Welcome to Islam, - Our position towards people who introduce misconceptions

Share

Now, what should be our stance towards these people who introduce and arousemisconceptions? Should we sit with them? Should we listen to what they say? Did Allaah not command us not to sit with them and not to listen to what they say in the abovementioned verse? Did the Prophetsallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam not warn us against them in this regard when he said:“Beware of mixing with them.”
Did theProphetsallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam not comment on the saying of Allaah which means:“…As for those in whose hearts is deviation ]from truth[, they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation ]suitable to them[…”]Quran 3: 7[ by saying:“When you see people who arouse misconceptions, beware of them, because they are the ones referred to in this )verse(.”]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Our Salaf, may Allaah have mercy upon them, would adopt a very tough stance towards those who aroused and spread misconceptions. Once, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allaah be pleased with him, heard that a man by the name of Subaygh ibn ‘Aslam was asking questions that created doubts and misconceptions in the minds of the people, so ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, summoned him and beat him until the man said: “O leader of the believers! Please! This is enough! I am now clear about the things I inquired about.” After this, ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, sent him to live in exile in another city and commanded the people to boycott him, which they did. This continued until the governor of that city sent a letter to 'Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, seeking permission to allow people to talk to him, as his life had become a miserable one.
Also Ibn ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, was once informed that a man by the name of Najdah, who was a member of the deviant Khawaarij sect, was spreading doubts and misconceptions, but he, may Allaah be pleased with him, avoided listening to the specific details of what he was propagating, lest it would affect his heart. Note that he did this despite him being one of the well-established scholars amongst the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them.
Ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, said regarding misconceptions: “He who lives long enough to see those who spread misconceptions should run away and refuse to talk or listen to them.” One does not have to physically leave the city they are in, but he must allow his heart and mind to escape, for his own protection.
Al-Fudhayl, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “If a man consults a person about a matter and the later directs him to inquire from an innovator, then he has betrayed Islam. Beware of sitting with innovators because they will divert you from the truth … he who sits with innovators has become poisoned )i.e. in his mind(, so be aware of him.”
How did Jahm ibn Safwaan, to whom the deviant sect of Al-Jahmiyyah is attributed, divert from the right path? He did this by sitting with atheists who asked him: “Sit with us and discuss your religion, if we convince you then follow our way, and if you convince us, then we will follow yours.” He thought of this as a good opportunity to convince them. They then asked him: “You claim to have a Lord, but did you ever see him, hear him, smell him, find any trace of him, or see a statue that resembles his form?” He replied: “No!” So they said: “Then he does not really exist” Jahm sat for forty days after that, not knowing who to worship as a result of this debate.
Unfortunately, Jahm did not possess the intelligence to debate, because if he did, he could have asked them in return if they possessed brains, to which the answer would of course be yes; after this he could have asked them the same questions that they asked regarding Allaah about their brains, and conclude that they did not possess any.
A man came to a scholar and asked him: “What are the Jinn created from?” He answered: “Fire.” The man then asked: “Then how can they be punished with fire if they are created from it?” The scholar asked: “What are you created from?” The man replied: “Clay.” So the scholar asked him: “Well, why do you get injured if you are hit with dried clay?”
Many people deviated simply due to allowing themselves to sit with others who aroused certain misconceptions; they listened to what they had to say and thus became confused and doubtful. Others read books that addressed and discussed misconceptions. Yet others deviated due to surfing websites that propagate misconceptions and by chatting online to the people behind them. There is a final type whose curiosity led them to browse such websites simply to see what they contained, and they thus fell into their traps.
One may ask why Allaah decreed for such misconceptions to spread. We say that it is a means of testing people generally, as well as their reaction and steadfastness. Of course Allaah knew how people would react before they were even created, but it is to make their reaction evident, as He Sayswhat means:“Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while Allaah has not yet made evident those of you who fight in His cause and made evident those who are steadfast?”]Quran: 142[ How can anyone be admitted into Paradise without having persevered and fought Jihaad? It is not possible. The Knowledge of Allaah must become manifested in reality.
The issue of listening to misconceptions is a grave one, especially during the era in which we live when we are exposed to so many things via numerous means that could divert people and poison their hearts and minds. Yes we must face these misconceptions and expose their reality to people, but this is the responsibility of the people of knowledge and not that of the common masses – their task is to stay away form such evils and their propagators and not expose themselves to them, because they would not then have the tools to defend themselves and protect their minds and hearts from being influenced. If a common person were to become exposed to any misconception, or even think about one, he should immediately refrain from this thinking and rush to inquire from trustworthy scholars to clarify the matter for him as Allaah Says what means:“…So ask the people of the message )i.e. people of knowledge(if you do not know.”]Quran 21: 7[
What are the methods that the deviants deploy to confuse people? They might quote a text from the Qur’aan or the Sunnah that is general in it is meaning and apply it to specific cases were it is not applicable, or quote a part of it, or explain it to mean other than what Allaah or the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam intended it to mean. They decorate their ideas with eloquent phrases to confuse people; and many people are deceived by these decorations, because they are presented in a very clever way.
When a follower of the truth tries to refute these misconceptions, the propagators of doubt prevent him from doing so and play around with the words and terms he uses, but when a deviant requests to speak, they open the way for him via numerous satellite television channels, or various other media.
Lastly, deviant people generally do not dare to debate with well founded scholars. This is why the deviant Khawaarij deviant sect refused to debate with Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, when he went to publicly debate with them regarding their beliefs.

Share

Dought & clear, - Bid‘ah of Sha‘baan

Share

What is Shab e Baraat that is celebrated by many South Asian Muslims?
Praise be to Allaah.
Some Muslims celebrate the middle of Sha‘baan, fasting on that day and spending that night in prayer (qiyaam). There is a hadeeth concerning that which is not saheeh, hence the scholars regarded celebrating this day as an innovation (bid ‘ah).
Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salaam al-Shuqayri said: Imam al-Fatni said inTadhkirat al-Mawdoo‘aat: Among the innovations that have been introduced on “Laylat an-Nusf” (mid-Sha‘baan) is al-Salaat al-Alfiyyah, which is one hundred rak‘ahs in which Soorat al-Ikhlaas is recited ten times in each rak‘ah, offered in congregation; they pay more attention to this than to Jumu‘ah and Eid prayers, although there is no report concerning it, except da‘eef (weak) and mawdoo‘ (fabricated) reports, and we should not be deceived by the fact that these reports were quoted by the authors ofal-Qootandal-Ihya’and others, nor should we be deceived by what was mentioned in Tafseer al-Tha‘labi, that it is Laylat al-Qadr. End quote.
Al-‘Iraaqi said: The hadeeth about the prayer on Laylat al-Nisf (mid-Sha‘baan) is false. Ibn al-Jawzi narrated it inal-Mawdoo‘aat(which is a compilation of fabricated hadeeths):
Chapter on the hadeeth, prayer and supplication on Laylat al-Nisf:
The hadeeth, “When the night of ‘nisf Sha‘baan’ (mid-Sha‘baan) comes, spend the night in prayer and fast on that day” was narrated by Ibn Maajah from ‘Ali. Muhashiyyah said: (It was also narrated) inal-Zawaa’id. Its isnaad is da‘eef (weak) because of the weakness of Ibn Abi Basrah, of whom Ahmad and Ibn Ma‘een said: He fabricates hadeeth. End quote.
Praying six rak‘ahs on Laylat al-Nisf with the intention of warding off calamity, having a long life and being independent of people, and reciting Ya-Seen and offering du‘aa’ in between that -- there is no doubt that this is something that has been introduced into the religion and is contrary to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The commentator onal-Ihya’said: This prayer is well known in the books of later Sufi masters, but I have not seen any saheeh report in the Sunnah to support it and the connected du‘aa’. Rather this is the action of some shaykhs. Our companions said: It is makrooh to gather on any of the nights mentioned in the mosques or elsewhere. Al-Najm al-Ghayti said, describing spending the night of al-Nisf min Sh‘baan (mid-Sha‘baan) praying in congregation: That was denounced by most of the scholars of the Hijaz, including ‘Ata’ and Ibn Abi Mulaykah, the fuqaha’ of Madinah and the companions of Maalik. They said: All of that is an innovation (bid‘ah) and there is no report to suggest that the Prophet spent that night in praying in congregation or that his Companions did that either. Al-Nawawi said: The prayers of Rajab and Sha‘baan are two reprehensible innovations. End quote fromal-Sunan wa’l-Mubtada‘aat, p. 144
Al-Fatni (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after the comments quoted above: The common folk are so infatuated with this prayer that they stored up a lot of fuel for it and many evils resulted from it, and many transgressions are committed which we do no need to describe. (It is so bad that) the close friends of Allah feared His punishment and fled into the wilderness. The first time this prayer occurred was in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) in 448 AH. Zayd ibn Aslam said: We never saw any of our shaykhs or fuqaha’ saying that Laylat al-Baraa’ah (15 Sha‘baan) had any superiority over other nights. Ibn Dihyah said: The hadeeths about the prayer on Laylat al-Baraa’ah are fabricated and one has an interruption in the isnaad. Anyone who acts upon a report which is known to be false is a servant of the Shaytaan.
End quote fromTadhkirat al-Mawdoo‘aatby al-Fatni, p. 45
See:al-Mawdoo‘aatby Ibn al-Jawzi, 2/127;al-Manaar al-Muneef fil Saheeh wa’l-Da‘eefby Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 98;al-Fawaa’id al-Majmoo‘ahby al-Shawkaani, p. 51
Some people use the word al-Sha‘baaniyyah to refer to the last days of Sha‘baan, and say, “These are the days of bidding farewell to food,” and they take advantage of these days to eat a lot before Ramadan begins. Some scholars say that this idea was originally taken from the Christians, who used to do that as their fasting period (Lent) approached.
To sum up, there is no celebration in Sha‘baan and there is no special act of worship to be performed in the middle of it or during the last days of the month. Doing that is an innovation that has been introduced into the religion.
And Allah knows best.

Share

Dought & clear, - Gathering to eat and celebrate on the last day of Sha’baan

Share

Some families get together on the last night of Sha’baan and make food, and some of their lders recite poems for this occasion. What is the ruling on this getting together to eat?
Praise be to Allaah.
We put this question to Sahykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen, may Allaah preserve him, who replied as follows:
I think that this is closer to bid’ah (innovation), and it should be disallowed rather than permitted, because it is being taken as an “Eid” (regular celebration). If it happened only once, then it is OK.
Our response is: we do not allow it.
And Allaah knows best.

Share

Dought & clear, - The bid’ah of Eid al-Abraar(the “festival ofthe righteous”)

Share

What is the ruling on Eid al-Abraar which is celebrated in Shawwaal every year?
Praise be to Allaah.
One of the innovated things that happen in Shawwaal is the bid’ah (innovation) of “Eid al-Abraar” (the “festival of the righteous”), which is on the eighth day of Shawwaal.
After the people have completed the fast of Ramadaan, and they broke their fast on the first day of Shawwaal – the day of Eid al-Fitr – they start to fast the first six days of Shawwaal, and on the eighth day they celebrate an “eid” which they call Eid al-Abraar.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to celebrating occasions which are not prescribed in sharee’ah – such as some nights in Rabee’ al-Awwal which are called ‘Mawlid’, or some nights in Rajab, or the eighteenth of Dhu’l-Hijjah, or the first Friday in Rajab, or the eighth of Shawwaal which the ignorant call Eid al-Abraar – these are innovations which were not approved of by the salaf and they did not do these things. And Allaah knows best.” (Majmoo’ Fataawa Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, 25/298)
He also said: “With regard to the eighth of Shawwaal, it is not an Eid, neither for the righteous nor for the evil. It is not permissible for anyone to take it as an Eid or to do any of the things connected with celebrations on that day.” (al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiqhiyyah, p. 199)
The celebrations of this “eid” take place in one of the famous mosques, where men and women mix freely, shake hands with one another and utter words of Jaahiliyyah when they shake hands. Then after that they go and make some foods especially for this occasion.” (al-Sunan wa’l-Mubtada’aatby al-Shuqayri, p. 166)

Share