What are the principles that, if a person contradicts them, he has contradicted the methodology of the people of the Sunnah?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and may the prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
I say, regarding the question, may Allah preserve you: What are the principles of the issues such that whoever contradicts them has contradicted the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community?
The Shaykh : Yes, these principles, may Allah reward you, were mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) in *Al-'Aqeedah al-Wasitiyyah*. *Al-'Aqeedah al-Wasitiyyah* is a concise book well-known to most students of knowledge, but it is a blessed book containing much good.
He (may Allah have mercy on him), when he finished speaking on the chapter of the Sunnah, said: The people of the Sunnah and the community are the middle path among the sects of this Ummah, just as the Ummah is the middle path among the nations.
So our Ummah, praise be to Allah, is the middle path between the nations, between the Jews and the Christians, in creed and in deeds.
In creed: We find that the Jews belittled Allah (Mighty and Majestic) until they described Him with the despicable attributes of the created! What did they say?
They said that Allah is poor, and they said the hand of Allah is chained, and they said that Allah was tired so He rested on the day of Saturday after creating the heavens and the earth. So they equated the Creator with the created. And the Christians are the opposite; they equated the created with the Creator and made 'Isa ibn Maryam a god alongside Allah,[Al-Ma'idah 5:116].
Likewise, in the messengers, the Jews lied about the prophets and killed the prophets without right, and the Christians exaggerated regarding the prophets and made 'Isa a god.
This Ummah, praise be to Allah, contradicted them in these two principles. They said: Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is described with attributes of perfection, and there is nothing like Him, and no one among the created has reached what is specific to Allah in attributes. And regarding the messengers, they said: The messengers are the servants of Allah and His messengers; they have no right to lordship or divinity, and they are truthful and believed.
Likewise, in what is lawful and what is forbidden, we find that Allah the Exalted restricted the foods for the Jews:[Al-An'am 6:146].
And the Christians make every foul thing lawful and eat whatever moves. And this Ummah, Allah made the good things lawful for them and forbade the foul things.
We also find that the Jews do not approach the menstruating woman, do not eat with her, and do not gather with her in a house, and the Christians are the opposite; they do not care about ritual impurities.
This Ummah, praise be to Allah, is the middle path. They eat with the menstruating woman, sit with her, and a man has physical contact with his menstruating wife in everything except intercourse. So the result is that this Ummah is the middle path between the nations.
Likewise, the people of the Sunnah and the community are the middle path between the sects of the Ummah in the five principles mentioned by him (may Allah have mercy on him):
In the chapter of names and attributes, they are the middle path between the *mumaththilah* (those who liken Allah to creation) and the *mu'attilah* (those who deny the divine attributes). The *mumaththilah* are a group that says: The attributes of Allah the Exalted are like our attributes, so the face of Allah is like our faces, His eye is like our eyes, His hand is like our hands, and so on.
And the *mu'attilah* are the opposite; they deny what Allah described Himself with, and they say: Allah has no face, no hand, no eye, and so on, and they distort the words from their places in these matters.
Likewise, they are the middle path in the second principle, which is: divine decree. There are two lost groups in the issue of divine decree:
One group says: The human being is compelled in his action, and he has no choice and no will.
And another group says: The human being is independent in himself, and Allah has no connection to him; he acts without the will of Allah and without His creation.
And the people of the Sunnah and the community said: The human being acts by his choice, and he is a chooser and has options, but whatever action he does, it is by the will of Allah the Exalted and His creation.
Likewise, in the names of faith and religion: We find among the sects the Mu'tazilah, the Khawarij, and the Murji'ah:
The Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij said: If a person commits zina, he exits from faith, so he is not a believer, and it is not true that he is a believer ever.
And the Murji'ah, who are their opposite, said: If a person commits zina and steals, he is a complete believer; his faith is like the faith of the most obedient people to Allah.
And the people of the Sunnah and the community said: If he commits zina or steals, he is a believer with deficient faith, or a believer in his faith, but an open sinner in his major sin.
Likewise, in the rulings, the rulings of a person in what he does: What happens if he commits a major sin?
So the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij said: He will be eternally in the Fire with the hypocrites, with Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and others.
And the Murji'ah said: The doer of a major sin will never enter the Fire, it is not possible.
The people of the Sunnah and the community said: He deserves punishment, but Allah may forgive him.
Likewise, regarding the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which is the fifth principle mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam:
The people of innovation divided regarding the Companions of the Messenger into two groups:
A group that declared them disbelievers and misguided them, like the Rafidah, except for the Ahl al-Bayt (the Family of the Prophet), regarding whom they exaggerated and elevated them above their station. So they became misguided regarding the Companions from two aspects:
From the aspect of declaring disbelievers and misleading everyone except the Ahl al-Bayt, and from the aspect of exaggerating regarding the Ahl al-Bayt.
And there are people opposite to them, the Khawarij who are the Nawasib: those who declared 'Ali ibn Abi Talib a disbeliever, rebelled against him, fought him, and made his blood lawful.
As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they said: The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) are the best of generations and the best of the Ummah, and they have their right which is obligatory upon us. And the Ahl al-Nabi (the Family of the Prophet) (peace and blessings be upon him) who believe in him have the right of kinship along with faith and companionship if they are from the Companions. But we do not exaggerate in them as the Rafidah did, nor do we defect in them as the Khawarij did, but we give them their right without exaggeration or shortcoming. These are the principles.
Likewise, among the principles in which the people of the Sunnah and the people of innovation differ is: rebelling against the rulers.
The Haruriyyah, these Khawarij, rebelled against the Imam of the Muslims, declared him a disbeliever, fought him, and made the blood of the Muslims lawful because of that. As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they say:
It is obligatory upon us to listen and obey the one in authority, even if he commits major sins and open sinfulness, as long as it does not reach the limit of open disbelief. Then, at that time, we fight him if fighting him does not result in evil. And that is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade rebelling against the rulers except with conditions. He said:Sahih al-Bukhari 7055, 7056:
Four conditions: That you see, meaning: with your own eyes, or you know that.
Disbelief, not open sinfulness. Meaning: Even if we see, for example, that he commits zina, or steals, or kills the soul that is forbidden to be killed without right, without making that lawful, then he is not a disbeliever but an open sinner among the open sinners, and it is not permissible for us to rebel against him. So the Messenger said: Disbelief.
The second: Openly, meaning explicitly, where no figurative interpretation is possible. If figurative interpretation is possible, then we do not declare him a disbeliever, and we do not rebel against him.
The fourth: We have from Allah proof regarding it. Meaning: The disbelief we saw is not open disbelief by analogy or the like, but we have proof regarding it, and clear evidence from the Book and the Sunnah.
These are four conditions, and there is a fifth condition taken from other evidences, which is that we have the ability to remove this disbelieving ruler who has committed open disbelief for which we have proof from Allah. So we must have the ability. If we do not have the ability, the evil we want to remove becomes greater than if we left it as it is, and then we try to reform what we can by one way or another.
Therefore, some of the brothers who, praise be to Allah, have Islamic zeal and religion, err when they rebel against those whom Allah the Exalted has appointed over them. And Allah is Wise, so He is the one who appoints some oppressors over others. Do not think that if the rulers oppress or transgress, that this is a decree from Allah the Exalted merely by the will of Allah, but it is for a wisdom. Because Allah said:[Al-An'am 6:129], and rulers do not dominate the subjects except because of the subjects, "As you are, so will you be ruled over". So some of the people who try to rebel against those whom Allah has appointed over them, even by force, are actually erring.
First: It is necessary to know what happened from this one whom Allah has appointed over us. We must know. So mere talk that is transmitted should not be believed. And how many false statements have been transmitted to us, whether regarding the rulers or those below the rulers. When we verify, we find that they have no basis. For this reason, the hadith came:Sahih al-Bukhari 7055, 7056.
The second condition is that if we see this thing with our own eyes, or if it is reported to us by reliable people in a mass-transmitted manner, we must then examine it against the Book and the Sunnah to determine whether it is disbelief or open sinfulness.
And if we suspect that it is disbelief, we must look to see if there is proof from Allah regarding it. Is it explicit disbelief that does not allow for figurative interpretation? Because it may be disbelief, but a person is excused in it due to figurative interpretation. Therefore, it must be obvious, explicit, and clear, not allowing for figurative interpretation.
It is also necessary that we have proof from Allah regarding it, clear and decisive evidence. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) restricted rebellion against the rulers with these conditions, which some people may find difficult, because the consequences of rebellion are more harmful than the state they are in. You are witnessing now what has happened with the revolutions; were the people happier after the revolution than they were before?
No, on the contrary. There is no need to specify certain countries in this place, because the matter is clear.
Therefore, the important point is that we advise our Muslim brothers not to be hasty in these matters. If Allah appoints over them someone who rules over them, let them ask Allah the Exalted for guidance for him and safety from his evil, and let them be patient, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:. Therefore, patience is necessary, and advice is necessary.
These are also among the important principles that the brother asked about, in which the people of innovation contradict what the people of the Sunnah and the community were upon. You find them rebelling against the rulers, and the only result of rebellion is what is worse. What divided the Ummah from the time they rebelled against 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) except this?
So we ask Allah for safety and guidance for us and for you, and that He may guide us and you to what He loves and is pleased with. I think the limit that concludes this session is the call to the midday prayer, which you have just heard, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
I say, regarding the question, may Allah preserve you: What are the principles of the issues such that whoever contradicts them has contradicted the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community?
The Shaykh : Yes, these principles, may Allah reward you, were mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) in *Al-'Aqeedah al-Wasitiyyah*. *Al-'Aqeedah al-Wasitiyyah* is a concise book well-known to most students of knowledge, but it is a blessed book containing much good.
He (may Allah have mercy on him), when he finished speaking on the chapter of the Sunnah, said: The people of the Sunnah and the community are the middle path among the sects of this Ummah, just as the Ummah is the middle path among the nations.
So our Ummah, praise be to Allah, is the middle path between the nations, between the Jews and the Christians, in creed and in deeds.
In creed: We find that the Jews belittled Allah (Mighty and Majestic) until they described Him with the despicable attributes of the created! What did they say?
They said that Allah is poor, and they said the hand of Allah is chained, and they said that Allah was tired so He rested on the day of Saturday after creating the heavens and the earth. So they equated the Creator with the created. And the Christians are the opposite; they equated the created with the Creator and made 'Isa ibn Maryam a god alongside Allah,
And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'"
وَإِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنْتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَهَيْنِ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِLikewise, in the messengers, the Jews lied about the prophets and killed the prophets without right, and the Christians exaggerated regarding the prophets and made 'Isa a god.
This Ummah, praise be to Allah, contradicted them in these two principles. They said: Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is described with attributes of perfection, and there is nothing like Him, and no one among the created has reached what is specific to Allah in attributes. And regarding the messengers, they said: The messengers are the servants of Allah and His messengers; they have no right to lordship or divinity, and they are truthful and believed.
Likewise, in what is lawful and what is forbidden, we find that Allah the Exalted restricted the foods for the Jews:
And to those who are Jews We prohibited every animal of uncloven hoof; and of the cattle and the sheep We prohibited to them their fat, except what adheres to their backs or the entrails or what is joined with bone. [By] that We repaid them for their injustice. And indeed, We are truthful.
وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا كُلَّ ذِي ظُفُرٍ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهُمَا إِلَّا مَا حَمَلَتْ ظُهُورُهُمَا أَوِ الْحَوَايَا أَوْ مَا اخْتَلَطَ بِعَظْمٍ ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُمْ بِبَغْيِهِمْ وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَAnd the Christians make every foul thing lawful and eat whatever moves. And this Ummah, Allah made the good things lawful for them and forbade the foul things.
We also find that the Jews do not approach the menstruating woman, do not eat with her, and do not gather with her in a house, and the Christians are the opposite; they do not care about ritual impurities.
This Ummah, praise be to Allah, is the middle path. They eat with the menstruating woman, sit with her, and a man has physical contact with his menstruating wife in everything except intercourse. So the result is that this Ummah is the middle path between the nations.
Likewise, the people of the Sunnah and the community are the middle path between the sects of the Ummah in the five principles mentioned by him (may Allah have mercy on him):
In the chapter of names and attributes, they are the middle path between the *mumaththilah* (those who liken Allah to creation) and the *mu'attilah* (those who deny the divine attributes). The *mumaththilah* are a group that says: The attributes of Allah the Exalted are like our attributes, so the face of Allah is like our faces, His eye is like our eyes, His hand is like our hands, and so on.
And the *mu'attilah* are the opposite; they deny what Allah described Himself with, and they say: Allah has no face, no hand, no eye, and so on, and they distort the words from their places in these matters.
Likewise, they are the middle path in the second principle, which is: divine decree. There are two lost groups in the issue of divine decree:
One group says: The human being is compelled in his action, and he has no choice and no will.
And another group says: The human being is independent in himself, and Allah has no connection to him; he acts without the will of Allah and without His creation.
And the people of the Sunnah and the community said: The human being acts by his choice, and he is a chooser and has options, but whatever action he does, it is by the will of Allah the Exalted and His creation.
Likewise, in the names of faith and religion: We find among the sects the Mu'tazilah, the Khawarij, and the Murji'ah:
The Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij said: If a person commits zina, he exits from faith, so he is not a believer, and it is not true that he is a believer ever.
And the Murji'ah, who are their opposite, said: If a person commits zina and steals, he is a complete believer; his faith is like the faith of the most obedient people to Allah.
And the people of the Sunnah and the community said: If he commits zina or steals, he is a believer with deficient faith, or a believer in his faith, but an open sinner in his major sin.
Likewise, in the rulings, the rulings of a person in what he does: What happens if he commits a major sin?
So the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij said: He will be eternally in the Fire with the hypocrites, with Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and others.
And the Murji'ah said: The doer of a major sin will never enter the Fire, it is not possible.
The people of the Sunnah and the community said: He deserves punishment, but Allah may forgive him.
Likewise, regarding the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), which is the fifth principle mentioned by Shaykh al-Islam:
The people of innovation divided regarding the Companions of the Messenger into two groups:
A group that declared them disbelievers and misguided them, like the Rafidah, except for the Ahl al-Bayt (the Family of the Prophet), regarding whom they exaggerated and elevated them above their station. So they became misguided regarding the Companions from two aspects:
From the aspect of declaring disbelievers and misleading everyone except the Ahl al-Bayt, and from the aspect of exaggerating regarding the Ahl al-Bayt.
And there are people opposite to them, the Khawarij who are the Nawasib: those who declared 'Ali ibn Abi Talib a disbeliever, rebelled against him, fought him, and made his blood lawful.
As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they said: The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) are the best of generations and the best of the Ummah, and they have their right which is obligatory upon us. And the Ahl al-Nabi (the Family of the Prophet) (peace and blessings be upon him) who believe in him have the right of kinship along with faith and companionship if they are from the Companions. But we do not exaggerate in them as the Rafidah did, nor do we defect in them as the Khawarij did, but we give them their right without exaggeration or shortcoming. These are the principles.
Likewise, among the principles in which the people of the Sunnah and the people of innovation differ is: rebelling against the rulers.
The Haruriyyah, these Khawarij, rebelled against the Imam of the Muslims, declared him a disbeliever, fought him, and made the blood of the Muslims lawful because of that. As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they say:
It is obligatory upon us to listen and obey the one in authority, even if he commits major sins and open sinfulness, as long as it does not reach the limit of open disbelief. Then, at that time, we fight him if fighting him does not result in evil. And that is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade rebelling against the rulers except with conditions. He said:
unless we noticed him having open Kufr (disbelief) for which we would have a proof with us from Allah
إلاّ أن تروا كفراً بواحاً عندكم فيه من الله برهانFour conditions: That you see, meaning: with your own eyes, or you know that.
Disbelief, not open sinfulness. Meaning: Even if we see, for example, that he commits zina, or steals, or kills the soul that is forbidden to be killed without right, without making that lawful, then he is not a disbeliever but an open sinner among the open sinners, and it is not permissible for us to rebel against him. So the Messenger said: Disbelief.
The second: Openly, meaning explicitly, where no figurative interpretation is possible. If figurative interpretation is possible, then we do not declare him a disbeliever, and we do not rebel against him.
The fourth: We have from Allah proof regarding it. Meaning: The disbelief we saw is not open disbelief by analogy or the like, but we have proof regarding it, and clear evidence from the Book and the Sunnah.
These are four conditions, and there is a fifth condition taken from other evidences, which is that we have the ability to remove this disbelieving ruler who has committed open disbelief for which we have proof from Allah. So we must have the ability. If we do not have the ability, the evil we want to remove becomes greater than if we left it as it is, and then we try to reform what we can by one way or another.
Therefore, some of the brothers who, praise be to Allah, have Islamic zeal and religion, err when they rebel against those whom Allah the Exalted has appointed over them. And Allah is Wise, so He is the one who appoints some oppressors over others. Do not think that if the rulers oppress or transgress, that this is a decree from Allah the Exalted merely by the will of Allah, but it is for a wisdom. Because Allah said:
And thus will We make some of the wrongdoers allies of others for what they used to earn.
وَكَذَلِكَ نُوَلِّي بَعْضَ الظَّالِمِينَ بَعْضاً بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَFirst: It is necessary to know what happened from this one whom Allah has appointed over us. We must know. So mere talk that is transmitted should not be believed. And how many false statements have been transmitted to us, whether regarding the rulers or those below the rulers. When we verify, we find that they have no basis. For this reason, the hadith came:
unless we noticed him having open Kufr
إلاّ أن تروا كفراًThe second condition is that if we see this thing with our own eyes, or if it is reported to us by reliable people in a mass-transmitted manner, we must then examine it against the Book and the Sunnah to determine whether it is disbelief or open sinfulness.
And if we suspect that it is disbelief, we must look to see if there is proof from Allah regarding it. Is it explicit disbelief that does not allow for figurative interpretation? Because it may be disbelief, but a person is excused in it due to figurative interpretation. Therefore, it must be obvious, explicit, and clear, not allowing for figurative interpretation.
It is also necessary that we have proof from Allah regarding it, clear and decisive evidence. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) restricted rebellion against the rulers with these conditions, which some people may find difficult, because the consequences of rebellion are more harmful than the state they are in. You are witnessing now what has happened with the revolutions; were the people happier after the revolution than they were before?
No, on the contrary. There is no need to specify certain countries in this place, because the matter is clear.
Therefore, the important point is that we advise our Muslim brothers not to be hasty in these matters. If Allah appoints over them someone who rules over them, let them ask Allah the Exalted for guidance for him and safety from his evil, and let them be patient, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If one of you sees from his ruler something he dislikes, let him be patient, for whoever separates from the community by the span of a hand, he dies the death of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance.
إذا رأى أحدكم من أميره ما يكره فليصبر، فإنّ مَن فارق الجماعة قِيد شبر مات ميتة جاهليةThese are also among the important principles that the brother asked about, in which the people of innovation contradict what the people of the Sunnah and the community were upon. You find them rebelling against the rulers, and the only result of rebellion is what is worse. What divided the Ummah from the time they rebelled against 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) except this?
So we ask Allah for safety and guidance for us and for you, and that He may guide us and you to what He loves and is pleased with. I think the limit that concludes this session is the call to the midday prayer, which you have just heard, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.