Assalamu alaykum Sayyidi,
I have attached a word document with a quote from Ibn Kathir’s seerah regarding the noble parents of Rasulullahu sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I have a few questions regarding this and mas’alat najaat al-walidayn (radiyAllahu anhuhuma):
1- In light of Barzanji/Suhayli’s statements that calling the parents mushrik is considered as idhaa al-Nabi (alayhi afdal us-salawat), and Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi’s saying about such a person la’anahu-Allah; this, even if we were to take the position that they died on shirk wal ‘iyadhu billah.
idhaa al-nabi is tantamount to kufr…Where does this leave Mulla Ali al-Qari, Ibn Kathir and the statement of al-Bayhaqi (in the attachment).?
2- Suyuti says the jumhur were qaa’iloon of najaat and some ulama chose to be silent on the issue…What is the hukm of those who attributed shirk and perdition to the noble parents? (both, Suyuti in his fataawa and Barzanji in sadaad ud-deen say that their najaat is established by qati’yaat).
JazakAllah khayr for your response. A final question regarding this to help me understand inshaAllah: Can idhaa al-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) be validated by ijtihad?
E.g., one can state that the walidayn are mushrik in accordance with his ijtihad and be spared from being from those who yu’dhoona-Allaha wa Rasulah? And further to ijtihad, what about those ulama who took pride in their research and ijtihad in this mas’ala as the ‘ibara of Mulla Ali al-Qari indicates in Sharh al-Shifa. Again, may Allah reward you for clarifying this issue for me.
Most importantly for me, how do we deal with people who speak about this matter following the ijtihad of al-Qari. I assume following the mujtahid in this is valid. Do we then have any grounds to object against salafis when they bring up this mas’ala and state the ijtihad of the ulama?
Ma’as salamah
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
As I said before this issue is all ijtihad, which by definition presupposes non-qat`i status; secondly this issue is the province of the `Ulema and is not even part of obligatory knowledge in the Religion.
It is yet another misguided innovation of that sect to propagate this issue for the general public – as they have done with several other non-obligatory issues – and it is a big mistake and spiritual loss for other non-ulema to reply back to them as the latter cannot help applying either/or judgments on the particular scholars being cited when (i) they should refer back to the larger throng of the scholars and (ii) they should be more concerned about themselves and their religious obligations.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّـهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا ۚ اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
{O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do} Surat al-Ma’idah 5:8
It is not idhaa al-Nabi for qualified scholars to practice ijtihad under the umbrella of the Prophetic hadith: “If the mujtahid is right he has two rewards, if not, then one reward.” However, it is idhaa al-Nabi for non-scholars to attack scholars in the guise of defending his honor, upon him blessings and peace. That is because the scholars as a rule are careful to tread the path of legal evidence, lawful language, and ta`abbud i.e. the intention of worshipping Allah Most High through their scholarship which is not the case of non-scholars disputing such issues. And when scholars slip, other scholars can address that. As for ourselves we resign that knowledge and all judgment to Allah Most High and we ask Him for a good deed and a Believer’s khatima.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
