Is it permissible to work with Islamic groups? And is their leadership legitimate?

The questioner: If Allah wills, my Shaykh, in truth, many questions have come to us with the same meaning, but I will read them quickly. All these questions in my hand converge on one meaning, and they actually revolve around the permissibility of joining Islamic groups. So he says:The questioner: Here we want to ask our Shaykh and hadith scholar for clarification on the Shari'ah ruling regarding a person who belonged to an Islamic group and, for some reason, left working with the group on the organizational level only. He still works in da'wah away from the organizational form the group wants. Is he sinful in this distance? Then a question to our hadith scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Nasir, may Allah reward him with good: What is the ruling on joining an Islamic group? And then we observe individuals who have the attribute of leadership in the groups and have loyalty and command over others. Is the command of these people a legitimate command? And then after that:The Shaykh : Nasir fights in his speech against Islamic gatherings that take the form of an organization, knowing that he starts from the same starting point. Then, what is the ruling on entering a group or party or organization that calls to Islam? Then, the Islamic groups, and at their heads are their commanders, do not lack, or do not lack in them, someone who understands the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which I mentioned in the introduction: the group . So why are they divided and scattered? And have you, in your capacity, made personal contact with the commanders of the groups with the aim of uniting their word and unifying their ranks and standing with them as one hand against the oppressors, or the oppressors among the tyrants and chests, in this confrontation with one opinion, meaning from the commander of the group that suits or emulates the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his noble Companions? And what is the ruling on joining a group, or as some see, that the existence of Islamic groups does not yield any fruits for their works, to the extent that they direct accusations at each other and make that the youth of Muslims differ, where every individual in a group accuses the other individual in other groups. And I see that if these groups do not unite, there is no need for their existence. What is your opinion on this? We observe the Salafis distancing themselves from political life in this country, for example, the elections of the House of Representatives, and also the Gulf War. What is the reason for this distance? And may Allah reward you with good?

The Shaykh: Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon those who follow his guidance. In my previous speech, there was a very important point of attention, and that is that calling to the Book and the Sunnah is not sufficient in this present age, but it is necessary to include with that the methodology of the righteous Salaf. And I think that some of these brothers who directed some of these questions, since some of them contained some details, in my opinion, this:The questioner : or that, his mind was completely empty of this third matter that distinguishes the call to good from others. We said just now that there is no sect or group, neither ancient nor modern, that disavows the Book and the Sunnah without having declared its disavowal of Islam. But at the same time, we said that there is no one in these sects that belong to the Book and the Sunnah who includes this essential element that is necessary. Here, the question came that they meet us in the Book and the Sunnah. I say yes, but they do not meet us in this restriction that my previous speech was revolving around. With me and my companions, and the evidence for that, and this is what I usually mention in such a speech as the previous one, but I aimed for brevity as much as I could, and some of what came in some of these questions compels me to clarify some clarification that I avoided for brevity. Take any sect, any group from those who say some:The questioner : in their questions that they meet us on the Book and the Sunnah. Ask whom you wish, their elder or younger or middle, "What is your madhhab?" You will find the answer is two answers: either he says, "My madhhab is Hanafi or Shafi'i or something like that of the established madhhabs today." This is if he is from the general members of a group or party of those parties. But if he is from their special ones, the answer will be, "I am a Muslim." Now, I am standing here for a moment and asking: and whoever has an answer that contradicts what I said, I want to clarify it from him. Is there anyone who says, "I am..."? Is there anyone who says something other than this answer if asked?The questioner : Whether he is from the lower class or the upper class, meaning the educated. Is there an answer other than "I am Hanafi or Shafi'i or Maliki or Hanbali" or "I am a Muslim and that's it"? Who among you knows an answer other than this? If no one answers me, it means that silence is confirmation, meaning there is no one who says anything other than this. Please.

The questioner: Someone might say, "My madhhab," meaning if someone said, "Muslim," this is not an answer to the question "What is your madhhab?" But another might answer, and I answer if you ask me "What is your madhhab?" I say to you, "Islam, the Book and the Sunnah, and the action of the righteous Salaf."

The Shaykh: I beg you, this is not my question.

The questioner: If someone were asked this question.

The Shaykh: Okay, I am asking now, whom you wish.

The questioner: Ask me.

The Shaykh: What is your madhhab?

The questioner: My madhhab is Islam.

The Shaykh: Islam.

The questioner: The Book and the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : is it

The questioner: And emulating the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his noble Companions.

The Shaykh: Very good. This is the phrase. Can it be summarized?

The questioner: Summarize it, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner: Summarize it, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Okay, if it is the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the righteous Salaf, can it be summarized as the methodology of the righteous Salaf?

The questioner: The methodology of the righteous Salaf is following the Messenger.

The Shaykh: May Allah bless you. It is, because this is what I am asking. I say:

The questioner: It is possible, but it is better for you and for me to say, "My methodology, my example is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)."

The Shaykh: My brother, we have not differed.

The questioner: Because Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the only one who raised the Companions.

The Shaykh: My brother, we have not differed in this area. When it comes to explanation and detail, we have already exhausted the topic in detail with what preceded, because we want to summarize this.

The questioner: There is no need to summarize.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner: Yes, there is no need.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner: Because Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is present in us, and even if he died, meaning in his person.

The Shaykh: My brother, if I asked you, what is your madhhab?

The questioner: I would say to you that I am a Muslim on the religion of Islam, following Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in this religion.

The Shaykh: My brother, this is the affair of the Muslim, the affair of every Muslim. May Allah bless you.

The questioner: Okay

The Shaykh: The affair of every Muslim is to follow, to obey Allah and the Messenger.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh: This does not need explanation. We want to clarify something that may be a point of disagreement. So I decided just now: is there a Muslim who says, "I disavow the Book of Allah and Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah?" The answer is no.

The questioner: He is not a Muslim who says this.

The Shaykh: So there is no need for such speech, because this is called by the scholars "achieving the inevitable" (tahsil hasil). Achieving the inevitable. We now want the meaning that minds are unaware of. As for being a Muslim, meaning obeying Allah and the Messenger, every Muslim is like this by nature. But does every Muslim adopt the stations of the righteous Salaf? Tell me?

The questioner : No

The Shaykh: Hmm. So it is obligatory for every rational, fair Muslim to clarify the point that distinguishes him from others, and not the point where he meets them, because that is not a subject of disagreement. So as long as there are Muslims who say "Book and Sunnah," this is an agreed-upon matter among Muslims, as we explained just now. But as long as, as I stated just now, there are other Muslims who do not say more than the Book and the Sunnah and what the righteous Salaf and the Companions were upon, then this point is what distinguishes you and me and those like us who profess this correct methodology that we explained just now. So it is necessary to clarify your methodology with a phrase that is the most dangerous. Do you say, "There is no need, there is no need" in a lecture? Or are you saying, is it sufficient if asked "What is your madhhab?" to say "I am a Muslim"? Is that sufficient today?

The questioner: I believe the issue is only theoretical, and as I said, it is achieving the inevitable. The meaning of Muslim is the Book and the Sunnah and following the methodology of the righteous Salaf.

The Shaykh: You have not answered me. May Allah bless you.

The questioner: This is theoretical, but practically.

The Shaykh: You have not answered me. I beg you.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh: To be with me.

The questioner: With you.

The Shaykh : My question, may Allah reward you, is: if I am asked today, "What is your madhhab (school of jurisprudence)?", is it sufficient to say, "I am a Muslim"? Is that enough?

The questioner : In my opinion, yes, that is sufficient. This answer encompasses many meanings, including what I intended to summarize.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. That is sufficient for you, but it is not sufficient for the general public.

The questioner : We explain it to the other people.

The Shaykh : That is why you must explain it to them with a summarized answer. The title of the topic is: Is it sufficient to say, "I am a Muslim"? What about the Zaydi, the Communist, and so on, all those whose names are in people's hearts, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad and so on, and the Shi'ah, the Rafidah, the Isma'ili, and so on? They all say, "I am a Muslim." So you must distinguish yourself. It is not enough to come with a name and put yourself in any group from which you disavow yourself. Therefore, your answer must be very clear and distinct. So I say that today, if someone is asked, "Who are you? What is your madhhab?", and he says, "I am a Muslim," it is not enough. Therefore, this is a very sensitive point. My intention is not that these groups and parties agree with us or disagree with us. We always call them to submit to the judgment of the Book and the Sunnah, and to the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih (the earliest generations). This is one thing. Another thing is the answer to some of the questions that came in these same questions, as the poet said:
"And claims, unless you establish proofs for them, their children are claimants."
It is not enough for our claim to be the Book and the Sunnah, and for our private lives to be... let us leave public life aside. Do not testify for them that they are upon the Book and the Sunnah. The Book and the Sunnah require that the home in which the Muslim lives be a Muslim home, and that the image the Muslim presents be the image of a Muslim. As I say on some occasions, if a Muslim were taken from his homeland by helicopter and placed in a Western country, and people looked at him, they would say, "This is a Muslim man." But today, the Muslim's attire does not give the indication that this is a Muslim man. His attire is the attire of the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah), the attire of the disbelievers, whether in the clothing that the Muslims were commanded to adhere to. Therefore, we do not want words; we want knowledge that walks on the face of the earth to the extent that the Muslim is able. Many Islamic groups call for... they ask for something that is now far from reach, while there is something close at hand and easy to achieve. Yet most of the groups, as groups—I am not speaking now about individuals, but as groups—do not display this reality, which is establishing the rule of Allah on earth. It is not in their souls, nor in their roles. There is a word said by some of the old da'iyah (callers to Islam), may Allah have mercy on him, which is wisdom in my estimation, where he said: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you on your land." This is taken from an old wisdom: "He who lacks a thing cannot give it." So the one who wants to establish the rule of Allah in all of Islamic land, while he does not apply it in his own private land, cannot establish the rule of Allah the Exalted and Majestic on the earth that is afflicted with rulers who rule by other than what Allah has revealed, while he is a ruler in his own home. As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So you find today that the man does not rule by the Book of Allah or the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in his small state, while he wants to establish the rule of Allah in his large state. As it was said in truth: "Sa'd led them, and Sa'd was wrapped up. That is not how, O Sa'd, you lead the camels." In summary, our call is that establishing the rule of Allah on earth and eliminating the disbelieving systems by which the lands of Islam are ruled today will not be a sudden burst or a leap, but rather it will be by what we call purification and upbringing. During these long centuries, matters that contradict the Book and the Sunnah have entered Islam in 'aqidah (creed), fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), morals, and transactions. All of this is now witnessed: some is correct and some is not. And yet, this is the Islam that rules Muslims today. So it is necessary to carry out the purification of this heritage we have inherited, which contains the chaff and the grain, as it is said. And the grain must be purified. Then it is necessary to raise the young Muslims on this purified Islam. So I say, with regret, there are no Islamic parties or Islamic groups that raise individuals on the basis of purification taken from or based on the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih.