How Fiqh works…and why scholars change their opinions

Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, the hamdulillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was salam, Karim Allah, he was happy when we became a praising Allah and ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon the final prophet Muhammad, even Abdullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and all those who follow his way with righteousness until the end of time. So today, I wanted to just share some thoughts about how fake works just to help people to understand this topic, but better.

One of the main issues I deal with a lot in community is that people have a very surface layer understanding of what fit is and how it works. And because of this, people are very dogmatic about certain thick positions. And they treat the opinions of allamah as if it is why.

And, you know, they end up hating on people who have different positions, they end up making the fear of people who hold different positions. And this is this is problematic, because it really shows on our end, a lack of understanding of what it is how it works, and the spectrum of what is acceptable, what is unacceptable in tech. Now in reality, it takes years of study, to truly comprehend, you know, the boundaries of what are acceptable differences of opinion. And what I really just want to explain in this short video, is just some of the basic steps that go into formulating fake opinions.

They will help you to understand why there are differences of opinion. And more importantly,

to help you understand why sometimes one scholar will change his opinion multiple times in his lifetime. And see it, there's nothing shady about this. There's nothing sinister about this. It's just a natural part of life. It's a natural part of scholarship. There are people who are studying Islam all the time,

going to

be evolving the opinions over time as well. I mean, we look at my own life, if I look at your opinions are held when I was 20 years old, and I compared them to the opinions I hold now, I have radically, radically changed many of my views. I mean, I've been a student of fake for 21 years now, began my REM course when I was 13 years old, I'm 24 years old at the moment. So I've been 21 years studying this upselling cross every month hub, or even studied some of the extinct muscles like to go here, the mouth hub, I'm the I'm still a student. And I I can tell you as a student who is who's trying to specialize in this field, and one day hopes to specialize in this field, that it really is

a field where your knowledge keeps evolving, and your opinions can change. It's not possible that all the opinions you hold when you finish your very first Facebook at the age of 20 or 21, that you're going to be holding the exact same opinions when you are 30 or when you are 40 because certain things are going to change. So what changes Well, let's first take a look at at

at how it works. And then from there, I can show you what changes for the individual. So fake actually means understanding this is something other people don't know the word fake it's linguistic meaning is understanding. We see Jews like this in the Hadith in Sahih al Bukhari underrated Amalia WP and Raja Nicola call pseudo la he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam we read Let me read the lobby hate on you for Pico fakie right. So this is generating Sahil Buhari on the authority of our economy, Sophia, already the one who did the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Whoever Allah intends good for you forget, he gives him the face of the duty gives him a deep understanding of the

need. So the word fit in the verb form in this Hadees is used to mean understanding. And in its technical definition. fic refers to a scholars understanding of the sharee it's not the Sharia. It is scholars understanding of the shunning. And this is kind of something that's known amongst scholars but not known amongst some people is that a scholars understanding

is probably wrong. It's probably wrong.

It's a high probability that an individual's understanding is wrong. And this is why when scholars discuss with other scholars, they are genuinely and sincerely listening to the other person's perspective. Because they have this in their mind that I could be wrong and he could be right to I could be wrong and she could be right. And so they listen with an open mind because they have this in their mind, right. This is, this is my understanding, and I could be wrong in my understanding. So perhaps he understands it better. Perhaps she understands it better.

So where do they get this understanding from? Well, a, an individual's understanding of tech comes from the pursuit tech. Right? The principles and methodology of Eric and I have an entire course online called pseudo intensive. I'll put the link in in the description, where I go in detail through the discussing all the different methods used for fake, but pseudo fake is essentially it is a methodology that a scholar develops to help him to ground his opinions in the tradition. So none of these opinions stray away from the tradition and they will ever pin for opinions he comes up with Yeah, in some way or form linked to the tradition, right and Vedic tradition, I mean, Islam itself.

So what are the sutras? Well, we do know that the fundament the primary effect, which you all should be familiar with are the Quran and the Sunnah. Right? So every month have been every scholar, even those who don't follow my tabs.

Every scholar grounds the tick primarily in the Quran and the Sunnah, that the fake opinions come primarily from the Quran and the Sunnah. Now,

there are a couple of points to keep in mind. Number one, people differ in the interpretation of the Quran, etc. Number two people differ in the application of the Quran and Sunnah. Number three, is that a lot of new things are not mentioned directly in the Quran.

So even though everyone takes the pick from the Quran, and Sunnah, they are going to differ. Because the understandings of the Quran will be different from each other. The understandings of the center will be different from each other. They don't have a people don't have a uniform understanding of a book. And this is not a fault in the religion. This is a blessing in the religion near Ahmed Abdul Aziz Rahim Allah did the great California slump, who wrote the book about recently.

He has a very profound statement, where he actually says that he Stanford, and he's grateful to Allah, that the Sahaba had different understandings of the Quran and Sunnah and how they held different opinions from each other. Because this makes it easier for the rest of us. It just makes it easier for the rest of us. So when we have these different, these different understandings of the Quran, and Sunnah, we shouldn't look at it as a problem, we shouldn't look at it as a weakness, we shouldn't look at it as a fault. We should look at it as a blessing from Allah. Allah wanted to make this religion easy for us. And one of the ways he made it easy for us is by leaving some room for

human interpretation in the in the area of law, so that different scholars could arrive at different conclusions. And the average Muslim gets to choose an average Muslim gets to choose which color you follow. I mean, if you're more interested in a stricter form of Islam, you can follow a strict dress code. If you're more interested in a, you know, a form of Islam that's more in tune with your culture, you can follow a scholar from that culture. Now they are different all around the world who have different methodologies. And all of them have the followings from people who are attracted to them.

And this is a blessing from Allah. Right? This is a blessing from Allah. So we say that the fig comes directly from Quran and Sunnah. But people differ in how they understand the Quran, people differ in how they understand the sinner. But that's not the only source of effect. So it does sauce effect is the opinions of the Sahaba and particularly the EMA, the consensus of the Sahaba. So

there may be something that the prophet SAW you saddam did not mention, Allah did not directly mention the Quran, but some of the Sahaba spoke about it. So we can look at the opinions and derive from that. And if they all agreed, in an opinion, if you all had a consensus on an issue, then this becomes something that all of them

look upon as binding upon the oma. So for example,

the idea of printer, are we right? This is something that was legislated in the title, no photography law. But the there was a consensus amongst us about it, this is fine. There's nothing wrong with this. And so every month have has their RV in it, because there is each mark on the acceptability of printer RV. Right.

So the HTML is another important thing. And again, there's a lot of technical difficulties that go into this in the course. I'm very, very much aware of the 20 years of study of all the controversies over h bar. And I bet perhaps we'll discuss it in another video. Actually, I'd like to do a video on that because this is a term that is abused a lot in our in our times. Lots of people claim each amount issues about which there is absolutely no each mark. On the other hand, there are people who reject the concept completely. So yes, maybe I'll go

In another video, but for now, you know, just going back to what everyone agrees upon the each of the Sahaba on certain set issues like that is five Salah, and they call for God to her mother in Asia and the Torah Gods for our gods for God's jerrica for God, this is Iijima. No one can come today and claim anything different in this area so that matches needs to be all agreed upon.

That's part of our that's another area that we take sick from which is the map of the early Muslims.

Now, the bulk of our differences come from what we call the rational sources. So fake is divided between the revealed sources and the rational sources. The revealed sources being the Quran and Sunnah to rational sources every month has their own but the one that's common is the US. Right? So to us means that a scholar is going to

use principles extracted from the Quran and Sunnah to figure out the rulings for new things. So for example, somebody invents a drug and that drug intoxicated people, people can't see oh, you know, this drug isn't mentioned by name in the Quran and Sunnah. So it's fine. No, we go back to the Quran, you should not let me say hold on the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said anything that intoxicated is prohibited. So making tiasa that Hadees you will see that this drug is prohibited

right. So this is kochia. So, we now take principle, so we have extracted from the origin sooner. And we utilize these principles to derive rulings for new issues. And this is the this is where the bulk of modern figure comes from, that the peak of the modern world comes from the US. Now again, scholars differ in how do you do chaos? Which Quranic verses are these to you based on? Which principle Do you base it on? You know, what's the correct way to interpret this this specific issue, they differ the conclusions they differ the methodologies, so you are going to find a spectrum of opinion on any issue that is subject to chaos. And this is again, completely natural, completely

normal. And you shouldn't cause anyone to have any doubts about the religion, because it's, it's the nature of humanity, that when we are dealing with something new, each of us have a different approach, and we're going to arrive at different conclusions. Now, there are a variety of other principles of physics that are second year the irrational some of the olema listed as part of the US others list in other approaches.

And I tend to treat them as other approaches to failure some of them and some of them is part of chaos. So, some of these other approaches to fear that some of the other might use for example is off off means the local culture. And another way that it's formulated in the books of techies are that that local culture is the deciding factor. What this means is that in issues where the olema have a difference of opinion, which are culturally sensitive, right on culturally sensitive issues, the opinion we would go with is the one that is more in more in keeping with the local culture. So, for example, if there is a dispute in the masjid, regarding what language the lectures should be,

so, a scholar come to the masjid, he wants to deliver a lecture people are arguing should he give the lecture in Arabic in English in order to do in Spanish is his fluent in all four languages?

What will be the deciding factor here is local culture what is the dominant language of the majority of the residents of the locality and that will help them to decide what language to live his lecture, right? We see this in every area of life so culture plays a role in how we dress. So

in Islam we have in in the Quran, and Sunnah our aura must cover our order for a woman everything besides your face and hands, for men for his navel to his knees. But beyond that, everything else is subject to all. So for example, for us men in the modern world, we cover up our bodies. Now technically, there's nothing in the Quran and Sunnah that says, we should cover our upper bodies, but this is Earth. This is our culture. It's considered immodest, in our culture for men to uncover the upper bodies. So we like we always cover it, you can even think of uncovering it because our culture plays its role in things like that.

If we look, for example, on the farm, in India, 400 years ago, we probably wouldn't even think about covering our upper bodies because it would be very hot. And it's not our aura, and it's not part of the culture of that time and that place for a man to cover his upper body. So in that way, you see how how the local culture plays a role in how we dress. It plays a role in our business logic plays a role in marital life, please role in many, many other areas of fick.

Another principle that

Found in some of the mud hops, that's a rational source of pick is the attainment of benefits and the removal of harms. And the different wordings for the indifferent, indifferent must have to some people call it a muscle. Aha, that's a big one. Is this law? Nowadays the term that everyone loves to use for it is my constitution here.

Yeah, so consider sherea gold to the Sharia. So one of the new approaches to fit that became popular in the 20th and 21st century is democracy approach. And I believe this has its pros and its cons. And I really think a lot of people tend to take it beyond what's acceptable. But it's really important when you use property. So what mikaze means because it means to understand why to understand the why behind the laws, why did Allah make certain things halau? Why did he call it things haram? And then to use that to formulate your opinions for new issues? So for example, how do we develop our understanding the Islamic understanding of environmentalism, when we go back to

democracy to Sharia, is preserving the environment part of the judiciary? Well, if it is, then we are going to formulate new rulings accordingly, right? Same with how we deal with pollution. So democracy plays its role, in fact, but the problem here is, again, this is a rational source of tech. So there's going to be differences of opinion in what our democracy, how they are applied, what they are, what they apply to when they are applied, and what are the boundaries of the application. And I think this is one of the main areas where you're going to find the most differences of opinion today. When it comes to the application of the Constitution. There are other

ways that people approach tricky as well. So

we have the issue of things remaining as they are until proven otherwise, is disabled. So for example, we have in this a Snoopy cache Alibaba, the original state of things permissibility. So things remain permissible until proven prohibited, or people remain innocent until proven guilty. This is from the methodology that

we also have

an ad collide with the Maxim's of IQ, which is a basically what the maximum Africa is they summarize,

summarize for tower, right where the default was a summarized into easy to remember sentences. And each of these sentences apply to 1000s of different cases. So for example, in fatwa like harm must be eliminated, or actions are judged by the intentions, these are Maxim's you can literally apply to 1000 different things, there are 1000 different things in which the action is judged by its intention. So you have 1000 different things are prohibited, because harm must be eliminated. Right? So these are called the koala, the quality approach, which is also something that is there. So how does it work? Well fix simply is that when someone asks a scholar a question, or when something new

arises, the scholar is going to look at all of these things, they're going to look at the Quran, they're going to look at the center, they're going to look at the HMR, they're going to meet the US, they're going to consider them are possibly going to consider the old, they're going to look at the code. After looking at all of this. It's a very scientific approach, they are going to arrive at the conclusion. Now because of how diverse people are in the understanding of all these different areas, there are going to be diverse conclusions. And sometimes the individuals conclusions are going to change over time.

So if you look at the example of let's look at an example we have changed recently, and everybody's opinion changed without anyone realizing videos. So when I was a kid, we were told that we chose a Hara.

There was a standard opinion in our community vigils are Haram.

There's no such thing as Islamic videos.

Yet today. There are people who still hold to that, but they are fairly small minority. The vast majority of Muslims have absolutely no issue watching Islamic videos, you wouldn't even cross their mind that it's something wrong.

So it's not just the pick of an individual that changed the thick of the majority that change. And that's not the first time that happened that happened many times before the videos. It was the same thing with the radio was the same thing with the printing press. Believe it or not, it was even the same thing with coffee that some people said he's hot on it, but he latched on to that. And eventually, over time, people's views change. And people began to hold on. It's not really hard on me as it is there's no actual harm elements there. So why do people's opinions change? Well, number one is of course, growth in knowledge, right that people's knowledge is growing. So if I look at my

own journey, in my first seven years of studies, I studied 100 ppm and that to only one specific type of an artifact so even back then I wasn't the way myself different versions

100 difficulty this Turkish one of the papers the rocky 100

is when I learned the Deobandi 150 of the barelvi 100 feet thick. There's all these different versions of difficulty. And I was just taught one version of it. And I would just throw that that's, that's what you've got to follow. So I came out from there, knowing all of this 100 feet this entire book cover to cover. But that's really not even a drop in the ocean. I haven't studied other perspectives of Hanafi Fiqh, haven't studied the pics of the other methods yet, haven't even heard about at that point by the age of 20. I hadn't even heard about my constitutionally occupied look at a yet. So I leave and I start to study I start studying with with Sharpie scholars and start

studying with Salafi scholars is that studying with humbly scholars, eventually, I even get to spend time with some Maliki scholars as well. And during my studies, people introduce me to terms like my boss in Hawaii, someone gives me a copy of even a short book to read, someone else helped me to sign up for Costco.

And as all of this is coming in my understanding of it starting to change. So of course, if when I was 20 years old, if you asked me a question, even though I was technically a graduate of an Islamic Institute, and at age, the opinion that I would have given you then would be very ignorant compared to the opinion I will give you now. And I have been the opinion now is would be rather ignorant compared to what I would be knowing in 10 or 20 years and Allah allows us to live that long as you keep studying his religion. The point is that our knowledge is growing all the time. And when I finished study that seven years, I then went on to do a four year bachelor's in Islamic studies with

some of your lover, I can spend time privately studying with Sharpie Allah with humbly Allah gave me the tenets of the Holocaust and Molly Colima even bought it even has his book on it, if he can read it, just to get familiar with. So here, you can read the book and say defect. And as you study all these different perspectives, and you put it together, and you begin to cross study and cross analyze, your opinions will change, you'll begin to realize certain issues, the canopies are right, the issues, the Sharpies are right, or the issue, the molecules are right. It is not just a black and white matter of everybody knows that this must have sided everything everybody else is wrong.

Another reason that you're not that your opinion that the scholars opinion is going to change is that their knowledge of the actual world is going to change writers sometimes is not knowledge about the religion that changes, but it's knowledge about the world. So for example,

someone who is who is studying in a Institute where they are taught that all the thought is that vaccinations are invented by the kuffar to put impurities are what that individual is going to graduate from, they're holding the opinion that vaccinations are,

right, and this is something that happens in our time. But as individual lives life, they meet Muslim doctors, they interact with them, they have conversations with them, they get to learn what vaccinations really are, what really goes into it, what the real purpose is, eventually going to realize that what they learned when they were younger, was wrong. And get vaccinations are not just allowed, but they are important. So the opinion is going to change, not because the knowledge of the deen change, but because the knowledge of the real world change.

And, and this is another area where a lot of people, you know, they don't see this happening. So for example, they see someone graduating from Medina or from during the oberndorf.

And, and they get into the community and they appreciate certain opinions. And the five or 10 years later, that same individual is pitching a completely different opinion. And the average person who watches it is shocked, like now also bigger, how can he change his opinion? Now what is wrong with him? He's been, he's been. He's the modernist and he's a liberal or extremist or he's been influenced by the Kufa. If you actually sit with a person and asked him, Why did you change your opinion on this issue? Very often, you will get a response that is grounded in reality, grounded emotional fit, and grounded in the person's own maturity and growth and experience. It's not just

as the other person wants to think that the individual wanted to change the religion. No, he's not changing the religion again, we have to separate from the religion. Fifth is people's opinions. When someone changes the opinion. They're not changing the religion. They're just changing the opinion, the understanding of the religion. You know, again, it's a very simplistic idea that some people have that thick is is the religion and when someone changes the opinion, they're changing. They're not. They're not thick is human understanding, and human understanding changes. It evolves over time, it matures over time, that I may hold an opinion today that I may consider nonsensical in 10

years time. That's just the nature of it. And the beauty of it is that

Have a handle with Allah accepts all of it from us meaning, whatever opinion I'm currently holding to guess what Allah will judge me by. And if I had to change my opinion in the future, then from that point onwards, Allah will judge me by those opinions. I because Allah is our man, he is most merciful. And with our HD heart, his idol, Ron, he will give us our evaluation of sincerity and our efforts. So it's not that big deal. A lot of people think about, you know, sometimes when there's someone out there looking at you, like angry with him for changing the opinions, highly recommend reaching out to them, sitting down with him and talking to them. Why did you change your opinion

about this. And you will find very often, that they have really good reasons for financial, good reasons that are grounded in the issue. And they come from a place of sincerity. And you'll delve into the metaphor, I don't really know this metaphor would help we do it.

It's that good. But it's a metaphor I came up with when I was writing about this topic.

The metaphor is imagine like a tree. So you have all your branches and branches are like the heart. So fastings, aka business marriage, and the leaves are your putao it leaves the fatawa so something the hell out something's wrong, something makuu these are your fatawa you come down to standard, you know, it's crowded, it's got this trunk, the trunk of the Quran and Sunnah and democracy to Sharia. At the very bottom, you have your hoods, and your roots or the, you know, your shoulders. So, you know, maybe that's the Quran and Sunnah will go as well. And also each mafias, all of that is your roots. So

based on those roots, you come into certain factors. Now, you see what happens in effect, what changes just say, for example, someone is of the opinion that let's try not think of a controversial opinion, I think whatever examples that come to mind is going to make people angry, or something that will make people angry. Okay, let's go with this, covering the head. So just say, about 20 year old, and I say the format to cover his head is watching, by the way, his opinion some of my teachers help. And now do me see, a man doesn't need to cover his head.

So what the average Muslim sees is that the leaf on the tree changed color. The leaf on the tree was red, and it changed to green, I tarantola.

So all this is the changing of the color of the leaves. They don't see what's going on internally within the tree. Starting individuals, that activating the roots, the roots are strengthening as our knowledge is growing. And the roots are realigning. That person based his opinion on

blindfolding his teachers that his teachers told him wearing a hat is wajib, so you believe he's watching. But now his new opinion is grounded in karate, and Sundar pseudoephedrine, or the Baja to Assyria and all of these different principles. Now these are stronger roots. And because of the stronger roots, the red leaf became green. So people just see the leaf changing colors, you see the patois changing, you don't see everything to happen behind the scenes, you don't see the 10 years of study, you don't see all the thinking they don't see all they do or they don't see all everything else all the application of the brochure, all they see is the end result. And they jump to their own

conclusions about why did the leave changes come? They jump to their own conclusions about why the Hello become haha? or Why did heroin become cola. And the conclusion people jump to is he's changing to religion. He's following his knifes he is

you know, trying to please the west or whatever it is. But in reality, all that happened was someone studied sincerely for the sake of Allah across a variety of modems for 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years. And across that period, your routes deeper into the trunk grew stronger, and the needs changed.

So next time, the next time you see a scholar whose opinions have changed, in fact,

firstly, have listeners on this call have good thoughts on this because I assume the best about them. And if you can reach out to them, ask them why.

Most of the time, there's a good reason. It's true, there are some individuals who are misguided. There are some individuals who are misguiding others. That's just the reality of life. We all look I didn't forgive him. But I have found that the majority, the majority of people whose opinions have changed, and who other people are judging, for changing the opinions, the majority of them are sincere.

And that change comes from a place of growth from a place of knowledge from a place of wisdom from a place of experience. It's not coming from what the average person assumed it's coming from.

So I hope this benefited you. I hope this helps you understand

bitmap how thick works why people's opinions change where people differ with each other, but people sometimes seem to contradict himself. Seeing one thing at one is something else another age. I really hope that this helps us to understand each other better, to tolerate each other better, and to have good thoughts about our scholars.

Allah forgive us our mistakes except our good deeds. He guide us to the best of opinions and all issues. Can we keep us firmly grounded upon that which is pleasing to Him? Was he the one and you have the problem?