What is the opinion of His Eminence the Shaykh regarding the da'wah methods adopted by some Islamic groups, such as parliamentary elections and political demonstrations?

The questioner: What is the opinion of His EminenceThe Shaykh : regarding the da'wah methods adopted by some Islamic groups, such as parliamentary elections, political demonstrations, distributing secret pamphlets, and other such methods? Also, there are da'wah methods involving plays and hymns?

The Shaykh: I think we have spoken about this before in past gatherings, and it is possible to take the answer from what was mentioned earlier in this gathering, because engaging in da'wah ... Islam to all people, so that it becomes clear to these people that Islam does not stand on shouts, nor on distributed pamphlets. I truly ... that one of the Islamic da'wah workers in the present era, whose virtue we know for calling Muslims to Islam, even if with a limited and deficient concept, and it was upon his followers to complete his da'wah. He said to his followers, but they did not heed his advice: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you on your land." This is, in my view, the height of wisdom. I would not be exaggerating if I said that if there were revelation after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I would say: This is from the inspiration of the heavens! Because he says to all people: Before you call people to political action, to a bloody revolution, or to what resembles such political actions; you, above all else, "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts." Then do not pay this total attention to political action that involves rushing ahead of things. Among the wisdom ... is also: "Whoever hastens a matter before its time is tried with its deprivation." This is what happened in some Islamic groups whose leader was this one who spoke this wisdom, "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you on your land." They opposed him in this and wanted to establish the state of Islam by bloody revolution; so the price was the spilling of this man's blood upon the earth; why? Because they hastened the matter before its time, so they were tried with its deprivation. This is wisdom, but it is profound wisdom; why? "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts" ... many matters these people do not care about. The first of these is establishing the Muslim state in the hearts, which means correct knowledge. If you want to understand that you should worship your Lord alone, you must understand what the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" is, as we mentioned earlier. If you want to pray, you must know how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, and so on. These people do not understand any of this at all. So they cannot establish the state of Islam in their hearts, until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) rewards them by establishing the state of Islam on their land. So one who lacks a thing cannot give it.
It is one of the wonders that this word which was directed to them, we are acting upon it, while they are turning away from it. This is one of the wonders of this time. We understood this wisdom and applied it practically. We believe ... that His saying (Exalted is He): , and it is not possible for us to deserve victory from Allah while we do not know Allah, we do not know what Allah has made lawful, we do not know what Allah has forbidden, we do not know how to worship Allah, we do not know how to perform Hajj to the House of Allah, and so on. How then can the state of Islam be established on the earth while we have not established the state of Islam in the heart? This is impossible. Therefore, we must work for Islam as our righteous predecessors worked, and without shouting! Without slogans! Without political action! Because this political action, first of all, divides the Ummah, and this is the greatest proof. Look at some of the Islamic parties, how they turn away from each other, how they cut ties, and how they do not recognize the other Muslims, even though they share in the word "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"!! But this division is a natural matter, because they - with great regret, and this is a lesson for whoever takes heed - agreed on the word "La ilaha illa Allah" but differed in its understanding. So their difference in understanding led to their difference in reality, to their turning away from each other, and to their cutting ties. So the cure is two words I mentioned ten years ago. The principle upon which all Islamic da'wahs should be established, and upon which the honor of the Islamic Ummah should be realized, is on two words: "Purification and Education," "Purification and Education." That is: It is necessary that the ambitions of the scholars and the rulers who care about what the scholars care about, and who help them in spreading this knowledge, should gather. The scholars must care about purifying Islam from the types of ... and conspiracies ... that have entered it. There is no one, even among the common people, who does not know that there are weak and fabricated hadiths. Where are the scholars scattered throughout the Islamic world who warn the different peoples about the weak and fabricated hadiths so that they may be cautious of them? Nothing of this exists except white spots in ... black. What effect does it have? Nothing at all. Likewise, correcting the 'aqidah as we mentioned earlier. Where are the callers to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in the correct scientific sense? I know of callers to tawhid today, but we need ... to have callers of a worthy level, that they be from the people of knowledge, not just students of knowledge. Where are those who interpret the Qur'an correctly, and remove from it the weak and fabricated hadiths, the rejected Isra'iliyyat, and the interpretations of the people of opinion from the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'attilah? Where are those who come to the books of fiqh, with their different schools and inclinations, and purify them from the ideas, opinions, and acts of worship in them that contradict the correct Sunnah? None of this exists.
That is why we said that reform rests on two words: "purification," of which we have explained something, and "education," meaning that it is necessary to educate Muslims in the correct Islam. For mere education, which they call "the science of conduct," if it is based on the conduct of the science of Sufism, is a deviation from the religion. As if some people wanted to do that in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); so he (peace be upon him) said: "The path is my path, the methodology is my methodology, and the Sunnah is my Sunnah." He (peace be upon him) said: You know the fear from this title . It is a very strange wonder. These callers to Allah have turned away from the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him) out of ignorance and conduct. So how will Allah support Islam when the callers are the deviants? If you look at most of them, without accusing them all, you will find that they do not perform the prayer well as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it. If you took the most prominent figure among them and said to him: "Is it possible for me to learn from you the manner of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer?" you would fear him, because merely hearing the word "Messenger of Allah" from you would lead him to accuse you of being a man who is either... and in some countries, a Wahhabi, or a follower of the fifth school, or an extremist, or something similar. ... Likewise ... in teaching the manner of the Prophet's prayer, he does not know it. Why? Where does he learn the manner of the Prophet's prayer? He was raised on a school of jurisprudence, if it was ... only. This ruling is known today, and most of them have not even studied Hanafi, Shafi'i, or Maliki jurisprudence. The best of them are the doctors who graduated from the colleges of Shari'ah, who do not study anything but the headings of jurisprudence. Therefore, they worship Allah, praying, fasting, performing Hajj, and performing 'Umrah, as their fathers and grandfathers were raised. As for the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): they do not know its meaning. No, we take Hajj from the books of ... and that is why you find them sold by the thousands, and they do not contain the attention to what the Messenger (peace be upon him) pointed out regarding the rituals of Hajj.
In summary: Two things are necessary. Carrying them out requires thousands of Muslim scholars spread throughout the Islamic world, who are truly scholars, not as one of the witty men in Damascus told me. He said to me once, in jest and play, while I was mentioning—apologizing—... some of the scholars ... These are two types: a section of them are scholars who act, and a section are actors who are scholars, meaning he is not a scholar, but he acts like the scholars. So scholars are of two types: a section are truly scholars who act upon their knowledge, and they say in some books: "And a scholar with knowledge who does not act, or will not act *** is tormented before the worshippers of the idol." And this is taken from his (peace be upon him) saying in "Sahih Muslim": The hadith is long, and the intended meaning is ... the second section. This is the first section, and with such people the nation succeeds, and with such people the nation rises and understands its religion, and then Allah grants them victory. We do not mean that we should not do political work, but we work so that we do not ... and it is stated in the Noble Qur'an; because disagreement and conflict are the cause of defeat, and this is known ...
The point is the second section. The first section is the one upon whom the nation rises, a scholar who acts upon his knowledge truly. As for the other section, which is the larger section, they are actors who are scholars, claiming knowledge, and this is the reality of the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him). And this is in fact one of the signs of the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the unseen proofs that Allah revealed to him, and his (peace be upon him) saying: These are the ones we spoke about, that wise and discerning man: actors who are scholars; ...
Many fatwas that you had not heard before, and this is also from what the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed us about in some hadiths, that people will come who will tell you hadiths you have not known and have not heard, neither you nor your fathers. For example, who among you has not heard fatwas from those who are supposed to have knowledge, permitting a type of riba? Who among you has not heard of the permission of what they call ... "the charitable lottery"? If these people knew what they were saying and were advising the nation, they would have removed the word "charitable lottery" and placed in its place and as its alternative the word "charitable gambling," and then it would become clear ... "charitable gambling"!! ... The lottery is gambling, it is gambling, so they deceived the people with the word "charitable." The charitable lottery is for the poor and the needy, then it became what? A general issue, not specific to the poor and the needy, but people began to deal in riba openly in the presence of witnesses because of ... if the percentage is small, there is no harm in that. They take ignorant heads, and when they are asked, they issue fatwas without knowledge, so they go astray and lead others astray.
We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to guide us to understand the Book of our Lord in the light of the Sunnah of our Prophet and the methodology of our righteous predecessors, and to inspire us to act upon it, so that we may deserve the victory of Allah, and He may save us from this distress that has befallen Muslims in all lands of Islam. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive, and all praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds.