What is the ruling on one who says that delving into matters of creed and tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and scholarly discussions causes division and the loss of effort, thought, and da'wah (calling others to Islam)? What is...
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The questioner : What is the ruling on one who says that delving into matters of creed and tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and scholarly discussions causes division and the loss of effort, thought, and da'wah (calling others to Islam)? Please guide us in light of this question?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Delving deeply into questions regarding creed is not the way of the Salaf (the earliest generations); rather, they warned against it with the utmost warning. This is because matters of creed are matters of the unseen (ghayb), and a person must accept them with submission without delving into their how or their reality. For this reason, when a man asked Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) about the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Taha 20:5] How did He rise (istawa)? Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) lowered his head until sweat covered him, meaning until sweat covered him. Then he raised his head and said: "O this one! The rising (istiwaa') is not unknown, and the how is not comprehensible, and belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is a bid'ah (religious innovation). I do not think you are anything but a mubtadi' (innovator)." Then he ordered that he be taken out of the mosque, the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
As for seeking the meanings of the names of Allah the Exalted and His attributes and affirming them in the manner befitting Him (Exalted and Majestic is He), without takyif (asking how an attribute is) or tamthil (comparing Allah to creation), this is the truth, and this is the methodology of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them). This is the rule and the straight path in what concerns creed. However, if you are afflicted with a person who forces you to research with him and he has his own specific terms, you must clarify the truth and not remain silent or silence him, except if we know that he is stubborn, in which case we may silence him until he knows his place. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner, Noura Abdul Aziz, from the Eastern Region, says that she...
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Delving deeply into questions regarding creed is not the way of the Salaf (the earliest generations); rather, they warned against it with the utmost warning. This is because matters of creed are matters of the unseen (ghayb), and a person must accept them with submission without delving into their how or their reality. For this reason, when a man asked Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) about the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَانُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىAs for seeking the meanings of the names of Allah the Exalted and His attributes and affirming them in the manner befitting Him (Exalted and Majestic is He), without takyif (asking how an attribute is) or tamthil (comparing Allah to creation), this is the truth, and this is the methodology of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them). This is the rule and the straight path in what concerns creed. However, if you are afflicted with a person who forces you to research with him and he has his own specific terms, you must clarify the truth and not remain silent or silence him, except if we know that he is stubborn, in which case we may silence him until he knows his place. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner, Noura Abdul Aziz, from the Eastern Region, says that she...