The Ijtihad of The Four Imams vs Contemporary Scholars

There is a stark difference between the rulings of The Four Imams and a fatwa of a contemporary scholar. The Four Imams i.e. Imam Abu Hanifah RA, Imam Malik RA, Imam Shafi'i RA and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal RA were all Mujtahids. Their knowledge in the tafsir of the Noble Qur'an and Ahadith of Rasulullah SAW was so vast that they had the ability to independently arrive at a decision on any one issue. Hence the difference of opinion among the Imams are differences stemming from Mujtahideen and their different Principles of Ijtihaad.

On the other hand, the Ulama of Azhar, Deoband, Madinah etc. are not Mujtahideen. They are very far away from the shores of Ijtihaad. Even the classical scholar - Jalaluddin Suyuti RA - was a great and renowned scholar who has contributed in almost every field, e.g. Tafsir, Hadith, Usul-ul-Tafsir (Principles of Tafsir), Usul-ul-Hadith (Principles of Hadith), Fiqh, Usul-ul-Fiqh (Principles of Fiqh), etc. but still was not accepted as a Mujtahid by his contemporaries.

The Ulama of today even more do not qualify to be Mujtahids, and hence they are followers of their respective Imams. The differences of opinion of the Ulama of today do not stem from differences of opinion in the Principles of Ijtihaad. They are rightly Muqallideen (followers) of their respective Imams.

The differences of opinion may be categorised as: i) following a different Mazhab; or ii) following the same Mazhab, with variational differences, e.g. misinterpretation of the Imam's view.

In the first case the difference among the Ulama is in fact the difference of opinion among the Four Imams and, therefore are unobjectionable. Every individual should follow the opinion of the Imam he follows. In the second case if the differences are due to misinterpretation or ignorance of the followed Imam's principles or opinion then it will be objectionable. Such views cannot be tolerated as the views of the different Imams. The views of the different Imams stem from their Ijtihaad whereas the views of the Uama ought to stem from the principles set out by their Imams. Therefore the differences among the Ulama are very far from the differences of the Imams.

So thus we must understanding, the Ulama of Azhar are not Mujtahideen, the Ulama of Deoband are not Mujtahideen, the Ulama of Madinah are also not Mujtahideen, and so on; and as a result they are not in a position to be acknowledged as Imams (of Islamic Jurisprudence).

Furthermore, we must understand that a non-Aalim may follow a learned Muqallid of his Mazhab as a guide in order to make proper Taqleed of his respective Imam. When following a learned Muqallid, it is important to know his source of knowledge. It should be noted that the source of education has an influence on an individual's future and direction in life. The Aalim must also be firmly adhering to and practising on the Noble Qur'an and the Sunnah of Rasulullah SAW i.e. The Shari'ah. One should avoid following any Ulama in the belief of literally making Taqleed to them individually.