The Ruling Of Our Salaf On The Shi’ah

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul Wahhāb said, “As for these twelvers, they have left the Sunnah, nay they have left the Millah!” [Risālah Al-Radd ‘Alā Al-Rāfidhah]

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Whoever claims that some āyāt of the Qur’ān were deleted or hidden… then there is no difference of opinion on making takfīr of him. Also, whoever claims that the Sahābah apostatized after Rasūlullāh except a very few who didn’t exceed a dozen, or that they mostly became fussāq (major sinners), then there is no doubt on making takfīr of him, because he has denied the praises of them that the Qur’ān dictated in several places. Rather, whoever doubts the kufr of such a person, then takfīr of him is obligatory. This is because the meaning of this statement is that the transmitters of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah were kuffār or fussāq. It also means that those indicated by this verse {You are the best nation produced for mankind} [Āl ‘Imrān: 110], whose best generation was the first, were mostly kuffār or fussāq. It also means that this Ummah was the worst of nations and the predecessors of this Ummah were the most evil of its people! The kufr of such a person is known by necessity from the religion of Islam.” [As-Sārim al-Maslūl]

Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdil-Wahhāb said, “The verses of the Qur’ān about the virtues of the Sahābah are numerous and the ahādīth on this are altogether mutawātir explicitly stating their righteousness. Thus whoever believes that the Sahābah or majority of them became fāsiqīn or murtaddīn or believes in the right or legality of cursing them has thereby disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, denying the virtues of the Sahābah that Allah and His Messenger related.” [Ar-Radd ‘Alar-Rāfidah].

Al-Awzā’ī (died 157AH) said, “Whoever curses Abū Bakr as-Siddīq has apostatized” [Al-Ibānah as-Sughrā – Ibn Battah].

Al-Firyābī (died 212AH) was asked about one who curses Abū Bakr. He replied, “He is a kāfir” [As-Sunnah – al-Khallāl].

Ibn Hazm said, ‘The Rāfidah are not from the Muslims’ [Al-Fisal].

Imām Ahmad was asked about one who curses Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, or ‘Ā’ishah. He replied, ‘I don’t consider him to be upon Islam’ [As-Sunnah – Al-Khallāl].

He also said, ‘I fear kufr for those who – like the Rāfidah – curse the Sahābah. We can safely say that one who curses the Sahābah of the Prophet has left the religion’ [As-Sunnah – Al-Khallāl].

He also said, ‘The Rāfidah are those who declare barā’ah from the Sahābah of Muhammad, curse them, degrade them, and curse the leaders of the Sahābah except for four: ‘Alī, ‘Ammār, al-Miqdād, and Salmān. The Rāfidah have nothing to do with Islam at all’ [As-Sunnah].

Imām Al-Bukhārī said, ‘It makes no difference to me whether I were to pray behind a Jahmī or Rāfidī or behind a Jew or Christian. They are not to be greeted with salām. Their ill are not to be paid a sick visit. They are not to be married. Their funerals are not to be attended. The meat they slaughter is not to be eaten’ [Khalq Af’āl al-‘Ibād].

Ahmad Ibn Yūnus (died 227AH) said, ‘If a Jew were to slaughter a sheep and a Rāfidī were to slaughter one, I would eat from the sheep slaughtered by the Jew and not eat from the one slaughtered by the Rāfidī, because the Rāfidī is a murtadd’ [As-Sārim al-Maslūl – Ibn Taymiyyah]

So my dear readers, the quotes of our Salaf are clear on this regard, they are all disbelievers, and whoever denies their disbelief has himself landed into disbelief. And how grave this is indeed.

Ibn Taymiyyah’s Stance On The Shi’ah

Ibn Taymiyyah said,

“Whoever curses the companions or one of them or joins with his curse, or claims that ‘Ali is worthy of worship (a god) or a prophet or that Jibreel was mistaken, then there is no doubt in his kufr. Nay, there is no doubt in the kufr of he who stops (hesitates) in takfeer of him.”

[Al-Saarim Al-Maslool’Alaa Shaatim Al-Rasool, p.591]

Following The Way Of The Companions

Ash-Shaatibee said: “The early generation (as-Salaf) was the most knowledgeable about the meanings of the Quraan.” [Al-Muwaafaqaat, 3/409]

Ash-Shaatibee said: “They (the Companions) are the example to follow with regards to the way in which shariah and its aims and goals are to be understood.” [Al-Muwaafaqaat, 4/130]

Hudhayfah Ibn Al-Yamaan (ra) said: “O people, follow the path of those who came before you, for by Allaah (swt), if you follow their path, then indeed you will succeed tremendously, but if you drift away from it, right or left, you will be greatly misguided.” [Hilyat Al-Awliyaa’, 10/280]

Imaam Ash-Shaafi’ee said: “So long as there is evidence in the Quraan and Sunnah, then the excuse for not following them is invalid. If we find no evidence there, then we turn to the opinions of the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (saw) or of one of them.” [Al-Umm, 7/265]

Imaam Ash-Shaafi’ee said: “You have no right to give an opinion unless you base it on a reference point or a valid analogy, and the reference point is the Quraan or Sunnah, the words of one of the companions of the Messenger (saw), or the consensus of the people.” [Manaaqib Ash-Shaafi’ee, 367]

Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said: “Whatever comes from the Prophet (saw) and his companions, follow it. Then with regards to those who come after them (the taabi’oon), the matter is broad in scope.” [Masaa’il Al-Imaam Ahmad, by Aboo Daawood, p. 276]

The Superiority Of The Understanding Of The Companions, By Ibn Al-Qayyim

Ibn Al-Qayyim said:

“If we compare our understanding to theirs (the companions), there is no doubt that they were more sincere at heart, had deeper knowledge, were more straightforward and were more likely to understand the text correctly than we can do, because Allaah (swt) blessed them with smarter minds, more eloquence, deeper knowledge, a more straightforward approach to the text, proper and quick understanding, little or no impact from other influences, good intentions and fear of the Lord.

The Arabic language came naturally to them, and the correct meanings and concepts were instilled in their hearts and minds. They had no need to examine the chains of narrations and background of the narrators to see if there were any faults in the hadeeth or to assess the quality of the narrators or to examine the fundamentals of the branches of knowledge and the different views of the experts on the principles of Islamic law. They had no need of all of that. For them there were only two steps to follow: (a) Allaah (swt) said such and such, and His Messenger said such and such. (b) What it means is such and such.

They were the most capable of people to go through these two steps easily, and they were the most qualified because all of their energy, knowledge and quality was focused on these two things only.

In comparison, the energies and focus of the later scholars were scattered. Studying the Arabic language and matters connected to it took up a great deal of their intellectual efforts. Understanding the fundamentals of different branches of knowledge took up further efforts, and knowledge of the chains of narration and the backgrounds of the narrators took up even more, as did their focus on examining the books of the shaykhs from whom they were learning, of whom there were many, and what the meant (in their books and in what they said), and so on.

When they reached the point, after all this effort, of seeing to understand the texts with hearts and minds that were exhausted from examining everything that came before they were in a position to examine the text, and after that they had expended their energy in studying things other than the text, then they would understand the text and what it meant with whatever was left of their energy.”

[I’laam Al-Muwaqqi’een, 4/149]

What The Founder Of Bareilawi’ism Said About The Deobandis

Ahmad Raza Bareilawee said about the Deobandis, “A woman is capable of committing fornication. then according to the opinion of your leader and teacher, it is necessary that your God too should be capable of committing fornication; otherwise the prostitutes of the brothers of the Deobandis would laugh at Him and say, ‘How do you claim for Godhood? You are not capable of doing what even we can do?’ ” [Subhan As-Sabooh, p. 142]

He also said, “Then it is also necessary that you God has a woman and it is necessary that your God has genitals (the male private part). So you have to agree that along with God there has to be a Goddess.” [Subhan As-Sabooh, p. 142]

He also said, “Barahin Qati’a, the work of Gangawhi (a Deobandi) was more dirtier than urine, and full of unbelief (kufr).” [Subhan As-Sabooh, p. 134]

He also said, “he who hesitates to declare Ashraf Ali (Thanwi) to be an unbeliever (kaafir), is himself an unbeliever (kaafir).” [Al-Fataawa Al-Ifriqiyyah, p. 124]

He also said, “The author of Bahishti Ziwar (i.e, Ashraf Ali Thanwi) is an unbeliever. It is forbidden for a Muslim to look into it.” [Al-Fataawa Ar-Ridwiyah, 6/56]

He also said, “His followers are apostates.” [Al-Fataawa Ar-Ridwiyah, 6/104]

He also said, “If anyone prays behind any of the Deobandis, he is also not a muslim.” [Al-Fataawa Ar-Ridwiyah, 6/77]

He also said, “If anyone admires Dar Al-Uloom, or does nor believe in teh corruption of Deobandis and does not scorn them, then thi is sufficient to make a judgement for him to be a non-Muslim.” [Al-Fataawa Ar-Ridwiyah, 5/110]

He also said, “It is obligatory to keep away from them.” [Al-Fataawa Ar-Ridwiyah, 5/95]

He also said, “It is unlawful to give them meat of the sacrificial animals.” [Al-Fataawa Ar-Ridwiyah, 6/167]

He also said, “If there is a gathering of the Hindus, Christians, Qadiyanis, and Deobandis, the Deobandis alone should be rejected, for they have come out of the fold of Islaam. Agreement with the unbelievers is far better than the agreement with the apostates.” [Malfuzat Mujaddio Al-Mi’at Al-Hadira, Pp. 325-326]

The Reality Of The Soofees, By Ibn Al-Jawzee

Ibn Al-Jawzee said:

“Then another group of people came (afterwards) that revised the way of Soofism, characterized it with attributes by which they distinguished it (from its original state), such as: wearing old tattered clothes, hearing (music), bursting out n passionate emotions, dancing and clapping. And they particularized themselves by exceeding in cleanliness and purification.

Then this matter (Soofism) continued to flourish, and their shaykhs began to fabricate stories for them and speak about their mystical occurrences. This affirmed their remoteness from the scholars. Rather, this even affirmed their views that what they were upon was the most complete forms of knowledge, such that they named it the hidden knowledge (al-‘ilm al-baatin), while making knowledge of the religion apparent knowledge (al-‘ilm adh-dhaahir).

Among them were those whose severity in hunger brought them to fancy corrupt notions. SO they would claim strong love and passion for the truth. It was as if they imagined a figure with a beautiful appearance and thus fell madly in love with it. These individuals linger between disbelief and innovation!

Then these people divided into various orders and their beliefs grew corrupt. So among them were those who held the view that Allaah is incarnate in His creation (hulool), and those who held the view that the Creator and creation were in reality one existence (ittihaad).

And the devil did not stop speaking to them about different types of innovations until they made them into aspects of the Sunnah.”

[Tablees Iblees, by Ibn Al-Jawzee, p. 162]

Worshipping Allaah In Makkah And Madeenah

Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyyaad was a famous sholar and zaahid who was known for his sincere worship and devotion to Allaah at the two Holy Mosques, Malkah and Madeenah.

The Mujaahid, ‘Abdullaah Ibn Al-Mubaarak made Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyyaad cry by telling him:

“O Worshipper of the two Holy Mosques, if you were to see us,
You would surely know that you are only playing with worship.
(While you) decorate your cheeks with his tears,
We decorate our throats with our blood.”

[Mentioned by ibn Katheer in his Tafseer from Haafidh Ibn ‘Asaakir’s biography of ‘Abdullaah Ibn Mubaarak, by way of Muhammad Ibn Ibraheem Ibn Abee Sukaynah, who reported that in the year 170AH he was sent with these words to the city of Tartus (in Palestine, where the Muslims were engaged in Jihaad against the Byzantines), to Fudayl Ibn ‘Iyyaad calling people to fight on the cause of Allaah.]

How Az-Zubayr Used To Name His Children

Due to Az-Zubayr’s deep love of martyrdom, he named his sons after martyred Companions.

Hishaam Ibn ‘Urwah narrated that his father said that Az-Zubayr said:

“Talhah named his sons after Prophets when he learned that there would be no Prophet after Muhammad (saw). But I named my children after martyrs, in the hope that they will attain martyrdom:

Abdullah after Abdullah Ibn Jahsh, Al-Mundhir after Al-Mundhir Ibn ‘Amr, ‘Urwah after ‘Urwah Ibn Mas’ood, Hamzah after Hamzah, Ja’far after Ja’far Ibn Abee Taalib, Mus’ab after Mus’ab Ibn ‘Umayr, ‘Ubaydah after ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Haarith, Khaalid after Khaalid Ibn Sa’eed and ‘Amr after ‘Amr Ibn Sa’eed Ibn Al-‘Aas, who was killed at Yarmook.“

[At-Tabaqaat, 3/101]

Four Causes Of Disunity Among The Ummah, Sh. Saalih Al-Fawzaan

1) Imported Methodologies

If we discard the methodology which our pious predecessors were upon and seek to introduce methodologies from here and there, we will become divided and every group will have its own methodology which differs from the others and every group will claim the others are mistaken.

2) Listening To Liars And Their Likes

Secondly, from the causes of separation and differing is listening to liars and slanderers, and to the false rumours and propagation which the weak in faith, hypocrites and biased ones propagate from within, those who do not want us to be united upon a single faith and religion. This is why it is compulsory upon us to verify narrations an to not make haste, as Allaah (swt) had ordered us to verify narrations (see Quraan 49:6).

3) Finding Fault With Muslims And Having Evil Suspicion

Thirdly, finding fault with the Muslim who has not committed a sin is impermissible and evil suspicion is impermissible. All of this is a prohibition against finding fault with the Muslims and from listening to those who backbite and slander them. For this reason Allaah made backbiting impermissible. And the worst of all is the one who moves between the students of knowledge and callers to Islaam in order to spread corruption and cause within the Muslim community and to incite feelings of hatred between them.

4) Abandoning The Muslims

The fourth cause of separation is: abandoning the Muslims, and abandonment means desertion and distancing. Meaning a person distancing and cutting himself from a person and no speaking to him.

The Ka’bah Or The Grave Of Husain?

According to the Shee’ahs visiting the grave of Husain in Karbala is greater than performing the 5th pillar of Islaam (Hajj).

Al-Majlisi (a top Shiah Scholar) mentions in his book Bihaar Al-Anwaar that Bishr Ad-Dahhan said, I said to Abu ‘Abdullaah Ja’far As-Saadiq, “Sometimes I forget to peform Hajj but I realise the greatness of the grave of Husain.”

So he (Abu Abdullaah) said, “Good work, any believer who visits the grave of Husain knowing its virtue, it will be recorded for him as 20 Hajj and 20 Umrah which are all accepted. It will be recorded for him as 20 battles fought under a Messenger or a just ruler. Whoever goes to it on the day of Arafah, knowing its virtue it will be recorded for him as 1000 Hajj and 1000 Umrah of which are accepted and 1000 battles fought with a Messenger or a just ruler.”

[Bihaar Al-Anwaar, by Al-Majlisi]

Shi’ah Beliefs Regarding The Ka’bah

Abu Abdullaah Ja’far As-Saadiq is reported to have said:

“Allaah revealed to the Ka’bah, ‘Had it not been for the soil of Karbaa, I would not have favoured you, had it not been for the people who reside their I would not have created you nor would I have created the House that I am proud of, so be a humble servant to the land of Karbala, otherwise I will cast you into hell.”

[Bihaar Al-Anwaar, 10/107]