Exonerating the Distinguished Jurists
Ibn Taymiyya's Raf‘ al-Malam ‘an al-A’immat al-A‘lam in Translation
Abdul Hakim al-Matroudi [+–]
S.O.A.S.
Adbul Hakim al-Matroudi is a visiting professor of Arabic in the Near and Middle East Department at SOAS. His research interests include classical jurisprudence and the Hanbalite school of law; and he takes an active interest in the field of translation and legal theory. He has published extensively in the field of Islamic law including works in Arabic and English; among these are a recent edition of Jamal al-Din al-Asnawi’s Tiraz al-Mahafil Maktabat al-Rushd, (Riyadh 2004). He has recently edited a critical edition of al-Jira’i famous legal text entitled Hilyat al-tiraz fi hal masail al-alghaz (Maktabat al-Rushd, Riyadh, 2007). Professor Matroudi has published in the field of Prophetic traditions, translating On Schacht’s origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence by Professor M. Mustafa Al-Azami. (King Saud University, 2006). And most significantly he is the author of the influential study of Ibn Taymiyya entitled The Hanbali School of Law and Ibn Taymiyyah: Conflict or Conciliation, (Routledge, London, 2006).
In Raf‘ al-Malam ‘an al-A’immat al-A‘lam Ibn Taymiyyah pursues the argument as to why amujtahid might depart from directly acting upon textual evidences. This forms the basis of his discussion regarding the causes that underlying the disagreements found among Muslim scholars in general and their holding differing legal opinions and proffering divergent arguments in support of those opinions.
In this work, Ibn Taymiyyah calls for tolerance and understanding of the conclusions arrived at by eminent Muslim scholars. Additionally, he insists that even if a scholar was to err in their judgement, it should not be assumed that they intentionally ignored textual evidence as there could be various reasons for what others consider to be a departure from textual evidences. Hence, according to Ibn Taymiyyah, such scholars should not be seen as blameworthy and liable to punishment but rather they should be revered as scholars who exercised their right of ijtihad. Thus, even if such a scholar was thought to have erred, there would most certainly be a methodological reason behind such a departure, rather than an intentional contradiction of the relevant textual evidences. Additionally, Ibn Taymiyyah asserts that liability for the punishment depends on the existence of certain conditions and the non-existence of impediments and he affirms that reaching certainty in this regard is almost impossible as this is clearly a very complex and complicated process.
In this work it is evident that Ibn Taymiyyah benefited from various traditions of learning in which he excelled, including jurisprudence, general principles of jurisprudence, Hadith and philosophy and hence produced a remarkable work which has proved relevant from the time it was authored about eight centuries ago until our present day.
This work contains the Arabic text Raf’ al-Malam ‘an al-‘Aimmat al-A‘lam and its translation.
