The Ruling on One Who Considers Hijab and Miswak to Be the Superficial Aspects of the Religion
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Question:
We see a group of callers to Allah in this recent period who have linked the fundamentals of the religion to its branches, and they have started calling people to abandon what they claim are the superficial aspects: such as the issues of the beard, hijab, miswak, shortening the garments, and so on. They have caused fitnah (trial) for many through their calling. What is the obligation of the callers to the truth regarding this? And what is the opinion of the honorable scholars regarding the book "The Prophetic Sunnah Between the People of Jurisprudence and the People of Hadith" by Muhammad al-Ghazali? Clarify, may you be rewarded, and may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
The Shaykh: This is done by many who are deficient in knowledge, deficient in insight, and deficient in the fear of Allah . Indeed, the commands of Allah and the commands of His Messenger are not to be called superficial aspects, and it is not permissible to call any of them superficial aspects, neither the obligatory acts nor the recommended ones. Rather, they are all intended, they are all good, they are all life, and they are all light, as Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:52] Allah named it: a spirit [Surah al-Shura: 52]. So Allah named His revelation: light, and He named it: a spirit. A spirit through which life is obtained, and light through which guidance is obtained. He said (peace and blessings be upon him) : [Surah al-Anfal: 24]. So Allah named His revelation: life. And He said, Exalted is He: [Surah al-An'am: 122].
The revelation of Allah is light and life; there are no superficial aspects in it. Honoring the beard and growing it is an intended matter, and it is not among the superficial aspects. Leaving off isbal (letting the garment hang below the ankles) is likewise an intended matter. So the one who says: "This is among the superficial aspects," this is an error. He must repent to Allah, and I fear for him that he may be an apostate. We ask Allah for safety. One must be cautious of this bad speech. Rather, one must magnify the religion of Allah: both the obligatory and the recommended, and be cautious of what Allah has forbidden and what Allah has disliked for His servants. One should be at the utmost level of scrupulousness and caution against slips of the tongue and malicious utterances of the tongue.
So the obligatory thing in all cases is: to care for both the fundamentals and the branches. The intended meaning of the fundamentals is action; the intention is not that you know the fundamentals and stop there. You know the fundamentals and act in accordance with them, you leave what Allah has forbidden, and you fulfill what Allah has made obligatory. Among this is: maintaining the prayers in congregation, honoring the beard and growing it, and leaving off isbal, among other things that the Shari'ah has brought. But some people, when Shaytan dominated them and they took their beards and lengthened their garments, wanted to justify their bad deeds and to invalidate what the other people of good and guidance did. And all of this is from obeying the desires and Shaytan—may Allah grant us safety.
As for the book of al-Ghazali: it is a well-known book. Many of the people of knowledge studied it and refuted it, and we have also looked into it. It contains many serious dangerous points. Our brothers have done well in refuting it. I hope that Allah will grant us time so that we may write what is feasible regarding this, if Allah wills, soon.
We see a group of callers to Allah in this recent period who have linked the fundamentals of the religion to its branches, and they have started calling people to abandon what they claim are the superficial aspects: such as the issues of the beard, hijab, miswak, shortening the garments, and so on. They have caused fitnah (trial) for many through their calling. What is the obligation of the callers to the truth regarding this? And what is the opinion of the honorable scholars regarding the book "The Prophetic Sunnah Between the People of Jurisprudence and the People of Hadith" by Muhammad al-Ghazali? Clarify, may you be rewarded, and may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
The Shaykh: This is done by many who are deficient in knowledge, deficient in insight, and deficient in the fear of Allah . Indeed, the commands of Allah and the commands of His Messenger are not to be called superficial aspects, and it is not permissible to call any of them superficial aspects, neither the obligatory acts nor the recommended ones. Rather, they are all intended, they are all good, they are all life, and they are all light, as Allah the Exalted said:
And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command.
وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِنْ أَمْرِنَاYou did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith, but We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants
مَا كُنْتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِنْ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ نَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَاO you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْAnd is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people
أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِThe revelation of Allah is light and life; there are no superficial aspects in it. Honoring the beard and growing it is an intended matter, and it is not among the superficial aspects. Leaving off isbal (letting the garment hang below the ankles) is likewise an intended matter. So the one who says: "This is among the superficial aspects," this is an error. He must repent to Allah, and I fear for him that he may be an apostate. We ask Allah for safety. One must be cautious of this bad speech. Rather, one must magnify the religion of Allah: both the obligatory and the recommended, and be cautious of what Allah has forbidden and what Allah has disliked for His servants. One should be at the utmost level of scrupulousness and caution against slips of the tongue and malicious utterances of the tongue.
So the obligatory thing in all cases is: to care for both the fundamentals and the branches. The intended meaning of the fundamentals is action; the intention is not that you know the fundamentals and stop there. You know the fundamentals and act in accordance with them, you leave what Allah has forbidden, and you fulfill what Allah has made obligatory. Among this is: maintaining the prayers in congregation, honoring the beard and growing it, and leaving off isbal, among other things that the Shari'ah has brought. But some people, when Shaytan dominated them and they took their beards and lengthened their garments, wanted to justify their bad deeds and to invalidate what the other people of good and guidance did. And all of this is from obeying the desires and Shaytan—may Allah grant us safety.
As for the book of al-Ghazali: it is a well-known book. Many of the people of knowledge studied it and refuted it, and we have also looked into it. It contains many serious dangerous points. Our brothers have done well in refuting it. I hope that Allah will grant us time so that we may write what is feasible regarding this, if Allah wills, soon.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.