Disagreements of the Jurists. al-Qadi al-Nu'man

again! We would then disavow them, just as they have disavowed us.” Thus will God show them their deeds as anguish for them, and they will not emerge from the Fire.»⁹² Quoting the speech of those who adopted others as authorities, God said, «They said, “Our Lord! We obeyed our masters and our leaders, but they led us astray from the right path.”»⁹³ And there are many other such verses in which He censures those who adopt as authorities those whom He did not command to be so adopted and commands that one follow those whom He did command be followed.

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      وقد رووا عن ابن عمر أنّه قال سمعت رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله يقول العلم في ثلاثة: آية محكمة و فريضة عادلة و سنّة قائمة، وما سوى ذلك فهو ضلال. وقال تركت فيكم أمرين لن تضلّوا ما إن تمسّكتم بهما كتاب الله وسنّتي. وإنّي أخاف على أمّتي من بعدي من أعمال ثلاثة من حكم جائر وزلّة عالم وهوى متّبع. فهذه روايتهم وفيها أكبر الحجّة على من قلّد أسلافهم منهم .

      They have related from Ibn ʿUmar that he said, “I heard the Messenger of God say, ‘Knowledge lies in three things: an unequivocal verse, a just obligation, and a practice upheld. Everything but these is miscreance.’”⁹⁴ The Messenger also stated, “I have left among you two things which, if you hold fast to them, you will not go astray: the Book of God and my Practice”; and “I fear three things that may afflict my nation when I am gone: the rule of a tyrant, the slip of a scholar, and the whim of a leader with followers.”⁹⁵ These are examples of the reports they have related that contain the most substantial argument against those among them who have accepted the authority of their predecessors.

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      فأمّا الثابت من الرواية الصحيحة أنّه قال النبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله تركت فيكم أمرين^١ ما إن تمسّكتم بهما لن تضلّوا من بعدي كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي وإنّهما لن يفترقا حتّى يردا على الحوض كهاتين، وجمع بين المسبّحتين من يديه جميعًا وساوى بينهما وقال ولا أقول كهاتين. وجمع بين المسبّحة والوسطى من يده اليمنى إحداهما تسبق الأخرى. وهما الثقلان فلن تزالوا بخير ما تمسّكتم بهما. ورووا عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله أنّه قال بئس مطيّة الرجل زعم. في أخبار كثيرة . وفيما ذكرناه منها مع نصّ الكتاب بلاغ لذوي الألباب.

      ١ ز: الثقلين.

      It is established as soundly transmitted that the Prophet stated, “I have left among you two things which, as long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray after me: the Book of God and my progeny, the People of my House. They will not separate until they come to the Heavenly Pool, like these two”—and he held the index fingers of his two hands together, even with each other. He continued, “I do not say like these two”—and he held the index finger and middle finger from his right hand together, with one sticking out farther than the other. “These are the two weighty matters. You will remain in a good state as long as you hold fast to them.” They have related from the Messenger of God that he said, “What an unsturdy mount for man is mere assertion!” along with many other similar reports. Perspicacious readers will find a sufficient communication of the point in those reports that we have cited, together with the unequivocal text of the Book.

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      وقد ذكرنا فيما تقدّم قولهم^١ في تقليد الصحابة وترك الخروج عن قولهم إلى غيره وإنكار بعضهم تقليدهم عليهم ممّا يتعاظمه عامّتهم ويرونه كالخروج عن^٢ الملّة عندهم جهلًا منهم حتّى أنّ بعض من يأبى من التقليد منهم لم يصرّح بالردّ في إنكار تقليدهم عليهم إلّا بإشارات وكنايات ولو عقلوا لكان في تقليدهم من لم يأمر الله عزّ وجلّ بتقليده أعظم النكير عليهم ولكنّهم همج ما سبق^٣ إليهم وعظم في صدورهم قام مقام الحقّ عندهم .

      ١ ز: أقوالهم. ٢ خ: عن، وفي ز، ل: من. ٣ ز: سيق.

      We have mentioned above the Sunnis’ doctrine concerning submission to the authority of the Companions and avoidance of abandoning their opinions in favor of others, and the fact that a certain Sunni denounced them for their adoption of the Companions as authorities, which the common people among them, out of their ignorance, consider a tremendous matter and see as tantamount to leaving the Muslim nation, as they conceive of it. This is true to such an extent that one of them who rejected submission to such illegitimate authorities did not explicitly state his refutation and denunciation of their adoption of their predecessors as authorities, but did so only by means of allusion and indirect references. If his statements were but understood, they would constitute the gravest denunciation of them in their submission to authorities whom God did not command to be followed. They, however, are an ignorant rabble: what they first became accustomed to has grown great in their hearts and has taken the place of the truth with them.

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      وأكثر ما احتجّوا في تقليدهم بحديث رووه بزعمهم عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله قال أصحابي كالنجوم بأيّهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. فزعموا أنّ كلّ من صحب رسول الله يقتدى به في كلّ ما يقوله^١ ويفعله ويأمر به وينهى عنه. وأوجبوا بذلك تقليد جميعهم والأخذ عنهم ما أتوا به ممّا ليس في كتاب الله عزّ وجلّ بزعمهم ولا في سنّة نبيّهم . وقد أصبنا هؤلاء الذين زعموا أنّهم أصحاب رسول الله قد تفرّقوا واختلفوا من بعده وتحاجزوا واقتتلوا وقتل بعضهم بعضـًا. والحديث الذي احتجّوا به يمنع نصّه من ذلك فيما بينهم ويبيح قتلهم لغيرهم ويهدر دماءهم لهم ويتفاحش إن حُملت عليه أحكامهم.

      ١ ل: يقول له.

      The