Question: If one is well-read in Islam, does one have the right to come to their own conclusions about what is halal and haram?
Answer:
Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Dear questioner,
Thank you for your important question.
Everyone has the right and liberty to read and contemplate on the final revelation brought to mankind. No primary or secondary sources are off-limits for anyone.
That said, in order to have a proper insight into the revelation as a whole, one must have studied to tradition thoroughly in order to make one’s own independent judgments.
One should be very, very strong in the Arabic language and literature, have a comprehensive familiarity with all the hadith collections (far more than just the Six Books), one should have been trained in at least one of the Four Schools of Sunni jurisprudence (fiqh), have studied legal theory (usul al fiqh wa al qawaid al fiqhiyya), and have studied hadith criticism and Quranic exegesis.
The door is practically and theologically open to anyone, but very few actually reach that level of scholarship.
I pray this helps.
[Ustadh] Farid
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies, he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language