How to Deal with Innovators and Their Followers? And When Does a Muslim Exit the Circle of Islam?

The questioner : And the criticism of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and so on. And of course, there are many people who listen to them, some of whom are on the minbars, and most of them are like this, because those who are upon the truth have been removed from the minbars and from da'wah (calling others to Islam), and have been restricted. I think you know, O Shaykh. And some of them have been swept along with them, either out of accommodation or out of fear, we do not know. What should we do in this stage? How do we confront them? If we confront them face to face, that is not free from our exposure to many things, meaning, there is a possibility of destruction, there is a possibility that they have dealings with the state or with people, and Allah the Exalted knows best, or that they place the one who opposes them or clarifies the truth to them in certain circles, that they criticize him, they may criticize his honor, they mean they want to make him not sound, not upon the straight path, so that they diminish his status. We, and Allah the Exalted knows best, say that we are proceeding in teaching, meaning the correct Islamic knowledge, through which we clarify to people the soundness of the methodology, and the youth or the people are the ones who distinguish between this and that, but how?

The Shaykh : O my brother, may Allah bless you. Now you are asking about the manner of dealing with these people, and before that you asked, do we confront them? Do not blame me if I say to you, does the weak confront the strong?

The questioner : No, of course, he does not have the capacity for confrontation.

The Shaykh : So, the question is not valid from the start. Confrontation is not valid. But yes... , so in terms of weakness and strength, your current situation is like the situation of many Salafis in many Islamic countries. It is similar to the position of the Companions in the Meccan period, in terms of weakness, not in terms of the rulings of the Shari'ah. And I think you agree with me in distinguishing between this and that, because we sometimes hear some tapes, and these tapes are almost explicit that now we must return to the Meccan period, and this involves the denial of the divine attributes, which is not permissible. It may happen, and may Allah have mercy on you, but in terms of weakness and strength, many Muslims in many Islamic countries are like the Companions in the Meccan period. So what were they doing? Were they confronting? Say no.

The questioner : No

The Shaykh : And I will say something more. Were they even thinking about confrontation? No. What were they thinking about? They were thinking about emigrating, meaning hijrah. And this is what happened at the beginning, from the emigration to Abyssinia, then the second emigration, then the emigration to Madinah. As you hinted in some of your words, it is to focus on knowledge and acting upon this knowledge.

The questioner : We ask Allah for ease.

The Shaykh : Meaning, each one of us, within the limits of his ability, focuses on what we refer to with two words: purification and education. So we try to adopt Islam within the capability of each one of us. One has a narrow, small circle, one has a larger one, one has an even larger one, on this basis. And with this knowledge is associated action, which is educating ourselves and those who take refuge with us. This is how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) began the da'wah, and this is how we should follow his Sunnah. As for directly positioning ourselves against the various tyrants, parties, and the like, this is not from the Shari'ah, nor from reason in any way. So it is only knowledge and action for you. Then our Lord, the Exalted and Majestic, is the One who makes the end for the weak and for those who hold fast to the Book and the Sunnah. And do not be concerned by what you mentioned just now, that you are accused of criticizing the Messenger and the awliya and the righteous, and so on. Because this is the Sunnah of Allah in His creation. The truth is always in dispute and argument with falsehood, and the end is for the pious, as the Lord of the Worlds said: . Therefore, we advise our brothers to walk slowly, and not to do as they say in some Syrian countries, carrying the ladder sideways and walking. No, rather slowly, slowly, as the Exalted said: . As for it being said about you such and such, more than that was said about the Messenger, and Allah the Exalted consoled him by saying: . Yes.

The questioner : Meaning, they may confront us a lot, so we mean we must clarify and explain if we can, because they want to... And there is something important that I actually missed, that they say we are Salafis and we are upon the Book and the Sunnah, and this is the most dangerous thing, because many youth and people are deceived by them.

The Shaykh : We say to them, bring your proof if you are truthful.

The questioner : For example, in Jumu'ah, meaning in the Friday prayer, they are promoting a book by our Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abd al-Khaliq, may Allah reward him with good, "The Muslims and Political Work."

The Shaykh : Ah.

The questioner : And we in Iraq, as some of the brothers know, copying is not permissible, it is forbidden.

The Shaykh : Ah.

The questioner : Copying is not permissible.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : The copied books, and any copied item.

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : Absolutely.

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : And these people, openly in front of the mosques, some of the mosques, they copy this booklet and distribute it. It is sold for prices that are almost negligible, to deceive the people who are praying that this is from the methodology of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that it is like this, with the parties and the Islamic organizations and others, and...

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : And if you had a meeting on the cassette, may Allah reward you with good, in response to this, we are actually promoting it to the people so that they understand. Some of our brothers, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : But actually, this is not enough, meaning, if there are responses, written responses, for the ease of transmission, meaning they are transmitted better, if Allah wills, there. This is from one side. From another side, they are now supporting the government there, and they may support them in issues. In fact, some of them say, I do not allow in my house, and it is the minbar, I do not allow in my house that the tyrant there be cursed or that it be said about the tyrant there. I do not accept it. And some of them do not actually declare him a disbeliever, or they declare others disbelievers, and they say that the people are upon their original state, Muslims, and it is not permissible to declare them disbelievers. And we have not actually declared them disbelievers, this is not our concern. But clarification and explanation is necessary. If they are guided, then they are upon the truth, if Allah wills. And if they persist, what is the action, actually, here, O Shaykh, with them? If people persist in associating partners with Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, and do not follow the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the truth, in the creeds, for example, how to deal with them? Do we say that these people are disbelievers by this action, or is this not our concern at all?

The Shaykh : No, my brother. First of all, it is not permissible to rush into declaring a Muslim a disbeliever, because declaring someone a disbeliever is among the most dangerous matters. This is the first point. Second, it is among the most difficult matters, and no one can proceed to judge that a person has committed disbelief unless he is well-versed in the Book and the Sunnah in knowledge and understanding. This is the first condition. Then, he must be one of those known for composure and for not yielding to desire, for if desire overcomes its owner, it blinds him from seeing the truth that the Shari'ah has brought. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, my brother, there is no benefit worth mentioning in declaring so-and-so a disbeliever, or so-and-so a disbeliever, whether they are rulers or the ruled. Because we return to the principle I drew your attention to: we are currently weak. We are in a position where the statement of our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, applies to us: Why do you want to declare so-and-so a disbeliever and so-and-so a disbeliever? In that case, this must be accompanied by a sword: that this disbeliever is called to repent, and if he repents, well and good, otherwise he is killed. Where are we, and where is this ruling? Therefore, we should not dwell on the topic of declaring someone a disbeliever, and I would even say, nor on the topic of declaring someone misguided. We are not in a position of strength. Even declaring someone misguided, which is what? It is less than declaring someone a disbeliever, because if we declare others misguided, they in turn declare us misguided. Indeed, if we declare others disbelievers, they in turn declare us disbelievers. In fact, they declare us disbelievers, and at the very least, they declare us misguided, while we do not declare them disbelievers. Why? Because they look down from above, and they look at us as weak. Therefore, we should not think about the topic of declaring someone a disbeliever, nor even the topic of declaring someone misguided. Rather, as the Exalted said: And He, Mighty and Majestic, said: So we present our call as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has revealed it, pure and cleansed of every foreign element, as long as we have been able to do so over these long years. Because the truth is that this matter requires tremendous efforts and great scholars and masters who have spent their lives studying the Book and the Sunnah so that they can purify Islam from what has entered it, whether in beliefs, or in jurisprudential rulings, or in behavior and morals, or in distinguishing weak and fabricated hadiths, and so on. This purification from all these aspects related to Islam truly requires great scholars, and many of them spread throughout the Muslim world. And yet, these scholars, as the poet said:
"And when they were counted, they were few *** But today they are less than few"
Therefore, a student of knowledge like us should be content to first understand this Islam within himself, and to practice it within himself to the extent possible. Then he transfers this circle from himself to those around him: if he has a wife, then his wife; if he has children from her, then his children; if he has neighbors, then the neighbors; if he has companions, and so on. It is like a pebble thrown into still water: what does it do? The first circle, the second, the third, until the circles disappear due to the spread of the ripples. This is how Islam spread in the beginning. And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who are the strangers? The explanation of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) came in several occasions, two of which are authentic. Once he was asked (peace and blessings be upon him): Who are the strangers? He said: This description applies exactly now. The second description, which is more precious and rarer, he said (peace and blessings be upon him) on another occasion: Corruption is a sea with no shore. All these centuries and years, corruption spreads and innovations come to life, and so on. So the one who wants to rectify what people have corrupted should be, as we said earlier, first well-versed and deeply knowledgeable in the Book and the Sunnah and what our righteous predecessors were upon. Second, he should be sincere to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his work. He should not be an employee, because the job, as we see in all Muslim countries, is a shackle, a collar around the neck of employees. They do not move except within the limits of this collar, whether it is tight or loose. It is like a horse: the rein is extended for it, and it eats within the limits of this rein. If it is short, the circle in which it moves and eats is very small. If it is extended, it expands, and so on. Therefore, we are now in a state of estrangement multiplied in forms and colors. Estrangement in the sense that Muslims do not act upon their Islam, which is still known to them as being part of Islam, and there is no disagreement about it. For example, the display of adornment by women. Praise be to Allah, as far as I know, there are no scholars who permit the display of adornment by women. There are no Islamic parties that permit the display of adornment by women. But this display is a reality, yes. So there are rulings that remain, praise be to Allah, as they were revealed, yet they are abandoned. But more dangerous than this are rulings that have been turned upside down, and the Shari'ah ruling in them has been changed. This is the important point, and this is what the sincere scholars of Muslims should focus on changing. These are the ones referred to in the second hadith: And we see, praise be to Allah, that there is in the Muslim world what has become known as the Islamic awakening. But this awakening, first, is in its first step, in its first step, and it needs many, many, long, and prolonged steps. Second, there is an awakening from the intellectual and scientific aspect, but there is no moral awakening. And what is happening now between the different parties, often, is caused by moral corruption. It is not because so-and-so does not know that the truth is with so-and-so. That may be the case, but sometimes it may not be, and yet you find intense hostility between the two parties. Why? Because desires have taken control of most people. They do not proceed from their knowledge, but from their desires. And this is what we say: we must now combine action with beneficial knowledge. Perhaps this is enough for now, and I have passed eleven o'clock.

The questioner : What did this Dr. Ibrahim the Jew say?