| Subject: Re: upon the manhaj of the salaf |
Author:
Moustafa Morsy
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Date Posted: 23:52:54 09/19/02 Thu
Author Host/IP: mt.24.171.69.29.charter-stl.com/24.171.69.29
In reply to:
abu Ibrahim
's message, "upon the manhaj of the salaf" on 21:04:59 09/19/02 Thu
Alikom Assalaam Wr Wbr.
_1
Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“Say (O Muhammad): ‘This is my way; I invite unto Allaah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me with sure knowledge. And Glorified and Exalted be Allaah (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am not of the mushrikeen (polytheists… those who worship others along with Allaah or set up rivals or partners to Allaah).” [Yoosuf 12:108]
“And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the oath he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination!” [al-Nisa’ 4:115. According to the terminology that is well known, the Salaf are the Sahaabah and those who follow their path, and the Ahl al-Sunnah are those who follow the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They are the ones concerning whom the hadeeth was reported: “Whoever follows the same path as me and my Companions” (The hadeeth about the saved group).
Stirring up disputes and conflict on the grounds of names alone is not permissible. Allaah has commanded the believers to be united and has forbidden them to be divided and warned them against that.
When Hudhayfah asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, we were in a state of ignorance and evil, then Allaah brought us this good. Will there be any evil after this good?” the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Yes.” Hudahyfah asked, “Will there be any good after that evil?” He said, “Yes, but it would be tainted with dakhan (i.e. a little evil).” I asked, “What will its dakhan be?” He said, “There will be some people who will guide (people) according to something other than my guidance and will lead them according to something other than my Sunnah. You will see their actions and disapprove of them.” Hudhayfah said, “Will there be any evil after that good?” He said, “Yes, there will be some people who will invite others to the doors of Hell, and whoever accepts their invitation to it will be thrown in it (by them).” Hudhayfah said, “O Messenger of Allaah, describe those people to us.” He said, “They will be from among us and speak our language (i.e., from among the Arabs).” Hudhayfah asked, “What do you command us to do at that point?” He said, “Adhere to the jamaa’ah (group) of the Muslims and their leader.” Hudhayfah asked, “What if there is no jamaa’ah and no leader?” He said, “Keep away from all those different sects, even if you have to bite (i.e. eat) the root of a tree, till you die while you are still in that state.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
Each person is obliged to follow the guidance of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his Companions. This is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah and the followers of the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-saalih).]
Whoever follows the way of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) belongs to the salaf al-saalih, even if the people call him something else; by the same token, whoever goes against it and deviates from the Sunnah is an innovator, even if he claims to be a Salafi.
2. If a person calls himself a Salafi to express his gratitude for having been guided to this way, or to clearly distinguish himself from innovation, then this is OK and is allowed in Islam. But if he says it only for the purpose of praising himself, then this is not allowed, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… therefore justify not yourselves…” [al-Najm 53:32 – Yusuf ‘Ali’s translation]. Similarly, it is not allowed if it is said in a spirit of tribalism or sectarianism, because such attitudes are forbidden, as is clear from the following story: Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: “A man from the Muhaajireen shoved a man from the Ansaar from behind, so each man’s people gathered around him, saying ‘O Muhaajireen (come and help)!’ or ‘O Ansaar (come and help)!’ News of this reached the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he said, ‘Stop this, for it is repulsive.’ Then he said, ‘What is this call of the people of jaahiliyyah? What is this call of the people of jaahiliyyah?’” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 14105; the hadeeth is also to be found in al-Saheehayn). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called it the call of the people of jaahiliyyah and described it as repulsive, even though the words “Ansaari” and “Muhaajiri” are Islamic words, the first referring to those who supported Allaah and His Messenger, and the second referring to those who left the land of kufr and migrated to Allaah and His Messenger. Why were they described in this manner? Because in this instance, the words were not used in a permissible fashion; the usage was a sectarian and political one that could have led to fighting between the two groups. The same applies to the word “Salafi”.
3. If the Ahl al-Sunnah and the salaf draw a line between themselves and the innovators, this is not considered to be dividing the ummah, as those who criticize the use of this word think is the case, but this distancing of oneself has to be done in accordance with the degree of bid’ah – whether it is major or minor – and should be regulated by the overall interests of the Islamic da’wah.
When the Muslim finds a group that is calling people to the truth, he should help them and be one of them, he should aid them and encourage them, help them to remain steadfast in adhering to the truth. If he cannot find a jamaa’ah at all, then he should adhere to the truth and he will be the jamaa’ah even if he is only one, as Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said to ‘Amr ibn Maymoon: “The jamaa’ah is that which is in accordance with the truth, even if you are on your own.”
And Allah Knows Best.
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