In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger ﷺ.
Reconciling and preferring between hadiths:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i deals with three issues of differing hadiths: praying Fajr when the dawn has become light (isfar) or while it is still dark (taghlis), and facing or turning one’s back to the qiblah when relieving oneself, explaining his method of reconciling them or of preferring one when reconciliation is impossible.
The main points Imam al-Shafi’i addressed in this section:
- Praying Fajr in the light of dawn or in the darkness: Imam al-Shafi’i explains the difference among the hadiths on praying Fajr in the light of dawn or in the darkness: the hadith of Rafi’ ibn Khadij came regarding isfar, and the hadiths of ‘A’ishah, Sahl ibn Sa’d, and Zayd ibn Thabit came regarding taghlis. He explains his method of preferring between hadiths when they conflict: giving precedence to what agrees with the Book of Allah or its meaning, or to what was narrated by more people, by those with stronger memory, or by those who accompanied the Prophet earlier, or to what agrees with the general evidence or with analogy. He prefers the hadith of ‘A’ishah on taghlis, because it is closer to the Book of Allah in the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer” (al-Baqarah 2:238), because its chain is more firmly established, and because three of the Companions agree with it. He refutes the interpretation of isfar as referring to finishing the prayer, explaining that the time that counts is the time of entering the prayer, not of leaving it. He refutes the view that isfar is the spreading of light across the whole sky, explaining that it is the appearance of light on the horizon. He explains that the hadith “The beginning of the time is the pleasure of Allah, and its end is the pardon of Allah” does not contradict taghlis; rather, it shows that delaying beyond the beginning of the time involves latitude and pardon, but not merit like that of the beginning of the time. He affirms that the Prophet ﷺ was asked which deed is best, and he said: “Prayer at the beginning of its time.” He explains that Companions such as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, and others used to begin the prayer in darkness and finish it in the light, because of lengthy recitation. He holds that the Prophet ﷺ mostly prayed in darkness, and sometimes shortened the prayer because of people’s needs. He explains that the hadiths are reconciled by applying isfar to finishing the prayer with lengthy recitation, and taghlis to beginning the prayer, or to shortening it at times.
- Facing or turning one’s back to the qiblah when relieving oneself: Imam al-Shafi’i explains the difference among the hadiths on facing or turning one’s back to the qiblah when relieving oneself: the hadith of Abu Ayyub came forbidding this, and it is reported from Ibn ‘Umar that he saw the Prophet ﷺ facing Jerusalem while relieving himself. He explains that the prohibition applies to open country where there is no screen, and the concession applies to buildings where there is a screen. He explains that the reason for the prohibition is veneration of the qiblah and covering one’s nakedness. He explains that Ibn ‘Umar retracted his earlier view when the prohibition of this in open spaces reached him. He affirms that the basic principle is to act upon the general unless a specifying text comes, upon the unrestricted unless a qualifying text comes, and upon a hadith unless an abrogating text is known.
Additional clarifications:
- The importance of the Sunnah in legislation (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i explains the importance of the Prophetic Sunnah in Islamic legislation: it is the second source after the Noble Qur’an, and it clarifies, details, qualifies, and specifies the Qur’an.
- Kinds of clarification (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i points out that clarification comes in multiple ways, such as qualification, specification, detailing, and explanation.
- The difference between transmission by chain, by mass transmission, by widespread report, and by consensus (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i explains that the religion is transmitted from the Messenger ﷺ in multiple ways, such as transmission by chain of narration, mass transmission, widespread report, and consensus.
- Analogy in the Shariah (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i points to analogy as one of the sources of legislation, explaining that it is used to derive rulings from the legal texts.
- Rules for preferring between hadiths (clarification): Imam al-Shafi’i explains the rules for preferring between hadiths when they conflict:
- Giving precedence to what agrees with the text or meaning of the Book of Allah.
- Giving precedence to the one with the more firmly established chain.
- Giving precedence to what was narrated by more people, by those with stronger memory, or by those who accompanied the Prophet earlier.
- Giving precedence to what agrees with the general evidence or with analogy.
- Giving precedence to what is known from the Companions and the Successors.
- The difference between the first dawn and the second dawn (clarification): The first dawn is the false dawn: the beginning of light appearing in the middle of the sky, not spreading across the horizon. Prayer does not become due by it, and food and drink do not become prohibited for the fasting person. The second dawn is the true dawn: the light spreading across the horizon. Prayer becomes due by it, and food and drink become prohibited for the fasting person.
Final summary:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i explains his method of dealing with differing hadiths: reconciling them wherever possible, or preferring one when reconciliation is impossible. He applies this method to two issues: praying Fajr in the light of dawn or in the darkness, and facing or turning one’s back to the qiblah when relieving oneself. He prefers praying Fajr in the darkness, and applies the prohibition on facing or turning one’s back to the qiblah to open country. He affirms the importance of understanding the Prophetic Sunnah and acting upon it, and that it clarifies, details, qualifies, and specifies the Qur’an.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala by Dr. Yasir Burhami