The Shaykh’s remarks on the reality of da'wah and the preachers, and what they should be like.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : There is a certain delicacy in this issue. I believe that the trend of the present age is that those who are not qualified for da'wah are occupied with da'wah. And we did not stop there; there are also female preachers, and they know only a little of Islam. This term, whether it applies to males or females, has become a fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), because when a person lives with a concept established in his mind, he is affected by that concept for the rest of his life. This even reminds me of a joke I read in one of the books of literature about Ash'ab al-Ta'ib (the greedy one). He wanted to tease the children on the road one day, so he said to them: "Look at this palace; there are gifts being distributed there." The children ran, and when they saw his lie, he ran with them. He was asked: "How can you run with them when you lied to them?" He said: "Perhaps it is true." Ha ha ha.
So it is that some people who call themselves preachers, let alone those women who call themselves female preachers, imagine that they are in a position that deserves this name. They get entangled, and they too get entangled, and they speak about Islam without knowledge.
Of this nature is abandoning some of the rulings of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in the name of the interest of da'wah. I cannot deny that this statement has a basis, but who is able to apply it? Are these preachers who can rightly be said to be a name without a reality, or is it the established scholar: first, in his knowledge, and second, in his religion, which binds him to the taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) of his Lord, so that he does not show off or flatter, but rather truly wants to realize the interest of da'wah?
So this interest, if it is assessed at its true value and placed in its proper position, the people of hadith are the most deserving of it. I do not say the people of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), but the people of hadith, because they are in fact the people of fiqh. I cannot imagine a faqih (a jurist) who is not a hadith scholar, although I can imagine a hadith scholar who is not a faqih. As for a faqih who is not a hadith scholar, that is almost non-existent. So the people of hadith are more knowledgeable about this rule, but it must be placed in its proper position, and that is something only the people of knowledge can do.
From the chapters of Imam al-Bukhari in his *Sahih* is a chapter—its meaning, if not its exact wording—saying: "A chapter on what not every hadith should be narrated to the general public". Then he narrated under this chapter the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), which contains:. The narrator of the hadith said about Mu'adh: "Mu'adh did not narrate this hadith except at the time of death, out of fear of sin". This is considering the interest of da'wah, but where is one like Mu'adh in knowledge, understanding, righteousness, and taqwa (mindfulness of Allah)?
Others followed this path besides Mu'adh. In *Sahih Muslim*, it is narrated from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that when his death approached, he said: لولا آية في كتاب الله ما حدثتكم، ثم تلا قوله تعالى: إن الذين يكتمون ما أنزلنا من البينات والهدى -إلى آخر الآية- سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم يقول: من مات وهو يشهد ألا إله إلا الله دخل الجنة "If not for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would not have told you." Then he recited the words of the Exalted: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance..." to the end of the verse. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever dies testifying that there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise.".
Muslim also narrated a similar hadith and this meaning, as a mawquf (a report stopping at a Companion), from 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him).
So from here, the da'iyah (preacher) should truly consider the position of the people, and note that not every ruling and every hadith should be narrated to them. They may fall into a problem that the hadith did not revolve around, but rather intended to establish a correct belief. If the people misunderstand it, then at that time, either the people should be informed of this hadith with explanation and detail, or attention should be diverted from narrating it.
This is what comes to mind as an answer to that question.
The questioner : Also, in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is correct. From this hadith, it is taken that if the maslahah (public benefit) conflicts with the mafsadah (harm), and the mafsadah (harm) outweighs the maslahah (public benefit), then the maslahah (public benefit) is postponed to avoid the mafsadah (harm). There is no doubt that this is one of the rules of Islam. But as we said, one who has no knowledge of Islam should not get entangled with it. Most preachers today, first, have made it a job, and most of them have not studied Islam extensively. If they had spoken within the limits of what they learned, they would have stayed within their limits, and there would have been nothing but good in that. But we see that this da'wah you asked about comes from people who have no knowledge; I mean, they have no knowledge, meaning they do not have mature fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) based on the Sunnah. The example in your country is mentioning the fatwa of the sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is al-Ghazali.
So it is that some people who call themselves preachers, let alone those women who call themselves female preachers, imagine that they are in a position that deserves this name. They get entangled, and they too get entangled, and they speak about Islam without knowledge.
Of this nature is abandoning some of the rulings of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in the name of the interest of da'wah. I cannot deny that this statement has a basis, but who is able to apply it? Are these preachers who can rightly be said to be a name without a reality, or is it the established scholar: first, in his knowledge, and second, in his religion, which binds him to the taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) of his Lord, so that he does not show off or flatter, but rather truly wants to realize the interest of da'wah?
So this interest, if it is assessed at its true value and placed in its proper position, the people of hadith are the most deserving of it. I do not say the people of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), but the people of hadith, because they are in fact the people of fiqh. I cannot imagine a faqih (a jurist) who is not a hadith scholar, although I can imagine a hadith scholar who is not a faqih. As for a faqih who is not a hadith scholar, that is almost non-existent. So the people of hadith are more knowledgeable about this rule, but it must be placed in its proper position, and that is something only the people of knowledge can do.
From the chapters of Imam al-Bukhari in his *Sahih* is a chapter—its meaning, if not its exact wording—saying: "A chapter on what not every hadith should be narrated to the general public". Then he narrated under this chapter the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), which contains:
That he was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said: "O Mu'adh?" He said: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah," three times. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you know what is the right of Allah over His servants, and what is the right of the servants over Allah? The right of Allah over His servants is that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him, and the right of the servants over Allah is that He will not cast into the Fire any body of one who dies testifying that there is no god but Allah, sincerely from his heart."
أنه كان رديف النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فقال: يا معاذ؟ قال: لبيك يا رسول الله، ثلاث مرات، ثم قال عليه السلام: أتدري ما حق الله على عباده، وما حق العباد على الله؟ حق الله على عباده أن يعبدوه ولا يشركوا به شيئًا، وحق العباد على الله أنَّ من مات منهم يشهد ألّا إله إلا الله مخلصًا من قلبه حرم الله بدنه على النارOthers followed this path besides Mu'adh. In *Sahih Muslim*, it is narrated from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that when his death approached, he said: لولا آية في كتاب الله ما حدثتكم، ثم تلا قوله تعالى: إن الذين يكتمون ما أنزلنا من البينات والهدى -إلى آخر الآية- سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم يقول: من مات وهو يشهد ألا إله إلا الله دخل الجنة "If not for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would not have told you." Then he recited the words of the Exalted: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance..." to the end of the verse. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever dies testifying that there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise.".
Muslim also narrated a similar hadith and this meaning, as a mawquf (a report stopping at a Companion), from 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him).
So from here, the da'iyah (preacher) should truly consider the position of the people, and note that not every ruling and every hadith should be narrated to them. They may fall into a problem that the hadith did not revolve around, but rather intended to establish a correct belief. If the people misunderstand it, then at that time, either the people should be informed of this hadith with explanation and detail, or attention should be diverted from narrating it.
This is what comes to mind as an answer to that question.
The questioner : Also, in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"If not for the fact that your people are recent in their Islam."
لولا أن قومك حديثوا عهد بإسلامThe Shaykh : Yes, this is correct. From this hadith, it is taken that if the maslahah (public benefit) conflicts with the mafsadah (harm), and the mafsadah (harm) outweighs the maslahah (public benefit), then the maslahah (public benefit) is postponed to avoid the mafsadah (harm). There is no doubt that this is one of the rules of Islam. But as we said, one who has no knowledge of Islam should not get entangled with it. Most preachers today, first, have made it a job, and most of them have not studied Islam extensively. If they had spoken within the limits of what they learned, they would have stayed within their limits, and there would have been nothing but good in that. But we see that this da'wah you asked about comes from people who have no knowledge; I mean, they have no knowledge, meaning they do not have mature fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) based on the Sunnah. The example in your country is mentioning the fatwa of the sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is al-Ghazali.