Book Review: The Differences of the Imams by Shaykh Al-Hadith Zakariyya Kandhlawi Translated by Mawlana Muhammad Kadwa
It is quite bewildering to note that to determine the purity of gold, one avails himself of the services of a bullion dealer, but to practice upon the hadiths, he considers the services of an analyst as dispensable. The one who does this is quite proud of his own knowledge in spite of his ignorance. We beseech the assistance of Allah Most High alone. – page 58
This book is essentially an explanation of the differences and why they occur. Aimed towards the average reader, it does not go in to detailed analysis on issues, but sheds enough light on the topics to calm one’s curiosity. A short and concise read, easy to understand and organised thoughtfully.
About Shaykh Zakariyya Kandhlawi (1898–1982)
His full name was Muhammad Zakariyya ibn Muhammad Yahya ibn Muhammad Ismail. He is considered, by many, one of India’s most skilled scholars of hadith during his time. Coming from a family of many notable scholars, the book mentions his lineage continues all the way back to Abu Bakr (p123) the great companion of Muhammad peace be upon him. He studied under his father (Shaykh Muhammad Yahya) and his uncle (Shaykh Muhammad Ilyas – founder of the Tablighi movement (p124). He later studied under Shaykh Khalil Ahmad, a hadith expert, from whom he received authorization in hadith. He then took a teaching post at Madrasa Mazahir Ulum in his late twenties and remained teaching at the place for several years. Shaykh Zakariyya married twice in his life. His second marriage was due to his first wife passing away. He was blessed with five daughters and three sons from his first wife and two daughters and one son from his second wife. He had always wished to die in the blessed city of Madinah, Allah Most High answered his wish and he was buried in Jannat al-Baqi in 1982. His written works amount to a great number, most of which are mentioned within the book itself. May Allah Most High be pleased with his efforts.
History of ‘The Differences of the Imams’
The Differences of the Imams is a translation of an Urdu book called Ikhtilaf al-A’imma written by Shaykh Zakariyya Kandhlawi. He had started to pen the works of Ikhtilaf al-A’imma as articles on the request of a monthly magazine Al-Mazahir launched by Madrasa Mazahir Ulum. Unfortunately, the magazine project Al-Mazahir was terminated, after approximately 14 months of publication, because of which, Shaykh Zakariyya could not continue his works on Ikhtilaf al-A’imma despite popular demand. The Shaykh mentions his regret for not being able to complete Ikhtilaf al-A’imma in more detail as he initially intended. His friends at the time suggested he publish all that he had penned so far on Ikhtilaf al-A’imma as a part one (book) on the subject. He saw no need for such efforts at the time as he intended to publish Ikhtilaf al-A’imma once he added some extra material to it. Unfortunately, the Shaykh was not able to achieve this due to sickness and age and he later gave permission to his friends to publish whatever he had written on the topic (of Ikhtilaf al-A’imma).
The book under review is White Thread Press’ edited and revised edition of Mawlana Muhammad Kadwa’s translation of Ikhtilaf al-A’imma: The Differences of the Imams.
The contents of the book
The layout of the book is simple and easy for the average reader to understand. The book is divided into 3 different parts as listed below.
Part One: The Era of the Messenger peace be upon him
Part Two: The Era of the Companions & Followers
Part Three: The Era of the Mujtahid Imams & Some Principles of Hadith & Jurisprudence
In each part, the author explains several reasons why differences have occurred regarding hadith narration and ijtihad within the three eras. He also provides practical examples for almost every reason he mentions which are quite easy for the average reader to grasp. Two examples are given below.
In part one, the era of the Messenger peace be upon him:
Under the heading ‘Reason 2 A special case is taken as a general command’ the author gives clarification on this with an example – a hadith which seems to be an apparent contradiction to the Hanafi text. In Hanafi fiqh (jurisprudence), tahiyyat al-masjid (the optional prayer for entering the masjid) is prohibited while the Friday khutbah (sermon) is in progress. Yet there is a narration which mentions: the Prophet peace be upon him was giving the Friday khutbah, a companion entered the masjid during the khutbah and Muhammad peace be upon him commanded him to pray tahiyyat al-masjid. (Muslim 2023) To the average reader this would seem as a contradiction to the Hanafi text. Why would the Hanafis contradict such a clear hadith? Shaykh Zakariyya shows that this hadith is a prime example of a special case taken as a general command. The companion mentioned in the hadith is in fact Sulayk al-Ghatafani, he was an extremely poor companion and he was asked to pray tahiyyat al-masjid so all the other companions present could witness his poverty and forced situation. The Shaykh goes on to mention that some narrations state that Muhammad peace be upon him paused his khutbah while Sulayk al-Ghatafani performed tahiyyat al-masjid. (p25)
In part two, the era of the companions & the followers:
The Shaykh mentions one of the ‘reasons for differences in narration during the era of the companions and followers was that many a time Allah’s Messenger peace be upon him would say something that would later become abrogated. However, some of the people who heard the initial injunction were probably not present to hear its abrogation and thus continued narrating what they heard (before the abrogation).’ Shaykh Zakariyya then proceeds to give an example of this, he explains, there are many narrations which permit masaha (wiping) over one’s turban (Bukhari 205 Muslim 633), but Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani proves that all these hadiths were later abrogated, thus prohibiting the masaha over one’s turban. (p55)
My thoughts on the book
The book is extremely well structured. Given the book is only about 100 pages, it covers a great number issues very effectively. It is clear the book is intended for the general masses and explains the complexities of its topic in a friendly manner.
It is evident within the book that the Shaykh regrets that he could not complete ‘The Differences of the Imams’ in greater detail. It is unfortunate that he could not do as he intended, nevertheless, whatever the book contains is immensely beneficial for today’s Muslims. One could argue, ‘The Differences of the Imams’ is even more relevant in our time than it was during the time of Shaykh Zakariyya.
From the contents of its pages I believe this book is relevant to three types of people in our time. The first type is the Muslim who is concerned or confused as to why there are so many apparent disagreements in the ummah in matters of fiqh. The second type is the Muslim who is curious on the matter of differences and needs a safe introduction to ease him into this field. The third type is the young Muslim who is eager to go the hadiths directly without proper training in the usuls (principles) of the field, this book will persuade such a Muslim that he must continue consulting experts in hadith until he is fully qualified to look at hadith directly.
It is important to remind those who want evidences from this book to “refute” others to cease such thoughts. This book is not for such purposes. To those who are genuinely curious regarding the differences of the Imams and want to gain the knowledge with good intentions, I recommend this read.
