Comments by the Noble Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez bin 'Abdullah aal
ash-Shaykh
Grand Muftee of Saudi Arabia and the President of the
Council of Senior Scholars
All Praises are for Allaah, the Lord of all of the creation.
Oh Allaah! Send Peace, Blessings and Salutations upon the Your Slave and
Messenger, Muhammad, the most noble of Prophets and Messengers, his companions
and all those who follow them in the goodness until the Last Day.
To Proceed:
On this night, we have heard a sound, valuable and
beneficial lecture that every Muslim is in need of; to understand the contents
of the talk which will enable the Muslims to worship Allaah based upon insight.
Though it, the Muslim will be freed from following misguided beliefs and
opinions, statements which are vile, rejected and strange, and will be
prevented from betraying the teachings of the Kitaab of Allaah and the Sunnah
of Muhammad.
The title of this lecture is the 'Realities of al-Emaan',
and what are its realities, based upon the Quraan and the Sunnah?
The answer:
“Who
believe in the Ghaib”
[al-Baqarah 2:3]
And,
“It is they who are the believers in truth”
[al-Anfaal 8:4]
And,
“and (as for) the believers it was incumbent upon Us to help (them)”
[ar-Room 30:47]
And,
“Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those
who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) in this world's life
and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth, (i.e. Day of Resurrection),”
[Ghaafir 40:51]
So what is al-Emaan? What are its realities? What is
al-Emaan founded upon? These are
compelling questions upon a major subject. The Muslims from the
generation of the Prophet, and then the Rightly Guided Caliphs, when al-Emaan
was stronger, always believed that al-Emaan consists of belief in the heart,
statements uttered by the tongue and actions that are done by the limbs. They
were all agreed that actions were a part of al-Emaan, and they never created
principles declaring actions to be from the completion of al-Emaan (Kamaal) or
an aspect (Juzz) of al-Emaan[1].
Rather, they were firm upon the belief that actions are a part of the
definition of al-Emaan.
So al-Emaan consists of statements, actions and beliefs, all
of this is included in the definition of al-Emaan. All of these comprise the
realities of al-Emaan.
Ahl as-Sunnah Balance Emaan with Hope and Fear,
as Opposed to the People of Innovation
So worship Allaah (oh
reader!) upon insight, seeking His Mercy and Fearing His Punishment!
Just as the dying person on his deathbed is reminded to
increase in hope of Allaah for His Mercy and fear Him for the sins he has
committed. The Prophet said, "No
heart possess these two (i.e. hope and fear) except that he will be forgiven[2]."
So the believer is always in between these two states, hope
in reward and fear for their sins. They do not make the matter of hope a simple
issue, not does their fear lead to desperation and despair. Rather, the
believers combine the both, hope and fear:
“Is one who is obedient to Allah, prostrating himself or standing
(in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping
for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: "Are those
who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men of understanding who
will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allah's Signs and Verses).”
[az-Zumar 39:9]
The Innovation of Negating al-Emaan Based on
Sins
Sins were committed in the foremost generations of Islaam,
however the sinner was never considered as someone who has no Emaan as
retribution for this sins. Niether was the sinner described as having perfected
al-Emaan. To the extent that some committed mistakes that were the very
mistakes that were committed in the days of pre-Islaamic ignorance
(al-Jaahiliyyah), whilst others even committed acts of minor Kufr, yet they
were all still defined as being believers.
Similar to how the Prophet said to Aboo Dharr [may Allaah be
Pleased with him] when he insulted a man and his mother (a form of an insult
used in pre-Islaamic ignorance), "You are a man who still has aspects of
Jaahiliyyah in you[3]." This is despite the fact that the Prophet
[Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said about him another Hadeeth,
"No sky that bears the clouds and no land that bears vegetation is more
truthful in speech than Aboo Dharr[4]."
So the Companions determined that Emaan existed within the
Muslim even if he has some defilements. For instance, it is possible that a
believer who has Emaan has aspects of hypocrisy as the Prophet said in talking
about the hypocrites, "The sign of a hypocrite is three: when they talk they
lie, when they make a promise they break it and if they are entrusted they
prove treacherous[5]."
He also said, "The adulterer when committing his adultery is not a
believer, the drunkard when drinking his alcohol is not a believer and the thief
whilst stealing openly is not a believer[6]."
So usurping the wealth of others, theft, drinking alcohol
and fornication, does not take a person’s Emaan away, although it weakens it
and leaves a person with a deficient level of Emaan. Their Emaan is not
completed. Therefore, the Companions never declared others to be disbelievers
based on the sins that others commit alone, rather they stipulated that the sin
of a person depended on the severity of the crime, but they never declared
others to be disbelievers based on their sins alone.
However, when the Khawaarij arose towards the end of the
reign of 'Alee bin Abee Taalib [May
Allaah be Pleased with him] their evil innovation was made apparent. They
innovated the idea that any major sin equated to disbelief. As a result, major
sins meant Kufr, and Kufr meant that the blood and wealth of these perceived
Kuffaar (Muslims declared as such because of their sins) became permitted for
them to violate. Their innovation meant that al-Emaan cannot be divided, either
you have complete Emaan without sin or you are a complete Kaafir. This
misguided innovation was the cause of Muslims being killed, their blood shed
and their wealth usurped without justification. They were fought by the leader
of the Muslims, 'Alee and the Companions of the Prophet with him [may Allaah be
Pleased with them all], waging war against this vile and rejected innovation.
Muslims were declared as Kuffaar and misguided based on their sins or mistakes
alone. For this reason the Prophet said
about the Khawaarij, "Your prayer compared to their pray and recitation of
the Quraan compared to their recitation is insignificant, but they cast people
out of this religion like arrows are casted from a bow[7]."
The Innovations of Actions and Emaan not Being
Connected
Towards the end of the first generation, a second innovated
group appeared thereafter in complete contrast to the views of the
Khawaarij. They began to call people to
al-Ijraa’, dividing actions as a separate entity to al-Emaan. Even worse, they
claimed that there is no connection between actions and al-Emaan whatsoever.
Ones actions is something and their Emaan is something else, and what they intended
by this is that actions are not included in al-Emaan.
The Defence of Aboo Haneefah Against Irjaa’
It is important to note that this was not the belief of
Imaam Aboo Haneefah [may Allaah have Mercy on him]. Aboo Haneefah used to say
that actions change the level of Emaan of the person. What this statement meant
is that he believed that it changes the level of Emaan but the lack of action
does not nullify a person’s Emaan. Meaning, that a person who doesn’t do any
good deeds cannot become a Kaafir or astray because of his lack of actions.
However, unlike the Murji’ah, he did not define actions as being aspect (Juzz)
of al-Emaan.
Despite this he is included in the rightly guided sect of
Ahl as-Sunnah, those who are in agreement that the sin of a person effects a
person’s level of Emaan.
Beliefs of the Murji’ah and It’s Refutation
However the innovated Murji’ah sect believe that actions and
Emaan are two separate entities and that there is no connection between the
two, whatsoever. This is undoubtedly a lie against the evidences. They go even
further, as the Shaykh (i.e. Shaykh ash-Shathree) pointed out above, that Emaan
is established via merely belief or recognition or even as little as not being
negligent in the presence of a deity.
If only this deviant sect thought about the implications of
such a belief, and its end result and what it creates, but they blindly
followed one another in their opinions. Some of them even propagated such
beliefs based on their the disease and hypocrisy they displayed in their
actions.
The Belief of Ahl as-Sunnah: Emaan and Actions
are Connected
As for the believer from Ahl as-Sunnah then they are
balanced on this topic between the extremist views of the Khawaarij and the
Mu’tazilah and extreme negligence and misguidance of the of the Murji’ah. So
Ahl as-Sunnah are balanced between these two misguided sects.
Ahl as-Sunnah deem al-Emaan to comprise of statements,
actions and beliefs. They believe that actions are part of al-Emaan. They
believe that the believer is not declared as a non-believer and stripped of
their Islaam based on the sins they commit alone. Rather, Islaam is only taken
away from them if they were to commit an action which violates the essence and
basis of al-Emaan, such as denying the Names and Attributes of Allaah, or
attributing Him with the attributes of the creation, to legislate by changing
Halaal into Haraam and visa-versa. They believe that mistakes and sins do not
necessitate Kufr. Rather, a person who sins is deemed as a sinner as they have
transgressed the rights of what Allaah has made Haraam.
Takfeer and Tabdee’ of a Sunni has Conditions
Therefore the issue of Takfeer, Tafseeq (declaring others to
be sinners) and Tabdee’ (declaring others to be innovators) with Ahl as-Sunnah
is bound by certain conditions that must be met before the ruling is applied.
As for the Khwaarij and the Mu’tazilah then they are sects, may Allaah Protect
us, that have be led astray by the following of their own desires. The Murji’ah
do not declare a person as being a disbeliever in the Dunyaa, which implicates
that the Sharee’ah of Allaah has been casted aside and that the sinner and
criminal has been equated equally to the believer who has al-Emaan:
Resulting in them legislating their beliefs based on their
desires.
Praise of the Muftee for Shaykh Sa’d
ash-Shathree
The Shaykh in this lecture has explained the foundations and
principles in proficient manner and structured it impeccably. He dealt with the
topic which is extremely chaotic. How many have been mistaken in their
understanding and been led astray when trying to understand the issues raised
here?
However the Shaykh, may Allaah Assist him, has been given
precise knowledge and a strong understanding with the ability to clearly
explain, extracting from this topic a beneficial study.
The topic is surrounded with doubts which clouds the truth
from falsehood but the Shaykh simplified it. There is no doubt that all of this
is with the success he has received from Allaah and His Guidance, the One He Guides the hearts of the
believers:
“Oh Allaah! The Lord of Jibraaeel, Mikaaeel and Israafeel!
The Creator of the Heavens and the Earths! The One Who Knows the unseen! You
are the Judge between His Slaves in what they differed in! Guide me from their
differences to the truth, through Your Permission! Truly, You are the One Who
Guides Whom He Wills to the Straight Path![8]”
The one whom Allaah Guides, even if the people were to
differ with him, will find the clear and blatant truth, the upright methodology
which is in accordance to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger.
Those who gain this have been guided to the correct path. Surely, the texts of
the Quraan cannot be contradictory or inconsistent and likewise the texts of
the Sunnah. Rather, all of it is clear and ready for us to learn from to whom
Allaah gives Success and Guides.
I ask Allaah that He Gives us all Success, and may the Peace
and Blessings of Allaah be upon Muhammad.
[1]
TN: i.e. those who state actions
“complete” or an “aspect” of al-Emaan hold the belief that actions and the
belief one has in their hearts are unrelated. Therefore, one doesn’t need to
necessarily act upon what is obligatory or refrain from what is prohibited to
be a believer.
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