Not Being Quick To Criticize The Scholars

Regarding having etiquettes with the scholars, Shaykh ‘Umar Baazmool said:

“Deeming his knowledge, precision, and his opinion to be reliable. It is reached with reflection, pondering, the best opinion, and accusing oneself of misunderstanding.

He should not undertake refuting him or debating him before that. If he must do so, he does not precede until he has verified it, sought advice, and prayed istikhaarah.

Then he presents what he must to his shaykh with gentleness and manners without viewing himself to have any virtue since his shaykh has enough virtue in his knowledge and understanding to be able to realise what he has realised.”

Elsewhere he mentions:

“From their rights is reflecting upon their statements and ijtihaad without rushing to criticize it. How many statements of the scholars were criticized by some of the people and the criticizer had an incorrect understanding of their speech! How many have found fault with a correct statement, and his illness was a faulty understanding.”

[Taken from “Interaction With The Scholars” p. 77 & 84]

A Child from A Mut’ah Relation is Better!

According to Shee’ah narrations, Abu ‘Abdullaah Ja’far As-Sadiq is reported to have said:

“Mut’ah is my religion and the religion of my forefathers. Whoever does it, applies our deen, and whoever rejects it, indeed rejects our deen. Nay, rather he adheres to a deen other than ours!

The child that is born from the Mut’ah relation is better than a child that is born in wedlock, and the one who disbelieves in it is an apostate, a clear non-believer.”

[Manhaj As-Saadiqeen, by Mullah FathUllaah Al-Kaashani, 2/495]

Seeking Forgiveness For The Misguided, By Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah said:

“He (Imaam Ahmad) did not make takfeer of the Murji’ah who say that faith is saying without action, nor did he make takfeer of those who considered ‘Alee more virtuous than ‘Uthmaan, rather the texts are clear from him that he prevented even takfeer of the Kawaarij, the Qadariyyah and others besides them. In fact, he only make takfeer of the Jahmiyyah for their denial of Allaah’s names and attributes, and this is because of their clear and apparent contradiction to what the Messenger (saw) came with, since the reality of their claim amount to denial of the Creator. But he suffered at their hands until he knew their reality very well, seeing that it was founded in ta’teel. Indeed takfeer of the Jahmiyyah is well known from among the Salaf Imaams.

Yet Imaam Ahmad did not make takfeer of the individuals among them, because the one who invites to an idea is worse than the one who simply utters it. And the one who punishes those who oppose such ideas is worse than the one who simply invites to them. And the one who makes takfeer of those who oppose him is worse than the one who punishes them.

So in this light, the people in authority were uttering the ideas of the Jahmiyyah, that the Quraan is created, and that Allaah would not be seen in the hereafter, etc., and they were also inviting people to accept these ideas, and inquisiting them over them, punishing them when they did not accept, and making takfeer of those who rejected them. They would keep the prisoners as captives until they uttered the Jahmiyyah belief that the Quraan was created etc., they would not give anyone a position of authority, nor give anyone any provision from the bayt al-maal unless he had these things.

With all these factors present, Imaam Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy upon him, had mercy with them, he sought forgiveness for them, because he knew that it was not clear to them that they were denying the Messenger (saw), nor that they were rejecting what he came with, but they were rather uttering mistaken interpretations, following those who brought such ideas to them.”

[Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa, 23/342]

Soon You Will Die And Be Buried

‘Alee Ibn Abee Taalib walked with a funeral procession and heard the voices of the bereaved family raised in weeping as the body was placed in the niche in the grave, so he said:

“Why are you weeping? By Allaah, if they could see what your deceased one is seeing, they would be distracted from the deceased one by what they see. Death will come back again and again, until none of them is left. So fear Allaah, O slaves of Allaah, and strive hard in righteous deeds.

Hasten to do good deeds before death, the destroyer of pleasures, comes. The pleasures of this world will not last, and you cannot feel secure against the calamities of this world, for it is fleeting and deceitful and cannot be relied on.

Learn the lessons, O slaves of Allaah, and heed the exhortation, for soon you will die and will be buried. Soon the trumpet will be blown, and the occupants of the graves will be raised and driven to the area of gathering for the reckoning. Everything is under the control of the All-Mighty. Every person will have an angel to drive him and an angel to bear witness to his deeds. “And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord (Allaah – when He will come to judge among men), and the Book will be placed (open), and the Prophets and the witnesses will be brought forward, and it will be judged between them with truth, and they will not be wronged.” [39:69] “

[‘Alee Ibn Abee Taalib, His Life And Times, by ‘Alee Muhammad As-Sallaabi, p. 431]

Rushing And Being Hasty In Believing (And Spreading) Information Without Verification

Regarding Allaah’s statement:

“When there comes to them some matter concerning public safety or fear, they make it known (among the people); if only they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have understood it from them (directly)…” [4:83]

‘Abdur-Rahmaan As-Sa’dee said:

“This is Allaah’s discipline of the servants for their inappropriate action. If an important affair arises or something concerning the general well-being of the public related to security, the welfare of the believers, or fear of a calamity befalling them, (then) it is befitting to verify it and not rush to spread that information…

In it is a prohibition of rushing and being hasty in spreading the affairs as soon as it is heard. The issue requires pondering, reflecting, and examining before speaking. Is it beneficial to present it to the people or should it be withheld.”

[Tayseer Al-Kareem Ar-Rahmaan, p.190]

And Shaykh Bin Baaz said:

“The obligation upon the Muslim is to guard his tongue from those things that do not concern him, and to not speak except based on clear knowledge… As for someone making such a statement haphazardly ad ruling by his own opinions without any proof, then this is a great evil and it is not permissible.”

[Refer to the magazine Raabitat Al-‘Aalaam Al-Islaamee, Issue # 213]

Being A Slave Of Allaah

Sayyid Qutb said:

“Being a servant of Allaah is not merely a position of honour, it is the highest position to which a human being can aspire. True submission to Allaah alone protects people from being enslaved by their own desires or by other human beings. No human being can attain this highest position unless he refuses to submit to his own desires or to anyone other than Allaah.

Those who are too proud to submit themselves to Allah alone are automatically enslaved by their own desires and caprice, which is the worst type of slavery. They lose their sense of free will with which Allaah has favoured human beings. They sink to the level of animals ad soon descend to the worst rank of animals. They take themselves down to a level that Allaah describes as “the lowest of the low,” [95:5] after they had been created “in their fairest form.” [95:4]. They are willing to accept enslavement by others like them when they allow such people to conduct their lives according to narrow-minded theories and philosophies that are ignorant, deficient and arrogant.

Such people are also ready to submit to ‘certainties’ which they are told to be inevitable and to admit no discussion, such as the certainties of history, economic development and evolution! There is indeed a long list of such materialist certainties and inevitabilities which enslave man and keep his head in the sand.” [Fee Zhilaal Al-Quraan [English trans.], 7/146-7]

Elsewhere he said:

“Human beings are subject to the laws of nature God has set into operation in matters that affect their birth, growing up, health, illness, death and also those that determine the consequences of their own choices in the areas where they can exercise their free-will. They cannot change God’s laws governing the universe or these aspects of their own life.