4. When are the words of ascholar – whether he was a Sahaabi or otherwise – regarded as binding evidence?

4.
Sometimes we hear opinions that were narrated from the Sahaabah, or
sometimes other opinions that were narrated from the imams (leading
scholars) on various occasions, although the basic principle directs
us to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah. When does the Muslim have to
follow the opinion of the Sahaabi or imam? How can we reconcile
between this andthe obligation of followingthe Qur'an and Sunnah?
Praise be to Allah.
The obligation of following the Qur'an and Sunnah does not contradict
the idea of learning from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and from the imams who are
known to have been men of knowledge and virtue. In fact learning from
themin general comes under the heading of following the Qur'an and
Sunnah. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"so ask people who know the Scripture, if you do notknow"
[al-Anbiya' 21:7].
Abu Dawood (3641) narrated that Abu'd-Darda'said: I heard the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
"…The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. The Prophets did not
leave behind dinars or dirhams, rather they left behind a heritage of
knowledge, and the one who acquires it acquires an abundant portion."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
The view of this scholar, – whether he was a Sahaabi or otherwise –
can only have been either in accordance with the Sunnah or at variance
withit. If it is in accordance with it, then it is obligatory to adopt
it and act upon it, because the scholars have more knowledge of Allah
and His Messenger than anyone else.
If it is at variance with the Sunnah then it should not be adopted;
rather one should follow the Sunnah, but this applies only whenit
becomes clear to one that this particular opinionis at variance with
the Sunnah.
The basic principle is that the opinion of anyone may be accepted or
rejected, except the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him).
At the same time the high status of the scholars – foremost among whom
are the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) – must be upheld.
If there is no text concerning the issue, then the opinion of the
knowledgeable Sahaabi, if no one else among the Sahaabah differed with
him, is regarded as binding evidence according to many scholars.
The basic principle concerning this matter is that the opinion of the
Sahaabi is regarded as binding evidence so long as it does not go
against any text and so long as noone else among the Sahaabah differed
with him.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the Sahaabi was one of those who were well-known for deep
knowledge, then his opinion may be regarded as evidence, subject to
two conditions:
(i) that it should not contradict the words of Allah or
His Messenger; if it does contradict the words of Allah or His
Messenger then it must berejected, and the words of Allah or His
Messenger must be accepted;
(ii) that it should not contradict the view of another
Sahaabi; if it does contradict the view of another Sahaabi, then it is
essential to determine which is more correct, because the view of one
isnot regarded as more acceptable than the view of another.
End quote from Liqa' al-Baab al-Maftooh, 59'24
Similarly their opinions (may Allah be pleased with them) concerning
thereasons for revelation and commentary on the Qur'anand Sunnah are
regarded as binding evidence, because they are more knowledgeable
about the Revelation and the language of the Arabs; theQur'an was
revealed among them and they lived with the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him), so they are more knowledgeable about his
Sunnah.
With regard to scholars other than the Sahaabah, they are the most
knowledgeable of people about the Qur'an and Sunnah, and the most
skilled of the people in sound analogy, and the most capable of the
people of deriving rulings in a proper manner? Allah,may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"if only they had referred it to the Messenger or to those charged
with authority among them, the proper investigators would have
understood it from them (directly)"
[an-Nisa' 4:83].
As-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This verse establishes a guideline, which is that if research is to be
undertaken into some matter, it should be done by one who is qualified
to do it, and no one should take on this task except them, because
they are more likely to reach the right conclusion and to avoid
errors.
End quote from Tafseer as-Sa'di, p. 190
:->

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Ruling on Muslims congratulating one another on the occasion of the Gregorian New Year

Is it permissible for muslims to congratulate each other and give duaa
on the new year based on the Gregorian calendar without the intention
of celebrating it ?
Praise be to Allah.
It is not permissible for the Muslims to exchange greetings on the
occasion of the Gregorian New Year, and it is not permissible for them
to celebrate it, because both of these matters involve imitation of
the kuffaar, and we have been forbidden to do that.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever
imitates a people is one ofthem." Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4031;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood
Moreover, offering greetings on this day that comes back each year
comes under the heading of celebrating it and taking it as a festival,
which is also forbidden.
And Allah knows best.

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Are gifts for weddings and other occasions like a debt that must be given to the giver on a subsequent special occasion?

One of the customs that are widespread in the region in which I live
is that on certain occasions –giving birth and weddingsand so on –
women give asmall amount of money – such as five dinars – when their
comes to congratulate a relative or neighbour, and the woman who
receives the money is expected, on a subsequent happy occasion, to
visit her (the giver) and either give her the same amount of money as
she received – which means that they do not want to raise the levelof
friendship with her – or they give more – which is what usually
happens. Andit sometimes happens thatthe woman who gave the money
criticises the other woman if she does not visit her and give back the
money, and she may say that she has consumed herwealth unlawfully –
there is no power and no strength except with Allah.What is the ruling
on this interaction? Is the extra amount that I spoke of considered to
be riba? For my part, I do not give this extra amount unless the woman
is in need or is of high character. Please advise us, may Allah have
mercy on you.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There is nothing wrong with the custom followed by people in many
countries, whereby they give gifts of money on such happy occasions,
to one who is getting married or who has just had a baby, and so on,
on the basis that the recipientwill return the favour, giving the same
amount or more, on another similar occasion. In fact this is a good
thing, because it is helping with money and supporting others on such
occasions when there is usually a need for money because of the
expenses involved.
This money, which in many countries is known as nuqoot, is a kind of
loanthat must be repaid on similar occasions, as customarily happens.
In fact if the one who gave it needs it and asks for it, it is
obligatory to give it back to him when he asks for it. Hence the one
who gave it will always remember it and will keepa record of it in his
private papers, in a separate section in his notebook that has to do
with this type of loan.
More than one of the fuqaha' have stated that the nuqoot is a loan
that must be repaid to the one who gave it, according to custom.
The Shaafa'i faqeeh Ibn Hajar al-Haytami was asked about the ruling on
nuqoot, and replied:
With regard to nuqoot, al-Azraqi and an-Najm al-Baalisi issued fatwas
stating that it is a loan, so it must be returned to the one who gave
it. Al-Balqeeni disagreed withthem. The prevalent custom dictates that
no one gives anything of this nature except with the aim that
something similar should be given back to him, if he has a similar
happy occasion. And the fact that this custom is clear and well
established supports the first view. And Allah knows best. End quote.
Al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra, 3/265
Al-Mardaawi (a Hanbali scholar) said:
Note: al-Kamaal ad-Dameeri said in his commentary on
al-Minhaajconcerning the nuqoot which is customary at weddings:
an-Najm al-Baalisi said: It is like a debt and the one who gave it may
ask for it, and custom has nothing to do with that, because it is
notconsistent.
End quote. al-Insaaf, 8/315
The point of quoting this text is that it rules that thenuqoot is a
debt and it must be returned to the giver, even if custom is
notconsistent in this regard. But if custom is consistent and dictates
that it should be returned or may be asked for, then undoubtedly the
argument is stronger that it should be repaid and regarded as a debt.
This is the basis on which al-Haytami reached his conclusion, as
referred to above.
Shaykh 'Ulaysh al-Maaliki (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked
about a man who held a wedding, and another man gave him a sum of
money equivalent to the value of a sack of wheat, then two years later
the giver askedfor repayment. Should it be ruled that the recipient
has to give back the value of this sack of wheat to the giver?
He said in his response:
Yes, it should be ruled thatthe recipient should pay back the
equivalent of what was given to the giver, if it was stipulated or it
is customary to do so.What matters is the value on the day he gives it
back, not the day he askedfor it, as it says in al-Kharashi and
elsewhere.
Ibn al-'Attaar said: Whatever is given of a ram or similar gifts at
the time of the wedding party,it should be given back to the giver if
he asks to be rewarded later on, as is customary. It is an implicit
deal that everyone should do that on the basis that he will be given
something similar when he has a wedding …
It may be understood from the phrase "when he has a wedding" that the
giver is required to be patient until he has a wedding or similar
event. And it says something similar in al-Burzuli.

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Is faith in the heart sufficient for a person to be a Muslim?

Is faith in the heart sufficient for a person to be a Muslim, without
praying, fasting or paying zakaah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Faith in the heart is not sufficient without prayer etc. Rather it is
obligatory to believe in one's heart that Allah is One, with no
partner or associate, and that He is one's Lord and Creator, and to
devote worship to Him alone, may He be glorified and exalted. And it
is obligatory to believe in the Messenger Muhammad(blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) and that he is truly the Messenger of Allah to
all ofthe two races (mankind and the jinn). All of this is essential,
for it is the foundation of the faith. It is also obligatory for the
accountable individual to believe in everything that Allah and His
Messenger have told us about Paradise and Hell, the Siraat (bridge
over Hell), the Balance and other things referred to in the Holy
Qur'aan and saheeh Sunnah. In addition to that, it is essential to
utter the declaration of faith (shahaadah), testifying that there is
no God but Allah and that Muhammadis the Messenger of Allah, and it is
essential to pray and to do all the other things enjoined in Islam.
Ifthe individual prays, then he has done what he is obliged to do, but
if he does not pray then he has committed an act of kufr (disbelief),
because not praying is kufr.
With regard to zakaah, fasting, Hajj and all the other obligatory
matters, if he believes that they areobligatory but he is too lazy to
do them, then he isnot a kaafir because of that; rather he is
disobedient or sinning, and his faith is weak and lacking, because
faith may increase and decrease. Faith increases when one does acts of
worship and righteous deeds, and it decreases when one commits acts of
disobedience and sin, according to Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah.
With regard to prayer in particular, not praying is kufr according to
many scholars, even if one does not deny that it is obligatory. This
is the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. This is in contrast
to other acts ofworship such as zakaah, fasting, Hajj and so on. If he
does not do them, that is not major kufr accordingto the correct
opinion, but it detracts from and weakens faith, and it is a serious
major sin. Not giving zakaah is a serious major sin; not fasting is a
serious major sin; not performing Hajj when one is able to do so is a
seriousmajor sin – but it is not major kufr if one believes that
zakaah is a duty, fasting is a duty, Hajj is a duty for the one who is
able to do it. So long as one does not deny that these duties are
obligatory, but he is negligent concerning them, then he is not a
kaafir according to the correct opinion.
With regard to prayer, if he does not do it, then according to the
more correct scholarly opinion he is a kaafir in the sense of major
kufr –Allah forbid– even if he does not denythat it is obligatory, as
stated above. That is because the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "Between a man and shirkand kufr there stands
his giving up prayer." Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. And he
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The covenant that
differentiates between us and them is prayer; whoever does not pray is
a kaafir." Narrated by Imam Ahmad and the authors of the four
Sunanswith a saheeh isnaad. This applies equally to both men and
women. We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound.

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