Tawfīq, not Talfiq

They said: We dislike that you leave the madhhab of Abū Ḥanīfah in some matters in order to follow the opinions of Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal. This is talfīq (arbitrary patching together).

I replied: If we mix the water of a well with other pure water, does it not remain pure in essence? Likewise are the madhāhib of Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and other imāms of guidance. If I move from one opinion to another in a matter, because of stronger evidence or a more suitable consideration, why does this displease you? Indeed, this is tawfīq (harmonisation), not talfīq—for talfīq is a mixing of truth with falsehood, while this is a uniting of truth with truth.

They said: Call it what you wish, we are not concerned with terminology. But know what we mean: it is a blemish upon you and those like you.

I said: What blemish is there in it? This was done by the Companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, the Followers (tābiʿūn), and their Followers.

They said: Leave aside the Companions, the Followers and their Followers.

I said: Are they not the best of generations?

They said: Yes, but leave them aside. If you wish to argue with us, then cite from our Ḥanafī masters.

I said: Are Abū Ḥanīfah, Abū Yūsuf, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, and Zufar not the masters of the Ḥanafīs?

They said: Indeed, rather they are the greatest of them in rank and the soundest in method; they are the very pillars of our madhhab. Then bring us what is authentic from their sayings.

I said: Abū Ḥanīfah departed from the positions of his own Kufan predecessors on many issues. Ibn Masʿūd held that if two men attended the prayer besides the imām, one should stand on his right and the other on his left. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb placed them behind him. Abū Ḥanīfah left the opinion of Ibn Masʿūd and followed that of ʿUmar.

Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said that if a man clipped his nails or cut his hair after wuḍūʾ, he must pass water over them again. Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and others said his prayer was valid without that. Abū Ḥanīfah left Ibrāhīm’s view for that of Ḥasan and the group.

Abū Ḥanīfah permitted tayammum with anything of the earth’s kind. Abū Yūsuf abandoned him, restricting it to dust—or to dust and sand. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan departed from Abū Ḥanīfah in considering the urine of animals whose flesh is eaten impure; he adopted the position of the scholars of Ḥijāz and Baṣrah, deeming it pure.

Abū Ḥanīfah held that if a sick person is unable even to gesture (by head), nothing is required of him. Zufar abandoned him and said: He gestures with his eyebrows; if unable, then with his eyes; if unable, then with his heart.

They said: Leave them aside; bring us the sayings of those who came later.

I said: Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions held that if hair grew over the face, washing what lies beneath was waived. Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Balkhī abandoned their view, maintaining it must still be washed. Al-Ṭaḥāwī held that the preferred time for Fajr—if one intends a long recitation—is to begin in darkness and end with brightness; he left Abū Ḥanīfah’s opinion for another. Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ al-Thaljī said a traveller shortens the prayer if he departs before midday, but completes it if he departs after; he too left Abū Ḥanīfah’s opinion for another.

They said: Leave them aside; bring us the sayings of contemporary Ḥanafī jurists.

I said: Our Shaykh and yours, ʿAbd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghuddah, allowed combining prayers while travelling.

They said: Leave aside Arab Ḥanafī scholars. They lived among others, were influenced by them, and thus relaxed matters we do not accept. Bring us the words of our Deobandi scholars.

I said: Some of your own scholars mixed between the Ḥanafī madhhab and other madhhabs—even odd ones—in Islamic economics and finance.

They said: We disown them, and our senior scholars disowned them. Bring us the statements of our trustworthy Deobandi scholars.

I said: What do you say of the Hakeem of the Ummah, Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī al-Thanwī?

They said: He is the most reliable and God-fearing among them. Cite his words.

I said: Abū Ḥanīfah held that the wife of a missing husband must wait until one hundred and twenty years—or one hundred, or ninety—have passed before she may remarry. Mālik held that she waits four years from the time of his disappearance. The Sage of the Ummah issued fatwā according to Mālik.

They said: A scholar may depart from the group in one or two matters. Bring us what they have all agreed upon.

I said: Here is what they have all agreed upon: Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions forbade taking wages for teaching Qurʾān and religious sciences. Al-Shāfiʿī permitted it. The scholars of Deoband collectively gave fatwā according to him.

They said: You have disgraced us with this example for the whole day. We wish you had brought us another!

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Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6877