Important Matters in Calling to Allah
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Your Eminence! When we go out in the path of Allah for da'wah, we give gifts,For example: It is obligatory for us, when we go out in the path of Allah, to avoid four matters: first, not intervening in jurisprudential issues, not intervening in political affairs, and not intervening in social ills such as forbidding evil or the like.
If we say to him: Where is the evidence for that?He said: How did Imam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab answer: Know, may Allah have mercy on you, that it is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman to learn four matters. So what is the ruling in this?
First: Your saying, "when we go out in the path of Allah,"Going out in the path of Allah means: Going out to fight the disbelievers, this is what is meant by the path of Allah. As for doing good deeds in general, although it falls under being a path to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), it is not the jihad in the path of Allah for which the texts have come regarding its virtue. The most that can be said is: going out for da'wah to Allah, this is the correct term.
And going out for da'wah to Allah requires two fundamental things: The first thing: that the person has knowledge of the Shari'ah to which he is calling. I do not say that he must be a scholar of the entire Shari'ah; because that is something that cannot be borne, and even the greatest scholar cannot grasp all the legal rulings. But that he be knowledgeable about the Shari'ah in what he is calling to,Meaning: he does not speak except with knowledge, so he must be on clear insight.
The second thing: He must be one who acts upon what he calls to, so that he may be a role model.
As for not intervening in jurisprudential issues, perhaps those who stipulated that knew that their stock in fiqh is small, and that intervening in them without knowledge is nothing but mere argumentation with no benefit,They fear that a dispute will occur for this reason, so they say: do not investigate jurisprudential matters.
Yes, if there were a learned jurist among them to whom they could refer, then it would be necessary for them to gain knowledge of the religion of Allah to the best of their ability, but considering that it is not easy for them to have this type of scholar with them, they said: do not investigate jurisprudential issues, because investigation without knowledge is mere argumentation from which people do not benefit, except that it fills hearts with hatred for one another.
And as for their saying: Do not speak about political affairs, so we agree with him on this; because the investigation of political affairs cannot be in the hands of the common people, everyone saying what he wants. Political affairs have specific people who handle them, for this reason you do not find, for example, the policy of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab scattered in the market of buyers and sellers, everyone chewing on it and everyone speaking.
Never, and if he wants to do something, he consults those who are qualified for consultation when the matter becomes difficult for him. Political matters are not toys to be thrown into the hands of the common people, everyone chewing on them as he pleases, because there are secret matters that the common people cannot be informed of. The rulers deal with them according to what they see as the public benefit, and it is obligatory for the ruler to prioritize what is in the interest of the Muslims whom Allah has placed him in authority over. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said, referring to this matter: [An-Nisa: 83] meaning they spread it [An-Nisa: 83] So Allah the Exalted made opinion belong to people who know and derive things and look at the consequences.
So I agree that it is not befitting for us to make our gatherings about political affairs; because there is absolutely no benefit from this, except that perhaps a person comes in the guise of a friend and speaks in a way that fills the breasts with hatred toward the rulers, until a gap occurs between the people and their rulers, and much evil results from that. He may appear like a friend but is not a friend, but there is something in his heart against the rulers, and he wants to execute it and relieve his chest. Or he may be a friend who wants good and wants reform, but he did not know how the path to that is; because the path to reform is not by spreading defects and disseminating them among people, whether they are defects of scholars or defects of princes, but rather by attempting reform and following what brings benefit.
So I see that stipulating not to intervene in politics, I see that it is good, and that it is what necessitates that people turn away to the worship of Allah alone, and to establishing tawhid, and to refraining from what does not concern them, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): (Part of the excellence of a person's Islam is that he leaves what does not concern him) .
The third and fourth: Enjoining good and forbidding evil,Meaning: the problems of society, and this is a mistake. That they do not investigate them is a mistake;For Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Asr: 1-3] It mentioned four descriptions: faith and righteous deeds, and this is specific to the person himself [Al-'Asr 103:3] and this is for others, so it is necessary for us to investigate social problems, in order to work on solving these problems, and repairing what is broken, and gathering what is scattered, and the like of that, but by a way that conforms to what the Shari'ah brought, not by a way of violence and the person carrying enmity and hatred for the one being advised; because this is a matter that also requires attention. If you see a man doing a bad deed and he is a believer but he is disobedient, there is no doubt that you hate his disobedience, and you must hate his disobedience, but that you hate him? This requires detail, and it is not permissible for you to hate him until you know what is with him. Perhaps this sinner who committed the sin is ignorant of it and does not know that it is a sin.
And I give you an example: A young man married and was having intercourse with his wife in Ramadan while he was fasting,And he says: I used to think that what is forbidden is intercourse with ejaculation, and he swore that he did not know that intercourse without ejaculation is forbidden. And there is no doubt that intercourse during the day of Ramadan is one of the greatest of sins; because it violates the sanctity of a pillar of Islam, which is fasting. But this person is now ignorant. We hate his action; because it is a sin, but we do not hate him until we know. So if he says that he is ignorant, then the breadth of Islam and the ease of Islam do not necessitate that we hate him until we establish the proof against him.
Many of the brothers, when they see a person in sin, he—the one seeing—hates the sin, and this is the truth, but he hates the sinner, then he treats him with the treatment of the one who is angry and hates him, who wants to take revenge from him, and this is a great mistake.
And it is obligatory to treat the sinner with the treatment of the gentle doctor who heals the wound so that it may be cured, not heals it so that it increases. So treat this man with gentleness and a desire for his good and mercy for him.
And for this reason I tell you a word said by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah; and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is known, may Allah have mercy on him, for his strictness with the people of innovation and his fighting them,He said: (If you look at the people of kalam—And the people of 'ilm al-kalam (theology): they are those who refer to their minds in establishing the creeds, not to the Book and the Sunnah—He said: if you look at them with the eye of divine decree, you will have mercy on them and be soft toward them; because they were afflicted with this and went astray. You have mercy on them and are soft toward them. And if you look at them with the eye of the Shari'ah, and that it is not permissible to approve of them, you will see that they are deserving of what al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said) And what did al-Shafi'i say?Al-Shafi'i said regarding the ruling on the people of 'ilm al-kalam (theology): That they be beaten with palm branches and sandals,And that they be paraded through the tribes and it be said: This is the recompense of one who left the Book and the Sunnah and turned to the science of kalam.
This is how the educated scholars look at creation with a look of reform, not a look of revenge and hatred. I hate the sin that this man commits, but this man is a believer, my brother, even if he commits zina and steals, he is my brother [Al-Hujurat: 10] .
Is there anything greater than killing the soul without right? No,And despite that, Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hujurat: 9-10] Look at the softening: (Make peace between your two brothers) Each of them is fighting his brother (And the cursing of a Muslim is fisq, and his fighting is kufr) But despite that, this is softening in speech (Make peace between your two brothers) Brotherhood, even if they are fighting each other, some killing some.
So this is a matter that the da'is and those who enjoin good and forbid evil must pay attention to. And I am confident that if a person fears Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and follows what Allah and His Messenger guided him to, then success is assured. And how many a person I have seen in sin, then I addressed him with gentleness and reason, and he returns from the sin. But if you address him with violence and the zeal and passion that is in your heart, and you shout at him and rebuke him, he will be repelled by that.
Therefore, I urge my brothers the da'is to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and those who enjoin good and forbid evil: that they observe this point; and that is that when they call, they want the reform of the one being called. When they enjoin good and forbid evil, they also want the reform of the doer of evil and the leaver of good, without being harsh with him. And if they follow this, Allah will make their affair easy.
The questioner: O Shaykh! The emphasis on creed in da'wah, as in the hadith of Mu'adh when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Yemen and said: (You will come to a people of the Book), so he started first with tawhid (the oneness of Allah). Many da'iyah (callers to Islam) go out and call people to prayer and the virtues of deeds, but they do not pay attention to creed. If you were to alert them, may Allah reward you with good?The Shaykh: The da'iyah now in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not focus much on the aspect of tawhid (the oneness of Allah); because the people—praise be to Allah—are on a good creed, there is no disagreement, and perhaps if they opened up some of the disagreements in creed and 'ilm al-kalam (theology), they would open closed doors. Therefore, they focus on practical matters rather than creedal matters; because if you were to come to an old woman from among the elderly people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ask her questions about the essence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) or the attributes of Allah, you would find that she has a realized tawhid (the oneness of Allah). This is the reason they call to the branches where there is shortcoming.
And as for the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of Mu'adh
If we say to him: Where is the evidence for that?He said: How did Imam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab answer: Know, may Allah have mercy on you, that it is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman to learn four matters. So what is the ruling in this?
First: Your saying, "when we go out in the path of Allah,"Going out in the path of Allah means: Going out to fight the disbelievers, this is what is meant by the path of Allah. As for doing good deeds in general, although it falls under being a path to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), it is not the jihad in the path of Allah for which the texts have come regarding its virtue. The most that can be said is: going out for da'wah to Allah, this is the correct term.
And going out for da'wah to Allah requires two fundamental things: The first thing: that the person has knowledge of the Shari'ah to which he is calling. I do not say that he must be a scholar of the entire Shari'ah; because that is something that cannot be borne, and even the greatest scholar cannot grasp all the legal rulings. But that he be knowledgeable about the Shari'ah in what he is calling to,Meaning: he does not speak except with knowledge, so he must be on clear insight.
The second thing: He must be one who acts upon what he calls to, so that he may be a role model.
As for not intervening in jurisprudential issues, perhaps those who stipulated that knew that their stock in fiqh is small, and that intervening in them without knowledge is nothing but mere argumentation with no benefit,They fear that a dispute will occur for this reason, so they say: do not investigate jurisprudential matters.
Yes, if there were a learned jurist among them to whom they could refer, then it would be necessary for them to gain knowledge of the religion of Allah to the best of their ability, but considering that it is not easy for them to have this type of scholar with them, they said: do not investigate jurisprudential issues, because investigation without knowledge is mere argumentation from which people do not benefit, except that it fills hearts with hatred for one another.
And as for their saying: Do not speak about political affairs, so we agree with him on this; because the investigation of political affairs cannot be in the hands of the common people, everyone saying what he wants. Political affairs have specific people who handle them, for this reason you do not find, for example, the policy of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab scattered in the market of buyers and sellers, everyone chewing on it and everyone speaking.
Never, and if he wants to do something, he consults those who are qualified for consultation when the matter becomes difficult for him. Political matters are not toys to be thrown into the hands of the common people, everyone chewing on them as he pleases, because there are secret matters that the common people cannot be informed of. The rulers deal with them according to what they see as the public benefit, and it is obligatory for the ruler to prioritize what is in the interest of the Muslims whom Allah has placed him in authority over. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said, referring to this matter:
And when there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around
وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِBut if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it
وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَى أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنْبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمSo I agree that it is not befitting for us to make our gatherings about political affairs; because there is absolutely no benefit from this, except that perhaps a person comes in the guise of a friend and speaks in a way that fills the breasts with hatred toward the rulers, until a gap occurs between the people and their rulers, and much evil results from that. He may appear like a friend but is not a friend, but there is something in his heart against the rulers, and he wants to execute it and relieve his chest. Or he may be a friend who wants good and wants reform, but he did not know how the path to that is; because the path to reform is not by spreading defects and disseminating them among people, whether they are defects of scholars or defects of princes, but rather by attempting reform and following what brings benefit.
So I see that stipulating not to intervene in politics, I see that it is good, and that it is what necessitates that people turn away to the worship of Allah alone, and to establishing tawhid, and to refraining from what does not concern them, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): (Part of the excellence of a person's Islam is that he leaves what does not concern him) .
The third and fourth: Enjoining good and forbidding evil,Meaning: the problems of society, and this is a mistake. That they do not investigate them is a mistake;For Allah the Exalted said:
(1) By time, (2) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (3) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.
وَالْعَصْرِ * إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِand advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.
وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِAnd I give you an example: A young man married and was having intercourse with his wife in Ramadan while he was fasting,And he says: I used to think that what is forbidden is intercourse with ejaculation, and he swore that he did not know that intercourse without ejaculation is forbidden. And there is no doubt that intercourse during the day of Ramadan is one of the greatest of sins; because it violates the sanctity of a pillar of Islam, which is fasting. But this person is now ignorant. We hate his action; because it is a sin, but we do not hate him until we know. So if he says that he is ignorant, then the breadth of Islam and the ease of Islam do not necessitate that we hate him until we establish the proof against him.
Many of the brothers, when they see a person in sin, he—the one seeing—hates the sin, and this is the truth, but he hates the sinner, then he treats him with the treatment of the one who is angry and hates him, who wants to take revenge from him, and this is a great mistake.
And it is obligatory to treat the sinner with the treatment of the gentle doctor who heals the wound so that it may be cured, not heals it so that it increases. So treat this man with gentleness and a desire for his good and mercy for him.
And for this reason I tell you a word said by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah; and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is known, may Allah have mercy on him, for his strictness with the people of innovation and his fighting them,He said: (If you look at the people of kalam—And the people of 'ilm al-kalam (theology): they are those who refer to their minds in establishing the creeds, not to the Book and the Sunnah—He said: if you look at them with the eye of divine decree, you will have mercy on them and be soft toward them; because they were afflicted with this and went astray. You have mercy on them and are soft toward them. And if you look at them with the eye of the Shari'ah, and that it is not permissible to approve of them, you will see that they are deserving of what al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said) And what did al-Shafi'i say?Al-Shafi'i said regarding the ruling on the people of 'ilm al-kalam (theology): That they be beaten with palm branches and sandals,And that they be paraded through the tribes and it be said: This is the recompense of one who left the Book and the Sunnah and turned to the science of kalam.
This is how the educated scholars look at creation with a look of reform, not a look of revenge and hatred. I hate the sin that this man commits, but this man is a believer, my brother, even if he commits zina and steals, he is my brother
The believers are but brothers
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌIs there anything greater than killing the soul without right? No,And despite that, Allah the Exalted said:
(9) And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah. And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. (10) The believers are but brothers, so make settlement between your brothers. And fear Allah that you may receive mercy.
وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ * إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْSo this is a matter that the da'is and those who enjoin good and forbid evil must pay attention to. And I am confident that if a person fears Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and follows what Allah and His Messenger guided him to, then success is assured. And how many a person I have seen in sin, then I addressed him with gentleness and reason, and he returns from the sin. But if you address him with violence and the zeal and passion that is in your heart, and you shout at him and rebuke him, he will be repelled by that.
Therefore, I urge my brothers the da'is to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and those who enjoin good and forbid evil: that they observe this point; and that is that when they call, they want the reform of the one being called. When they enjoin good and forbid evil, they also want the reform of the doer of evil and the leaver of good, without being harsh with him. And if they follow this, Allah will make their affair easy.
The questioner: O Shaykh! The emphasis on creed in da'wah, as in the hadith of Mu'adh when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him to Yemen and said: (You will come to a people of the Book), so he started first with tawhid (the oneness of Allah). Many da'iyah (callers to Islam) go out and call people to prayer and the virtues of deeds, but they do not pay attention to creed. If you were to alert them, may Allah reward you with good?The Shaykh: The da'iyah now in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not focus much on the aspect of tawhid (the oneness of Allah); because the people—praise be to Allah—are on a good creed, there is no disagreement, and perhaps if they opened up some of the disagreements in creed and 'ilm al-kalam (theology), they would open closed doors. Therefore, they focus on practical matters rather than creedal matters; because if you were to come to an old woman from among the elderly people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ask her questions about the essence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) or the attributes of Allah, you would find that she has a realized tawhid (the oneness of Allah). This is the reason they call to the branches where there is shortcoming.
And as for the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of Mu'adh