Also a question about rapprochement between the Shi'ah and the people of the Sunnah.
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, and may prayers and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our master and our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows:
His EminenceThe Shaykh- May Allah preserve you - Some people have seen the bringing together of the Shi'ah and the people of the Sunnah; what is your opinion on this?
The Shaykh : What I know is that al-Azhar tried its luck in this matter and did not succeed; that is because the Sunnah with them is a matter of flexibility and policy that we can call legal-political, unlike the Shi'ah; for they are among the most extreme people in their fanaticism for what they found their fathers and grandfathers upon. And I say in many such occasions: We have heard, both in the past and recently, that many of the Christians and Buddhists, and perhaps a few individuals from the Jews, have embraced Islam; but we have not heard, over the course of time and the long duration, that a Shi'ite, let alone a Rafidi, has become a follower of the Sunnah. That is because they are stamped with rigidity regarding the deviation and misguidance they are upon. And so the consequence of what they called the rapprochement between the Sunnah and the Shi'ah, since decades ago at al-Azhar, was that the Shi'ah misled this rapprochement... and they spread many of their books and opinions among the people of the Sunnah, while the people of the Sunnah did nothing with the Shi'ah, so it became a cold gain for the Shi'ah over the people of the Sunnah. You have heard here that there is a new movement for rapprochement between the Sunnah and the Shi'ah, and I heard a strange and odd argument from some of those who stand with us in... the Sunni and hadith work, that they found among some of the narrators those who belonged to Shi'ism or to Rafidism, and yet some of them are accepted by the people of hadith for their narration, even though they are from the Shi'ah. And what I see is that there is an apparent difference between what the scholars of hadith were upon and what is intended by the rapprochement between the Shi'ah and the Sunnah, established at al-Azhar, and what may also be intended to revive this alleged rapprochement. The people of hadith established solid and very precise rules for narrating hadith, and they restricted it to the narrator being just (adl), and that means being a Muslim, and the Muslim at that time did not exit the circle of Islam merely for being a Shi'ite or a Khariji or a Murji'i or the like; because these opinions and these schools were new to their adherents, and it was possible to say that they exerted effort and erred.
And on this occasion I say something that may be useful; which is that the distinction made by some scholars between disagreement in the fundamentals, which is not permissible, and disagreement in the branches, which is permissible; this distinction has no basis in the Shari'ah. The criterion is only that everyone who follows a school, whether it is in creed or in rulings, whether it is in the fundamentals or in the branches, only... Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - and then if he errs after that and does not find the right path, then he and his intention and his destination are with Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - who is aware of what is in the breasts. Therefore, we see the scholars of hadith left criticizing the narrator regarding his narration of hadith based on his school in which he deviated from the people of the Sunnah; they did not consider this... but they made it an unacceptable criticism. So they restricted it to being just and precise, they required justice in him - meaning: Islam - then that he be known for truthfulness and not known for lying, and finally: that he be a preserver and precise in what he narrates.
And they did not elevate the narrations of this type of narrators by saying he was upon such and such a school, because those schools generally had not yet taken on the creedal status, and the creeds contrary to the Book and the Sunnah had not become clear at that time, as is the case now with some of the Islamic sects.
And the analogy or reliance on the rapprochement between the people of the Sunnah and the Shi'ah in this time, while we read in their books what is open and explicit disbelief, is not permissible for us to analogize this to what was previous of some deviations and exaggeration in the People of the House, or exaggeration in interpretation..., or laxity in faith as is the case of the Murji'ah. This situation today differs completely from what many of the sects were upon, including the Rafidah. The Rafidah in the past are not known for anything except the criticism ofThe Shaykh : ... and of the Mother of the Believers, the Lady Aisha; but it is not known of them that it is their school that this Mushaf, which is the Book of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - and as he said rightly:[Fussilat 41:42] is incomplete, and that the established Mushaf is the Mushaf of Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her); this creed was not known of those Shi'ites or Rafidah about whom some of the people of hadith narrated. So relying on such a narration to depend on the call for rapprochement between the people of the Sunnah and the Shi'ah is not permissible at all, especially since the scholars of al-Azhar tried it and did not succeed, and in fact many of them regretted what they did. So it is obligatory, if there must be rapprochement, that discussions and debates be held, either face to face, and they be based on studying the fundamentals upon which the creed of the people of the Sunnah is established, and studying the fundamentals upon which the creed of the Shi'ah and the Rafidah is established; and by that, the truth which is with the people of the Sunnah and the falsehood which the people of Rafidism and Shi'ism live in can become clear.
So this is what comes to my mind now of speech regarding this issue... no one from the students of knowledge should be involved in the idea that it is possible to reconcile the Sunnah and the Shi'ah. Then I mention on this occasion regarding one of the poets, and I am not a poet and I do not memorize poetry, but the occasion may remind me of something of it. What does the poet say?
If you cannot do something, leave it *** And pass it over to what you can do
We now have disagreement among the people of the Sunnah themselves, so sound logic does not require that we jump to attempting agreement between the sects that belong to the Sunnah, jumping to agreement with the farthest people, if agreement between us and them is possible, and they are the Shi'ah. We have today - as you know - the schools that are relied upon and followed by the people of the Sunnah are the four schools related to legal rulings; the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools. This is regarding rulings in general. And we have three schools regarding creed; which are the school of the people of hadith, the school of the Asha'irah, and the school of the Maturidiyyah. Why do we not strive and try to get closer to those who are undoubtedly closer to us than those, so we neglect them and turn away from them to attempt agreement between the Sunnah and the Shi'ah?
I believe that some policies have an entry point into the subject, otherwise sound logic obliges us to focus on the closest, then the next closest; because that is what will enable the mujtahid to succeed in attempting rapprochement, and not the complete opposite. So did we succeed? The Islamic call began its sound path since long centuries ago, with the effort of some scholars, foremost among them Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his righteous students. Were the people of the Sunnah able to unite and make their reference the Book and the Sunnah and leave the existing inherited disagreements between them school-wise? This - unfortunately - we have not passed beyond; so how can a rational person imagine the possibility of agreement with the Shi'ah and rapprochement in the fundamentals, while they are the farthest from us in their fundamentals, let alone their branches? It is enough for us what I mentioned earlier that they believe that three quarters of this Mushaf have gone, as I recall, according to their claim. Therefore, I believe that it is impossible to agree today, or at least to get close to the Shi'ah, since we have not been able to get close to the masses of the other schools; whether what is related to rulings as I mentioned earlier, or what is related to creeds. This is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers.
His EminenceThe Shaykh- May Allah preserve you - Some people have seen the bringing together of the Shi'ah and the people of the Sunnah; what is your opinion on this?
The Shaykh : What I know is that al-Azhar tried its luck in this matter and did not succeed; that is because the Sunnah with them is a matter of flexibility and policy that we can call legal-political, unlike the Shi'ah; for they are among the most extreme people in their fanaticism for what they found their fathers and grandfathers upon. And I say in many such occasions: We have heard, both in the past and recently, that many of the Christians and Buddhists, and perhaps a few individuals from the Jews, have embraced Islam; but we have not heard, over the course of time and the long duration, that a Shi'ite, let alone a Rafidi, has become a follower of the Sunnah. That is because they are stamped with rigidity regarding the deviation and misguidance they are upon. And so the consequence of what they called the rapprochement between the Sunnah and the Shi'ah, since decades ago at al-Azhar, was that the Shi'ah misled this rapprochement... and they spread many of their books and opinions among the people of the Sunnah, while the people of the Sunnah did nothing with the Shi'ah, so it became a cold gain for the Shi'ah over the people of the Sunnah. You have heard here that there is a new movement for rapprochement between the Sunnah and the Shi'ah, and I heard a strange and odd argument from some of those who stand with us in... the Sunni and hadith work, that they found among some of the narrators those who belonged to Shi'ism or to Rafidism, and yet some of them are accepted by the people of hadith for their narration, even though they are from the Shi'ah. And what I see is that there is an apparent difference between what the scholars of hadith were upon and what is intended by the rapprochement between the Shi'ah and the Sunnah, established at al-Azhar, and what may also be intended to revive this alleged rapprochement. The people of hadith established solid and very precise rules for narrating hadith, and they restricted it to the narrator being just (adl), and that means being a Muslim, and the Muslim at that time did not exit the circle of Islam merely for being a Shi'ite or a Khariji or a Murji'i or the like; because these opinions and these schools were new to their adherents, and it was possible to say that they exerted effort and erred.
And on this occasion I say something that may be useful; which is that the distinction made by some scholars between disagreement in the fundamentals, which is not permissible, and disagreement in the branches, which is permissible; this distinction has no basis in the Shari'ah. The criterion is only that everyone who follows a school, whether it is in creed or in rulings, whether it is in the fundamentals or in the branches, only... Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - and then if he errs after that and does not find the right path, then he and his intention and his destination are with Allah - Blessed and Exalted is He - who is aware of what is in the breasts. Therefore, we see the scholars of hadith left criticizing the narrator regarding his narration of hadith based on his school in which he deviated from the people of the Sunnah; they did not consider this... but they made it an unacceptable criticism. So they restricted it to being just and precise, they required justice in him - meaning: Islam - then that he be known for truthfulness and not known for lying, and finally: that he be a preserver and precise in what he narrates.
And they did not elevate the narrations of this type of narrators by saying he was upon such and such a school, because those schools generally had not yet taken on the creedal status, and the creeds contrary to the Book and the Sunnah had not become clear at that time, as is the case now with some of the Islamic sects.
And the analogy or reliance on the rapprochement between the people of the Sunnah and the Shi'ah in this time, while we read in their books what is open and explicit disbelief, is not permissible for us to analogize this to what was previous of some deviations and exaggeration in the People of the House, or exaggeration in interpretation..., or laxity in faith as is the case of the Murji'ah. This situation today differs completely from what many of the sects were upon, including the Rafidah. The Rafidah in the past are not known for anything except the criticism ofThe Shaykh : ... and of the Mother of the Believers, the Lady Aisha; but it is not known of them that it is their school that this Mushaf, which is the Book of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - and as he said rightly:
Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it
لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه ولا من خلفهSo this is what comes to my mind now of speech regarding this issue... no one from the students of knowledge should be involved in the idea that it is possible to reconcile the Sunnah and the Shi'ah. Then I mention on this occasion regarding one of the poets, and I am not a poet and I do not memorize poetry, but the occasion may remind me of something of it. What does the poet say?
If you cannot do something, leave it *** And pass it over to what you can do
We now have disagreement among the people of the Sunnah themselves, so sound logic does not require that we jump to attempting agreement between the sects that belong to the Sunnah, jumping to agreement with the farthest people, if agreement between us and them is possible, and they are the Shi'ah. We have today - as you know - the schools that are relied upon and followed by the people of the Sunnah are the four schools related to legal rulings; the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools. This is regarding rulings in general. And we have three schools regarding creed; which are the school of the people of hadith, the school of the Asha'irah, and the school of the Maturidiyyah. Why do we not strive and try to get closer to those who are undoubtedly closer to us than those, so we neglect them and turn away from them to attempt agreement between the Sunnah and the Shi'ah?
I believe that some policies have an entry point into the subject, otherwise sound logic obliges us to focus on the closest, then the next closest; because that is what will enable the mujtahid to succeed in attempting rapprochement, and not the complete opposite. So did we succeed? The Islamic call began its sound path since long centuries ago, with the effort of some scholars, foremost among them Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his righteous students. Were the people of the Sunnah able to unite and make their reference the Book and the Sunnah and leave the existing inherited disagreements between them school-wise? This - unfortunately - we have not passed beyond; so how can a rational person imagine the possibility of agreement with the Shi'ah and rapprochement in the fundamentals, while they are the farthest from us in their fundamentals, let alone their branches? It is enough for us what I mentioned earlier that they believe that three quarters of this Mushaf have gone, as I recall, according to their claim. Therefore, I believe that it is impossible to agree today, or at least to get close to the Shi'ah, since we have not been able to get close to the masses of the other schools; whether what is related to rulings as I mentioned earlier, or what is related to creeds. This is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.