On the 22nd of the month, the Department of Islamic Studies at Aliah University, Park Circus Campus, witnessed a highly significant scholarly and intellectual gathering that drew the attention of students, research scholars, and faculty members alike. The occasion was marked by a deeply engaging and thought-provoking lecture delivered by Maulana Atiq Ahmad Bastavi, a distinguished Islamic scholar, a senior teacher of Hadith and Fiqh at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, and the Secretary of the All India Fiqh Academy. Known for his balanced scholarship and clarity of thought, Maulana Bastavi addressed a theme of enduring relevance in Islamic intellectual history as well as contemporary religious discourse, namely the impact of the science of Hadith on juristic differences within Islamic law. The lecture assumed special importance in an age where internal disagreements are often misunderstood, exaggerated, or exploited, and where superficial readings of Islamic jurisprudence frequently replace serious scholarly engagement. Maulana Bastavi began his address by establishing a fundamental theological premise, namely that Islam is entirely rooted in divine revelation. This revelation, he explained, has reached the Muslim community through two inseparable and complementary sources: the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The Qur’an occupies a unique position as the verbatim word of God, and its preservation has been explicitly guaranteed by God Himself. However, this divine protection is not confined merely to the preservation of the Qur’anic text in its linguistic form. Rather, it also extends to its meanings, interpretations, and practical implementation in human life. Since the Qur’an presents itself as a book of guidance intended to regulate belief, worship, ethics, and social conduct, its correct understanding and application are inconceivable without the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW).
In this sense, the Sunnah is not an auxiliary source but an essential interpretive framework without which the Qur’an would remain largely theoretical. Elaborating further, Maulana Bastavi explained that the sayings, actions, and tacit approvals of the Prophet (SAW) constitute the living explanation of the Qur’an. Acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, zakat, and pilgrimage, as well as principles governing personal conduct, family life, commerce, governance, and social ethics, acquire their concrete form primarily through Hadith. To deny or marginalize the authority of Hadith, he argued, would effectively paralyze the Qur’an’s practical guidance and strip Islamic law of its operational foundation. For this reason, the Muslim community from its earliest generations regarded the preservation of Hadith as inseparable from the preservation of religion itself. Addressing common modern doubts regarding the authenticity of Hadith, Maulana Bastavi provided a concise yet powerful overview of the historical process through which prophetic traditions were transmitted and preserved. He highlighted the extraordinary sense of responsibility demonstrated by the Companions of the Prophet (SAW), their successors, and subsequent generations, who treated the transmission of religious knowledge as a sacred trust.
Over time, Muslim scholars developed a remarkably sophisticated set of disciplines dedicated exclusively to the critical study of Hadith. These included biographical evaluation of narrators, critical assessment of their moral integrity and memory, analysis of hidden textual or contextual defects, and systematic scrutiny of both chains of transmission and textual content. No other civilization, he emphasized, has produced a historical verification system as comprehensive, methodical, and rigorous as the Islamic science of Hadith. Consequently, claims that Hadith were fabricated on a large scale or arbitrarily manipulated reflect not serious scholarship but a profound misunderstanding of Islamic intellectual history and a disregard for centuries of collective scholarly labor.Turning to the central theme of juristic disagreement, Maulana Bastavi explained that because Islam is the final divine message intended to guide humanity across all times and places, its legal and ethical framework necessarily combines fixed principles with interpretive flexibility. Islamic rulings can broadly be divided into two categories: those that are definitive and those that are non-definitive. Definitive rulings are established through evidence that is certain both in authenticity and meaning, such as core beliefs, fundamental acts of worship, and certain legal prescriptions like fixed inheritance shares. In such matters, disagreement is neither permissible nor meaningful. However, a substantial portion of Islamic law operates within the realm of non-definitive evidence, where either the authenticity of the proof or its interpretive scope allows for scholarly reasoning. It is precisely within this domain that juristic effort, or ijtihad, becomes both necessary and legitimate. Maulana Bastavi pointed out that a large proportion of Hadith literature consists of reports transmitted through individual chains rather than mass transmission. While these reports are authoritative, scholarly differences naturally arise in evaluating their strength, reconciling them with other narrations, or determining their legal implications. Such differences, he emphasized, are not signs of confusion or contradiction within Islamic law but rather indicators of its intellectual vitality and adaptability. Throughout Islamic history, ijtihad has never ceased entirely, even during periods commonly perceived as eras of stagnation.
“The relevance and effectiveness of Islamic scholarship in the contemporary age are strictly dependent on its commitment to its core, foundational purpose. By remaining “faithful” to these original objectives, scholarship transcends mere academic study to become a practical guide for the ethical and existential challenges of the 21st century. Through this steadfastness Islamic thought can offer the necessary wisdom, compassion, and clarity required to provide meaningful direction to global humanity amidst modern crises.”
Scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Imam al-Shawkani exemplify sustained juristic independence firmly rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Maulana Bastavi also noted that Imam Abu Hanifah himself was not a follower of any prior legal school but a mujtahid who developed his own methodology, reminding the audience that simplistic labels such as “follower” or “non-follower” often obscure historical realities. Since changing circumstances continually generate new questions, the door of ijtihad, he asserted, can never be permanently closed.
Expressing concern over contemporary attitudes toward legal schools, Maulana Bastavi observed that madhhabs are often treated today as rigid sectarian identities rather than as methodological frameworks designed to facilitate understanding of divine law. Historically, juristic schools were never isolated silos but dynamic traditions that interacted with one another, borrowing insights and solutions where appropriate. He cited the example of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, who adopted Maliki legal opinions in certain issues concerning women when those opinions better addressed social realities and ethical considerations. Such examples illustrate that fidelity to tradition does not require intellectual rigidity, and that breadth of scholarship has always been a hallmark of serious juristic engagement. In matters of belief, Maulana Bastavi reiterated, there is no room for conjecture, blind imitation, or interpretive pluralism, as these fall within the category of essential religious foundations. In subsidiary legal matters, however, disagreement should never be equated with deviation or misguidance.
Even though four major legal schools dominate contemporary Sunni Islam, history records numerous towering jurists whose methodologies and legal opinions were equally robust but did not crystallize into enduring institutional schools. Figures such as Imam Layth ibn Sa‘d and Sufyan al-Thawri serve as reminders that the survival of a school is often shaped by historical and social factors rather than purely by scholarly merit. Addressing contemporary needs, Maulana Bastavi strongly emphasized the importance of comparative jurisprudence, which enables scholars to examine differing legal opinions in light of their evidentiary bases and objectives. He traced the methodological foundations of this approach to classical works such as Ibn Rushd’s Bidayat al-Mujtahid, which systematically analyzed juristic disagreements by exploring their underlying proofs. Such an approach, he argued, is particularly vital in the modern world, where complex social realities demand nuanced and well-informed legal reasoning.
One of the most crucial distinctions highlighted in the lecture was between contradiction and diversity. Differences in practices such as reciting “Amin” aloud or raising the hands during prayer are examples of legitimate diversity rooted in prophetic practice itself. These variations fall within the category of what is preferable rather than absolute right and wrong. Understanding such differences as diversity rather than opposition preserves unity without suppressing legitimate plurality, a balance that Islamic law has historically maintained. In the concluding segment of his lecture, Maulana Bastavi broadened the discussion to address the wider intellectual challenges confronting Muslim societies today. He noted that modern educational systems have increasingly divorced knowledge from ethical and spiritual values, reducing it to a purely utilitarian pursuit. This has contributed to a growing divide between religious and secular forms of knowledge. In contrast, the Islamic conception of knowledge evaluates learning through its moral purpose, social responsibility, and transformative impact on the individual and society. Within this framework, ijtihad assumes renewed importance. However, Maulana Bastavi cautioned against two equally harmful extremes: intellectual stagnation rooted in blind imitation, and unrestricted reinterpretation detached from the foundational texts and principles of Islam.
Authentic ijtihad, he emphasized, must remain anchored in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, the objectives of Islamic law, and the accumulated wisdom of the scholarly tradition, while simultaneously engaging with contemporary realities and challenges. Concluding his address, Maulana Bastavi underscored the critical responsibility of teachers, researchers, and academic institutions. Mastery of classical texts, he argued, must be complemented by familiarity with modern intellectual trends, philosophy, and social sciences, not for imitation but for cultivating intellectual confidence and balance. The ultimate purpose of religious knowledge, he reminded the audience, is not the mere accumulation of information but the moral, intellectual, and spiritual formation of the human being. Only when Islamic scholarship remains faithful to this purpose can it meaningfully address the ethical and existential crises of the modern world and continue to guide humanity with wisdom, compassion, and clarity.
(The author a veteran academician is a former Professor and Head Department of Islamic Studies, Kashmir University. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
