A word from the Shaykh regarding the fatwa and its danger.
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The Shaykh : But I would like to speak briefly about the issue of the fatwa. The issue of the fatwa has become, unfortunately, like a commodity that people display to customers. Each one has something with him; this one has a garment, this one has trousers, this one has a ghutrah, and this one has a taqiyah. Yes, each one issues a fatwa on something.
Do you believe that a man came to me during the 'Asr prayer while I was in i'tikaf? A man from among the servants of Allah, an elderly man, said: "A young narrator told us that it is forbidden for the one in i'tikaf to do what is forbidden for the one in ihram. He told them: Do not cut your nails, do not trim your beards, and do not use perfume." I said, "There is a little more to it: Do not wear shirt-like garments. Let the one in i'tikaf wear an izar and a rida." And I say now also: Let him recite the talbiyah, saying: Labbaik i'tikafan, instead of Labbaik 'umrah. Glory be to Allah! This speech means that they are this bold in issuing fatwas, and I seek refuge in Allah. These people did not know that if they say something that is not based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, they will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection because they fabricated a lie against Allah. To whom does the Shari'ah belong? To Allah. Do you have knowledge that Allah said this? Or that His Messenger said this? By Allah, they will surely be questioned about what they fabricated against Allah in what they issued as fatwas for the servants of Allah and led them astray from the path of Allah. So they should have mercy on themselves first, and have mercy on the servants of Allah second. They should not prevent the servants of Allah from what Allah has not prevented them from. Let them fear Allah in themselves and in their Muslim brothers, and then let them beware of the severe warning that Allah mentioned in:[Al-An'am 6:144] And how many are the wonders we hear from these people who took a little of the knowledge and thought they had reached the limit.
And this matter has become a cause for many things, among them: self-admiration. You find one of them admiring himself as if Allah had gathered for him the knowledge of the first and the last. So much so that some of them say: If you tell him, "This is the saying of 'Umar," "This is the saying of Abu Bakr," "This is the saying of Ahmad ibn Hanbal," "This is the saying of al-Shafi'i," he says: "What? What Allah wills, they are men and we are men."
Manliness is not just in the beard and the mustache; manliness is in the fiqh of the religion of AllahSahih Muslim 1037a. Yes, you are a man; you are called male and they are called male. But there is a difference between the dust and the constellation. Do you have knowledge like what they have? Absolutely not. So, my brother, be gentle with yourself and know your worth so that people know your worth. Whoever does not know his own worth, people will not know his worth.
Second: They fabricate lies against Allah and His Messenger. He says: "Allah has made this lawful and forbidden this," while it is not forbidden nor lawful, but the matter is the opposite of what they say. Look at the people of knowledge who have knowledge of Allah and the rulings of Allah. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) would be asked about an issue and would not say: "This is haram," even if there was evidence for the prohibition. Even if there was evidence for the prohibition, he would not say it is haram. He would say: "I dislike such and such; I do not like such and such." And sometimes he would say: "I am timid about it," meaning he would not answer in it. And who is he? Who? Imam Ahmad, the Imam of the people of the Sunnah (may Allah have mercy on them). He was timid about saying about Allah what he did not know, and timid about saying that a thing is haram unless Allah explicitly stated that it is haram. For example, if someone asks about carrion: Is it haram or halal? What do you say? It is haram because Allah said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:3] Is riba halal or haram?
The student: Forbidden.
The Shaykh : It is haram because Allah said: But there are things in which there is a prohibition without the explicit statement of prohibition. The Imams, the people of wara', would be cautious about declaring something haram because they feared that Allah did not intend the prohibition with it, or that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not intend the prohibition with it. And these people do not care if they say: "This is halal. This is haram. This is obligatory. This requires a blood money."
One man also made a mistake; I heard this before I came to Makkah. He said: "An imam prayed with us and made a mistake and said the taslim after one rak'ah in the tarawih. When he said the taslim after one rak'ah, we said to him: 'O Imam, you have prayed only one rak'ah.' He said: 'Okay, the matter is easy. Intend this rak'ah as witr. Intend this rak'ah as witr.' And we finished and left. We finished, meaning he wanted to intend after the action. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The intention precedes the action. And this man, with his profound fiqh, wanted what? What? For the intention to be after the action, so that this rak'ah in which he made a mistake and forgot would be, may Allah will it, a witr with which he concluded the night prayer.
All of this, my brothers, is due to leniency in the fatwa. So beware of leniency in the fatwa. If Allah intends for a person to be an imam, he will be an imam before he rushes to issue fatwas. For this reason, it is narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Acquire knowledge before"...
Do you believe that a man came to me during the 'Asr prayer while I was in i'tikaf? A man from among the servants of Allah, an elderly man, said: "A young narrator told us that it is forbidden for the one in i'tikaf to do what is forbidden for the one in ihram. He told them: Do not cut your nails, do not trim your beards, and do not use perfume." I said, "There is a little more to it: Do not wear shirt-like garments. Let the one in i'tikaf wear an izar and a rida." And I say now also: Let him recite the talbiyah, saying: Labbaik i'tikafan, instead of Labbaik 'umrah. Glory be to Allah! This speech means that they are this bold in issuing fatwas, and I seek refuge in Allah. These people did not know that if they say something that is not based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, they will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection because they fabricated a lie against Allah. To whom does the Shari'ah belong? To Allah. Do you have knowledge that Allah said this? Or that His Messenger said this? By Allah, they will surely be questioned about what they fabricated against Allah in what they issued as fatwas for the servants of Allah and led them astray from the path of Allah. So they should have mercy on themselves first, and have mercy on the servants of Allah second. They should not prevent the servants of Allah from what Allah has not prevented them from. Let them fear Allah in themselves and in their Muslim brothers, and then let them beware of the severe warning that Allah mentioned in:
Then who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah to mislead the people by [something] other than knowledge? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people."
ومن أظلم ممن افترى على الله كذباً ليضل الناس بغير علم إن الله لا يهدي القوم الظالمينAnd this matter has become a cause for many things, among them: self-admiration. You find one of them admiring himself as if Allah had gathered for him the knowledge of the first and the last. So much so that some of them say: If you tell him, "This is the saying of 'Umar," "This is the saying of Abu Bakr," "This is the saying of Ahmad ibn Hanbal," "This is the saying of al-Shafi'i," he says: "What? What Allah wills, they are men and we are men."
Manliness is not just in the beard and the mustache; manliness is in the fiqh of the religion of Allah
He upon whom Allah intends to bestow goodness, He confers upon him an insight in religion
من يرد الله به خيراً يفقه في الدينSecond: They fabricate lies against Allah and His Messenger. He says: "Allah has made this lawful and forbidden this," while it is not forbidden nor lawful, but the matter is the opposite of what they say. Look at the people of knowledge who have knowledge of Allah and the rulings of Allah. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) would be asked about an issue and would not say: "This is haram," even if there was evidence for the prohibition. Even if there was evidence for the prohibition, he would not say it is haram. He would say: "I dislike such and such; I do not like such and such." And sometimes he would say: "I am timid about it," meaning he would not answer in it. And who is he? Who? Imam Ahmad, the Imam of the people of the Sunnah (may Allah have mercy on them). He was timid about saying about Allah what he did not know, and timid about saying that a thing is haram unless Allah explicitly stated that it is haram. For example, if someone asks about carrion: Is it haram or halal? What do you say? It is haram because Allah said:
Prohibited to you are dead animals
حرمت عليكم الميتةThe student: Forbidden.
The Shaykh : It is haram because Allah said:
Riba is forbidden.
حرم الرباOne man also made a mistake; I heard this before I came to Makkah. He said: "An imam prayed with us and made a mistake and said the taslim after one rak'ah in the tarawih. When he said the taslim after one rak'ah, we said to him: 'O Imam, you have prayed only one rak'ah.' He said: 'Okay, the matter is easy. Intend this rak'ah as witr. Intend this rak'ah as witr.' And we finished and left. We finished, meaning he wanted to intend after the action. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Actions are only by intentions
إنما الأعمال بالنياتAll of this, my brothers, is due to leniency in the fatwa. So beware of leniency in the fatwa. If Allah intends for a person to be an imam, he will be an imam before he rushes to issue fatwas. For this reason, it is narrated from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Acquire knowledge before"...