Guidance on the statement by some writers that the history of the Hanbalis is associated with strictness
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Question:
Some of the writers of knowledge have issued a statement saying that the history of the Hanbalis is associated with strictness in enjoining good and forbidding evil, to the point that they drove people away. What is your guidance on this?
Answer:
No, on the contrary, the Hanbalis, praise be to Allah, are among the people most adherent to the hadith and the Sunnah, and most acting in accordance with the Sunnah. Their imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, is known for this, as are his followers. They are among the people most firm in holding to the Sunnah, acting upon it, and abandoning exaggeration and strictness in matters of religion. However, this is from the perspective of those who say this; they only said it out of hatred for the Hanbalis. They hate the Hanbalis. Why? Because the Hanbalis act in accordance with the Sunnah. The Hanbalis are generally on the path of their imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, in affirming the names and attributes of Allah and holding to the Sunnah. He is the one who stood against the Mu'tazilah in their claim of the createdness of the Qur'an, during the trial of the claim of the createdness of the Qur'an, and he remained firm in this matter.
So these people mock the Hanbalis because they hold to the Sunnah and contradict what they are upon of ta'wil (figurative interpretation) and denial of the attributes. Therefore, they call them the Mujassimah (those who ascribe a body to Allah), the Hashawiyyah, and so on. This has been the case since ancient times, and they are new in their tunes. The Hanbalis also deny the worship of graves and calling for aid to the dead. So they want to remain on what they are accustomed to, and they cast these labels upon the Hanbalis. The Hanbalis, praise be to Allah, are people of moderation, people of the Sunnah, people of a moderate path, and people who follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for if there is someone who claims to be a Hanbali but is strict, that is not counted against the Hanbalis. That is, the existence of some deviant people; they are not counted among the Hanbalis, because the Hanbali school is not like that, and the Hanbalis are not like that.
Some of the writers of knowledge have issued a statement saying that the history of the Hanbalis is associated with strictness in enjoining good and forbidding evil, to the point that they drove people away. What is your guidance on this?
Answer:
No, on the contrary, the Hanbalis, praise be to Allah, are among the people most adherent to the hadith and the Sunnah, and most acting in accordance with the Sunnah. Their imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, is known for this, as are his followers. They are among the people most firm in holding to the Sunnah, acting upon it, and abandoning exaggeration and strictness in matters of religion. However, this is from the perspective of those who say this; they only said it out of hatred for the Hanbalis. They hate the Hanbalis. Why? Because the Hanbalis act in accordance with the Sunnah. The Hanbalis are generally on the path of their imam, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, in affirming the names and attributes of Allah and holding to the Sunnah. He is the one who stood against the Mu'tazilah in their claim of the createdness of the Qur'an, during the trial of the claim of the createdness of the Qur'an, and he remained firm in this matter.
So these people mock the Hanbalis because they hold to the Sunnah and contradict what they are upon of ta'wil (figurative interpretation) and denial of the attributes. Therefore, they call them the Mujassimah (those who ascribe a body to Allah), the Hashawiyyah, and so on. This has been the case since ancient times, and they are new in their tunes. The Hanbalis also deny the worship of graves and calling for aid to the dead. So they want to remain on what they are accustomed to, and they cast these labels upon the Hanbalis. The Hanbalis, praise be to Allah, are people of moderation, people of the Sunnah, people of a moderate path, and people who follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for if there is someone who claims to be a Hanbali but is strict, that is not counted against the Hanbalis. That is, the existence of some deviant people; they are not counted among the Hanbalis, because the Hanbali school is not like that, and the Hanbalis are not like that.
Source
وصف الحنابلة بالشدة في الأمر بالمعروف — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.