SHIA SCHOLARS

__________________________________________
               |                                          |
               |         ||           ||    | ||          |
               |  o_,_7 _||   . _o_7 _||  4_|_||   o_w_,  |
               | ( :   /     (_)    /             (   .   |
               |__________________________________________|

                              SHIA SCHOLARS

The topic of the following discussion deals with the Shi'ite view of
religious scholars.  I will attempt to illuminate the differences and
similarities between Sunni and Shia.

The Shia in matters of jurisprudence and legal effort to interpret new
issues offer three alternatives to the believer:

First, IF the believer is competent and capable according to Islamic
requirements to analyze the texts, then he can exert his own judicial
effort to interpret the issue and abide by his own ruling.

Second, the concept of (Ihtiyat--Cautiousness) can be used. Ihtiyat really
means that when in doubt, do that which is not doubtful.  The Prophet
(PBUH&HF) said: "Leave the one which makes you doubtful and prefer the
alternative which does not cause you to be doubtful."  For example, in
performing Ihtiyat, the believer might be faced with a scenario where he is
traveling and he is not sure whether to shorten the prayer or not.  He
performs Ihtiyat, and prays the prayer as usual without shortening it.
Then he prays it shortened.  This way, he has fulfilled the obligation no
matter what the judicial opinion is.  Keep in mind that Ihtiyat is only to
be performed when you REALLY don't know what to do.

Third, the concept of (Taqleed--Imitating or Following) would be used.
Taqleed is where a believer who is NOT qualified according to Islamic
mandates to perform Ijtihad (the EFFORT by scholars to interpret new
issues) will follow what a learned scholar issues as permissible or
prohibited.  For example, I am NOT qualified to render Islamic injunctions
regarding issues that face every believer; moreover, I DO NOT possess a
HIGH level of fluency in the Arabic language such that I can interpret the
texts that deal with these issues.  As such, I follow a scholar and adhere
to all that he says.   The Scholar that a believer follows is a matter of
choice, not compulsion.  He CANNOT be less than a Mujtahid, however.  Also
it is necessary to follow a Mujtahid who is the MOST knowledgable among
others and MUST be righteous in every aspect of the definition of
righteousness, otherwise he should not be followed. These qualifications
should be investigated by the follower personally, or he/she can the opinon
of two just and trsutfull person in order to know which Mujtahid is the
most knowledgable (provided that he does not find two other just friends
who tell him/her in the contrary of the first two). As a result people may
follow different Mujtahids based on their investigations on the
qualifications of Mujtahids.

Moreover, Mujtahid HAS to be alive when you decide to follow him. You
CANNOT follow a dead scholar to BEGIN with. However, if you follow a
scholar and he dies AFTER you have already decided to follow him, you MAY
stay his follower with some conditions, but you MUST consult with the dead
scholar's Wakeel --Agent.  Every Mujtahid in Shi'a has several agents in
MANY countries to address the questions of his followers. Some scholars,
however, are in the opinon that one can not continue with a dead Mujtahid.
Others say that one is allowed to continue to follow his previous Mujtahid
if nothing new comes up or if he does not forget the fatwa of the dead
Mujtahid. If you look carefully at this condition, you will see that people
have to eventually choose a live Marja' since confusing and debating issues
will come up sooner or later , and this is what Marja' for. It is important
to understand that you CANNOT BEGIN your Islamic life by following a dead
scholar, but you can remain a follower of that scholar if he dies and you
were one of his followers before his death and meet the above conditions.

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said:

     "Whosoever Allah (SWT) wishes to grant him a favorable bounty, He
     (SWT) will teach him the Fiqh (Deep-Rooted Religious Knowledge) of
     religion."

As such, being a scholar in religion and reaching the level of Ijtihad,
thereby earning the title of Mujtahid, is NOT an easy task, nor is it
achievable by every individual.

Now, for the Sunnis, they also acknowledge the concept of Taqleed, but they
understand it differently.  For the Sunnis, Taqleed is following any ONE of
the Four Schools of thought -- Shafeea'i, Hanbali, Maliki, and Hanafi.  If
you follow one of these Mujtahids, who died more than 10 centuries ago,
then you must adhere to their mandates which vary significantly in many
issues.  Some Sunnis will shop around and take from here and there.   The
Sunnis also believe that the differences among the four schools of law are
a mercy from Allah (SWT).  Dr. Tijani narrates a story of a girl who loved
a man, but her father refused to allow the marriage for some unknown
reason.  The girl, who was never married before and was 25 years of age,
ran away with the man and got married.  Her father, a Maliki Sunni, took
her to court before a Qadi--Judge to arbitrate the matter. When the girl
appeared, she said: "My father wants to force me into a marriage which I do
not desire; and it is my right under the Hanafite school to choose my
husband even though I have never been married before."  The Qadi agreed
with the girl and granted her her request to marry the man of her choice.
The Judge, a personal friend of Dr. Tijani, told Dr. Tijani that as the
girl's father was leaving the court, he said: "That dog has become a
Hanafite!!!"   Moreover, the father has disowned his daughter as a result
of that marriage.

Now, Dr. Tijani questions where is that mercy that the Sunnis claim when
the Scholars are at different poles of an argument?  We have seen, at least
in the above true story, that due to the difference of opinion between
Malik and Abu Haneefa, a daughter was disowned and insulted by her own
father!

As we have seen, the difference between the Sunnis and Shia in relation to
Taqleed is NOT that great. There are, however, a few differences:

First, while the Sunnis will allow a believer to follow a dead scholar,
ALEAST INITIALLY, the Shia will NOT.

Second, the Mujtahid in the perspective of the Shia is also a legitimate
ruler of the affairs of the Muslims.  He is also a general agent of al-
Mahdi. (As I mentioned before, there is no special agent from Imam Mahdi in
this time. All Mujtahids are his general agent without being able to
contact with him.) Mujtahid also receives the shares of Zakat (The Alms)
and Khums (20% of EXCESS wealth--I have also addressed this topic in a
previous article.) from the believers and is in charge of distributing it
and doing what he feels is necessary for the Ummah's (Nation) best
interest.

Given the above, it is most apparent that a Shi'ite scholar has far more
power and influence than a regular Sunni scholar. The Sunnis have accused
the Shia, on many occasions, of elevating these scholars to the level of
spiritual leaders that have been appointed by Allah (SWT). Needless to say,
these scholars ARE NOT sinless or infallible, they are simple human beings
who have passed the tests of belief and have reached an elevated spiritual
stage of belief and learning that entitles them to be scholars who should
be followed and obeyed. It is a given fact that you will blindly follow,
for example, an individual with a Ph.D. in Computer Science at your early
stages of learning how to program a computer.  Why? Because he is more
learned and experienced than you are. Is he a spiritual leader? Of course
NOT!  He is simply a mentor and a person who is more qualified than you are
at this stage.  As such, you surrender to him in an effort to learn from
his vast knowledge.  Similarly, that's how the Shia view their scholars. We
do NOT consider them infalliables. They may make mistakes every now and
then, but surely less than us.

It should be noted that for the Shia there are TWO stages to the concept of
Taqleed or Following a scholar.  The First stage was during the lives of
the Twelve Imams, which lasted for approximately 350 years after the death
of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).  During these years, the believers followed the
Imams themselves. After those 350 years, there began the period of the
occultation of the final Imam, al-Mahdi (AS).  It is in this period that
the Twelve Imams instructed the believers to follow the righteous scholars;
that initiated the second stage of Taqleed.

As a final note, I would like to state my PERSONAL OPINION about the
Wahabis.

The Wahabis, on the other hand, which are situated primarily in Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, and a few other places, have rejected the four schools of
thought and any Ijtihad.   They claim that they follow al-Salaf al-Saleh--
(The Righteous First Group).  By that they are alluding to the companions.
Their reasoning is that the companions did not need a scholar, so they too
don't need one either.   However, their sect is full of shortcomings.  For
example, they might make the above claims, but they don't adhere to them.
They are followers of Muhammad Ibn Abdul al-Wahab, a SO-CALLED scholar that
propagated his beliefs about 200 years ago. His motives were primarily
political, and he is NOT a scholar by ANY stretch of the imagination.

Furthermore, all their teachings are based on Ibn Taymiyah's
interpretations. Ibn Taymiyah, in turn, had based all his teachings on
those of Ibn Hanbal.  Indeed, the Wahabis identify themselves as Hanbalis,
not Wahabis, among strangers (people who they don't trust yet.); but among
themselves they admit to being Wahabis.  As such, no matter how we look at
it, the Wahabis are still FOLLOWERS of scholars, NOT the companions, as
they claim.  What's more, the companions did not need a scholar because
they had the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself as a teacher; why would they need a
scholar to teach them the religion when they enjoyed the company of the
Vehicle of the Message himself (PBUH&HF)?

In conclusion, you have know seen how the Shia view the reality of an ever-
changing life: they adpat to it by maintaining an open-minded approach, and
by leaving the doors of Ijtihad (the EFFORT by scholars to interpret new
issues) wide open to address new and perplexing issues that face the Ummah
(Nation).  And you have seen how the Sunnis are still stuck in the 10th
century trying to implement laws and regulations that are both outdated and
obsolete. If Ijtihaad is forbidden, then why they allow it for their four
Imams, but forbid it for the previous or later generations? Why just four
schools?

It is this fact, among others, that should evoke a nerve of curiosity
within you to question: Are the Shia really Kufar, given the above?  Are
they not the true followers of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF)? Does it not
make sense to leave the door of Ijtihad open? Question and reflect, and
remember that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "Knowledge is a locked closet
whose key is the Question!"

Wassalam.