Question:

The book The System of Islam states: [Thirdly: If there is an opinion which is intended to unify the Muslims for their own good, then it is allowed for the Mujtahid to leave the result of his Ijtihad, and to take the judgment that intends to unify the Muslims, as happened with 'Uthman (R.A) when he was given the Bay'ah.] End

And the following is stated in the book The Islamic Personality Volume I:(Fourthly: If there is an opinion by which it is intended to unify the Muslims for their own good, then it is allowed for the Mujtahid to leave the result of his Ijtihad, as happened with ‘Uthman (ra) when he was given the Bay'ah as Khalifah. It has been reported about 'Abdur-Rahman b. 'Awf (ra) that, after he consulted the people individually and together, in secret and openly, he gathered the people in the mosque, ascended them to the minbar and made a long supplication. He then called 'Ali (ra), held his hand and said: ‘do you pledge to me that you will rule according to the Book of Allah (SWT) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw) and the opinions held after him (SAW) by Abu Bakr  And 'Umar?' Ali (ra) replied: ‘I pledge to you on the basis of the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger, but I will exercise my own Ijtihad.' So ‘Abdur-Rahman b. ‘Awf (ra) let go of his hand and then called for 'Uthman (ra) and said to him:‘do you pledge to me that you will rule according to the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger and the opinions held after him (saw) by Abu Bakr  And 'Umar?' Uthman (ra) replied: ‘By Allah (swt) yes!' 'Abdur-Rahman (R.A) raised his head towards the ceiling of the Mosque, his hand in Uthman's hand, and said three times: ‘O Allah (SWT), hear and bear witness!

And the question is that I found it in other narrations read as "but to the best I can and to the extent of my ability" and "to the extent of my knowledge and ability", so is it the same meaning as: "that I will exercise my own Ijtihad"? Also, I read another narration that Ali bin Abi Talib agreed but said (as much as I can), so what is the validity of that?

Answer:

Yes, there is no difference between those phrases according to the scholars and Mujtahideen, and to clarify this I say:

-          It is mentioned in Ibn Kathir's The Beginning and the End: "So come to me Ali, so he came to me under the minbar and ‘Abdur-Rahman took his hand and said "Do you pledge that you will rule according to the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw) and the actions of the two Khaleefahs after him?' Ali (ra) replied: ‘By Allah, No, rather according to my efforts and extent of my ability..." End

-          It is mentioned in Tabari's History of Prophets and Kings: "And Ali was summoned, and he said 'Do you promise to act according the Allah's Kitab and the Sunnah of his Prophet and the precedent of the two Khalifas after him?' He said: I want to do and act to the extent of my knowledge and power..." End

And perhaps when you read the likes of these narrations you supposed that "to exercise my own Ijtihad" is different from "to the best I can and to the extent of my ability", and from "to the extent of my knowledge and ability", but they have the same meaning. For Ali (ra) had differentiated between following the Kitab and Sunnah and following the actions of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, as he agreed to follow the Kitab and Sunnah, but exempted the actions of Abu Bakr and Omar for his capability and actions, meaning his Ijtihad.

And this is what the scholars understood, and it is mentioned in the preface and summary of evidences for the Qadi Abi Bakr al-Baqlani' al-Maliki  who died in the year 403 AH the following:

"And they said 'how can 'Abdur-Rahman's allegiance to Othman be valid when he pledged allegiance to him under the condition that he follow the rulings of Abu Bakr and 'Umar', and it has been narrated that he said to Ali we give you the Bayah and give allegiance to you provided that you rule according to Allah's Kitab and the Sunnah of his Prophet and the Sunnah of the two Sheikhs after him and Ali said 'One like me cannot be more prominent but I make Ijtihad according to my opinion' and he offered that to 'Uthman and he agreed to the condition and gave him allegiance..." End. So he had conveyed with the phrase "Ijtihad according to my opinion."

And likewise, Sirkhasi who died in 483 AH has mentioned in his Roots this understanding, saying:

"Then 'Umar made the issue consultative after he recommended six persons and they agreed to make 'Abdur-Rahman responsible for the appointment after he withdrew himself, so he offered to Ali that he act according to the opinion of Abu Bakr and 'Umar and he said 'I will act according to Allah's Kitab and the Sunnah of his Prophet and then make Ijtihad according to my own opinion' and then he also offered this condition to 'Uthman and he accepted it and appointed him" End. So he conveyed with the phrase "make Ijtihad according to my own opinion."

And this is a known fact even in research institutes in the modern era, and in the Islamic University of Medina's Deanship of Academic Research Journal (1423 AH/2002) is the following:

"Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf gathered the Muslims in the Masjid... and called Ali, and 'Abdur-Rahman had authorized the selecting of the Khalifah after he had withdrew himself, given that the Muslims would follow him by giving allegiance to who he gave allegiance to.

And 'Abdur-Rahman placed his hand in the hand of Ali saying that we give you allegiance that you act according to Allah's Kitab and the Sunnah of his Prophet and the Ijtihad of the two Sheikhs - meaning Abu Bakr and Omar- and Ali did not agree to the Ijtihad of the two Sheikhs and said: Instead I will make Ijtihad according to my own opinion, so he pushed his hand and called 'Uthman (ra) and he accepted the Ijtihad of the two Sheikhs though what happened after that is what happened." End

And because of this there is no contradiction between "I will follow my own Ijtihad", and " to the best I can and to the extent of my ability", and "to the extent of my knowledge and ability," for all of them are the same according to the scholars according to what Allah has given them in knowledge, so if any of these phrases are used to express it then it is correct, especially if the issue is in the setting of extracting a judgment from the evidences as is in our book, and therefore if you see it mentioned as "I will follow my own Ijtihad" instead of "to the best I can and to the extent of my ability" or "to the extent of my knowledge and ability" then there is nothing in that if it was in the case of extracting a judgment.

-          As for what came in the question about what Imam Ahmad extracted in his Musnad, he said: "I said to 'Abdur-Rahman bin Awf: ‘How did you give the Bay'ah to 'Uthman instead of Ali?' He said: ‘What is my fault?' I began with Ali, so I said: ‘I give you the Bay'ah on Allah's Kitab and the Sunnah of his Prophet, and the precedent of Abu Bakr and 'Umar.' And he said: ‘In that which I am able to.' He said: ‘Then I offered it to 'Uthman, and he accepted it.' End. This is a weak chain (isnad), Sufyan bin Waki' has been described as weak more than once, in his book Al-Taqreeb, Al-Hafith said, "Sufyan bin Waki', his hadith has been dropped," and likewise Abu Zar'a Al-Razi described him as weak in his book The Weak Ones, and Ibn Abi Hatim in The Wound and the Amendment quoted him in it as saying "I asked Abu Zar'a about Sufyan bin Waki' as that he had said that he lies, and he said yes". And therefore, the Hadith is weak and not reliable.

Stand for the  Nusrah and awareness Hizb ut Tahrir/ Wilayah Egypt for the 92^nd Hijri Anniversary of the Demolition of the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" before El Fath Mosque in Ramses Square in Cairo.

Friday, 28 Rajab 1434 AH corresponding to 07 June 2013 CE

Hizb ut Tahrir / Ukraine organized in the capital of Crimea (Simferopol) under the title "One Ummah... One Banner" for the 92^nd Hijri Anniversary of the Demolition of the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate".  Ukrainian authorities tried to prevent the Muslims from organizing the rally, but failed to do so. The rally went forth Praise be to Allah.

Headlines:

• US Spy Leak 'Most Important Ever'
• Egyptian Warning Over Ethiopia Nile Dam
• Jordan War Games: Patriot Batteries, F-16s and 4,500 US Troops Near Syrian Border
• Saudi Prince Sues Forbes for Undervaluing His Wealth by $9.6 Billion
• America's Agent Zardari: Militancy and Terrorism are Greatest Threat to Pakistan
  
  

Details:

US Spy Leak 'Most Important Ever':

The Daily Mail describes him as one of a new breed of whistle blower. Traditionally, spies who have leaked government secrets have remained in the shadows, the paper says. But "not this 29-year-old geek," it says. Far from waiting for the dust to settle on his stunning revelations, he jumped into the limelight.  Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, writes in the Guardian that there has not been in US history a more important leak than Snowden's - and that, Ellsberg adds, certainly includes his own. The Daily Telegraph reports that the United States is bracing itself for a drawn-out effort to extradite Mr Snowden.  According to the Times, the US has an extradition treaty with Hong Kong - where he has taken refuge - but Beijing has the power of veto. Rupert Cornwell in the Independent asks whether China, which has been accused of stealing US electronic secrets, has the ultimate say in whether the leaker is extradited to face the justice of the US cyber-intruder.

Egyptian Warning Over Ethiopia Nile Dam:

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has said "all options are open" to deal with any threat to his country's water supply posed by an Ethiopian dam. Mr Morsi said he was not "calling for war", but that he would not allow Egypt's water supply to be endangered. Egypt was apparently caught by surprise when Ethiopia started diverting the Blue Nile last month, amid works to construct a hydroelectric dam. The river is a tributary of the Nile, on which Egypt is heavily dependent. The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a $4.7bn (£3.1bn) project that Ethiopia says will eventually provide 6,000 megawatts of power. It says the Blue Nile will be slightly diverted but will then be able to follow its natural course. "Egypt's water security cannot be violated at all," Mr Morsi said on Monday. "As president of the state, I confirm to you that all options are open. If Egypt is the Nile's gift, then the Nile is a gift to Egypt,'' he said, quoting popular sayings about the river in an emotive televised speech. "The lives of the Egyptians are connected around it... as one great people. If it diminishes by one drop then our blood is the alternative." Analysts say Mr Morsi could be using the issue to distract attention from severe domestic political and economic challenges. Egypt is particularly dependant on water supply from the Nile, and its growing population has been placing that supply under increasing strain. Sudan is also reliant on Nile waters.

Jordan War Games: Patriot Batteries, F-16s and 4,500 US Troops Near Syrian Border:

Multinational military exercise ‘Eager Lion' has been launched in Jordan amid condemnation from neighbouring Syria and its ally Russia. The US brings Patriot missile batteries to the Syrian border, which could remain deployed afterwards. The exercises will last for 12 days, bringing together about 8,000 personnel from 19 countries, mostly Arabic, but also including the US and Europe. The manoeuvres will also involve some 3,000 Jordanian and 500 British troops. ‘Eager Lion' - which is being conducted only 120km from the Jordan-Syria border - is aimed at training personnel for the possibility of the Syrian civil war spilling into neighboring countries. Russia has raised concerns over the deployment of US Patriot missile batteries and F-16 fighter jets to Jordan: "We have more than once stated our opinion on this - foreign weapons are being pumped into an explosive region," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said last week. "This is happening very close to Syria, where for more than two years the flames of a devastating conflict are burning that Russia and its American partners are trying to stop by proposing to hold an international peace conference as soon as possible," Lukashevich said. The organizers of ‘Eager Lion' say that the troops involved will also train for the possibility of a chemical attack, as Syria's neighbours fear that Damascus may lose control of its chemical weapons arsenal, which could then fall into the wrong hands. "We all have chemical training from any activity, so we continue to build those objectives into any exercise that we do," said US Major General Robert Catalanotti, the Director of Exercises and Training. Last week the US military revealed it may indefinitely leave behind the Patriot batteries and F-16s deployed in Jordan due to the threat of the violence in Syria crossing into Jordanian territory. Jordanian Army Major General Awni el-Edwan, Operation Chief of Staff, told reporters on Sunday that no US troops, Patriot missile complexes or F-16s would remain in Jordan after the exercises conclude: "The drills have nothing to do with any objective related to what is happening in Syria."

Saudi Prince Sues Forbes for Undervaluing His Wealth by $9.6 Billion:

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is suing Forbes Magazine for undervaluing his wealth by $9.6 billion. Forbes annual "Rich List" gave bin Talal a net worth of $20 billion, listing him as No. 26th in terms of the world's wealthiest men. The prince, however, insists that he is worth as much as $30 million and Forbes' mistake can only be due to a bias towards Saudis. If Forbes is actually wrong about his worth (which they rarely are), it's not because of the prince's race. It's because the majority of his wealthy is spread through a plethora of investments all over the world, which of course means that exchange rates and fluctuating stock markets and other capitalist B.S. must be factored into the equation. Unable to obtain all the necessary information to figure out an exact net worth, Forbes probably just made an estimation based on all they knew about the prince's business endeavors. He owns large stakes in Apple, Twitter and News Corporation, not to mention huge and luxurious properties like the Savoy Hotel in London. He's also got a gold throne in the center of his private Boeing 747 jet. Even worse for Forbes is the fact that Alwaleed is suing in England, one of the several countries that publishes an edition of the magazine. There is no first amendment in England so it's incredibly easy to win a defamation or libel case there. Forbes is claiming that it has been the target of "intermittent lobbying, cajoling and threatening" by advisers to Alwaleed who want the prince's ranking changed either in a statement or a new version of the issue. Alwaleed believes he is being discriminated against because of his race.

America's Agent Zardari: Militancy and Terrorism are Greatest Threat to Pakistan:

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated Monday that militancy and terrorism pose "the greatest threat" to his country. Addressing a joint session of Pakistan's parliament at the beginning of its first year, President Asif Ali Zardari urged the newly elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to work toward finding solutions to economic challenges, a nation-wide deepening energy crisis and a Taliban militancy threatening the stability of Pakistan. "Militancy, extremism and terrorism pose the greatest threat to our national security.  The nation is united against militants.  We need strong leadership to overcome the threat," said Zardari.  After elections last month, and becoming the country's chief executive for a third time, Prime Minister Sharif promised to seek an end to the militancy through peaceful talks, rather than relying on military force. But President Zardari cautioned Monday against such attempts.  "We are ready to make peace with those willing to give up violence.  But we should also be ready to use force against those who challenge the writ of the state," he said.

Abu Hashim