Are the fathers and grandfathers who did not know the correct creed considered among the people of the period of ignorance?
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The questioner : Our fathers and grandfathers who did not study tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and did not know it, are they considered among the people of the period of ignorance?
The Shaykh : The question contains a distinction in the minds of people, which he intends... because many people know tawhid (the oneness of Allah) without having studied it, because... and the Arabs were an unlettered nation by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an, so they did not study tawhid, but they... before the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), finally before the prophets Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them). What matters to us are the fathers and grandfathers. What matters to us is the rule: everyone to whom the call has not reached is among the people of the period of ignorance, whether before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or after his sending. The important thing is that the proof be established against him. And I believe that many people today are people of the period of ignorance, even in the heart of Islamic lands, because those who are supposed to convey the call to them are in need of having the call conveyed to them.
The Shaykh : The question contains a distinction in the minds of people, which he intends... because many people know tawhid (the oneness of Allah) without having studied it, because... and the Arabs were an unlettered nation by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an, so they did not study tawhid, but they... before the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), finally before the prophets Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them). What matters to us are the fathers and grandfathers. What matters to us is the rule: everyone to whom the call has not reached is among the people of the period of ignorance, whether before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or after his sending. The important thing is that the proof be established against him. And I believe that many people today are people of the period of ignorance, even in the heart of Islamic lands, because those who are supposed to convey the call to them are in need of having the call conveyed to them.