Al-Azhar Grand Imam, Prof. Ahmad At-Tayyeb, said that the Islamic Sharia is singled out among all other laws and regulations for its system, which is integrated and qualified with great divine care to meet human demands. The Islamic Sharia came with fixed statements that address the stable needs in people’s lives, and other general and universal statements that address humanity at large. It addresses the evolving needs of humanity, guides it to follow the straight path of Allah, and warns it of misguided ways, so that development and progress may not turn into futility and loss as the following verse warns us: “This is My Path, [which is made] straight. So, follow it closely and do not follow the [other wrong] ways, which would lead you away from His way. That is what He has enjoined to you, so that you may be mindful [of Him]” (Qur’an, 6: 153).

During the 16th episode of his Ramadan program, Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk, His Eminence mentioned a question that imposes itself now. If the Sharia is flexible, evolving and able to keep pace with changes, then why is this dual crisis that distances the reality of Muslims from their religious culture, and leads them to think in terms of one culture and work in terms of another?

He explained that the answer simply consists in the absence of renewal which, in its simplest sense, indicates a review of practical current developments in the light of the universal rules and general principles of the Sharia. This review is not to be conducted in the light of examples or particulars that were considered developments or new events in the past, only to lose their newness with the passage of time. Reviewing such particulars is like reviewing a living phenomenon in the light of a dead one, and it is clear that the result, no matter how deep and complete the review may sound, must end in the exclusion of the universal rules of the Sharia, and the search for what is required in a dark vacuum. 

His Eminence indicated that some factors formed some semi-obstacles on the path of renewal, including the inability to differentiate between what is constant in religion and what is changing. It should be noted that variables, by their nature, extend to several applications and different formulas, all of which are legitimate as long as they achieve a significant interest in the moderate balance of Islam and do not contradict any of its purposes. It is not necessary to use only one form of these variables in order for it to be legitimate.

As long as the framework is legitimate, then let the content may come in any formula this framework can accommodate. The Grand Imam pointed out that the contemplator on some of the popular and anti-renewal opinions now notices a confusion between these two matters. It is noticeable that a certain formula, from the old ages, has acquired legitimacy and become fixed to the exclusion of the other formulas that can achieve the same purpose.  The only reason behind this is that the formula was approved by a particular social system, and it is retrieved today not to achieve a general benefit for Muslims, but rather to achieve private, innate or individual gains.

The Grand Imam pointed out that there are many examples of this, including matters in which the dispute is now intensifying to the point of partisanship and division. Such matters include the fatwa prohibiting shaving the beard, considering niqāb (women’s face cover) to be obligatory, the prohibition of standing up to greet a coming person, or the opinion promoted today that polygamy is recommended by the Sunnah. They also include that a woman’s work is forbidden, that nothing is wrong with divorce when done without necessary reasons, and many other matters in which the environment of a certain era and the circumstances of its time and place were exclusively taken into consideration.

His Eminence explained that the basis of the problem in these matters is that the fatwa - according to some of the modern scholars - may take the “social biography” of a certain era to use as a “legislative biography” for all ages. The result will be confusion in understanding the intention of the law in this or that specific issue.

His Eminence added that the scourge of mixing up what is fixed with what is variable in religion has resulted in another scourge, which is the confusion between what is considered general legislation and what is not. Jurists have discussed this issue in detail, and indicated that it was one of the causes of legitimate disagreement among scholars. It was a source of mercy and ease in the religion, as one issue was seen by one scholar as a general law that does not change, while another sees it as a ruling of interest that changes with the change of people’s interests. The Grand Imam explained that one of the most important views in this connection is the saying of Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltlūt: “Not everything narrated from the Messenger (pbuh) and his instructions can be an authoritative legislation legally binding on Muslims.”

Grand Imam At-Tayyeb Talk has been broadcast for the fifth year on Egyptian and Arab channels. The program was launched in Ramadan 2016. This year, 2021, the program explains the characteristics of the Islamic religion, the moderation of Islam and its manifestations, the rules of legal obligations, the ease of Sharia, the sources of legislation, and refutations of fallacies about the Prophet's Sunnah and heritage.