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We, the undersigned,
hereby express our
approval and affirmation
of what appears below:
-Whosoever
is an adherent of one of
the four Sunni Schools
of Jurisprudence (Hanafi,
Maliki, Shafi‘i and
Hanbali), the Ja‘fari (Shi‘i)
School of Jurisprudence,
the Zaydi School of
Jurisprudence, the Ibadi
School of Jurisprudence,
or the Thahiri School of
Jurisprudence is a
Muslim. Declaring that
person an apostate is
impossible. Verily his
(or her) blood, honour,
and property are
sacrosanct. Moreover, in
accordance with what
appeared in the fatwa of
the Honourable and
Respectable Shaykh al-Azhar,
it is not possible to
declare whosoever
subscribes to the
Ash‘ari creed or whoever
practices true Sufism an
apostate. Likewise, it
is not possible to
declare whosoever
subscribes to true
Salafi thought an
apostate. Equally, it is
not possible to declare
as apostates any group
of Muslims who believes
in Allah the Mighty and
Sublime and His
Messenger (may Peace and
Blessings be upon him)
and the pillars of
faith, and respects the
pillars of Islam and
does not deny any
necessary article of
religion.
-
There exists more in
common between the
various Schools of
Jurisprudence than there
is difference. The
adherents to the eight
Schools of Jurisprudence
are in agreement as
regards the basic
Islamic principles. All
believe in Allah the
Mighty and Sublime, the
One and the Unique; that
the Noble Qur'an is the
Revealed Word of Allah;
and that our master
Muhammad, may Blessings
and Peace be upon him,
is a Prophet and
Messenger unto all
mankind. All are in
agreement about the five
pillars of Islam: the
two testaments of faith
(shahadatayn), the
ritual prayer (salat),
almsgiving (zakat),
fasting the month of
Ramadan (sawm), and the
Hajj to the Sacred House
of Allah. All are also
in agreement about the
foundations of belief:
belief in Allah, His
Angels, His Scriptures,
His Messengers, and in
the Day of Judgement, in
Divine providence — good
and evil. Disagreement
between the ‘ulama' is
only with respect to the
ancillary branches of
religion (furu‘) and not
the principles and
fundamentals (usul).
Disagreement with
respect to the ancillary
branches of religion (furu‘)
is a mercy. Long ago it
was said that variance
in opinion among ‘ulama'
“is a good affair”. |
