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 giving preference between hadiths:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i deals with several questions concerning the disagreement of hadiths (ikhtilaf al-hadith), focusing on the question of the Friday ritual bath (ghusl al-jumu’ah), and he shows his method of reconciling them (al-jam’) or of giving preference to one over another (al-tarjih) when reconciliation is not possible.
The main points Imam al-Shafi’i dealt with in this section:
- An introduction to al-Shafi’i’s method of dealing with disagreeing hadiths: It shows that Imam al-Shafi’i’s aim is to make clear that the Sunnah does not contradict the Sunnah, and that the Book does not contradict the Book nor the Sunnah; that reconciliation is obligatory whenever it is possible; and that preference is given only when reconciliation is impossible.
- Killing women and children in a night raid (al-bayat): Imam al-Shafi’i shows how to reconcile the hadith of al-Sa’b ibn Jaththamah, which indicates that “they are from their fathers” (that is, they may be killed along with them in a night raid), with the hadith forbidding the killing of women and children. He shows that the reconciliation is to apply the prohibition to the situation in which they can be distinguished and it is possible to avoid killing them, and to apply the permission to the situation of a night raid in which they cannot be distinguished. This is the view of the generality of the people of knowledge, and it is not a case of abrogation (naskh), as Sufyan said. He cites the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And never is it for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake” (al-Nisa’ 4:92), and he shows that the blood of a believer living in the land of disbelief is not made lawful unless he fights alongside the disbelievers. He affirms that taking the women and children of the people at war (ahl al-harb) as slaves is permissible by the consensus of the scholars.
- The Friday ghusl: This is the main question in this section. Imam al-Shafi’i sets out the disagreement of the hadiths on the Friday ghusl: there is the hadith of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, “Ghusl on Friday is obligatory (wajib) upon everyone who has reached puberty,” and the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar, “Whoever of you comes to the Friday prayer, let him take a bath.” He shows that the command expressing obligation bears two meanings: an obligation without which the prayer is not valid, and obligation in the sense of an emphasised recommendation. He mentions the story of ‘Umar with ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them both, in which ‘Umar censured ‘Uthman for coming late to the Friday prayer and for not having bathed; this indicates the emphasis of the recommendation. He shows that ‘Umar’s not ordering ‘Uthman to go out and bathe indicates that the ghusl is not a condition for the validity of the prayer. He responds to the hadith “Whoever performs wudu’ on Friday, that is fine and good, and whoever bathes, then bathing is better” by saying that it is weak, and that the authentic hadiths indicate that the ghusl is obligatory. He shows that interpreting the obligation as recommendation is a weak interpretation, and that the default meaning of a command is obligation. He gives preference to the view that the Friday ghusl is obligatory, though not as a condition for the validity of the prayer: whoever omits it has fallen short in what was obligatory upon him, but his prayer is valid if he is in a state of purity.
Additional clarifications:
- The importance of the Sunnah in legislation (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i shows the importance of the Prophetic Sunnah in Islamic legislation: it is the second source after the Noble Qur’an, and it clarifies the Qur’an, details it, restricts it, and specifies it.
- The kinds of clarification (bayan) (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i indicates that clarification takes many forms, such as restriction (taqyid), specification (takhsis), detailing (tafsil), and elucidation (tawdih).
- The difference between transmission by chain of narration, by mass transmission and wide circulation, and by consensus (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i shows that the religion is transmitted from the Messenger ﷺ by several routes, such as transmission by chain of narration (isnad), by mass transmission (tawatur) and wide circulation (istifadah), and by consensus (ijma’).
- Analogy in the Shari’ah (reaffirmed): Imam al-Shafi’i points to analogy (qiyas) as one of the sources of legislation, and shows that it is used in deriving rulings from the texts of the Shari’ah.
- The rules of preference between hadiths (clarification): Imam al-Shafi’i sets out the rules for giving preference between hadiths when they conflict:
- Giving precedence to what agrees with the text or the meaning of the Book of Allah.
- Giving precedence to the one with the firmer chain of narration.
- Giving precedence to what was narrated by the greater number, or by the better memorisers, or by those of earlier companionship.
- Giving precedence to what agrees with the general proofs or with analogy.
- Giving precedence to what is known from the Companions and the Successors.
- The difference between conditional obligation and non-conditional obligation (clarification): A conditional obligation is one that is a condition for the validity of an act of worship, such as the ghusl from major ritual impurity (janabah) for the prayer. A non-conditional obligation is one that the legally responsible person must perform, but which is not a condition for the validity of the act of worship, such as the Friday ghusl according to the preponderant view.
Final summary:
In this section Imam al-Shafi’i shows his method of dealing with disagreeing hadiths: reconciling them whenever possible, or giving preference when reconciliation is impossible. He applies this method to two questions: killing women and children in a night raid, and the Friday ghusl. He gives preference to the view that the Friday ghusl is obligatory, but not as a condition for the validity of the prayer. He stresses the importance of understanding the Prophetic Sunnah and acting upon it, and that it clarifies the Qur’an, details it, restricts it, and specifies it.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Shafi'i's al-Risala by Dr. Yasir Burhami