What is Rai and Istihsaan

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

It is not true that Hanafis prefer their own opinions over Quran and Hadith. If that were true, then Hanafis would not be Muslim. Some people have referred to Hanafis as Ahl al-Rai. But this was said regarding many other scholars too. There is an abundance of misinformation regarding Rai and Istihsaan. The truth is that it refers to the correct application of Quran and Sunnah not opposition to it.

Explanation

وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَى أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنْبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَاتَّبَعْتُمُ الشَّيْطَانَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

And when there comes to them a matter of security or fear, they spread it. But if they had referred it back to the Messenger and to those of authority among them, then the ones who are able to derive correct conclusions from it would have known it. And if not for the favour of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have followed Shaytan, except for a few. (Surah al-Nisa, 83).

The above verse of the Holy Quran makes it clear that Istimbaat is often required, Istimbaat is to derive conclusions from available information. This is certainly required when it comes to Quran and Sunnah. Great scholars must help by deriving conclusions. Rai and Istihsaan are forms of Istimbaat.

What is Rai and Istihsaan

Rai means opinion. In a legal context it refers to giving an opinion regarding a matter based on the Quran and Sunnah. Obviously, this is only done when something is not explicit in the Quran and Sunnah. Thus, it is not opposition to the Quran and Sunnah. Rather it is the process of deriving rulings from the sources.

Istihsaan is similar to Rai. It refers to selecting the strongest proof in any given circumstances, even if it opposes the norm. Many people become confused regarding Istihsaan because of the linguistic meaning. Since, linguistically it refers to deeming something better. So they are misled to believe that it refers to the Hanafis simply selecting whatever they like or prefer.

It should be clear that Rai and Istihsaan are part of Istimbaat. Meaning they are means of deriving legal rulings from the Quran and Sunnah. They do not oppose the Quran and Sunnah, rather they help us to understand it correctly.

الشَّيْخِ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الْكَرْخِيِّ – رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ – أَنَّ الِاسْتِحْسَانَ هُوَ أَنْ يَعْدِلَ الْإِنْسَانُ عَنْ أَنْ يَحْكُمَ فِي الْمَسْأَلَةِ بِمِثْلِ مَا حَكَمَ بِهِ فِي نَظَائِرِهَا إلَى خِلَافِهِ لِوَجْهٍ أَقْوَى يَقْتَضِي الْعُدُولَ عَنْ الْأَوَّلِ. (كشف الأسرار شرح أصول البزدوي)

Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Karkhi (May Allah have mercy upon him) said: Istihsaan is when a person refrains from ruling on an issue the same way he ruled on its equivalents. Rather he rules differently due to a stronger proof, which caused the abandonment of the initial. (Imam Ala al-Deen al-Bukhari 730H, Kashf al-Asrar).

Example of Istihsaan

In the Nass (text) above, Imam Ala al-Deen explains that Istihsaan is when a person moves away from the expected ruling to something different due to evidence. An example of this is Bay’ al-Salam or Bay’ al-Salaf. With this trade contract one is selling something that is not currently in his possession. Which is normally prohibited.

However, the Hanafi scholars moved away from the standard ruling of prohibition to permissibility due to a clear Hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. In that Hadith, the blessed Prophet ﷺ permitted selling something one does not currently possess with conditions.

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، قَالَ: قَدِمَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ المَدِينَةَ وَهُمْ يُسْلِفُونَ بِالتَّمْرِ السَّنَتَيْنِ وَالثَّلاَثَ، فَقَالَ: مَنْ أَسْلَفَ فِي شَيْءٍ، فَفِي كَيْلٍ مَعْلُومٍ، وَوَزْنٍ مَعْلُومٍ، إِلَى أَجَلٍ مَعْلُومٍ.

Ibn Abbas said, the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah and they (the people of Madinah) were trading in dates according to the Salaf contract, delaying two and three years. He said: Whomsoever trades in Salaf, then (let it be) in a specified measure and a specified weight, at a known time. (Sahih al-Bukhari, 2240).

The Hadith above permits Bay’ al-Salaf, which is also referred to as Bay’ al-Salam. Which is against the general rule the found in the following Hadith. Therefore, the Hanafi Imams applied Rai and Istihsaan to reconcile.

 

عَنْ حَكِيمِ بْنِ حِزَامٍ قَالَ: أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقُلْتُ: يَأْتِينِي الرَّجُلُ يَسْأَلُنِي مِنَ البَيْعِ مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدِي، أَبْتَاعُ لَهُ مِنَ السُّوقِ، ثُمَّ أَبِيعُهُ؟ قَالَ: لَا تَبِعْ مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدَكَ

Hakim Ibn Hizam narrates, I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, A man comes to me and asks me to sell that which I do not possess, can I buy it from the market and sell it to him? He ﷺ said: Do not sell that which you do not possess. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 1232).

لَا تَبِعْ مَا ليس عندك. ورواه الْأَرْبَعَةُ، وَحَسَّنَهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ. (نصب الراية)

Do not sell that which you do not possess. It was narrated by the four. And al-Tirmidhi classified it as Hasan. (Imam Jamal al-Deen al-Zayla’i 762H, Nasb al-Raya). 

 

Accusations against the Imam

Even in the life of Imam Abu Hanifah he was accused of giving preference to his view over the evidence. The phrases used did differ. Sometimes they said he was a person of Rai. At other times, they said he makes Qiyas (legal analogy) when he should follow the Quran and Sunnah. All of these were unsubstantiated.

However, Imam Abu Hanifah could effortlessly defend himself against such accusations. It was very easy for the Imam to do so, since the accusations were completely baseless. For example, personal opinion may dictate that a menstruating woman makes up the Prayer and not the fast, since prayer is more important. But the Imam said she makes up the fast, not the prayer. That is because the Hadith requires it that way.

Conclusion

Rai and Istihsaan are simply means to better understand the Holy Quran and Noble Sunnah. In no way do they oppose Quran and Sunnah. However, many people misunderstand Rai and Istihsaan. This leads them to accuse Imam Abu Hanifah or the Hanafi Madhab of opposing Quran and Sunnah.

One of the reasons people misrepresent views and opinions they do not hold, is they do not understand how to deal with differences of opinion. The Ahl al-Sunnah has a rich tradition of accepting and respecting valid differences of opinion. It was the way of the Sahabah and the Salaf. People moving away from that has caused great confusion for the Ummah.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (09.01.25)