescribed Asceticism and Scrupulousness

Significance of the Hadith: “Two Hungry Wolves…”

Prohibition may serve as protection or as punishment, while permission may provide latitude—or may itself be a punishment and a trial

Whatever the Sacred Law already makes obligatory—if a person then vows it, covenants with God over it, or pledges it to the Messenger—becomes obligatory on two separate grounds

Explanation of the view of some imams: that conditions intrinsic to a contract may not be validly stipulated and could even invalidate it

He said: People have differed over whether commanding something entails commanding its prerequisites, and whether it entails forbidding its opposite.

Clarification of the error committed by some concerning the maxim, “Whatever a duty cannot be fulfilled without is itself obligatory.”

The Definition of the Wājib

Every believer is obliged to repel anyone who opposes what the Prophet ﷺ brought or deviates concerning Allah’s Names and His verses.

Errors in the finer points of knowledge are forgiven for the ummah.

Attributing a Single Ruling to Two Causes

What the term “cause” means

The Dispute over Attributing a Ruling to Two Causes

That Independence Is Incompatible with Participation

The Concurrence of Evidences on a Single Referent—and Its Implication

If a Thing Cannot Be Possible and Within the Power of One, It Cannot Be Possible and Within the Power of Two

Necessary Existence, Self-Sufficiency from Others, and Freedom from Any Partner in Action Are Unique to God Almighty

The Types of Deviation Displayed by Those Who Depart from Following the Imams in Fundamentals and Subsidiary Matters

That Whoever Utters a General Expression Must Hold a General Meaning in His Heart

Among the Benefits of Conjoining the Particular to the General

That Good Deeds and Bad Deeds Are Each Accounted for by Two Causes

That Obligation and Prohibition May Be a Blessing, a Punishment, or a Trial

He said: Many theologians and jurists, from our own camp and others, hold that rational inquiry and adducing proofs in fundamental matters is obligatory for everyone—even the common folk and women.

The Prohibition by Some Traditionists and Jurists of Investigating Subtle Points of Knowledge, and Their Imposition of Taqlīd or Abstention

Disagreement over the Obligation of Inquiry and Taqlīd in Subsidiary Issues

Section on the Ruling Concerning Someone Who Swears that So-and-So’s Madhhab Is the Best

He was asked about someone who practices taqlīd of certain scholars in matters of ijtihād, or who follows one of the two opinions

He was asked about someone who said that every believer should follow one of the madhāhib

He was asked about someone who follows one of the four madhāhib; after studying ḥadīth he discovers that this madhhab conflicts with certain authentic ḥadīths—should he remain on his madhhab, or return to acting on the ḥadīths and depart from his madhhab?

The four Imāms forbade taqlīd of themselves

Ijtihād allows for partial division

He was asked: Is the necessary implication of a madhhab itself a madhhab, or not?

He was asked about Ibn Hamdān’s statement: “Whoever commits himself to a madhhab and is then reproached for contravening it without evidence, taqlīd, or any other excuse.”

Is a layperson required to adhere to a particular madhhab?

Adhering to a madhhab or departing from it: when is it praiseworthy and when is it blameworthy?

He was asked about the books that, on certain questions, report two narrations or two views without indicating which is sounder and stronger, leaving us unsure which one to follow.

Lifting Blame from the Illustrious Imams

He was asked: Is Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir the best of the shaykhs, and is Imām Ahmad the best of the imams?

The Soundness of the Madhhab of the People of Medina

He was asked about the soundness of the foundational principles of the madhhab of the people of Medina, and about Mālik’s rank according to the leading scholars of the lands.

Hadiths on the Merit of the People of the Earliest Generations

The Meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “They bear witness before they are asked to bear witness.”

The Definition of a Companion

No one has maintained that the consensus of the people of any city other than the Prophet’s city constitutes a binding proof to be followed.

The cities from which knowledge and faith—or innovations—emerged

The Question of the Consensus of the People of Medina and a Discussion of Its Levels

The best of the Companions were in Medina

The most knowledgeable among those who were in Kūfa

Which of the cities has the most authentic ḥadīth?

When did discourse on raʾy arise, and who introduced it?

The most authentic books after the Qur’an

The abrogation of the prohibition on writing ḥadīth

The most eminent scholars from whom al-Shāfiʿī received knowledge

The foundational principles of Mālik and the people of Medina are the soundest of principles and rules

Aḥmad’s preference for Mālik’s madhhab over Sufyān’s—hence over the madhhab of the people of Iraq

In sum, the madhhabs of the people of Medina outweigh those of the people of the Maghrib and the Mashriq—an explanation set out in four principles

The madhhab of the people of Medina on what is forbidden because of its inherent impurity

Mālik’s view on singing

The ruling on water and other liquids when mixed with impurity according to the people of Medina and Kūfa

The madhhab of Mālik and the people of Medina on corporeal impurities in acts of worship

Section: That the madhhab of the people of Medina concerning property forbidden because of the manner of its acquisition is among the most equitable madhhabs

The rationale for the prohibition of usury, gambling, and analogous practices

The madhhab of the people of Medina and of those who disagree with them regarding purchases made before the produce’s ripeness becomes evident

The legal ruling on the sale of absent goods

Permissibility of leasing land incidental to the trees, according to Mālik

Why is the prohibition of ribā more severe than the prohibition of gambling?

The legal ruling on ribā al-faḍl

The legal ruling on the sale of muzābana and muḥāqala, an unmeasured heap of food, ʿarāyā transactions, and sales based on estimation (kharṣ)

Identification by resemblance (qāfa) and retaliatory punishment (qiṣāṣ)

Section: Clarifying the two kinds of earning—muʿāwaḍa (reciprocal exchange) and mushāraka (partnership)—and reporting the imams’ opinions

Section: That nothing is forbidden except what God has forbidden, and no religion exists except what God has legislated

The People of Medina are the most adherent of all cities to the legally prescribed acts of worship

The Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning the prayer times

What constitutes catching the prayer — a clarification of the various opinions on the matter

The Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning someone who prayed while forgetful of his state of janāba

Mālik’s madhhab on someone who touches his private part or touches women out of desire—does he have to perform wudu?

The Issue of Semen and Menstrual Blood

The Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning matters of the pilgrimage rites

The Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning the sacred precinct of the Prophet’s City

Section: On the Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning matrimonial matters

Section: On the Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning punishments and legal rulings

The Obligation of Retaliatory Execution for Killing with a Heavy Object

The Issue of Executing a Muslim in Retaliation for Killing a Dhimmī Unbeliever

The Madhhab of the People of Medina concerning Stoning

The Legitimacy of Financial Penalties

Section: The Madhhab of the People of Medina Concerning Legal Rulings

The Issue of Judging with a Single Witness and an Oath

The Execution of the Sodomite

Islam can stand only when the sword is subordinate to the Book and the Sunnah

Fighting in the Great Fitnah

The Ruling on the Abrogation of the Qur’an by the Sunnah

The Literal and the Metaphorical

On al-Āmidī’s statement that the Usūl scholars disagreed over whether language contains figurative names, etc.

What al-Āmidī Means by “the Usūl scholars”

The First to Compose an Independent Treatise on Usūl al-Fiqh

On the Second Station: The Evidences for the Two Opinions

The Affirmers’ Argument and the Response to It

Homonymy

The Types of Derivation

Derivation of the Verb

Explanation of Allah’s words: “They are nothing but names that you and your fathers have coined”

Section: Nouns such as ẓahr, matn, sāq and kabid may be used only when coupled with a qualifier that identifies the thing to which they are annexed

Answer to the objection: “How can you deny the establishment of lexical homonymy when proof attests to its existence?”

Are the names by which the Creator is called merely figurative when applied to the creature?

What the terms ṣifa, ʿaraḍ, and maʿnā encompass

Section: As for his second proof, it is his statement, “How can that be, when the people of the various lands have always passed down in their speech and writings the designation of this as literal and that as metaphorical?”

Section: As for the argument of the negators, he says: “If it is said, ‘Should there be in the Arabic language a metaphorical expression, its meaning must either be bound to a contextual clue or not bound to one, etc.’”

The harms arising from the unrestricted application of metaphor

Expounding the statement of the one who says, “We do not concede that the denotation has been altered; rather, at most, the word is merely diverted from what its unrestricted form would have indicated to something else by a contextual clue.”

His statement: “How can that be, when the metaphorical and the literal are properties of the words themselves rather than of semantic contextual clues?”

Section: On the claim of the deniers of metaphor that every conceivable form can be conveyed by its own specific literal term, etc.

Section: Completing the matter by discussing his remarks on metaphor in the Qurʾān

Explanation of the Most High’s words: “Rivers flow beneath them” and “The head has blazed with gray hair.”

The Most High’s words: “And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy.”

The Most High’s words: “The pilgrimage is during well-known months.”

The Most High’s words: “Monasteries, churches, and synagogues would surely have been demolished.”

The Most High’s words: “Or one of you comes from the privy.”

The Most High’s words: “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.”

The Most High’s words: “So retaliate against him with the like of what he has done to you.”

The Most High’s words: “And the recompense of an evil deed is an evil deed like it.”

The Most High’s words: “And, O sky, withhold [your rain].”

The Most High’s words: “So Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear.”

Section: Concerning Ibn ʿAqīl’s statement—among their questions is that “the village is the gathering of people.”

Ibn ʿAqīl said: Among our proofs is the Most High’s words: “In a clear Arabic tongue.”

The assertion that a short sūrah contains no miraculous inimitability

The Qurʾān was revealed in the language of the Arabs

Refutation of those who consider connected specification to be metaphorical

Synonymous and Distinct Names

Fundamental Principles of Knowledge and Religion: the Book, the Sunnah, Consensus, and the Obligation to Follow Them

A Question on Qiyās

He was asked about the phrase that often occurs in the discourse of many jurists: “This contradicts qiyās because it is established by a textual proof or by the statement of the Companions, or some of them, etc.”

Sound Qiyās and Unsound Qiyās

Apportionment

Work performed for payment falls into three categories

The scholars’ dispute over the killer’s spoils

The prohibited sharecropping contract

The fundamental principle in all contracts is justice

Section: On those who claim that hawāla contradicts qiyās, and a clarification of their error

Section: On those who claim that qard contradicts qiyās, and a clarification of their error

Section: On those who claim that removing najāsa is contrary to qiyās and similar matters — a demonstration of the unsoundness of that

The reason for prohibiting every predatory beast with fangs and every bird with talons

Ablution after consuming food that the fire has touched

Ablution after touching the penis and touching women

Scholarly disagreement on ablution for impurity exiting from places other than the two passages

Section on cupping and on those who held that breaking the fast because of it is contrary to Qiyās

Section on their statement that the Salam contract is contrary to Qiyās

Section on those who said that the Kitābah contract is contrary to Qiyās

Section on those who said that the Ijārah contract is contrary to Qiyās

By What Is the Marriage Contract Concluded?

Explicit Wording for Divorce

What Should Be Done When Benefit and Harm Conflict?

The Sharīʿa Invalidates Unsound Qiyās

Sale of Non-Existent Property

Sale of Leased Property

Sale of Vegetable Patches

Section: On Those Who Say that Imposing the Blood-Money Is Contrary to Qiyās

Section: On the Two Categories of Rulings Said to Be Contrary to Qiyās

Examples of the Disputed Matters

Whatever one is incapable of performing under the Sharīʿa is exempt from obligation

Their statement concerning the ḥadīth: “The pledged animal may be ridden and milked …”

Whoever alters another’s property so as to frustrate its intended benefit may demand in-kind compensation for it

The Story of David and Solomon’s Arbitration

Qisās for a Slap or a Blow

Whoever mutilates his slave, the slave is emancipated

Section: On their claim that continuing an invalid Hajj is contrary to qiyās

Section: On those who say that eating forgetfully is contrary to qiyās

Whoever eats, assuming night still remains, then learns that dawn has broken

Section: On the statement, “They say that concerning what is narrated from some of the Companions; this is a broad topic,” etc.

Whatever belongs to the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs is authoritative evidence

The ruling on dividing land conquered by force

The view of the Rightly Guided Caliphs concerning the wife of a missing man

The majority deem the removal of the wife’s pudendum from the husband’s ownership a compensable loss

Question: Is it permissible to follow imams such as Hammād ibn Abī Sulaymān, Ibn al-Mubārak, Sufyān al-Thawrī and al-Awzāʿī, and what is the ruling on one who says of them, “These men are not to be heeded”?

The rationale of those who prohibit following the imams

If the Companions—or others—differ on a matter with two opinions, and the Tābiʿūn later agree on one of them, does that constitute ijmāʿ?

Part 21: Fiqh 1 — Purification

Chapter on Water

Section: Prayer is the greatest act of worship, and its key is purification

Purity and impurity are two kinds—lawful and unlawful—corresponding to the lawful and unlawful in foods and beverages

What the Messenger forbade is not an abrogation of the Qur’an but an addition to it

The Sunnah’s concern with spiritual purification

The distinction regarding the invalidation of prayer between the black dog and other beings

Impurities: what is excused and what is not

Liquids and the moisture-free parts of a dead animal

Wiping over leather socks, dry ablution, and non-menstrual bleeding

He was asked about small quantities of water when impurity falls into them, and about their being altered by a pure substance.

Section on water when it is altered by impurity, and the ruling when it is not altered

The Prohibition of Urinating in Standing Water

He was asked about abundant water whose color or taste—or both—change through prolonged standing.

He was asked about a well of abundant water into which an animal had fallen and died

He was asked about a well containing more than two qullahs of water into which a dog, a pig, a sheep, or a camel had fallen

He was asked about a well into which a chicken had fallen and died

He was asked about a well in the middle of the town whose water had changed because of the dung of animals whose meat is eaten

He was asked about flowing water that had been contaminated with dung: is it permissible to perform ablution with it?

He was asked about the authenticity of the ḥadīth of the two qullahs and about a cat’s leftover water

He was asked about someone who dipped his hand into water before washing it

Section: Does dipping one’s hand into water after sleeping, before washing it, render the water impure?

He was asked about water: if someone dips his hand into it, does it become used?

He was asked about a man who bathes beside the cistern or in the bathhouse: does the water become used?

He was asked about a man upon whom the time for prayer arrives and who finds a pool whose water has been standing for a long time, etc.

He was asked about a man who bathes with another man in the bathhouse using the same water: does he become purified?

The ruling on purifying oneself with a woman’s leftover water if she was alone with it

Water falling from a gutter retains its original status

Water heated with an impure substance is not impure, etc.

Flowing water on the bathhouse floor that has dripped from bodies

The ground’s purification by pouring water over it

If pure water is mixed with impure water or confused with it

He was asked about people in a desert whose scant water a dog had lapped

Chapter on Vessels

Chapter on Istinjāʾ

Chapter on the Siwāk

Chapter on Wudūʾ

Chapter on Wiping over the Khuffs

Chapter on the Nullifiers of Ablution

Chapter on the Ritual Bath

Chapter on Dry Ablution (Tayammum)

The meaning of Dry Ablution (Tayammum), the evidence for its prescription, and its being a distinctive privilege of this Ummah

Section: Does Dry Ablution (Tayammum) remove the state of ritual impurity only temporarily, or does that state actually remain?

Section: Concerning ṣaʿīd (earth)—what may and may not be used for Dry Ablution (Tayammum)

He said: Concerning the purport of the wording in the verse on Ablution (Wuḍūʾ) and Dry Ablution (Tayammum)—that everyone who rises for prayer is enjoined to perform the mentioned ablution, wiping, and washing—an explanation of this

Section: Does the command to perform Ablution (Wuḍūʾ) imply that it must be repeated for every prayer?

Section: The meaning of the word “aw” (or) in the verse—does it convey the sense of the conjunction “wa” (and) or of alternative choice, and what legal rulings follow from the difference of opinion?

Section: On minor ritual impurity and its rulings

Sleep—Does it invalidate ablution (Wuḍūʾ)?

Section: On lifting major ritual impurity—does it also lift the minor one?

Section: Is dry ablution (tayammum) allowed only when water is lacking—and does illness not permit it even if death is feared?

Section: Tayammum is the same for both major and minor ritual impurities

Section: Does “touching women” refer to sexual intercourse or something less?

Section: A traveller is not discouraged from having intercourse with his wife even if no water is available

Section: Tayammum lifts ritual impurity until water can be accessed

Section: For one who has relieved himself—must he wash his private parts, or is cleansing with stones sufficient?

Section: The prescribed order in wudūʾ and other acts of worship

Are continuity and prescribed order in the prayer waived in the event of forgetfulness?

When is the prescribed order not waived?

Section: On continuity in reciting al-Fātiha during the prayer

Section: On the manner of dry ablution, and the prescribed order and continuity therein

Question: Does dry ablution (tayammum) substitute for wuduʾ?

Question: Concerning someone who has become junub (in a state of major ritual impurity) and has only cold water he fears will harm him

Prayer Performed Out of Respect for the Time

Section: Opinions concerning dry ablution (tayammum) and its standing in place of wuduʾ

Question: Concerning a man who cannot find water or is unable to use it due to illness or fear of harm

Question: Concerning someone who has become junub, cold water harms him and he finds no alternative—should he perform dry ablution (tayammum) and pray?

Question: Concerning someone who is obliged to perform ghusl, but finds only cold water that would harm him; he therefore performs dry ablution (tayammum), prays, goes to the mosque for a duty incumbent upon him, and then performs ghusl afterward

Question: Concerning a woman whose husband has intercourse with her and who is unable to perform ghusl—may she perform dry ablution (tayammum)?

Question: Concerning a woman who fears cold water—what should she do? Should her husband have intercourse with her and she then perform dry ablution (tayammum), or is it preferable to abstain from intercourse?

Section: If someone fears missing the funeral prayer, the Eid prayer, or the Friday prayer, should he perform dry ablution (tayammum)?

Section: On the permissibility of reciting the Quran, touching the muṣḥaf, and performing voluntary prayers for someone in a state of dry ablution (tayammum)

Question: Concerning someone suffering from ophthalmia who enters a state of janāba and is entirely unable to perform the ritual bath (ghusl), yet can perform wuḍūʾ

Question: Concerning someone who had intimate contact with his wife—may he wait until broad daylight before purifying himself, or should he perform dry ablution (tayammum)?

Question: A woman has an eye ailment and cannot pour cold water on her head for the ritual bath—may she wash her body and perform dry ablution (tayammum) for her head?

Question: Concerning someone who, while on a journey, prayed with his companions after performing dry ablution (tayammum) from janāba for fear of the cold

Question: Concerning someone who incurred janāba and is prevented from using water for several days

Question: A man with a wound in his hand—must he perform dry ablution (tayammum) instead of washing his hands?

Question: Concerning a man in a state of janāba in a place where no soil is available

Question: Concerning someone who wakes up shortly before sunrise while in a state of janāba—should he postpone the prayer or perform dry ablution (tayammum)?

Question: Concerning someone who prayed using dry ablution (tayammum) while in a state of janāba before sunrise and then performed ghusl

Question: Concerning a resident man who wakes up shortly before the prayer time expires—should he perform dry ablution (tayammum) and pray, or wait until he performs ghusl?

Question: If the prayer time begins while one is in a state of janāba and he fears that the time will expire

Question: Concerning a group who arrived at the Friday prayer while some of them had no ablution (wudūʾ), and if they performed it the time would run out

Question: Concerning a traveler who prays with water before him, but obtaining it would cause the (prayer) time to expire

Question: Regarding the regular Sunnah prayers and the obligatory prayer—may both be performed with a single tayammum?

Question: Regarding someone who is holding back urine—should he pray in that state with wudūʾ, or relieve himself and then perform tayammum?

Chapter on Removing Impurity

Section on Removing Impurity Without Water and the Opinions Regarding It

Question: Regarding impurity when it has transformed

Question: Regarding street mud—how is it purified?

Question: Regarding wine when it turns into vinegar

Question: Regarding oil into which impurity falls, such as a mouse that dies in it

Abundant liquid: does it become impure, or does it share the ruling of water?

Section: A ruling established by a cause lapses when the cause lapses, with examples

The impurity of water has two causes

Section: Opinions concerning liquids when impurity falls into them

He was asked about a man who becomes wet from the rain and touches the animals’ foreparts and their saddles

Section: On the butcher’s garment and body, and his place in the mosque

Section: On the slaughtered animal’s blood that remains on the meat, and what of it gets onto utensils and the like, such as the knife

He was asked about a mouse that falls into a large amount of oil

He was asked about oil in a well into which impurity falls

He was asked about a dog lapping milk: does it become pure by being turned into butter?

He was asked about milk in which a dog has lapped: what should be done with it?

He was asked about European cheese and broadcloth, etc.

He was asked about a patient for whom medicine had been cooked, and mouse droppings were found in it.

The Ruling on Human Semen and the Semen of Other Animals

All Substances Are Lawful and Pure

Section: On the Purity of the Dung and Urine of Permissible Animals and Birds, and the Evidences for That

The Hadith of the ‘Urayni People and Their Treatment with Camel Urine and Milk

Seeking Treatment with Prohibited Substances Is Forbidden and the Evidence for That

Praying in Sheep Pens as Evidence of Their Purity

Prohibiting Istinjāʾ with Bones as Evidence of the Impurity of Human Urine and Feces

Pigeon Droppings in al-Masjid al-Haram

Section on Human Semen and the Opinions Regarding It

He was asked about the purity of semen, and—if it is pure—what ruling applies when it mixes with a woman’s vaginal moisture

He was asked about semen—what is its ruling?

He was asked about someone on whose garment water of unknown nature had fallen—does he have to wash it?

He was asked about pottery that is fired with impurity—what is its ruling?

Water heated with impurity

He was asked about the urine of animals whose meat is eaten

He was asked about a baker who heats his oven with dung and bakes

He was asked about the dog—whether it is pure or impure

The Preponderant View

He was asked about a dog that came out of the water and shook water onto something—must it be washed seven times?

He was asked about the water left over by a mule and a donkey

He was asked about clay mixed with donkey dung, and about a roof plastered with that clay upon which water then fell

He was asked: if a mouse urinates on the bedding, may one pray on it?

He was asked about hedgehog quills

Chapter on Menstruation

Part 22: Fiqh 2 — Prayer

Prayer

Question: Was the prayer of those before us like our prayer?

Question about someone who transgresses, drinks wine, and prays

Question about someone who prays while drunk

Section on the principle: Must one make up obligatory acts neglected during disbelief, and what is the ruling on forbidden acts he committed?

Rights owed by a dhimmī are not waived, unlike those of a ḥarbī

Section on an apostate's making up missed acts of worship

Section on a Muslim neglecting obligatory duties before the subsidiary rulings of the Sharīʿa have reached him

Section: Is a Muslim who misinterprets exempt from the Sharīʿa penalty?

Section on committing the prohibited and neglecting the obligatory out of ignorance and turning away from seeking knowledge

If someone intentionally abandons prayer and fasting, must he make them up?

Does the forcible collection of zakāt by the Imām discharge the payer’s obligation?

Section on the conditions that exempt one from the obligation to make up an obligatory act and to refrain from the prohibited

He was asked about people who affiliate themselves with the shaykhs, whom the latter bring to repent of highway robbery and oblige to perform prayer

He was asked about someone who said that children are commanded to perform prayer before reaching puberty

He was asked about people who postpone the night prayer until daytime

Some simplified rulings for performing prayer at its prescribed times

He was asked about a daytime deed for God that is not accepted at night, and a nighttime deed that is not accepted during the day

He was asked about someone who abandons prayer without a valid excuse: is he a Muslim?

Ignorance of the ruling: Is one excused from repeating the act upon becoming aware of it?

Someone who apostatizes from Islam and then returns: must he make up the missed prayers?

Whoever refuses to pray until he is killed is not inwardly acknowledging it

He was asked about someone who is commanded to pray but refuses

Every group that refuses to comply with some of the laws of Islam must be fought

He was asked about someone who orders people to pray but does not pray

He was asked about someone who deliberately missed one obligatory prayer, intending to make it up later

He was asked about someone who neglects prayer but performs the Friday prayer

Chapter on the Adhān and the Iqāmah

Chapter on the Conditions of Prayer

Section on the Prayer Times

Section on Combining the Prayers Because of an Excuse

Section on Combining and Shortening the Prayers during Travel, and on the Ruling for a Traveller Who Completes Them

Section on the Time, which is of Two Kinds: Choice and Need

The Hadith on the Prayer Times and Their Explanation

Reasons for Combining and Shortening the Prayers

The Sunnah’s Stance toward the Book

Asked about the Prophet’s saying: “The best deed with Allah is to perform the prayer at its appointed time.”

Asked: Does the night last until sunrise, and what is the minimum interval between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ?

Asked: Which is preferable, taghlīs or isfār?

Asked about the Prophet’s saying: “Pray Fajr after it becomes light, for that earns a greater reward.”

Asked about a Muslim who abandoned prayer for two years and then repented: is he required to make up the missed prayers?

Miscellaneous Issues Concerning Forgetting Purification

One who abandoned prayer out of ignorance of its obligation

Is the mustahāḍa required to make up her prayers if she omitted them believing they were not obligatory?

He was asked about a man who has missed obligatory prayers: should he also perform their Sunnah prayers, and at what times should he make them up?

He was asked: Which is better—voluntary prayers or making up missed obligatory prayers?

He was asked about someone who mistakenly performed only two rak‘ahs of the Dhuhr prayer and then remembered that during the ‘Asr prayer.

He was asked about someone who missed the ‘Asr prayer, then arrived at the mosque to find that the Maghrib prayer had already begun.

He was asked about someone who entered the mosque while the preacher was delivering the sermon and then made up a prayer he owed.

The Order to be Observed in Missed Prayers

Section on Clothing in Prayer

What Is Meant by Adornment

Section on Clothing in Prayer for Women and Men

He was asked about praying in shoes and the like

He was asked about wearing a qabāʾ in prayer

He was asked about a woman if some of her hair becomes exposed during prayer

He was asked about a woman who prays while the top of her foot is uncovered

Section on Loving Beauty

The Issue of the Grave Sinner within the Faith Community and the Issue of Predestination

He was asked about a person who refrains from silk and fine clothing: does he receive a reward?

The Foundation of Religion Is to Fulfill Obligations and Refrain from Prohibitions

The Prohibition of Wearing Clothing for Ostentation and of Lengthening It Out of Arrogance

He was asked about pure silk: may a tailor sew it for men?

He was asked about a tailor who sews a silk strap with a gold cross for Christians.

Earnings from unlawful activities and how they should be spent

He was asked: Is it permissible to sell and purchase the marʿazī cap?

He was asked about draping the qabāʾ over the shoulders.

He was asked about the length of trousers extending past the ankles.

He was asked about women wearing the kūfiyya and the criterion for their imitation of men.

Women’s Veiling and Concealment

The wisdom behind prohibiting men and women from imitating one another.

He was asked about women wearing turbans.

He was asked about women wearing large headbands.

He was asked about praying in a ritually impure place.

He was asked: Is prayer valid in every place on earth?

He was asked about praying in a bathhouse for fear of missing the prayer time.

He was asked about praying in a bathhouse.

He was asked: May he pray in a bathhouse if he fears the time will pass?

He was asked about praying in churches and synagogues.

He was asked about spreading a prayer rug in the mosque

Praying in sandals—and where to place them if one removes them?

Praying on non-earth materials

One does not search for impurity, nor take precautions about something with no evidence of impurity.

Sending mats to the mosque before going there

Asked about the hadith: the Prophet ﷺ praying on a prayer mat

Asked about someone who appropriates a spot in the mosque

Asked about Christians and Jews entering the mosque, with permission or without

Asked whether prayer in a mosque that contains a grave is valid

Asked about people who reside in the mosque and prevent others from staying with them

Asked about sleeping in the mosque and walking in prayer areas with shoes on

Asked about using the siwāk and combing the beard in the mosque

Asked: Is it permissible to slaughter sacrificial animals in the mosque or to wash the dead there, etc.

Asked about teaching children in the mosque or washing the dead there, etc.

Asked about those who talk excessively outside the mosque while the Qur’an is being recited inside

Asked about begging in the mosque

Section on facing the qibla, and that what is meant is the direction

Asked: Where does the intention reside, and should it be uttered aloud?

Changing the intended act is obligatory

Asked: A person who leaves his house intending to perform purification or prayer—must he set his intention at the moment of the act?

Asked: Must the intention accompany the takbīr?

Asked: About the intention when entering into acts of worship

Asked: About someone who was forbidden to verbalize the intention and said, “It is a good innovation.”

Asked: About someone who disturbs the worshippers by loudly uttering the intention

Asked: About two men who disputed over the obligation of the intention

Asked: About the Prophet’s saying, “A person’s intention is more far-reaching than his deed.”

Asked: About a Hanafi who departed from his school in certain prayer postures

Whoever adheres to a madhhab and then sees a stronger view elsewhere and follows it—this is commendable

Disagreement on certain subsidiary matters of the Sharia does not break fellowship

Sectarian bigotry for madhhabs is a cause of division and strife

He was asked about a Shāfiʿī who keeps repeating the takbīr while the people stand behind him

He was asked about a man who, when he prays at night, intends “the portion of the night”

He was asked: Is it permissible to follow in prayer a congregant who had been led by a previous imam?

Chapter on the Description of Prayer

He was asked about someone who walked to the Friday prayer hurriedly, and whether the “saʿy” referred to in the verse means running.

He was asked about those who hasten to the pillars ahead of the people.

He was asked about worshipers who do not straighten the rows.

He was asked about what is best in certain matters of worship.

Disputed matters in acts of worship fall into four categories

Matters in which it is established that the Prophet ﷺ prescribed both alternatives

Matters in which it is established that some forms are superior to others, even though all are acts of worship

Matters in which it is established that the Prophet ﷺ prescribed both alternatives, while some scholars prohibited or disliked one of them because the evidence had not reached them

Matters over which the scholars differed, some declaring it obligatory while others prohibited it or deemed it disliked

Anything forbidden as a preventive measure may be done for an overriding benefit

Night prayer and fasting by day, and what is most virtuous therein

Types of religious innovations

What is best varies with people’s differing circumstances

The Prophet’s ﷺ guidance regarding food, drink, and clothing

The imam’s effort to emulate the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer

Ablution after every minor impurity

Maintaining the regular practices observed by the Messenger ﷺ

The Messenger ﷺ is a model for the community in Allah’s commands and prohibitions—unless evidence proves the command was meant exclusively for him

Some of his distinctive characteristics ﷺ

Refining, deriving and verifying the legal basis—the essence of ijtihād

Section on acts of worship transmitted in various forms

Acts of worship the Messenger performed as legislation and over which there is disagreement

Section on the Prayer of Fear, the basmala—whether it belongs to the Qur’an—and other issues

Principle on the outward characteristics of acts of worship over which the Ummah has differed in transmission and opinion

Section: Division and disagreement are eliminated through the Sunnah and the Jama‘ah

The Jama‘ah: most disagreement concerns recommended and disliked matters

Section: Types of Opening Invocations for Prayer

Supplications after the Tashahhud

Section: The sūrah “Qul Huwa Allāhu Aḥad” is superior to the sūrah “Qul Yā Ayyuhā al-Kāfirūn”

Mentioning the Prophet in the sermon—an indispensable element

Section: On the best opening supplication

Section: The places where takbīr is prescribed

Section: The supplication in al-Fātiha—“Guide us to the straight path,” the servants’ exclusive aim

He was asked about the ruling on the opening supplication of prayer

He was asked about someone who recites the ta'awwudh aloud after the takbīrat al-ihrām

Section: On the description of prayer and on the basmala being one of its rites

Omitting recommended acts is permissible for reconciling hearts

He was asked about the two hadīths: one on reciting the basmala aloud and the other on not reciting it aloud

There is no explicit or authentic ḥadīth on reciting it aloud

Incidental aloud recitation for teaching purposes is not proof

The ḥadīth on Muʿāwiyah’s recitation of the basmala is weak

Chain of transmission for the aloud recitation of the basmala

Opinions on the basmala’s being part of the Qur’an

Asked about the basmala—whether it is a verse of the Qur’an

Asked about someone who mispronounces al-Fātiḥa—Is his prayer valid?

Asked about someone who recites with no one to correct his mispronunciation

Asked about someone who pronounces a genitive word in the accusative case during his prayer

Asked about someone who recites according to a shaykh’s reading—Is it permissible for him to switch to another reading?

Asked about the report that the Prophet ﷺ recited Sūrat al-Aʿrāf or Sūrat al-Anʿām in the Maghrib prayer

Asked about raising the hands after bowing

Asked about the Prophet’s saying: “No fortune avails its possessor against You.”

Asked about someone who, when prostrating during prayer, steps back two steps

Asked about someone who braces against the ground by placing his knees before his hands, or vice versa

Asked about the ḥadīth on prostration, and the meaning of kaf and kaft

Asked about a congregant who performs the jalsat al-istirāḥa rest sitting while the imam does not

Asked about raising the hands when getting up from the sitting after the second rakʿa

Asked about ḥadīths concerning invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ in the final tashahhud

Asked about invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, and whether it is preferable to do so silently or aloud

Asked about someone who invokes blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ and says, “until none of Your blessings remains”

Asked whether invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ is an obligatory duty at all times

Asked about the Prophet’s ﷺ saying, “Whoever invokes blessings upon me once, Allah will invoke blessings upon him ten times.”

Asked whether invoking blessings upon someone other than the Prophet ﷺ is permissible

Section: The preferred supplication in prayer is the narrated one

Prohibition of translating the Qur’an, since its wording is intended

Asked whether supplication should be made after the obligatory prayers, the Sunnah prayers, or after the tashahhud

Asked about someone who said: Supplication is permissible only with the ninety-nine names

Asked about someone who said: When a servant supplicates, he should not say, “O Allah, O Rahmān.”

Asked about a woman who clung to the wording of the ḥadīth, “O Allah, I am Your servant,” and did not say, “O Allah, I am Your female servant.”

Asked about someone who made a grammatically incorrect supplication, and was told: “Your supplication is not accepted.”

Section: On the preferred ruling regarding the concluding salām in prayer

Asked about someone who gave the salām to his right and then supplicated

Chapter on Remembrance after the Prayer

Chapter on What Is Disliked in the Prayer

Part 23: Fiqh 3 — Continuation of Prayer

Chapter on Sujūd al-Sahw (the Prostration of Forgetfulness)

Chapter on Salāt al-Tatawwuʿ (Voluntary Prayer)

He was asked: Which is better—seeking the Qur’an or seeking knowledge?

He was asked: Regarding repeated recitation of the Qur’an versus reviewing fiqh, which of the two is better and brings greater reward?

He was asked: Which is better—reciting the Qur’an or engaging in istighfār, adhkār, tahlīl and tasbīḥ?

He was asked: Which is better—a Qur’an reciter who does not act upon it, or a worshipper?

He was asked: Which is better—listening to the Qur’an or performing voluntary (nafl) prayer?

He was asked: Which is better when one rises at night—prayer or Qur’an recitation?

He was asked about a man who seeks reward: Which is better for him—reciting the Qur’an or engaging in dhikr and tasbīḥ?

He was asked about someone who recites the Qur’an aloud in the mosque while others are performing a sunnah prayer or the mosque-greeting prayer: what is the ruling?

He was asked about standing up for the muṣḥaf and kissing it.

Section: Which is superior—frequent bowing and prostration, or prolonged standing?

Evidence for the superiority of prolonged standing

Prostration is superior to standing in several respects

What is the ruling if an illiterate person is unable to recite or make dhikr?

Supplication during prostration is superior to other supplications

Section: On the verses in which God mentions night prayer

The ruling on night prayer and Witr

He was asked about a man who did not perform Witr after the ʿIshāʾ prayer: is it permissible for him to omit it?

He was asked whether a man who is traveling and shortening his prayers must perform Witr or not.

He was asked about someone who slept through the Witr prayer

He was asked about a Shāfiʿī imam who leads a congregation of Ḥanafīs and Shāfiʿīs, and at Witr only the Ḥanafīs remain

He was asked about praying two rakʿahs after Witr

Section: The ruling on someone who does not persist in praying two rakʿahs after Witr while seated (“Ṣalāt al-Zaḥāfa”)

He was asked about the Prophet’s Qunūt and at what time it was performed

Section: Explaining the categories of people regarding Qunūt

Epistle on the Qunūt of the Dawn Prayer

He was asked: Is performing Qunūt in the Dawn Prayer always a Sunnah, and is the ḥadīth “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ continued to perform qunūt until he passed away” authentic?

The Opinions on Qunūt

The Evidence of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and His Caliphs Concerning Qunūt

The Scholars’ Disagreement over the Amount of Qiyām in Ramadan

The Scholars’ Opinions on Which Is Preferable: Lengthening the Standing or Increasing the Bowings and Prostrations?

He Was Asked about the Prophet’s ﷺ Statement: “It Is Not Permissible for a Man Who Leads a People in Prayer to Single Himself Out for Supplication …”

He Was Asked about Salāt al-Tarāwīḥ after Maghrib

He Was Asked about the Practice of Some Imams Who Recite Sūrat al-Anʿām in Ramadan in a Single Rakʿah on Friday Night

He Was Asked about People Who Pray Two Rakʿahs in Congregation after al-Tarāwīḥ and Then Pray a Full Hundred Rakʿahs Late at Night, Calling That Salāt al-Qadr

He Was Asked: Have Any Hadiths Been Reported from the Prophet ﷺ Regarding the Sunnah Prayer of ʿAsr?

He Was Asked: Is There an Established Sunnah Prayer for ʿAsr or Not?

He Was Asked: Is the Sunnah Prayer of ʿAsr Recommended?

He Was Asked: Should the Established Sunnah Prayers Be Made Up?

He Was Asked: About Someone Who Does Not Regularly Perform the Established Sunnah Prayers?

He Was Asked: Does the Traveler’s Prayer Have a Sunnah?

He Was Asked About the Prayer Performed After the Maghrib Adhān and Before the Obligatory Prayer

He Was Asked: Is the Prayer of a Seated Person Considered Half the Prayer of a Standing Person?

He Was Asked About the Meaning of the Prophet’s Saying, “Do not turn your houses into graves.”

He Was Asked About the Mid-Shaʿbān Prayer

The Raghaib Prayer and Its Ruling

Section: On Qurʾānic Prostration

The Types of Qurʾānic Prostration

The Dispute over the Obligation of the Prostration of Recitation

Section: That His verses must be understood and reflected upon so that one may know what they contain

The Obligation of Tasbīḥ

The Meaning of the Most High’s Words: “And when the Qur’an is recited to them, they do not prostrate.”

The Opinions Concerning the Obligation of the Udhiyah

Section: That the Qurʾānic prostration is legislated with neither opening takbīr nor closing taslīm

He was asked about a man reciting the Qurʾān in a gathering; when he came to a verse of prostration he rose to his feet and prostrated—Is rising to stand better than prostrating while seated, or not?

He was asked about someone who says that the prostration of recitation may be performed without ablution.

He was asked about the istikhārah supplication—should it be made during the prayer or after the taslīm?

Section on the prohibited times and the dispute over prayers with specific causes

The prohibition is not universal to all prayers

Should prayers missed because of sleep or forgetfulness be made up during the prohibited times?

Section on the permissibility of ṭawāf and its two-rakʿah prayer during the prohibited times

What is forbidden as a preventive measure is allowed for an overriding benefit

Section on repeating the prayer during the prohibited time

Section on performing the funeral prayer after Fajr and after ʿAṣr

The ruling on cause-based prayers during the prohibited times, such as Tahiyyat al-Masjid, Sujūd al-Tilāwa, and the eclipse prayer

Section on the prohibition at ʿAṣr being contingent upon the ʿAṣr prayer

Is the prohibition at Fajr contingent upon the Fajr prayer?

Section on scholars’ opinions regarding prayer at midday on Friday

Section on prayers with specific causes being performed during prohibited times

Asked about someone performing voluntary prayers during a prohibited time, whom a man tried to stop by citing the ḥadīth, but he did not desist

Asked about a man who enters the mosque during a prohibited time: is it permissible for him to perform the mosque-greeting prayer?

Asked about the mosque-greeting prayer: should it be performed during the prohibited times or not?

Asked about someone who performed ablution before sunrise and again before sunset, having already prayed Fajr: is it permissible for him to offer a prayer of gratitude for the ablution?

Chapter on Salāt al-Jamāʿa (Congregational Prayer)

Asked about the ruling on congregational prayer; if it is an individual obligation and one prays alone without excuse, is his prayer valid or not?

Prayer at graveside shrines and similar places

Scholars disagreed about congregational prayer: is it an individual obligation, a communal obligation, or a confirmed Sunnah?

What is the ruling on someone who prays alone without excuse, according to the opinion that deems it obligatory?

Proofs cited by those who deny that it is obligatory

Proofs cited by those who affirm that it is obligatory

He was asked about congregational prayer: is it obligatory or Sunnah?

Section: On Whoever Abandons Congregational Prayer Without a Legitimate Excuse

Section: Concerning congregational prayer—follow what the Book, the Sunnah, and the Companions’ statements establish, namely that it is obligatory when no excuse exists and waived when an excuse is present

He was asked about people who hear the call to prayer and do not respond; among them are those who pray at home and others who are not seen praying at all.

He was asked about a man who is emulated in abandoning congregational prayer.

He was asked about a man who lives next to the mosque yet does not attend the congregational prayer, excusing himself with his shop.

He was asked about two men who disputed over the solitary prayer.

He was asked about a man who caught the end of a congregational prayer, with another congregation to follow; which of the two is better for him?

He was asked about a man who had performed his obligatory prayer, then went to a mosque where a congregation was praying; may he join the congregation as a make-up prayer?

He was asked about the ḥadīth of Yazīd ibn al-Aswad: “I witnessed the Messenger of God …,” and the ḥadīth of Salmān ibn Sālim: “I saw ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar sitting on the courtyard paving …”

He was asked about someone who arrives after the prayer has already begun: which is preferable—joining the obligatory prayer straightaway, or first performing the sunna and then catching up with the imam? And are the two rakʿas of Fajr a sunna linked to the dawn prayer or not?

He was asked about recitation behind the imam

Is reciting while the imam is quietly reciting al-Fātiḥa obligatory for the follower or merely recommended?

Opinions concerning recitation behind the imam and the evidence for each opinion

Scholars’ disagreement regarding the imam’s silence

Section: The follower neither recites the opening supplication nor the taʿawwudh while the imam is reciting aloud

Section: Recitation when the imam’s recitation is not audible

Evidence cited by those who deem recitation in audible prayers obligatory

The Imam’s statement on the ḥadīth: “There is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.”

Abū Hurayra’s statement: “Recite it to yourself, O Persian …”

Section on the scholars’ opinions concerning recitation behind the imam

The evidence advanced by those who dislike reciting while listening to the imam’s recitation

The answer to those who claim that the verse, “And when the Qur’an is recited, listen to it,” applies only to recitations other than Sūrat al-Fātiha

Clarification of what is meant by his ﷺ words: “I thought that some of you were contending with me for it.”

Section: People’s positions on reciting behind the imam—two extremes and a middle path

He was asked about the follower’s recitation behind the imam: is it permissible or not?

He was asked what suffices to catch the Friday prayer and the congregational prayer.

He was asked about someone who rises before the imam and lowers before him; though forbidden, he does not desist—what is the ruling on his prayer?

He was asked about shaking hands after the prayer: is it a Sunnah or not?

Chapter on al-Imāma (Leading the Prayer)

He was asked about leading the prayer: is it preferable to perform it or to leave it?

He was asked about two men: one is a Qur’an memorizer and preacher who attends gatherings with the duff and the shabbāba, while the other is a scrupulous scholar—so which of them is more entitled to lead the prayer?

Section: On praying behind people of heterodox whims and innovations and behind the immoral

Does a Qadarī become a disbeliever?

Section: On someone who does not recite al-Fātiḥa properly—may one pray behind him?

Section: On praying behind the Marāziqa and on their innovation

Section: On praying behind an innovator

Asked about the ruling on praying behind someone who consumes hashish

Asked about the innovation that prevents praying behind its practitioner

Asked about an imam who, in his sermon, declares: “Allah spoke with an eternal, pre-existent speech, neither letter nor sound.” Does the Friday prayer behind him suffice or not, and what is incumbent upon him?

Asked: Is prayer behind an imam who has killed his cousin valid?

Asked: Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who is a killer?

Asked about praying behind an imam who enticed a woman away from her husband until she left him, and now secludes himself with her

Asked: Is prayer behind an imam who recites over the deceased valid?

Asked: Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who spits in the mihrab?

Asked about a jurist-scholar who has completed the Qur’an but suffers from a disability—his left arm is fixed behind him from the shoulder and he has fleshy finger stumps—what is the ruling on praying behind him?

Asked: Is prayer behind a eunuch valid?

Asked about a man who lacks sufficient means and leads the prayer for hire—Is that permissible?

Asked about a man who is a supervisor of boats and has built a mosque, etc.

Asked about an imām who is not of upright character, and about another man in the town who dislikes praying behind him—Is that man’s prayer valid or not?

Asked about a man who, unwittingly, led the prayer as imām without ablution, or while bearing an impurity he did not know of—Is his own prayer valid or not, and what is the ruling concerning the congregation’s prayer behind him?

Section: On the opinions regarding the follower’s prayer being contingent upon the imam’s prayer

Asked about a man who leads a congregation while most of them dislike him

Asked about the adherents of the four madhhabs: Is the prayer of some of them behind others valid?

Asked: Is the follower’s prayer valid behind someone whose madhhab differs from his?

Asked: May a Shāfiʿī follow a Hanafī—and vice-versa—in the witr prayer and in combining prayers because of rain, or not?

Asked: If someone joins the imam for part of the prayer, then stands to make up what he missed and others follow him as their imam, is that permissible or not?

Asked about an imam who leads the obligatory prayer for the congregation, then performs another prayer afterward saying, “This is to make up a prayer you missed”; is this permissible?

Section: Concerning someone who has already performed the obligatory prayer—whether as imam, follower, or individually—may he lead in that same prayer those who are still performing their obligation?

The ruling on offering the Ishāʾ prayer behind someone who is leading the Ramadan night prayer (Qiyām al-Ramadan)

Asked about a man who prayed with the imam, then attended another congregation and led them as imam—Is that permissible or not?

Asked: Is it permissible to follow in prayer behind an imam of two mosques?

Asked about one who offers the obligatory prayer behind someone who is praying a voluntary prayer

Asked about a man who, out of precaution, performs an act whose obligation he doubts: may someone offering an obligatory prayer follow him?

Asked about someone who came upon a congregation praying the noon (zuhr) prayer and wanted to make up … etc.

Asked about someone who came upon the prayer already in progress and intended to follow the imam … etc.

Asked about someone who prayed alone behind the row: is his prayer valid or not?

Asked about relaying aloud behind the imam … etc.

Asked: Is it permissible to pronounce the takbīr behind the imam?

Asked: Is relaying aloud behind the imam recommended or is it an innovation?

Asked: Is the prayer valid if performed in front of the imam or behind him inside the mosque with a barrier between them, or not?

Section: On the follower’s prayer behind the imam outside the mosque, with a barrier between them or not?

Asked: About someone who prays with the imam while a barrier stands between them so that he cannot see him—does his prayer remain valid or not?

Asked: About an imam leading the prayer with a congregation behind him and another in front of him—are the prayers of those who stand ahead valid?

Asked: About the shops adjoining the congregational mosque that belong to the market vendors—if the prayer rows extend into them, is it permissible to perform the Friday prayer in their shops?

Asked: About performing the Friday prayer in marketplaces, shops, and streets by choice—does it remain valid or not?

Asked: About a congregational mosque next to the marketplace such that its takbīr can be heard—may the Friday prayer be held in the market, on the market roof, or in the shops, or not?

Asked: About a man who gathered a congregation for a supererogatory prayer and led them from the beginning of Rajab to the end of Ramadan, praying with them between Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ twenty rakʿas with ten taslīms, etc.

Part 24: Fiqh 4 — Continuation of Prayer – Funerals

Chapter on the Prayer of Those with Excuses

Asked: About an elderly man whose limbs have grown weak, unable to perform istinjāʾ or rise from sujūd

Asked: Is it permissible for a woman to pray seated while she is able to stand?

Asked: Is shortening the prayer while traveling a sunnah or an obligation?

Asked: Has the Prophet ﷺ specified a fixed distance for shortening the prayer?

Asked: If someone travels a distance estimated at three days or three parasangs, is it permissible for him to combine and shorten the prayers, or not?

Asked: If someone undertakes a one-day journey during Ramadan, may he shorten the prayers and break the fast?

Asked about a man who traveled to a town intending to stay for a month: should he perform the full prayer or not?

Asked about a man who went out to a deserted place because of a fever, knowing he would stay for two months: may he shorten the prayers, and is performing them in full preferable?

Asked: Is combining the prayers better, or shortening them?

The Prayer Times of Those with Excuses

Asked about combining the prayers and what the Prophet ﷺ used to do

Asked about combining the two night prayers in the rain: is it permissible because of cold?

Asked about an imam who refused to combine the prayers when it was raining

Section: Prayers in Contingent Circumstances

Principle concerning the rulings that vary between travel and residence, and the distinction between long and short journeys

The travel limit on which the Lawgiver conditioned breaking the fast and shortening the prayers

Combining Prayers for Pilgrims

Prayer on a Mount while Traveling

Conjoining the Prayers When Combining Them

The Degrees of Combining the Prayers

Combining the Prayers on Account of Rain and Other Reasons

Combining the Prayers without Fear or Travel

Completing the Discussion on the Shortening of the Prayer and the Reason Why ʿUthmān Performed the Full Prayer at Minā

The Disagreement over Praying Four Rakʿahs while Traveling

Interpreting the Practice of ʿUthmān and ʿĀʾisha

Those Who Say: “The Traveler’s Obligation Is Four Rakʿahs, and He May Omit Two.”

Travel in the Book and the Sunna Regarding Shortening the Prayer and Breaking the Fast Is Unrestricted

Does prohibited fighting make the Prayer of Fear permissible?

Disagreement over the measure of time and distance

Residence—Is It Defined by a Certain Number of Days?

Is the Friday Prayer obligatory for the resident who has settled after traveling (the settler)?

The View of Those Who Hold That a Traveler May Perform the Full Prayer

The View of Those Who Maintain That the Prophet Did Not Combine the Prayers During Hajj Except at ʿArafah

The Reason ʿUthmān and ʿĀʾishah Performed the Full Prayer During Hajj

Chapter on the Friday Prayer

A Letter from the Imām to the People of Bahrayn Urging Them to Establish the Friday Prayer

The Difference Between Desert Dwellers and Tent Dwellers

Disapproval of Disputation Leading to Disagreement and Division

Section: Is residency a condition for the Friday Prayer and the two ʿĪd prayers?

Women Going Out to the ʿĪd Prayer Ground

Is the ʿĪd Prayer an Individual Obligation or a Communal Duty?

Question regarding residents fewer than forty in number: Is the Friday Prayer obligatory for them?

Question about praying after the first adhān

Refraining from the prayer after the first adhān when people believe it obligatory

Reciting Aloud in the Funeral Prayer

Section: The Sunnah after the Friday Prayer

He was asked about a man who set out for the Friday Prayer after the iqāma had been pronounced: should he run or proceed calmly?

He was asked about the prayer on Friday that includes a prostration: is it obligatory to perform it consistently?

He was asked about someone who recited Sūrat al-Sajda on Friday: is the intended purpose the prostration?

He was asked about someone who caught one rakʿa of the Friday Prayer and then rose to make up what he had missed.

He was asked about holding the Friday Prayer in the Citadel Mosque: is it permissible?

He was asked about the Friday Prayer when it falls on the day of ʿĪd

He was asked about a man who said: when Friday coincides with the day of ʿĪd, one may choose either to perform the Friday Prayer or to leave it

He was asked about a sermon delivered between two prayers, both obligatory at their appointed time

He was asked: has any ḥadīth been reported concerning the recitation of Sūrat al-Kahf after the ʿAṣr prayer or not?

He was asked about the statement concerning spreading a prayer rug in the Noble Rawda

He was asked about the muezzin’s words after the imam enters the mosque, after the second adhān, and after the imam ascends the pulpit.

He was asked about a muezzin who, upon the preacher’s entry, says: “Indeed Allah and His angels …”

Chapter on the Two ʿĪd Prayers

He was asked: Must a specific recitation be used in the two ʿĪd prayers? What should be said between each pair of takbīrs?

He was asked about the form of the takbīr and its timing.

He was asked about the takbīr in ʿĪd al-Fiṭr: is it more than in ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā?

Section: On the Most High’s words, “that you may complete the number” (the verse)

Takbīr after the prayers

The legal prescription to say Takbīr on every momentous occasion

The best words after the Qur’an

What is preferred in general is not necessarily the best in every situation

Section: The Eid Takbīr combines Tahmīd with Tasbīḥ, and Tahlīl with Takbīr

The different forms of worship do not imply that one mode is invalid and another sound

Consistency or variation in acts of worship — which is better?

He was asked about offering Eid greetings and the phrases people say—do they have any basis?

Chapter on the Eclipse Prayer

Book of Funerals

He was asked about a group living alongside Christians: is it permissible for Muslims to visit their sick and follow their funeral processions?

He was asked about the bile of slaughtered animals—whether their meat is lawful to eat or forbidden—and whether it is permissible to use that bile for medical treatment or not.

He was asked: Is it permissible to use wine for medical treatment?

He was asked about someone who says that it is permissible to use wine for medical treatment.

He was asked about a man for whom pig fat was prescribed for an ailment that afflicted him.

He was asked about someone who treats himself with wine and pork out of necessity.

He was asked about someone for whom dog meat was prescribed as a remedy on the doctor’s orders.

He was asked about the jinn and their seizure of humans, and about treating that with ruqyahs and protective invocations.

Section: Whoever has not discerned the nature of the jinn should not deny their existence.

He was asked about someone who utters words such as “Yā Azrān”: have these names been mentioned in any report?

He was asked about someone afflicted with pain; when it becomes severe he seeks help from Allah—does this conflict with patience?

He was asked about a sick person living among healthy people—may they expel him?

He was asked about offering the funeral prayer over someone who had abandoned the prescribed prayers at the time of his death

He was asked about someone who prays at times and neglects it at others—should the funeral prayer be performed for him when he dies?

Section: The Prophet’s refusal to perform the funeral prayer over someone who owed a debt

He was asked about a slave who fled and then returned, and then killed himself—should the funeral prayer be performed for him?

He was asked about someone who claims to be a shaykh, then upon seeing a snake seized it, and the snake killed him—should the funeral prayer be performed for him?

He was asked about a man who went to sea for trade and drowned—does he count as a martyr?

He was asked about raising one’s voice during a funeral procession

He was asked about a Christian woman married to a Muslim who died while pregnant—should she be buried in Muslim graveyards or not?

He was asked about prompting the deceased after burial

He was asked: Is the deceased to be prompted after burial?

He was asked: Is prompting the deceased—adult or child—prescribed or not?

He was asked about completing the Qur’an for the deceased and about the reciters.

He was asked about placing a muṣḥaf at the grave.

He was asked whether relocating the deceased is permissible or not.

He was asked about a people who had a burial plot in one place and then built another; is it permissible for them to relocate their deceased to the new site?

He was asked about what people say: that God has angels who move the dead from Muslim cemeteries to the cemeteries of non-Muslims, and vice versa.

He was asked about God’s words, “and that man will have nothing but what he strives for,” and the Prophet’s saying, “When the son of Adam dies…,” the ḥadīth.

He was asked about reciting over the deceased and taking payment for it

Building Mosques over Graves

Graves in Shrines and Rubbing against the Grave

He was asked about someone who recites the Qur’an: should he dedicate its reward to others, or keep it for himself?

He was asked about someone who repeats the tahlīl seventy thousand times, and then dedicates it to a deceased person

He was asked about the recitation performed by the relatives of the deceased: does it reach the deceased?

He was asked: does the recitation performed by the child reach the deceased?

He was asked about someone who left his parents as unbelievers and does not know whether they embraced Islam or not: is it permissible for him to supplicate for them?

Chapter on Visiting Graves

Part 25: Fiqh 5 — Zakāh – Fasting

The Book of Zakāh

The Book’s Preface

The Degrees of Religion

Section: The Sunnah’s Clarification and Detailed Explanation of the Book

Section: Mālik’s arrangement of the Zakāh ḥadīths and his listing of the categories on which it is due

Section: A Summary of the Things on Which Zakāh Is Obligatory

Section: The Nisāb of Silver and Gold

Section: May gold be combined with silver so that together they constitute a single nisāb?

Section: A full lunar year is a prerequisite for Zakāh to be obligatory on cash and livestock

Section: Zakāh on Trade Goods

Section: On Jewelry

Section: Zakāh on an Orphan’s Property

Section: No Zakāh Is Due on Usurped Property until It Is Recovered

Section: Zakāh on Minerals

Section: Debt Cancels Zakāh on Capital Assets

Section: Is Zakāh Due on Honey?

Section: Zakāh on Crops

Section: Wheat, Barley, and Hulled Barley Are Combined

Section: On Estimating Measures and Dirhams

Section: One Who Donates Fruit After It Has Begun to Ripen

Section: The Nisāb for Crops

Section: Zakāh on the Owner of the Crop

Section: Concerning Debt Owed by the Owner of Crops and Fruits

Section: Concerning Zakāh from the Sale Price of Certain Fruits

Section: Concerning Zakāh on Livestock

Section: Zakāh is not taken from defective animals, nor are separated animals to be combined.

Section: Concerning Zakāh on Pasturing Sheep

Section: Concerning Zakāh on Cattle

Section: Concerning Zakāh on Buffalo

Section: Concerning the Commingling of Livestock

Section: Concerning the Breeding of Livestock

Section: Disbursing the Zakāh of Each Locality in Its Own Place

Section: Concerning the Distribution of Ṣadaqāt

Section: The Second Principle — Zakāh

Zakāh on the Awqāṣ of Camels

Zakāh on the Muʿasharāt

The Measure of the Ṣāʿ and the Mudd

Abū Ḥanīfa’s Opinion on Zakāh and His Expansive Approach to Declaring It Obligatory

Section: Ownership as a Condition for Zakāh

Section: Paying Monetary Equivalents in Zakāh

He was asked about a woman’s dowry she is afraid to claim—Is Zakāh due on it?

He was asked about a man who owns camels and buys pasture for them

The Nisāb for Sheep

He was asked about a man who owns sheep that have not reached the nisāb—Is Zakāh due on them during the year?

He was asked about a village with farmers: half of them own sheep on which Zakāh is obligatory, while the other half have no sheep

Chapter: Zakāh on Agricultural Produce

Chapter: Sadaqat al-Fitr

Chapter: Disbursing Zakāh

Book of Fasting

Treatise on the Crescent Moon

The Treatise’s Prefatory Sermon

The Reason for This Sermon

Acting on Astronomical Calculation and Its Ruling

Earlier religious laws followed the crescent moons

Terminological Definitions of the Month, the Year, and the Day

Section: The start of the month is reckoned by the crescent moon, and the rest of the month by counting.

Section: The way to determine the crescent moon is through sighting

Forms of exclusivity and their benefit

Implications of the hadith: “We are an unlettered nation”

Did the Messenger of Allah write the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyya in his own hand?

Disagreement over fasting on the Day of Doubt

Using calculation is deemed an innovation by the scholars

Refutation of those who advocate using calculation

Rational proof that the Crescent Moon is known through sighting

The Roundness of the Celestial Spheres

The Hadith of Idlāʾ and al-Tirmidhī’s Interpretation of It

Refutation of Astrology

He was asked about the inhabitants of a city who sighted the Dhū al-Hijjah crescent moon, yet it was not confirmed by the judge

Standing at Arafah by Mistake

If the Shawwāl crescent moon is sighted; if the Dhū al-Hijjah crescent moon is sighted

He was asked: Should objection be raised against someone who fasts while traveling?

If One Travels or Arrives During the Day

He was asked about a traveler who suffers no hunger, thirst, or fatigue while fasting

He was asked about a Hanafī who believes that the fast is invalid unless the intention is formed before the ʿIshāʾ prayer or at suḥūr time

He was asked: Does the fasting person need to form an intention each day?

He was asked: Does the fasting person break his fast as soon as the sun sets?

He was asked: About someone who ate after the dawn adhān, what is the ruling?

He was asked: About someone who faints whenever he intends to fast

He was asked: About a pregnant woman who saw something resembling menstruation

Section: On what breaks the fast and what does not

Eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse break the fast by consensus

Menstruation and the entry of water through the nose break the fast

Vomiting

What does not break the fast

Whoever commits a prohibited act out of forgetfulness or error

A fasting person’s presumption of sunset on a cloudy day

Kohl, enemas and related matters, and the scholarly disagreement about them

The Messenger clarified the rulings the Ummah needs

The ruling on cupping for the fasting person

The cupper breaks his fast when blood reaches his stomach

He was asked about a man who had intercourse with his wife while hearing someone taking suḥūr, unsure whether the adhān had been called.

He was asked about a man who intended to have intercourse with his wife and broke his fast by eating

He was asked about a man who broke his fast during the day and then had intercourse with his wife

He was asked about a man who had intercourse with his wife at dawn, thinking the night had not yet ended

He was asked about a man who kissed his wife and pre-ejaculated

He was asked about someone who broke the fast deeming it permissible

He was asked about rinsing the mouth and nose, using the siwāk, and tasting food

He was asked about someone who underwent bloodletting for a headache while fasting

He was asked about bloodletting during Ramadan

He was asked about a deceased person whom the month of Ramadan reached during his illness

Question on Moderation in Acts of Worship

Worship that Causes Harm—Doing the Obligatory Act Is More Beneficial

Moderation in Worship and Voluntary Acts

Ruling on someone who vows an act of worship—such as fasting for half of his lifetime—that exhausts his mind and body

His statement: “I want to kill myself for the sake of Allah”

Reward Is Commensurate with the Usefulness and Benefit of the Deed

He Was Asked about Laylat al-Qadr

He Was Asked about Laylat al-Qadr and Laylat al-Isrāʾ: Which of Them Is Superior?

He Was Asked about the First Ten Days of Dhū al-Hijjah and the Last Ten Nights of Ramadān: Which of Them Is Superior?

He Was Asked about the Day of ʿArafah, Friday, ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, and ʿĪd al-Naḥr: Which of Them Is Superior?

He Was Asked about Friday and the Day of ʿĪd al-Naḥr: Which of Them Is Superior?

He Was Asked about the Best of Days

He Was Asked about Someone Who Vowed to Fast on Monday and Thursday, Then Chose Instead to Fast One Day and Break the Fast the Next

He Was Asked about What Has Been Reported Concerning the Reward of the Three Months and of Iʿtikāf

Section: Reconciling ʿĀʾisha’s Statement on Iʿtikāf with the Prophet’s ﷺ Omission of It for Three Years

He Was Asked about Someone Who Performs a Complete Qurʾān Recitation on the Prophet’s ﷺ Mawlid

He Was Asked about What People Do on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, Such as Applying Kohl and Henna

Fabricated Hadiths on the Merit of ʿĀshūrāʾ

Sects among the People of Kūfa: Rāfiḍa and Nāṣiba

Al-Ḥasan’s Bayʿa and His Abdication from the Caliphate

Fasting on ʿĀshūrāʾ

He was asked about the innovations practiced on the Thursday at the end of the Christians’ fast

He said: Some reprehensible practices of the Christians’ religion

What most corrupts kings and states is obedience to women

Umar’s prohibition against employing a Christian scribe

Question about Muslims who prepare food like the Christians on Nayrūz and other festivals

Is it permissible to eat what they slaughter for their festivals?

Part 26: Fiqh 6 — Hajj

Question about ʿUmra: Is it obligatory, and what is the evidence?

Chapter on Ihrām

Question about the report: Is Ihrām a pillar or not, and about the statement that Ihrām is merely the intention for Hajj

Hajj and ‘Umrah require intention

In acts of worship, intention encompasses both intending the act and intending the One worshipped.

Acts of the heart are not fulfilled except through acts of the body

Categories of people with respect to intention

He was asked about tamattuʿ and qirān: which is superior?

For one who has not brought the hady, tamattuʿ is preferable

Is a single saʿy sufficient for tamattuʿ?

Tawāf al-qudūm is not recommended for the mutamattiʿ

Making a separate journey for each of Hajj and ʿUmrah is preferable to tamattuʿ

The best nusuk according to al-Shāfiʿī and Mālik

What should the mutamattiʿ do when time runs short?

No report states that the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions ever performed an ʿUmrah, even once, starting from Mecca.

For a resident of Mecca, Tawāf is better than a Meccan ʿUmrah

Opinions Regarding al-Fasakh

Clarification of the opinion that the mutamattiʿ’s Hajj is a Meccan Hajj

Section: Evidence that during the Farewell Pilgrimage the Prophet ﷺ instructed his Companions, after completing tawāf, to end their iḥrām and convert it into an ʿUmrah

The Recommendation to Convert One’s Hajj into Tamattuʿ

Refutation of the Absolute Prohibition of Faskh or Tamattuʿ

The Meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ Statement: “ʿUmrah Has Been Included in Hajj”

Demonstrating the Invalidity of the Claim That the Mutamattiʿ’s Blood Offering Is Compensatory, and That a Rite Without Compensation Is Superior to a Compensated Rite

Section: On the Description of the Farewell Pilgrimage

Did the Prophet ﷺ perform Hajj as a Mutamattiʿ, a Mufrid, or a Qārīn, or did He enter into ihrām without specification?

The Difference Between the Qārīn and the Mutamattiʿ Who Has Brought the Sacrificial Offering

The Divergent Statements of al-Shāfiʿī Concerning the Prophet’s Hajj

The Number of the Prophet’s ʿUmras

He was asked about the Prophet’s Hajj: “Was it performed as Ifrād, Qirān, or Tamattuʿ, and which of them is preferable?”

Clarification of Which Nusuk Is Preferable?

When Is Tamattuʿ Preferable?

When Is Qirān Preferable?

Which Is Preferable: Qirān with a Brought Sacrificial Offering, or Tamattuʿ without One?

Clarifying the Meaning of the Prophet ﷺ’s Saying: “An ʿUmrah in Ramadan Equals a Hajj”

The Ruling on Kissing the Yemeni Corner, the Other Sides of the Kaʿbah, the Remaining Two Corners, and the Station of Abraham

The Ruling on Kissing the Prophet ﷺ’s Chamber and Wiping Oneself on It

Shaykh al-Islām’s Manual of Hajj Rites

The Motive for Writing This Manual of Hajj Rites

Section: On the First Act for One Who Intends to Perform Hajj or ʿUmrah

Section: On Clarifying the Best Pilgrimage Rite

ʿĀʾisha’s ʿUmrah from al-Tanʿīm

The Number of the Prophet’s ʿUmrahs

Consensus of the Companions on the Form of the Prophet’s Pilgrimage Rite

Uttering the Intention for Whoever Wishes to Perform the Pilgrimage Rite: Method and Legal Ruling

The Legal Ruling on Unrestricted Ihrām Without Designating a Particular Pilgrimage Rite

Perfuming the Muhrim

Section: On the Recommendation to Enter Ihrām Immediately After a Prayer

The Recommendation to Perform Ghusl for Ihrām

What the Muhrim May Wear and What He May Not

The Clothing of a Woman in Ihrām

The Permissibility of Wearing What Has Been Prohibited in Cases of Necessity, with a Fidya

The Talbiya after Entering Ihrām and How It Is to Be Recited

What the Pilgrim in Ihrām Is Forbidden to Do

The Sacred Precinct of Medina, the City of the Messenger of God

Which Animals the Pilgrim in Ihrām Is Permitted to Kill

Which Act the Pilgrim in Ihrām Should Begin With upon Arriving in Mecca

The Manner of Tawāf

Which Corners Are to Be Touched

Which Dhikr Is Recommended during Tawāf

Performing Tawāf in Socks

Praying and Performing Tawāf in Sandals

An Explanation of the Hajj Tawāf Rites

Section: On the Hajj on the Day of Tarwiyah

Staying Overnight in Minā

Shortening and Combining the Prayers during Hajj

Climbing Jabal al-Rahma Is Not Sunnah

Section: On Proceeding to Muzdalifa

When Is the Talbiya Discontinued?

Section: On the Ruling Concerning Talbiya at ʿArafat and Muzdalifa

What Is Sufficient of Saʿy and Tawāf for the Mutamattiʿ and the Qārin

Section: On Spending the Night at Minā and Stoning the Jamarāt

Supplication at the Multazam

Drinking from Zamzam and Bathing with It

The Ruling on Entering the Kaʿbah

What a Pilgrim Should Do Upon Entering Madinah before or after Hajj

The Reason for Incorporating the Chamber into the Mosque

The Ruling on Visiting Graves

The Recommendation to Offer Prayer in Qubāʾ Mosque

The Recommendation to Travel to al-Aqṣā Mosque

The Permissibility of a Pilgrim Carrying Zamzam Water and Dates Home

The Legal Ruling on Dedicating the Reward of Deeds to the Messenger ﷺ

Adhering to the Prophet ﷺ’s Sunnah Concerning the Form and Rulings of Hajj

The Prophet ﷺ’s Manner of Entering Ihrām

The Prophet ﷺ and His Companions’ Actions on the Day of Tarwiyah, at ʿArafah, Muzdalifah, and Minā

The Best of the Pilgrimage Rites

What is the ruling if the hady animal perishes before the Day of Sacrifice?

Combining and Shortening the Prayers during Hajj

Any act of worship the Prophet ﷺ did not practice is a bidʿa

The Salaf’s view on a muhrim eating game hunted by a non-muhrim

Question about the tawāf of menstruating and postpartum women in light of the Qurʾān

Ruling on menstruating and postpartum women reciting the Qurʾān

The reason for preventing a menstruating woman from tawāf

The ruling on someone compelled to commit adultery

The meaning of the Prophet ﷺ’s saying: “Tawāf of the House is prayer …”

Clarifying the opinion that the Tawāf of pilgrims from distant regions is superior to prayer in the mosque

Reconciling the hadith “Your menstruation is not in your hand” with the hadith “I do not permit the mosque for a menstruating woman”

Does the Tawāf al-Qudūm suffice in place of the Tawāf al-Ifāḍa when the latter cannot be performed?

Evidence for the position that the Tawāf al-Wadāʿ is not a pillar

The dispute over the obligation of the two rakʿas of Tawāf

What is the ruling if a woman observing iʿtikāf in the mosque begins menstruating?

Is the menstruating woman’s hired muleteer required to remain with her?

He was asked about issues concerning the menstruating woman and how she is to make up the rites

The scholars’ dispute over stipulating ritual purity for tawāf

What is required of a woman who menstruates and then becomes pure before the Day of Sacrifice?

What is required of a woman who menstruates before performing Tawāf al-Ifāda?

The difference between a menstruating woman and an incapacitated pilgrim with regard to tawāf

The ruling for a woman experiencing istihāḍa when she wishes to perform tawāf

What is required of someone who neglected ritual purity while performing tawāf?

He was asked about a woman who began menstruating before the tawāf al-ifāḍa, did not become pure until after the pilgrims had departed, and could not stay on until she was purified—what is incumbent upon her?

He was asked about a woman who starts menstruating at the time of tawāf—what should she do?

He was asked about a woman who performed Hajj, entering ihrām for ʿumra and Hajj together (qirān); when the tawāf al-ifāḍa was due she began menstruating, yet completed her Hajj and hid this from her husband. Two years later she told him, and he would not allow her to return.

He was asked: Which is better for someone who is in Mecca—making tawāf of the House, or going out to the ḥill to perform ʿumra there and return?

The acts of the pilgrimage rites are of three degrees

The number of the Prophet’s ʿumras

The scholars’ dispute over whether ʿumra is obligatory like hajj

ʿĀʾisha’s pilgrimage rite

Section: Explaining the ruling on performing ʿumra from Mecca while omitting ṭawāf

Section: The ruling on performing ʿumra more than once in a single year

Section: The ruling on frequently performing ʿumras and doing them successively

The kinds of nusuk and which of them is superior?

ʿUmar’s directive to perform ʿumra outside the months of Hajj

ʿUthmān’s prohibition of tamattuʿ and its ruling

The juristic dispute over al-faskh and its forms

The cause of some jurists’ error regarding the description of the Farewell Pilgrimage

Section: On performing successive ʿumras from Mecca during Ramaḍān

Section: On the virtue of performing ʿumra during Ramaḍān

Citing some hadiths that clarify the description of the Farewell Pilgrimage

The disagreement regarding ʿĀʾisha’s pilgrimage rite and her ʿumra

He was asked about someone who stands at ʿArafa but cannot go to the House for fear of being killed or losing his wealth—does his ḥajj suffice or not?

Chapter on the hady, the udhḥiya, and the ʿaqīqa

Part 27: Fiqh 7 — Visitation

Section: On Visiting Bayt al-Maqdis

Vowing to travel to Bayt al-Maqdis and the scholars’ opinions regarding it

The best of the mosques: al-Masjid al-Harām

Vowing to travel to the grave of al-Khalīl, the Prophet ﷺ, or al-Tūr

Section: On what is and is not prescribed when visiting al-Masjid al-Aqṣā

Praying at the Rock

Section: In Bayt al-Maqdis nothing is to be intentionally visited except al-Masjid al-Aqṣā

Section: Visiting the temples of the unbelievers is misguidance

Section: The only sites called Ḥaram are the Meccan and Medinan sanctuaries

Section: Visiting Bayt al-Maqdis at any time, and that travelling to it together with the Hajj confers no additional devotional merit

Section: Travelling to ʿAsqalān and the other frontier posts without the intention of ribāṭ is an innovation

He was asked about visiting Bayt al-Maqdis and the grave of al-Khalīl, peace be upon him

Eating bread and lentils at the grave of al-Khalīl has no basis

He was asked: Is it better to reside near one of the three mosques, or to perform ribāṭ at the frontier posts?

Visiting the Prophet’s grave is not obligatory, whereas journeying to his mosque is sanctioned

Section: On the hadiths concerning visiting the Prophet’s grave and the extent of their authenticity

Fulfilling a vow to journey to the prophets’ graves is not obligatory

Taking the relics of the prophets and the righteous as mosques

He was asked about the saying: “Whoever performs Hajj but does not visit me has shunned me.”

He was asked: Which is superior, Mecca or Medina?

He was asked about the soil in which the Prophet ﷺ was buried: Is it superior to al-Masjid al-Harām?

He was asked about someone who deemed the Prophet’s ﷺ burial soil superior to the heavens and the earth, and about another who deemed the Kaʿba superior to them both.

He was asked: Is residence in al-Shām superior to residence in other lands?

The best places to reside are those in which a servant’s religion is sound.

The Qur’an attests to the blessedness of al-Shām

He was asked about prayer in the Mosque of Damascus: Is it superior to prayer in other mosques?

He was asked: Did Lady ʿĀʾisha enter the Mosque of Damascus?

He was asked about Mount Lebanon: Is there any text in the Book or the Sunna concerning its virtue?

Section: On the virtue of the Syrian coasts

Section: The invalidity of the belief that the forty Abdāl are present on Mount Lebanon

One must distinguish, in acts of worship, between what is prescribed by the Sharīʿa and what is an innovation.

The invalidity of the claim that Noah’s grave is on the slope of Mount Lebanon

He was asked about those who visit graves and seek help from the buried occupant.

It is permissible to request from the living what they are able to do.

Supplication of the absent for the absent

Requesting supplication from others

The prescribed visitation of graves

On one who visits the grave of a prophet or a righteous person—or believes it to be such—and seeks his help

Tawassul in supplication

Not taking graves as mosques

Seeking assistance from a deceased or absent person is shirk

Those who say, “O Allah, by the rank of so-and-so with You”

Requesting supplication from a living person

Seeking assistance in removing harm from anyone other than Allah is shirk

Those who say, “Call upon the shaykh so that he may be my intercessor”

The self’s interest in certain sins

Wiping against graves is forbidden

Seeking the fulfillment of needs through the blessing of so-and-so

A question about al-Qutb, al-Ghawth, and al-Fard al-Jāmiʿ

He was asked about the ruling on what visitors do at the graves of the prophets and the righteous

Income earned from such matters is vile

He was asked about the ruling on those who say that supplications are answered at four graves

Innovated visitation is of the same kind as shirk

Section: On the saying of some shaykhs, “If something befalls you, seek me.”

Section: Whoever recites Āyat al-Kursī and faces toward Shaykh al-Jīlānī

Section: On the saying, “God looks at the poor during eating, equal sharing, and samāʿ.”

Section: On seeking out prayer and supplication at the graves of the prophets

Section: Is supplication answered specifically in a particular place, such as at the graves of the prophets?

Section: May one seek help from God in supplication through a sent prophet?

Swearing an oath upon God by the right of some of His creatures

Section: Should the place where the Prophet ﷺ was seen be venerated?

Section: Concerning the vows that common people make to certain trees and springs

Section: No place should be singled out for worship except the mosques

Section: On ʿAsqalān, Mount Lebanon, and the virtue of the frontier garrisons

Section: Seeking out the Prophets’ relics for prayer is an innovation

Section: Vows to graves and their occupants are sinful and must not be fulfilled

He was asked about a person afflicted by calamity who visits the graves of the righteous to pray for its removal

Section: On the prohibition against taking graves as mosques

The reason for the prohibition against praying in a cemetery

Visiting the graves of unbelievers for admonition is permissible, provided that no supplication is offered for them.

Offering salām to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

The claim that needs are fulfilled through the righteous is false and affords no justification for visiting their graves.

Assuming that graves have any influence is a form of sorcery.

He was asked about supplication at the graves of the righteous: Is it answered?

He was asked: Is it permissible to shorten the prayer when the journey is undertaken to visit the graves of the prophets and the righteous?

Epistle from the scholars of Baghdad in support of the Imam and his view on traveling to visit graves

A response supporting the Shaykh’s answer

Another response supporting the Shaykh’s answer

A third response supporting the Shaykh’s answer

Response of the Syrian scholars

Response of ʿAmr ibn Abī al-Walīd al-Mālikī

A Letter from Baghdad Endorsing the Imam’s Fatwa

Section: Opinions on Shortening the Prayer during Travel and Their Refutation

How to Stand at the Prophet’s Grave

Anything over which scholars differ regarding permissibility or prohibition is not a devotional act, and whoever treats it as such has opposed the consensus.

Section: Issues Concerning Visiting the Prophet’s Grave

The Christians’ false belief in the divinity of Jesus

Scholars’ disagreement over the unanimously accepted textual proof for traveling to the Prophet’s Mosque and visiting his grave

Traveling to the frontiers and for knowledge: what is sought is the purpose, not the place

Mosques are the best of places

A vow to observe iʿtikāf in the Sacred Mosque is fulfilled by performing iʿtikāf in the Sacred Mosque

Section: On the construction of the three mosques

The virtue of the mosque as a place of worship

Analogizing visits to graves to visiting the Prophet’s grave is misguidance on several counts

The foundation of faith is affirming God’s oneness, and the Qur’an’s verses attest to that

People’s divisions regarding prophethood and the angels

The fatwa for which the Shaykh was imprisoned

Section: The Imam’s rebuttal of the fatwa issued by his jailers and a fifty-point demonstration that travelling to graves is invalid

The scholars’ disagreement over visitation

A judge may not adjudicate according to one of the two opinions, deem the other erroneous, and punish for it.

Punishments and ḥudūd are not adjudicated in absentia

The adherent of a madhhab may not oblige the Muslims to follow his madhhab

The opinion of the ruler—or of anyone else—is not accepted when it contradicts the Book and the Sunnah

If a scholar issues a fatwa that contradicts the Sunnah in some matters, he is not barred from giving fatwas; instead, the correct Sunnah is explained to him

He said, when the ruler asked him about the fatwa he had issued concerning visiting graves

Introduction

Clarifying the Ruler’s Duties

Loving the Messenger ﷺ Is Obligatory upon Us

Section: Visiting the Prophet’s Mosque during the Hajj rites and the proper manner of greeting the Messenger ﷺ

The Difference Between Sharia-Compliant Visitation and Innovated Visitation

The Prohibition of Shirk in Its Major and Subtle Forms

The Intercession of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Shortening the Prayer During Travel to Visit the Graves of the Prophets and the Righteous

The Disagreement over Swearing by the Prophet ﷺ

Travel to the Sacred Mosque and al-Aqsa Mosque in Emulation of the Prophets

Traveling to the Venerated Sites of the Polytheists

What Muslims Unanimously Agree Upon Is True

Visiting Graves in General and the Disagreement Regarding It

Visiting the grave to mourn the deceased is permissible

Visiting Graves Falls into Two Categories: Forbidden and Prescribed

Traveling to the graves of the prophets and the righteous

Declaring an act to be recommended or prohibited is valid only with Sharīʿī evidence

Sending blessings upon the Messenger ﷺ in every prayer and when entering his mosque

Anyone who believes that the mosque gained its virtue only after the Messenger’s ﷺ grave was incorporated into it is mistaken

Going to the Qubāʾ Mosque in emulation of the Messenger ﷺ

The unrestricted salām is among the Messenger’s ﷺ exclusive traits

Ṣalāt upon someone other than the Messenger ﷺ

Mālik’s disapproval of visiting al-Masjid al-Aqṣā at a fixed time such as the Hajj

The Messenger’s rights over the Muslims are not confined to his chamber

Living in Medina is preferable for whoever performs more acts of obedience there

Affliction is warded off by righteous deeds

The rulers are most entitled to supporting God’s religion

On the known graves of the prophets

He was asked: Are the graves visited today truly the graves of prophets, as people claim?

He was asked: Are the shrines named after ʿAlī and Ḥusayn authentic?

The Sunnah for One Who Visits the Grave of a Deceased Muslim

He was asked about the shrine of Ḥusayn in Cairo and about the transport of his head there.

The Origin of the Cairo Shrine, Transferred from Ashkelon

Dreams Do Not Establish Anything

Veneration of Graves Entails Imitating the Christians

Demonstrating that al-Ḥusayn’s Shrine Does Not Contain His Head

The Reliable Position Is That al-Ḥusayn’s Head Was Buried in Medina

A Muslim Does Not Curse Anyone; He Only Curses the Person’s Deed

The Companions’ disagreements and the ensuing trials are to be regarded in one of three lights: either a commendable act, a forgiven sin, or an ijtihād for which its author’s error has been excused.

Reports alleging that Āl al-Bayt were taken captive are false

He was asked about visiting the graves of al-Ḥusayn and Sayyida Nafīsa, and about praying at the shrine.

He said: On the death of the daughter of Yazīd ibn al-Sakan, her grave, and the graves of some Companions.

He was asked about people who take their sacrificial animals to slaughter them in al-Qarāfa cemetery

He was asked about a man who went to al-Takrūrī for sightseeing and drowned: is he a martyr?

He was asked: Are there in this ummah righteous people whom God keeps hidden, visible only to whomever they choose?

Spiritual unveilings occur from God’s saints and from the saints of devils.

He was asked about the Prophet’s worship before his mission.

Section: On intending to pray and supplicate in a place where the Prophet ﷺ did not intend to do so

Section: On the merits of the people of al-Shām

Hadith: “A group of my ummah will remain manifest upon the truth”

Part 28: Fiqh 8 — Jihād

He was asked about guard duty on the sea-coast and about residing in Mecca, Medina, or Bayt al-Maqdis — which is superior?

He was asked about the virtues of archery and teaching it

The Prophet’s urging (peace be upon him)

Section: Crafts and other kinds of work pursued for God’s sake—are some of them superior to others?

It is impermissible for anyone to bind others by a pledge to agree with him in all that he wishes.

It is not proper for a teacher to make his students pledge partisan loyalty to him or to stop learning from other teachers.

Partisanship toward individuals is a form of tribal zealotry.

Taking a fee from the student is permissible

The essence of religion: worshipping God alone and worshipping Him as He has prescribed

The requirement for a soldier

He was asked about a soldier who does not wish to serve

He was asked: Is a soldier allowed to wear silk, gold, and silver during combat?

He was asked about traveling when one has dependents

He was asked about the days when travel, work, or sexual intercourse is disliked

A letter from Shaykh al-Islām during his imprisonment in Alexandria

The meaning of al-Hanīf

Fear of other than God and its cause

Judging by the Book of God and the Cause of Victory

The Difference between Meccan and Medinan Jihād

Whoever calls upon other than God is a polytheist

Section: God’s blessings upon the believers in pleasure and joy

Matters indispensable for the believer

He wrote from prison, praising God that his books had been brought to light through his opponents

He wrote to his mother, apologizing for his absence

He wrote, forbidding division and the blaming or harming of his companions

He wrote, explaining that for the religion to prevail an adversary must be raised up

Hisba

Principle on Hisba: The aim of the offices of authority is that religion be devoted to God

Section: Command and prohibition are the sum of religion and of the offices of authority

Section: The general and specific scope of an office of authority is derived from wording, circumstances, and customary usage

The muhtasib’s mandate in matters overlapping with the exclusive functions of governors and judges

Commanding congregational prayer

Preventing fraud

Prohibited contracts

Interception of goods and hoarding

Seeking sharʿī knowledge: communal obligation or individual obligation

Responsibilities the Prophet assumed personally and those he delegated

Muzāraʿa is permissible, and mukhābara

If the partnership becomes invalid, the customary wage is due

Price-fixing and the scholars’ opinions on it

How the imām carries out price-fixing

Fair market value is the essence of price-fixing

Māʿūn

Receiving payment for testimony

Price-fixing for people when they are in need

Prohibition of intercepting incoming goods

Section: Fraud and deception in religious matters

Section: Perfecting the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil through lawful punishment

Types of Taʿzīr

Section: Taʿzīr through Financial Punishments

Those Who Held That Taʿzīr through Financial Punishments Is Abrogated

Obligations of the Sharīʿa

Destruction of Adulterated Goods

Section: Correcting Wrongdoing by the Mildest Means

Section: Reward and Punishment Are of the Same Kind as the Deed

Section: On Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrongdoing

The Earlier Nations Did Not Engage in Jihād for Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrongdoing

Commanding Right, Forbidding Wrong, and the Jihād Involved Therein Are a Collective Obligation

The Levels of Forbidding Wrong

The General Principle When Benefits and Harms Conflict

The Affliction of Following One’s Desires

Sincerity, gentleness, and knowledge are indispensable for whoever enjoins right and forbids wrong

Calamities Are Caused by Sins

Keeping silent about wrongdoing is a cause of tribulations

Sins are of three types

There is no stability with injustice

People in enjoining and forbidding are of three categories

The Effect of Associating with Evil People

Censure of Miserliness and Cowardice

Courage Is the Strength of the Heart

The Permissible War Chant

Praiseworthy Courage

The Reprehensibility of Neglecting to Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil Out of Fear of Fitna

Section: The Conditions for a Righteous Deed and the Reprehensibility of Ostentation

Islam Must Combine Compliance and Surrender

The Meaning of Sunnah in the Terminology of the Salaf

Shaykh al-Islām’s Statement on Patience toward Rulers and the Subjects’ Duty

Section: On the Degrees of Sins in the Hereafter

The Types of Injustice

The Individual Obligation of Jihād upon the Paid Troops

The Obligation upon Scholars to Preserve and Transmit Religious Knowledge

Section: On Loyalty and Enmity

The Meaning of “Sammāʿūna Lahum”

Among the Forms of Loyalty to the Disbelievers Is Seeking Judgment from Them Instead of the Book of God

He was asked about whom it is obligatory or permissible to hate or to shun

Legally prescribed shunning is of two types

The Right to Impose Taʿzīr for Neglecting Obligations and Committing Wrongs

Imām Aḥmad was asked about someone who says that the Qurʾān is created: should hostility be shown toward them, or should they be dealt with tactfully?

The punishment of the wrongdoer is contingent upon capability

He was asked about a Muslim who committed a sin in his youth—should he be pardoned?

He said concerning the prohibition of spreading indecency

He said concerning shunning the one who neglects the prayer

He was asked about a wine-drinker—should he be greeted with salām?

He was asked about the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: “No backbiting for a flagrant sinner.”

The permissibility of backbiting in two cases

The prohibition of attending gatherings of wrongdoing

He was asked: Is it permissible to backbite specific individuals, or one person in particular?

The permissibility of equivocation when necessary

Sneering and taunting are forms of backbiting

Mentioning a particular person’s wrongdoing in specific contexts

The necessity of clarifying the condition of the enemies of the religion

He was asked about someone who goes out for sightseeing among the flowers during festive seasons and witnesses wrongdoing but is unable to remove it

He was asked: Is the city of Mardin a land of war or of peace?

A letter to the ruler exhorting him to establish prayer, give zakāt, and enjoin right and forbid wrong

Governance According to Sharīʿa

Prefatory Sermon of the Treatise

Section: Two Kinds of Discharging Trusts

Section: Preferring the Most Qualified Available

The Pillars of Authority

Section: The Rarity of Strength and Trustworthiness Coming Together

Conditions for Holding Judicial Office

Section: Identifying the Most Suitable Candidate Is Achieved through Understanding the Aim of Authority

Section: The Second Category of Trusts — Property

Section: Categories of State Funds

Section: Alms

Section: Fayʾ

Wealth is of Three Categories

Conveying the People’s Needs to the Sultan Is Among the Governors’ Duties

Section: Disbursement of Funds

Categories of Governors with Respect to Revenue Collection and Expenditure

People with Respect to Patience and Anger Fall into Three Categories

Section: Judging Between People Concerning the Hudūd and Rights

Suspending the Hudūd and Accepting Intercession Concerning Them Is a Cause of Curse

It Is Impermissible to Suspend a Ḥadd in Exchange for Money or Influence

The Welfare of the People Is Attained by Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong

Punishment for the Muhāribīn and Highway Robbers

The Prohibition of Fighting for the Sake of Tribalism

The Prohibition of Mutilation in Killing

When the Ruler Pursues Highway Robbers Who Resist and Fight Him

When They Impose a Protection Toll or Tax on Travelers

The Ruler Is Not to Take a Fee from Property Owners for Pursuing Highway Robbers

It Is Forbidden to Shelter Highway Robbers or Thieves

Section: The Hadd (Prescribed Penalty) for the Thief

Section: The Hadd (Prescribed Penalty) for the Fornicator

Section: The Hadd (Prescribed Penalty) for Drinking Alcohol

The Legal Ruling on Hashish

Section: The Hadd (Prescribed Penalty) for Qadhf (False Accusation of Fornication)

Section: Sins for Which No Fixed Hadd Penalty Is Prescribed

The Minimum and Maximum of Taʿzīr

Types of Punishment

Section: The Punishments Prescribed by Sharīʿa Are of Two Kinds

The Merit of Jihād

If the Enemy Targets Muslim Land, Fighting Becomes Obligatory upon Everyone

Sincerity, beneficence, and patience help the ruler in carrying out his duties

Permissible acts aid in religious matters

Section: On the prescribed punishments and rights that belong to individuals

Section: Qisās for bodily injuries

Section: Qisās for offenses against honor

Section: Hadd for qadhf

Section: Conjugal rights

Section: Wealth

Section: Consultation is a necessity for the ruler

Categories of Those in Authority

Section: Holding authority is among the greatest religious obligations

Rulers fall into four categories

Letters addressed to al-Malik al-Nāṣir after the Battle of Mount Kisrawān

Section: The victory is completed by severing the support base of the people of corruption

Letters written when the Tatars arrived at Aleppo

A letter written to all Muslims, urging them to fight

Since the Prophet’s mission, people have been of three categories

Section: On the Battle of al-Ahzāb, the sūrah’s exegesis, and the stance of the believers and the hypocrites

He was asked about people who believe in God and hold that ʿAlī is the imām, and that the Companions wronged him and withheld his right: is it obligatory to fight them?

Innovations are worse than sins

The ruler’s punishment of the Shīʿa

Scholars have included the people of heretical whims among the Khārijites

The Rāfiḍa are like the Jews

The inclusion of the Rāfiḍa under the ḥadīth: “Whoever departs from obedience”

The consensus of the Caliphs and the Prophet’s Household is binding proof

Killing a single subdued Khārijite

Are they declared unbelievers, and will they dwell eternally in Hellfire?

What is your opinion regarding the Tatars, and is it obligatory to fight them?

What is your opinion regarding the Tatars, and is it obligatory to fight them, and on what principle is that fighting based?

Every group that rebels against God’s Sharīʿa must be fought

What is the difference between fighting the Khārijites and similar groups, and fighting the rebels (bughāt)?

Knowledge of the Tatars’ circumstances, their harm to Islam and Muslims, and their belief that Genghis Khan is the son of God

The Tatars’ classification of people into four categories

Any Muslim who joins them is subject to the same ruling as they are

Apostasy from the faith is more serious than unbelief

The specious argument of the Kharijites and those who withhold zakāt

He was asked about soldiers who refuse to fight the Tatars, saying that some of those with them are compelled to march alongside them

Distinguishing between fighting rebels, apostates, and those who withhold zakāt

He was asked about a group that follows the Nusayrī doctrine—are they to be fought?

He was asked about a powerful group who neither perform the prayers nor pay zakāt—may they be fought?

He was asked about the charitable alms that earlier kings had customarily set aside as stipends for the poor and destitute.

Are the poor entitled to a share of the fay’?

Is a wealthy person entitled on the basis of the public interest?

It is permissible to divide land conquered by force and to dedicate it as a waqf.

Is it permissible to revive dead land without the imam’s permission?

He said: Overstepping in disbursing funds when the public treasury is orderly and when it is not.

He was asked about people who possess inherited property from their fathers on which the sultan takes a one-third share.

He was asked: If the Tatars plunder people’s property and then the Muslims plunder the Tatars, is the property taken lawful or not?

He was asked about a poor man; the sultan has given him enough to make him self-sufficient—does he incur sin?

He was asked about a man to whom the sultan granted a land iqṭāʿ in which unjust tolls are levied.

He was asked about funds whose rightful owners are unknown.

He was asked about a man who had a rightful claim on the Bayt al-Māl but was referred to the Dīwān al-Mazālim.

He was asked about a man who gifted a slave to a king, after which the recipient died.

He was asked about a captive taken from Dār al-Harb before reaching puberty.

Letter to Sarjūwān, the Christian King of Cyprus

Preamble to the Letter

The Ranks of the Prophets

The People's Division regarding Jesus

An Exposition of the Monks’ Cunning

The Moderation of Muhammad’s Umma

The Imam’s Advice to Ghāzān and His Followers

Petition for the Release of Captives

He was asked: Is Medina part of al-Shām?

What is your ruling on the churches that were closed in Cairo and elsewhere?

Their rites are not to be displayed in the lands of Islam

He was asked about a Christian priest who had a courtyard next to his house containing a ruined church

He said regarding the Most High’s words: “O you who believe, fulfill the contracts.”

Section: On ʿUmar’s conditions imposed upon the dhimmī subjects

Prohibition against wronging the dhimmī subjects

He said: On conditions that bring honor to the Muslims

What do you say about one who obliges the dhimmī subjects to wear attire other than their customary clothing

He was asked about monks who participate with people in most worldly matters

He was asked about a Jew who possesses a document he claims is in ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib’s handwriting, by which he refuses to pay the jizya.

He was asked about the Jews and Christians who keep wine

If a dhimmī drinks wine, is he liable to the ḥadd?

He was asked about the Jews in Egypt—one of the Muslim lands—among whom the sale of wine has become widespread

He was asked about a Jew who said: “These Muslim dogs, the sons of dogs, are prejudiced against us.”

Part 29: Fiqh 9 — Sale

Comprehensive Rules: On Transaction and Marriage Contracts

Opinions of the Jurists on the Form of Contracts

Disagreement over whether khulʿ is effected by muʿāṭāh

Disapproval of contracts and speech in a language other than Arabic without necessity

The basic rule: worship is governed by the Sharʿ, while customs are presumed permissible

Customary permission is equivalent to verbal permission

Section: The second principle concerning contracts — what is lawful and unlawful therein

Prohibition of Wrongfully Consuming Wealth

Prohibition of Usury

Sales Involving Gharar

Stratagems for Usury

Sales Involving Gharar That Necessity Calls For and Whose Gharar Is Slight

Sale After the Crop’s Ripeness Has Appeared

Seeking Guidance from the Opinion of Experts in the Field

Some Guidelines for Ijtihād

What Drives People to Stratagems Leading to Prohibited Acts

The Reason for the Prohibition on Gharar Sales

Waiving Losses Caused by Crop Blights

Contracting a Marriage Without a Dowry

Leasing Land that Contains Trees and Dwellings

Exchange and Donation Must Not Be Combined

The Meaning of the Statement “al-Qabālāt Are Ribā”

If Separating the Deal Causes Harm, It Is Permissible to Combine the Lease of the Land and the Trees

Combining the Sale of Fruit with Leasing the Land for Residence When Only One of Them Is Intended

Musāqāh and Muzāraʿah, and the Disagreement over Their Permissibility

The Evidence Presented by Those Who Permit Muzāraʿah and Musāqāh and How They Resemble Mudārabah

The Levels of Leasing

The Hadiths Forbidding Leasing and Muzāraʿah and Their Rebuttal

Section: If Muzāraʿah Is Permitted, Must the Owner Supply the Seed?

Section: Explaining That Fiqh Requires Generality and Qiyās

Section: On the Third Principle Concerning Contracts and Their Conditions

Conditions in Contracts: Is It Valid for Them to Contradict What the Contract Entails?

The default rule in contracts and conditions is permissibility until the Law forbids it

A Condition That Contradicts What the Contract Entails

Exhortation to Fulfill Covenants

Rights Are Determined by Conditions

Particular Rulings within General Legislation

Every condition that is not in the Book of Allah is void

When Is Istishāb Considered Evidence?

A general text with no known specification, or one of which some instances have been specified

Excluding an Undivided Share

Stipulating an Increase or a Decrease in a Contract Is Permissible Unless the Sharīʿa Prohibits It

Section: Exchange Contracts Are of Four Categories

Section: A Rule Concerning What Is Obligatory in Exchange Contracts

Uncompensated Benefit Obligations — Financial Benefits

The property owner has priority over the compensated party when he is in need

Whoever must pay a sum that can only be settled by selling is compelled to sell

Trades and the provision of services are obligatory when there is a need

Section: The utterances of a person wrongfully coerced are void

The loss of property taken under duress while in the hands of the coerced person

He was asked about individuals whose assets had been confiscated and who were compelled to sell specific properties belonging to their children, some of which were waqf endowments.

He was asked about a man who inherited a house from his mother, and whose father was compelled to sell that house.

He was asked about a waqf endowed for a group that was forcibly sold to a resident living in it.

Section: On a person compelled by the ruler or the like to pay money unjustly, who then compelled another man to lend to him or sell him goods

He was asked about a man who sent cloth with another man to hand it over to his son, but he failed to deliver it and sold it instead.

He was asked about a mother who bestowed a property upon her son, and he sold it.

He was asked about a man who had a wife; he stole the property deeds, and then she died.

He was asked about a man whose wife owned property; he stole the property deeds, sold it, and then she died.

Section: On the disapproval of buying kharāj land when the purchase would remove its kharāj tax

Is it disliked for a Muslim to take kharāj land from a dhimmī?

Section: On the conquest of Mecca by force and the ensuing legal rulings

He was asked about an iqṭāʿ-holder whose grant contains water that he sells to someone else: after the purchase, is the buyer permitted to channel the water to his own town?

He was asked about someone who owns a water spring: is it permissible for him to sell a finger-share of water?

He was asked about two men who hold an iqṭāʿ in a town and who disputed over selling vegetation that Allah causes to grow

People are partners in three things: water, pasture, and fire

He was asked about people who move bees from one town to another

He was asked about a woman who owns property that is absent from her and known only by description: is her sale of it valid?

He was asked about a man who bought broad beans by description, then found them worm-eaten

He was asked about a man who wants to sell himself: is that permissible?

He was asked about a slave owned by a Muslim in Tatar lands who fled and requested to be sold: may someone sell him and keep the price in trust for his master?

He was asked about a non-Muslim who sold himself to a Muslim in settlement of a debt

He was asked about someone who bought a slave who had stayed with him for years; when he wanted to sell him, the slave claimed to be free

He was asked about selling shell-covered produce such as walnuts and almonds — is it valid?

He was asked about a man who sold taro; then another came and offered a higher price, so he rescinded the first sale

He was asked about someone who emigrated from Tatar lands and, unable to find a mount, bought one there

He was asked about a merchant who carried a decree from the Sultan exempting him from the collection of monies on his business

He was asked about a man who sold a commodity for the price of its like; after it perished, he was then demanded to pay more than that price

He was asked about a man who, during the year of high prices, took produce and said to him, “Settle accounts with me for it.”

He was asked: Is it permissible to sell undivided joint property?

He was asked about a co-owner of horses

He was asked about a co-owner who sold his partners’ shares

He was asked: Is it permissible to sell grapes to someone who will press them into wine?

He was asked about buying vats for pressing oil

He was asked about someone who had leased a shop to sell cloth in it and then sublet it to another for a higher rent on condition that the cloth be sold there

He was asked about someone who guaranteed to the authorities that a certain commodity would not be sold except by him

He was asked about guaranteed goods: what is the ruling on purchasing them?

Usurped property: does the owner’s right attach to that very item, or may the usurper compensate him from whatever he chooses?

The wrongdoer normally buys on credit

The wronged party’s right attaches to the specific property of the wrongdoer

Collecting a debt without the judge’s permission

Validating the disposal of property by a betrayer of trust

He was asked about foodstuffs on which a maks levy is imposed under a tax-farming arrangement: is it permissible to purchase them?

If people are compelled to obtain a commodity subject to a tax-farming monopoly, it must be sold at the fair market price.

Permissible items shared among Muslims: is it permissible to purchase them if the ruler has sequestered them?

What is the ruling on the sultan’s deputies when, without right, they seize public resources by force and also seize the people who extract them?

He was asked about a city in which no animal is slaughtered without the excise collector taking its offal.

He was asked about sheep that are sold and whose excise is collected from the butchers.

He was asked about people most of whose wealth is unlawful: is their food and the like permissible?

He was asked about what the village chiefs and neighborhood elders eat.

He was asked about a man from whom the village chiefs take provisions to host the stranded, and who is reimbursed his due out of what they collect from the poor.

He was asked about dealing with the Tatars.

Section: On the Sharia prohibitions that stem from injustice

The prohibition indicates that the corruption of the prohibited matter outweighs its soundness.

Prohibition for a shared reason: God’s right and the people’s right

He was asked about a person who buys merchandise with lawful money while its origin is unlawful.

The prohibition is derived from the Sharīʿa even when no rationale is provided.

He was asked about someone who trades in caps: may he also trade in marʿazī?

The wearing of silk by boys

He was asked about a man who sold wheat for a deferred price

He was asked about a man who bought grain for a particular dirham on deferred payment, etc.

He was asked about a man to whom another man owes a debt, and the debtor has a son.

He was asked about a man who is in debt and needs merchandise from which to benefit.

He was asked about someone who sought merchandise at a price higher than its actual price.

He was asked about two merchants who bought the merchandise jointly … etc.

He was asked about brokers in a caravanserai who purchase wholesale from one another.

He was asked about an insolvent man who acquired a commodity on credit at many times its value.

He was asked about someone whose lawful wealth is mixed with unlawful wealth.

He was asked about a usurer who left behind wealth, and whose son knows his situation—may the son lawfully take it?

He was asked about someone whose lawful wealth is mixed with unlawful wealth.

He was asked about a female singer who had earned wealth and then repented—will she be rewarded if she gives it in charity?

He was asked about the zakah disbursement categories and about liability in the markets.

He was asked about a man who held an iqṭāʿ concession for natron, and then someone came who leased the natron.

He was asked about someone who thought that finding ḥalāl was impossible in this era.

Principles for Determining Prohibition and Permissibility

Assets in the possession of Muslims, Christians, and Jews that are not known by any indication to be stolen or seized in a way that bars dealing with the holder may lawfully be transacted

Does property obtained through an invalid contract confer ownership?

The Battle of al-Mansūra in which the spoils were not divided

Chapter on Stipulations in Sales

Chapter on Contractual Options

He was asked about two men who sold a particular item and stipulated that each of them could rescind the sale.

He was asked about a man who gave a leather hide to a broker to sell, and added half a dirham to its price.

He was asked about someone who quotes a commodity at a high price and sells it for more than its customary value.

He was asked about selling to an unwary buyer.

Section on the sale of adulterated goods whose degree of adulteration is unknown

He was asked about people who put wool into linen cloaks and then sell them, claiming it is wool.

He was asked about someone who sold one-third of his house to Zayd and the remainder to ʿAmr, while the house contains a water channel that must be removed.

He was asked about a house jointly owned by two partners, which one of them sold on his own behalf and as agent for his partner, and in it is a water channel that has dampened a grave.

He was asked about someone who mixes two kinds of rosewater

He was asked about the practice of alchemy, whether it is established by reason or permitted by the Sharīʿa

Their assertion that the Messenger knows alchemy is a lie

The Legal Ruling on the Sorcerer

He was asked about a man who sold some property and real estate, then a rightful owner emerged.

He was asked about someone who claims that simiyāʾ and alchemy are among the sciences of the Prophets and the saints.

He was asked about someone who bought a slave, then sold him, and the slave committed theft.

He was asked about someone who bought a slave-girl, and she turned out to be enamored with her former master.

He was asked about someone who bought a slave-girl, and she fled on the day she was sold.

He was asked about someone who bought an animal, and its defect appeared after a month.

He was asked about someone who sold wheat, and the buyer sowed it and it perished.

He was asked about a man who sold his wife a house in a trust sale.

He was asked about someone who wants to lend another person money on the condition that the latter sells him a vineyard.

He was asked about a woman who bought a piece of cloth to sew and found it defective.

He was asked about a man who sold property to his son under his guardianship at an unfairly low price.

He was asked: Has anyone stated that if the first buyer may not dispose of the goods before taking possession and they are later destroyed, he is liable for them?

He was asked about a man who bought a heap of goods without measuring it

Section: On Property Received under an Invalid Contract

Section: A Principle on Property Received under an Invalid Contract—if the invalidity is known the holder is deemed a usurper, and if he assumes the contract is valid jurists differ

Section: If the named consideration or its equivalent is closer to equitable settlement in an invalid transaction

He was asked about a man who sold an absent commodity, but the buyer did not find it at the place the seller had specified

He was asked about a man who sold something and then denied the sale

He was asked about a man who bought property for a price, then discovered that someone else was entitled to it

Chapter on Usury

He was asked about the prohibition of usury and the transactions that lead to it

Section: On those who concluded forbidden contracts and then repented

He was asked about someone who exchanged wheat for wheat

He was asked about a woman who sold a gold bracelet at a fixed price on deferred terms

He was asked: Is it permissible to sell an ornamental belt on deferred terms for more than its price?

He was asked about the hadith: “A concession was granted allowing arāyā to be sold by estimation, and the sale of the musarrah was forbidden.”

He was asked about a man who bought wheat at a fixed price on deferred terms.

He was asked about someone who was compelled to borrow and could only obtain the loan with interest.

He was asked about someone who uses sale transactions to obtain usury.

He was asked about someone who took on a loan, went to the market with it, and bought something in a man’s presence.

He was asked about someone who lends people one hundred for one hundred and forty.

He was asked about someone who said, “I will give you every hundred with a profit of such-and-such.”

He was asked about a man who had dealings with another, and some dirhams owed to him were delayed.

He was asked about the ʿīnah sale.

He was asked about someone who sells a commodity on deferred payment and then buys it back from the same man for cash at a lower price.

He was asked about someone who sold a commodity for a price, and when payment fell due the debtor wanted to settle with a commodity rather than money.

He was asked about someone who bought a commodity on credit and, when payment fell due, found the seller offering it for a lower price; is it permissible for him to settle the debt at that lower price?

He was asked about someone who sells pure silver for debased silver

He was asked about someone who sells pure silver for debased silver with an excess (unequal amounts)

He was asked about selling Frankish akādīs for Islamic dirhams

He was asked about someone who bought fulūs—fourteen qirṭās for one dirham—and then resold them at a profit

He was asked about fulūs and about selling them for one another with an excess (unequal amounts)

Section on the sale of silver for circulating fulūs

He was asked about someone who said: “Give me half-dirham coins for these dirhams.”

He was asked about gold alloyed with silver: is it permissible to sell it for either metal?

Section on selling silver dirhams—about two-thirds silver—for black dirhams

He was asked about a group who sell for dirhams and settle part of the price in fulūs (copper coins).

He was asked about fulūs (copper coins) that are bought for ready cash at a specified price.

Disagreement over Issues of Usury

The Sale of a Debt for a Debt

He was asked about one who defrauds in measure and weight.

Chapter on the Sale of Real Property and Fruits

Chapter on Salam (Forward Sale)

Chapter on Qard (Loan)

Chapter on Rahn (Pledge)

Chapter on Damān (Surety)

He was asked about a particular guarantor whose creditor demanded the money from him although he did not have it

He was asked about someone who guaranteed another’s debt without his permission

He was asked about a man under his father’s guardianship who stood surety without his father’s permission or consent

He was asked about someone who had guaranteed properties against himself which had become due, possessing no dirhams though he does own real estate

He was asked about a guarantor who had undertaken that a group’s animals lodge at Khān al-Barāʾa and then increased the fee

He was asked about someone who writes up the market guarantee—does he incur sin?

He was asked about someone who guaranteed a man under the market guarantee with his permission, then the guaranteed man fled

He was asked about someone who guaranteed a man for a sum of money, and when the amount fell due the creditor sought recourse against the guarantor and imprisoned him

He was asked about a man against whose son a monetary claim was made, and the son went into hiding

He was asked about a secretary in the employ of an amīr; the amīr borrowed money and forced him to stand surety

He was asked about a surety from whom the sultān is demanding payment for wedding celebrations that involve certain forbidden acts

He was asked about a man who had stood surety on his own liability and was then wronged by the principal debtor; may he seek recourse against the principal for the harm he suffered?

He was asked about a group who had guaranteed a man’s appearance to another person; are they obliged to produce him if he is already in prison?

He was asked about a man who tethered his camel in a place that had appointed guards, and the camel was then stolen; are the guards liable?

He was asked about a discerning minor who had incurred a debt, and whose father and three others had stood surety for him with his consent.

He was asked about a man who delivered his debtor to the jailer, and the jailer was negligent until the debtor escaped.

Chapter on Hawāla (Transfer of Debt)

Part 30: Fiqh 10 — Conciliation – Lost Property

Chapter on Conciliation

Chapter on Interdiction

He was asked about a man whom someone was oppressing over a debt, seeking to imprison him

He was asked about a Muslim man who bought property from a dhimmī

He was asked about a man who, upon his death, left a house and other real estate while owing a debt and having heirs.

He was asked about a man who sold cloth to a merchant

He was asked about a man who freed a slave while he was in need and had debts

He was asked about a man who sued his debtor before the judge

He was asked about a man who borrowed money from merchants while able to repay

He was asked about a man who owed a debt but did not repay it until he was demanded for it

He was asked about a man who was imprisoned for debt and had no means to repay except a pledged item

He was asked about a man who has a due debt and whose property yields no surplus

He was asked about a silk-dealer to whom a woman had delivered two skeins of yarn

He was asked about a man who is in debt and unable to repay, and whose father wants to take him along for Hajj

If the creditors demand a guarantor in his absence

If the journey is dangerous, they may prevent him

He was asked about a man who is in debt, whose property has perished, and who has evidence

He was asked about a miller who has had a recorded debt against another man for some time

He was asked about a man who is in debt, with whom another man has a business dealing in merchandise

He was asked about a man who owes a debt to a group, and they all agreed to grant him respite except one person

He was asked about a man who owes a debt and has been detained for some time

He was asked about a man who owes a debt arising from a guarantee and has no means to pay it

He was asked about a man who owes a debt and has been sued before the judge

He was asked about an insolvent man who has a family and fears that the creditor may detain him

He was asked about a man who owns a slave, and an oppressor demanded to buy him

He was asked about a debtor who owns property in al-Qarāfa

He was asked about an enslaved man who buys and sells on behalf of his master

He was asked about a debtor who was detained by his creditor

He was asked about a person upon whom a right is due and who refuses: must he be compelled to acknowledge it through punishment?

He was asked about a man who brought witnesses to his house to attest to his daughter’s legal competence

He was asked about a woman under interdiction whose legal competence had been attested

He was asked about a man who had a widowed daughter and concluded her marriage contract

He was asked about a man who left behind a son and two daughters who were not legally competent

He was asked about a man who had a seven-year-old son, and another man had put the boy on a riding animal

He was asked about someone who purchased something for an orphan from the public treasury, to the benefit of the public treasury

He was asked about a man detained in the sultan’s prison who is afraid

He was asked about someone who took charge of an orphan’s property while the orphan was still a minor

He was asked about someone who married his daughter to a man, and she had been in his company for years

He was asked about a man who married a woman, had a child by her, and whose father claimed she was under interdiction

He was asked about a man’s wife who was alleged to be under interdiction

He was asked about someone who acknowledged owing the orphans’ funds and provided a written acknowledgment

He was asked about someone who entrusted an orphan’s funds to a muḍāraba agent

He was asked about orphans under the noble interdiction who had been taken captive by the Tatars

He was asked about someone who has an orphan with property and is supporting him from his own funds

He was asked about a man who died, leaving children and property, part of which he had demolished

He was asked about clothing boys in silk: is it permissible for the guardian of an orphan?

He was asked about a trustee who owns estates, whose guardian is in the land of the Tatars

He was asked about an emir who deals with people and relies on his accounts

He was asked about the agents overseeing the agricultural villages

Chapter on Agency

Chapter on Partnership

Chapter on Musāqāh

Section: Musāqāh, Muzāraʿah and Mudārabah, and Their Status as Forms of Partnership

Conditions of Mudārabah

The Gift Between the ʿĀmil and the Rabb al-Māl

Section: Is He Entitled to Take Possession of Money Before Payment?

Section: On Muzāraʿah

Handing Over Horses and Mules to the Person Who Rents Them Out

Section: Leasing Land for the Same Kind of Produce Grown on It

He was asked: Is Muzāraʿah valid?

He was asked about a man who gave his land to another to farm, with the yield divided equally

He was asked about a man who owns farmland and other land

He was asked about a man who leased land for a portion of its crop

He was asked about a case where one party supplies the land and the other supplies the grain

He was asked about a man who entered into a quarter-share partnership with another man

He was asked about a man who planted trees in land with the owner’s permission

He was asked about a soldier to whom the sultan had granted an iqṭāʿ land grant

What the Messenger ﷺ forbade regarding mukhābara share-cropping

He was asked about a village that had been part of a man’s iqṭāʿ land grant

He was asked about the holder of an iqṭāʿ land grant

He was asked about a man who possessed unlawful dirhams

He was asked about a man who held an iqṭāʿ land grant from the Sultan

He was asked about an iqṭāʿ holder who collects his revenue from the peasants

He was asked about a soldier who owned unused land, and a peasant said to him

He was asked about a man who was not a farmer and had no practice in cultivation

He was asked about someone who cultivates jointly owned land without the partners’ permission

He was asked about someone who sharecropped with the partners on jointly owned land

He was asked about land jointly owned by two people, one of whom asked the other to farm it with him

He was asked about a woman who entrusted a man with a sum of dirhams

He was asked about a village endowed as a waqf for two beneficiaries

He was asked about a man who partnered in a plot of land to cultivate it, but then delayed

He was asked about a worker employed by the landowner on land that contained grain from the previous year

He was asked about a person who had cultivation on land yet derived no benefit from it

He was asked about a man who cultivates from his own means, using a cow, on the Sultan’s land

Chapter on Ijārah

Shaykh al-Islām was asked about a man who leased land with fruit-bearing trees to another man

He was asked about a piece of bare land measuring four shares

He was asked about a man who contracted for land in order to sow flax in the first year

He was asked about a man who leased orchard land

He was asked about a man who leased orchard land from Mashārif al-Ajnās

He was asked about a man who leased an orchard for ten years

He was asked about people residing in a village of al-Fayyūm

He was asked about a man who leased a shop

He was asked about a man who outbid others for a house to live in

He was asked about a man who rented a house next door to a wicked man

He was asked about a man who owned property whose rent was five dirhams

He was asked about a soldier who had an iqṭāʿ and someone compelled him to lease it

He was asked about someone who collected dirhams for another person

He was asked about a man who leased real estate to another man for a set period

He was asked about a man who owns shops in which people are living rent-free

He was asked about a man who had rented a plot of land adjacent to his property

He was asked about a man who appointed another man to rent property on his behalf

He was asked about a man who holds an iqṭāʿ, with part of its land lying idle

He was asked about a group who hold an iqṭāʿ, attested to by their rescript

He was asked about a man who holds an iqṭāʿ, and someone came to him

He was asked about a soldier who rented clay from an amīr

He was asked about a man who rented land, after which an unjust levy was imposed

He was asked about an amīr who entered a town that was leased to its shaykh

He was asked about someone who owned a qirāṭ of land and leased it to a person for one hundred ardeb

He was asked about a person who leased cultivated land within his iqṭāʿ for a term

He was asked about an overseer of a waqf, or of an orphan’s property

He was asked about a man who owed a waqf share and was in debt

He was asked about a waqf house endowed for a minor and an adult man

He was asked about orphans who owned property that the guardian leased out

He was asked about a man who rented a property and then built a bathhouse

He was asked about a registered land grant with seed grain charged to the grantee

He was asked about someone who hired a laborer to work in an orchard

He was asked about the owner of a riding animal who transports people without payment

He was asked about someone who leased lands belonging to the Bayt al-Māl

He was asked about someone who rented a place from his overseers

He was asked about someone who rented a shop from the awqāf overseers

He was asked about someone who weighs goods on a qabbān scale

He was asked about someone who stamps cloth

He was asked about the cupping practitioner’s fee

He was asked about a destitute widow

He was asked about the chandlers who rent out candles

He was asked about a gilder at whose place a handkerchief had been used

He was asked about leasing buffaloes

He was asked about a sick person who asked a man to treat him

He was asked about a blind man for whom a lease contract had been written

He was asked about a man who does not have what suffices him

He was asked about a man who passed away and left instructions that prayers be performed on his behalf

He was asked about a man of knowledge

He was asked about someone who rented a house to please himself

Section: Hiring for a Prohibited Benefit

He was asked about someone who commissioned a gilded book

He was asked about a man who came begging in the guise of a minstrel

Section: The Binding Nature of a Lease Contract

He was asked about the damān leasing of orchards and land containing date-palms before their fruit’s ripeness becomes apparent

The Prophet’s prohibition of muzābana

Invalidation of the sale of habl al-habala

He was asked about the damān leasing of orchards before the fruit matures

He was asked about the damān leasing of orchards, and that when they heard of the enemy’s approach

He was asked about the damān leasing of an iqṭāʿ land grant

He was asked about a lessee of an undivided half of an orchard

He was asked about the leasing of waqf property

He was asked about an amīr who entered upon an iqTāʿ land grant and found a peasant there

He was asked about soldiers who owned land

He was asked about a man who leased land for another man

He was asked about a peasant who ploughed a piece of land

He was asked about a man who had been granted a faddān of farmland and left it in the Awqāf registry

He was asked about a cowherd who had taken the cattle out to water them

He was asked about a man who is a herder of camels or sheep

He was asked about a shepherd who had received the sheep and handed them over to his boy

He was asked about liability for the orchards of Damascus

He was asked about someone who said, “I guarantee it for such-and-such, even if the locusts eat it.”

He was asked about someone who rented land and the rain did not come

He was asked about a man who rents land and a blight strikes it

Section: If someone rents land and it is struck by a blight

Section: On Remitting Calamity Losses and the Reason Behind It

Section: On the Loss of the Sold Property Before One Can Take Possession of It

The Scholars’ Opinion on Remitting Calamity Losses

Property Possessed under an Invalid Contract Is Guaranteed

Section: Subsidiary Rulings Pertaining to the Issues of Remitting Calamity Losses

Section: Remitting Calamity Losses in Trees

Section: If It Perishes Before Its Harvest Time and Ripeness

Section: Liability for Land and Trees with a Single Compensation

Section: If Fruit and Crops Are Purchased, When Is the Calamity Loss Recognized?

Section: Calamity Losses in Ijārah

Section: Interruption of Water and Crop Flooding

Section: Rent Owed in Proportion to the Benefit Obtained

He was asked about a man who leased land as a midday resting place and animal fold, and for cultivation if possible.

He was asked about a man who leased land and explicitly stated that he had inspected it, although he had not.

He was asked about a man who leased land on a lump-sum basis (qabālah) without knowing its area

He was asked about a man who leased a village and whose land was flooded

He was asked: If the house’s amenities become unusable, is any portion of the rent waived?

He was asked about a man who leased an orchard in which there was uncultivated land

He was asked about some people who owed the village owners dirhams and seed grain

He was asked about a man who leased endowed properties

He was asked about a man who leased another man’s fief

Chapter on ʿĀriyah

Chapter on Ghasb

He was asked about someone who seized a man’s crop.

He was asked about a man who had owned land that had been in his possession for thirty years.

He was asked about someone who stole a measure of grain and sowed it.

He was asked about a man who seized a specific item and sold it.

He was asked about a man who planted date pits in someone else’s land.

He was asked about a man who acquired a camel, and the camel produced another camel.

He was asked about a man who owned lawful livestock and had an unlawful stud mount them.

He was asked about a man who bought an animal for a price part of which was lawful and part unlawful.

He was asked about a slave girl belonging to a lady who, speaking in her mistress’s name, sought brocade for herself.

He was asked about property that is taken by way of plunder.

Section: Zakāt is taken from wealth held by marauding Bedouins

He was asked about a governor who seized twenty thousand dirhams.

He was asked about a group of people whose sheep – or other property – had been taken.

He was asked: Is it permissible for him to tear his garment?

He was asked about merchants whom bandits captured, then returned part of their money.

He was asked about troops who encamped at a place and spent the night there.

He was asked about what he had handed over to the sultan from the usurped property.

He was asked about a man who grinds grain in the sultan’s mills that he rents.

He was asked about those who are required to provide levies that they collect from the townspeople.

Section on Collective Injustices

Sultanic levies imposed on villages

Section: When Some Partners Are Absent or Refuse to Pay

Payment may become obligatory for the public interest

Ghasb of undivided property

Is payment obligatory to avert harm?

The Prophet’s accounting of one who accepted a gift and did not turn it over to Bayt al-Māl

Question about a man who holds public offices and iqṭāʿ grants on which the customary sultanic levies are imposed

Question about a man whose wealth was wrongfully taken, whose honour was violated, or who suffered bodily harm

Patience in the face of calamities brings great reward

The just person is the one who seeks redress after being wronged

In matters of justice, people fall into four categories

He was asked about a man who is owed a debt, but the debtor denies it

He was asked about a man in debt who has merchandise in the creditor’s possession

He was asked about a man whose money had been usurped

He was asked about a group of people into whose crop two water buffalo had entered

He was asked about usurped property consisting of camels and other items

He was asked about someone who had usurped a sheep and then reached mutual agreement with its owner

He was asked about a boy who was holding a horse when an ostrich emerged from the stable

He was asked about a large camel tethered in the pasture

Chapter on Shuf'ah

Chapter on Deposits

Chapter on Reviving Uncultivated Land

Chapter on Lost Property

Part 31: Fiqh 11 — Endowment – Manumission

Book of Endowment

He was asked about a man who leased a plot of orchard land, then the lessee built on it the form of a mosque

He was asked about a man who built a mosque and endowed a shop for a designated muezzin and caretaker, without taking any of the shop’s revenue during his lifetime; is it permissible to receive it after his death?

He was asked about the rights of a zawiya on the outskirts in which a mihrab has stood for two years

He was asked about a man who leased land and built on it a house and a shop

He was asked about someone who made a bequest or established an endowment in favor of his neighbors; what is the ruling?

He was asked about a man serving as a muʿarrif on the passenger boats who built a mosque

He was asked about a group of people who hold an endowment from their grandfather, dating back more than one hundred and fifty years, for a shrine attributed to Seth, etc.

He was asked about a man who endowed a madrasa and, in the endowment deed, stipulated that no one may reside in the madrasa except someone who has neither a jāmikiyya post nor any stipend

He was asked about a man who endowed a madrasa and stipulated that whoever holds a post there must not occupy any other post outside his school

He was asked about a man who endowed a waqf for a mosque and for burial shrouds, stipulating that its supervision go to the most upright of his heirs in succession, and after them to the judge

He was asked about a man who endowed a waqf, stipulating that residence therein be reserved for the shaykh and that no wicked person or mutajawwih may stay there.

He was asked about a man who endowed a waqf for a madrasa, stipulating that one-third of the waqf’s income be spent on maintenance, and the other two thirds on the jurists, the school, and its post-holders.

He was asked about someone who endowed a turba, stipulating that the Qurʾān reciter be unmarried: is it lawful for him to reside there after getting married?

He was asked about a man who endowed a waqf for a specified number of women, widows and orphans, and who has needy relatives: should they be given precedence?

He was asked about a man who endowed a waqf for a specific beneficiary; the endower died without having it confirmed before a judge, after which a record contradicting the conditions was drawn up, and then the original waqf deed surfaced. May its confirmation be prevented?

He was asked about a man who endowed a waqf and stipulated that a group of reciters read at his grave and spend the night there, rotating daytime and overnight turns among themselves; are they required to attend in accordance with his stipulation?

No endowment is valid for anything that is not an act of obedience

The general applicability of the hadith of Barīra regarding stipulations

It is permissible to establish an endowment for a specific person, even if he is a disbeliever.

Endowment for the wealthy and its ruling

The ruling on endowments for religious works such as the Qur’an, Hadith, and Fiqh

An endowment for anyone who stays overnight, continually keeps vigil, or performs remembrance of God in a particular place is invalid

Disapproval of recitation, remembrance, and spending the night in ribāts

Principle on what people stipulate in an endowment

Question about a man who endowed a ribāṭ, assigned Qur’an reciters to read at two specified times each day and dedicate the reward to him, stipulating that anyone who failed to comply would forfeit his stipend: are all the stipulated conditions binding or not?

The endower’s conditions—some valid, some invalid

Stipulating a reward for racing and wrestling

The ruling on dedicating the reward of financial and bodily deeds

He was asked about a man who endowed a school in Jerusalem and stipulated that its residents perform the five daily prayers there—does this condition stand?

He was asked about a donor who endowed a ribāṭ for the Sufis; a later custodian stipulated that they perform the five daily prayers there, recite after dawn and afternoon, and record an absence for anyone who misses—are these stipulations valid?

Conditions stipulated for a Sufi admitted to a Sufi endowment

He was asked about the conditions that waqf donors customarily stipulate—some bringing clear benefit and desired advantage, others serving little purpose for the donor while burdening the beneficiaries

Exposition of the conditions an endower may stipulate, their categories, and the ruling for each category

He was asked about a zawiya housing ten resident paupers, where an unmarried woman also lives—may she reside among them?

He was asked about a waqf overseer and about someone administering the endowment under a judge’s mandate, etc.

He was asked about two trustees: may they divide the property under their charge so that each of them oversees only half of it?

He was asked about a person who founded a waqf and stipulated a stipend for the overseer, just as he stipulated one for the designated beneficiary and the jurists: should the overseer receive his specified share first, or not?

He was asked about someone who founded a waqf for a specified group, among whom is a person for whom the founder fixed a definite stipend for his post … is he permitted to do that?

He was asked about a man who owns a farm with trees endowed for the poor; the overseer then leased the waqf to someone who harms it—may he do that or not?

He was asked about mosques that have endowments, with custodians, imams and muezzins; may the local judge appropriate any of it for himself?

He was asked about a man who built a madrasa and endowed it as a waqf for jurists and holders of paid posts

He was asked about a Dār al-Ḥadīth whose endower had stipulated in the waqf deed that the affairs of the house’s occupants, and likewise the oversight of its book collection, be entrusted to the shaykh of the place.

He was asked about the nāẓir: when does he become entitled to his stipend?

He was asked about someone who leased waqf land from the nāẓir, etc.

He was asked about a group of people to whom a share of some shops had been endowed, while another portion was endowed to a different beneficiary and was owned by others, etc.

He was asked about a man who, ten days before his death, acknowledged that the entire shop and all the assets it contained were a waqf dedicated to acts of charity and devotion.

He was asked about the form of a waqf deed whose text states: “This is what Āmir ibn Yūsuf endowed upon his children.”

He was asked about a woman who established a waqf for her grave after her death and earmarked a specified sum for the reciters.

He was asked about a person who established a waqf in a town for various places, etc.

He was asked about a man who leased parcels of waqf land and planted in them, etc.

He was asked about a man entrusted with the imamate of a mosque, etc.

He was asked about an endower who established a waqf for the poor Muslims, etc.

He was asked about a man of authority appointed over a waqf comprising mosques and ribats on account of his piety, etc.

He was asked about a waqf that had been endowed for the Ashraf, saying: … etc.

He was asked about a man who holds a mosque by official decrees for the revival of a Shar‘i Sunnah.

He was asked about a madrasa that had been endowed for jurists and students of fiqh, etc.

He was asked about a man who had given someone ownership of fixtures standing on the endowed land, etc.

He was asked about an endower who endowed it to his children and then to his children’s children, etc.

The jurists’ view of referring back to the endower’s wording concerning generality and restriction

The ruling when he says: “I have married you to my daughter for one thousand,” or “on the condition that she has one thousand owed to her by you.”

A specious argument by one who denies the probative force of general wording

Exception according to the Usūlī scholars

What if he says: “I have endowed it for my three children, then for the poor”

His statement: “For his children, then for their children” implies a sequence

The jurists’ position on the admissibility of dalālat al-mafhūm in the speech of the Lawgiver and of people

Giving precedence to manifest qiyās over dalālat al-mafhūm

What if he says: “I have endowed it for my children, then for the child of So-and-so, then for the poor”?

Those who have authored works on preposing and postponing in the Qurʾān and in the Arabic language

The separation between the conjunct and the element to which it is conjoined

Their comments on the Almighty’s words, “Except those who repent,” in the verse concerning false accusation

He was asked about a waqf for four persons, etc.

He was asked about an endower who established a waqf for his two children in equal shares, etc.

He was asked about an endower who established a waqf for his grandson so-and-so, etc.

He was asked about a person who endowed something as a waqf for Zayd, etc.

He was asked about an endower who established a waqf for his children and for his grandson so-and-so, etc.

He was asked about a village endowed by Sultan Salāh al-Dīn, etc.

He was asked about the division of a waqf and its usufructs

He was asked about a waqf dedicated to a single beneficiary that a Hanbalī partitioner had divided

He was asked about a waqf dedicated to a group, and that some of the partners had paid toward the fruit, etc.

He was asked about a waqf for the Ḥaram’s needs and its upkeep, etc.

He was asked about a man who bought a house whose deed mentioned only three boundaries, etc.

He was asked about a man living in an endowed khān that has an overseer in charge of its maintenance and repair.

He was asked about endowed funds designated for ransoming captives.

He was asked about a man who possesses a share in a bathhouse endowed for the poor and needy.

He was asked about an endowment for shrouding the dead whose yearly revenue exceeds the stipulated amount: should the surplus be given in charity?

He was asked about a Qur’an reciter holding a salaried post who travelled and appointed someone as his deputy… does the deputy deserve the stipulated stipend or not?

He was asked about someone who had created an income-generating endowment and then died, whereupon a debt surfaced… etc.

He was asked about a man who, while ill, said: “When I die, my house shall be an endowment for such-and-such a mosque,” then recovered… etc.

He was asked about someone who endowed a waqf for the tomb of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him)… etc.

He was asked about a waqf when surplus remains from its revenue and it is no longer needed

He was asked about a righteous man for whom the judge allotted a portion of the alms… etc.

He was asked about a land waqf for a mosque that has trees no longer bearing fruit… etc.

He was asked about the summer annex of a mosque where a fountain that had been built as a tomb was demolished by a Sharīʿa ruling… etc.

He was asked about an old closed mosque that collapsed and was then rebuilt… etc.

He was asked about mosques and a congregational mosque that need renovation, on which fixed stipends are allotted to the recipient… etc.

He was asked about a judge-preacher whose stipend had been allotted from a mosque’s surplus revenue

Section: On Substituting an Endowment

Section: On the Ruling of Replacing a Mosque with Another for the Public Interest While the Original Remains Usable

If a mosque cannot accommodate its congregation, it should be relocated to a more spacious site

Permissibility of constructing another mosque when the congregation grows, even if it is near an existing mosque

People’s customary practice concerning a waqf when it falls into ruin

Section on the permissibility of selling an income-generating waqf in the public interest

Does a waqf in favor of a specific individual require his acceptance?

Section on endowing dirhams and dinars for lending or investment

Section on Ahmad’s statements and the majority view of his companions permitting the substitution of a hady or uḍḥiyah with a better one

The ruling when one vows the manumission of a specific slave or specific dirhams

Substituting vowed items with better ones

Section on the permissibility of substituting the Kaʿbah with another building

Evidence for the permissibility of selling a mosque for the sake of public interest

The ruling when someone vows to endow a particular item but instead donates one that is superior

Does the Prophet’s ﷺ forbidding ʿUmar to substitute the sacrificial camel invalidate selling an endowment for the sake of public benefit?

He was asked about an endower or one who has made a vow: if he endows something and then deems another item more advantageous for the beneficiaries, may he substitute it?

He was asked about someone who established an endowment for the poor … etc.

He was asked about a public water basin with an endowed stable that the overseer had sold … etc.

He was asked about a village with several mosques, some of which are ruined and where prayer is not performed … etc.

He was asked about an endowment stipulated first for a man and then for his children, which the farmers had divided among themselves.

He was asked about a church in a village that has an endowment … etc.

He was asked about a mosque adjacent to a closed, ruined church … etc.

He was asked about a mosque that has no endowment, with an open space beside it … etc.

He was asked about someone at a mosque who consumes its endowment and neglects its upkeep … etc.

He was asked: Is it permissible to build outside the mosque using the endowment’s revenue … etc.

He was asked about a mosque with an upper floor that is of old construction … etc.

He was asked about someone who leased endowed land, built on it whatever he wished, and then endowed that building … etc.

He was asked about an endowment for the poor and needy that includes trees and olive trees.

He was asked about changing the form of an endowment

He was asked about someone who sharecropped on endowed land

He was asked about a woman who endowed shops and a house for her two children

He was asked about someone who built a wall in the Muslims’ cemetery, etc.

He was asked about a bathhouse most of which had been endowed for the poor and the jurists

He was asked about a sabil canal whose surplus water flows into the sewage channel

He was asked about an endowment whose compensation is used to purchase a replacement

Chapter on Gifts and Grants

He was asked about charity and gifts: which of the two is better?

He was asked about gifting or permitting a man an unspecified item: is it valid?

He was asked about a woman who gifted her book to her husband: may her brothers prevent her from doing so?

He was asked about a woman who had children who were half-siblings, singled out one of them, and then died while still residing in that place, etc.

Section: Contracts that require receipt of possession for their binding effect and stability

He was asked about someone who gifted a quarter of a property and it later proved to be less than that: does the gift become void?

He was asked about a man who had two daughters and a pregnant divorcée, and who assigned two thousand dinars to his daughters… etc.

He was asked about a man who owned a slave-girl and permitted his son to enjoy her and have intercourse with her.

He was asked about a woman who donated to her son while she was in sound health… etc.

He was asked about a man’s house and the fact that he had donated one-half and one-quarter of it to his own child… etc.

He was asked about a woman who died leaving a father, mother, and husband; she was legally competent, and her father had taken the cloth… etc.

He was asked: If a person is presented with a hunting dog as a gift and then gives the giver something in return… etc.

He was asked: If someone gives another person something as a gift and then takes it back, is that permissible?

He was asked about a man who gives another man something as a gift, then enmity arises between them and he takes back his gift… etc.

He was asked about a man who gives someone a horse as a gift, and after some time the giver demands its rental fee.

He was asked about a man who presented a slave to an emir by way of compensation; the slave then remained with the emir for a year, after which the emir died… etc.

He was asked about a man who presented the emir with a gift in order to have a need fulfilled or to take up service with him… etc.

He was asked about a man who presented a slave to one of the notables, received nothing in return, and the slave then married and had children… etc.

He was asked about a man who bought a slave and gave him something as a gift, then it turned out that the slave was free—may he take back what he gave?

He was asked about a man who divorced his wife, sought reconciliation with her, and wrote her two dinars… etc.

He was asked about a man who gave his wife a thousand dirhams as a gift and drew up a deed to that effect… etc.

He was asked about a man who was in debt and whose assets were entirely consumed by that debt… etc.

He was asked about a man who died, leaving two sons, a daughter, and a wife, and whose inheritance was divided… etc.

He was asked about a woman who had a dowry owed to her by her husband; when death approached her she summoned witnesses… etc.

He was asked about a man who favored some of his children over others

He was asked about a man who gave some of his children something but did not give it to the others; is he allowed to do so… etc.

He was asked about a man who had sons and daughters, and who granted gifts to the daughters but not to the sons before his death… etc.

He was asked about a man who left children, and whose daughters were married before their father’s death… etc.

He was asked about a man who gifted his children slaves and then intended to free them; which is preferable… etc.

He was asked about a man whose wife had died leaving children; may he purchase from the children’s money… etc.

He was asked about a woman whose husband had given her her rights during his lifetime and who had children by him… etc.

He was asked about a man who made a charitable donation to his child

He was asked about a man who gave something to his adult children… etc.

He was asked about a man who granted his daughter full ownership of property, then she died leaving her father and her child… etc.

He was asked about a man who gave his daughter jewelry as a gift

He was asked about a man who has children and gave them his property

He was asked about a man whose mother died, leaving him, his father, and his daughter

He was asked about a man from whom a sum of money was stolen; he suspected one of his children and then began invoking curses against him, etc.

He was asked about a man who left some property, and whose children then found money in their mother’s possession

Book of Bequests

He was asked about someone who said, “Let this money be given to the orphans of so-and-so during his final illness.”

He was asked about a deposit-holder whose depositor fell ill

He was asked about a man who mentioned in his will that he owed his wife one hundred dirhams

He was asked about a woman who emancipated a slave girl before puberty and deeded her property to her…

He was asked about a man who testified that his father held three hundred set aside for a Hajj on behalf of a certain woman, but the heirs said it should not be disbursed…

He was asked about a man who donated to his own daughter and entrusted his will to another man…

He was asked about a man who bequeathed unequal shares to his children and had it witnessed…

He was asked about a man who had crops and date palms and, on his deathbed, said to his family…

He was asked about a man who bequeathed a piece of property exclusively to his sons, excluding the daughters, and had it recorded…

He was asked about a woman who bequeathed to a young girl under her father’s care a sum taken from one-third of her estate

He was asked about a woman who, while ill, made several bequests, leaving something to her husband and her brother

He was asked about a woman who died leaving no heir but the son of her maternal half-sister

He was asked about a man who died, leaving six sons, etc.

He was asked about a man who died, leaving substantial wealth and a young child, and who, while ill, directed that his horse be sold, etc.

He was asked about a man who died, leaving children, and who had bequeathed to his sister one dirham each day

He was asked about a woman who died, leaving her father, her paternal uncle (her father’s full brother), and her grandmother

He was asked about a man who had instructed his wife, upon his death, that she should not gift any worldly possession, etc.

He was asked about a woman who, before her death, had made bequests for pilgrimage, Qur’an recitation, and charity: should the bequest be executed?

He was asked about a man who had instructed his wife, upon his death, that she should not gift any worldly possession, etc.

He was asked about a man’s mosque on which a waqf has been established, the waqf being held as hikr

He was asked about a man who, during the illness that ended in his death, directed that a beverage be sold in a shop, etc.

Chapter on the Executor

He was asked about a guardian of orphans acting under a Sharīʿa power of attorney: the orphans owned a house which he sold before it was appraised, collected the price, and then the price was increased, etc.

He was asked about a man who told his executor, “If anyone, after my death, claims something from me, have him swear an oath and give it to him without evidence.” Is the executor obliged to act on that?

He was asked about a guardian of his brother’s children who died and left behind children, etc.

He was asked about a guardian who has young orphans under his care while their mother is pregnant, etc.

He was asked about a guardian over an orphan’s property who had invested it in a muḍāraba partnership

He was asked about a guardian who has young orphans under his care while their mother is pregnant, etc.

He was asked about a female orphan for whom a suitor has appeared, and who owns property, etc.

He was asked about a guardian over his two sisters who have grown up and in whom he has discerned maturity, etc.

He was asked about a guardian who settled a debt on behalf of the testator without the claim having been proven before the judge.

He was asked about a Christian who died, left an estate, made a bequest, and whose debts then came to light, etc.

He was asked about a guardian, and the like, when his property is jointly held by him and the ward, and the testator has a share in it, etc.

He was asked about a guardian of an orphan who trades on the orphan’s behalf and on his own account with his own capital, and who bought a certain commodity for the orphan … etc.

He was asked about orphans under guardianship who have a guardian and a surety … etc.

He was asked about a man on his deathbed who, in the presence of others, made a bequest that half of this house was for the Noble Sanctuary … etc.

He was asked about a man under guardianship through a lawful procedure, whose guardian has died and left his son … etc.

He was asked about a guardian who holds money belonging to orphans: may he deduct his share from his own funds and their share from theirs?

He was asked about orphans in the custody of a guardian who have a maternal half-brother, and the guardian has sold that brother’s share to his brothers … etc.

He was asked about a man who owns a slave woman, has five children by her, and has deposited some dirhams with another person … etc.

He was asked about a guardian who renounced his guardianship before the judge, handed the money over to the judge, and asked the judge … etc.

He was asked about a man who appointed two men as guardians over his child, after which they strove to establish the bequest … etc.

He was asked about a man whose companion died in jihad, after which he gathered the estate over a period of three years … etc.

Book of Inheritance Shares

He was asked about a woman whose husband had died and left children.

He was asked about a woman who died leaving a husband and both parents, the father having taken control of the estate … does the husband inherit from her?

He was asked about a woman who died leaving both parents, a husband, four sons, and a daughter.

He was asked about a woman who died leaving a husband, a grandmother, full brothers, and a son.

He was asked about a woman who died leaving a husband, two daughters, her mother, and two full sisters.

He was asked about a woman who died leaving a husband, her mother, a full sister, a paternal half-sister, a brother, and a maternal half-sister.

He was asked about a woman who died leaving a husband, a daughter, her mother, and a maternal half-sister.

Section: Demonstrating that the comprehensive texts encompass all rulings in matters of inheritance shares.

The one-third share is exclusive to the maternal siblings

The Joint Case

The Grandfather Case

The Two ʿUmari Cases

The Mother’s Inheritance Share

Section: On the Inheritance Share of Sisters Together with Daughters

Section: On the Inheritance Share of Two Daughters

Section: On the Inheritance Share of the Grandfather and Grandmother

Granddaughters through a Son Together with a Daughter

Full Sister Together with a Paternal Half-Sister

Section: On Those Whose Order of Death Is Unknown and on the Missing Person

Question about a man who died leaving a full paternal uncle and a paternal half-sister: what are the inheritance shares?

Question about a woman who died leaving a daughter, a maternal half-brother, and a paternal cousin

Question about a woman who died leaving a husband, a father, a mother, and two children; then, after her death, her father died, etc.

Question about a man who had children, acquired a slave girl, fathered a son by her, and then set her free, etc.

Question about a woman who died leaving a husband and a sister’s son

Question about a man who died leaving a wife, a full sister, and three daughters of a full brother, etc.

Question about a man who died leaving a daughter and minor sons of a paternal brother, etc.

Question about a man who died leaving two daughters and his paternal uncle—a uterine brother of the father; what is the ruling?

Question about a man who died leaving a brother, two full sisters, two daughters, and a wife

Question about a man whose maternal aunt died, leaving property and no heirs, etc.

Question about a man who had a female and a male paternal cousin, then the female cousin died, etc.

Question about a man who left behind a wife and three sons by her, then one of them died, etc.

Question about two men who were paternal half-brothers, whose mother was an umm walad; she married another man and bore him two children, etc.

Question about a man who died leaving two sons, two daughters, a wife, and a nephew, etc.

Question about an orphan whose assets were under a court-appointed trustee, and whose uncle deliberately killed him

Question about the statement: “My grandmother is his mother, my father his grandfather, I am his aunt, and he is my uncle”

Question about the statement: “What is the matter with some people? Their deceased has just died, and they are already dividing the money and garments.”

Question about a married woman whose husband has been chronically ill for three months

Question about a man who divorced his wife once before consummation during the illness in which he died

Question about a man who gave his daughter in marriage and committed himself to the dower, after which the husband became ill

Question about a man who died, leaving a slave-concubine; she later died, leaving a son and two daughters … etc.

Question about a man who owned a slave-girl and had a son; the son committed fornication with the slave-girl, who also fornicated with others, then she bore a child, attributed him to the son, and he acknowledged the child … etc.

Question about a man whose mother owned a slave-girl; he had intercourse with her without his mother’s permission, she conceived from him and bore a boy, and he came to own them both … etc.

Question about a man who gave his wife a slave-girl from her dower; she freed her, then after some time he had intercourse with the slave-girl and she bore a son … etc.

Chapter on Manumission

Part 32: Fiqh 12 — Marriage

The Book of Marriage

Chapter on the Pillars and Conditions of Marriage

The chief proof for those who say that a marriage contract is valid only with the words “inkāḥ” and “tazwīj”.

He was asked about a man who appointed a dhimmī to accept a Muslim woman’s marriage contract—does the marriage stand?

He was asked about a sick man who married while ill—does the marriage contract stand?

He was asked about a man who had a daughter below the age of puberty, and she was married off while her father was absent… etc.

He was asked about a woman who had a father and a brother, and whose father’s agent for her marriage was present, yet she brought in a stranger, claiming that he was her brother… etc.

He was asked about a father compelling his adult virgin daughter to marry—Is it permissible?

He was asked about an adult daughter who had been betrothed to a relative of hers, but she refused… etc.

He was asked about a man who married a virgin through her father’s guardianship, without asking her permission at the time of the contract… etc.

A son may not be compelled to marry, and if he refuses his parents’ wish in this matter he is not considered undutiful toward them.

He was asked about a man who is under his father’s guardianship and has married without his permission… etc.

He was asked about a man who proposed to a woman who had a son, the officiant being Mālikī; the officiant requested the son’s presence, but he could not attend… etc.

He was asked about a woman whom her brother had secluded in a place so that she could complete the waiting period for her husband… etc.

He was asked about a man who married an adult woman through her paternal grandfather—her father’s father—without possessing a testamentary mandate from her own father… etc.

He was asked about a man who bribed a woman’s guardian to have her married to him, then made a settlement with the owner of the money on his behalf… etc.

He was asked about a man who owned a slave-girl, emancipated her, married her, and died; afterward a suitable suitor sought her hand… etc.

He was asked about a man who married another man’s freedwoman, divorced her, she then married a second husband, and he divorced her.

He was asked about Bedouins dwelling on the coast who have no custom of contracting marriage.

He was asked about a man who embraced Islam: does he retain guardianship over his children who are People of the Book?

He was asked about a man who had a freedwoman; when another man requested her in marriage, he swore by divorce, etc.

He was asked about someone who contracts marriages with a guardian and two upright witnesses: may the judge forbid him?

He was asked about a man who proposed to a free woman with a guardian other than the judge, and who produced witnesses he knows to be dissolute: is the woman’s marriage valid on the basis of their testimony?

He was asked about the ḥadīth: “Do not marry a woman off until she is consulted.”

He was asked about the woman whose consent is required for marriage under the Sharīʿa: must her giving permission to her guardian be witnessed?

He was asked about an unmarried girl whose virginity had been lost through coercion and upon whom no marriage contract had ever been concluded?

He was asked about an orphan girl, ten years old and without a guardian: may she contract her own marriage?

He was asked about a minor girl below puberty whose father had died: may the judge or his deputy contract her marriage?

He was asked about an orphan girl who has no father or guardian except her brother, and her brother has contracted her marriage without her consent: is that permissible?

He was asked about a girl below puberty: may the judge contract her marriage?

He was asked about a man who married a young orphan girl, whose marriage contract was concluded by a follower of the Shāfiʿī school, and she did not reach puberty until two months after the contract: is the contract valid or not?

He was asked about a man who found a young girl, raised her, and when she reached puberty the judge married her to him, etc.

He was asked about an orphan girl whom a man had proposed to marry, while her mother’s husband disliked the suitor: is it permissible for her uncle or her brother to marry her off without her consent?

He was asked about a man who married a woman, and after she had stayed with him for a few days some people came claiming that she was their property.

He was asked about marrying male slaves to slave girls without emancipating them.

He was asked about a nobleman who married off his adult virgin daughter to a non-noble Moroccan man with her consent.

He was asked about a man who married off his brother’s daughter to his son, and the groom is a sinner who does not pray.

He was asked about a man who owns a slave who has bound himself and intends to marry—may he marry?

He was asked about a man who married a freedwoman of some royal princesses without her emancipator’s permission— is the contract valid?

He was asked about a man who proposed to a woman; when asked about his means of maintenance, it was answered that it would come from state funds, so her guardian refused to marry her off

He was asked about a man who married off his daughter to someone; after the wedding he learned of the groom’s immorality, so the wife became irrevocably divorced from him by a triple divorce, and so on.

He was asked about the Rafidites: may they be married off?

He was asked about a Rafidite and someone who says that the five daily prayers are not obligatory: is it valid for men or women to marry him, and what is the ruling if he repents of Rafidism?

Chapter on the Prohibited Degrees of Marriage

Rule on the Prohibited Degrees of Marriage through Blood and Affinity

He was asked about a man who had a concubine acquired by written contract; after his death he left a son who then married that grandfather’s concubine, etc.

Section on the prohibition of simultaneously marrying two sisters, a woman and her paternal aunt, or a woman and her maternal aunt

He was asked about people where one man marries the other’s sister, and the latter marries the former’s sister or daughter … is that permissible?

He was asked about a man who was married to someone’s maternal aunt and then married that person’s daughter … etc.

He was asked about a man who, in a single marriage, joined a man’s maternal aunt with the daughter of that man’s full brother … etc.

He was asked about a man who bought a slave girl, had intercourse with her, and then transferred ownership of her to his son … etc.

He was asked about a man who married a woman, did not consummate with her, and divorced her before intercourse … etc.

He was asked about a man who divorced his wife while she was nursing his child … etc.

He was asked about a man who married a woman three years ago … etc.

He was asked about a divorced woman who claimed and swore that she had finished her waiting period, whereupon a second man married her … etc.

He was asked about a woman who had become irrevocably divorced and then remarried a month and a half later after only one menstrual period … etc.

He was asked about a man who concluded the marriage contract on the basis that she was of age, and who neither consummated the marriage nor had intercourse with her … etc.

He was asked about a man who married a virgin girl, then divorced her three times without having intercourse with her … etc.

He was asked about someone who says that once a woman has undergone triple divorce, she becomes lawful without a second marriage … etc.

Section: On the case of one who says, “If I do it, then freeing my slave is incumbent upon me.”

If someone swears by God, by divorce, by ẓihār, by declaring something forbidden, or by a vow that he will not do a certain act, then does it out of forgetfulness or ignorance that it was the object of his oath

The wisdom in a woman becoming forbidden to her husband through triple divorce

Do Jews and Christians engage in intercourse through right-hand possession?

Khulʿ is a dissolution of the marriage and is not counted among the three divorces

When triple divorce occurs, she is forbidden except through a legitimizing marriage

The difference between mutʿa marriage and tahlīl (legitimizing) marriage

He was asked about a man who married an orphan girl; her mother testified that she had reached puberty, and she stayed with him for four years, then … etc.

He was asked about a man who married a woman under the guardianship of a non-relative, while her own guardian was within a distance shorter than that which permits shortening the prayer, and he consummated the marriage … etc.

He was asked about a man who married a woman two years ago and then divorced her three times, while her marriage guardian was a fāsiq; is a marriage contract concluded by a fāsiq valid?

He was asked about a man who married a woman whose guardian is a fāsiq who consumes what is unlawful, and the triple divorce has already taken effect … etc.

He was asked about a man who married a woman by a “handshake” marriage with a dowry of five dinars … etc.

He was asked about a man who married by a “handshake,” and she stayed with him for several days … etc.

He was asked about a married slave woman whose husband had traveled, and whose master sold her while stipulating that she had a husband … etc.

He was asked about a man who acknowledged before just witnesses that he had divorced his wife for a period longer than the lawful waiting term; is it permissible for them to marry her to him now?

He was asked about a man who married a woman but had neither consummated the marriage nor had intercourse with her, and she gave birth two months later; is the marriage valid?

He was asked about a man—an itinerant courier—who travels through the lands, staying in each city for a month or two and then moves on … etc.

He was asked about someone who said: “If a divorced woman is anally penetrated by a man, she becomes lawful for her former husband; is this correct?”

Marriage to an adulteress

The ruling on a woman who has obtained khulʿ and how she observes istibrāʾ

Istibrāʾ for a female emigrant from the land of unbelief

The dispute regarding the ʿidda

Two issues concerning marriage to an adulteress (her istibrāʾ and when she becomes permissible)

The meaning of the words: “No one may marry her except an adulterer or a polytheist”

An adulterer who has not repented is not permitted to marry a chaste woman

The meaning of muḥṣanāt

Among the Arabs, adultery was not ascribed to free women, but only to slave women

The meaning of God’s words: “muḥṣinīn ghayra musāfiḥīn wa-lā muttakhidhī akhdān”

The repentance of the adulteress

Secret marriage and ʿUmar’s stance on it

The ruling on witnessing alone in marriage

Witnessing in revocable return (rujʿa) rather than in marriage

Requirements for the two witnesses

Advancing and deferring the dowry

The requirement of a guardian in marriage

The rationale behind the prohibition of shighār marriage

Is a particular wording required for marriage, and must it be in Arabic?

He was asked about a daughter born of adultery: may she marry her father?

He was asked about a man who committed adultery with a woman in his youth and later saw her with a daughter … etc.

He was asked about a man who committed adultery with a woman; she conceived by him and bore a girl—may he marry the daughter?

He was asked about someone who went up to his house and found a stranger with his wife, so he gave her her due … etc.

He was asked about a man who married his daughter born of adultery

He was asked about a man who committed adultery with a woman, and the adulterer died—may the aforementioned son marry her?

He was asked about a man who owned a slave-girl whom he slept with, knowing that another person also slept with her and without safeguarding her chastity.

He was asked about a man who owns a slave-girl who commits fornication—may he lawfully have intercourse with her?

He was asked about the ḥadīth of the man who said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), “My wife does not fend off the hand of one who touches her”—what does that mean?

Section on considering intention in marriage

He was asked about the tahlīl marriage practiced today—Is it valid?

He was asked about a just imam who divorced his wife; she stayed in his house until she became lawful through the Egyptian tahlīl, whereupon he married her.

He was asked about a man who divorced his wife three times; after she completed her ʿidda she married a second husband, etc.

He was asked: Is the issue of the slave valid or not?

He was asked about a man who violated an oath concerning his wife, so she married another man to make herself lawful for the first; is that marriage valid?

He was asked about a young slave-boy below puberty whom women use to make themselves lawful: does that render him a husband when he knows nothing of intercourse?

Chapter on the Conditions of Marriage

Section on Invalid Conditions in Marriage

The Scholars’ Opinions Concerning These Conditions

The Reason for Invalidating Shighar Marriage

A Sale with an Invalid Condition Is Valid

If a man marries a woman with the intention—or on the condition—of taḥlīl, and both later wish to remain married, must they renew the contract or is the original one sufficient?

He was asked about a man who married a woman on the condition, set at the time of the marriage, that he would neither take another wife nor move her from her home.

He was asked about someone who stipulated that he would neither take another wife, nor acquire a concubine, nor remove his wife from her home—does such a condition stand and oblige compliance?

He was asked about a man who married a ten-year-old girl, whose family stipulated that he live with them, but he failed to keep that condition.

He was asked about a man who, before witnesses, stipulated to his wife that he would not house her in his father’s home.

He was asked about a man who married under the condition that any woman he might marry would be divorced.

He was asked about a man who swore an oath of divorce that he would not marry a certain woman, then later decided to marry her—may he do so?

Chapter on Defects in Marriage

Chapter on the Bridal Dower

Chapter on the Wedding Banquet

Chapter on Companionship

Chapter on the Division between Wives

Chapter on Recalcitrance

Chapter on Khulʿ

He was asked about khulʿ: what is it?

If a woman detests her husband and chooses separation, she must ransom herself from him

He was asked about a man who accused his wife of adultery

He was asked about an adult previously married woman whose only guardian was the judge: the judge married her off, after which the husband effected a khulʿ divorce and she released him from the dower without the judge’s permission—are the khulʿ and the release valid?

He was asked about a woman whose husband said to her, “If you release me, then you are divorced.”

He was asked about a woman who released her husband from all of her dower.

He was asked about a man who told his wife, “This son of your husband will not enter any house of mine.”

He was asked about a man who had divorced his wife with a revocable divorce; when he appeared before the witnesses, some of them said to him, “Say, ‘I divorced her for one dirham,’ … etc.”

He was asked about khulʿ: does it count as one of the three divorces?

Is it a condition for khulʿ to be deemed a dissolution that it be effected without the wording or intention of divorce? A presentation of the views on this matter

The Lawgiver did not prescribe a specific formula for divorce

The scholars’ opinions on khulʿ without compensation

The scholars’ opinions on irrevocable divorce

Khulʿ and divorce are valid without Arabic wording

What is meant by the terms “water,” “sale,” “faith,” and “glad tidings” when used without qualification

What is the ruling if a husband separates from his wife in return for compensation?

The Reality of Emulation

Divorce According to the Sunnah

Divorce by the Threefold Formula

Types of Irrevocable Divorce

Triple Divorce with One Word or Several Words before Revocation or a New Contract

Section on the Separation Arising from Triple Divorce and Other Causes

What the Prophet ﷺ intended by his statement, “Divorce whichever one of them you wish”

Evidence that the Prophet ﷺ did not intend thereby that he divorce her with the explicit wording of a counted divorce

The Story of the Khulʿ of Thābit ibn Qays’s Wife

The Waiting Period of the Woman Divorced by Khulʿ

Evidence that Khulʿ is an Annulment, Not a Divorce

Those Who Said that Khulʿ Is a Divorce

Scholarly Dispute over the Wife of a Non-Muslim: Is She Required to Observe a Waiting Period or Merely an Istibrāʾ?

Istibrāʾ Is Prescribed Whenever Pregnancy Is Possible

Section on the Overlap of Two Waiting Periods

Asked about a man who quarreled with his wife after one prior talaq; she said to him, “Divorce me,” and he replied, “If you absolve me, then you are divorced.”

Asked about a man whose wife said to him: “Divorce me, and I absolve you of all my rights over you, and I will take the daughter … etc.”

Asked about a man who said to his father-in-law: “If you bring me my document and absolve me of it, then your daughter is divorced three times.”

Asked about a man who has a wife; her father swore that he would not allow her to stay with him, and her father said to her … etc.

Asked about an orphan girl under guardianship who was married; her husband said to her: “If you absolve me of your dower, then you are divorced three times.”

Asked about a woman whose husband had provided her with valuable jewellery, necklaces and the like, and who requested khulʿ from him.

Asked about a man who sold some of his cloth goods, and whose wife quarrelled with him because of that … etc.

Asked about a man of the Mālikī school who had a dispute with his wife’s father; when they appeared before the judge, the husband said to the wife’s father: “If your daughter absolves me, I shall pronounce divorce upon her” … etc.

Asked about a woman whose husband divorced her three times, and who absolved the husband of marital rights before she learned she was pregnant … etc.

Part 33: Fiqh 13 — Divorce

The Book of Divorce

Divorce by an Intoxicated Person and Similar Cases

Divorce by Swearing an Oath

Asked about a perjurious oath when swearing by divorce

Whoever vows a prayer or a fast

The Oaths of Muslims

Scholars’ Opinions on Swearing by Divorce

Prohibited Divorce

He was asked: If a man swears by divorce, saying, “Divorce is binding upon me”

Categories of Oaths

Whoever swears by disbelief or by Islam—must he make an oath-expiation?

Forms of Divorce

He was asked about someone who said, “Divorce is binding upon me according to the four madhhabs.”

What was lawful does not become unlawful by an oath

Khulʿ: Does the woman become separated by it?

Divorce According to the Sunnah

Witnessing in Marriage

The Case of David and Solomon

Swearing an Oath by Ẓihār

Asked about someone who said: “Divorce is binding on me for as long as I keep swearing by divorce.”

Asked about a man who said: “Divorce is binding on me whenever I see so-and-so.”

Asked about a man who accused his wife of stealing dirhams.

Asked about a man who said: “If my wife gives birth to a daughter, she is divorced.”

Asked about a man who quarreled with his wife and was wounded by her.

Asked about a man who said to his wife while living with her in a house other than her own

His statement: “You are forbidden to me.”

Asked about a man who said to his mother-in-law: “If you do not sell me your slave girl.”

Asked about a man who said to his wife: “If you enter the house, you are divorced.”

Asked about a man who swore, with triple divorce, that the Qur’an is voice and letter, and that the Most Merciful is established upon the Throne.

If he intends to swear by the apparent meaning

The Jahmiyyah and Their Denial of God’s Attributes

The Meaning of Istiwāʾ

Types of Expressions

He was asked about a man who swore by divorce not to enter his neighbor’s house

Swearing by divorce and similar oaths as an incitement or deterrent

Summary of the dispute concerning the conditional oath

Pure conditionality

Vows of Devotion, Obstinacy, and Anger

Breach of an Oath

Rules Concerning Issues of Oaths of Divorce, Manumission, and Swearing by Allah

If One Swears in Accordance with His Belief and the Contrary Later Becomes Evident

An Inadvertent Oath

Question about someone who swore by divorce on a certain matter and then broke his oath: does the divorce take effect or not?

The Soundest Opinion Regarding This Oath

Divorce Formulations

Question about someone who swore not to speak to his brother’s son-in-law

Question about a man who swore not to live in the place he is in

Question about a man who swore by divorce that his wife would not put her hand into his purse for four months

Question about a man who had concluded a manumission contract with his slave and, under duress, swore by triple divorce that he would not cease beating him

Question about a man who, in anger, swore by triple divorce that his wife would not enter her uncle’s house

Question about a man who swore regarding his wife: “If you go out while I am away, you are divorced.”

Question about a man who had two wives; when a sum of money disappeared from his house, he swore by triple divorce of the new wife

Question about a man who swore by divorce that he would not give his daughter in marriage to a particular man

Question about a man who had two wives perform Hajj on his behalf and swore by divorce that he would not feed them anything

Question about a man who swore by divorce that his wife would not leave the house except with his permission

Question about a man who found his maternal cousin with his wife

Question about a man who swore by divorce that he would not marry a certain woman

Question about a man whose wife refused to have intercourse with him

Question about a man who swore an oath not to have intercourse with his wife for six months

Question about a man who has a wife and a slave girl

Question about a man who owes a sum of money to two people

Question about a man who buys vegetables and has the rightful weight weighed for him

Question about a man who left a document in his brother’s house and it was lost

Divorce Contingent upon Conditions

Part 34: Fiqh 14 — Ẓihār – the Ḥadd for Highway Robbery

Chapter on Ẓihār

Chapter on Lineage Affiliation

Chapter on Waiting Periods

Chapter on Istibrāʾ (Uterine Clearance)

Chapter on Ridāʿ (Breastfeeding)

Question: What is prohibited through breastfeeding and what is not

Adult Breastfeeding

Question about a child who was breast-fed by a woman alongside her own child for one suckling or part of a suckling, etc.

What is the ruling when it is doubtful whether the milk has entered the child’s stomach?

Question about two sisters who each have daughters and sons: if each sister breastfeeds the other’s daughters, do those daughters become forbidden (for marriage) to the sons?

Question about a man who was breast-fed together with another man: when one of them later has a daughter, may the other, the foster-brother, marry that daughter?

Question about a man who has two daughters of his maternal aunt: one was breast-fed together with him while the other was not; may he marry the one who was not nursed with him?

Question about a woman who hired a wet nurse for her daughter for a day or a month, and the wet nurse already had a child; may the two marry?

Question about a man who married a second wife after the first: a child nursed from the first wife, and the father has a daughter by the second

Question about a man who has a fiancée: he and her father were not breast-fed together, but each of them has young siblings who nursed from one another

Question about two full sisters: one has two daughters, the other a son, and the elder daughter nursed together with the boy

Question about a woman who left her daughter with her brother’s wife; when she returned she asked, “Did you nurse her?”

Question about a married woman who produced milk although she had neither borne a child nor was pregnant, and who breast-fed a little girl of hers under two years old five times

Question about a man who proposed to his female relative, and her father said, “She was nursed together with you.”

Question about a man who married a woman and had children by her; later someone came who challenged the wife and informed her husband.

Question about a man who, when he was a small child, was nursed by a woman together with one of her daughters, who has younger sisters

Question about two sisters, one of whom had a son and the other a daughter, and the mother of the son nursed the daughter

Question about a man with ophthalmia who washed his eye with his wife’s milk: does she become forbidden to him if her milk enters his stomach?

Section: If a child suckles from a woman five times before the age of two

Question about a boy whom she breast-fed twice; ten years later she conceived, bore a daughter, and the boy had grown into a young man

Question about a boy breast-fed by someone other than his mother—and likewise a girl who is breast-fed: which marriages become forbidden to them thereafter?

Question about two women—one with a son and the other with a daughter—whose daughter’s mother breast-fed the son repeatedly

Question about a man who has a paternal cousin whose father was breast-fed by the man’s mother

Question about a woman who handed a boy to another woman while they were in the bathhouse, and the latter realized only when her breast was in the child’s mouth

Chapter on Maintenance and Custody

The Imām’s statement regarding Allāh’s saying: “And mothers shall breast-feed their children for two full years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing …”

Completion of Nursing

It is permissible to complete the nursing before two years

Allah’s saying: “When you hand over what you have given in a fair manner” and its implication

A man may not have intercourse with a woman who is pregnant by another man

The scholars’ opinions on Allah’s words: “And if they are pregnant, then provide for them until they give birth.”

He was asked about a man who had a wife whom he divorced three times and who has from her a nursing daughter.

He was asked about a needy married woman: is her maintenance the husband’s responsibility or is it to be taken from her dowry?

He was asked about a woman whose husband derives no benefit from her and who does not comply with him in anything: does she deserve maintenance and clothing from him?

He was asked about a woman and her husband when they litigate over maintenance and clothing: whose statement prevails?

Is it obligatory to confer ownership of the maintenance allowance?

The legally prescribed oath lies with the stronger litigant

Section on the judge’s determination of maintenance and clothing when a dispute arises

The Imām’s statement on the two verses, “And divorced women shall wait by themselves for three periods …”

Clarification of sufficiency according to customary standards

Maintenance of Slaves

The obligation consists of provision and clothing according to customary standards regarding type, amount, and manner of expenditure

Section: On the allotment of the initial turn, intercourse, companionship, and conjugal enjoyment

Section: On her duty to agree with him in residence and companionship and to comply with him in conjugal enjoyment

Section: On the dispute among scholars over a wife’s service to her husband

Section: On the principle that an unrestricted contract’s obligations are governed by custom

He was asked about a man who was married to a woman, travelled away from her for a full year, and left her nothing.

He was asked about a man who married off his daughter to a man; when the husband wanted to take her to his homeland, the father’s agent who had accepted the marriage told him, “Do not travel.”

He was asked about a man who allotted his mother two dirhams each day and authorized her to borrow on his account, but she did not do so.

He was asked about a woman who died, leaving as heir a male child who has claimed against his father the dowry and clothing.

He was asked about a man who married a woman, consummated the marriage, and kept providing her maintenance while she was recalcitrant.

He was asked about a man who married into a family for one year; after a dispute arose between them, they claimed a year’s clothing from him.

He was asked about a man whom his wife confined for her clothing and dowry.

He was asked about a man who has a wife and, for seven years, has derived no benefit from her because of her illness; does she deserve maintenance from him?

He was asked about a man who divorced his wife with a single pronouncement while she was pregnant, and she miscarried.

He was asked about a man who divorced his wife three times and required her to complete her waiting period in the marital home, but she left.

He was asked about a man whose wife died, leaving him three daughters, whom he handed over to his father- and mother-in-law.

He was asked about a man who had intercourse with an unrelated woman, she became pregnant by him, and then he married her.

He was asked about a man married to a woman who has a child by another man, and she stipulated that she would not demand part of her dower from him.

He was asked about a woman who takes food from her husband’s house on the grounds that she labours there.

He was asked about a man who is unable to earn and possesses nothing, and who has a wife and children.

He was asked about a man who has a son, and who asked him for his maintenance.

He was asked about a man who has a son and wealth, whose father is poor, has dependants, and whose wife is not the mother of that son.

He was asked about a man who was unable to maintain his daughter, was away, and she was with her mother.

He was asked about a man who has a divorced wife and a son from her who is seven years old, and they wish to impose his maintenance.

He was asked about a man on whom there is an endowment from his grandfather, then for his children; he owns property, yet both are lying idle, and he has a destitute son.

Section: On the Almighty’s words, “And upon the father of the child lies their provision and clothing in a fair manner.”

He was asked about a man who has a repentant slave-girl who prays and fasts; what obligation falls upon her master if he does not have intercourse with her?

He was asked about giving charity to needy family members and others.

Chapter on Custody

Chapter on Criminal Offenses

He was asked about qiṣāṣ (legal retaliation)

He was asked about intentional homicide and what it is

He was asked about a killer, whether intentional or accidental: must he pay the expiation mentioned in the Qur’an, or is he liable for blood money?

He was asked about a group who jointly killed a man, leaving heirs both minors and adults: do his adult children have the right to kill them?

He was asked about a person who kills a believer, whether intentionally or accidentally, and from whom qiṣāṣ was exacted in this world

He was asked about a man who intentionally killed another man, and the victim had a five-year-old daughter

He was asked about a man who was killed by a group, and two witnesses testified to the killing

He was asked about a group who gathered and pledged to kill a Muslim man

He was asked about a man whose children, slave girls, and a stranger agreed to kill him; what is God’s ruling concerning them?

He was asked about two men who fought and grappled, and one of them fell and died; what is required of the other?

He was asked about someone who struck a man a blow, and the man lingered for some time and then died; what is required of the assailant?

He was asked about a Jewish man who was killed by a Muslim; is the Muslim put to death in retaliation?

He was asked about a faction called “al-ʿAshīra,” Qays and Yaman, among whom killing is frequent, etc.

He was asked about someone who said: “I will strike him, and by God, Allah will kill him.”

He was asked about a man riding a horse; a bear-handler with a bear passed by, so the horse shied and threw its rider.

He was asked about a man whose money had been taken; he accused another man of it, beat him until he confessed, then when he recanted he beat him until he died.

He was asked about a soldier who held an iqṭāʿ in the town of al-Rīʿ; someone had been killed there, and they said … etc.

He was asked about a man who encountered seven people; a dispute arose between them, so they all beat him.

He was asked: if the wounded man says, “No one has killed me but so-and-so,” is his statement admissible?

He was asked about two men who had drunk wine; one of them struck his companion with a mace, so he fell from his horse… etc.

He was asked about a man who had agreed with another to kill a Muslim for a specified sum of money, then killed him; what is incumbent upon him under Islamic law?

He was asked about someone who intentionally killed his own child; to whom is the blood-money due?

He was asked about a man who had quarreled with someone, then went home and became weak

He was asked about someone accused of a killing: should he be beaten to make him confess, or not?

He was asked about the inhabitants of two villages who bore mutual enmity in matters of belief, and about a man who quarreled with another over some lost sheep and threatened him

He was asked about two people who were accused of a killing, were detained, and one of them confessed concerning himself and his companion

He was asked about a group accused of a killing, who were beaten, and one of them confessed under punishment—does that confession extend to the rest?

He was asked about a party of travelers who were attacked by robbers, so they fought them, and the robbers killed one of the travelers… etc.

He was asked about a man who killed a victim who had a father, and whose parents had granted the killer their son’s blood… etc.

He was asked about a pre-pubescent boy who committed an offense that entails blood money.

He was asked about a man who said to his wife, “Abort what is in your womb, and the sin will be on me.”

He was asked about an upright man who owned a slave girl and admitted, in the presence of trustworthy witnesses, that he had slept with her and that she had become pregnant by him.

He was asked about a pregnant woman who deliberately aborted the fetus; what is required of her?

He was asked about a woman who buried her son alive until he died; what is required of her?

He was asked about a man who slaps another man, or punches him, or insults him: is it permissible to do to him as he did?

He was asked about someone who struck another person and disabled the use of his finger.

He was asked about two people—one free and the other a slave—who were carrying a wooden beam, and the beam slipped from them unintentionally.

He was asked about three men who were carrying a marble column; two of them then threw the column onto the third, breaking his leg.

He was asked about two men who quarreled and grappled with one another by hand, one of whom was ill, etc.

He was asked about a man who witnessed another man kill three Muslims during Ramadan, and the ruler could not apprehend him: may the witness kill him and be rewarded?

He was asked about two men—one seized a man, and the other struck him, causing his hand to be paralyzed.

He was asked about a man who found a stranger with his wife, killed her, then repented, and one of his sons wished to offer the expiation.

He was asked about a man who struck another man with a sword, paralyzing his hand, then came to him and gave him four feddans of farmland in settlement.

He was asked about a man who struck another man, displacing his palate and knocking out his canine teeth; what is he liable for?

He was asked about a Muslim who killed another Muslim without right, then repented; may he hope for the acceptance of his repentance, and is blood money due?

He was asked about two men who differed regarding intentional killing: one said, “This is a sin that is never forgiven,” while the other said, “If he repents, God will accept his repentance.”

He was asked about a man whom the Christians accused of killing Christians, although no evidence had been established against him.

Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Legal Punishments)

Chapter: The Hadd for Zinā

Chapter: The Hadd for Qadhf

Chapter: The Hadd for Intoxicants

Chapter: Taʿzīr (Discretionary Punishments)

Chapter: Hand Amputation for Theft

Chapter: The Ḥadd for Highway Robbery

Part 35: Fiqh 15 — Fighting the Rebels – Legal Admissions

Chapter on the Caliphate, Kingship, and Fighting the Rebels

A Concise Principle: On the Obligation to Obey God and His Messenger for Every Person

The Meaning of Referring Matters to God and His Messenger

The Obligation to Hear and Obey

Section: On Obeying the Holders of Authority and Advising Them

Types of Those Who Rebel Against the Holder of Authority

Section: On the Obligation to Obey the Authority for God’s Sake, Not for Any Personal Motive

Principle: On the Caliphate and Kingship

Appointing Emirs and Caliphs Is the Community’s Duty

The Ruling on the Prophetic Caliphate and Governance

The Caliphate of Muʿāwiya and ʿAlī

Permissibility of forgoing some obligations when one is unable to perform them

Kingship under the Law of Those Before Us

He said: On the obligations of the Imām and the subjects together, and the Imām’s functions

Mosques as the Seats of the Imāms and Assemblies of the Umma

On the Recently Introduced Construction of Castles and Fortresses

On the Caliphate and the Sultan, and His Being the Upholder of God’s Law

Why Is the Ruler Called a Caliph?

On the Establishment of the Caliphate through Election and the Obligation of Obedience

On the Statements of the Sectarians Concerning Those Who Fought ʿAlī

He was asked about two groups of peasants who fought; one was routed and some of its members were killed—what is the ruling concerning the slain, and concerning the defeated?

He was asked about the rebels and the Kharijites—are the two terms synonymous?

Distinguishing between the Kharijites and the People of al-Jamal and Ṣiffīn

He was asked about someone who curses Muʿāwiya—what is incumbent upon him?

The Meaning of Companionship with the Prophet

Companionship and Status of Those Who Embraced Islam Late

The Prophet’s praise for al-Hasan for reuniting the Muslims

Does the rebel leave the fold of faith?

Interpretation: “Indeed, ʿAmmār will be killed by the rebel faction.”

He was asked about the strife that breaks out among the righteous and similar groups, leading them to kill one another.

He was asked about those who claim to belong to Muhammad’s community yet rally under pre-Islamic tribal slogans.

Seeking blood‐revenge is a falsehood against the Messenger

If the ruling of God and His Messenger is sought, submitting to it is obligatory

He was asked about people who neither pray nor fast, and whose wealth is unlawful

He was asked about people who reside on the frontiers, raid the Armenians, and spend their wealth on drinking wine

He was asked about a man whom the emir ordered to pursue certain people and fight them, and he killed one of them

He was asked about a form of brotherhood that is not in accordance with the Sharīʿa

Chapter: The Ruling on the Apostate

He was asked about two men who spoke concerning the issue of pollination

Those who dispute the Prophets’ infallibility are not to be declared unbelievers

What Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said about someone who reviles while quoting another

He was asked about someone who affirmed the two testimonies but did not fulfil the pillars of Islam

He was asked about his opinion of al-Hallāj

If a Zindīq Shows Repentance

He was asked about al-Muʿizz the Fāṭimid

Claiming infallibility for anyone is misguidance—except for the prophets

On the claim that certain groups of Zindīqs possess esoteric knowledge

The Shīʿah and the strife they have caused among the Muslims

The Qarāmiṭa are unbelievers inwardly

On the position concerning the Nusayriyya

The Malāhida, Qarāmiṭa, Bāṭiniyya, Ismāʿīliyya and Nusayriyya in the same sense

Intermarriage with the Nusayriyya and their food, utensils and clothing

The duty of the authorities toward them

The duty of the general public toward them

He was asked about the Druze and the Nusayriyya

He said: in response to pamphlets from certain Druze factions

He was asked about the Qalandariyya

He was asked about one who believes that the planets exert an influence on existence

The prohibition of sorcery and astrology

The belief that the stars’ appearance is linked to good or bad fortune is false

The science of the stars is of two kinds: calculation and judgments

The first person to introduce Rafidism

Allah accepts only the religion of Islam

Falsehood gains acceptance only when mingled with some truth

He was asked about the astrologers’ claim to foretell the unseen

He was asked about the practice of astrology and using it to predict events

He was asked about someone who cursed a sharīf; when told that he was a sharīf, he said, “May God curse him and curse whoever ennobled him.”

He was asked about a man to whom intercession was sought in some matter, and he said, “Even if Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh came to me, I would not accept it.”

He was asked about cursing the Jews, cursing their religion, and reviling the Torah.

He was asked about someone who prefers a Jew and a Christian to a Rāfiḍī.

He was asked about someone who said, “The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Whoever says, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ will enter Paradise,’” and who believed that he would enter it without any deeds.

He was asked about a man who detained someone over a debt; when another came to intercede but was rebuffed, the intercessor testified that the man had uttered something that amounts to disbelief.

The Book of Foods

He was asked about eating horse meat: is it lawful?

He was asked about a hybrid born of a wild donkey and a horse: is its meat lawful to eat?

He was asked about a ewe that gave birth to an offspring half dog and half lamb

He was asked about a she-goat that gave birth to a kid and then died, whereupon his wife suckled the kid

He was asked about drinking al-Iqsamā

He was asked about a man who stayed with some people expecting hospitality, and he and his beast were harmed—may he take from them what suffices him and his beast without their consent?

Chapter on Ritual Slaughter

He was asked about someone who ate an animal slaughtered by a Jew or a Christian, not knowing whether they follow the original or the distorted form of their religion.

Section on the People of the Book’s slaughtered animals and the scholarly disagreement concerning them

Sharīʿa rulings related to lineage

A woman’s and a man’s ritual slaughter are the same

He was asked about an animal that is slaughtered while in water and dies there—may its meat be eaten?

He was asked about an animal that is slaughtered, its blood gushes forth, but it does not move

He was asked about a strangled animal that has reached a point after which it will not live

He was asked about an animal on the verge of death—should it be slaughtered while still alive?

Section: On the tasmiyah when one is certain it was not pronounced over the animal

He was asked about a slaughtered animal when one is certain that the tasmiyah was not pronounced

Chapter on Oaths and Vows

He said: A Principle Concerning Oaths and Vows

An Oath Consists of Two Clauses

Oaths of Allegiance

The Jurists’ Classification of Oaths

The Ruling on Swearing by Allah

Section on Swearing by a Vow

Section on Swearing by Divorce and Manumission in Obstinacy and Anger

A Vow Contingent on a Condition

Swearing by God and by His Attributes Is the Same — the Perjurious Oath

Swearing by a Religion Other Than Islam

Swearing an Oath about Something and Then Realizing That Something Else Is Better

Swearing by a Vow, Divorce, or Manumission—It Is Permissible to Add an “If God Wills” Exception

Swearing by Divorce and Manumission—Is It Considered an Oath?

Deriving Necessary Implications within the Legal Schools and by Analogy

The Rationale for Classifying Swearing by Divorce as an Oath

Legal Stratagems in Swearing by Divorce

Religious and Worldly Corruptions Caused by Effecting Divorce

Conditional Divorce and the Difference Between It and Making Matters Conditional on Acts of Obedience

Section: A vow made in obstinacy or anger obliges one of two options—either expiation or performing the conditioned act

Section: On an oath that involves exhorting or forbidding oneself

Exception Clauses in Oaths

Section: On Exception Clauses in Zihār

His statement, “You are forbidden to me”: Is it an oath of divorce?

Section: On Swearing by Zihār or by a Ḥarām Declaration for Urging or Deterrence

Expiation before Breaking the Oath

Section: On one who swore that from the time he became rational he had not committed the sin, while meaning only from the time he reached puberty

He was asked about someone who swore to walk to Mecca—must he do so?

He said: The passages where oaths are mentioned in the Book of Allah

Section: The term “oath” in the Book of Allah and in the wording of the Companions encompasses swearing by Allah and by any of His Names

The Prophet ﷺ’s mention of oaths and vows

He said: Concerning vows of obedience and vows of disobedience—does a vow of disobedience require an expiation?

Section: Maxim—Whatever the Sharia already makes obligatory, if a servant vows, covenants, or pledges to perform it, thereby becomes obligatory a second time over and above the original duty.

He was asked about someone who instructed his hireling to pawn an item with a certain person, but the hireling pawned it with another and the collateral was lost… etc.

He was asked about a man who swore that his son would not enter the house until he handed over the garment he had taken.

He was asked about a man whose mother swore not to speak to him if he reconciled with his wife.

He said: The expiation for an oath is as set forth in Sūrat al-Māʾidah.

The median standard—what is the reference for determining it?

He said: Vows are of two kinds—those involving obedience and those involving disobedience.

Chapter on the Judiciary

The Purpose of Adjudication

Categories of Dispute Resolution

Section: Matters the Judge May Rule On and Matters Whose Judgment Belongs Exclusively to God

The Duty of Judges: Justice and Ijtihād to Attain the Truth

Rulers Are Required to Wage Jihād in Support of God’s Law

The Purpose of Jihād

The Law Is What God Has Legislated, Not the Judge’s Ruling

The Judge Must Rule by the Established Sunnah of the Prophet

Judges Are of Three Kinds

Rulers Must Prevent Mutual Injustice

A Judge May Not Punish People for Opposing the Muslims’ Consensus Until the Evidence Has Been Clarified

The ruler judges by what he knows and withholds judgment on what he does not know until he learns it

He said: The Conditions for Rendering Judgment

The Oath in Litigation

Categories of Legal Evidence

Litigation Concerning Suspicion and Criminal Acts

The Purpose of Detention in Sharia

Interrogation by Beating

Discretionary Punishment for Offenses That Carry No Ḥadd Penalty

Whoever Shelters a Criminal Sins

Is a confession extracted through beating admissible, or is corroborating evidence required?

Opinions on the Extent of Discretionary Punishment

He was asked about a man who assumed judicial authority over a group of musketeers and then said, “This is the musketeers’ law”; is his testimony admissible?

Chapter on Testimonies

He was asked: If a person’s narration is accepted, is his testimony accepted as well?

He was asked about a debtor who drew up an official record of his insolvency, had it witnessed, but did not specify the amount of the debt, etc.

He was asked about someone who had witnesses testify that no one would inherit him except a specific person

He was asked: Is a wet nurse’s testimony accepted?

He was asked: Is a co-wife’s testimony accepted?

He was asked about testimony against a sinner and an innovator: Is it permissible to rely on widespread report and notoriety?

He was asked about witnesses who had testified to something requiring the hadd; when they appeared they said, “We were mistaken.”

Chapter on Partition

He was asked about two partners in a house—one of them sought to partition it, while the other refused.

He was asked about a co-owner of an orchard whose fellow partner is under legal interdiction; the orchard can be divided—must he bear the maintenance expenses?

He was asked about three partners in a mill—one of whom holds a sixth share, etc.

He was asked about dividing meat without a scale, etc.

He was asked: Is it permissible to divide animals without a scale?

Chapter on Legal Admissions

He was asked about someone who acknowledged that the shop and the items were a waqf, etc.

He was asked about two people who mutually absolved one another, testifying that neither had any claim or lawsuit against the other, yet one of them held a written debt, and they disputed whether it was thereby extinguished.

He was asked about a man who died leaving a cousin and a wife whom he had divorced during his terminal illness; she inherited, then a judge confirmed the divorce—must she return what she received?

He was asked about a married woman whose husband divorced her; she took custody of their son, and during his illness he withheld her share of the inheritance, etc.

He was asked about a man who had a partner who compelled him to draw up a deed declaring that the entire property belonged to the partner.

He was asked about a woman who died, leaving four full siblings—one male and three daughters, etc.

He was asked about a man who died leaving heirs; some of them were compensated, and after one of them died, the person who had given a release claimed that he still had a right against the heirs of the last to die.

He was asked about a man who had two daughters: he gave the married one three thousand and the unmarried one seven thousand; then the married daughter died—do they inherit from their aunt’s estate?

He was asked about a man who emancipated a woman, married her, and gave her some of his property.

He was asked about a man who acknowledged, in a written document, that he owed dirhams, and then said: “The document is invalid.”

He was asked about a craftsman who had worked for a master for two years; when he requested an accounting, the master beat him and compelled him to write a deed against himself.

Majmu' al-Fatawa

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