Scholarly Statements in Themselves Are Not Independent Evidence
As previously explained regarding the flawed methodology, it is impermissible to interpret clear statements of the Qur'an using ambiguous statements from the same text.
An even greater violation of the above-mentioned rule is to interpret ambiguous scholarly statements in a way that contradicts the clear texts of the Qur'an – or, even more absurdly, opposes the fundamental principles of Islam.
Scholarly statements, taken by themselves, can never be independent Islamic evidence. This means that, according to Islamic teachings, no scholar after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has the authority to introduce, of his own accord, a completely new teaching about the religion and make it binding. This is because no one after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم receives direct revelation.
However, it is certainly possible that the statements of the salaf, meaning the early scholars of Islam, hold a certain evidentiary value in matters of faith or jurisprudence, as these statements were originally based on evidence from the Qur'an or Sunnah. This was already mentioned at the beginning of this book. Of particular importance in this regard is the explicitly transmitted consensus of the salaf, or their collective approval of a scholar's statement that had become known among them129.
This, however, has nothing to do with blindly following later scholars (al-muta'akhkhirun) or contemporary scholars (al-mu'asirun) merely on the basis that these individuals hold such a high status and are so excellent that any criticism of their statements must be rejected from the outset. As previously mentioned, such an approach would not even be permissible regarding the earliest and most renowned scholars of Islam, as they, too, were not protected from error in their individual opinions and juristic views. It is therefore even more unreasonable to theoretically or practically elevate a later or even a contemporary scholar to the level of infallibility.
In fact, what has been explained here is entirely self-evident in Islam. For this reason, scholars since the early generations of Islam have emphasized this principle. Thus, it is frequently narrated from well-known scholars such as Malik130, ash-Shafi'i131, Ahmad and many others رحمهم الله that they prohibited people from following their statements if these clearly contradicted a text from the Qur'an or Sunnah.
Notes
- In the Islamic sciences, this is referred to as silent consensus (al-ijma'u s-sukuti). ↩
Malik ibnu Anas (93–179 AH / 712–796 CE) was the renowned scholar from whose teachings the Maliki school of jurisprudence later developed. Malik lived to the age of about 84.
His still-preserved work, al-Muwatta', is considered one of the earliest works of hadith transmission and therefore holds significant importance in the science of hadith. Malik was therefore not only a distinguished jurist but also made significant contributions to the field of hadith transmission. ↩
- Muhammad ibnu Idris ash-Shafi'i (150–204 AH / 767–820 CE) is also regarded as one of the most prominent scholars of Islam and its early period. Ash-Shafi'i was not only a renowned jurist but also a hadith scholar. The Shafi'i school of jurisprudence later developed from his teachings. ↩