Contents

Publisher’s Note VII

Author’s Foreword 
Introduction 3

PART ONE:
THE ERA OF THE MESSENGER 
THE PRIMARY REASON: Varying Commands for
Different People & Circumstances 9
REASON 2: A Special Case is Taken as a General Order 2
Apparent Contradictions in the H. adīths 2
REASON 3: A General Order is Taken as a Special Case 4
REASON 4: A Difference of Perception 5
REASON 5: Intentional Action vs Coincidence 20
REASON 6: Underlying Causes 2
REASON 7: Words Have Multiple Meanings 23
Consequences of the Differences of the Companions 25
REASON 8: Different Types of Injunctions 26
REASON 9: An Injunction to Sharpen the Mind 28
REASON 0: Affectionate Injunctions vs Cautionary Injunctions 29
Compelling Interpretations 3
Two Categories of Laws 32
Fundamental and Subsidiary Differences 35
Differences: A Source of Mercy 36
Prejudice Toward any School 36

IX
 PART TWO
THE ERA OF THE COMPANIONS & FOLLOWERS 
REASON : Narration by Meaning 4
The Difficulty of Narrating by Memory 42
REASON 2: Abrogation 45
REASON 3: The Problem of Human Error 46
REASON 4: Love for Allah’s Messenger  49
The Advice of Imam Bukhārī to the Seeker of H. adīth 50
REASON 5: Excessive Links Between Narrators 57
REASON 6: Weak Narrators 58
REASON 7: Fabrication of ¤adīths 59
REASON 8: Tampering with Sound Narrations 63
Weak H. adīths in the Later Generations 64
Summary of the Differences in the Second Era 64

PART THREE
THE ERA OF THE MUJTAHID IMAMS & SOME PRINCIPLES
OF H. ADĪTH AND JURISPRUDENCE
The Main Reason for the Differences Between the Imams 69
SOME PRINCIPLES OF ¤ADĪTH: Types of ¤adīths 70
The Basis of Rejection and Preference 72
Assessment of a Narrator 73
The Indispensability of the Principles of ¤adīths 75
SOME PRINCIPLES OF FIQH: Principles of the Jurists
for the Validity of ¤adīths 77
The Most Basic Reason for Differences 80
THE FOUR SCHOOLS OF FIQH:
The Opinions of the Imams are all from the ¤adīths 8
Examples of the Multi-Faceted Methods of Inference 82
The Parable of the Imams of H. adīths 87
Inference in Our Times 89
The Approach of the ¤anafī School of Thought 93

Epilogue 95
Glossary 97
Index 03
About the Author 3