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Fatwa CenterFeels the Ahnaf's school is being slighted
Question
I want to bring your notice that a large numbers of Muslim Ummah follow Hanafi Madhab. I feel that though you prefer to the opinion of Majority. But you rarely mention the Ahnaf's opinion. I do notwant to support it but at least you could mention their opinion and their evidence and then prove that it is weak, or not authentic, or the majority does not accept it, etc.The point is, you generally do not mention them. If you do not agree with me, please find out the percentage of times the three schools of thought are mentioned and how many times the Ahnaf's opinion is mentioned.Thanks.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Four schools of thoughts and their legal opinions are highly regarded by all Muslims.
Muftis in Fatwa Centre in Islamweb also respect these scholars and benefit from their opinions in issuing Fatawa but they are not restricted to any given Madhab rather they adopt the stronger opinion that is based on strong evidence.
Know that all of these schools contain some opinions that are contradictory to sound Sunnah. The scholars of these schools are excused for many legal reasons such as they might not have come through a reliable chains. Also, early scholars made rulings based upon the limited number of Hadith available to them at the time. Had they known of the other sources, they most likely would have issued a different opinion. There are also other sound reasons for their diversity of rulings, all of which are legitimate. Due to the above reasons some Muslim scholars may mistakenly issue a decree that contradicts the sound Sunnah. However, there is no excuse for a person who knows Sunnah and does not take it into consideration.
The great Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah's mercy be upon him) stressed that Muslims must adhere to 'Ahadith' and 'Aathar' just as the other Imams. He used to say: 'People will continue to be on the right as long as some one among them seeks Hadith. If they seek knowledge without Hadith they will become spoiled.'
One of his sayings is: 'None is allowed to say something unless he knows that Shariah approves it.'
He also said: 'You have to follow the 'Aathar' of your good ancestors and avoid the opinions of people even if they adorn their speeches because only those people will be steadfast on the right at the time of doubts and trials who remain on the right path.'
The method of Abu Hanifa (May Allah have mercy upon him) and other three Imams was as we mentioned above; we also follow the same method in issuing Fatawa.
Therefore, your objection that we incline to the opinion of the majority not mentioning the opinion of Hanafi School of Thought is not correct. We take only what is supported by the strong evidence. So, we often prefer the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah be pleased with him) to the other opinions. Moreover, when we mention the stand of the majority of Muslim scholars that means it includes the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa too. Thus, we do not feel any necessity to state separately the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa as we do the same with the other schools of thought.
Know that Fatwa Centre includes Muftis who have specialized in Hanafi Fiqh and they are proud of it. In spite of this fact they do not approve any partiality since it weakens the Ummah and sows hatred among Muslims. Allah says: {And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh (i.e. this Qur'ân), and be not divided among yourselves, …….} [3:103]
Allah knows best.
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