In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 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 detailed summary of what was covered in this part of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s al-Risalah, focusing on the important points and clarifications, and supplemented with some additions and explanations that help in understanding the issue more deeply.
Paragraph 1169 onward: continuing the discussion of the authority of the solitary report and its effect on the statements of the Companions:
In this part of al-Risalah, Imam al-Shafi’i continues to affirm the authority of the solitary report, showing its effect on the statements and juristic reasoning of the Companions, and that they gave precedence to the Sunnah over their own opinions once the authenticity of a report became clear to them.
- Al-Shafi’i’s proof that ‘Umar retracted his opinion for a report: Al-Shafi’i argues that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to retract his opinion when a report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached him, and that this proves two things:
- The permissibility of reasoning by opinion (ra’y) when there is no Sunnah.
- The obligation to abandon opinion when there is a Sunnah.
- Opinion according to the majority and the Zahiris: He explains that the majority divide opinion into two kinds: praiseworthy, which is tied to evidence, and blameworthy, which collides with evidence; whereas the Zahiris regard opinion as blameworthy without qualification. He points to Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr’s Jami’ Bayan al-‘Ilm wa Fadlih and Ibn al-Qayyim’s I’lam al-Muwaqqi’in as two important references on this topic.
- The obligation to abandon practice contrary to the Sunnah applies to all people: He stresses that the obligation to abandon practice contrary to the Sunnah is not limited to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) but includes all people.
- Refuting those who require another Sunnah to confirm a Sunnah: He refutes those who require the existence of another Sunnah to confirm the first one, and shows that this amounts to an attack on the solitary report.
- Examples of ‘Umar retracting his opinion for a report: Al-Shafi’i mentions three examples of ‘Umar retracting his opinion in favor of a report:
- A wife’s share of her husband’s blood-money: ‘Umar held that blood-money belongs to the ‘aqilah (the paternal kin who bear it) and that a wife inherits nothing from her husband’s blood-money, until al-Dahhak ibn Sufyan informed him that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had ordered that the wife of Ashyam al-Dibabi inherit from his blood-money, and ‘Umar retracted his opinion.
- Blood-money for the fetus: ‘Umar did not know the ruling on blood-money for a fetus, so he asked the Companions. Haml ibn Malik informed him that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had ruled in such a case with a ghurrah (a male or female slave), and ‘Umar said: “Had I not heard this, we would have ruled otherwise.”
- Jizyah from the Magians: ‘Umar did not know how to deal with the Magians, until ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf informed him that the Prophet ﷺ had taken jizyah from them, so he treated them as the People of the Book are treated.
- Clarifying the meaning of ghurrah: He explains that ghurrah here means a male or female slave, not the blaze on the forehead of a horse or camel.
- ‘Umar’s view on the blood-money for the fetus before the report reached him: He explains that ‘Umar’s view was that if the fetus was born crying and then died, full blood-money was due, but if it was born dead, nothing was due, until the report reached him that the Prophet ﷺ had ruled a ghurrah for it.
- Refuting those who hold that a Companion’s practice specifies a general text: He refutes those who say that a Companion’s practice specifies the general meaning of a report, citing Ibn ‘Umar’s practice of trimming his beard, and he shows that the proof lies in what the Companion narrates, not in his practice or opinion. He mentions another example: Abu Hurayrah’s practice of extending the washing of the limbs in ablution.
- The proof lies in the Companion’s narration, not his practice: He stresses that the proof lies in the Companion’s narration, not in his practice, that his practice is regarded as a form of juristic reasoning, and that a Companion’s opinion and practice count as proof when there is no transmitted report.
- Explaining al-Shafi’i’s statement “Every hadith I wrote with a broken chain, I heard with a connected chain”: He explains that al-Shafi’i wrote some hadiths with broken chains out of scrupulousness, caution, and brevity, that he had heard them with connected chains, and that they are well known from their narrators.
- The scholars’ agreement on venerating the Sunnah and preferring it over the Companions’ statements: He stresses that the scholars agree on venerating the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and giving it precedence over the statements of the Companions.
Some additional benefits:
- Explaining the importance and standing of the Prophetic Sunnah.
- Clarifying the meaning of opinion and its types.
- A warning against putting opinion before the Sunnah.
- Explaining the standing of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and their eagerness to follow the Sunnah.
- Clarifying the meaning of ghurrah in the blood-money for the fetus.
- Refuting some misconceptions relating to a Companion’s practice.
We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us success in understanding His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ, and to make us among those who follow them.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb