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One of the guiding principles that the earliest Muslim scholars lived by and which they instilled in their students is that the way to develop one\u2019s opinion and explore the opinions of others is through diligent study and meticulous research.<\/p>\n
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This is the standard by which one\u2019s knowledge and opinions must be judged. This is why they were able to show so much respect to their colleagues no matter how seriously they disagreed on matter of Islamic Law. Just as their standard for matters of knowledge was grounded in research, their standard for ethical conduct was grounded in a sense of brotherhood, affection, and pure intentions.<\/p>\n
As for some of the scholars who came after the imams, they did not always actualise these two standards: quality of knowledge and conscientious moral conduct. On the one hand, you find scholars who were willing to fight and become belligerent on account of their disagreements. On the other, you find those who were modest and polite, but who did not base their tolerance of disagreement on a foundation of knowledge and rigorous standards of research. <\/p>\n
This explains why the four imams spent most of their time engaged in study and teaching. Ab\u016b Han\u012bfah was, without dispute, the foremost legal scholar in Iraq in his day, while M\u0101lik was the leading legal scholar for the whole of Western Arabia and one of the most learned in prophetic had\u012bth. Al-Sh\u0101fi`i was renowned for a wide range of disciplines. He was not only an expert in law, juristic theory, and prophetic had\u012bth, but he was also a leading authority in the Arabic language. Ahmad b. Hanbal was one of the world\u2019s greatest had\u012bth scholars. <\/p>\n
Ab\u016b Han\u012bfah was predominantly known for his legal knowledge and Ahmad for his knowledge and focus on prophetic had\u012bth traditions. M\u0101lik and al-Sh\u0101fi`\u012b were also identified with the had\u012bth scholars, but possessed an understanding of legal nuances that surpassed most of their peers. <\/p>\n
We can see how deeply al-Sh\u0101fi`\u012b regarded knowledge in that he used to say: \u201cSeeking knowledge is better than offering voluntary prayers.\u201d <\/p>\n
M\u0101lik once wrote to a colleague: \u201cSeeking knowledge is nothing less than worship for those whose intentions are pure.\u201d <\/p>\n
The four imams in this way upheld the value of knowledge as well as that of moral conduct. Religious knowledge without moral conduct brings no benefit to the one who possesses it. It is the mere trappings of knowledge without substance. In religious matters, the most important knowledge is that of religious certainties, and the greatest of these are the moral certainties. The four imams agreed, as do all Muslims, that love and respect must be the basis of interaction with others, not envy and hatred. They furthermore agreed that shared faith demands a sense of brotherhood, and this brotherhood remains intact as long as that faith is intact. They also agreed that people\u2019s rights are inviolable and that justice and ethical treatment must be upheld for all people. <\/p>\n
Ab\u016b M\u016bs\u0101 Y\u016bnus al-Sadd\u012b said: <\/strong> In this context, we can consider what Ahmad b. Hanbal said about the hostility that existed in Iraq between the jurists like himself who were devoted to prophetic had\u012bth and those who focused on legal reasoning, like the students of Ab\u016b Han\u012bfah: \u201cWe used to curse the school of legal reasoning and they used to curse us, and this remained the way things were until al-Sh\u0101fi`\u012b came along and brought us together.\u201d <\/p>\n Even with all the contention that had existed between the two approaches to law in Iraq, they had never become so polarised that it sundered their essential Islamic unity. They never confused their disagreements on secondary legal matters with the clear tenets of faith. This is why they were all amicable to al-Sh\u0101fi`\u012b and his approach of reconciling the two tendencies in his own school of thought. He took what he had learned from the preeminent representative of the had\u012bth approach, M\u0101lik and also from Ab\u016b Han\u012bfah\u2019s student Ab\u016b Y\u016bsuf. He availed himself of the experience of the scholars of Western Arabia as well as Iraq. Finally, when he set down his mature thought in Egypt, where he spent the later part of his life, he brought together all the various currents that had for so long divided the intellectual life of the various parts of the Muslim world. <\/p>\n This shows us how important it is for various intellectual schools to be receptive to one another, to endeavour sincerely to understand each other\u2019s views. They need to welcome the chance to work together, even formulae new ideas together, and minimise the severity of their disagreements.<\/p>\n Source: IslamToday<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the guiding principles that the earliest Muslim scholars lived by and which they instilled in their students is that the way to develop one\u2019s opinion and explore the opinions of others is through diligent study and meticulous research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c71-introduction-to-islam-muslims"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
I have never met anyone as sensible as al-Sh\u0101fi`\u012b. I once debated an issue with him, after which we went our separate ways. Later on, he came up to me, took me by the hand, and said: \u201cO Ab\u016b M\u016bs\u0101, isn\u2019t it best for us to remain brothers, even though there is a matter we can\u2019t agree on?\u201d.
It is normal for older scholars to be taken aback by an opinion that they have never heard before. They might hastily reject it. Their anger and discomfort at the unfamiliar might make them want to distance themselves from the person who expressed the view. This was not the case with al-Sh\u0101fi`\u012b. <\/p>\n