سنن نسائي
Nasai
كتاب آداب القضاةThe Book of the Etiquette of Judges
بَابُ : الْحُكْمِ بِاتِّفَاقِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِChapter: Ruling According to the Consensus of the Scholars
Hadith 5401
اُردوEn
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَامِرٍ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ ، عَنِ الشَّيْبَانِيِّ ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ ، عَنْ شُرَيْحٍ : أَنَّهُ كَتَبَ إِلَى عُمَرَ يَسْأَلُهُ ؟ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ : " أَنْ اقْضِ بِمَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ , فَبِسُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَلَا فِي سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ , فَاقْضِ بِمَا قَضَى بِهِ الصَّالِحُونَ ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَلَا فِي سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَمْ يَقْضِ بِهِ الصَّالِحُونَ ، فَإِنْ شِئْتَ فَتَقَدَّمْ ، وَإِنْ شِئْتَ فَتَأَخَّرْ ، وَلَا أَرَى التَّأَخُّرَ إِلَّا خَيْرًا لَكَ ، وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ " .
´It was narrated from Shuraih that:` He wrote to 'Umar, to ask him (a question), and 'Umar wrote back to him telling him: "Judge according to what is in the Book of Allah. If it is not (mentioned) in the Book of Allah, then (judge) according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah [SAW]. If it is not (mentioned) in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah [SAW], then pass judgment according to the way the righteous passed judgment. If it is not (mentioned) in the Book of Allah, or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah [SAW], and the righteous did not pass judgment concerning it, then if you wish, go ahead (and try to work it out by yourself) or if you wish, leave it. And I think that leaving it is better for you. And peace be upon you."
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Muhammad Ameen
Urdu Hashiyah (Commentary):
"Silence is better" because there is always the possibility of error in ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning). From these narrations, it is understood that after the Qur'an, Hadith, and consensus (ijma‘), the next level is ijtihad or analogy (qiyas). That is, if an issue is not mentioned in the Qur'an or Hadith, and there is also no consensus regarding it, then it will be resolved through ijtihad and qiyas, provided that the one performing ijtihad is a person of knowledge and capable of ijtihad. However, if an issue is present in the Qur'an or Hadith, or there is consensus of the Companions (radi Allahu anhum) or the Followers (tabi‘in) regarding it, then ijtihad is not permissible in that matter, because the purpose of ijtihad is not to alter issues that are explicitly stated (mansus), but rather to find solutions for issues that are not explicitly stated (ghayr mansus).
Nowadays, some people who are devoid of knowledge think that ijtihad means to determine the rulings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Some people who are devoid of knowledge nowadays think that ijtihad means to change the rulings of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and according to them, the issues of the Qur'an and Sunnah should be adapted to current circumstances. However, the truth is that circumstances should be changed to conform to the Qur'an and Sunnah, not that the Qur'an and Sunnah should be changed to conform to circumstances.
"Silence is better" because there is always the possibility of error in ijtihad (independent juristic reasoning). From these narrations, it is understood that after the Qur'an, Hadith, and consensus (ijma‘), the next level is ijtihad or analogy (qiyas). That is, if an issue is not mentioned in the Qur'an or Hadith, and there is also no consensus regarding it, then it will be resolved through ijtihad and qiyas, provided that the one performing ijtihad is a person of knowledge and capable of ijtihad. However, if an issue is present in the Qur'an or Hadith, or there is consensus of the Companions (radi Allahu anhum) or the Followers (tabi‘in) regarding it, then ijtihad is not permissible in that matter, because the purpose of ijtihad is not to alter issues that are explicitly stated (mansus), but rather to find solutions for issues that are not explicitly stated (ghayr mansus).
Nowadays, some people who are devoid of knowledge think that ijtihad means to determine the rulings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Some people who are devoid of knowledge nowadays think that ijtihad means to change the rulings of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and according to them, the issues of the Qur'an and Sunnah should be adapted to current circumstances. However, the truth is that circumstances should be changed to conform to the Qur'an and Sunnah, not that the Qur'an and Sunnah should be changed to conform to circumstances.
Source: Sunan Nasa'i: Translation and Benefits by Shaykh Hafiz Muhammad Amin Hafizullah, Page: 5401
