Does Ibn Ziyad’s View on Talfiq Consider Wudu and Tahara as a Single Act?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Does Ibn Ziyad’s view on talfiq consider wudu and tahara as a single act, or are they distinct, allowing one to follow different schools for each? For example, can a Hanafi perform wudu according to Shafi‘i rulings due to a wound but pray according to Hanafi rules despite dog hair on their clothes?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate. All praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Ibn Ziyad’s view on talfiq (combining rulings from different schools) differentiates between matters that pertain to a single act or case (qadiyya wahida) and those that belong to distinct issues.

He asserts that the problematic aspect of talfiq arises only when rulings from different schools are combined within the same case, producing a composite act that no single school validates—for example, performing wudu by following Abu Hanifa in not invalidating ablution after touching one’s private parts, while simultaneously following Shafi‘i in bleeding not invalidating ablution, results in invalid ablution because neither Imam validates it [Saqqaf, Fawa’id Makkiyya].

However, Ibn Ziyad distinguishes between acts related to different issues, such as purification states vs purification from impurities, and considers combining rulings here permissible. This is because no agreement exists between the schools on the invalidity of the resultant act, and thus, the individual is not left in a state that nullifies the subsequent act of worship. [ibid.]

Applying this to the scenario mentioned, one could argue that performing wudu according to Shafi‘i rulings due to a wound and then praying according to Hanafi rules despite dog hair on their clothing may fall into the category of distinct issues rather than a single act. Wudu and the validity of prayer due to the cleanliness of clothing are separate acts, not one composite act. Hence, Ibn Ziyad’s distinction would permit this.

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.