So...Who is a scholar yo ask?
The books of Usul al Fiqh usually deal with the topic of ijtihad and the qualifications of a Mujtahid scholar. However, to make it simple I will just reference answer of Imam ash-Shawkani and Sh. ibn al 'Uthaymin from IslamQ&A.
As you will see, the issue of scholarship is not a light one and it is not simply looking the part or being able to sift through a few books here and there but it is something that requires great amounts of knowledge, insight, wisdom and dedication.
May Allah give us tawfique to realisee our place and position with respect to knowledge. Ameen.
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Praise be to Allaah.
The words ‘aalim (scholar), faqeeh and mujtahid all carry the
same meaning: they refer to one who strive to reach the shar‘i ruling and
who has the ability to derive shar‘i rulings from the evidence.
This means that he has to acquire the tools (pre-requisites)
of ijtihaad. No one can be described in these terms (‘aalim, mujtahid or
faqeeh) except one who meets the pre-requisites of ijtihaad.
The scholars paid attention to these pre-requisites so that
the door is not open to just anyone, old or young, to say about the religion
of Allah that of which he has no knowledge.
But we will content ourselves with just two reports from
which we will demonstrate what these pre-requisites are.
-1-
The first report was narrated from al-Shawkaani (may Allah
have mercy on him) and what he said may be summed up in five points, listing
five pre-requisites:
(i)
He should have knowledge of the texts of the Qur’aan and
Sunnah.
This does not necessarily mean that he should have memorised
the Sunnah; rather it is sufficient for him to be able to find reports in
their places and be familiar with the contents of the books of Sunnah,
foremost among which are the well-known compilations of the Sunnah (Saheeh
al-Bukhaari, Saheeh Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawood, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Nasaa’i
and Sunan Ibn Maajah), and so on.
He should also know what is saheeh (sound) and what is da‘eef
(weak) in the texts of the Sunnah.
(ii)
He should have knowledge of the issues of consensus (ijmaa‘)
(iii)
He should be well versed in the Arabic language.
It is not stipulated that he should have learned it by heart;
rather he should be able to understand the meanings and structure of the
language.
(iv)
He should have knowledge of usool al-fiqh (basic
principles of Islamic jurisprudence), including analogy (qiyaas),
because usool al-fiqh is the foundation for deriving rulings.
(v)
He should have knowledge of what abrogates and what is
abrogated (al-naasikh wa’l-mansookh).
See: Irshaad al-Fuhool, 2/297-303
-2-
The second report was narrated from Shaykh Muhammad ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him):
He mentioned the pre-requisites of the mujtahid without
differing greatly from what al-Shawkaani (may Allah have mercy on him)
mentioned, but he put it more clearly and said:
Ijtihaad is subject to several conditions, including the
following:
(i)
He (the mujtahid) should have
knowledge of the shar‘i evidence that he needs for the purpose of ijtihaad,
such as verses of the Qur’aan and hadeeths that speak of rulings.
(ii)
He should have knowledge of the
matters pertaining to the soundness or weakness of hadeeths, such as the
isnaad, the men in the isnaad and so on.
(iii)
He should be aware of what
abrogates and what is abrogated (al-naasikh wa’l-mansookh) and issues
on which there is consensus (ijmaa‘), so that he will not issue a
ruling on the basis of something that has been abrogated or that is contrary
to scholarly consensus.
(iv)
He should have knowledge of
various matters affecting the ruling, such as reports of specific meanings,
reports that set limits, and so on, so that he will not issue a ruling that
is contrary to that.
(v)
He should have knowledge of the
Arabic language and usool al-fiqh that has to do with verbal evidence, such
as what is general and what is specific, what is absolute and what is
restricted, what is mentioned in brief and what is mentioned in detail, and
so on, so that his rulings will be in accordance with what is indicated by
that evidence.
(vi)
He should have the ability to
derive rulings from the evidence.
End quote from al-Usool fi ‘Ilm al-Usool, p. 85, 86;
Sharh (commentary thereon), p. 584-590.
It should be pointed out that referring to the Sunnah now is
much easier than it was before, because of the books that have been written
on the Sunnah.
The one who fulfils these conditions is a scholar (‘aalim)
who can derive shar‘i rulings from the evidence. Anyone who does not fit
this description cannot be described as a ‘aalim, faqeeh or mujtahid.
It should also be noted that these words (‘aalim, mujtahid
and faqeeh) are technical terms, as it were; according to the scholars they
have specific meanings and pre-requisites. So it is not permissible to use
them readily about anyone who speaks about Islamic rulings or teaches
Islamic material in schools and universities, or who works in the field of
da‘wah (calling people to Allah). A man may be a daa‘iyah, calling people to
Allah, and putting a great deal of effort into that, without having reached
the level of being a scholar (‘aalim).
We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to teach us that which will
benefit us and increase us in knowledge.
And Allah knows best.
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