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[quote]If I may intervene, there are two facts to reconcile:

1) That the Prophet (sws) has instructed to follow the 'majority', termed as "Sawad-e-A'zam (the great majority)"

2) As we agreed, there isnt any group of muslims where an across the board consensus exists on ALL religious matters.

Now I am not commenting on the authenticity of the Ahadith because I am not qualified to do so. Assuming that they are authentic, there is a definite need to reconcile these facts.

One thing is for sure, that the Prophet is not talking about a group referred in my point #2. So if there cannot be a broad, accross the board consensus on the interpretation of Quran and Sunnah on all religious matters. But, one can say, as suggested by our surroundings, there does exist a large group which is in principle in agreement on the authentic & flawless transfer of the original sources i.e. Quran and Sunnah. Scholars may vary on their understanding of Quran and Sunnah, they may differ on the interpretation on various matters, but whether it has been transferred correctly from the Prophet to us, there hasnt been any doubt on that. Even the people who are skeptic on using Ahadith, they too are in agreement on the way Namaz is performed, so that means, even they feel that the transfer of such practical matters (e.g Namaz) which I am referring here as "sunnah" has been flawless. They may not agree with the terminology I am using here but they do agree in principle with this fact.

If this definition of the 'Sawad e Azam' is accepted then there is no contradiction between the ground realities and Ahadith. You have now a group which consists of, I believe, more than 70% of muslims. Although it will not be as monolithic as the traditional explanation requires the 'majority' to be. It will be a diverse group with various viewpoints. There wouldnt be any need to artificially converge at a view because 'majority' insists on it. What is Truth, will be worked out within such a majority through research and discussion, not because of insistence of a group which considers itself a majority on basis of merely self-claim.

Salman[/quote]

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