Unnecessary Debates

UNNECESSARY DEBATES wills.” There was nothing to debate in this statement. But later, Muslim jurists (fuqaha) unnecessarily turned it into a subject of discussion. A debate began over whether such a reply was permissible or not. One group said it was permissible, because being a believer ultimately depends on God’s will. Another group said it was not permissible, because it suggests doubt about one’s faith. Followers of the Shafi‘i school of fiqh held that saying “I am a believer, if God wills” is permissible. By contrast, followers of the Hanafi school of fiqh held that it is impermissible. As this debate intensified, a further question arose: would marriage between such people be valid or not? One group held that a Hanafi woman’s marriage to a Shafi‘i man would not be valid because he is considered to be in doubt about his faith. Others issued a ruling—by analogy with a protected nonMuslim woman—that the marriage would be valid (Irshad al-Naqqad by al-San‘ani, p. 21). From this, one can see that once people fall into unnecessary debates, the path of the straight path is easily lost. (Al-Risala, January 1983)