Is calling this religion a fifth religion or a rag, or calling those who enjoin good and forbid evil "men of religion," considered mockery?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Let's see, brother, what is it? Read.
The questioner : Mockery is of two types. One is explicit mockery, such as that in which the verse was revealed, namely their saying, "We have not seen anyone like these reciters of ours; they are more greedy in their bellies, more lying in their tongues, and more cowardly in battle," or similar statements by the mockers, such as one of them saying, "Your religion is a fifth religion," and another saying, "Your religion is a rag."
The Shaykh : A rag.
The questioner : Yes, that is right. And another saying, when he sees those who enjoin good and forbid evil, "The men of religion have come to you," in a tone of sarcasm toward them, and so on, which is too numerous to count except with difficulty, and which is greater than the words of those about whom the verse was revealed.
The Shaykh : Yes, these are the ones who say it is a fifth religion. Some of them express it this way, and some express it as the fifth school of jurisprudence, because they say, "You are the Wahhabis. There are four schools of jurisprudence: the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi'i, and the Hanbali, and you are a fifth school." That is, the expression "fifth religion" is not used except by the common people, because it is not an independent religion, but rather, in their claim, an independent school of jurisprudence. This is a lie. This was spread by the enemies of the call to the oneness of Allah to distort it. They said, "Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab came with a fifth school of jurisprudence that departed from the consensus of the Muslim community." This is because they believe that what the four schools of jurisprudence agreed upon is the consensus of the Muslim community, and they were mistaken. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) was of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, and all his books on creed, the oneness of Allah, and Islamic jurisprudence are based on the principles of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). He did not come with a fifth school of jurisprudence. But you know that the enemies distort the call and the caller. The enemies of the messengers, what did they say? So they attacked the call and said of the caller that he is a lying sorcerer. They attacked the caller. Similarly, these people attacked what Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) calls for, namely the oneness of Allah, and they distorted the reputation for two reasons. The first reason is to deter the common people from adhering to it, and the second reason is to make it acceptable to wage war against this man and those who follow his path, claiming that he brought innovations from the schools of the Muslims, and thus he deserves to be fought and killed. All of this is a lie about Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. In any case, even those who mock those who enjoin good and forbid evil, one may hesitate in declaring it disbelief, because a person might mock the one who enjoins without mocking the command itself, or the one who forbids without mocking the prohibition itself. Let me give you an example. If a person from the recognized scholars here in the country forbids you from something, and a person from the brothers whom you do not know forbids you, would the value of the prohibition be the same from both men? Would the value of the prohibition be the same from both men? No. You respect the first, but perhaps you do not respect the second. Why? Not because you do not respect the wrong, but because you do not care about this forbidding person, and you do not know anything about him.
Now, for example, a young student of knowledge comes to us and lifts his garment to the middle of the calf. You find some of the common people mocking him and thinking he has made a mistake. If a person from the recognized, trustworthy scholars lifts his garment to the middle of the calf, do they mock him? No. So, the mockery of those who enjoin good and forbid evil in our time is not like the mockery of Muhammad and his Companions. There is a difference, a great difference, because Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is protected from sin, while those who enjoin good and forbid evil in our time are not protected from sin. But the one who wants to mock the good itself, that is the one who becomes a disbeliever. As for mocking the one who enjoins it, one cannot declare him a disbeliever, because he might be mocking the man without mocking what he called for. This is a matter we must be aware of and know the difference between mocking the Messenger and his Companions and mocking those who enjoin good and forbid evil. Here, it is said to the mocker: Are you mocking the good that they enjoined, as if they ordered you to pray in congregation and you said, "What is this? This is a delay, this is a regression. They want us to go back to the Middle Ages," and so on? That is disbelief. But if he mocks the man himself, the man himself might be someone the person does not accept. And Allah knows best.
The questioner : Mockery is of two types. One is explicit mockery, such as that in which the verse was revealed, namely their saying, "We have not seen anyone like these reciters of ours; they are more greedy in their bellies, more lying in their tongues, and more cowardly in battle," or similar statements by the mockers, such as one of them saying, "Your religion is a fifth religion," and another saying, "Your religion is a rag."
The Shaykh : A rag.
The questioner : Yes, that is right. And another saying, when he sees those who enjoin good and forbid evil, "The men of religion have come to you," in a tone of sarcasm toward them, and so on, which is too numerous to count except with difficulty, and which is greater than the words of those about whom the verse was revealed.
The Shaykh : Yes, these are the ones who say it is a fifth religion. Some of them express it this way, and some express it as the fifth school of jurisprudence, because they say, "You are the Wahhabis. There are four schools of jurisprudence: the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi'i, and the Hanbali, and you are a fifth school." That is, the expression "fifth religion" is not used except by the common people, because it is not an independent religion, but rather, in their claim, an independent school of jurisprudence. This is a lie. This was spread by the enemies of the call to the oneness of Allah to distort it. They said, "Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab came with a fifth school of jurisprudence that departed from the consensus of the Muslim community." This is because they believe that what the four schools of jurisprudence agreed upon is the consensus of the Muslim community, and they were mistaken. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) was of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, and all his books on creed, the oneness of Allah, and Islamic jurisprudence are based on the principles of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). He did not come with a fifth school of jurisprudence. But you know that the enemies distort the call and the caller. The enemies of the messengers, what did they say?
They said, "This is nothing but clear sorcery."
قالوا إن هذا إلا سحر مبينNow, for example, a young student of knowledge comes to us and lifts his garment to the middle of the calf. You find some of the common people mocking him and thinking he has made a mistake. If a person from the recognized, trustworthy scholars lifts his garment to the middle of the calf, do they mock him? No. So, the mockery of those who enjoin good and forbid evil in our time is not like the mockery of Muhammad and his Companions. There is a difference, a great difference, because Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is protected from sin, while those who enjoin good and forbid evil in our time are not protected from sin. But the one who wants to mock the good itself, that is the one who becomes a disbeliever. As for mocking the one who enjoins it, one cannot declare him a disbeliever, because he might be mocking the man without mocking what he called for. This is a matter we must be aware of and know the difference between mocking the Messenger and his Companions and mocking those who enjoin good and forbid evil. Here, it is said to the mocker: Are you mocking the good that they enjoined, as if they ordered you to pray in congregation and you said, "What is this? This is a delay, this is a regression. They want us to go back to the Middle Ages," and so on? That is disbelief. But if he mocks the man himself, the man himself might be someone the person does not accept. And Allah knows best.