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Taking the Mawqoof Hadeeth as evidence
Fatwa No: 217021

Question

assalamu alaykum, Are Mawqoof ahadith taken as evidence in Islam?. I read below from an article that it is not taken as evidence. Can you please clarify which is the correct position in this regard. The 'Allamah Jamalud-Din al-Qasimi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: "The saying/action of a Sahabi is not a proof, according to what is more correct." [Qawa'idut-Tahdeeth, pg.130] I (Abu Malik) say: And this is the opinion of ash-Shafi'i and Ahmad (according to one narration), it was the choice of al-Ghazzali and it was (also) the opinion of ibn Hazm. Ash-Shawkani preferred it in (his book) 'Irshadul-Fu?ul' and it is the stronger opinion, in-sha' Allah. - ath-Thamaraatul-Janniyyah bisharhil-Manzoomatil-Bayqooniyyah’, Daar 'Umar ibnul-Khattaab, Cairo

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

We have previously explained the meaning of the Mawqoof Hadeeth in Fatwa 12239.

As for taking it as evidence, it means that we have to act according to it and consider it a source of evidence of the Islamic religion. Scholars have ten different opinions regarding that issue. The nearest of them to correctness is that if the opinion of the companion spread widely and no one went against it, then it is a source of evidence and a consensus by silence. However, if it did not spread or some other companions went against it, then it is not  a source of evidence, but can be used as secondary evidence.

That is the case if reason and Ijtihaad (personal diligence) can be applied in the opinion of the companion; otherwise (i.e. if his opinion is something that has nothing to do with Ijtihaad like matters of the unseen or the stories of the previous Prophets), then it is regarded as Marfoo‘ (traceable) to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, unless it is known that that companion used to take his information from the books of the People of the Book.

Allaah Knows best.

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