This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Irshad Ullah Maan's book In Search of Truth.
Allah Almighty and His Messenger ﷺ's commands, both of which are revelation, see:
Reference: Translation of the Quran by Ahmad Raza: Al-An'am:145, p:297
regarding which
Reference: Naeem Murad Abadi Sahib wrote in his Tafsir Al-An'am:56, p:124
: meaning your way is following the self and desire, not following evidence, therefore it is not worthy of adoption.
Reference: Al-An'am:121, p:242
states: because abandoning the divine command in religion and accepting the command of others is to make someone other than Allah the ruler, which is shirk (polytheism). And
Reference: Al-A'raf:12, p:17
states: when the text is present, reasoning against it is rejected, and reasoning that contradicts the text is certainly rejected. Despite the fact that the religion has been completed
Reference: (Al-Ma'idah:3)
and despite the fact that the companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them all, who were given the glad tidings of Paradise in this world, attained this honor by acting only upon the Quran and Hadith. Because the Imams and scholars came later. And despite the fact that Ahmad Raza Khan Sahib's Quranic translation with Tafsir mentions the books of Hadith extensively. The agreed-upon Hadiths of Bukhari and Muslim are mentioned (45) times and these two Hadith books are called Sahihain.
Reference: (Al-Anfal:69, p:128)
Bukhari alone is mentioned twenty-two (22) times, Muslim alone (29) times, Tirmidhi (46) times, Abu Dawood (12) times, Nasa'i twice, and all of them are called Sahih five times. Darimi and Muwatta Imam Malik are also mentioned. Meaning a complete study of Quran and Hadith was done but it was not considered sufficient, and repeatedly Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, and Hanafi Fiqh were mentioned along with the Hanafi Fiqh books Hidayah, Alamgiri, and Durre Mukhtar.[1] The revealed religion:
(That is) despite having the Quran and Hadith available, Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, and the Hanafi jurisprudence were followed, even though Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in 80 AH and died in 150 AH, and taqlid (imitation) began after 400 AH. For about 20 years, the Muslim Ummah did not accept Hanafi jurisprudence. The fruit of the plant of taqlid was that five prayer rugs were placed inside the Kaaba, and sectarianism arose within the Ummah. It should be remembered that after the taqlid of the four Imams, gradually their followers also increased, and the inclination of the sultans also turned towards taqlid. Every king appointed a judge from his own sect. Every sect tried to promote its own religion and suppress the other, and attacked one another; sometimes one would prevail, and sometimes one would be defeated. Finally, during the time of Shah Paris in 665 AH, four judges were appointed for the four sects. In other words, all four sects were officially recognized. Eventually, Sultan Farah bin Barquq, in the early ninth century, established four prayer rugs inside the Kaaba besides the prayer rug of Ibrahim, thus dividing the religion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ into four parts. When prayer was performed on one rug, the people on the other three rugs would be sitting. And similarly, prayers were performed one after another on all four rugs. This practice continued for about 500 years. Now, the current rulers of Saudi Arabia have removed the four prayer rugs and united the Muslim Ummah on one prayer rug. You can see the same sectarianism in Pakistan. Here, we want to quote very important sayings of the best of generations, the pious predecessors, which should be sufficient for the sincere brothers who recite the Kalima.
◈ The famous trustworthy Imam Amir bin Sharahil Al-Thaqafi Al-Tabi'i (died 104 AH) says: [ما حدثوك هؤلاء عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فخذ به وما قالوه برأيهم فألقه في الحش] Hold firmly to whatever hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ they narrate to you, and throw away whatever they say based on their own opinion (which is proven contrary to the Quran, hadith, and consensus) in the toilet.
Reference: Sunan al-Darimi: Hadith 206, and its chain is authentic
[2]The trustworthy Muhaddith Imam Abdul Aziz bin Rafi' (died 110 AH) says:
When Imam Ata Ibn Abi Rabah, may Allah have mercy on him (died 114 AH, according to the famous view), was asked a question, he said: [لا أدری] (I do not have knowledge about this). Imam Abdul Aziz bin Rafi' says: When Imam Ata Ibn Abi Rabah was asked: [ألا تقول فيها برأيك؟] Why did you not answer with your own opinion? In response, Imam Ata Ibn Abi Rabah said: [إني استحي من الله أن يدان في الأرض برأیي] I am shy before Allah that my opinion should be made into religion on earth.
Reference: Sunan al-Darimi: Hadith 108, and its chain is authentic, [Tarikh Dimashq Ibn Asakir: 43/26,27 and its chain is authentic]
[3]The young Tabi'i, famous trustworthy and reliable Imam Al-Hakam bin Utbah (died 115 AH) says:
[ليس أحد من خلق الله إلا يؤخذ من قوله و يترك إلا النبي]
Apart from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (فداہ ابی وامی و روحی), there is no person among Allah’s creation whose statement can be accepted and then rejected. Only you ﷺ are such a blessed and pure personality whose every word will be accepted.
Reference: Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlih: 2/91, its chain is Hasan Lidhatihi, [Al-Ahkam Ibn Hazm: 6/293 and its chain is Hasan Lidhatihi
[4]Before the famous, trustworthy, and precise Muhaddith Ibrahim bin Yazid:
Someone presented the statement of Imam Saeed bin Jubair, a Tabi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, to which he replied: [ما تصنع بحديث سعيد بن جبير مع قول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم؟]
In comparison to the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, what will you do with the statement of Saeed bin Jubair?
Reference: Al-Ahkam Ibn Hazm: 6/293 and its chain is Sahih
[5]The Imam of Imams, the great Hafiz, trustworthy and precise Muhaddith Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Khuzaymah Nishapuri (died: 311 AH) says:
[ليس لأحد مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قول إذا صح الخبر عنه] When the authentic Hadith of the Noble Prophet ﷺ (فداہ ابی و امی و روحی) comes, no statement of any person will be worthy of attention and following in comparison to it.
Reference: Ma'rifat 'Ulum by Al-Hakim Nishapuri: p. 84, second edition, p. 286, Hadith 190 and its chain is Sahih
[6]The famous Imam of Ahl al-Ra'y, Abu Hanifa, one day said to his student Qadi Abu Yusuf:
[ويحك يا يعقوب لا تكتب كل ما تسمع مني فإني قد أرى الرأي و أتركه غدا و أرى الرأي غدا و أتركه بعد غداليوم]
O Yaqub! (Qadi Abu Yusuf) be careful! Do not write down everything I say, for today I have one opinion and tomorrow it changes, and if I have another opinion tomorrow, the day after that it also changes.
Reference: Tarikh Yahya bin Mu'in: 2/607, T:2461 and its chain is authentic], [Tarikh Baghdad: 13/424
Warning:
On this subject, a narration is presented that it was observed on the face of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ displeasure when Sayyiduna Umar رضي الله عنه prayed at night. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: If Musa (Moses) عليه السلام were also alive, no one would find a path without following me. This narration is weak with all its chains due to Mujalid bin Saeed, Jabir bin Yazid al-Ja'fi, Abu Shaybah Abdul Rahman bin Ishaq al-Wasiti being very weak, and Abu Amir al-Qasim bin Muhammad al-Asadi being unknown.
Reference: Majma' al-Zawa'id: 173/1, 174, 182
Keeping in mind these statements of the pious predecessors and the saying of Imam Abu Hanifa, reflect on how strongly the pious predecessors advised adhering to the Sunnah and recommended discarding opinions contrary to the Quran and Sunnah in the latrine, and considered issuing fatwas based on one's own opinion as equivalent to establishing a new religion on the earth of Allah. The people of opinion should take a lesson from these excellent statements of the pious predecessors, who incite their blind followers قیل وقال، روى، يقال، to follow books of jurisprudence contrary to the Quran, Sunnah, and consensus issues and to enforce them.
