Words are hard to come by when attempting to describe the scholar Dr. Abdullah bin Alsheikh Almahfooz bin Bayyah.

This is what was realised by the scholar shaykh Yousif Alqardhawi when he said:

"He (Shaykh bin Bayyah) integrates between conservatism and openness.  He is conservative but not closed minded, a facilitator without recklessness, a Maliki (follower of) with great knowledge of Maliki Jurisprudence in its various aspects but he is also a scholar in general and comparative jurisprudence.  His creed is Salafi but he is also a Sufi..a man of God not a specific order."

Alqardhawi continues: “His understanding of Muslim heritage with it various elements such as jurisprudence, tafseer, hadeeth, history and literature allows him to successfully integrate tradition and medernity without being disconnected from our current times. He knows the past, lives the present and looks forward to the future.”

This is Bin Bayyah who has become an example to all jurists. A man, who is, considering his talent, not consumed by theory, annotations and footnotes and is content with it.  Allah has gifted him with the skill of dealing with the present and that is his best trait.

Upbringing

He is Abdullah bin Alsheikh Almahfooz bin Bayyah born in 1935 in Mauritania. He was brought up by his father the scholar and judge Almahfooz bin Bayyah and studied under great scholars of his time like Mohammed Salim bin Alsheen, Shaykh Bayyah bin Alsalik Almasoomy and others.

After his return from a scholarship in Tunisa, he held various positions such as president of Alshareea’ department in the Ministry of Justice and vice president of the High Court. Later on, he was appointed High Commissioner of Religious Affairs in the Republic of Mauritania.  During this tenure, he suggested the creation of a ministry for Islamic Affairs which he became its first minister. He also held other ministerial positions in his native country and now is lecturing in King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

He also wrote several books such as Clarification of different Opinions in Money Dealings and Terrorism: Analysis and Solutions.

Sufi

Although his creed is Salafi, one notices that his mannerism is that of Sufism.  He is able to disconnect from his environment that he lives in and devote his heart completely to his God.

During the last Alazhar Alumni Conference, fortune allowed me to accompany him from his hotel to an event in his honour in the centre of Cairo.  I wanted to ask him about an issue that was of much debate at the time of which he politely replied by saying “God Willing I will answer but first I ask you to let me finish my litany and we’ll carry on afterwards.”

Some have objected to this type of behaviour claiming that it is not from Koran and Sunnah but Bin Bayyah and other leading peers do not acknowledge this on the basis that real Sufism is from Koran and Sunnah.  This has been affirmed in the past by the likes of Imam Junaid when he said “Our doctrine is confined within the Koran and Sunnah.“

Sufism according to bin Bayyah is “Charity, it is to search for perfection and love. And longing to meet God.”

Bin Bayyah has repeatedly called for the revival of Sufi Science since he considers it a ‘revival of religious studies’ in the sense that Jurisprudence deals with the ‘outer’ like aspects of our lives and Sufism deals with the Inner as in purifying the soul and humility.

Manufacturing Fatwa

As for bin Bayyah, since he is a jurist, issuing a fatwa is the norm.  He wrote a book titled Manufacturing Fatwa in which his genius is clearly apparent.  He is able to combine the rules and forms of Jurisprudence with modern times to produce an original unifying vision without excess.

The term that he chose which is ‘Manufacturing’, is uncommon in the literature of jurisprudence.  This choice shows his broad vision to a concept many have thought is normal; which is the process of issuing fatwa.  ‘Manufacturing’ is a continuing operation that consists of many processes.The Fatwa is a final result of complex issue that is associated with major introductions.

Probably, this is what bin Bayyah wants from a jurist , that his fatwa goes through stages starting with correct analysis, legitimate adaptation to the incident instead of fatwa, examining the sources of these laws and then finally, and most importantly, applying the evidence on the incident with genuine understanding of the issue and the nature of the evidence.

This operation is what Shaykh bin Bayyah describes in his book saying “Fatwa is a manufactured product that in some parts consists of evidence and reality in another. Therefore, it is the relationship between the evidence with its various spins and reality with its complexities.

The book of ‘Manufacturing Fatwa’ represents the epitome of a jurist who reached a level of knowledge and understanding and is able to repeatedly produce results that are in line with modern times.

Bin Bayyah and the Jurisprudence of the Minorities

What was popularised about bin Bayyah is his ability to find legitimate solutions to the sufferings that minorities in the west face.  These solutions allowed such minorities to integrate with their respective societies and become advocates of Islam by their good behaviour and not through isolation and reclusion.

When he was asked “why jurisprudence for minorities?”, he said in reply “that Minorities’ Jurisprudence seeks to meet the minorities’ three responsibilities”.

•    Firstly, is the issue of identity and how a group can maintain to practice its faith and religion.
•    Secondly, is the need to remain in contact with other societies at least on a human level if they don’t share the same beliefs.
•    Finally, is discovering the core element in Islam which is facilitation which teaches the Muslim to be comfortable and at ease with his/hers religious matters.

Bin Bayyah’s Minorities’ Jurisprudence is neither rigid nor loose as it represents a realistic approach that is harmonious with Islamic Jurisprudence.

Bin Bayyah and Heritage

Once during a serial episode of, Law and Life, discussing ‘Scholars and Categorising the World’, bin Bayyah said: “Scholars have various interpretations regarding the categorisation of the world.  Some say it is a world of war, a world of Islam or a world of peace and security.”

He then refers to Ibn Tayymiyah that there is a complex world.  A middle world that is neither war nor peace. This raises few issues such as:
Are Muslims required to immigrate from Non-Muslim countries to Muslim ones?
Is it permissible for them to reside in Non-Muslim countries?
Are corrupted transactions allowed in Non-Muslim countries as in the doctrine of the Hanafis?

Bin Bayyah then explains: the historical reason for this confusion is that, in the past, the world was ruled with treaties since the relationship was not between countries but between tribes.  When the messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him, was commissioned to spread Islam, the relationship was either war or peace between the tribes or dominance between countries such as Rome and Persia.

That reality has been projected on today’s events in that this world is either peaceful under Islamic rule or aggressive.

Bin Bayyah further analyses Ibn Tayymiyah’s fatwa: the complex world fatwa is defective as Shaykh Al-Islam mentioned that this world has two sides where Muslims and Non-Muslims should be treated deservedly but the Non-Muslim should be fought.  The defect lies in the printed copies quoting Ibn Tayymiyah: "fight the non-Muslim with what he deserves.”

"I could not fathom this when I first heard it.  How can there be levels of fighting? fighting is fighting.  Therefore when one looks at the wording and context fighting here means treat.  Fortunately, we found a book called Lawful Principles by Ibn Miflah where he mentions that Shaykh Al-Islam said that the Non-Muslim to be treated deservedly.  This is because the word’ fighting’ can result in grave consequences and unfortunately this word was translated into many languages. Then, who exactly is to be fought? when is it deemed that he should be fought?  I found Ibn Miflah, who is a student of Ibn Taymiyyah, to have understood the fatwa correctly and also Mohammed Rashid Ridha almost a hundred years ago."

This is the status of a mind who has grasped the legacy in order to reflect the true spirit of this sacred law.


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