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A Recent Conversation with a Taxi Driver in Alex!

by Suhaib Webb
December 12, 2008
1 min read

Asalamu alaykum,

Suhaib: Asalamu alaykum,

Driver: Wa alaykum al-Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!

A short time latter after price haggling………………

Driver: My group follows the Qur’an and Sunna only. We are on the truth!

Suhaib: Really! Really! the Qur’an and Sunna only!

Driver: Yes! Yes! Only the Book and the Sunna!

Suhaib: What happened to Ijm’a, Qiyas, Istihsan, Istshab, the Actions of the People of Medina and so on? What about the other usol? Since 95% of the rulings are from Ijtihad, what happened to the Book and the Sunna akhi?

Driver: ?

Suhaib: Okay, I have a question?

Driver: Sure!

Suhaib: A woman’s husband is missing for a few years, what is the ruling on her marriage and her waiting period? What happens, after she remarries, if he shows up? Hat dalil min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna ya sidi!

Driver: “I’m not sure?”

Suhaib: “Is that ruling found in the Book and the Sunna?”

Driver: “No…not sure?”

Suhaib: “Than how did Umar rule on iit? Would you say ‘Umar was not on the truth like you?”

Driver: ?

Suhaib: Shukran….khudh al-Falus bita’i wa araka ‘ala al-khair.

Driver: Ashkuruka ya sidi

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About the author

Suhaib Webb

Suhaib Webb is a contemporary American-Muslim educator, activist, and lecturer. His work bridges classical and contemporary Islamic thought, addressing issues of cultural, social and political relevance to Muslims in the West. After converting to Islam in 1992, Webb left his career in the music industry to pursue his passion in education. He earned a Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and received intensive private training in the Islamic Sciences under a renowned Muslim Scholar of Senegalese descent. Webb was hired as the Imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, where he gave khutbas (sermons), taught religious classes, and provided counselling to families and young people; he also served as an Imam and resident scholar in communities across the U.S.

From 2004-2010, Suhaib Webb studied at the world’s preeminent Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar University, in the College of Shari`ah. During this time, after several years of studying the Arabic Language and the Islamic legal tradition, he also served as the head of the English Translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.

Outside of his studies at Al-Azhar, Suhaib Webb completed the memorization of the Quran in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. He has been granted numerous traditional teaching licenses (ijazat), adhering to centuries-old Islamic scholarly practice of ensuring the highest standards of scholarship. Webb was named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in 2010.

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