Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 869
If a ruling made by a deceased leader contradicts the Qur'an and Sunnah, can the current leader change it in light of prevailing circumstances?
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
It is not only permissible, but obligatory and necessary to correct any ruling that contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah, and bring it in alignment with them.
If a decision is against the Sharī‘ah, it is absolutely impermissible to uphold it on the pretext of prevailing circumstances or supposed benefits. Doing so would amount to:
تحاکم الی الطاغوت
(Referring for judgment to non-Islamic laws or systems),
which is never permissible under any condition.
Maintaining a false ruling is tantamount to following Ṭāghūt (false authorities or devils) and is a clear violation of the Sharī‘ah. Allah says in the Qur’an:
﴿وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا﴾
“And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly gone far astray.”
(Sūrah al-Aḥzāb: 36)
① Avoidance of Ṭāghūt Rulings
When issuing verdicts or making judgments, they must avoid adhering to Ṭāghūt systems. Allah has commanded disbelief in such systems, as He says:
﴿وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ﴾
“They were commanded to reject (disbelieve in) Ṭāghūt.”
(Sūrah al-Nisā’: 60)
This command denotes complete disassociation and boycott of non-Islamic legal systems.
② Upholding Justice and Fairness
Judgments must be based on justice, as mandated by the Islamic legal system. Allah says:
﴿وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَنْ تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ ۭ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُمْ﴾
“And when you judge between people, judge with justice. Indeed, excellent is that which Allah instructs you.”
(Sūrah al-Nisā’: 58)
Here are eight clear examples proving that changing a ruling which contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah is a Shar‘ī obligation:
﴿وَدَاوُدَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِي الْحَرْثِ...﴾
“And [mention] Dāwūd and Sulaymān, when they judged concerning the field...”
(Sūrah al-Anbiyā’: 78-79)
The final verdict was corrected by Prophet Sulaymān (عليه السلام) and affirmed by Allah.
(See: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, Arabic vol. 3, p. 191)
A villager asked for a judgment based on the Book of Allah. A worker had committed adultery with his master's wife. People suggested stoning, but learned scholars clarified that the punishment is 100 lashes and exile for a year. The Prophet ﷺ ruled accordingly.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, pp. 1067, 1008; Fatḥ al-Bārī, vol. 12 p.165, vol.13 p.229)
Initially granted permission to spend her waiting period ('iddah) at her parents’ house, the Prophet ﷺ later reversed the decision and instructed her to remain at her deceased husband’s home.
(Narrated by Mālik, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Mishkāt, p. 289)
Initially denied inheritance share to a grandmother. Upon the testimony of Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah and Muḥammad ibn Maslamah (رضي الله عنهما) confirming the Prophet ﷺ had granted 1/6 share, he implemented that.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 2, p. 45)
When he restricted mahr (dowry) to 400 dirhams, a woman recited:
﴿وَآتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ قِنْطَارًا﴾
“Even if you gave one of them a heap of gold (as mahr)…”
(Sūrah al-Nisā’: 20)
Hearing this, he withdrew his restriction.
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, vol. 1, p. 467)
A man confessed to adultery. Upon learning that he was married but had not consummated the marriage, ‘Alī (رضي الله عنه) cancelled the stoning and instead gave him 100 lashes.
(Sunan Sa‘īd ibn Manṣūr, vol. 3, p. 211)
‘Alī (رضي الله عنه) had some apostates burned. Ibn ‘Abbās (رضي الله عنهما) objected and cited the ḥadīth:
"مَن بَدَّلَ دِينَهُ فَاقْتُلُوهُ"
“Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, p. 1023)
When Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī (رضي الله عنه) believed a granddaughter is excluded from inheritance, Ibn Mas‘ūd (رضي الله عنه) said:
"If I say that, I would be misguided. I shall give the ruling as the Prophet ﷺ did."
He allotted:
• Half to the daughter
• One-sixth to the granddaughter
• Remainder to the sister
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, p. 997)
These eight examples clearly show that changing a ruling or fatwā which contradicts Qur’an and Sunnah is obligatory, regardless of whether the one who made the ruling was a leader, caliph, or group head.
"لَا حُجَّةَ لِأَحَدٍ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ"
“No one’s statement holds weight when the Prophet ﷺ has spoken.”
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
❖ Question:
If a ruling made by a deceased leader contradicts the Qur'an and Sunnah, can the current leader change it in light of prevailing circumstances?
❖ Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
It is not only permissible, but obligatory and necessary to correct any ruling that contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah, and bring it in alignment with them.
If a decision is against the Sharī‘ah, it is absolutely impermissible to uphold it on the pretext of prevailing circumstances or supposed benefits. Doing so would amount to:
تحاکم الی الطاغوت
(Referring for judgment to non-Islamic laws or systems),
which is never permissible under any condition.
Maintaining a false ruling is tantamount to following Ṭāghūt (false authorities or devils) and is a clear violation of the Sharī‘ah. Allah says in the Qur’an:
﴿وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا﴾
“And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly gone far astray.”
(Sūrah al-Aḥzāb: 36)
❖ Two Major Responsibilities of Judges and Muftis:
① Avoidance of Ṭāghūt Rulings
When issuing verdicts or making judgments, they must avoid adhering to Ṭāghūt systems. Allah has commanded disbelief in such systems, as He says:
﴿وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ﴾
“They were commanded to reject (disbelieve in) Ṭāghūt.”
(Sūrah al-Nisā’: 60)
This command denotes complete disassociation and boycott of non-Islamic legal systems.
② Upholding Justice and Fairness
Judgments must be based on justice, as mandated by the Islamic legal system. Allah says:
﴿وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَنْ تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ ۭ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ نِعِمَّا يَعِظُكُمْ﴾
“And when you judge between people, judge with justice. Indeed, excellent is that which Allah instructs you.”
(Sūrah al-Nisā’: 58)
❖ Evidence from Prophets and Righteous Predecessors:
Here are eight clear examples proving that changing a ruling which contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah is a Shar‘ī obligation:
① Prophet Sulaymān (عليه السلام) rectifying the ruling of Prophet Dāwūd (عليه السلام):
﴿وَدَاوُدَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ إِذْ يَحْكُمَانِ فِي الْحَرْثِ...﴾
“And [mention] Dāwūd and Sulaymān, when they judged concerning the field...”
(Sūrah al-Anbiyā’: 78-79)
The final verdict was corrected by Prophet Sulaymān (عليه السلام) and affirmed by Allah.
(See: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, Arabic vol. 3, p. 191)
② The Prophet ﷺ correcting a prior wrong judgment:
A villager asked for a judgment based on the Book of Allah. A worker had committed adultery with his master's wife. People suggested stoning, but learned scholars clarified that the punishment is 100 lashes and exile for a year. The Prophet ﷺ ruled accordingly.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, pp. 1067, 1008; Fatḥ al-Bārī, vol. 12 p.165, vol.13 p.229)
③ The case of Fari‘ah bint Mālik (رضي الله عنها):
Initially granted permission to spend her waiting period ('iddah) at her parents’ house, the Prophet ﷺ later reversed the decision and instructed her to remain at her deceased husband’s home.
(Narrated by Mālik, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Mishkāt, p. 289)
④ Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه) reversing his ruling:
Initially denied inheritance share to a grandmother. Upon the testimony of Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah and Muḥammad ibn Maslamah (رضي الله عنهما) confirming the Prophet ﷺ had granted 1/6 share, he implemented that.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 2, p. 45)
⑤ ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) retracting his decision on dowry limit:
When he restricted mahr (dowry) to 400 dirhams, a woman recited:
﴿وَآتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ قِنْطَارًا﴾
“Even if you gave one of them a heap of gold (as mahr)…”
(Sūrah al-Nisā’: 20)
Hearing this, he withdrew his restriction.
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, vol. 1, p. 467)
⑥ ‘Alī (رضي الله عنه) reversing a stoning verdict:
A man confessed to adultery. Upon learning that he was married but had not consummated the marriage, ‘Alī (رضي الله عنه) cancelled the stoning and instead gave him 100 lashes.
(Sunan Sa‘īd ibn Manṣūr, vol. 3, p. 211)
⑦ Burning apostates:
‘Alī (رضي الله عنه) had some apostates burned. Ibn ‘Abbās (رضي الله عنهما) objected and cited the ḥadīth:
"مَن بَدَّلَ دِينَهُ فَاقْتُلُوهُ"
“Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, p. 1023)
⑧ Ibn Mas‘ūd (رضي الله عنه) issuing a correct fatwā:
When Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī (رضي الله عنه) believed a granddaughter is excluded from inheritance, Ibn Mas‘ūd (رضي الله عنه) said:
"If I say that, I would be misguided. I shall give the ruling as the Prophet ﷺ did."
He allotted:
• Half to the daughter
• One-sixth to the granddaughter
• Remainder to the sister
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, p. 997)
❖ Conclusion:
These eight examples clearly show that changing a ruling or fatwā which contradicts Qur’an and Sunnah is obligatory, regardless of whether the one who made the ruling was a leader, caliph, or group head.
"لَا حُجَّةَ لِأَحَدٍ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ"
“No one’s statement holds weight when the Prophet ﷺ has spoken.”
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
