Importance of Scholarly Opinions in Islam

Praise to be Allah (God) the Lord of the worlds, Who rose above the heavens in a manner that suits His Majesty. After observing many conversations on Islamic forums and reading fair amount of anti Islamic articles, I noticed that many people are confused about the importance of scholarly opinions in Islam. For example the question: when do Muslims accept the opinions of our scholars? In this article, by the will of Allah (SWT), I'll try my best to clear up most of the confusions with the little Islamic knowledge that I have.

It is un-doubtfully conceivable that the scholars, not the so called scholars, have more 'ilm (knowledge) than an average person. Only a lunatic would believe in the opposite. Muslims are obliged to ask scholars for their opinions regarding Islamic matters and off course their opinions must be sound and supported by correct understanding of Islam. Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an (interpretation of the meaning): "O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best, and most suitable for final determination" [4:59] and "So ask of those who know the Scripture, if you know not" [16:43]. The phrase "authority among you" refers to the hakim-e-waqt (current ruler) of an Islamic state and scholars who obey Allah (SWT) and His commands and are knowledgeable about the true deen, Islam, of Allah (SWT). Obedience to the ruler of an Islamic state is extremly important that Muslims must obey him as long as he rules them with the book of Allah (SWT), Qur'an, and authentic sunnah even if he is a slave. Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Apostle said, "You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin" [Sahih Al-Bukhari: 9.89.256]. Again, unlike ancient and modern eras, Islam honours slaves and gives them their rights. One other thing that we learn from this verse of glorious Qur'an is that whenever there is a difference of opinions among people or scholars, for that matter, they must return it to Allah (SWT) and His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW). In other words, they should go back to the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah (read more about this here: Islamic Sources: Qur'an and Sunnah).

Now that we have established the importance of scholarly opinions in Islam, while keeping in mind that they can make mistakes, let us answer an important question: when do Muslims accpet scholars' opinions?

Islamic guidline for accepting a scholar's opinion

• The opinion is clearly supported by Islamic text ⁽¹⁾
• The opinion is derived from the basic understanding of Islam or general meanings of Islamic text (1) - proof from Islamic text ⁽¹⁾ is required
• The opinion is the ijma' (consensus) or ijtihad (legalizing Islamic rule by independent interpretation) of the scholars and must be sound - proof from Islamic text ⁽¹⁾ is required

Islamic guidline for not accepting a scholar's opinion

• The opinion contradicts Islamic text ⁽¹⁾
• The opinion is derived from the basic understanding of Islam or general meanings of Islamic text ⁽¹⁾ but not sound or supported by any of the Islamic text ⁽¹⁾
• The opinion is the ijma' (consensus) or ijtihad (legalizing Islamic rule by independent interpretation) of the scholars but contradicts Islamic text ⁽¹⁾ or not sound
• The opinion is derived from the general worldly knowledge but not sound or contradicts Islamic text ⁽¹⁾

In some cases, if an opinion or interpretation of Islamic text ⁽¹⁾ is derived from the worldly knowledge and not supported or disapproved by Islamic text (1), then it could be right or wrong; however, if we find a correct and sound opinion or interpretation after further studies and having a better understanding of the worldly matters then the previous opinion would be considered incorrect. This is because it was only the opinion of a scholar and it should not be associated with Islam since there was no Islamic text ⁽¹⁾ from which the opinion was derived. Some of the interpretations of Qur'anic verses or ahadith fall under this category. In conclusion, Muslims are obliged to seek help from the scholars and we only accept their opinions or interpretations when they are supported by Islamic text ⁽¹⁾. The scholars are humans after all and they can make mistakes.

wallahu a'lam (and Allah knows best)

Footnotes:

(1) Qur'an and sahih (authentic) Sunnah (read more about this here: Islamic Sources: Qur'an and Sunnah).