An Explanation of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Words on Disagreement in Creed and Branches

Question:
Mama. May Allah reward Shaykh Salih, and I ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to make the gathering with him a blessed gathering, and that they part after it in a protected manner, and that He benefit us with what we have heard. For the young man, as some of the Salaf said, is at the beginning of his growth. If you see him with the Sunnah and the community, then hold on to him; otherwise, cut your ties with him. If the young man is accustomed to fresh obedience and meets the scholars and hears from them such beneficial speech, he will benefit from it for the rest of his life. Here are the words of the Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, in his *Majmu' al-Fatawa*. It is necessary to shed light on them and their blessings. In reality, this phrase is considered one of the greatest distinctions between those who walk in the path of the righteous Salaf and those other than them. He said: "Many of the people of innovation, such as the Khawarij, the Rafidah, the Qadariyyah, the Jahmiyyah, and the imitators, hold a belief that is misguidance, yet they see it as the truth. They consider those who differ from them in this to be disbelievers. Thus, there arises among them a strong element of the People of the Book in their disbelief in the truth and their oppression of creation. Perhaps most of these people who declare others disbelievers do so based on a statement whose reality is not understood and whose proof is not known. In contrast to these people who declare others disbelievers based on falsehood, there are groups who do not know the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community as it should be known, or they know some of it and are ignorant of some of it. And what they know of it, they may not clarify to the people, but rather conceal it. They do not forbid the innovations that contradict the Book and the Sunnah, nor do they forbid the people of innovation and punish them. Rather, perhaps they condemn speech regarding the Sunnah and the principles of religion absolutely, without distinguishing between what the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus indicate, and what the people of innovation and sects say. Or they approve of all of them in their different schools of thought. They approve of all of them in their different schools of thought, just as scholars approve of people in places of independent legal reasoning where disagreement is permissible. This method may prevail over many of the Murji'ah and some of the jurists, Sufis, and philosophers, just as the first method prevails over many of the people of desires and theological discourse. Both of these two methods are deviant and outside the Book and the Sunnah."

Answer:
This is good speech that comes from jurisprudence and insight from an Imam known for jihad in the path of Allah and calling to Allah, at a time when the alienation of Islam was severe, and the views of the innovators, Sufis, tomb worshippers, Mu'tazilah, and Jahmiyyah had appeared. So he, may Allah have mercy on him, speaks from experience, from a reality he lived through, and from jurisprudence and insight from the Book and the Sunnah.
It is as if this speech he said is the same reality today. How much the present resembles the past! The people are of two types: misguiders who want to divert people from the correct creed and the methodology of the righteous Salaf. Among them are the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, the Rafidah, and the people of innovations and deviant doctrines. Among them are those who want to refute these people, but they do so out of ignorance, not insight. So they do not refute their argument with a correct argument that invalidates it. Therefore, if the refutation comes from an ignorant person, it makes the matter worse. So, as the Shaykh says, they did not support the truth, nor did they break the falsehood.
And this is our reality today: callers to misguidance, callers to evil, and callers to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). Many of the young Muslims have fallen as victims to them. And those who respond to them—mostly, we say, all those who respond to them, the majority of those who respond to them are not armed with knowledge. They respond to them with ignorance. They do not possess more than saying, "So-and-so is misguided," "So-and-so is an atheist," "So-and-so is an innovator," "So-and-so..." This is not enough. You must mention the shubhah (doubtful matter) they present and refute it with knowledge. Knowledge? Debate is not possible except with knowledge.
Relying on zeal and enthusiasm without knowledge. And also the confusion of truth and falsehood that the Shaykh mentioned at the end of this speech we heard, which is that some of them, or a specific group among them now, say, "The name of Islam is enough. The name of Islam and belonging to the name of Islam is enough. We do not distinguish between people, even if among them are the innovators, tomb worshippers, Sufis, the people of the Sunnah and the community, and the upright. We do not distinguish them."
They compare disagreement in creed to disagreement in jurisprudential issues. This is a confusion of truth and falsehood. Disagreement in creed is not excused. And it must be denied. It is obligatory to deny the falsehood in it and to refute the falsehood in creed. And to judge the one who differs in creed with what befits him, and to expose his evil to the people so that they may avoid him. He is exposed in his falsehood. It is necessary to clarify this. As for the one who differs in the branch jurisprudential issues that are a place for independent legal reasoning, there is no room for denial there. There is no denial in jurisprudential issues of independent legal reasoning unless the evidence appears. As long as the matter is possible, so-and-so reasoned on the issue in this way, and so-and-so reasoned on it with another opinion, and the issue is possible, and the evidence has not appeared with one of them, then the issue is one of independent legal reasoning. And everyone acts according to what he sees as the truth and what he believes to be the truth. And there is no denial in issues of independent legal reasoning. So the Hanbali, the Hanafi, the Shafi'i, and the Maliki, praise be to Allah, are brothers, even if they differ in many branch issues in a way that did not come from desire and did not come from ignorance, but rather came from derivation, from knowledge.
So these are brothers. They do not boycott one another, nor do they hate one another, and some of them pray behind others. And they are brothers in creed. Their creed is one, even if they differ in some jurisprudential independent legal reasoning. This is the methodology of the Salaf. This existed even in the era of the Companions. Independent legal reasoning in jurisprudential issues existed even in the era of the Companions. The Companions differed in some issues, and they were brothers, the Muhajireen and the Ansar. They did not misguide one another, nor did they hate one another, nor did they boycott one another. And everyone acts according to what he desires, so he has a reward in any case for his independent legal reasoning.
And the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah has a valuable treatise on this topic? A student of knowledge should look into it. He named it *Raf' al-Malam 'an al-A'immah al-A'lam* (Lifting the Blame from the Famous Imams). *Raf' al-Malam 'an al-A'immah al-A'lam*, meaning in what they differed in from issues of independent legal reasoning and their excuses for that. A student of knowledge should know the difference between disagreement in creed and disagreement in jurisprudential issues. Disagreement in creed does not permit remaining upon it, and it is not possible to agree upon it ever. This group that says, "Gather the people and do not speak about their creeds, and suffice with the name of Islam," this is speech of misguidance. This is intended to pass false creeds to the people and make them easy and without danger, and thereby destroy Islam. No, this is error and misguidance. It is necessary to clarify the correct creed and reject the false creed and warn about it. Whether they are pleased or angry, it is something that must be done. And Allah the Exalted knows best.