Fairly Considering the Thoughts of Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi: Credible or Not?

Are the books of Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi (SYQ) mu’tabarah/credible or not? Some say they are not. It is said that the opinion stating that SYQ’s works are not credible comes from KH Muhibbul Aman Aly, my senior and fellow formulator of Bahtsul Masail at the Lirboyo pesantren in Kediri, as well as the rois suriyah of PBNU. However, in my view, when evaluating SYQ’s books, it should be done proportionately, considering the tahawwulat (transformation) of his two discourses (kalam): kalam qadim (earlier opinions) before the Arab Spring, which were highly scholarly, clear, based on classical books, using methodology, and far from political bias; and kalam jadid (newer opinions) after the Arab Spring, which are politically biased (IM). Fiqh of zakat, fiqh of aqaliyat (minorities), and others are products of SYQ’s kalam qadim. SYQ’s kalam qadim is similar to that of Sheikh Wahbah Zuhayli. That is what I just wrote on my Facebook status in response to the viral issue. In this article, I want to explain in more detail what I mentioned on my Facebook to help readers understand it better. Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi returned to the embrace of Allah SWT on Monday, 26 September 2022, in Doha, Qatar. Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi has kalam qadim (earlier opinions) and kalam jadid (newer opinions). His kalam qadim is similar to the views of the majority of Indonesian Muslims, especially NU. But after the Arab Spring or al-Rabi’ al-’Arabiy, ISIS, Ikhwanul Muslimun, and the like emerged, Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi issued kalam jadid that differs greatly from his kalam qadim. Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi’s kalam qadim embodies wasathiyat (moderation), tasamuh (tolerance), respect for ta’addudiyat al-ara (diversity of opinions), and wathaniyah (nationalism), derived from his understanding of turats (heritage).