Lecture: 11
Topic: Norms of disagreement (1)
 Kinds of ikhtalaaf
 Ethic /norms of disagreement in recent time:
Kinds of ikhtalaaf
1: Acceptable Differences
2: Unacceptable Differences
Acceptable Differences: If differences are confined to their proper limits and people are trained
to observe the proper ethics and norms of expressing and managing differences, Provided that
differences do not exceed their limits, and provided they remain within the standard norms of
ethics and proper behavior, this is a phenomenon that could prove to be positive and extremely
beneficial.
Unacceptable Differences: Disagreement may be prompted by egoistical desires to get
personal, psychological satisfaction or to achieve certain personal objectives. It may be impelled
by the desire to show off one's knowledge and understanding or cleverness. To cause this
type of disagreement is totally blameworthy, in that egoism or selfish desire suppresses all
concern for the truth and does not promote goodness.
Ethic /norms of disagreement in recent time
According to a tradition: "The good deeds of the righteous, coming in later times, would
have been considered demerits in the eyes of the early devout Companions. In the light of the
above saying, it would be safe to say that he who expects all people, irrespective of their
circumstances and individual abilities, to realize the ideal vision of Islam is setting a goal which
is not easy to attain. This point to a clear recognition of the fact that human abilities and actual
efforts and energies expended vary from one individual to another.
This is why there are various levels of worship and obedience, and these will be reflected in the
varying levels of the believers in paradise. in his commentary4 on the Quran, Ibn Jareer al
Tabaree relates that some people met `Abd Allaah (the son of `Umar ibn al Khattaab) in Egypt
and said to him: We see teachings of the Quran which are adhered to by some and not by others.
We want to meet the Ameer al Mumineen (`Umar Ibn al Khattaab) to question him about these
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matters. They went with him to `Umar, may God be pleased with him. `Abd Allaah told his
father why they had come and so they were invited to meet him. When they were gathered,
`Umar looked at the nearest man to him and asked: Tell me truly, by God and by the right of
Islam over you, have you read the entire Quran.
Yes; replied the man.
Have you acted upon all of it as it affects you yourself?
O Lord, no, replied the man.
Have you strictly followed the Quran in all that you see? Have you followed it in what you say?
Have you followed it wherever your steps take you? `Umar then put the same questions to
everyone in the audience. When he came to the last person he said: May the mother of `Umar
lose her son! Do you [now expect me to] place an imposition on people to adhere to the entire
Book of God? Our Lord and Sustainer certainly knew that we have failings, and he recited the
following verse of the Quran: If you shun the great sins which you have been forbidden to do, we
shall efface your failings and cause you to enter [upon your afterlife] in a state of glory (4: 31).
`Umar then asked whether the people of Egypt knew of their coming to make this complaint.
Fortunately for them, they said: No, as `Umar threatened: If they had known, I would have made
an example out of you.
There is a profound lesson which `Umar, may God be pleased with him, clarified in this
incident. It is that the ideal vision which the Quran holds out for the Muslim is a model which he
must try to realize or attain. Whenever he falls short of this model - as is inevitable – he should
realize that God's mercy is indeed vast. When he avoids the major sins at least, he is
assuredly on the way to attaining abundant good - if God wills. He has the obligation; however,
to constantly strive towards the ideal vision and never to be content with the minimum standard.
Hopefully, a knowledge and understanding of the causes of difference of opinion among the
early jurists and the context in which they occurred will assist us to reduce the causes of
disagreement at present and enable us to develop and maintain the beautiful ethics and manners
of dealing with them. When the early scholars differed, they did so for objective reasons. They
were all mujtahidoon, qualified and able to engage in analytical thought and make independent
judgments. Each one of them was engaged in a rigorous search for truth, and it made no
difference to anyone if the truth about any issue was discovered by someone else.
To help Muslims develop and stick to the ethics and proper norms (adab) of dealing with
differences, it is imperative that they should be fully aware of the enormous dangers and threats
as well as the malicious strategies which are constantly being engineered by the enemies of Islam
to eliminate those who are in the vanguard of the Islamic awakening andda`wah. These strategies
are targeted against all who strive for Islam irrespective of their schools of thought or any
differences in their orientation. In this situation, any disagreement among Muslims, any attempt
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to perpetuate disagreements or any flouting of the norms of proper behavior amounts to
subversion of the objectives of the Ummah and is a crime which cannot be justified or excused.
Over and above all this, it is imperative that we maintain a deep consciousness of God (taqwaa),
both secretly and openly, and seek His pleasure in times of both agreement and disagreement.
We need to have the determination to deepen our understanding of Islam, free from personal
whims and negative influences. We need to be aware of how these negative influences work and
how they ensnare us.
The Ummah has suffered enough. Now is the time for us to come to our senses and steadfastly
follow the right course in the light of the Quran and the Sunnah. We entertain the hope that God
Almighty, through the efforts of the righteous Muslims of this generation, will rescue this
Ummah and lead it to the shores of safety and security after centuries of perilous wandering and
error. We ask God Almighty to teach us what is beneficial to us, to make us benefit from what
He has taught us, and to increase our knowledge. May He unite us in the pursuit of truth, guide
us to the right path, and crown all our actions with success. May He guard us against the evils of
our thoughts and actions. May He protect us from the folly of; breaking into shreds the yarn
which was once tightly spun and strong.; In Him we seek refuge and on His might we depend.
All praise and thanks are due to God, the Lord and Sustainer of all the worlds.
Lecture: 12
Topic: Norms of disagreement (2)
 Disagreement in A’immah their norms of behavior and exemplary
 conduct for the pursuit of the truth:
The one who is sought for his knowledge and integrity is the one who is free and is a master of
himself; he does not deviate from the truth. The one who is a seeker of favor and status sells
himself and is only concerned with pleasing his master. Unthinking followers and self-seeking
individuals set differences of opinion into a totally negative mold. Differences of opinion among
genuine scholars were, to begin with, a source of blessing which helped develop Islamic
jurisprudence, establish the relevance of Islam to changing circumstances, and safeguard public
welfare. Later, differences of opinion became one of the most critical and dangerous factors
contributing to disunity and internecine strife among Muslims. Indeed it became a scourge which
dissipated much of the energies and potential of the Muslim Ummah; it caused people to become
engrossed in matters which did not deserve the attention given to them. Maalik used to say:
 Do not acquire this knowledge [of religion] from four types of people:
 The foolish and the incompetent;
 The self-seeking opportunists who seek to propagate their own innovations;
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 The liars who falsify people's reports even if they do not do so using the sayings of
the Prophet; and
 Those who are known for their goodness, righteousness, and regular performance of
worship but who are ignorant of the basis of what they practice and speak about.
However, leading scholars, their differences among thm did not prevent from exercises virtues
and merits, for they were confident that these differences were not motivated by any egoism or
arrogance on his part but by the mutual pursuit of truth. Were it not for these high ethical
standards and refined manners, a great deal of the jurisprudence of our early and respected
scholars would have fallen into oblivion or been cast aside. These scholars came to the defense
of other scholars only because they knew that their responsibility was to safeguard Islamic
jurisprudence, which is indispensable for the moral protection and well-being of the Muslim
Ummah. They all drank deeply from the source of prophetic guidance and example. The good
conduct of our righteous forbears was not only confined to avoiding defamation and slander, for
their overriding concern was for precision and certitude in all their intellectual pursuits. They
therefore also steered away from matters about which they had no knowledge and were
extremely careful in making juristic rulings lest they should err.
It was unlikely that great disagreements would have occurred amongst people who had these
merits and characteristics. Even if difference did occur, they only resulted from the individual
pursuit of the truth for the truth sake, and not from any egoistical ends. In order to appreciate the
standard of ethics and the norms of behavior which the early righteous scholars practiced in
dealing with differences, let us look at a few examples of exemplary conduct which they set.
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Aboo Haneefah and Maalik
Muhammad ibn al Hasan and Maalik
Al Shaafi`ee and Muhammad ibn al Hasan
Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Maalik
Explanation of above A’immah from lecture: 8
These are some examples of the ethics and norms of proper behavior in disagreement as
demonstrated by the leading scholars. From these examples, we can see that the successors of the
second generation followed the exemplary patterns set by their righteous forbears.
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