Fiqhul Akbar 5
3. Status and evaluation: important caveats
A man's being an imam or an elder does not mean that he is perfect or above human frailty. Being proved that someone has said something wrong or wrong in human weakness does not mean that he is not a saint or an imam, or that all his words are wrong.
According to Islamic belief, no one is masoom (innocent or infallible) after the Messenger of Allah (ï·º). All alims, imams, and Ali were subject to human weakness. Enraged, and misunderstood, spoke against each other, and even fought. He apologized or admitted his mistake if he ever got it wrong or got rid of his anger. He never got it wrong. They devoted their lives to the observance and propagation of the Deen of Allah, the knowledge of revelation, and the Sunnah, making no compromises in protecting what they believed to be true, right or right according to their ijtihad. Besides, sometimes they made mistakes in ijtihad.
The Muhaddis and the Imams of Jarh-Tadil have striven with absolute impartiality in their assessment of other Muhaddis and rabbis of hadith. They evaluated the hadiths narrated by one Muhaddith by comparing them with the narrations of other Muhaddiths and evaluating them impartially. They also expressed opinions against their own father, son, or teacher. And sometimes, affected by human weakness, they magnified someone's little mistake or looked lightly at someone's many mistakes. If the decision of the former is wrong or biased, it is pointed out by the latter. The scholars of the Muslim Ummah did not consider the previous scholars to be innocent or accurate in any matter of hadith, fiqh, aqeedah and did not underestimate them. With their full appreciation and respect, they point out when any of their decisions appear to be wrong. By reading my writings "Forgery in the Name of Hadith" and "Buhusun Fi Ulumil Hadith" the reader will know the principle of criticism of Muhaddith.
Many eminent scholars have spoken against Imam Abu Hanifa. We will support or refute their statements. Support does not mean blind support. Again, refutation does not mean that we are scorning the knowledge, piety, or service of the scholar. Not at all! We love all the scholars, imams, and elders of the ummah. We love them not for their personalities but for Allah. We do not accept Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Bukhari, or anyone else as a standard of falsity. Instead, love everyone for the sake of Allah. We believe that they sacrificed their lives for Islam, for the knowledge of the Quran and Hadith. Through them, we got the Deen. May Allah give them all the best reward from us. But we do not consider any of them innocent or perfect. Pointing out that any of their decisions prove to be wrong does not demean them.
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