Al-Fađl al-Mawhibī

Al-Fađl al-Mawhibī fī Máana: idhā şaĥĥa’l ĥadīthu fa huwa madh’habī

The Bestowed Grace in the saying: “The şaĥīĥ ĥadīth is my madh’hab”

Someone asked whether in a particular issue one can contradict the Ĥanafī madh’hab – for example, raf’á yadayn or praying qunūţ with a single jalsah, with the rationale that it is acting upon a şaĥīĥ ĥadīth; and he quotes Ĥanafī texts which report a saying attributed to Imām Aáżam: “When you find a şaĥīĥ ĥadīth, then that is my madh’hab.”

This is touted by the anti-madh’habites to reject taqlīd. Alahazrat explains the context of this saying and that every ĥadīth with a şaĥīĥ chain does not automatically necessitate that it should be acted upon; and gives examples from ĥadīth literature on the practice of ĥadīth specialists and jurists. This short epistle written as refutation is another fine example of his extensive knowledge of ĥadīth. It is unfortunate that Nadawi (Abul Hasan) had not read this, or if he did, he did not understand it; if neither, he concealed this information out of jealousy and hatred – when he levelled the baseless accusation that Alahazrat was not well-versed in ĥadīth, a myth that is circulated among people who do not know Alahazrat.