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The Etiquette of Disagreement and the Chaos of Reality
Author : Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh
Date Added : 30-12-2025

The Etiquette of Disagreement and the Chaos of Reality

 

In the midst of the chaos currently engulfing the Muslim Ummah, we have every right to inquire about the Etiquette of Disagreement (Adab al-Ikhtilāf) and its civilizational jurisprudence within our Islamic Shariah. We observe this profound etiquette dissolving into a chaotic reality that has swept away many minds and seized the hearts of even those who are considered thinkers and scholars in the fields of Shariah and its civilizational heritage.

The Etiquette of Disagreement is an ancient and established principle in our Islamic Shariah; it is not itself a matter of dispute. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed the Companions on the day of Banu Qurayzah and did not rebuke any of them for their respective Ijtihād (Independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic Law).

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: "The Prophet (PBUH) said to us when he returned from the Battle of the Trench: 'None of you should pray ‘Asr except at Banu Qurayzah.' The time for ‘Asr arrived while some of them were still on the road. Some said: 'We will not pray until we reach it.' Others said: 'Rather, we will pray; that was not what was intended of us [i.e., the command was for speed, not delaying the prayer time].' When this was mentioned to the Prophet (PBUH), he did not rebuke a single one of them." (Reported by Bukhari & Muslim).

The Companions and the Righteous Predecessors (al-Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ) drank deeply from the well of this etiquette, internalizing the words of the Prophet (PBUH): "If a judge performs Ijtihad and reaches a correct decision, he has two rewards. If he strives and errs, he has one reward." (Reported by Bukhari & Muslim).They realized that the scholar who possesses the tools of Ijtihād is rewarded for his effort, whether he is correct or mistaken, so long as the intention is sincere and the goal is noble.

This demonstrates that disagreement is an inevitable reality due to various factors in matters where perceptions and understandings differ. Our Righteous Predecessors (Salaf) did not seek disagreement for its own sake; rather, the objective for all was to align with the intent of the Lawgiver (Allah). Therefore, while they may have differed on a specific ruling, they were united in their aim to reach the truth and fulfill the Divine Will.

Consequently, disagreement among the Salaf was never a cause for enmity or hatred. Their hearts were vast enough to accept and embrace these differences. Each viewed their own opinion as "correct but potentially mistaken," and the opinion of others as "mistaken but potentially correct." This diversity was not a source of weakness or division, but rather a cause for their glory and the flourishing of their intellectual thought, providing us with the immense legislative wealth that enriches the Islamic library today.

The Imams of the various schools of thought (Madhāhib) differed in far more subsidiary jurisprudential rulings than we do today, yet we never heard of "Fatwa chaos" in their time. Respect for the dissenter and a civilizational, academic approach were the prevailing norms.

• Imam al-Shāfi‘ī, upon visiting the grave of Imam Abu Ḥanīfah and praying in his mosque, did not perform the Qunūt in the Fajr prayer, even though he considered it a Sunnah. When asked why, he replied: "Out of respect for the occupant of this grave."

• Imam Aḥmad said of Imam al-Shāfi‘ī—despite differing with him on many issues: "I have not performed a prayer for forty years except that I have supplicated for al-Shāfi‘ī." When his son, Abdullah, asked what kind of man al-Shāfi‘ī was to deserve such devotion, he replied: "O my son, al-Shāfi‘ī was like the sun to the world and like health to the body; look and see, is there a replacement for these two?"

• Imam Aḥmad held that bleeding nullifies Wuḍū’ (ablution). However, when asked, "Would you pray behind a man who had undergone cupping (Ḥijāmah) and did not re-perform his ablution?" He replied: "Subḥān Allāh! How could I not pray behind [the likes of] Mālik ibn Anas and Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib?!"

These fragments of history provide us with a blueprint for how to interact with scholars: maintaining respect, thinking well of them (Ḥusn al-Ẓann), and seeking excuses for them even when we believe they have erred.

Reflecting on this, we must ask again: Why has this etiquette vanished from contemporary Islamic discourse? The answer, we believe, lies in the chaos of the current reality and the bias toward conflicting currents and clashing ideologies. This has overwhelmed the traditional etiquette, erasing it from the minds of many, including those counted among the ranks of scholars. Disagreement has become "blameworthy" (Madhmūm), characterized by:

1. Self-admiration and vanity.

2. Thinking ill of others and rushing to accuse them.

3. Fanaticism toward specific groups, parties, or individuals, even when it contradicts Shariah evidence.

4. Failure to verify reports and basing positions on mere conjecture.

The response to a dissenting view has shifted toward insult, slander, and questioning the intentions of scholars—intentions which only Allah knows. A cursory glance at our current reality reveals terms that have no place in the literature of academic disagreement: "rabble," "scum," "dwarfs," "scholars of the Sultan," and "people of desire."

We even see those we once considered beacons of knowledge saying: "There are Muftis appointed by regimes... their job is generally to permit what the rulers want, even if it is a prohibited matter subject to consensus (Ḥarām Mujma’ ‘alayh)."

Anyone with the slightest knowledge of Shariah knows that declaring a consensus-based prohibition to be permissible is an act of disbelief (Kufr). This language of accusation and implicit Takfīr is entirely alien to the etiquette of Islamic discourse. Furthermore, we see an astonishing degree of self-praise (Tazkiyat al-nafs) coupled with the belittling of others, despite Allah’s command: "So do not claim purity for yourselves; He is most knowing of who fears Him." (An-Najm/32).

In conclusion, we do not believe there is a "Fatwa chaos" today as much as there is an intellectual and moral chaos. This turmoil has blinded minds to the etiquette of disagreement.

Knowledge is a "bond of kinship" among its people. We hoped to see robust academic refutations based on Shariah evidence, objectivity, and wisdom, far removed from the language of insults that is unbefitting of laypeople, let alone scholars and thinkers.

The Muslim is shrewd and intelligent (Kayyis Faṭin); he is not a blind follower (Imma‘ah) swayed by every passing whim or ideology. Our religious duty necessitates that we advise one another with sincerity. The authentic Islamic discourse, rooted in the language of dialogue and the etiquette of difference, is the optimal path to reach the truth. As long as the goal is one—the truth—it does not harm us if our paths differ.

As the saying goes: "Disagreement does not spoil the bond of affection." We must not let this etiquette be lost in the chaos of our time. We must rebuild the Islamic edifice and heal the rift in our society by treating the roots of this intellectual chaos, for Allah says {what means}: "And do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient." (Al-Anfāl/46).

We ask Allah to guide us all to the Straight Path and to inspire us with correctness in both word and deed.

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Summarized Fatawaa

Must a woman seek her husband's permission to fast a make up fast (qada)?

● If there is ample time to make up for the missed fasts, a woman should seek her husband's permission before fasting.
● However, if the time is running out—such as when only the remaining days of Sha'ban are sufficient to complete the qada—she does not need his permission and must fast, because Allah’s command takes precedence over the husband's consent.

Some online stores offer a discount on a customer's first purchase — what is the ruling on creating a new account each time a customer makes a purchase in order to obtain that discount?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is obligatory upon a Muslim to uphold honesty in both his words and his actions. Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know." [Al-Anfāl/ 27] And He says {what means}: "O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with the truthful." [Al-Tawbah/ 119]. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever deceives us is not of us." (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
As for creating a new account for the same buyer, the terms and conditions of the website must be observed and respected. If doing so violates those terms, it is not permissible. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling if a postpartum woman becomes pure before forty days; are acts of worship obligatory upon her, and is she permissible for her husband?

If the postpartum woman becomes definitely pure before forty days, she must perform the ritual bath and perform acts of worship as a pure woman does. What was prohibited for her also becomes permissible, so she becomes permissible for her husband after her bath. The minimum duration for postpartum bleeding is a moment (an instant), and its usual maximum is forty days. Reaching forty days is not a condition; rather, it is sufficient for the blood to stop or to see the white discharge (qassa bayda'). And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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