What is your opinion regarding the Tabligh Jama'ah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I have a question about the Tabligh Jama'ah, meaning their movement in society.
The Shaykh : And who are the Tabligh Jama'ah?
The questioner : These are the ones who are called the Ikhwan, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And who are the Ikhwan?
The questioner : This, O Shaykh, by Allah, I do not know what to explain to you.
The Shaykh : Explain it to me so that I can answer you.
The questioner : This, O Shaykh, means they have something like going out; they walk among the people calling to Allah, and they have a certain thing.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar. This is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
The questioner : It is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, but, O Shaykh, they have going out, for example, three days a month. They go out, for example, to another city and gather with people like you, like them, reviving the Sunnahs, O Shaykh. So people oppose them, saying this is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Where did you get this theory of going out? This was not reported from the Messenger, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1718a
The Shaykh : Okay.
The questioner : Meaning, he says this is a bid'ah (religious innovation). How did you bring it from yourselves?
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : And there are people who support them and people who oppose them, and this, O Shaykh, means they are not present in one region only.
The Shaykh : Say, and there are people who are suspended, so you can say there are two sides and a middle.
The questioner : Yes, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And they are in every region and active, O Shaykh. And perhaps those who committed to their hands are many people, O Shaykh. For example, they have, O Shaykh, like the 'Asr (afternoon prayer), they gather and form groups. You are a group for visiting such-and-such a region, and you have a group for visiting such-and-such a region.
The Shaykh : Arrangement, meaning?
The questioner : Arrangement, O Shaykh. They go to visit.
The Shaykh : Yes. As for walking to call people, your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to, in the days of the Hajj season, go around the people in their homes and call them. So this is one thing. And he migrated to Madinah for the call, because Makkah, as is well known, its people harmed him and prevented him from the call, so he was commanded to migrate to Madinah for the call to be completed. So there is nothing wrong with this.
The questioner : There is no bid'ah (religious innovation) in it.
The Shaykh : Be patient, O man. We will take it bit by bit. You gave it to me bit by bit. This is the walking in the call. As for arranging it in three days, or forty days, or six months, or something similar, they say: We do not say that this is a Sunnah. We say this is an arrangement, a means for rectification. The means are not limited. Are we not now preaching with the microphone? Answer.
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : Fine. Did the Messenger preach with the microphone? It did not exist. The microphone did not exist at all. But he did not say, "Do not preach by a means." And if the Messenger did not know that there would be a microphone, then the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, knows. The means of worship are not intended for themselves, but for something else. They say: We say, go out for three days in order to distance oneself from the world and its desires, and we want to focus on occupying his time with dhikr (remembrance of Allah), tasbih (glorification), reading the Qur'an, and the like.
And as for arranging their direction, each going to a side, this is also permissible, because whether they all gather in one side or whether they disperse, which is better? Answer, O people. Their dispersing is better because it is wider in spread, and because if they all gather, and they are, for example, forty or fifty men, only one or two or five would speak. So distributing them to the sides is not wrong. And here is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sending one to Yemen and one to other sides to call people. Did you understand? So there is no harm in it. If we return to the impact, my belief is that no one from any side, or from any party, or from any sect has had an impact like their impact. They have a strange impact. How many lost ones were guided by their hands? And how many open sinners were rectified? And even how many disbelievers became Muslims? It is said that the plane lands at the airport in Moscow, the land of disbelief, and then the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) calls the adhan (call to prayer) and they establish the prayer in congregation in front of the people. Who is capable of this? And Allah shields them from evil. So they have an impact, and there is no doubt in their impact. And there are strange stories we were told about them.
One whom I trust told me, and the verification of trust is acceptable to the scholars of hadith. He said that a man had a sister's son who was one of the most wicked of Allah's servants and the ugliest in appearance. He would get drunk and commit sins and not pray. And if you saw his face, you would hate it. So he was absent for a few days, for half a month or less or more, the important thing is a period. So we said among ourselves, perhaps Allah sent one of these foreigners to crush him and leave him. Look to this extent. So while we were like that, the man knocked on the door after the 'Asr (afternoon) prayer. This one said it was his uncle, and I was in my office, so I said to myself, who is this rascal who comes after the 'Asr? People are either saying one thing or hesitating. Who is this? I said, "Come in." So I said to him, "Come in," but the door was closed, so he could not enter. So he kept knocking on the door, and I said, "Come in," and he said, "The door is closed." So I got up and opened the door, and there was this man with a bright face and a beard, whom I loved. I said, "What do you have? And why do you come at this time? If you had come at an appropriate time, we would sit, you and I." He said, "I am your sister's son. I am your sister's son, so-and-so ibn so-and-so." So I said to him, "You lied, you lied. My sister's son is shaved, his face is not dark, you do not like the eye to see him, you are not him." So I denied him. He said to me, "No, I am your sister's son. And if you wish, I can recount your house to you now, room by room. I counted it for you. If you enter, you go from the right to such-and-such a room, and from the left to such-and-such a room, and from the front to such-and-such a place. By Allah, this is it." So I said, "You are him." He said, "Yes." I said, "Come in. What changed your heart from this state to this state?" And this uncle had, meaning, something of violence. What brought you from this state to this state? He said, "The Ikhwan came to me and held me gently and said, 'To the mosque.' I said, 'I am not, I am not. And the mosque, I have never been used to it.' They said, 'Even if you have never been used to it, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Walk with us.' He said, 'When we approached the mosque, they said to me, "Enter the bathroom and take a ghusl (full ritual bath)." I took a ghusl. As long as you are in your first state, you are a disbeliever, and a disbeliever, if he becomes a Muslim, must take a ghusl to purify his outer and inner self. He said, 'So I took a ghusl.' And he said, 'Now, Allah, my heart is for them.' And he was not saying, 'I entered the mosque and prayed, and they were making du'a' (supplication) for me for steadfastness, raising their hands, imploring Allah. And they said, "Go out with us." By Allah, O my uncle, I did not taste the sweetness of the world except with this. And it is as if I was born now. And praise be to Allah who guided us to this. Look at this, how is the impact? And there are other cases. Yes, the people, in order to say the truth between us and Allah, the people have great ignorance. Most of them are ignorant. And therefore, they do not like discussion in knowledge or speech in it. They have this path: we walk on it, tasbih (glorification), takbir (saying Allahu Akbar), tahlil (saying La ilaha illa Allah), and Qur'an, and prayer, and calling to good. But discussion or scholarly disagreement, even in 'aqidah (creed), they do not speak in it. This is the deficiency in them. If the students of knowledge who are referred to had accompanied them and studied with them and taught them what is necessary in the 'aqidah, there would have been much good in them. But from this door, there became a deficiency in them, and some of the shaykhs criticize them from this door, absolutely, without looking at their good points. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:8] And if we had treated these people with justice and said, "You, may Allah reward you with good. Your intention is pure, your hearts are pure, your morals are self-sacrifice, and other than that of the good points, and we thank you for this, but we want to speak with you in the 'aqidah and in the stronger opinions of the jurists in practical issues. Yes, so appoint for us the elders from among you so that we can teach them. If this happened, much good would happen. But unfortunately, some people are repelled from them with extreme repulsion. So we ask Allah to unite the word of everyone on the truth.
The student: Amen.
The Shaykh : Yes
The Shaykh : And who are the Tabligh Jama'ah?
The questioner : These are the ones who are called the Ikhwan, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And who are the Ikhwan?
The questioner : This, O Shaykh, by Allah, I do not know what to explain to you.
The Shaykh : Explain it to me so that I can answer you.
The questioner : This, O Shaykh, means they have something like going out; they walk among the people calling to Allah, and they have a certain thing.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar. This is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
The questioner : It is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, but, O Shaykh, they have going out, for example, three days a month. They go out, for example, to another city and gather with people like you, like them, reviving the Sunnahs, O Shaykh. So people oppose them, saying this is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Where did you get this theory of going out? This was not reported from the Messenger, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردThe Shaykh : Okay.
The questioner : Meaning, he says this is a bid'ah (religious innovation). How did you bring it from yourselves?
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : And there are people who support them and people who oppose them, and this, O Shaykh, means they are not present in one region only.
The Shaykh : Say, and there are people who are suspended, so you can say there are two sides and a middle.
The questioner : Yes, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And they are in every region and active, O Shaykh. And perhaps those who committed to their hands are many people, O Shaykh. For example, they have, O Shaykh, like the 'Asr (afternoon prayer), they gather and form groups. You are a group for visiting such-and-such a region, and you have a group for visiting such-and-such a region.
The Shaykh : Arrangement, meaning?
The questioner : Arrangement, O Shaykh. They go to visit.
The Shaykh : Yes. As for walking to call people, your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to, in the days of the Hajj season, go around the people in their homes and call them. So this is one thing. And he migrated to Madinah for the call, because Makkah, as is well known, its people harmed him and prevented him from the call, so he was commanded to migrate to Madinah for the call to be completed. So there is nothing wrong with this.
The questioner : There is no bid'ah (religious innovation) in it.
The Shaykh : Be patient, O man. We will take it bit by bit. You gave it to me bit by bit. This is the walking in the call. As for arranging it in three days, or forty days, or six months, or something similar, they say: We do not say that this is a Sunnah. We say this is an arrangement, a means for rectification. The means are not limited. Are we not now preaching with the microphone? Answer.
The questioner : Yes
The Shaykh : Fine. Did the Messenger preach with the microphone? It did not exist. The microphone did not exist at all. But he did not say, "Do not preach by a means." And if the Messenger did not know that there would be a microphone, then the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, knows. The means of worship are not intended for themselves, but for something else. They say: We say, go out for three days in order to distance oneself from the world and its desires, and we want to focus on occupying his time with dhikr (remembrance of Allah), tasbih (glorification), reading the Qur'an, and the like.
And as for arranging their direction, each going to a side, this is also permissible, because whether they all gather in one side or whether they disperse, which is better? Answer, O people. Their dispersing is better because it is wider in spread, and because if they all gather, and they are, for example, forty or fifty men, only one or two or five would speak. So distributing them to the sides is not wrong. And here is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sending one to Yemen and one to other sides to call people. Did you understand? So there is no harm in it. If we return to the impact, my belief is that no one from any side, or from any party, or from any sect has had an impact like their impact. They have a strange impact. How many lost ones were guided by their hands? And how many open sinners were rectified? And even how many disbelievers became Muslims? It is said that the plane lands at the airport in Moscow, the land of disbelief, and then the mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) calls the adhan (call to prayer) and they establish the prayer in congregation in front of the people. Who is capable of this? And Allah shields them from evil. So they have an impact, and there is no doubt in their impact. And there are strange stories we were told about them.
One whom I trust told me, and the verification of trust is acceptable to the scholars of hadith. He said that a man had a sister's son who was one of the most wicked of Allah's servants and the ugliest in appearance. He would get drunk and commit sins and not pray. And if you saw his face, you would hate it. So he was absent for a few days, for half a month or less or more, the important thing is a period. So we said among ourselves, perhaps Allah sent one of these foreigners to crush him and leave him. Look to this extent. So while we were like that, the man knocked on the door after the 'Asr (afternoon) prayer. This one said it was his uncle, and I was in my office, so I said to myself, who is this rascal who comes after the 'Asr? People are either saying one thing or hesitating. Who is this? I said, "Come in." So I said to him, "Come in," but the door was closed, so he could not enter. So he kept knocking on the door, and I said, "Come in," and he said, "The door is closed." So I got up and opened the door, and there was this man with a bright face and a beard, whom I loved. I said, "What do you have? And why do you come at this time? If you had come at an appropriate time, we would sit, you and I." He said, "I am your sister's son. I am your sister's son, so-and-so ibn so-and-so." So I said to him, "You lied, you lied. My sister's son is shaved, his face is not dark, you do not like the eye to see him, you are not him." So I denied him. He said to me, "No, I am your sister's son. And if you wish, I can recount your house to you now, room by room. I counted it for you. If you enter, you go from the right to such-and-such a room, and from the left to such-and-such a room, and from the front to such-and-such a place. By Allah, this is it." So I said, "You are him." He said, "Yes." I said, "Come in. What changed your heart from this state to this state?" And this uncle had, meaning, something of violence. What brought you from this state to this state? He said, "The Ikhwan came to me and held me gently and said, 'To the mosque.' I said, 'I am not, I am not. And the mosque, I have never been used to it.' They said, 'Even if you have never been used to it, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Walk with us.' He said, 'When we approached the mosque, they said to me, "Enter the bathroom and take a ghusl (full ritual bath)." I took a ghusl. As long as you are in your first state, you are a disbeliever, and a disbeliever, if he becomes a Muslim, must take a ghusl to purify his outer and inner self. He said, 'So I took a ghusl.' And he said, 'Now, Allah, my heart is for them.' And he was not saying, 'I entered the mosque and prayed, and they were making du'a' (supplication) for me for steadfastness, raising their hands, imploring Allah. And they said, "Go out with us." By Allah, O my uncle, I did not taste the sweetness of the world except with this. And it is as if I was born now. And praise be to Allah who guided us to this. Look at this, how is the impact? And there are other cases. Yes, the people, in order to say the truth between us and Allah, the people have great ignorance. Most of them are ignorant. And therefore, they do not like discussion in knowledge or speech in it. They have this path: we walk on it, tasbih (glorification), takbir (saying Allahu Akbar), tahlil (saying La ilaha illa Allah), and Qur'an, and prayer, and calling to good. But discussion or scholarly disagreement, even in 'aqidah (creed), they do not speak in it. This is the deficiency in them. If the students of knowledge who are referred to had accompanied them and studied with them and taught them what is necessary in the 'aqidah, there would have been much good in them. But from this door, there became a deficiency in them, and some of the shaykhs criticize them from this door, absolutely, without looking at their good points. And Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness
يا أيها الذين آمنوا كونوا قوامين لله شهداء بالقسط ولا يجرمنكم شنآن قوم على ألا تعدلوا اعدلوا هو أقرب للتقوىThe student: Amen.
The Shaykh : Yes