In this week's Friday Sermon, Sheikh Jaffer continues his series.
In part 1 we introduced the importance of this topic and how we would navigate the series. We mentioned that we will look at verses of the Qur’an and Ahadith around the topic, give scholarly opinions and stories of how the scholars themselves deal with differences of opinion.
In the first discussion we mentioned the opinion of Sheikh Ahmad Zarrooq who said, "The difference of opinion about one reality, when those differences multiply, indicate toward the depths of understanding the totality of that thing (meaning it is so deep”, demonstrating that when a mas’alat (particular Islamic issue) has multiple opinions, it has that level of profundity to it. We also mentioned the story of ‘Allama Tabataba’i and Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi debating in private before going public with their differences of opinion.
This week we ask the question, ‘Why do differences of opinion occur? Allah (swt) mentions that divine books and Messengers (a) were sent to remove differences and unite us but envies and jealousies caused abuse of those blessings and to were used as means of division: "Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then Allah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it - after the clear proofs came to them - out of jealous animosity among themselves." (2:213)
