Islamic Quotes

Knowledge no longer exists
if one has ignored the attributes
of the Almighty Great Creator.
- Ibn Hazm

If you have knowledge or something, let others light their candles with it.

Many things in life will catch your eye but few will catch your heart. Pursue those.

Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.
- Jalaluddin al-Rumi

We must learn to live together as brothers
or perish together as fools.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Both a swimmer and a drowned man are in the water; the latter is borne by the water and controlled by it, while the swimmer is borne along by his own power and of his own volition. Every movement made by the drowned man -- indeed, every act and word that issue from him -- comes from the water, not from him... The saints are like this. They have died before death. - Jalaluddin al-Rumi [from 'Signs of the Unseen: The Discourses of Jalaluddin Rumi']

The glance is a poisoned arrow of shaytan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allah, He will bestow upon him a refreshing sweetness which he will find in his heart on the day that he meets Him.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)

The heart, in its journey to Allah, Majestic is He, is like that of a bird;Love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings. When the head and two wings are sound, the bird flies gracefully; if the head is severed, the bird dies; if the bird loses one of its wings, it then becomes a target for every hunter or predator.
- Ibn al Qayyim

I was once like you, enlightened and "rational",
I too scoffed at lovers,
Now I am drunk, crazed, thin with misery.
No one is safe! Watch out.
- Jalaluddin al-Rumi

I love God: I have no time left In which to hate the devil.
- Rabia al Basri
[From: Doorkeeper of the heart: versions of Rabia / [translated by] Charles Upton. Putney, Vt.: Threshold Books, c1988]

Truly in the heart there is a void that can not be removed except with the company of Allah. And in it there is a sadness that can not be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him. And in it thereis an emptiness that can not be filled except with love for Him and by turning to Him and always remembering Him And if a person were given all of the world and what is in it, it would not fill this emptiness.

Those that follow a religion that cannot create a civilisation, will create a civilisation that cannot follow a religion.

Iman is not something that I just "perform" in a place of worship.
Iman is life.
Iman is how I interact with Allah during all the breaths that I take.
- Shaykh Habib 'Ali al Jifri

Someone told Imam Abu Hanifah, "In the mosque there is a circle (Halaqah) in which the people are looking at fiqh." He asked, "Do they have a head (i.e. a teacher)?" The man replied, "No." The Imam said, "These will never gain knowledge of fiqh."
[Reported by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, through his isnad, in 'al-Faqeeh wal-Mutafaqqih']

Imam Malik was asked, "Can knowledge be taken from a man who has not ([to his credit any) seeking (of knowledge) nor sitting (with scholars)?" He said, "No."
[Reported by as-Suyuti in 'Is'af al-Mubatta']

Imam al-Shafi' said, "Whoever takes knowledge from books loses the regulations." (man akhadha al-'ilma min al-kutubi Dayya'a al-aHkaama).
[Reported by al-Nawawi in the introduction to 'al-Majmu']

'Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad, said, "My father said : 'Knowledge is only that in which one says : So-and-so told us . . . . And, al-Mansur asked my father to discuss [something] with Ibn Abi Du'ad, but he turned his face away, saying, 'How can I discuss with someone whom I have not seen at the door of a single scholar?!'"
[Reported by Qadi 'Iyad in 'al-Ilma']

Were you to put your complete trust in Allah, He would provide for you as He provides for the birds. They issue forth hungry in the morning and return filled in the evening.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[Reported by Umar in at-Tirmidhi]

Behold and see as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you must be
Perpare for death and follow me.
- A tombstone inscription from a cemetery in New-York

Narrated Abdullah bin Amr (radiAllahu anhu), a man asked the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
'Whose Islam is good or what sort of deeds of Islam are good.'
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) replied,
'To feed others and to greet those whom you know and those whom you do not know.'

Everyone who is taken by death asks for more time, while everyone who still has time makes excuses for procrastination.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllah anhu)

Greed takes a person to the watering place but gets him back without letting him drink. It undertakes resposibility but does not fulfill it. Often the drinker gets choked before quenching his thirst. The greater the worth of a thing yearned for, the greater is the grief for its loss. Desires blind the eyes of understanding. The destined share would reach him who does not approach it.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

There is no joy for someone who has no sorrow.
There is no pleasure for the one who has no patience
No bliss for someone with no misery
and no rest for the one with no fatigue.
When someone is a little tired,
he has long rest.
When he endures the difficulty of steadfastness for a time,
that leads him to eternal life.
All that the people of eternal bliss
are in is steadfastness for a time.
- Ibn al-Qayyim

I am amazed at the people who take care of themselves by eating food out of fear of dying, yet do not protect themselves from sins out of fear of the Fire.
- Ibn Shubrumah [Siyar A'lam an-Nubala. - Vol 6, Page 348]

The heart, in its journey to Allah, Majestic is He, is like that of a bird; Love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings. When the head and two wings are sound, the bird flies gracefully; if the head is severed, the bird dies; if the bird loses one of its wings, it then becomes a target for every hunter or predator.
- Ibn al-Qayyim

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
- Martin Luther King

A'isha (radiAllahu anha) narrated two verses (couplets)
'if the friends of Zulaikha could see the blessed face of Rasulullah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam),
they would have cut their hearts instead of their hands'
[Sham'il at-Tirmidhi] Habeebah al-'Adawiyyah prayed Isha then she would stand on the roof of her house and would say,
"O my Lord,
the stars have come out,
people have gone to sleep,
and kings have closed their doors,
but Your door is open.
Every lover is alone with his lover,
but here I am standing before You."

Then she would start to pray and talk to her Lord until the time of suhoor. When the time of suhoor would come she would say,
"O Allah, this night is ending,
the day is coming,
and I wish I knew
whether You have accepted
the night of worship from me,
so that I could congratulate myself,
or if it has been rejected,
so that I might console myself."

Your Remedy is within you, but you do not sense it.
Your Sickness is from you, but you do not percieve it.
You Presume you are a small entity,
But within you is enfolded the entire universe.
You are indeed the evident book,
By whose alphabet the hidden becomes the manifest.
Therefore, you have no need to look beyond yourself,
What you seek is within you, if only you reflect.
- Ali ibn abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

The world is held up by Four pillars:
The Wisdom of the Learned;
the Justice of the Great;
the Prayers of The Righteous;
and the Valour of the Brave.
- Inscription at entrance of University of Granada in Muslim Spain.

There is nothing in our book, the Koran, that teaches us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That�s a good religion.
- Malcolm X
[from 'Message to the Grass Roots', speech, Nov. 1963, Detroit (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 1, 1965)].

There are many challenges, and every challenge is an opportunity, not a shackle!
- Professor Khurshid Ahmed

Indeed this discipline of ours is from cradle to grave. Whoever intends to leave this knowledge of ours for one moment, let him leave it now!
- Muhammad Ibn al-Hassan ash-Shaybani

"When you come upon the meadows of the Garden, graze in them." He was asked, "What are the meadows of the Garden?" "Circles of dhikr," he replied.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[reported by Anas - at-Tirmidhi]

Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said;
Leave me to my companions, for by the One in whose hands is my soul, if you were to spend in charity the like of the mount of Uhud in gold you would not match their actions. -
Ahmed and considered to be Sahih

Allah! Allah! My companions! Allah! Allah! My companions! Do not take them as targets, for whoever loves them, by my love for them I will love them and whoever hates them, I will hate them and whoever harms them has harmed me and who harms me has harmed Allah and whoever harms Allah I fear He will take him. -
Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) [at-Tirmidhi]

If Allah wishes for good for a man of my nation he throws love of my companions into his heart. - Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) [al-Daylami]

My companions are like stars, you will be guided by whichever one you follow.-
Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[Musnad of Imam Abu Hanifa, al-Baihaqi and al-Daylami]

I am amazed concerning the Hellfire - how does the one who could flee from it sleep? And I am amazed concerning the Jannah - how does the one who desires it sleep? For by Allah! If you neither desire Paradise, nor fear the Hellfire, then you are destroyed and grievous will be your sorrow, interminable your sadness and without limit your tears; you will be amongst the wretched, the punished ones. So if you claim that you are amongst those who seek refuge from the Fire and desire Paradise, then strive for that which you seek and do not be misled by your worldly desires.
- a pious slave

Fight your tongue.
The tongue is quick to kill a man.
The tongue is the posting of the heart.

Islamic Quotes

O students at the madrasa,
Everything you learn is mere misgivings.
If your concern is in other than the Beloved,
You shall have no share of the Next Life.
- One of the righteous poets of the spiritual path The world is darkness; knowledge is light; but knowledge without truth is a mere shadow.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Patience which is in remembrance of Him is not bitter;
For bitterness from a friend's hand is sugar.
- Bustan

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.

Make the remembrance of Allah, my garment, my Lord
Every utterance from my mouth be Your dhikr, my Lord.
Instead of breath, It should be Your dhikr from my throat, my Lord
Let this Dhikr never leave me
And be the last thing on my tongue O Creator.
La Ilaha Illallah.
La Ilaha Illallah.

If the Seven heavens and Seven earths were put together on one side of a scale and the words "La ilaha ilalah" were placed on the other side of the scale, the later would outweigh the former.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[Sahih al-Bukhari]

Among the signs of true success (tawfiq) is witnessing one's shortcomings, while having high resolve; remaining lowly and needy; being characterized by slavehood to Allah, with true following of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his actions, states, words, and character; yet not beholding any of this nor relying on it nor being tricked by it or stopping with it.
- Imam Abd Allah Ba-Sudan al-Hadrami
(in his al-Anwar al-Lami`a, a commentary on al-Risala al-Jami`a, (p. 120))

Oh writer! An Angel watches over all you write. Make your writing meaningful for it will eventually return to you and you will be questioned about what you wrote.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

There will never be enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of Islam.

I believe if there is any place left where the humanity is still visible, it can not be anywhere else than in an Islamic society. Time would come when the world would be obliged to accept this reality.

When He opens a way for you and makes Himself known to you, then do not worry about your lack of deeds.
He only opened the way for you because He desired to make Himself known to you.
Do you not see that while He grants gnosis of Himself to you,
you have only deeds to offer Him?
What He brings you -
What you bring Him -
What a difference there is between them!
- Hikam of Ibn Ata'illa

If you remember the creation (gossip about such and such a person), then remember Allah the Most High. Remembering Him is the medicine for remembering His creation.
- Fudayl ibn 'Iyad (rahimahullah)

The heartbrokenness of the sinner is better than the forcefulness of the obedient
- Abu Madyan
[Diwan, 50]

The ambition of the spiritual traveller never wants to stop with what it has been shown save that the voices of reality call to him, "what you seek is ahead of you.
- Ibn 'Ata'illah Iskandari

The beloved of Allah are the perfume of Allah upon this world, but only the true, sincere believers have noses to smell them. They smell that beautiful perfume; they follow that smell. That perfume creates a yearning in their hearts for their Lord, and as a result the sincere believers increase their pace, efforts and devotions. - Yahya ibn Muadh al Razi (rahimullah)
[The Secrets of Secrets, p16, by Sk. Abdul Qadir Jilani]

If someone's state does not lift you up,
and his words do not lead you to Allah.
Then do not keep his company.

It may well be that you are in a bad state,
But to keep company with someone worse than you
would allow to see good in yourself.
- Ibn Ata'illah Iskandari

If someone remarks "What an excellent man you are!" and this pleases you more than his saying, "What a bad man you are!" know that you are still a bad man.
- Sufyan ath-Thawri

To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do

When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes.

O my people! Prove the sincerity of your respect for the Qur'an by putting its teachings into practice, not by arguing about it.
- Mohyuddin, Abdul Qadir al Jilani
from 'The Sublime Revelation', Trans. Muhtar Holland

One who is mild rather than forceful
has greater capcity for outreach.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Tala'al badru 'alaynaa, Min thanee yatil Wadaa. Wajabash shukru 'alaynaa maa da'aa lil lahidaa. Ayyuhal mab'oothu feenaa. Ji-ta bil amril mutaa. Ji-ta shar raftal Madinah. Marhaban yaa khayra daa.

The full moon rose over us from the vally in the south. Now we owe it to show thankfulness every time we call on Allah. O you who were raised among us, coming with a word to be obeyed. You have brought to this city nobleness so welcome! best caller to Allah's way.
- Sang by the girls of Madinah when the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)entered the city on the Hijrah

Practice what you have learned, for theory without practice is like a spirit without a body. One who is content with learning alone is not learned, for the truly learned seek more than mere words. Divine guidance entails self-mortification, without which contemplation is unattainable.
- Imam Al-Hujwiri [Kashf al-Mahjub]

Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you are dependable, honest, virtuous, and content in Allah�s will, no harm shall come your way.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) [as reported by Abd�Allah bin Amr]

The need to be loved is childish, immature. The need to love is mature.

Eat what you want and dress up as you desire, as long as extravagance and pride do not mislead you.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) [as reported by Abd�Allah ibn Abbas]

A garden in al-Andalus has
unveiled beauty and a lush scent.

The morning glistens from its teeth
and the night is overshadowed by its scarlet lips.

When the wind blows from the East
I cry: O how I long for al-Andalus!
- Abu Ishaq ibn Khafaja (d. 1139), excerpt from a poem 'The literature of al-Andalus'

He who clings to my Sunnah when my Ummah is corrupt, will receive the Reward of a hundred martyrs.
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)

And those who believe are overflowing in their love of God - Qur'an, 2: 165 Have you fully Realized what Islam is? It is indeed a religion founded on truth. It is such a fountain-head of learning that several streams of wisdom and knowledge flow from it.It is such a lamp that several lamps will be lighted from it. It is a lofty beacon of light illumining the path of Allah. It is such a set of principles and beliefs that it will fully satisfy every seeker of truth and reality.

Know you that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standards of his worship and obedience. He has favoured it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undoubtable arguments, unchallengeable supremacy and undeniable wisdom. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerly, to do justice to its articles of faith and belief, to obey implicity its tenets and orders and to give it the proper place in your lives.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib (radiAllahu anhu)

Islamic Quotes

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.

All women are pearls of great value, but some of us have been deceived into doubting the value of our purity. Pearls are priceless and should be protected and guarded from unworthy eyes.

The highest degree of love is Tatayyum (total enthrallment). The lowest degree is �alaqah (attachment), when the heart is attached to the beloved: then comes sabahah (infatuation), when the heart is poured out: then gharam (passion), when love never leaves the heart: then ashaq (ardent love), and finally tatayyum.
- ibn Taymiyyah
[Al-Uboodiyyah]

He does not refuse sustenance to the one who speaks ill of Him. How then could He refuse sustenance to the one whose soul is overflowing with love for Him?
- Rabi'a al-adawiyya
[Rabi'a the Mystic]

O you who complain to people about your misfortunes, what good will it do you to complain to creatures? They can bring you neither benefit nor harm. If you rely on them and associate partners with the Lord of the Truth, they will make you distant from Him, cause you to fall into His displeasure.
- Abdul Qadir Jilani

I swear that ever since the first day You brought me back to life,
The day You became my Friend,
I have not slept -
And even if You drive me from your door,
I swear again that we will never be separated -
Because You are alive in my heart
- Rabia al-Adawiyya

Wisdom is like the rain. Its source is unlimited, but it comes down according to the season. Grocers put sugar in a bag, but their supply of sugar is not the amount in the bag. When you come to a grocer, he has sugar in abundance. But he sees how much money you have brought and gives accordingly. Your currency on this Path is resolution and faith, and you are taught according to your resolution and faith. When you come seeking sugar, they examine your bag to see what its capacity is; then they measure out accordingly.
- Jalaluddin Rumi

Many a spoken word is more peircing than an attack.
- Ali ibn Abu Talib

He who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself.
Only he who combines the two proves true.
Imam Malik (rahimullah)

Actions are merely propped-up shapes.
Their life-breath is the presence of the secret of sincerity in them.
- Ibn Ata'illah Iskandari
[Al-hikam al-'Ata'iyyah]

Jaffer asked Rabia when a devotee might become content with God. She replied, "When his joy in affliciton equals his joy in blessing."
- Abu Makki

Everything that hearts find of worries and sadness is because of what they have been denied of beholding Allah.
- One of the Salaf

Man's fear of Allah is equal to his knowledge of Him, and his renunciation of the life of this world is equal to his desire of the Hereafter.
Whoever acts according to what he knows, Allah will make him successful in what he doesn't know.
And whoever is ill-tempered disgraces his honour, religion and generosity.
- Ibrahim al-Ash'ath

Weep like the waterwheel,
that green herbs may spiring up
from the courtyard of your soul.
If you wish for tears,
have mercy on one who sheds tears;
if you wish mercy, show mercy to the weak.
- Jalaluddin Rumi
Soften your heart [I, 821-2]

The soul should take care of the body, just as the pilgrim on his way to Makkah takes care of his camel; but if the pilgrim spends his whole time in feeding and adorning his camel, the caravan will leave him behind, and he will perish in the desert.
- abu Hamid al-Ghazali

For the larger interest of humanity, Islamic society presents the safest place on this planet.
- Jermaine Jackson

Money doesnt change people, it only exposes them.

Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot understand his deen.
- Al Hasan al-Basri

And make provision for yourselves; the best provision is taqwa - Quran, 2:197

I don't advise you to mind your life's affairs because I know that you are covetous to do so, but I advise you to mind the affairs of the Hereafter.
Take from this temporary home to the eternal one.
Consider this life as something that you have left, I swear by Allah you will leave it.
Consider death as something that you have tasted, I swear by Allah you will taste it.
And consider the Hereafter as a home that you have visited, I swear by Allah you will be there.
- Ata al Khurasani

Purification of the heart was once described by a scholar.
He gave the analogy of a man who didn�t have a bath for a whole year. So to make himself look clean and presentable, the dirty man decided to put on perfume and wear expensive clothes. Obviously his actions would be futile. He would still reek and smell, right?
Similarly, if we have dirty hearts and we focus on external actions (e.g Salah, fasting etc) our actions would be futile. Hence, tasawwuf and purification of the heart.
If we do not focus on the importance of purifying our hearts, all our external good deeds will be in vain.

Knowledge is proud that it knows so much;
Wisdom is humble that it knows no more.

There are two kinds of speeches and two kinds of silences. Speech is either truth or a falsification, and silence is either fruition or heedlessness. If one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech.

People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

In the heavens there is calmness
and on the earth there is beauty.
In the gardens there is freshness
and in you there is a sign.
In the sea there is might
and in the air there is nourishment.
Take from all this comfort for your soul
and recovery for your mind.
And do not waste your time by being unmindful,
this will shield you from good
and lead you to evil.
- Hasan al-Banna

A bad attitude spoils a good deed just as vinegar spoils honey
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)

Reputation is what men and women think of us;
Character is what God and Angels know of us.

There is only one virtue
and one sin for a soul on the path:
virtue when he is conscious of God
and sin when he is not.
- Abu Hashim Madani

Iman is to believe, even when an overpowering tide of evil surrounds you.
� Imam Anwar al-Awlaki

Tasawwuf: The weakening of the negative aspects of the human soul and the strengthening of its positive aspects.

Do a lot of remembrance of Allah until they say, 'He is mad.'
- Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
[Reported by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri in Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and Ibn Hibban]

If your pride leads you to boast,
you will be doubly guilty,
because your intelligence will have shown
that it is incapable of controlling your pride.
- Ibn Hazm

Some people drink deeply from the fountain of knowledge.
Others just gargle.

He whose sin is due to desires, then have hope for him. And he whose sin is due to pride, then fear for him - because Nabi Adam disobeyed due to desire and was forgiven, and Iblis sinned due to pride and was cursed
- Sufyan ibn Uyainah

You say that you are just a body, but inside of you is something greater than the Universe.
- Imam Shafi (rahimullah)

Everyone projects the image of friendship, but true friendship is that friendship which is established for the Pleasure of Allah. A true friend is one who takes no offence when a weakness of his is pointed out. And he too does not hesitate to point out the friend�s weakness and assist him in rectifying it.
- Moulana Yunus Patel saheb

Why to follow a Madhab?

Bismillah
Understanding Islam

By Muhammad ibn katebur Rahman

Imam Ali ibn Al-Madanee the Hadith Master said ''The companions whose mazhabs were followed, whose ruling were obeyed and whose paths were taken by them i.e. the salafs were three Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Masud and Zaid ibn Thabit'' (Ilal by Ibn Al-Madinee 42 and Ilmu Arijal tarekhuhu wa tatawwaruh 289)
There have risen some people who deny the existence of mazhab, whether it is legal or theological. Their excuse is, the names which these mazhabs imply are divisions in Islam. They also state that such were non-existent in the life of Prophet (saas). They also say, we are only Muslims, and we follow only Holy Quran and Saheeh Hadeeth, and nothing else. Well all these are very remarkable statements and alluring but ignorance in its finest, which shall be shown inshallah, as we proceed.

What is a mazhab?

Mazhab is from the root word zahaba which means to go. If I say zahabtu ila Al-Masjid, it means I went to the mosque, or if I say Zahabtu ila zalika al-ray, it means I went to that opinion or view, i.e. I took that view as granted. The word mazhab is on the form of mafaal, in Arabic morphology, and it signifies name for time and place, so mazhab meaning in the context of Islamic theology and law the place to which scholars went to, i.e. opinions regarding Islamic creed and Law, they accepted.

As to the naming such as Hanafi, Shafi, Sufism, Salafi, Ashari etc all of them signify what they stand for towards theology and law, yet all are Muslims, because all of them have went to the universality of Holy Quran, and Sunnah, at the end and all of them agree on foundational issues, so in this sense they are Muslims, but on other issues they differ and they have their arguments, some are irrefutable and pure, while others are weak and refuted.  These names is a representation of Islamic understanding regarding Islam, and it is a necessity to name such to know which Muslims stand for what in many fields of Islamic theology and law, and to give a proof for such valid naming the hadeeth narrated by Caliph Ali (rA), and reported by Abu Dawud in his Sunan which states: ''O people of Quran pray the witr prayer�.''. The evidence is in the naming of the prophet (saas) with the name ''people of Quran'', so on such basis all good names conforming to Islam and carrying a valid religious meaning is permissible.

Also, in the time of Holy Prophet (saas) such was not needed as firstly the prophet's word was the ultimate solution for issues, unlike the times later him on which the prophet (saas) did not comment directly due to his passing away to Allah. Yet he left the guidance which was meant for all times, and scholars varied in their understanding on many issues of Prophet's Sunnah, as well as Holy Quran. Let us examine them like people who respect knowledge unlike those who are moved by emotions and slogans. I will inshallah, give examples and illustrations from Holy Quran and Sunnah as to why the emergence of mazhab was a necessity:

Illustration one:

Legal question: Is selling of human milk permissible in Islam?

I ask you to find me any single verse of Holy Quran or hadeeth, which deals directly with this question. You can do your research later on, but first let us see what the Islamic school of legal thoughts (mazhab) said:

All the jurists of all the mazhabs have agreed (Ijma)-another legal principle which you won't find explicitly in Holy Quran and Sunnah- that the human milk has two conditions. Either it is inside the breasts of the female or outside. If it is inside then selling it is forbidden and it is a consensus of the Islamic jurists, due to the fact that the amount of the sold is undecided, and if it were decided you wouldn't know that that amount really exists in her or not. This is a cheat, and Islamic law prohibits cheat in transactions as has been understood from the intent of the holy texts. 

The second condition is that the milk exists outside the breasts and scholars have differed on this:

The hanafis say: It is forbidden to sell human milk, because:

One- It is part of human, and any part of human being sold is a disgrace to his sanctity and dignity. Allah says ''We have honored the sons of Adam�.'' (Al-Isra, Al-Quran)

Two- It is part of human and human parts are not liable to guardianship

Three- Their analogy on milk of pig as both being milk of an animal forbidden to be eaten.

The Shafis, the Malikis and the Hanbalis say:

It is permissible, because:

Just as hiring a milk-mother on contract is permissible, so too selling her milk.

Just as selling milk of pure animals such as cows and goats etc are permissible so too human milk because human is pure.

Legal question: Does a wife inherit when her husband is in deathbed and divorces her to prevent her from her inheritance?

The Mazhabs differed on this issue:

The hanafis say: She will inherit as long as she is in waiting period, and they showed proof from the action of Caliph Uthman (ra) and analogy (Qiyas). They say it is an established fact in Sunnah of Prophet (saas) that as long as wife is in her waiting period her husband can reclaim her if he were to divorce her, so too the wife can inherit as long as she is in her waiting period. (Refer to hanafi law books)

The Shafis say: The wife cannot inherit from her husband in this case, because the relationship ceased the moment the divorce was decisive, and a stranger cannot inherit from another person. (Refer to shafi law books)

The Malikis say: She can inherit whether she is in her waiting period or not, and whether she marries another or not. (Refer to Maliki aw books for details)

The hanbalis say: She can only inherit as long as she does not marry another or she does not become an apostate, because a wife cannot inherit from two husbands, on the basis of consensus of Islamic jurists. (Refer to hanbali law books)





Now tell me if any were to follow the slogan, only Quran and saheeh hadeeth to follow, in their deceived understanding, then it would mean a great backwardness for Islam. They by this imply that Islam fails to answer issues till the end of time and is not a religion which solves issues. If you open Islamic law books you will find thousands of issues on many fields which Islamic mazhabs has dealt with, in Islam's rule for more than thousand years.

Now let us move on to a different field of Islamic Law and that is, how the Islamic jurists of the mazhabs have extracted Islamic legal maxims to solve new issues, which is not explicitly mentioned in Holy Quran and Sunnah Saheeh:

Example one: Allah forbids in holy Quran the eating of pork, except when one is under duress Allah allows it. The verse is mentioned in Al-Baqarah. The jurists have decided the principle or you can say legal maxim which is ''Necessity permits prohibitions'', and they have extended this legal maxim in to branches one of which is ''The degree to which a prohibition is permitted depends on the degree of the necessity at hand''.

Example two: A man came to Prophet (saas) and said that he finds something irritating in his stomach while prayer and he fears he may pass gas. The prophet (saas) said to him not to break his prayer unless he hears noise or smells something. The Jurists have extracted a legal maxim which is ''Certainty is not invalidated by doubt''. So you have done wudu (ablution) but you forgot after a while or after some time and is unsure about your Wudu or not, but the last thing you remember was that you did wudu, so applying this will imply that you do not have to repeat wudu.

The jurists of the mazhabs have extracted like this well over hundred legal maxims. The first man to begin writing on this was Imam Al-Karkhi of the Hanafi mazhab., back in about 200-300 Hijri, or close to it. The jurists of the mazhabs at places may vary as to how to implement such maxims, because it needs mastery to apply the proper maxim at the proper place at the proper way.

The question needs to be asked: ''can you by yourself reading Holy Quran and hadeeth saheeh be competent enough to extract such, apply them properly, without following a mazhab and scholarly guidance?'' You will just make a big mess of the order.

Let us now move to the field of Islamic court system or more proper to be called it as Islamic legal procedure:

A woman, wife of Muwaiya (ra) came to the Prophet (saas) and complained about her husband saying him as very stingy in spending on her. The Prophet (saas) said to her to take from her husband's wealth what she needs for her necessity, without her husband's permission. The scholars differed as how to implement this Sunnah but they agreed on the ruling. Their difference is that they asked this simple question: ''Did the holy Prophet (saas) pass down this ruling as a judge or a mufti (jurist)?''. If you say ''as a judge'' then it is not allowed for any woman to just take from her husband's wealth in necessity, without the court order of the Islamic state, because safeguarding the property of the husband, which she is entrusted with is obligatory on wife. If you say ''as a jurist'' then it is applicable on all women similar to the case of the mentioned wife in the hadeeth. If any say that the Prophet did it and that is enough for us to follow then it should be said, the prophet also ordered executions of capital punishments in Islam, so are to do carry out these capital punishments whenever we get the chance, by ourselves? That would make a chaos, in the nation.

Here again we see the necessity of following a mazhab and the necessity for the state to adopt a mazhab to implement Islam.

I do not want to extend the discussion of necessity of following a mazhab, because it can take pages after pages. There are many issues that have not been discussed such as the position of the mazhabs as to what constitute a saheeh hadeeth, or what constitutes an acceptable hadeeth, even though they agreed on the some conditions. There is also the discussion about how mazhabs approached in case there has been a conflict in legal evidence, that is to say, how the mazhabs approached to solve such conflicts, and so on. In reality Islam has no contradictions, but it is lack of our understanding to this great and true religion at times. We thus need to respect the mazhabs whether theological or legal, and leave the analysis and interpretation to the masters, i.e. the scholars. Who am I, or you to throw away thousand years of legal and theological treasures of Islam with the good yet empty slogan of following Holy Quran and hadeeth saheeh, yet in reality we do not know what they imply of?