Q. "I would like to learn the meaning of the words Mujaddid
and Tajdeed.
i) How have these words been used in Hadith?
ii) Is it true that one Mujaddid will appear at the beginning of
every century after Hijrah?
iii) Can there be more than one Mujaddid in a century? If yes, then, is
there a pattern of geographical dispersion
of Mujaddids, or time dispersion?
iv) Can Mujaddid be identified by common Muslim? By scholars? If yes how?
(Irfan
Ali Hyder, Karachi)
A. The word Mujaddid has been derived from a well-known hadith
reported by Imam Abu Dawood in his sunan, one of the six Authentic Books
of Hadith. The text of the Hadith is as follows:
Surely, Allah will send for this ummah at the advent of every one hundred
years a person (or persons) who will renovate its religion for it."
One of the narrators of this hadith is slightly doubtful about whether
this hadith is reported by Sayyidna Abu Huraira as a saying of the Holy
Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam) or as his own saying, though he
affirms it as a saying of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam)
"to the best of his knowledge". But even if it is held to be
a saying of Abu Hurairah himself, he could not have predicted this happening
with such certainty unless he had learnt it from the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho
Alaihi Wassallam). For this reason the scholars of hadith have taken it
as an authentic hadith.
The act of "renovation of the religion" mentioned in this hadith
has been referred to by the word Tajdeed. It means the restoration of
the original beliefs and practices after their being changed, distorted
or forgotten. The hadith indicates to the fact that some circles from
within the Ummah may forget the original teachings of the Holy Quran
and Sunnah, and some foreign elements may creep into the original beliefs
and practices. But the distorted version of Shariah, based on such
foreign elements will not achieve the universal acceptance among the Muslims,
and even if it succeeds in attracting a large number of people, Allah
will send a person or a number of persons who will correct the error,
restore the original beliefs and practices and explain the true intent
of Shariah. This act of renovation is called Tajdeed, and those
who carry out this remarkable work are named as Mujaddid (renovator).
It is mentioned in the hadith that such people normally apppear at the
advent of a new century. The Arabic word used for the time of their appearance
may also admit the possibility of their appearance at the end of a century,
but the first meaning seems to be more probable in the context of the
hadith. The word advent does not necessarily mean that hey appear in the
very first year of a new century. No such definite time has been given
in the hadith. They can appear within the first or second decade of a
century. The construction of the hadith has two possibilities with regard
to the number of the renovators. There may be only one person who undertakes
the task at the beginning of a century, and there may be more than one
person whose efforts, as combined together, may be termed as the efforts
of tajdeed. They may work in different geographical divisions without
having a formal relation between them or, possibly, without knowing each
other. Still the work carried out by them can be termed as Tajdeed.
In order to avoid some dangerous misconceptions, the following points
must always be kept in mind in relation to the term Mujaddid:
1. Mujaddid is not a formal designation like prophet (Sallallaho
Alaihi Wassallam) or messenger. There is no particular authority in this
world who declares him as a mujaddid. It is only through his work that
he is recognized as such. This recognition also is not as certain as the
recognition of a prophet. Therefore, the opinions may differ about his
being a mujaddid.
2. A true mujaddid does not claim to be a mujaddid with certainty,
nor does he invite others to believe in him as such.
3. Even if the majority of the Muslims is of the opinion that a
particular person is a mujaddid, there is no religious obligation on the
others to believe in him as a mujaddid. In other words, the recognition
of a mujaddid is not a part of the necessary religious beliefs.
4. A mujaddid does not receive any authentic revelation from Allah
like a prophet, nor does he make any such claim. He does not bring any
new teachings regarding the religion. Rather, he tries to revive the original
teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
5. It is not necessary that a mujaddid knows himself to be a mujaddid,
let alone laying any claim to this effect.
6. A mujaddid is not infallible in his sayings and acts like a
prophet (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam). His sayings and acts normally conform
to the Islamic teachings, but they are not treated like the sayings and
acts of a prophet (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam).
Keeping these points in view, one can easily understand that a mujaddid
is always identified through his work. Normally the scholars of Shariah
recognize him but their recognition cannot be held as certain and definite
as the recognition of a prophet (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam). There may
be difference of opinion in this matter, and in fact, there has been difference
of opinion about the identification of mujaddids in different centuries.
In fact, the hadith quoted above, while foretelling the appearance of
mujaddids in every century, does not intend to make it compulsory to recognize
such mujaddids. It is, rather, a consolation for the Muslims of the coming
generations that, despite all the distortions or innovations which may
creep into the Muslim society, the ummah shall not be deprived of the
pious persons who shall never be influenced by such distortions, and shall
follow the original teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah and invite
the people to this respect. The Muslims of the coming generations are,
therefore, directed by this hadith to follow only those persons who dwell
upon the original teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah and refuse
to follow the un-Islamic customs, beliefs and practices which have not
been derived from these original holy resources.
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