Discussion of the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the clarification of the misguidance of the Jews and the Christians.
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The Shaykh : And we seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whoever He causes to go astray, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. Allah the Exalted sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, so he conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the community. He left them upon a clear, white path, its night like its day, and none deviates from it except one who is destroyed. May Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Then his righteous successors in his community followed him: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all). Then the imams, the imams of religion and guidance in this community, continued to inherit the Shari'ah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), generation after generation, until the Shari'ah remained, praise be to Allah, manifest, pure, and clear for whomsoever Allah Mighty and Majestic wills to guide. None deviates from it except one who is destroyed. And the one who is destroyed, as Allah the Exalted said about him: [Yunus 10:96-97] The guidance of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to which he called people and urged them, is the straight path of Allah: the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, from among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. These are the categories that Allah Mighty and Majestic mentioned in the Mother of the Qur'an, the opening of the Book: [Al-Fatihah 1:6-7] from among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. So people, in the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and indeed in his Shari'ah, are divided into these three categories: a category upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, a category upon whom He is angry, and a category that is astray.
So who are those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor? They are those who knew the truth and acted upon it, and accepted it outwardly and inwardly. They did not follow their desires, nor did they follow their fathers without guidance from Allah Mighty and Majestic. Rather, they followed only what the books of Allah indicated and what His messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) brought. They applied that outwardly and inwardly, in the deeds of the hearts and their beliefs, and in the deeds of the limbs, in words and actions. These are the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor. And Allah the Exalted mentioned them as four categories in His saying:[An-Nisa 4:69] These are the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor, four categories: the prophets, the truthful, the third are the martyrs, and the fourth are the righteous. But this definition unites them: they knew the truth and acted upon the truth.
The student: Drink water.
The Shaykh : Thank you, may Allah reward you with good...
As for the second category: they are those upon whom Allah is angry, who knew the truth but turned away from it. They lied about the news and were arrogant about the command. These are the ones upon whom Allah is angry; they lied about the news and were arrogant about the command after they had known the truth, recognized it, it became clear to them, and the proof was established against them regarding it. But they turned away from it and left it, out of disdain for it and arrogance toward it, refuge with Allah. The clearest example for them are those Jews who knew the truth but turned away from it. For this reason, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Whoever among our scholars has gone astray has in him a resemblance to the Jews" because the Jews knew the truth but turned away from it.[Al-Baqarah 2:146] But, refuge with Allah, they disbelieved in it and were arrogant toward it, so they became those upon whom Allah is angry.
As for those who are astray, and they are the third category, they are: those who were ignorant of the truth; they were ignorant of it and did not know about it. Whether they were neglectful and did not turn to seeking knowledge and seeking the truth, or they were not neglectful but the truth was not made easy for them, and Allah did not facilitate for them one who would guide them to the truth. The most prominent example of that are the Christians, for they were astray. But the Christians meant here, my brothers, are the Christians who were before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and at the time of his sending. As for the Christians of today, they have known the truth and it has become clear to them, but they have become like the Jews in rejecting the truth, being arrogant toward it, and not submitting to it. So they have become deserving of being those upon whom Allah is angry, just as the Jews were those upon whom Allah is angry. For this reason, we must know that when a description is deserved by a type of people, that description does not remain permanently a description for them, because their state may change. These Christians who were before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know anything about the truth, because their rabbis and monks misled them. But after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent and the truth became clear to them, yet they turned away from it, it is not correct to describe them as being astray. Rather, we say they are those upon whom Allah is angry, for there is no difference between them and the Jews who knew the truth but turned away from it and did not act upon it.
(96) Indeed, those upon whom the word of your Lord has come into effect will not believe, (97) Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful punishment.
إن الذين حقت عليهم كلمة ربك لا يؤمنون ولو جاءتهم كل آية حتى يروا العذاب الأليم(6) Guide us to the straight path - (7) The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.
اهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهمSo who are those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor? They are those who knew the truth and acted upon it, and accepted it outwardly and inwardly. They did not follow their desires, nor did they follow their fathers without guidance from Allah Mighty and Majestic. Rather, they followed only what the books of Allah indicated and what His messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) brought. They applied that outwardly and inwardly, in the deeds of the hearts and their beliefs, and in the deeds of the limbs, in words and actions. These are the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor. And Allah the Exalted mentioned them as four categories in His saying:
And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous
ومن يطع الله والرسول فأولئك مع الذين أنعم الله عليهم من النبيين والصديقين والشهداء والصالحينThe student: Drink water.
The Shaykh : Thank you, may Allah reward you with good...
As for the second category: they are those upon whom Allah is angry, who knew the truth but turned away from it. They lied about the news and were arrogant about the command. These are the ones upon whom Allah is angry; they lied about the news and were arrogant about the command after they had known the truth, recognized it, it became clear to them, and the proof was established against them regarding it. But they turned away from it and left it, out of disdain for it and arrogance toward it, refuge with Allah. The clearest example for them are those Jews who knew the truth but turned away from it. For this reason, Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Whoever among our scholars has gone astray has in him a resemblance to the Jews" because the Jews knew the truth but turned away from it.
Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons
الذين آتيناهم الكتاب يعرفونه كما يعرفون أبناءهمAs for those who are astray, and they are the third category, they are: those who were ignorant of the truth; they were ignorant of it and did not know about it. Whether they were neglectful and did not turn to seeking knowledge and seeking the truth, or they were not neglectful but the truth was not made easy for them, and Allah did not facilitate for them one who would guide them to the truth. The most prominent example of that are the Christians, for they were astray. But the Christians meant here, my brothers, are the Christians who were before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and at the time of his sending. As for the Christians of today, they have known the truth and it has become clear to them, but they have become like the Jews in rejecting the truth, being arrogant toward it, and not submitting to it. So they have become deserving of being those upon whom Allah is angry, just as the Jews were those upon whom Allah is angry. For this reason, we must know that when a description is deserved by a type of people, that description does not remain permanently a description for them, because their state may change. These Christians who were before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know anything about the truth, because their rabbis and monks misled them. But after the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent and the truth became clear to them, yet they turned away from it, it is not correct to describe them as being astray. Rather, we say they are those upon whom Allah is angry, for there is no difference between them and the Jews who knew the truth but turned away from it and did not act upon it.