What is your opinion of those who say: If you call to Allah and He does not respond to you, He may send guidance to another country, and they say that the books of knowledge are the words of the religion, and the religion is action, and that the strangers in these days are the people of da'wah?
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The questioner : My esteemed Shaykh, I heard some preachers say: If a person calls to Allah the Exalted and Supreme in his own land, Allah the Exalted and Supreme may send guidance to Yemen, or He may send guidance to Madinah, meaning because of your da'wah in Unaizah or among the people of your land, it may descend upon them in China, or it may descend upon them in other lands. Also, their saying, O Shaykh: These books are the words of the religion, not the religion itself, meaning the religion is action. And also, O my esteemed Shaykh, their saying: That strangeness now is the da'wah to Allah the Exalted and Supreme. They say that the stranger now is not the one who prays, fasts, and performs Hajj, for there is nothing strange in that, but the stranger now is the one who calls to Allah the Exalted and Supreme. What is the correctness of these statements?
The Shaykh : I did not understand the first statement. What do you mean by saying that if you call, the da'wah will be in China?
The questioner : He says: Guidance descends, Allah the Exalted and Supreme sends down guidance, meaning if those you called do not find guidance, guidance may descend in China, guidance may descend in Yemen, guidance may descend upon the people of Makkah, meaning upon some misguided individuals. This is common and well-known among some of the youth.
The Shaykh : The answer to this part of the question, which contains three parts, is that this is not correct. Because if you supplicate to Allah with a specific supplication and you say: O Allah, guide these people, O Allah, guide the people of this town, then either Allah responds to your supplication and these people find guidance, or He averts from you and the people of the town a great evil, or He stores up for you its reward on the Day of Resurrection. As for people in another place finding guidance for whom you did not supplicate to Allah, your supplication is not the cause of their guidance.
The questioner : My esteemed Shaykh, I mean da'wah, meaning visiting them in their homes, not du'a'?
The Shaykh : How is the da'wah?
The questioner : Visiting them and calling them.
The Shaykh : Fine, calling them to the truth. How is it that if you call, for example, the people of a specific town, how do people you did not call find guidance?
The questioner : Is it inferred that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called the people of Makkah, and then the Ansar found guidance in Madinah?
The Shaykh : Then?
The questioner : And then the people of Madinah found guidance.
The Shaykh : No, this is not correct, because the guidance of the Ansar had a cause other than the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) calling the people of Makkah. The cause is that there were people among them from the Jews, and the Jews had a book, and they had knowledge that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would be sent in Makkah and would migrate to Madinah. They knew that as they know their own sons, as mentioned in the Qur'an. The Ansar (the Aws and the Khazraj) had interaction with the Jews in Madinah, so they heard this. So when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, they traveled to him and pledged allegiance to him at the Pledges of Aqabah. This matter is well-known. So the cause of the guidance of the Ansar is that they knew that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would be sent and that his time had come, so they went to him and pledged allegiance to him.
As for the second issue, which is?
The questioner : Their saying: That these books are the words of the religion, and the religion is action and da'wah to Allah. Meaning, some people now may come from the university and remind people in gatherings of knowledge, but they may not benefit, because what he said is the words of the religion. But if you take a person and travel with him, and move with him, perhaps there is the required benefit in this action, not in the speech.
The Shaykh : This is also ignorance on his part. The book of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, the Qur'an, is the noblest of books. Allah the Exalted named it a Book, and there is no doubt that it is the religion. Reciting it is religion, contemplating its meaning is religion, and acting upon it is religion. So these books are a means for people to learn the religion. Your reading of the Qur'an is religion, your reading of the books that contain benefit is religion, and your reading of the means that guide you to the meanings of the speech of Allah the Glorious and Exalted and the speech of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is all religion.
As for action, yes, it is part of the religion. Righteous action is undoubtedly part of the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 8, even though Allah said: [Ali 'Imran 3:19] This is Islam. But to assert that the books are not part of the religion is an error and a deficiency, for they are religion because they indicate the religion.
The third?
The questioner : The last one, O my esteemed Shaykh, they say: That the strangers now are the people of da'wah or the preachers, because the one who prays and the one who performs Hajj is not a stranger, and the one who fasts is not considered strange among people now, but the one who calls attracts attention in a strange way?
The Shaykh : Now, and praise be to Allah, there is no strangeness in our lands. The caller calls, the one who prays prays, the one who gives charity gives charity, and the worshipper worships Allah, and there is nothing strange about it. But perhaps in some Muslim lands, it is strange for one who prays, it is strange for one who prays in congregation, and it is strange for one who gives charity now. So strangeness means the strange thing, like a man who is not from the people of the country is considered a stranger. And strangeness in our lands, praise be to Allah, does not exist, neither in da'wah nor in prayer.
And as for the matter of people looking at him, people also look at the one who gives charity a lot. The one who gives charity a lot, people look at him. The one who prays a lot, people look at him, and they respect him, and so on.
The Shaykh : I did not understand the first statement. What do you mean by saying that if you call, the da'wah will be in China?
The questioner : He says: Guidance descends, Allah the Exalted and Supreme sends down guidance, meaning if those you called do not find guidance, guidance may descend in China, guidance may descend in Yemen, guidance may descend upon the people of Makkah, meaning upon some misguided individuals. This is common and well-known among some of the youth.
The Shaykh : The answer to this part of the question, which contains three parts, is that this is not correct. Because if you supplicate to Allah with a specific supplication and you say: O Allah, guide these people, O Allah, guide the people of this town, then either Allah responds to your supplication and these people find guidance, or He averts from you and the people of the town a great evil, or He stores up for you its reward on the Day of Resurrection. As for people in another place finding guidance for whom you did not supplicate to Allah, your supplication is not the cause of their guidance.
The questioner : My esteemed Shaykh, I mean da'wah, meaning visiting them in their homes, not du'a'?
The Shaykh : How is the da'wah?
The questioner : Visiting them and calling them.
The Shaykh : Fine, calling them to the truth. How is it that if you call, for example, the people of a specific town, how do people you did not call find guidance?
The questioner : Is it inferred that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called the people of Makkah, and then the Ansar found guidance in Madinah?
The Shaykh : Then?
The questioner : And then the people of Madinah found guidance.
The Shaykh : No, this is not correct, because the guidance of the Ansar had a cause other than the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) calling the people of Makkah. The cause is that there were people among them from the Jews, and the Jews had a book, and they had knowledge that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would be sent in Makkah and would migrate to Madinah. They knew that as they know their own sons, as mentioned in the Qur'an. The Ansar (the Aws and the Khazraj) had interaction with the Jews in Madinah, so they heard this. So when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, they traveled to him and pledged allegiance to him at the Pledges of Aqabah. This matter is well-known. So the cause of the guidance of the Ansar is that they knew that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would be sent and that his time had come, so they went to him and pledged allegiance to him.
As for the second issue, which is?
The questioner : Their saying: That these books are the words of the religion, and the religion is action and da'wah to Allah. Meaning, some people now may come from the university and remind people in gatherings of knowledge, but they may not benefit, because what he said is the words of the religion. But if you take a person and travel with him, and move with him, perhaps there is the required benefit in this action, not in the speech.
The Shaykh : This is also ignorance on his part. The book of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, the Qur'an, is the noblest of books. Allah the Exalted named it a Book, and there is no doubt that it is the religion. Reciting it is religion, contemplating its meaning is religion, and acting upon it is religion. So these books are a means for people to learn the religion. Your reading of the Qur'an is religion, your reading of the books that contain benefit is religion, and your reading of the means that guide you to the meanings of the speech of Allah the Glorious and Exalted and the speech of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is all religion.
As for action, yes, it is part of the religion. Righteous action is undoubtedly part of the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): 1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). 2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly. 3. To pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity) . 4. To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca) 5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.
بني الإسلام على خمس: شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله، وأن محمداً رسول الله، وإيتاء الزكاة، وصوم رمضان، وحج بيت الله الحرامIndeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإسْلامُThe third?
The questioner : The last one, O my esteemed Shaykh, they say: That the strangers now are the people of da'wah or the preachers, because the one who prays and the one who performs Hajj is not a stranger, and the one who fasts is not considered strange among people now, but the one who calls attracts attention in a strange way?
The Shaykh : Now, and praise be to Allah, there is no strangeness in our lands. The caller calls, the one who prays prays, the one who gives charity gives charity, and the worshipper worships Allah, and there is nothing strange about it. But perhaps in some Muslim lands, it is strange for one who prays, it is strange for one who prays in congregation, and it is strange for one who gives charity now. So strangeness means the strange thing, like a man who is not from the people of the country is considered a stranger. And strangeness in our lands, praise be to Allah, does not exist, neither in da'wah nor in prayer.
And as for the matter of people looking at him, people also look at the one who gives charity a lot. The one who gives charity a lot, people look at him. The one who prays a lot, people look at him, and they respect him, and so on.