Questioned about the Tabligh Jama'ah and whether it is permissible to go out with them?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. Can I ask another question?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : I understood your fatwa on this matter. Here, some of the brothers in the mosque are from the Tabligh Jama'ah. I am a university student here, and sometimes I am confused because the brothers visit me and say, "Come out with us for the da'wah or something." And some of the brothers say that the Tabligh Jama'ah is an innovating group, and going out with them is an innovation and something newly introduced into the religion. So I do not know what your opinion is: is it permissible to go out with them, or is it an innovation?
The Shaykh : No, we do not advise you to go out with them, because first of all, they do not have knowledge of Islam, not even traditional Islam, let alone Salafi Islam. These people focus on this numerical going out, and their numbers do not equal a scholar. Therefore, we advise them, just as we advise you, to stick to the mosques and to stick to the circles of dhikr, which are circles of knowledge: studying the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the obligatory duty. As for this Tablighi going out, it is a modern means that this group, which I call modern Sufism, has made unique to itself. That is, it is a group that inherited something from the Sufi paths, but they tried to make it differ in some of its appearances and forms from the previous Sufi paths. And with this organization that they call "going out in the path of Allah," this going out is not in the path of Allah, but it is from innovations, as you heard. Because the Muslims have passed through these fourteen centuries, and there was no generation among these generations, especially the first, second, and third centuries, where a group would go out for da'wah while they were in need of da'wah. Rather, the one who is prayed upon and blessed would send those who were scholars from among the scholars of the Companions, such as Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, and Duhayhah al-Kalbi, and others like them. He would send the scholars to call the Muslims. As for going out with ten or twenty people as the Tabligh Jama'ah does, this is undoubtedly from the newly introduced matters. Perhaps you have heard the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 4607Sahih (Al-Albani) And in another hadith: Sunan an-Nasa'i 1578Sahih (Darussalam).
The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : I have prolonged this on you. One last question, and then that is it. I will let you rest, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : Regarding this imam, for example, we came to replace him through the lawful means, which are consultation and sitting with the people of the mosque and holding a consultation to choose a better imam than him. And this brother, when he found this, went to use unlawful means with us, such as going and complaining to the American court and involving the American court to adjudicate between us. In this case, he is officially considered an imam in the documents, but legally, if the consultation among us removes him, then legally he is not an imam in this case. If he went to the American court, meaning he used the wrong path, is it permissible for us to respond to him in the same way, which is using an American lawyer or something? Or is it not permissible?
The Shaykh : We do not advise you to do that. But who appointed this man as an imam over you?
The questioner : When he first came, he said that he memorizes the entire Qur'an.
The Shaykh : Who appointed him?
The questioner : Yes, the brothers themselves, the worshippers.
The Shaykh : Then those who appointed him should remove him.
The questioner : Is he refusing now?
The Shaykh : No, he is refusing, but I want to understand: how will the court intervene? The American disbeliever court, as long as you appointed this imam, you will say to the court, "We appointed him, and we removed him," in a peaceful way that does not cause problems or anything.
The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : During his three-year tenure, there was an imam who was in contact with the municipality here regarding the method of building the mosque and had documents for this matter. He also made a contract and had some of the brothers sign a contract for him. So is this contract considered valid legally for the American government? The worshippers know nothing about this contract, but some of the brothers came to him or were deceived by him and signed this contract for him. So is the contract legally valid?
The Shaykh : Yes, I say if the case requires litigation and deliberations as he wants to deal with it, we do not advise you. But if the matter does not require much, ask one of the lawyers there whom you trust. If it is sufficient to submit a statement after he tries to ruin your plan, stating that this imam was appointed by us and now we have decided to change him to someone more qualified for the imamate than him, if this amount resolves the problem, it is permissible. Otherwise, do not go beyond that.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh, and may Allah prolong your life.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : I understood your fatwa on this matter. Here, some of the brothers in the mosque are from the Tabligh Jama'ah. I am a university student here, and sometimes I am confused because the brothers visit me and say, "Come out with us for the da'wah or something." And some of the brothers say that the Tabligh Jama'ah is an innovating group, and going out with them is an innovation and something newly introduced into the religion. So I do not know what your opinion is: is it permissible to go out with them, or is it an innovation?
The Shaykh : No, we do not advise you to go out with them, because first of all, they do not have knowledge of Islam, not even traditional Islam, let alone Salafi Islam. These people focus on this numerical going out, and their numbers do not equal a scholar. Therefore, we advise them, just as we advise you, to stick to the mosques and to stick to the circles of dhikr, which are circles of knowledge: studying the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the obligatory duty. As for this Tablighi going out, it is a modern means that this group, which I call modern Sufism, has made unique to itself. That is, it is a group that inherited something from the Sufi paths, but they tried to make it differ in some of its appearances and forms from the previous Sufi paths. And with this organization that they call "going out in the path of Allah," this going out is not in the path of Allah, but it is from innovations, as you heard. Because the Muslims have passed through these fourteen centuries, and there was no generation among these generations, especially the first, second, and third centuries, where a group would go out for da'wah while they were in need of da'wah. Rather, the one who is prayed upon and blessed would send those who were scholars from among the scholars of the Companions, such as Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, and Duhayhah al-Kalbi, and others like them. He would send the scholars to call the Muslims. As for going out with ten or twenty people as the Tabligh Jama'ah does, this is undoubtedly from the newly introduced matters. Perhaps you have heard the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور فإن كل محدثة بدعة وكل بدعة ضلالةand every going astray is in the Fire
وكل ضلالة في النارThe questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner : I have prolonged this on you. One last question, and then that is it. I will let you rest, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : Regarding this imam, for example, we came to replace him through the lawful means, which are consultation and sitting with the people of the mosque and holding a consultation to choose a better imam than him. And this brother, when he found this, went to use unlawful means with us, such as going and complaining to the American court and involving the American court to adjudicate between us. In this case, he is officially considered an imam in the documents, but legally, if the consultation among us removes him, then legally he is not an imam in this case. If he went to the American court, meaning he used the wrong path, is it permissible for us to respond to him in the same way, which is using an American lawyer or something? Or is it not permissible?
The Shaykh : We do not advise you to do that. But who appointed this man as an imam over you?
The questioner : When he first came, he said that he memorizes the entire Qur'an.
The Shaykh : Who appointed him?
The questioner : Yes, the brothers themselves, the worshippers.
The Shaykh : Then those who appointed him should remove him.
The questioner : Is he refusing now?
The Shaykh : No, he is refusing, but I want to understand: how will the court intervene? The American disbeliever court, as long as you appointed this imam, you will say to the court, "We appointed him, and we removed him," in a peaceful way that does not cause problems or anything.
The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : During his three-year tenure, there was an imam who was in contact with the municipality here regarding the method of building the mosque and had documents for this matter. He also made a contract and had some of the brothers sign a contract for him. So is this contract considered valid legally for the American government? The worshippers know nothing about this contract, but some of the brothers came to him or were deceived by him and signed this contract for him. So is the contract legally valid?
The Shaykh : Yes, I say if the case requires litigation and deliberations as he wants to deal with it, we do not advise you. But if the matter does not require much, ask one of the lawyers there whom you trust. If it is sufficient to submit a statement after he tries to ruin your plan, stating that this imam was appointed by us and now we have decided to change him to someone more qualified for the imamate than him, if this amount resolves the problem, it is permissible. Otherwise, do not go beyond that.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh, and may Allah prolong your life.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.