al-Amīr ʿAbd al-Qādir b. Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Jazāʾirī · Kitāb al-Mawāqif fī baʿḍ ishārāt al-Qurʾān ilā al-asrār wa-l-maʿārif

المواقف

The Book of Stations

About this text

Mawqif 121 · “Every mujtahid is right” in the outward
See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 264, Damascus 1966, p. 265, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 260, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 261, Cairo, vol. 1, PDF p. 262 (archive.org)
وَرَدَ فِي صَحِيحِ الْبُخَارِيِّ وَغَيْرِهِ عَنْهُ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-: «اِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ، ثُمَّ اَصَابَ؛ فَلَهُ اَجْرَانِ، وَاِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ، ثُمَّ اَخْطَأَ؛ فَلَهُ اَجْرٌ وَاحِدٌ».
It is reported in the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī and elsewhere from him (God bless him and grant him peace): “When the judge judges and exercises independent judgment, and then is right, he has two rewards; and when the judge judges and exercises independent judgment, and then errs, he has one reward.”
فَفِي الْحَدِيثِ تَقْدِيمٌ وَتَأْخِيرٌ، اِذِ الْحُكْمُ مُؤَخَّرٌ عَنِ الِاجْتِهَادِ،
In the ḥadīth there is a reversal of order, since judgment comes after independent judgment;
قَدِ اخْتَلَفَ الْأُصُولِيُّونَ فِي الْمُرَادِ مِنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ الشَّرِيفِ، كَمَا هُوَ مَنْقُولٌ فِي كُتُبِ الْأُصُولِ.
the legal theorists have differed over what is meant by this noble ḥadīth, as is reported in the books of legal theory.
وَالَّذِي وَرَدَ بِهِ الْوَارِدُ الْآلَهِيُّ: أَنَّ الْمُجْتَهِدَ اِذَا أَصَابَ مَا هُوَ الْحُكْمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي النَّازِلَةِ، وَوَافَقَ مَا فِي نَفْسِ الْأَمْرِ؛ كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرَانِ، أَجْرُ الِاجْتِهَادِ وَأَجْرُ الْاِصَابَةِ.
What the divine inrush brought is this: when the mujtahid hits upon what the ruling is with God, exalted is He, in the case at hand, and accords with what is in the matter as it is in itself, he has two rewards, the reward of independent judgment and the reward of being right.
وَاِنْ أَخْطَأَ مَا هُوَ الْحُكْمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمَا وَافَقَهَا فِي نَفْسِ الْأَمْرِ؛ كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ وَاحِدٌ، وَهُوَ أَجْرُ الِاجْتِهَادِ.
And if he misses what the ruling is with God, exalted is He, and does not accord with it in the matter as it is in itself, he has one reward, and that is the reward of independent judgment.
فَلَيْسَتِ الْاِصَابَةُ اِلَاَّ فِي الْبَاطِنِ، وَهِيَ مُوَافَقَةُ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- فِي النَّازِلَةِ.
So being right is only in the inward, and it is accordance with what is with God, exalted is He, in the case at hand.
وَلَيْسَ الْخَطَأُ اِلَاَّ فِي الْبَاطِنِ، وَهُوَ عَدَمُ الْمُوَافَقَةِ لِمَا هُوَ الْحُكْمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ- تَعَالَى- فِي النَّازِلَةِ.
And error is only in the inward, and it is the lack of accordance with what the ruling is with God, exalted is He, in the case at hand.
وَأَمَّا فِي الظَّاهِرِ؛ فَالْكُلُّ مُصِيبٌ، لِأَنَّ الشَّارِعَ قَرَّرَ حُكْمَ كُلِّ مُجْتَهِدٍ، وَلَوْ كَانَ خَطَأُ الْمُجْتَهِدِ فِي الظَّاهِرِ مَا قَرَّرَهُ الشَّارِعُ.
As for the outward, everyone is right, because the Lawgiver has confirmed the ruling of every mujtahid; and if the mujtahid's error were in the outward, the Lawgiver would not have confirmed it.
وَلَمَا جَعَلَهُ دِيناً مَشْرُوعاً يَتَدَيَّنُ بِهِ الْمُجْتَهِدُ وَمَنْ قَلَّدَهُ، وَلَمَا كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ، بَلْ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ،
nor would He have made it a prescribed religion which the mujtahid and whoever follows him practise as religion, nor would he have a reward; rather a burden of sin would lie on him.
فَكُلُّ مُجْتَهِدٍ مُصِيبٌ فِي الظَّاهِرِ، حَيْثُ أَنَّهُ بَذَلَ وُسْعَهُ وَأَدَّى مَا كُلِّفَ بِهِ، فِي طَلَبِ الْحُكْمِ الْحَقَّ فِي النَّازِلَةِ.
So every mujtahid is right in the outward, inasmuch as he has spent his utmost and performed what he was charged with in seeking the true ruling in the case at hand.
وَأَمَّا فِي الْبَاطِنِ؛ فَالْمُصِيبُ وَاحِدٌ لَا بِعَيْنِهِ مِنَ الْمُخْتَلِفِينَ.
As for the inward, the one who is right is a single one among those who differ, not a specified one.
وَعَلَى مَا قَرَّرْنَا؛ يُمْكِنُ الْجَمْعُ بَيْنَ أَقْوَالِ الْأُصُولِيِّينَ، اِنْ لَمْ يُنْقَلْ عَنْهُمْ مَا يَدْفَعُ هَذَا الْجَمْعَ.
On the basis of what we have established, the statements of the legal theorists can be reconciled, unless something is reported from them that rules out this reconciliation.
وَقَدْ أَنْكَرَ الْاُسْتَاذُ أَبُو اِسْحَاقَ الْقَوْلَ: بِأَنَّ كُلَّ مُجْتَهِدٍ مُصِيبٌ، فَقَالَ: الْقَوْلُ بِأَنَّ كُلَّ مُجْتَهِدٍ مُصِيبٌ؛ أَوَّلُهُ سَفْسَطَةٌ وَآخِرُهُ زَنْدَقَةٌ،
The Master Abū Isḥāq rejected the doctrine that every mujtahid is right, and said: “The doctrine that every mujtahid is right begins in sophistry and ends in heresy”;
وَقَوْلُهُ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- اِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ اِلَخْ أَعَمُّ فِي الْحَاكِمِ الْمُجْتَهِدِ فِي الْفُرُوعِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ، أَوِ الْأُصُولِ الْعَقْلِيَّةِ الِاعْتِقَادِيَّةِ، اِذْ لَا فَرْقَ بَيْنَهُمَا عِنْدَ الْعَارِفِينَ بِاللَّهِ- تَعَالَى-، أَهْلِ الْكَشْفِ وَالْوُجُودِ،
and his saying (God bless him and grant him peace), “When the judge judges and exercises independent judgment …”, is general, covering the judge who exercises independent judgment in the legal branches or in the rational principles of belief, since there is no difference between the two for the knowers of God, exalted is He, the people of unveiling and finding;
فَاِنَّ كُلَّ
for every …
وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْمُجْتَهِدِينَ فِي الْفُرُوعِ وَالْأُصُولِ، فَعَلَ مَا كُلِّفَ بِهِ، وَبَذَلَ وُسْعَهُ؛ فَوَصَلَ اِلَى مَا أَدَّاهُ اِلَيْهِ اجْتِهَادُهُ:
[…] one of those who exercise independent reasoning in the branches and in the principles: he did what he was charged with and spent his utmost effort, and so he arrived at what his reasoning led him to:
«لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْساً إِلاَّ مَا آتَاهَا» وَ «لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْساً إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا».
“God does not charge a soul except with what He has given it” (Q 65:7) and “God does not charge a soul except to its capacity” (Q 2:286).
وَقَدْ أَنْكَرَ عَامَّةُ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْمُعْتَزِلَةِ، غَيْرَ أَهْلِ الْكَشْفِ الْقَوْلَ: بِأَنَّ كُلَّ مُجْتَهِدٍ فِي الْأُصُولِ الِاعْتِقَادِيَّةِ مُصِيبٌ، وَنَسَبُوهُ اِلَى الْكُفْرِ،
The generality of the people of the Sunna and of the Muʿtazila, apart from the people of unveiling, rejected the doctrine that every mujtahid in the doctrinal principles is correct, and they ascribed it to unbelief.
وَقَرَّرَهُ الْعَارِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ، وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ،
The knowers of God affirmed it, and it is the truth.
وَقَالُوا: الْمُجْتَهِدُ فِي الْعَقْلِيَّاتِ، اِذَا وَفَّى النَّظَرَحَقَّهُ، وَأَخْطَأَ؛ فَهُوَ مَعْذُورٌ، يُرِيدُونَ الْمُجْتَهِدَ نَفْسَهُ لَا مَنْ قَلَّدَهُ.
They said: the mujtahid in rational matters, if he gives reasoning its full due and errs, is excused. By this they mean the mujtahid himself, not whoever follows him on authority.
وَوَافَقَ الْعَارِفِينَ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَبُو الْحُسَيْنِ الْبَصْرِيُّ وَالْجَاحِظُ مِنَ الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ.
Among the Muʿtazila, Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī and al-Jāḥiẓ agreed with the knowers of God Most High.

Translations, word glosses and term notes are AI-generated (Claude) and marked as such; no published translation is reproduced.Word analysis is automatic (CAMeL Tools), guided by the text's vowelling. How this text was established.

Occasional news of a new text or a new layer. If there is a text you would like to read here, say so below.

Hear when new texts are published