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-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
’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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ibn Baaz Asked About Interacting with Innovators and Knowing When to Boycott Them or Not
December 22, 2013 § Leave a comment
Questioner: What do you advise us with concerning interacting with innovators who we see and speak to and deal with almost every day?
Ibn Baaz: It is obligatory to boycott them for their innovations, if they openly exhibit innovations then it is obligatory to boycott them after having advised and directed them, because a Muslim advises his brother and warns him from open innovations and sins which Allaah has forbidden him, so if he repents [then that is what is desired] and if not then he deserves to be boycotted, and he is dealt with in this manner so that maybe he will repent, maybe he will feel remorse, maybe he will come back to the truth.
Unless the boycotting will result in something whose end is not praiseworthy, then it is not carried out—if leaving off boycotting is better in terms of [bringing that person closer to the] religion and greater in good and closer to being successful, then he is not to boycott him but instead continues to advise him and warns him about the falsehood [that he is in] and he does not boycott him, hoping that Allaah will guide him due to that.
For the believer is like a doctor, if he sees that a cure is beneficial, he carries it out, and when he sees that it is not, he leaves it—so boycotting falls under the category of being a cure, if it has a good effect and is of benefit, he does so, [implementing it] as a form of cure, [hoping] that he may repent and may turn back from his mistake when he sees that his brothers have ostracised him.
But if the boycotting results in greater evil and an increase in the [number of the] people of evil and helps them—then he is not to be ostracised but rather sincerely advised and directed continually and shown the abhorrence of what he has done and he does not show him that he agrees with the falsehood that he carries out, but [he does] persist in advising him sincerely and directing [him].
Fataawaa Nurun ’alad-Darb, vol. 3, p. 40.
Al-’Abbaad on, ‘So and so is an Innovator, if You don’t Call Him an Innovator Then We will Call You an Innovator,’ when Both the One Making that Judgement and the one it is Made Against are from Ahlus-Sunnah and Have the Same Manhaj
December 15, 2013 § 1 Comment
Host: The questioner says, ‘Our Shaikh, may Allaah protect you, it is from the success that Allaah has given us that many of the students of knowledge were present for the [lessons on the] Introduction of Sahih Muslim explained by Your Excellency, only that this blessing, i.e., the principles which Imaam Muslim mentioned have become unclear to some of them such that some of them have applied the principles to some of their [own] brothers from Ahlus-Sunnah.
So when a scholar performs ijtihaad and calls someone an innovator but other people oppose him in that, then they oblige other people to call him an innovator [too] and they then go to the people who oppose them and boycott them and warn against them, believing that that is the methodology of the Salaf even though the ’aqeedah of both parties is one and their methodology is one, and the countries of many of these people are full of shirk and magic and Sufism, so do you have any advice to clarify the truth and bring about unity?
Al-’Abbaad: I say: the person to whom Allaah has granted success must clarify the truth and ask for Allaah’s guidance for the person he is clarifying the truth to, but after that what should not occur from him is to pursue that person [such] that if that person does not respond then he is boycotted and not spoken to like that which some of the small students do—because they know nothing of the religion and [they do this boycotting etc.,] while they are present in Europe and the East and the West, ya’ni, they know nothing about the rudimentary matters of the religion but they have been afflicted with calling people innovators and boycotting, ya’ni, ‘So and so called so and so an innovator so whoever does not call him an innovator then he is an innovator and is to be boycotted,’ this is not the way of the Salaf—Shaikh Ibn Baaz would never do this—how numerous his refutations are but he was [always] busy with knowledge and would not pursue the person that was refuted, he would just make the truth clear and then carry on along the path of the people of knowledge. This is the correct way.
As for what some of the small students who are found in different places do and who have nothing in terms of knowledge, but only, ya’ni, they will meet their brothers and so [then will say], ‘So and so is an innovator, if you don’t call him an innovator [too] then we will call you an innovator,’ and he [i.e., the person they are calling an innovator] is from Ahlus-Sunnah and this is about people from Ahlus-Sunnah, it is not about people from Ahlul-Bid’ah but about people from Ahlus-Sunnah, he did something which is attributed to him, it [i.e., this thing attributed to him] may be correct or it may be incorrect, but [then] doing such [aforementioned] things is not allowed—this is not known from the Salaf of this Ummah: that when one of them would make a mistake that he would then be boycotted and called an innovator and that the people would then be asked to call him an innovator [too] and boycott him, this is not from the manhaj of the Salaf.
And the closest example [is that of] our Shaikh, Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Baaz through whom Allaah brought about benefit and that benefit covered the horizons and much, much good came about at his hands and his refutations are numerous but he was busy with knowledge, it wasn’t his mission, when he did call someone an innovator, to then go and say, ‘This is a must, because if not, whoever does not call him an innovator [too] then he will [also] become an innovator and is to be boycotted,’—Shaikh Ibn Baaz never did this—and nor those on the way of the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him.
Asked on 8/12/2013 in the Prophet’s Mosque.
Al-’Abbaad Asked Whether it is Allowed to Test People Regarding a Particular Person by Asking Them, ‘What do you say about so and so?’
December 14, 2013 § 3 Comments
Questioner: Is it allowed to test people regarding a particular person, such that it is said to one of them, ‘What do you say about so and so?’ and then he is categorised according to his answer?
Al-’Abbaad: Such things are not allowed, this is from the Devil’s manipulation of the people. It is a mistake for them to busy themselves with asking people questions about a person and then to [either] throw away that person who was being tested by that question or bring him close according to the answer that he gives. It is obligatory on everyone person who is sincere to himself to busy himself with seeking knowledge and with that which will benefit him, and not to busy himself with what will harm and not benefit him.
Baab Sharhis-Sunnah min Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud.
Al-’Abbaad Asked if, when a Shaikh Calls Someone an Innovator, the Student is Obliged to Adopt that Stance
December 14, 2013 § 1 Comment
Questioner: If one of the Shaikhs said about someone, ‘He is an innovator,’ is the student obliged to adopt this stance of calling that person an innovator? Or must he know why the person was called an innovator? Because this declaration of a person to be an innovator may have been applied to someone who is on the Sunnah?
Al-’Abbaad: Not everyone’s statements in this issue are accepted, if it comes from someone like Shaikh Ibn Baaz or like Shaikh Ibn ’Uthaimeen then it is possible that his statement is relied on, as for anyone and everyone, then such statements are not taken from them.
Baab maa Jaa’a fi Miqdaar Diyyatidh-Dhimmi min Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud.
Al-‘Abbaad on Rushing to Declare Someone who has the Correct ’Aqeedah to be an Innovator
December 13, 2013 § Leave a comment
Questioner: We want a clarification of the danger of rushing to declare someone who is known to have a sound ’aqeedah to be an innovator or open sinner and the enmity and boycotting and conflict that results from that?
Al-’Abbaad: What is obligatory on every Muslim is to take precautions regarding his religion and himself and that he does not thrust himself into issues whose harm will come back to him, in fact, it is sincere advice between the Muslims that is obligatory and especially between Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah, advising one another, being good to one another, co-operating amongst each other upon good, warning each other from what they may fall into so that they can turn away from it—and after that the people are not divided into those who support this person against that one or that one against this one.
Rather a person strives to make the truth the missing thing he is looking for, and he [should be someone who] loves good for everyone, such that he loves that a person who has made a mistake returns [to the truth].
As for the differing which takes place and busying one’s time with what happens between Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah in terms of the statements they make about each other and the students of knowledge pursuing that and becoming busy with it such that it becomes their one and only concern—then this does not befit a student of knowledge, in fact, the student of knowledge must desire to become busy with knowledge and not busy himself with, ‘So and so said and so and so said,’ it is not allowed for him to pursue the saying of so and so and so and so which he has become busy with because that results in rancour, enmity, boycotting, hatred and alienation.
So what is obligatory is mutual advice one to another, and what is obligatory is that everyone is good to the other and that he loves good for himself, and thus co-operation upon righteousness and piety will occur.
As for splitting Ahlus-Sunnah into disputants and quarrellers, each of them speaking about the other, calling each other innovators, slandering each other, boycotting each other—then there is no benefit in this, only harm. And it would have been fitting for time to have been spent speaking about the enemies of the Sunnah who spread mischief in the land and do not rectify matters.
As for a person who is from Ahlus-Sunnah but who has mistakes, then he is sincerely advised and debated with in a way that is best, and keenness is to be shown for him to be guided and for him to be brought close and not for him to be alienated and thrown away and discarded.
So it is obligatory to be just[ly balanced] and moderate in all matters and not to go to extremes or fall short.
And the declaring of people [from Ahlus-Sunnah] to be obstinate sinners and innovators and the boycotting [that occurs] and so on, this is all from the handiwork of the Devil and from his plots against man, rather what is obligatory, as I indicated, is to be busy with knowledge and not to preoccupy oneself with the things that some of Ahlus-Sunnah say about each other, because that preoccupies [a person] from knowledge and detestable matters result from it like those that I alluded to earlier such as [people then] boycotting each other, and this is wrong—because if everyone who made a mistake were to be boycotted or if everyone who read his books or listened to him were to be boycotted, no one would be exempt from that, because everyone is liable to make mistakes, and some of the scholars, we don’t say many of the scholars, made mistakes, and the people did not boycott them or abandon them or leave their books, rather they benefitted from them, and the person who makes a mistake is rebutted, but that should not be a cause for people to split into parties and factions, for that is from the Devil’s plot for man.
From the Shaikh’s explanation of Abu Dawud.
Ibn Baaz on This Time Being The Era of Gentleness and Kindness not the Era of Harshness
April 3, 2013 § 1 Comment
Part of an answer by Shaikh Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, on the issue of shaving the beard:
“So it is obligatory on the believer not to expose himself to tribulation, and to fear Allaah, and to let his beard grow and to guard the prayers and to advise [his] brothers but with gentleness and good words, not by being aggressive against the people, and not by hitting them and nor by abusing or cursing them, but with good words and a pleasant manner, Allaah جل وعلا said, “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best,” [Nahl 16:12] and He تعالى said, “So by the mercy from Allaah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you,” [Aali-’Imraan 3:159] and when He sent them to Pharaoh, Allaah said to Musa and Haaroon, “And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allaah],” [Taa Haa 20:44] and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Kindness/gentleness/leniency [rifq] is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective.” [Muslim]
Especially in this time, this time is the time of gentleness [rifq] and patience and wisdom, and it is not the time/era of harshness. Most of the people are in ignorance, in the heedlessness of giving preference to the worldly life, so patience is imperative, and gentleness [rifq] is imperative so that the da’wah reaches [the people] and so that it is conveyed to the people and so that they know.
We ask Allaah for guidance for everyone.”
Majmoo’ Fataawaa Ibn Baaz, vol. 8, p. 376.
Uthaimeen on the Criterion for Boycotting
April 2, 2013 § 1 Comment
Host: May Allaah bless you, Muhammad A. A, the questioner from Algeria says, ‘Noble Shaikh, I’m a Muslim who follows the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, and I praise Allaah for that, but I have some friends who have some innovations, should I leave and boycott them, inform me [of an answer] and advise me, may you be rewarded [by Allaah].
Uthaimeen: It is obligatory on whoever has friends who have some innovations to advise them and clarify to them that that which they are practicing is an innovation, perchance Allaah will guide them through him and he will [thus] receive the reward of them being guided, for the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام said to ’Ali ibn Abi Taalib that if Allaah were to guide one man through you it would be better for you than red camels.
So if they persist in the innovations they practice–if their innovation is one which makes one a disbeliever then he must boycott them and distance himself from them, and if it is not an innovation which makes one a disbeliever then he should look to see whether there is any benefit in boycotting them: if there is benefit in boycotting them he does so and if there is no benefit in boycotting them he does not do so and that is because boycotting is a cure, if the advantage to be gained from it is hoped for then let him do it and if the advantage to be gained from it is not hoped for then let him not do it because the basis [in this issue] is that boycotting a believer is haram and the appellation ‘eemaan’ is not removed from the sinner amongst the believers and thus the foundation is that boycotting him is forbidden. But if there is benefit in boycotting him such that he will become upright and leave those acts which necessitate declaring him to be a faasiq, then he is boycotted and if not then he is not boycotted.
This is the criterion regarding boycotting concerning which the proofs have come together and a summary of this criterion is that boycotting the disbelieving apostate is obligatory if advising him does not benefit, [and] boycotting someone who is defiantly disobedient [a faasiq] is not permissible except if there is some benefit in boycotting him and the proof for that is that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم said that it is not allowed for anyone to boycott his believing brother such that they both meet and this one turns away from that and that one from this and [he said that] the best of them is the one who initiates the greeting of salaam, except if there is a benefit in boycotting him then he boycotts him as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم did with Ka’b ibn Maalik and his two companions when they remained away from the Battle of Tabuk.
Gifts of Knowledge 