Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

We appreciate the sister’s keenness for her children to learn

Qur’aan, because this is part of raising children well. We ask Allaah to

give her strength and help her to do that.

Secondly:

Our advice to her is to strive hard to learn the Arabic

language because that is the means of increasing her knowledge of this great

religion. In addition she may teach her children whatever she wants of

beneficial sciences, because the mother has more influence on her children

than anyone else.

Thirdly:

Our advice to her husband is to fear Allaah and to treat his

children equally with regard to concern and keenness to teach them that

which will benefit them in both their worldly and religious interests, chief

of which is the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah (traditions) of His Messenger (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him). According to the hadeeth (prophetic narration), al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: My father gave me a gift,

and ‘Amrah bint Rawaahah said: I will not agree until you ask the Messenger

of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to bear witness

to it. So he went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) and said: “I have given a gift to my son from ‘Amrah

bint Rawaahah and she told me to ask you to bear witness, O Messenger of

Allaah.” He said, “Have you given something similar to all your children?”

He said, “No.” He said: “Fear Allaah and treat your children equally.” He

said, So he went back and took back his gift.

Nararted by al-Bukhaari, 2447; Muslim, 1623.

The relevant point from this hadeeth is that the Messenger of

Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) denounced the father

of al-Nu’maan for giving something to him and not to his siblings. That also

includes the ruling that the father should not single out one of his

children for anything and exclude the others, whether that be teaching or

anything else. Just as man would like all his children to honour and obey

him equally, so he must treat them equally in all matters. One of the causes

of envy and hatred among siblings is when the father shows preference to one

of his children or loves him more than his siblings.

The story of Yoosuf bears the greatest testimony to that.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“When they said: ‘Truly, Yoosuf (Joseph) and his brother

(Benjamin) are dearer to our father than we, while we are ‘Usbah (a strong

group). Really, our father is in a plain error.

Kill Yoosuf (Joseph) or cast him out to some (other) land,

so that the favour of your father may be given to you alone, and after that

you will be righteous folk (by intending repentance before committing the

sin)’”

[Yoosuf 12:8-9]

Fourthly:

The husband has to pay attention to his children learning

Islamic knowledge, especially the Arabic language and Qur’aan, and

especially because what they learn when they are young stays with them more

than what they learn when they grow older. As the saying goes, “what is

learned when one is young is like something carved in stone.” This is even

more important if the Muslim is living in those countries where there is a

lot of fitnah (trials) and temptation, and especially for children with a lot of

distractions.

Fifthly:

The Muslim is obliged to follow the Qur’aan and Sunnah,

because they are the source of divine law. Allaah says (interpretation of

the meaning):

“O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger

(Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you

differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger,

if you believe in Allaah and in the Last Day. That is better and more

suitable for final determination”

[al-Nisa’ 4:59]

According to the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased

with him) the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) said: “I have left behind you that which if you cling to it you

will never go astray after that: the Book of Allaah.”

Narrated by Muslim, 1218.

True guidance is based on following the Qur’aan and Sunnah, not on following the views of any human being, no matter who he is. This does not mean that we belittle the status of the imams (leaders in Islamic knowledge) (may Allaah have mercy on them), for we seek the help of their words in understanding the Qur’aan and Sunnah correctly and in learning the rulings of sharee’ah (Islamic law). The Muslim does not reject these madhhabs (schools of thought) or belittle their status, rather there is nothing wrong with the Muslim learning from them and benefitting from them. But what is to be denounced is when the followers of madhhabs cling to the madhhab and follow blindly, and insist on following the madhhab even if it goes against a saheeh (authentic) hadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him). The imams of the madhhabs did not deliberately go

against the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him), but it is well known that the Sahaabah (companions of the Prophet) scattered throughout the various regions, and the scholars of the madhhabs issued fatwas and spoke of

what is halaal (lawful) and haraam (unlawful) on the basis of the evidence that reached them, and they may have missed some ahaadeeth that did not reach them, whether

that was a few or many. So with regard to the issues for which no evidence

reached them they engaged in ijtihaad (independent thought)and some of their ijtihaad turned out to be contrary to the Sunnah. What the Muslim must do in such cases is to

follow the Sunnah and excuse the imams, and believe that they will be

rewarded for their ijtihaad (exertion of efforts to attain the truth)and will be given either one or two rewards, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said.

They (the scholars and imams) commanded us to follow the

Sunnah and to ignore their views if they go against the Sunnah.

Imam Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a

hadeeth is saheeh (authentic) then it is my madhhab.

And he said: It is not permissible for anyone to follow our

view if he does not know from where we derived it.

And he said: If I say something that goes against the Book of

Allaah or the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah, then ignore what I say.

Imam Maalik ibn Anas (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: I

am just a human being, I make mistakes and I get things right. So study what

I say and whatever is in accordance with the Qur’aan and Sunnah, take it,

and whatever is not in accordance with the Qur’aan and Sunnah, ignore it.

Imam al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If you

find in my book something that goes against the Sunnah of the Messenger of

Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then follow the

Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) and ignore what I say.

Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Do not follow

me and do not follow Maalik or al-Shaafa’i or al-Awzaa’i or al-Thawri; refer

to what they referred to.

The point is that the imams refused to let anyone follow

their views without evidence, especially if they went against the Qur’aan

and Sunnah. They were human beings and were not infallible. But we

acknowledge their position, status and high level of knowledge, and we

benefit from them, without adhering blindly to what they said.

Sixthly:

With regard to the other school that the questioner describes

as being well known for innovation (bid’ah) but paying a great deal of

attention to the Qur’aan, she has to look at the interests of her children

and weigh up the pros and cons. If it is possible to do without this school

and find a private tutor for her sons , then the protection of her children

dictates that she should not send them to a school where they follow bid’ah.

The same applies if the bid’ah has to do with serious issues that may lead

to deviation from the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah.

But if the bid’ah is minor and does not reach this extent,

and it is easy to explain it to the children and warn them against it, and

there is no alternative to this school, then there is nothing wrong in sha

Allaah with sending the children to this school, but she should be

constantly watchful. Then if it becomes apparent that it is going to affect

the children then she should stop them going to that school at once.

Seventhly:

Undoubtedly the shaykh who teaches people from the Qur’aan

and Sunnah and looks for saheeh ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) is better than anyone else. The Muslim must

strive to benefit from him for himself and for his wife and children. Our

advice to the husband is to listen to his wife who is keen to follow the

Qur’aan and Sunnah, and to teach his wife and children Arabic and the

Qur’aan, and to treat his children equally in that regard. He should adhere

to the Qur’aan and Sunnah and not blindly follow any madhhabs or opinions

that go against the Sunnah. And he should be kind and gentle with his wife,

and try to advise her sincerely. May Allaah open his heart and help him to

do good.

We ask Allaah to give the questioner strength and to bestow

His bounty upon her and help her to adhere to the truth.

And Allaah knows best.