BENEFIT: The ظاهرية

Question: Who are the Dhāhiriyyah, and does the disagreement of Ibn Hazm and the Dhāhiriyyah invalidate scholarly consensus (ijmāʿ) in fiqh? Sheikh Abu 'Amr Al-Hajoori hafidhahullah: The Dhāhiriyyah were followers of Dawud Adh-Dhahiri, and Ibn Hazm followed this approach as well. They held tightly to the apparent wording of the texts and became very literal in their understanding. Ibn Kathir said in Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah that they “became rigid where flexibility was needed, and flexible where firmness was needed.” For example, Allah says: “Do not even say ‘uff’ to your parents.” They would say: “It is forbidden to say ‘uff’ to them, but hitting them is not included.” This is not the intended meaning of the Ayah. So in matters of fiqh, they restricted themselves to the outward wording too strictly. However, when it came to the texts about Allah’s attributes, where one is required to follow the apparent meanings, they instead interpreted them figuratively. As for ‘Aqīdah, their disagreement is not considered. But in fiqh, they are Muslims, and their disagreement is recognised and can prevent a claim of complete scholarly consensus. Many scholars mention their opinions and say, “The majority said such-and-such, while the Dhāhiriyyah said…” This shows that their disagreement is considered when discussing ijmāʿ. Even so, Ibn Hazm was sometimes correct, and he also held scholarly opinions and similar matters. So yes, their disagreement is considered in the sense that it can affect claims of consensus, but what is ultimately followed is the evidence. Source: https://t.me/almanhajussalafi/2321