In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and may blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.
This is a summary of what was presented in this part of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s al-Risala, focusing on the important points and clarifications.
Continuing the discussion of the relationship between the Sunnah and the Qur’an, with examples from the Qur’an and the Sunnah:
- A request for an example from the Qur’an whose apparent meaning is general but whose intended meaning is specific:
- The interlocutor asks Imam al-Shafi’i for examples from the Qur’an whose apparent wording indicates generality but whose intended meaning is specific.
- The first example: the prohibition of marrying unmarriageable relatives (maharim):
- Imam al-Shafi’i cited the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Prohibited to you [for marriage] are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your father’s sisters, your mother’s sisters… And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these” (An-Nisa 4:23-24).
- The apparent meaning of “And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these” indicates that it is lawful to marry any woman other than those mentioned in the verse, and this is general.
- But the Sunnah specified this generality, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “A woman is not to be combined (in marriage) with her paternal aunt, nor a woman with her maternal aunt.” This hadith is agreed upon (by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
- So the Sunnah explained that “And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these” is specific to what lies outside combining a woman with her paternal or maternal aunt.
- This is an example of the apparent meaning of the Qur’an being general while the Sunnah specified it.
- The difference between karahah (disapproval) according to al-Shafi’i and according to the later scholars:
- Karahah according to al-Shafi’i is understood as prohibition unless he specifies otherwise, under the influence of the wording of the Qur’an, where karahah is used in the sense of prohibition.
- According to the later scholars, karahah means that which it is better to leave than to do.
- The issue of the solitary report (khabar al-wahid):
- Imam al-Shafi’i holds that knowledge is established by the solitary report, contrary to some of the Mu’tazilah, the theologians (ahl al-kalam), and the Hanafis, who hold that knowledge in matters of creed is not established by the solitary report.
- The example is mentioned of the hadith of ‘A’ishah on seeking refuge with Allah at the end of every prayer from the punishment of the grave and of Hell, from the trial of life and death, and from the trial of the Antichrist (al-Masih al-Dajjal); it is a solitary (ahad) hadith, and yet it is acted upon in affirming these beliefs.
- It is mentioned that Shaykh al-Albani has a fine treatise on establishing beliefs through the solitary report.
- Interpretation of the verse “And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these”:
- The verse mentioned those who are forbidden in every respect (such as the mother, the daughter, and the sister), and it also mentioned the prohibition of combining two sisters.
- As for the prohibition of combining a woman with her paternal or maternal aunt, each of them is permissible individually, but combining them is what is forbidden.
- So the Sunnah explained the meaning of the forbidden combination, namely what resembles combining two sisters in terms of kinship.
- The second example: wiping over leather socks (khuffayn):
- Imam al-Shafi’i mentioned the issue of the Prophet ﷺ wiping over leather socks, that most of the people of knowledge accepted wiping, and that those who differ on it are the Rafidah and the deviant fringe of the Khawarij.
- He drew evidence from the saying of Allah the Exalted: “O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles” (Al-Ma’idah 5:6).
- He explained that the command to wash in the verse applies to someone who has broken his ablution; as for someone who is already in a state of ablution, he does not have to repeat it.
- He explained that “wa-arjulakum” (and your feet) is in the accusative case, joined to the washing, not to the wiping, and that wiping is specific to the head.
- He explained that the Sunnah clarified that washing the feet applies when there are no leather socks, sandals, or the like; when these are present, wiping is done.
- This is another example of the Sunnah explaining the Qur’an and not contradicting it.
- It is mentioned that the genitive reading “wa-arjulikum” has a linguistic justification, namely proximity (al-jiwar), and does not carry the intended indication (of wiping).
- The third example: the prohibition of eating fanged beasts of prey:
- The Prophet’s ﷺ prohibition of eating every fanged beast of prey is mentioned.
- He drew evidence from the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Say, ‘I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine…’” (Al-An’am 6:145).
- He explained that this verse concerns what used to be eaten, and that there are other foods not mentioned in the verse which are nonetheless forbidden by the Sunnah, on the basis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “and makes lawful for them what is good and forbids them from what is evil” (Al-A’raf 7:157).
- The story is mentioned of the lizard (dabb) that was offered to the Prophet ﷺ; he did not eat from it, but he did not forbid it, and Khalid ibn al-Walid ate from it. This indicated that the Prophet’s ﷺ not eating it was a matter of custom and habit, not a matter of legal prohibition.
- The fourth example: the prohibition of certain sales:
- The saying of Allah the Exalted is mentioned: “But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest” (Al-Baqarah 2:275), and His saying: “do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent” (An-Nisa 4:29).
- He explained that the Prophet ﷺ forbade certain sales, such as selling dinars for dirhams on deferred terms, selling wine, the ‘inah sale, and sales involving excessive uncertainty (gharar).
- He explained that the saying of Allah the Exalted “Allah has permitted trade” is not unrestricted; rather, it is specific to sales permitted by the Shari’ah in which their conditions are met (such as the goods existing, the seller owning them, agreement between seller and buyer, and taking possession on both sides).
- The issue of a loaned item and a gift given afterward:
- He touched on the issue of borrowing something and then returning it with a gift, and that the correct view is that this is permissible, because usury relates to loans (of money, qard), and a lent item (‘ariyah) is not a kind of such loan.
Some important benefits:
- The Sunnah explains the Qur’an and specifies its general rulings.
- Examples from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of specifying the general.
- The difference
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb