What is your opinion of the one who says that he does not invoke mercy upon those who deviate from the creed of the Salaf, such as al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Hazm, Sayyid Qutb, and Hassan al-Banna?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, O honorable one,The Shaykh : The youth of the Emirates have tasked me with coming to you to direct a set of important questions that will benefit the Muslim community, if Allah wills. What do you say, O Shaykh, about the one who says he does not invoke mercy upon those who deviate from the creed of the Salaf, such as al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Hazm, Ibn al-Jawzi, and others, and among the contemporaries, Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna, even though you know what is in al-Banna’s *Memoirs of the Inviter* and what is in Sayyid Qutb’s *In the Shade of the Qur'an*?
The Shaykh : We believe that mercy, or to be more explicit, supplicating for mercy, is permissible for every Muslim and forbidden for every disbeliever. So the answer branches out from a belief held in the person’s heart. If one holds that those named in the question, and those like them, are Muslims, then the answer is known from what has preceded: it is permissible to supplicate for them with mercy and forgiveness. And if one holds, may Allah forbid it, that these Muslims mentioned, or mentioned in the question, are not Muslims, then it is not permissible to invoke mercy upon them, because mercy has been forbidden for disbelievers. This is the answer regarding what came in the question.
The questioner : But O Shaykh, they say that from the methodology of the Salaf, they did not invoke mercy upon the people of innovation. Therefore, they consider those mentioned in the question to be from the people of innovation, so from this angle, they do not invoke mercy upon them.
The Shaykh : We have now said that the word mercy is permissible for every Muslim and not permissible for the disbeliever. Is this statement correct or not?
The questioner : It is correct, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : If it is correct, then the second question is not applicable. And if it is not correct, then the discussion is applicable.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Do they not pray over those whom some call the people of innovation? Do they not pray over them the prayer of Muslims? And from the beliefs of the Salaf, which the Khalaf inherited from the Salaf, is that one prays behind every righteous person and every open sinner, and one prays over every righteous person and every open sinner. As for the disbeliever, one does not pray over him. So, regarding those who were the subject of the second question, who are said to be from the people of innovation, are they prayed over or not? I do not want to enter into a discussion unless I am forced to. If the answer is that they are prayed over, the matter is ended, and there is no place left for the second question in the grammar, as the grammarians say. Otherwise, the field of research is open and applicable.
The questioner : Fine, O Shaykh, and the one who says they are not prayed over, for example,
The Shaykh : They are not prayed over.
The questioner : On the basis that they are innovators, so how is the answer to him?
The Shaykh : What is the evidence?
The questioner : He argues with the Salaf, meaning he distinguishes between open sinfulness and major sin and the people of innovation who innovate in the religion. Meaning, the Salaf did not pray over the people of innovation, nor did they sit with them, nor did they drink with them. So from this angle, he says this thing.
The Shaykh : You have deviated, so pay attention. What was the question?
The questioner : About praying over them.
The Shaykh : You have no right to deviate because you prolonged the answer in something other than the answer. The question was: What is the evidence?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : You mentioned the claim, and the claim is not the evidence. Who says that one does not pray over the Muslim innovator, what is the evidence?
The questioner : He has no evidence; he only argues with the action of the Salaf.
The Shaykh : Is the evidence the action of the Salaf?
The questioner : That is what he says.
The Shaykh : Fine, where is this evidence?
The questioner : He does not mention it, but the speech is always general in this matter.
The Shaykh : Fine, did the Salaf not boycott some persons for a certain sin or for a certain innovation? Does that mean they declared them disbelievers?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh : Fine, if they ruled upon his Islam.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : No, fine, we have no difference between a Muslim and a disbeliever; there is no middle for us. Meaning, we do not have, like the Mu'tazilah, a station between the two stations. Either he is a Muslim and is treated with the treatment of Muslims, or he is a disbeliever and is treated with the treatment of disbelievers. Then, O my brother, may Allah bless you, this is merely a claim, namely that the Salaf did not pray over the general innovators and over every innovator. This is merely a claim that exists in the minds of some good people who take matters with enthusiasm and emotion not accompanied by correct knowledge based on "Allah said" and "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said."
The Shaykh : We believe that mercy, or to be more explicit, supplicating for mercy, is permissible for every Muslim and forbidden for every disbeliever. So the answer branches out from a belief held in the person’s heart. If one holds that those named in the question, and those like them, are Muslims, then the answer is known from what has preceded: it is permissible to supplicate for them with mercy and forgiveness. And if one holds, may Allah forbid it, that these Muslims mentioned, or mentioned in the question, are not Muslims, then it is not permissible to invoke mercy upon them, because mercy has been forbidden for disbelievers. This is the answer regarding what came in the question.
The questioner : But O Shaykh, they say that from the methodology of the Salaf, they did not invoke mercy upon the people of innovation. Therefore, they consider those mentioned in the question to be from the people of innovation, so from this angle, they do not invoke mercy upon them.
The Shaykh : We have now said that the word mercy is permissible for every Muslim and not permissible for the disbeliever. Is this statement correct or not?
The questioner : It is correct, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : If it is correct, then the second question is not applicable. And if it is not correct, then the discussion is applicable.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Do they not pray over those whom some call the people of innovation? Do they not pray over them the prayer of Muslims? And from the beliefs of the Salaf, which the Khalaf inherited from the Salaf, is that one prays behind every righteous person and every open sinner, and one prays over every righteous person and every open sinner. As for the disbeliever, one does not pray over him. So, regarding those who were the subject of the second question, who are said to be from the people of innovation, are they prayed over or not? I do not want to enter into a discussion unless I am forced to. If the answer is that they are prayed over, the matter is ended, and there is no place left for the second question in the grammar, as the grammarians say. Otherwise, the field of research is open and applicable.
The questioner : Fine, O Shaykh, and the one who says they are not prayed over, for example,
The Shaykh : They are not prayed over.
The questioner : On the basis that they are innovators, so how is the answer to him?
The Shaykh : What is the evidence?
The questioner : He argues with the Salaf, meaning he distinguishes between open sinfulness and major sin and the people of innovation who innovate in the religion. Meaning, the Salaf did not pray over the people of innovation, nor did they sit with them, nor did they drink with them. So from this angle, he says this thing.
The Shaykh : You have deviated, so pay attention. What was the question?
The questioner : About praying over them.
The Shaykh : You have no right to deviate because you prolonged the answer in something other than the answer. The question was: What is the evidence?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : You mentioned the claim, and the claim is not the evidence. Who says that one does not pray over the Muslim innovator, what is the evidence?
The questioner : He has no evidence; he only argues with the action of the Salaf.
The Shaykh : Is the evidence the action of the Salaf?
The questioner : That is what he says.
The Shaykh : Fine, where is this evidence?
The questioner : He does not mention it, but the speech is always general in this matter.
The Shaykh : Fine, did the Salaf not boycott some persons for a certain sin or for a certain innovation? Does that mean they declared them disbelievers?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh : Fine, if they ruled upon his Islam.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : No, fine, we have no difference between a Muslim and a disbeliever; there is no middle for us. Meaning, we do not have, like the Mu'tazilah, a station between the two stations. Either he is a Muslim and is treated with the treatment of Muslims, or he is a disbeliever and is treated with the treatment of disbelievers. Then, O my brother, may Allah bless you, this is merely a claim, namely that the Salaf did not pray over the general innovators and over every innovator. This is merely a claim that exists in the minds of some good people who take matters with enthusiasm and emotion not accompanied by correct knowledge based on "Allah said" and "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said."
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.