A Bridge to Hell
May 22, 2020 § Leave a comment
“Uqbah bin Muslim said, ‘I accompanied Ibn ʿUmar for thirty-four months and lots of times when asked a question he would say, “I don’t know,’ and then he would turn to me and say, ‘Do you know what these people want? They want to make our backs a bridge to Hell.’”
[Ṣaḥīḥ | Authentic] | Taʿẓīm al-Futyā of Ibn al-Jawzī, pp. 85-86.
Ibn al-Jawzee on People Using Jarh and Ta’deel as an Excuse for Revenge
May 11, 2018 § Leave a comment
Ibn al-Jawzee, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Part of the Devil’s deception of the People of Hadith (Ashaabul-Hadith) is their slander of each other for revenge, justifying that in the name of Jarh and Ta’deel, which the scholars of old of this Ummah used to use to defend the Legislation with, and Allaah knows best the intentions [of His Servants]. And a proof of their corrupt intentions is their silence concerning people they [themselves] take from—and the early scholars of the past were not like that—for Ali ibn al-Madini used to narrate from his father, who was a weak narrator, and then [after narrating from him] he would say, ‘And in the hadith of the Shaikh [i.e., his father] there is what there is …’”
Al-Muntaqan-Nafees min Talbees Iblees, pp. 123-124.
Al-’Abbaad on al-Jarh and at-Ta’deel
October 19, 2015 § Leave a comment
Questioner: There is a statement concerning the issue of al-Jarh and at-Ta’deel which the questioner wants to put to you: when respected scholars differ in their criticism [jarh] or praise [ta’deel] of someone, this variance [in opinion] remains present among Ahlus-Sunnah, thus whoever follows one of these scholars is not to be declared an innovator nor boycotted, and we hope that he receives a reward for the purity of his intention?
Al-’Abbaad: Firstly, the scholars used to use al-Jarh and at-Ta’deel to determine whether or not hadiths were valid, for this reason the books of narrators are replete with biographies that contain what the scholars said about people, “So and so said this … and so and so said that … and so and so said this … and so and so said that,’ some of them would praise and others would criticise.
But some of the scholars who praise [a certain individual] may not have come across anything [in terms of jarh] regarding a person who has been criticised [by others], and as a result they praise a person based upon what is apparent to them.
Others may criticise a person about something which does not stand up as a criticism. Some scholars are harsh in their jarh such that they perform jarh over an issue which does not stand up as a point of jarh.
[Anyway,] the important thing here is that they used to busy themselves with al-Jarh and at-Ta’deel in order to become acquainted with which hadiths were authentic and which weren’t, which were valid and which weren’t, this was the way they used to use it.
Preoccupying oneself with al-Jarh and at-Ta’deel in this day and age, speaking about people, abandoning them, tracking what is said about them, collecting what is said about them the result of which is that they are warned against—these are all unbecoming actions, what is proper for a Muslim is that he knows the truth and acts on it.
Whoever is known to be from the people of an innovation which is open and plain to see and concerning which there is no ambiguity, and who has a way and manhaj which is in accordance with the people of innovation, then such a person deserves [the jarh].
As for a person who erred in a statement, who made a mistake in a statement after which an all out onslaught is made against him and he is warned against, then this is not just and nor is it fair.”
On the Haughty and Arrogant Khawaarij and Takfiris
October 12, 2015 § Leave a comment
Al-Mu’allimi said, “And the khawaarij were well-spoken, eloquent Arabs, in their tongue was the Quraan revealed, the only reason they fell into their deviancy was out of their ignorance of the Prophetic guidance and their doing away with the need to seek guidance from the scholars of the Companions.
So what do you think the case in this time of ours is, where you find foreigners who can’t even produce a sound Arabic sentence and who aren’t acquainted in the least with the Sunnah and the tafseers of the Salaf, [one of them will go and] delve into Allaah’s verses like someone self-conceited—such that he will look at an aayah and then track the meanings of its words from books on linguistics, based upon which he conjures up a meaning that agrees with his desires, alleging that it is what Allaah meant, and then he will base a new religion and a contrived shari’ah upon that, declaring the Salaf to be misguided and belying the Sunnah, along with other [calamitous] things.”
Aathaar al-Mu’allimi, vol. 19, p. 64.
Al-Fawzaan on Loaded Questions
June 2, 2015 § Leave a comment
Al-Fawzaan: Some brothers, may Allaah forgive them, develop a grudge against someone, or hatred towards a student of knowledge or a scholar, so they will ask you a question which you [accordingly] answer—an answer which they then go and apply to that person, they go and apply it to that person and that you meant him [when you answered], so they will say, ‘So and so [i.e., the scholar] said such and such about so and so!’
[But when you [i.e., the scholar] were answering that question] neither ‘so and so’ nor ‘so and so’ or ‘so and so’ [even] came to your mind, you only answered a question.
They apply it like that and say, ‘He meant so and so! He meant such and such a group!’ And they dub the sound and write books [based on that], saying that, ‘Such and such [a scholar] said this and that about so and so and answered the question about such and such.’
Their intention behind that is to cause trouble between people and sow dissent among the students of knowledge and cause enmity between them.
So we warn them and ask Allaah to grant you refuge from this trait … that you are not deceived or fooled by it!
Be on your utmost guard against it.
Al-Fawzaan on ‘Beware of So and So! Don’t Sit with So and So! Don’t Read to So and So!’
February 22, 2015 § 1 Comment
Questioner: Ahsanallaahu ilaikum, do you have any blessed advice which you can direct to your sons and brothers from the students of knowledge throughout the Islamic ummah?
Al-Fawzaan: Yes, I advise you to fear Allaah, and to continue pursuing knowledge, doing so eagerly, and to act according to what Allaah has taught you, and to call to Allaah عز وجل, and to teach the people what you’ve learnt—and to leave squabbling, that which has taken place amongst the students of knowledge, hating [one another], cursing, setting people against each other, until they split the ummah and split the students of knowledge, [saying]: ‘Beware of so and so! Don’t sit with so and so! Don’t read to so and so!’—this is not allowed.
If so and so has a mistake, advise him one on one, as for you spreading it amongst the people and warning against him whilst he is a scholar or a student of knowledge or a righteous person who has made a mistake [then no], such a mistake does not necessitate that it be spread, “Lo! Those who love that slander be spread concerning those who believe, theirs will be a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. Allaah knoweth and ye know not.” [Nur 24:19]
What is obligatory is to sincerely advise one another, what is obligatory is to love one another, especially the students of knowledge, especially the scholars, to respect the scholars, and not to recommend against some of them, and warn against them. This is the cause of many evils, the cause of fighting and hatred, the cause of fitnah—steer clear of these things.
May Allaah reward you all with good.
Be as Allaah wanted you to be: “And indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.” [Mu’minun 23:52] “And be not like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. For such there is an awful doom.” [Aali-Imran 3:105]
Aspire to bring about harmony. Seek to sincerely advise one another. Desire to co-operate in righteousness and piety.
Be on your guard against those things which split the Muslims—especially in this day and age. The Muslims are in need of unity, in need of eliminating discord amongst themselves, in need of cooperating in righteousness and piety. Don’t become a source of support for the enemy in breaking up the Muslims and disuniting them.
If disunity occurs between the scholars and the students of knowledge, who’s left for the Ummah?
The evil/damage [of such a predicament] isn’t on the masses, it comes back on the students of knowledge, those who reconcile between people, those who teach the people.
Leave these things, this wrangling, these altercations, these blameworthy characteristics.
“And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead?” [Hujuraat 49:12] “And obey not every worthless habitual oath-monger. Hinderer of good, transgressing, sinful.” [Al-Qalam 68:10-12]
Don’t obey these people, such that you will end up being an aid to the Devil in splitting the Ummah and weakening it.
Sincerely advise the one you find a flaw in—if [indeed] it is established [that he really did make it in the first place!]
Don’t believe rumours.
“O you who have believed! If there comes to you a disobedient one with information, verify it, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and afterwards become regretful over what you have done.” [Hujuraat 49:6]
“O you who have believed! When you go forth in the cause of Allaah, investigate and do not say to one who gives you [a greeting of] peace, ‘You are not a believer.’” [Nisaa 4:94]
Allaah جل وعلا encouraged the Muslims to unite, and for them to be united in their word, and to cooperate and sincerely advise one another.
We’re not saying leave the mistake, no. Correct the mistake, we say correct the mistake, don’t leave the mistake, but correct it with legislated means.
May Allaah give all the success to do that which He loves and is pleased with.
وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
“Many People Have the Same Extremism Towards Their Shaikhs that the Shee’ah Have Towards Their Imaams.”
November 16, 2014 § Leave a comment
The Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “And many people have the same extremism towards their Shaikhs that the Shee’ah have towards their Imaams.”
Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, vol. 6, p. 430.
Ibn Baaz: It Could Be You Next Unless You Help Each Other #Gaza #Palestine
August 4, 2014 § Leave a comment
The Imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah, Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “How can the Muslims remain silent today about what is happening to their brothers in terms of genocide and different types of torture and punishments in numerous places around the world? And let each group and ummah which doesn’t do anything to help its sister nation for the sake of Allaah be aware of the fact that they themselves are on the verge of being struck with a calamity like the affliction that they hear about and see which is tearing apart the limbs of those Muslims—and then they will not find anyone who will come to their aid or do anything to remove the oppression and torment from them.”
‘If You’re Not With us You’re Against Us?’ ‘So and so is Misguided. So and so is an Innovator, So and So is a Sinner’ Are You Claiming Prophethood? Messengership? Are You Infallible? Your Opinion is Not Binding on Anyone
August 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
’Uthaimeen said, “We hold that when permissible disagreement occurs between the Muslims, and that is the type of disagreement in which ijtihaad has a place, then it is not allowed for the one who disagrees to call the person who opposes him misguided, or to declare him to be a faasiq, or to call him an innovator—for as long as it is an issue in which ijtihaad has a place, where the texts may imply this or that, then the opinion of either one of them which is based on his ijtihaad is not binding on the other.
And whoever wants his opinion to be binding on others—then he has assumed for himself the station of Prophethood and Messengership, and claimed infallibility for himself.
And that is why a person should repeatedly say:
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ جِبْرَائِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ وَإِسْرَافِيلَ فَاطِرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ عَالِمَ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ
أَنْتَ تَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ
اِهْدِنِي لِمَا اخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِكَ
إِنَّكَ تَهْدِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ
‘O Allaah! Lord of Jibraa’eel, Mikaa’il, and Israafil, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen! You judge between Your slaves concerning that wherein they differ. Guide me concerning that wherein they differ of the Truth by Your Leave, for You guide whomsoever You will to the Straight Path.’” [Muslim]
Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Rasaa’il Fadilatish-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al–’Uthaimeen, vol. 27, p. 238.
Also refer to Shaikh al-Albaani’s answer to, ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’
’Uthaimeen: People are Either Excessive Extremists, Excessively Neglectful or Balanced when it Comes to Boycotting and Other Issues
August 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him said, “Three men, in front of them is a sinner.
One of them says, ‘I’m not going to give this sinner salaam and will boycott him, distance myself from him and not speak to him.’
The second says, ‘I will go along with this sinner and give him salaam, smile in his face, invite him over and respond to his invitations, he’s just like a righteous man to me.’
The third says, ‘This sinner, I hate him for his sins and I love him for his eemaan, I will not boycott him unless doing so will lead to his rectification, if ostracising him doesn’t lead to his rectification but instead causes him to sin even more, then I won’t boycott him.’
So I say: the first person is an excessive extremist, the second is someone excessively neglectful—and the third one is balanced.
We say the same in all issues of worship and all dealings with the creation, people are either neglectful, extremists or balanced.”
Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Rasaa’il Fadilatish-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al–’Uthaimeen, vol. 1, p. 43.
’Uthaimeen Asked: “What is Your Advice Concerning What is Happening Between the Youth in Terms of Them Confronting and Renouncing Each Other?”
July 29, 2014 § Leave a comment
Questioner: What is your advice concerning what is happening between the youth in terms of them confronting and renouncing each other?
’Uthaimeen: No doubt this division which is occurring between the upright youth, [this] declaring each other to be misguided and having enmity and hatred for those who do not agree with them on their methodology, there is no doubt that this is something tragic and deplorable which may lead to a major relapse.
Such disunity is the coolness of the eyes of [both] the human devils and those from the Jinn, because the human and Jinn devils do not want the people of good to unite on anything, they want them to be divided, because they know that separation is what causes the strength that comes about through practising and turning to Allaah, to crumble, and Allaah’s Saying shows this, “And do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart …” [Anfaal 8:46] and His Saying, “And do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them …” [Aali-Imraan 3:105] and His Saying, “Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects—you, [O Muhammad ﷺ], are not [associated] with them in anything …” [An’aam 6:159] and His Saying, “He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad ﷺ], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus—to establish the religion and not be divided therein.” [Shuuraa 42:13]
So Allaah the Most High has forbidden us from splitting and has explained its adverse effects to us, thus it is obligatory on us to be one Ummah, our word united. Splitting leads to corruption and disbands the affair [of the Muslims], and is the cause of weakness in the Islamic Ummah.
Differing occurred amongst the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, but disunity and enmity didn’t, nor hatred—differing even occurred amongst them in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, an example of which is when the Prophet ﷺ was done with the expedition of the confederates [Al-Ahzaab], Jibreel came to him and ordered him to go out to Bani Quraizah due to them having breached the treaty, the Prophet ﷺ said to his Companions, “Let none of you pray ’Asr but at Bani Quraizah,” so they left Medinah heading towards Bani Quraizah and the time for ’Asr became due.
Some of them said, “We will only pray at Bani Quraizah, even if the sun sets, because the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Let none of you pray ’Asr but at Bani Quraizah,’ so we say, ‘We hear and we obey.’”
Others said, “The Prophet ﷺ meant that we should hasten to leave, he didn’t mean that we should delay the prayer.”
This reached the Prophet ﷺ but he didn’t scold any of them, he didn’t berate anyone for his understanding, and they themselves didn’t split due to a difference of opinion in understanding a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ—in the same manner it is obligatory on us not to split and that we be one nation.
As for splitting to occur such that it is said that, ‘This person is from the Salafees, this one from the Ikhwaanis, this one is from the Tableeghis, this one is a blind-follower, this one is from such and such and that one from such and such,’ then this is a big mistake. The hope we have for this Islamic awakening will disappear if disunited groups declare each other to be misguided and discredit each other.
The solution to this problem is that we traverse the way of the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, and that we know that this differing which is a result of ijtihaad in an issue in which ijthaad is permitted is a differing which does not have a [harmful] effect, and that on the contrary in reality it is concurrence—but how is that so?!
I disagree with you in a particular issue because what the proof that I have calls for disagrees with what you are saying, and you differ with me in this issue because what the proof that you have calls for disagrees with what I say—so in reality we are not at odds because our statements are taken based upon what we hold to be what the proof demands, so what the proof requires is in front of all of our eyes and each of us only took that opinion because it is based upon the requirement of the proof, so I commend and give credit to you because you had the courage to oppose me in defence of the proof—and I am your brother and friend—because this objection is according to the proof in your eyes, so it is obligatory on me not to hold anything against you but rather that I should thank you for taking the stance you did, and you should do the same.
And if each of us were to force his opinion on the other, my imposition of my stance on him would not be more binding than his imposition of his stance on me, for this reason I say that it is obligatory that we make this differing which is due to ijtihaad not to be a cause of splitting but harmony [instead] so that our word can be united and good can come about.
But a person might say: this remedy might not be feasible for the common masses, so what is the solution?
The solution is that the heads and leaders of the people from each group get together to think over and research the issues of discord amongst us such that we can be united and in harmony.
And during Hajj one year an issue came before me and some brothers. Two groups were brought before me, three to four men in each, each group accusing the other of disbelief and cursing it—and they were pilgrims on Hajj!
What had happened was that one of the groups said that when the other stood up to pray, they placed their right hand over the left on the chest and that this was disbelief in the Sunnah since according to this group the Sunnah was to leave the arms by the sides.
The other group said that leaving the arms by the side without putting the right hand over the left is disbelief which allows the one who does so to be cursed, and the dissension between the two was severe, but with Allaah’s Grace and then the efforts of the brothers and with a clarification of the unity that it is obligatory for the Islamic Ummah to practise, each one of them left while being pleased with the other.
So look at how the Devil toyed with them in this issue in which they differed to the extent that each of them ended up declaring the other to be a disbeliever, whilst [bearing in mind that] the issue was about a Sunnah and not one of the pillars of Islaam, not even about something obligatory or waajib, the most that can be said about it is that some scholars hold that placing the right hand over the left above the chest is the Sunnah and that others say that the Sunnah is to leave them by the side—even though the correct answer which the Sunnah proves is to place the right hand over the left arm as Sahl ibn Sa’d, may Allaah be pleased with him, said according to what is reported in al-Bukhaari, “The people were ordered that a man is to place his right hand over his left arm in prayer.”
So I hope that Allaah سبحانه وتعالى blesses our brothers who have different inclinations and methodologies in the means of da’wah, I hope that He blesses them with unity and love and goodness of heart—and when the intention is correct the cure becomes easy, as for when it is not good and when each one is amazed with his own opinion and nothing except it matters, then success will be far off.
And I want to bring to mind an important matter: if the differing is in issues of creed [’aqidah] then it is obligatory to correct it and that whatever conflicts with the madhhab of the Salaf must be disproved and that whoever traverses a path which goes against the madhhab of the Salaf in this issue [of ’aqidah] is warned against.
Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Rasaa’il Fadilatish-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al–’Uthaimeen, vol. 27, pp. 322-328.
’Uthaimeen on Hating the Sin and Not the Person and on Dealing with People Harshly as Though You Want to Take Revenge on Them
July 28, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “When they see a person sinning, many brothers hate the sin and this is something correct, but they [also] hate the sinner, and then they deal with him harshly as someone who hates him would, like someone who wants to take revenge on him, and this is a huge mistake.
You must cure the sinner as a gentle doctor who treats a wound in order for it to heal does, he doesn’t treat the wound in order for it to get worse, so he treats this person with gentleness and a desire for good for him and out of mercy for him … this is how the scholars who nurture are, they look at the creation with a view to reform, not to seek revenge and out of hatred—I hate the sin which this person does, but this person is a believer so he is my brother, even if he fornicated and stole, he is still my brother, the believers are but brothers.”
Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Rasaa’il Fadilatish-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, vol. 27, pp. 311-312.
’Uthaimeen: The Layman in His Belief and Sincerity is Better than Many ‘Students of Knowledge.’
July 25, 2014 § Leave a comment
Questioner: I want to ask you about [the periods of] slackness [a person goes through], its causes and the cure for it, because a person sometimes feels weakness in his [practice of the] religion?
’Uthaimeen: It is not possible for a person to remain on a single uniform routine, even the Companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! When we are with you we take heed and believe, and when we go to our families, our women and children, we forget,’ so he said, ‘A time for this and a time for that.’
It is not possible for a person to remain on a single uniform routine, but he must try to guard his heart’s uprightness, when the heart becomes good the whole body does so too.
He must leave delving into things that do not concern him.
He must leave disputing about things that have no benefit.
He must leave partisanship which has split the Ummah, and he must turn to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.
For this reason you will see that the layman is better in his belief [‘aqeedah] and sincerity than many of the students of knowledge, [students of knowledge] whose only concern is to criticise and refute, [whose only concern is], ‘It was said and he said [qeel wa qaal],’ and, ‘What do you say, O so and so?’ and, ‘What do you say about so and so?’ and, ‘What do you say about that book and about what so and so wrote?’
This is what causes a servant to become lost and takes Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, away from his heart, and leaves him without any concern except for, ‘It was said … he said …’
So my advice to every person is that he turns to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and that he leaves the people and their disagreements.
This is the best thing.”
Supplicating for the People of Falsehood instead of Against Them
July 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “We should supplicate that Allaah brings the people of falsehood back to the Truth, so that they can benefit themselves and others—this is justice, in opposition to what some ignorant people do who, when they see someone persisting in falsehood, supplicate against the person doing it.”
Sharh al-Kaafiyah ash-Shaafiyah, vol. 4, p. 146.
Al-‘Abbaad Asked: When is it Correct to Warn Against a Caller or a Student of Knowledge Unrestrictedly?
July 12, 2014 § Leave a comment
Questioner: Ahsanallaahu ilaikum, when is it correct to warn against a caller or a student of knowledge unrestrictedly?
Al-’Abbaad: Being preoccupied with warning and being engrossed with the people and [with], ‘What do you say about so and so? What do you say about so and so? Should so and so be warned against? So and so is not to be warned against,’ ya’ni, all some people know is warning, busying themselves with warning—whilst not knowing a thing about the most rudimentary aspects of knowledge—he only busies himself with issues such as these.
So it is not fitting that a Muslim’s concern be to speak about people or to ask about statements made about people, and that his sole preoccupation be connected to people. He should busy himself with knowledge and should not let his tongue loose concerning the people.
Yes, it is possible to warn against a person whose evil, disobedient sinning, and harm has become apparent, but not everyone who makes a mistake or who slips up is to be warned against—because if that were the case there wouldn’t be anyone who is not warned against! And who is there who has never sinned? And who is there who has good deeds only?
Questioner: … some people drop certain Shaikhs for [particular] issues, like if that Shaikh has definitions [which he uses] which this other person sees as incorrect, or the Shaikh has a certain way of teaching which he sees as incorrect?
Al-’Abbaad: Whatever the case, a person must guard his good deeds and not squander them, he must not distribute them amongst the people, but must guard them for himself and leave off busying himself with people and warning against them, he must preoccupy himself with beneficial knowledge, teaching it if he is qualified to teach and if not, then he learns.
’Uthaimeen on Enmity, Hatred, Conflict, Hostility, Contention, Swearing, Cursing and Fanaticism for Falsehood Among Many of the Students of Knowledge
April 8, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “It saddens us greatly to find enmity, hatred, conflict, hostility, contention and fanaticism for falsehood among many of the students of knowledge. Issues concerning the Sharee’ah are supposed to be the object of unity, harmony and understanding, not enmity, conflict, hatred, swearing, cursing and alienating, for this is in opposition to the Legislation and in opposition to what Allaah has ordered.”
Sharh Buloogh al-Maraam, vol. 9, p. 259.
“Everything Which Leads to Hatred and Enmity Between the People, Then Verily the Legislation Categorically Prohibits it.”
March 8, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Everything which leads to hatred and enmity between the people, then verily the Legislation categorically prohibits it—because the Islamic religion is built upon harmony, love and loyalty between the Muslims.”
Ash-Sharh al-Mumti’, vol. 8, p. 143.
Al-Dhahabi: If Every time an Imaam Made a Mistake we Called him an Innovator and Boycotted Him Great Scholars Wouldn’t Be Safe From us
February 20, 2014 § Leave a comment
The Imaam, al-Haafidh al-Dhahabi said, “And if—every time an Imaam made a mistake in his ijtihaad in some issues which he can be forgiven in—we rose up against him and declared him to be an innovator, and boycotted him, then Ibn Nasr would not be safe with us, nor Ibn Mandah, and nor people greater than both of them.
And Allaah is the One who guides the creation to the Truth, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy, and we seek refuge with Allaah from desires and coarseness.”
And he said, “Thereafter, verily, when the issues that a great scholar from the people of knowledge is correct in are numerous, and his striving to come to the truth is known, and his knowledge is vast, and his intelligence has become apparent, and his righteousness and his following [the Quran and the Sunnah] is known, he is forgiven for making a mistake—and we do not declare him to be misguided, nor do we throw him aside and forget his good deeds … yes, and we do not follow him in his innovation or mistake and we hope that he will repent from that.”
Siyar A’laam an-Nubalaa, 14/40 and 5/271.
’Uthaimeen and the Poetry He Refused to Listen to: Do not Correlate or Restrict the Truth According to what Men Say or Do
February 19, 2014 § 2 Comments
A student asks Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, for permission to recite some poetry before his lecture, so he allows him to. So the student says:
“O my Ummah, this night is followed by daybreak whose light is spreading throughout earth
Good is anticipated and victory is awaited and the truth, despite the efforts of evil, is triumphant
Through an awakening, may the Creator bless its course, pure, unadulterated, and untarnished
As long as the son of Saalih, the Shaikh of our awakening, is among us, through the likes of him is support and victory hoped for …”
And here Shaikh ’Uthaimeen cuts him off saying, “I do not agree with this line.”
Someone says,“We agree with it, O Shaikh.”
’Uthaimeen says, “No, I do not agree—because I do not want that the truth be linked to/dependent upon people, everyone will perish, so if we correlate the truth with people this means that when a person dies [who is looked up to] the people after him will despair.
So I say, if it is possible for you now to change the last line to:
‘As long as the Book of Allaah and His Prophet’s Sunnah is amongst us,’ then that is good.”
So then the student says the line as Shaikh ’Uthaimeen altered it:
“As long as the Book of Allaah and His Prophet’s Sunnah is among us,” but then he goes back to what he had written in his original version saying, “Ibn al-’Uthaimeen …”
To which Shaikh ’Uthaimeen says, “No, Yaa Shaikh … [then it is slightly unclear] …” then the Shaikh says, “Stop stop.”
Then the student, continuing his poetry, says, “Our faqeeh …”
So the Shaikh can be heard to say, “No, no, no, … no, no … if this is all you have then give us a question.”
Then he advises everyone:
“I advise you all now and for afterwards—do not correlate the truth with men. First off, men can become misguided, even Ibn Mas’ood said, ‘Whoever is going to follow someone, let him follow the dead, because the living are not safe from fitnah.’
If you link the truth to men, it is possible that a person can become self-conceited, we seek Allaah’s refuge from that, and then traverse a path that is not correct.
That is why I advise you now not to make the truth bound to men.
Firstly, a man is not safe, we ask Allaah to keep us and you firm, he is not safe from errors and fitnah.
Secondly, he will die, there is no one who will remain, “And We granted not to any human being immortality before you, then if you die, would they live forever?” [Al-Anbiyaa 21:34]
And thirdly, the children of Aadam are human, maybe he will become conceited if he sees the people revering him, honouring him, turning to him, maybe he will become conceited, and hold that he is infallible and claim infallibility for himself, and that everything he does is the truth, and everything he undertakes is legislated, and through that he is destroyed, for this reason when a man praised another in front of the Prophet ﷺ, he said, “Woe to you, you have cut off your companion’s neck,” or “[broken] your companion’s back.”
[Addressing and consoling the young guy who was reciting the poetry] and I thank the brother in advance, even though I didn’t listen to what he said about me, for the joy he shows concerning me, and I ask Allaah that He makes me someone he has a good opinion of or more, but I do not like this …”
The student can be heard to say, “Jazakallahu khair …”
The Shaikh continued, “… I will give you something [gifts etc.] inshaa Allaahu ta’aala, I ask Allaah to reward you on my behalf with good, and recompense you.”
Here is the audio:
Ibn Taymiyyah on Blind-Following, Compelling and Forcing People to Follow the Opinion of an Imaam and to Show Loyalty and Enmity Based Upon It
February 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
The Shaikh of Islaam, the Remnant of the Salaf, Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “… and for this reason one of the distinguishing marks of the people of innovation is to make up a statement or action and then compel the people to take it up and force them to adopt it, and to show loyalty based upon it and enmity for leaving it.
Just as the Khawaarij innovated their opinion and compelled the people to follow it and showed loyalty and enmity based upon it.
And the Raafidah innovated their opinion and compelled the people to follow it and showed loyalty and enmity based upon it.
And the Jahmiyyah innovated their opinion and compelled the people to follow it and showed loyalty and enmity based upon it …
So whoever punishes [someone] for doing an act or leaving it without an order from Allaah or His Messenger and legislates that as part of religion then he has set up a peer to Allaah and has set up an equal to the Messenger just like the polytheists who set up partners with Allaah, or like the apostates who believed in Musailamah the Liar, and he is from those about whom it was said, “Or have they partners with Allaah, who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not allowed?” [Shuraa 42:21]
And for this reason the Imaams of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah would not compel the people with what they would say in issues of ijtihaad, and they would not force a single person.
And for this reason when Haaroon ar-Rasheed consulted [Imaam] Maalik ibn Anas about making the people follow his [book] Al-Muwatta, he said to him, ‘Don’t do that, O Chief of the Believers, for verily the Companions of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ have spread out throughout the lands, and each nation [to which they went] has taken from those [Companions] who were among it, and I have only collected the knowledge of the people of my land,’ or words to that effect, and he also said, ‘I am only a man, I am correct and make mistakes, so refer my statements back to the Book and the Sunnah.’
And Imaam Ahmad said, ‘It does not befit a faqeeh that he forces the people to follow his madhhab or that he insists on them [complying],’ and he said, ‘Don’t blindly-follow any men concerning your religion, for indeed they will not be safe from making a mistake.’
So if these are their statements about the fundamentals [usool] of knowledge and subsidiary issues [furoo’] of the religion, [i.e.,] that they do not permit forcing the people to follow their madhhabs even though they deduced the [rulings of their] madhhabs with legislated proofs—then what is the case about compelling people and forcing statements upon them which are not found in the Book of Allaah, or a hadith from Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ, and nor have they been transmitted from the Companions or the Taabi’een, and nor from a single one of the Imaams of the Muslims?”
Al-Fataawaa al-Kubraa, vol. 6, p. 340, summarised.
Ibn Baaz Making Excuses for his Brothers and Verifying Information Before Jumping to Conclusions
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“A man came to one of the Shaikh’s gatherings and he smelt of cigarettes. So someone came to the Shaikh and said, ‘O Shaikh, this man smokes and his thawb smells of cigarettes.’ The Shaikh replied, ‘Maybe he rode with someone who smokes, maybe he sat with someone and the cigarette smell in that gathering affected him [by getting into his clothes] …’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 43.
’Uthaimeen Issuing a Fatwa, then Withholding and Going to Ask His Shaikh for Guidance, His Shaikh Being Ibn Baaz
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
“And this shows the pinnacle of his piety in issuing fatwas, and this was concerning glucose injections, in one of his lectures he mentioned a ruling concerning them and one of the people present objected with a medical opinion which went against the fatwa that the Shaikh had given, so the Shaikh announced that he [now] withheld judgement until he would go and ask his Shaikh, the ’Allaamah ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him. Then the next day he came back and gave them the fatwa of his Shaikh.”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 23.
Take Heed and Use Your Brain, This is How It’s Done: The Man who Abused and Cursed Ibn Baaz and who then Passed Away—The Gentleness, Mercy, and Understanding of Ibn Baaz
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
“An example of the soundness of the Shaikh’s heart can be seen in what Shaikh ’Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Jallaal narrated to me, may Allaah reward him, where he said that Shaikh Ibn Baaz ruled against a man in a certain issue and the man became upset and he was someone who had a sharp tongue and he started to insult the Shaikh and speak ill of him.
After a while that man passed away while Shaikh Ibn Baaz was on Hajj. When his body was brought forward after one of the obligatory prayers to be prayed over, the Imaam, who was one of the students of Shaikh Ibn Baaz, asked, ‘Who is the deceased?’ They said, ‘So and so.’ He said, ‘The one who spoke ill of Shaikh Ibn Baaz and swore at him? By Allaah, I won’t pray over him!’
We prayed over him along with the people. [Afterwards] some people were saying that this Imaam who didn’t pray over that man will have a high and privileged standing in the eyes of Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz.
When the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, came back from Hajj, they told him that that man had passed away, so he asked for Allaah’s mercy for him. Then they told him that the Imaam didn’t pray over him—and the Shaikh became angry, visibly so, and he wasn’t pleased [at all]. Then he told someone, either ’Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Jallaal or someone else, to take him to the graveyard, and [when he got there] he stood at the grave of that man and prayed and supplicated for him.”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 67.
Freedom From the Stranglehold of Sayings Without Proof, No Living Person is Safe from Fitnah—Ibn Mas’ood on Blind-Following
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
Ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, “For a surety! Let not a single one of you blindly follow another man in his religion: [such that] if he believes, he [too] believes, and if he disbelieves, he disbelieves. If it is a must that you emulate someone, then the dead—for verily, the living are not safe from fitnah.”
Al-Laalikaa’i, no. 130.
Al-Fawzaan on the Fact that Boycotting is Only Done if There is Benefit to it and if it Doesn’t Lead to Greater Harm
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
Questioner: The noble Prophet ﷺ said, “It is not allowed for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three. They meet and so this one turns away from that one, and that one from this. And the best of them is the one who initiates giving the salutation to his brother,” [Bukhaari] or something to that effect, if the person who I argued with doesn’t pray or fast and does bad things, is my dispute with him something haraam? What [exactly] does this hadith mean?
Al-Fawzaan: Boycotting [al-Hajr] is to stop talking to someone, to stop sitting with them and giving them salaam.
Boycotting a believer is not allowed for more than three days if it is about something worldly, in fact he should reconcile with his brother and give him salaam when he meets him.
To begin with, he shouldn’t [even] boycott over a worldly matter, but if it does take place then it should not be for more than three days, this is what the hadith, ‘It is not allowed for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three days,’ means, i.e., when the ostracising is over a worldly issue.
As for when it is over a sin which the person being boycotted has committed, a major sin which he has not left, then he must be advised and directed to fear Allaah the Mighty and Majestic. If he does not desist from that sin and does not repent, then he is boycotted, because the boycotting acts as a reprimand and deterrent for him, maybe he will repent [because of it].
Unless ostracising him is something which will lead to harm, whereby it is feared that he will increase sinning and that it will result in greater evil—then in such a situation it is not allowed to boycott him, boycotting a sinner is only allowed if there is benefit to it and if it doesn’t lead to greater harm.
And success lies with Allaah.
Al-Muntaqaa min Fataawaa Fadeelatis-Shaikh Saalih ibn Fawzaan ibn ’Abdillaah al-Fawzaan, vol. 1, pp. 397-398.
Also see here and here for further articles discussing this topic.
You Are a Misguided Innovator If You Prop Up Someone To Be Followed Unconditionally Apart From the Prophet ﷺ
February 1, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “It is not allowed for a person to be propped up for the Ummah and his way called to, [and then have] loyalty and enmity based upon that way except for our Prophet and Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. So whoever sets up someone else instead of him ﷺ for that [role], then he is misguided, an innovator.”
Hukmul-Intimaa ilaa al-Firaq wal-Ahzaab wal-Jamaa’aat al-Islaamiyyah, p. 104.
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen’s Twelve Cassettes Explaining Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid’s Book, Hilyatu Taalibil-’Ilm
February 1, 2014 § 1 Comment
Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid on Extreme Blind Following: Obeying Everything that is Said Without Asking for Proof for Both What Is Said or the Fatwas Issued
January 31, 2014 § Leave a comment
The great scholar of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid, may Allaah have mercy on him said, “The Shaikh of Islaam, Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him said, “Whoever props up a person—whoever that person may be—and then bases his loyalty and enmity upon what that person says or does, then he is from those, “who split up their religion and became sects.” [Room 30:32]
And this is the condition of many of the jamaa’ahs and Islamic sects today where they appoint people as their leaders and show loyalty to those leader’s allies and enmity to their enemies and obey them in every fatwa they give them without referring back to the Book and the Sunnah and without asking them for their proofs for what they say or the fatwas they give.”
Hukmul-Intimaa ilaa al-Firaq wal-Ahzaab wal-Jamaa’aat al-Islaamiyyah, pp. 104-105.
Shaikh Muqbil: “How easy it is to memorise some words [like], ‘So and so is a hizbi,’ or, ‘So and so is an agent.’
January 8, 2014 § 1 Comment
The PDF: Shaikh Muqbil on Not Wasting Time.
Questioner: Why don’t you speak such that your Jarh of contemporaries will be the same as or like the Jarh of the scholars of the past about weak or abandoned narrators, such that you say, for example, “So and so is a hizbi and weak and he is not to be taken from,” or, “So and so is a liar or a dajjaal or abandoned,” and so on, along with a clarification of the methodology of the man in terms of his Shi’ism or Sufism or hizbiyyah or tamyee’?
Shaikh Muqbil: That is something good but I am busy and I have projects [to do] which I want to finish and which I hold to be more beneficial, like [researching about] the Shaikhs of al-Haakim and the Shaikhs of his Shaikhs and his narrators whose biographies were not written in Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, and [another project is] like the completion of, ‘As-Saheeh al-Musnad Mimmaa Laisa fis-Saheehain,’ and like, ‘Al-Jaami’ as-Saheeh Mimmaa Laisa fis-Saheehain.’
So I am busy and have fallen short in many things.
Numerous books come to me from here and there and the brothers who send them say, ‘We want you to refute them,’ so I say, ‘If I do it will be on cassette because I am busy with what I hold to be more beneficial for Islaam and the Muslims.’
And I regard, ‘Al-Makhraj minal-Fitnah,’ and, ‘Al-Musaara’ah,’ and, ‘Qam’ul-Mu’aanid wa Zajrul-Haaqid al-Haasid,’ to be books of Jarh and Ta’deel. In ‘Al-Musaara’ah,’ I spoke about the Sufis and the people of superstitious deviations, and the Mukaaramah [a branch of Isma’ili Shi’a found in Najran in Saudi Arabia and Yemen], and journalists and many of the callers to Hizbiyyah in Yemen. In, ‘Qam’ul-Mu’aanid,’ I spoke about Hizbul-Islaah and about hizbiyyah cloaked with [the title of being] ‘associations’, so I regard these to be books of Jarh and Ta’deel [that I have written].
And after [mentioning] this, I advise my brothers to completely dedicate themselves to seeking knowledge, because this differing which is present in the lands of the two harams and Najd between the people of knowledge comes from free time.
How easy it is to memorise some words [like], ‘So and so is a hizbi,’ or, ‘So and so is an agent,’ and then to go around relaying it from this gathering to that. Rather I want you to start by memorising the Quraan and memorising the hadiths of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ that you are able to, and similarly with the Arabic language.
So I say, whether they like it or not, this clash has come about between them due to free time—so if you were to occupy yourselves with memorising the Quraan and acquiring beneficial knowledge you wouldn’t have the time for such talk.
And someone came to me from the land of the Harams and Najd and all of a sudden he was saying, “The Shaikh … and the Shaikh … and the Shaikh …,’ [i.e., talking ill of them] so I said, “O so and so:
فَدَع عَنكَ نَهباً صيحَ في حَجَراتِه وَلَكِن حَديثاً ما حَديثُ الرَواحِلِ
So leave alone spoil by the sides of which a shouting was raised.
But relate to me a story: what is the story of the riding-camels?
[These are the opening lines from a poem by Imru’ul-Qais and are an, “Arabic adage used about someone who has lost some of his wealth, and thereafter something even more valuable than it is lost. Namely, ‘Leave the spoils which have [already] been pillaged from all around you [i.e., they’ve already been cried over so there is no point mentioning them now, instead], relate to me the story of the riding-camels you took [i.e., which are even more valuable than what was previously taken from me]: what became of them?’” [An-Nihaayah fi Ghareebil-Hadithi wal-Athar, p. 188.]]
[And so I said to him] I want to test you about the knowledge you had with you when you departed from us [for your journey], and so he started scratching his head and became silent.
So beware of squandering your time and wasting it with these issues. You should rather be diligent and strive to obtain beneficial knowledge and understanding of Allaah’s Religion. And anything which comes to us which opposes the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ we discard and disprove it.
Ghaaratul-Ashritah, vol. 2, pp. 410-411.
Shaikh Muqbil on the Justness of Ahlus-Sunnah in Jarh and Ta’deel
December 22, 2013 § Leave a comment
The Imaam of Yemen, Muqbil ibn Haadi al-Waadi’i, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Indeed in His Noble Book, Allaah عز وجل says, “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allaah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allaah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allaah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.” [Nisaa 4:135]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allaah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just—that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allaah, indeed, Allaah is Acquainted with what you do.” [Maaidah 5:8]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “And do not let the hatred of a people for having obstructed you from al-Masjid al-Haraam lead you to transgress. And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allaah, indeed, Allaah is severe in penalty.” [Maaidah 5:2]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “Indeed, Allaah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.” [Nahl 16:90]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “And when you speak [i.e., testify], be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative.” [An’aam 6:152]
Ahlus-Sunnah are the ones who have the most right and the greatest share of these verses and those proofs similar to them, for if they write, they write what is for them and against them, and if they talk they mention what is for them and against them. They stick to justice whether dealing with those who are close to them or distant, whether an enemy or friend. And if you were to look at the books of Jarh and Ta’deel you will find that they are the epitome of justness: they will disparage a man if he deserves such jarh even if he were one of the heads of the Sunnah, and they will praise a person of innovation with the good that he has if there is a need for that, contrary to the people of desires—for they will praise whoever agrees with their innovations even if he is worthless, and they vilify whoever opposes them even if he were one of the heads of the religion.”
Al-Ilhaad al-Khumaini fi Ardil-Haramain, pp. 1-2.
Gifts of Knowledge 