Relying on What Scholars Say

We have indicated how this man cites as “proofs” for casting doubt about what actually took place to al-Zahra’ (A.S.) of trials and tribulations from statements some of which are attributed to major scholars such as al-Mufid, KASHIFAL-GHITA’ and Sharafud-Din. But before we enter into a discussion of the accuracy of what is attributed to them, we would like to remind you of a very serious issue relevant to seeking testimony from the statements of scholars in general; so let me say the following:

Someone may seek an excuse for himself as he quite often violates religious matters by describing how the pioneers of knowledge are, how this scholar or that says such and such, and so on... He may not confine his excuse to issues relevant to fiqh but goes on to the tenets of the faith, to history, to Tafsir, etc. He may sometimes need, before publicly stating his conviction, to pave the way for the latter with norms of introductions by distancing them from being taken with derision and amazement. So he “smuggles” his view through some of those who are close to him, then he announces on successive occasions that he is still studying the subject, hinting at the same time at opportunities to produce the anticipated view in one way or another. When he finds no Faqih to agree with him, he resorts to obligatory precaution by saying the opposite of what he had said before, hinting or pointing at his future agreement with the fatwa. Saying that it is precautionary to prohibit the shaving of the beard, for example, is regarded as a step on the path to making it permissible, and it is acceptable to use it as evidence...!

Then you may find him saying that so-and-so scholars and renown Faqih are the first to thus advise. But if you consult their books and encyclopedia of fiqh, you will find the case being not so at all. Rather, many other Faqihs had already stated the same.

For example, you may be told on many occasions that the great religious authority Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim, may Allah have mercy on his soul, is the one to issue a fatwa that a Follower of the Book (i.e. Christian or Jewish) is tahir (clean), thus contradicting the consensus. The objective of this statement is to justify the contradiction of consensus by those concerned about such justifications. The fact is that Ibn Aba `Aqal, Ibn al-Junayd and Shaikh al-Mufid may have attributed the same statement to Shaikh al-Tusi. All these men are major Faqihs of the Imamite Shi`as who have all issued fatawa prior to Sayyid al-Hakim, may Allah have mercy on him, that the People of the Book are tahir.

Another example, which we would like to cite here, is that when this individual is asked about the reason why he justifies gambling, he immediately seeks to justify it by saying that Imam al-Khomeini (aa) contradicted the consensus when he regarded playing chess as permissible, and that chess is gambling...!

But the Sayyid Imam did not declare chess, which is a gambling game, as permissible; rather, he, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Chess, if it is outside the gambling tools, may be played.” This issue is conditional. Satisfying the condition does not mean satisfying both of its ends.

Yet it is quite obvious that issuing a verdict by saying something is permissible if it satisfies a condition does not mean that it contradicts those who issue a verdict without tying it to a condition.

When someone hoards a heap of verdicts which are quite unusual to a noticeable extent, we find him justifying all of that by claiming that so-and-so from among the scholars has issued such a verdict and that the other scholar said such-and-such about it, and so on...!

But we do not know why such an individual can be right with regard to specific issues wherein he became the exception to the rule and regarding which he agreed with other scholars, yet some make errors in their verdicts and this famous individual goes along with their error in other verdicts the judgment in which is contrary to his own, let alone their error in what they became the exception to the known rule and were not endorsed by the same individual! Yet the collection of many odd verdicts issued by one person may lead to this person getting out of the circle of the sect’s fiqh, the sect to which he belongs. One Faqih may be endorsed in some of his odd verdicts which are very few in number and which are harmless and do not get him out of the mainstream of the sect to which he belongs.

Such is this introduction, and now let us enter the subject on which we must focus and say: