ISLAM: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Schools of Thought, Religions and Sects Volume 8 of a Series of Islamic Books by Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman i
Islam: Questions And Answers Volume 8 Schools of Thought, Religions and Sects i
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Islam: Questions And Answers Volume 8 Schools of Thought, Religions and Sects Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman B.Sc., DipHE MSA Publication Limited iii
Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman, 2004 ISBN for all volumes 1 86179 080 5 ISBN for volume 8 paperback 1 86179 291 3 ISBN for volume 8 hardback 1 86179 292 1 ISBN for volume 8 pdf ebook 1 86179 293 X ISBN for volume 8 Microsoft ebook 1 86179 294 8 ISBN for volume 8 Palm ebook 1 86179 295 6 All rights reserved British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Designed, Typeset and produced by: MSA Publication Limited, 4 Bello Close, Herne Hill, London SE24 9BW United Kingdom iv
Contents Introduction...1 Chapter 1...3 General...3 34576: Freemasonry and ruling on joining the Masons...3 10469: Questions from a confused Christian...7 30905: To whom is the book Nahj al-balaaghah attributed?...14 27328: The book Ihya Uloom al-deen...18 10714: It is not correct to differentiate between the Salafis and Ahl al-sunnah...20 Chapter 2...22 Religions...22 48987: Did Islam exist before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?...22 33679: Islam and the west between strength and weakness...26 20884: Muslim man marrying a non-muslim woman...28 27093: The differences between Christianity and Islam...33 22029: Ruling on reading the books of Ahl al-kitaab and debating with them on the internet...35 12713: Is the trinity that the Christians believe in mentioned in Islam?...39 21534: Attitude of Islam towards other religions...43 26728: Ruling on saying We are the children of Allaah...46 26301: Can a person who believes that Jesus is the son of God be a Muslim?...50 9607: Guidelines of the true religion...53 2912: Who are the Jews and Christians who will enter Paradise?...60 v
14055: Mankind s need for religion...64 21525: Categories of religion...68 9905: The misguidance of the Jews with regard to aqeedah...71 9341: The authenticity of the hadeeth about fighting the Jews...77 9461: Some Mormons are visiting him and trying to make him doubt his religion...78 9459: The Jews idea that Uzayr is a son of Allaah...82 8769: Is there a difference between Arab Christians and non-arab Christians?...83 5976: A Christian is asking about the Muslim attitude towards Catholicism and peaceful co-existence...84 314: The Muslim belief concerning the destiny of atheists in the Hereafter...88 300: Who are Ahlul Kitab( The people of the book)...89 Chapter 3...92 Schools of Thought and Sects...92 22473: Deobandis...92 47431: He is asking about Sufism and the Jamaa at al-tableegh...97 45563: Ruling on hating the Sahaabah...100 43322: Who are the Naasibis and what is the ruling on them?...106 26139: A brief look at the beliefs of the Druze... 110 34531: Acquiring knowledge from the Ash aris... 116 45435: Some lies of the Qaadiri tareeqah... 118 11529: Al-Ibaadiyyah...122 20760: She is confused about which groups and sects are telling the truth...125 34759: What is the Zaahiri madhhab?...130 37742: Taraaweeh prayer is not obligatory, and the ruling on breaking fast with followers of bid ah...131 vi
6083: Are the words spoken in a state of spiritual intoxication forgiven?...133 20375: Sufi tareeqahs and the ruling on joining them...137 5770: Placement of the hands in prayer between Ahl al-sunnah and others...141 13473: Who was al-ghazzaali?...145 26269: Adhering to a madhhab when one knows that other madhhabs have stronger evidence...153 21065: Are the contemporary Islamic groups among the seventy-three sects?...154 10121: Are the Islamic groups among the misguided groups?...157 10554: Characteristics of the saved group...160 10777: Who are Ahl al-sunnah wa l-jamaa ah?...164 9340: The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not extend his hand to anyone from his grave...165 9338: The Rifaa is who stab themselves with knives but are not affected by it...167 11737: She is going to move to another country where they differ from the Sunnis...168 1087: Ruling on saying I am a Salafi...170 9429: Joining Islamic groups...173 4569: She loves a man who is not a Sunni and wants to marry him...174 9832: University student confronted with some kinds of bid ah...176 7974: An Ismaili is asking about the differences between us and them...178 9389: Repeating the name of Allaah on its own, or the pronoun Huwa (He), is a Sufi bid ah...181 11180: The attitude of Islam towards deviant (political) parties and those who indulge in them...186 vii
6280: The perseverance of Islam despite splits and divisions...187 8571: Jamaa at al-ahbaash (the Habashis)...190 5459: Does a madhhab take priority over a hadeeth?...204 10216: Abd-Allaah al-harari al-habashi...206 7691: Who was Ibn Arabi?...207 1393: All the followers of the various sects of the this Ummah will be in Hell apart from one...219 5638: Some people claim that there is an aayah which supports Sufism...222 1059: What should I say if I am asked about my madhhab?...225 5523: Which of the four Madhhabs is most correct?...226 5869: A misguided group says that people s property is permissible for them, and they do not look at anyone except members of their own group...227 4060: Qadianiyyah in the light of Islam...230 4045: Islamic groups adopting a banner or symbol, and the ruling on using the crescent as a symbol...239 3321: Can one be a muslim and a communist at the same time?...241 4983: Are the Sufi shaykhs really in contact with Allaah?...242 3043: A father is neglecting his family and going out with the Jamaa at al-tableegh...250 206: Characteristics of the Victorious Group: Ahl al-sunnah wa l-jamaa ah...257 1098: Can the Muslims live in peace in Palestine?...262 3440: The misguided sect of al-qur aaniyyeen...266 2017: An ignorant atheist does not differentiate between a Prophet and an astrologer...268 viii
2854: Janaazah (funeral) prayer behind a Qadiani (Ahmadi)...273 2130: Which madhhab is the most correct?...274 783: Sects in Islam and influence by other religions...275 159: Manhaj al-salaf and ahl ul-sunnah wal-jamaa ah...276 ix
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Introduction Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, and on his family and his companions. This book, Schools of Thought, Religions and Sects, is the eighth volume of a series of authoritative Islamic books entitled Islam: Questions And Answers. The overall series discusses issues relevant to Islam, and present accurate and reliable information based on the true beliefs and practices of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon Him) and his companions. The objectives of the various books include: to teach and familiarize Muslims with various aspects of their religion to be a source for guiding people to Islam to assist in solving the social and personal problems of the Muslims in an Islamic context The books are directed towards Muslims and non-muslims alike. Subject areas include, but are not limited to, Islamic fiqh and jurisprudence, Islamic history, Islamic social laws (including marriage, divorce, contracts, and inheritance), Islamic finance, basic tenets and aqeedah of the Islamic faith and tawheed, and Arabic grammar as it relates to the Qur'an and Islamic texts. The books are compilations of questions and responses about Islam, from both Muslims and Non-Muslims. The responses are handled mainly by internationally re-nowned Islamic shaykhs and scholars, including Shaykh al-islam Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Katheer, al-albaani, Shaykh Ibn Baaz, Ibn al-jawzi, Ibn al- Qayyim, Al- Izz ibn Abd al-salaam, al-nawawi, Shaykh Abd al-kareem, al Khudayr, Al-Dhahabi, al-qurtubi, Al-Sindi, al- Shawkaani and al-bastawi using only authentic, scholarly sources based on the Qur'an and sunnah. References, which include Haashiyat Ibn Maajah, Sharh Saheeh Muslim, Fataawa al-lajnah 1
al-daa imah, Silsilat al-ahaadeeth al-da eefah, Al-Mawsoo ah fi Ahaadeeth al-mahdi al-da eefah wa l-mawdoo ah, Al-Manaar al-muneef and Fataawa Islamiyyah, are provided where appropriate in the responses. The book provides the reader with cross references of other pertinent responses not necessarily in the same volume, but also in other volumes of the series. However, each volume is complete in itself. The book records accurately the answers the contributing Sheikhs and scholars gave to the questions put to them. These are not necessarily the answers which other sheikhs and scholars would have given. Depending on circumstances, for example, Islam permits different solutions to some questions The book also provides the reader with cross-references to other pertinent responses not necessarily in the same volume, but also in other volumes of the series. However, each volume is complete in itself. It is intended that this present series of Books will cover the following subject areas (insha-allah): Aqeedah (Basic Tenets of Faith); Usool ul-fiqh (Science of evidence that serve as basis for Fiqh), Fiqh (Jurisprudence and Islamic Rulings), Da'wah (Inviting others to Islam), Aadaab (Manners), Akhlaaq (Character and Morals), Tareekh wa ul Seerah (Islamic history and biography), Tarbiyyah (Pedagogy, education, and upbringing) and Mashakil Nafsiyah wa Ijtimaa'yah (Psychological & Social Problems). May Allah reward the owners and maintainers of www.islamqa.com for granting me full, exclusive, assignable and transferable rights to use and display all the questions and answers needed for the compilation of these books. May Allah grant everyone involved in the promotion of this project good in this world and the Hereafter and protection from the fire of hell. 2
Chapter 1 General 34576: Freemasonry and ruling on joining the Masons Question: What is Freemasonry, and what is the ruling on it in Islam? What is the ruling on joining the Masons?. Answer: Praise be to Allaah. Freemasonry is a secret political society whose goal is to put an end to all religions and good morals, and to replace them with man-made laws and non-religious systems. It strives to provoke ongoing revolutions and to replace one regime with another, on the basis of its call for freedom of thought and freedom of belief. This is what they have stated clearly. This is what was announced by one of them in the Students Conference held in 1865 CE in the city of Liege which is considered to be one of the centers of Freemasonry. He said: Man must prevail over God, and declare war on Him. He should demolish the heavens and tear them like paper. It says in the Masonic Grand Lodge (1922, p. 98): We will strengthen the freedom of individual thought with all the powers at our disposal, and we will declare war against the real enemy of man, which is religion. The Masons say that Masonry takes the human soul as its object of worship. 3
They say: It is not enough for us to prevail over the religious people and their places of worship, rather our basic goal is to wipe them out of existence. Minutes of the World Masonic Conference, 1903 CE, p. 102. They say: Freemasonry will take the place of religion and its Lodges will take the place of places of worship and there are many other statements which clearly point to the intensity of their enmity towards religion and their uncompromising war on religion. The Freemasons are one of the most ancient secret societies which still exist and its origins are still unknown to many people and are still unknown to many of their members, because the plots of their leaders are very secret and hidden and they are so keen to conceal their plots and aims. Therefore most of their affairs are conducted verbally, with no written record. When they want to write an idea or announce it to the public, it is first subjected to the scrutiny of Masonic censors who decide whether it may be released or not. The foundations of Freemasonry were based on theories taken from several sources, mostly from Jewish traditions. This is supported by the fact that Jewish ideas and teachings were taken as the basis for the founding of the Grand Lodge in 1717 CE with its principles and symbols. The Masons still venerate the Jew Hiram and the temple that he built, from which they take the design of the Masonic lodges in the world. The greatest Masonic leaders are Jews and form the backbone of the Masonic movement, and they are the ones who represent Jewish organizations in Masonic lodges. It is to them that the spread of Masonry and global cooperation between Freemasons is to be attributed. They are the driving force behind Freemasonry and this Jewish elite are leading 4
different secret cells, running their affairs and directing them secretly as they wish. This is supported by a report in the Masonic Acacia magazine (1908, issue no. 66) which says that there is no Masonic lodge that is free of Jews and that all the Jews do not follow one way or another exclusively, rather there are only principles for them to follow. And this is also the case with the Masons. Hence the Jewish synagogues are our [Masons ] support and we find many Jews among the Freemasons. This is also supported by what it says in the Masonic publications: that the Jews are certain that the best means of destroying religion is Freemasonry. The history of the Masons is similar to the history of the Jews in belief. Their symbol is the six-pointed Star of David. The Jews and the Freemasons both consider themselves to be the spiritual sons of the builders of the Temple of Solomon. The Freemasonry which distorts other religions lends full support to Judaism and its followers. The Jews took advantage of people s simple-mindedness and good intentions, and infiltrated Freemasonry and reached high positions within it, thus they breathed a Jewish spirit into the Masonic lodges and subjugated them to their own aims. One of the clearest indications of their intense desire to conceal their plans to destroy religions and provoke political revolutions is what it says in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, where it says: we will concentrate these cells under a single leadership that is known to us alone. This leadership will be composed of our scholars and these cells will have special representatives, so that the true location of our leadership will be concealed. This leadership alone will have the right to decide who will speak, and to draw up the plans of the day. In these cells we will plan to lay traps for all the socialists and classes of revolutionary society. Most of the secret political plans are known to us and we will decide when to implement 5
them. But the agents of the international secret police will be members of these cells. When the conspiracies start throughout the world, that will mean that one of our most dedicated agents will be at the head of these conspiracies and of course we will be the only people to direct the Masonic plans. We are the only people who know how to direct them and we know the ultimate goal of each action, whilst the illiterates meaning non-jews are ignorant of most of these things, especially Masonry, and they can only see the immediate results of what they are doing. And there is other evidence which points to the strong connection between the Jews and the Masons, and the cooperation between the two parties in revolutionary conspiracies and stirring up destructive movements. Even though Freemasonry outwardly appears to be a call to freedom of belief, tolerance and social reform in general, in fact it is really a call for permissiveness and destructive factors which cause social disintegration and the loosening of bonds between nations and destruction of religion and morals and the spread of mischief. Based on this, any Muslim who joins a Masonic group knowing the true nature of Freemasonry and its secrets, and carries out its rituals and is keen to do so, is a kaafir who should be asked to repent. If he repents, all well and good, otherwise he is to be put to death and if he dies in that state then his recompense will be that of the kaafirs. Whoever joins the Freemasons but does not know what they really are, or know about their plots against Islam and the Muslims, and their spreading evil and the evil that they are planning against everyone who tries to bring people together and reform nations, and he joins them in their general activities and talk that does not apparently contradict Islam, is not a kaafir, rather he is excused in general because of their concealing their true nature from him, and because he does not share their basic beliefs or 6
aims. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Acts are but by intentions, and each man will have but that which he intended. But he must disavow himself of them when he finds out what they really are, and he must tell people about their real nature and strive to spread their secrets and their plots against the Muslims, so that this will cause a scandal for them and will undermine their efforts. The Muslim should surround himself with good people who will cooperate with him in his religious and worldly affairs. He should be far-sighted in choosing close friends so that he will be safe from being tempted by these apparently attractive ideas and be safe from the evil consequences of honeyed words, and so he will not fall into the traps of the people of shirk which they set up to ensnare those who are easily deceived, follow their whims and desires and are weak in reasoning. From Fataawa al-lajnah al-daa imah, 2/312-315. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) 10469: Questions from a confused Christian Question: I read in the newspaper that 15% of the Koran is about Jesus Christ; and I also read in the English version of Koran that Mohammad believe in Christ, Abraham, The prophets and their writings which preceded Koran. If so, why does the Koran accept some doctrines of the bible, like the miracles of Christ, his sinlessness, being a prophet, etc. and contradict many of its doctrines like the deity of Christ as written in Isa.9:6 & John 1:1, 3:16, and the atonement both in the old and new testaments? 7
If the Koran is without error, why are there sects in Islam namely, shuhite& shiite respectively? Why does the Koran allows polygamy, while the Bible is against it as written in Gen. 2:24 & Matt. 19:5? My soul needs THE TRUTH. Answer: Praise be to Allaah. Firstly: Allaah often mentions the Messiah Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus son of Mary) in His Book the Qur aan for a number of reasons, including the following: 1. He is one of His Prophets, indeed he is one of the Messengers of strong will whom He sent to His creation and His slaves. It is obligatory to believe in him as in all the other Prophets, as enjoined by Allaah in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allaah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibraaheem (Abraham), Ismaa eel (Ishmael), Ishaaq (Isaac), Ya qoob (Jacob), and to Al-Asbaat [the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya qoob (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Moosa (Moses) and Eesa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam) [al-baqarah 2:36] 2. The first people whom we should be concerned about when calling others to Islam are the People of the Book, i.e., the Jews and the Christians, because they are the 8
closest of later nations to whom the later Messengers were sent. Both the Jews and the Christians knew of the coming of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his attributes were written in their books, the Tawraat (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel). So they should not deny what they find in their books and they should hasten to believe in him, because they already believe in the Messengers who came before him, unlike other nations who worshipped idols. Because they did not believe in the Last Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as they were enjoined to do, they had to be refuted and shown how they had distorted the message of divine Oneness (Tawheed). This is why they are frequently mentioned in the verses of the Qur aan. 3. Tawheed (the Oneness of God) is the basic principle upon which everything else, both religious and worldly affairs, is to be built; through Tawheed people will be saved from Hell and admitted to Paradise. This means affirming that Allaah is One. We see that the Jews and Christians differed concerning Eesa ibn Maryam. The Jews said that he was a charlatan who told lies about God, so he had to be killed. The Christians differed from them greatly; some of them said that he was God, and some of them said that he was the son of God, but was one with Him in the Trinity, so that outwardly he appeared to be the son of God but he was in fact God. And some of them said that he was the third person of the Trinity which is a rejection of Tawheed. Others said that he was a Messenger from God and was human like the rest of mankind, but that Allaah singled him out to perform miracles in order to establish proof against people. The last group are the ones who were right. So it was essential to explain the matter and describe Eesa in befitting terms. As with all the other Prophets and Messengers, it is not inappropriate to say that he was a human being, created from clay, whom Allaah chose from among all of mankind to be created without a father, as a manifestation of the power of Allaah 9
to create a man outside the usual means. The likeness of Eesa before Allaah is like Adam, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): Verily, the likeness of Eesa (Jesus) before Allaah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: Be! and he was [Aal Imraan 3:59] This is the correct belief concerning the creation of the Prophet of Allaah Eesa, which was a miracle for all the people to see. But the miracle of Adam s creation is greater. For Eesa (peace be upon him) was created without a father, but Adam was created without a father or a mother, and this is more expressive of the power of Allaah to create; it is more miraculous than the creation of Eesa (peace be upon him). For all these reasons and others, it was essential to explain the issue of Eesa (peace be upon him) and put matters straight. In conclusion, the miracles which Allaah gave to Eesa (peace be upon him) were just like the miracles of all the other Prophets, to prove that he was speaking the truth and that he was truly a Messenger from Allaah. But those who distorted the religion confused the matter for the simple-minded people and used his miracles as a justification to say that he was the son of God or that he was God. All of that is a distortion of the teachings and message of the Messiah (peace be upon him). If everyone who follows a Prophet were to take the miracles which Allaah bestowed upon him as a sign that he was a god, then all the Prophets would be gods and each Prophet would be different from the others. For the mountains glorified Allaah along with Dawood (David peace be upon him), but they did not do so with Eesa. 10
The sea was parted for Moosa (Moses peace be upon him) and he spoke with his Lord and his Lord spoke with him, so he was known as Kaleem-Allaah (the one who spoke with Allaah), but this did not happen to Eesa (peace be upon him). Allaah flooded the earth in response to the supplication of Nooh (Noah peace be upon him) and that did not happen to Eesa (peace be upon him). Allaah singled out Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to speak to him and to protect his miracle from being lost or distorted; he alone was sent to all of mankind, and he was given miracles that were not given to Eesa. So how could that be taken to mean that they were all gods? Secondly: With regard to the view that if the Qur aan were not distorted there would not be all these many sects such as the Shi ah and other groups. The answer to that is that the Qur aan cannot force people to choose the right path, because the Qur aan is simply guidance (and it is up to people to choose). Allaah has warned us about these sects and groups, and He has forbidden us to imitate the nations who became divided in religious matters. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): and be not of AlMushrikoon (the polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah). Of those who split up their religion (i.e. who left the true Islamic Monotheism), and became sects, [i.e. they invented new things in the religion (Bid ah), and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it [al-room 30:31-32] 11
And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment [Aal Imraan 3:105] Allaah has commanded them to adhere to His Book and to follow the Sunnah (way, path) of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as He says (interpretation of the meanings): And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allaah (i.e. this Qur aan), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allaah s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allaah makes His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided [Aal Imraan 3:103] O you who believe! Make not (a decision) in advance before Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is AllHearing, AllKnowing [al-hujuraat 49:1] i.e., do not say or do anything that goes against the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). What is meant here is that Allaah forbade the people to split into various groups, and He commanded them to be united, but they followed their own whims and desires, and they cast the Book of Allaah behind their backs, and if they were confused about a verse from the Book of Allaah, they did not refer to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in 12
order to understand it, rather they let their own opinion and corrupt reasoning be the judge. All of that is not from the Qur aan and not from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Thirdly: With regard to the question about plural marriage in Islam and its being forbidden in the New Testament, it should be noted that Allaah gave each Messenger his own laws and path. Allaah enjoined Tawheed (belief in the Oneness of Allaah) upon every single Prophet whom He sent, but the laws varied and some of them abrogated others. Some things that were permissible at the time of Adam (peace be upon him) were abrogated at the time of Nooh (peace be upon him). The laws that existed at the time of Moosa (Moses peace be upon him) were partially abrogated at the time of Eesa (Jesus peace be upon him), as Allaah tells us (interpretation of the meaning): To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way [al-maa idah 5:48] So once this is understood, we will realize that plural marriage did not exist only in the law of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather it existed in the laws of all the previous Prophets. For example, Ya qoob (Jabob peace be upon him) had two wives and was married to two sisters at the same time, according to the Old Testament, as it says in the Book of Genesis 29:15-35. The father of the Prophets, Ibraaheem (Abraham peace be upon him) was also married to two women, Haajar (Hagar) and Saara (Sarah). The Old Testament mentions 13
that the Prophet of Allaah Dawood (David) had seventy or ninety-nine wives, and Sulaymaan (Solomon) had one hundred wives. These and other examples demonstrate that each of the Prophets implemented the laws that Allaah had prescribed. Plural marriage is not only for this ummah (nation i.e., the Muslims). The fact that the Christians do not allow it may be for two reasons: 1 This is one of the laws of Allaah which was binding before the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 2 They introduced their own innovation and went to extremes in this matter, as in the case of monasticism which they invented and which was not prescribed for them, but they sought to earn the pleasure of Allaah thereby. We ask Allaah to guide you and to help you find the true religion, which is Islam, and the path of the Prophet of Mercy (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) according to the understanding of his noble Companions. And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) 30905: To whom is the book Nahj al-balaaghah attributed? Question: I would like to ask how authentic the book Nahj al- Balaagha is and what your opinion of it is? Answer: 14
Praise be to Allaah. The book Nahj al-balaaghah is one of the books that are attributed to Ameer al-mu mineen Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him), but it contains many things concerning which those who claim to be Muslims have disputed. Following the great scientific principle which was followed by the imams of Islam in obedience to the shar i command to verify reports, we have no choice but to refer to the scholars and specialists to check on the veracity of the things that are attributed to Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), because what is narrated from the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) has an effect on sharee ah, especially in the case of someone like Ameer al-mu mineen Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), concerning whom some people have exaggerated or fallen short, but Allaah guided the Ahl al- Sunnah to follow a middle course. By referring to the words of the scholars concerning this book and comparing its contents with what has been proven with saheeh isnaads from Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), it becomes clear that there is material in this book that contradicts what was proven from him (may Allaah be pleased with him). So we should look at what some of these great scholars have said: Imaam al-dhahabi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said in his biography of al-murtada Ali ibn Husayn ibn Moosa al-moosawi (d. 436 AH): I said, he was the compiler of the book Nahj al-balaaghah which is attributed to Imam Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), but the reports contained therein have are no isnaads. Some of it is false and some of it is true, but it contains some frabricated reports of things that the Imam would never have said. But who is the fair-minded man who would look at it in an objective manner?! It was said that it was compiled by his brother Shareef al-radiy. It includes slander against 15
the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); we seek refuge with Allaah from knowledge that is of no benefit. Siyar A laam al-nubala, 17/589 Shaykh al-islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Most of the khutab (sermons) that the author of Nahj al-balaaghah includes in his book are lies against Ali. Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) is too noble and too worthy to have uttered such words. But these people fabricated lies and thought that they were praise, but they are neither truth nor praise. Whoever says that the words of Ali or any other human being are above the words of any other created being is mistaken, for the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are above his words, and both of them are created beings. Moreover the correct meanings that are to be found in the words of Ali are to be found in the words of others, but the author of Nahj al-balaaghah and his ilk took many of the things that people say and made them the words of Ali. There are some words narrated from Ali that he did say, and some of them are true words that would have been befitting for him to say, but in fact they are the words of others. Hence in Kalaam al-bayaan wa l-tabyeen by al-haafiz and in other books there are words narrated from people other than Ali and the author of Nahj al-balaaghah attributed them to Ali. If these sermons which were transmitted in Nahj al-balaaghah were really spoken by Ali, they would have been found in other books that existed before this book was written, and they would have been narrated from Ali with isnaads and otherwise. It is known from those who are well versed in the study of narrations that many of them (these sermons) indeed most of them were unknown before this, therefore it may be concluded that they are fabrications. So the narrator should state in which book 16
they are mentioned, who narrated it from Ali, and what its isnaad is. Otherwise, anybody could say something and claim that it was said by Ali. Those who are wellversed in the knowledge of the hadeeth scholars and of reports and isnaads and are able to tell what is sound and what is not sound would know that these people who transmitted reports from Ali are the least likely people to know about reports and be able to distinguish the sound from the unsound. Manhaaj al-sunnah al-nabawiyyah, 8/55. Other scholars who pointed out the lies in this book was al-khateeb al-baghdaadi, in al-jaami li Akhlaaq al- Raawi wa Adaab al-saami, 2.161; al-qaadi Ibn Khalkaan; al-safadi, and others. The things that have been said against it may be summarized in the following points: 1. There are seven generations of narrators between Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) and the author of this book, and he did not mention any name whatsoever. Hence we cannot accept his words without an isnaad. 2. If these narrators are mentioned, it is essential to research about them and find out whether they are trustworthy. 3. The fact that most of these sermons did not exist before this book was written indicates that they were fabricated. 4. Al-Murtada the author of the book was not one of the scholars of reports, rather he was one of those whose religious commitment and competence were debatable. 5. The slander that it contains against the leading Sahaabah is sufficient to count it as false. 6. The insults and slander that it contains are not the 17
characteristics of the believers, let alone their leaders such as Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him). 7. It contains contradictions and clumsy expressions from which it may be known for certain that it was not produced by one who was prominent in eloquence and fluency. 8. The fact that the Raafidah accept it and are certain that it is as true as the Qur aan, despite all these objections, indicates that they do not pay attention to verifying sources and ensuring that they are sound with regard to the matters of their religion. Based on the above, it is clear that this book cannot be attributed to Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), therefore nothing in it can be used as evidence in matters of sharee ah, no matter what the issue is. But whoever reads it in order to find out what it contains of eloquence, the ruling is the same as that on all other books on Arabic language, without attributing its contents to Ameer al- Mu mineen Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him). See Kutub hadhdhara minha al- Ulama, 2/250 Islam Q&A Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islamqa.com) 27328: The book Ihya Uloom al-deen Question: Do you advise us to read the book Ihya Uloom al-deen by Shaykh Abu Haamid al-ghazzaali? Answer: 18
Praise be to Allaah. Shaykh al-islam [Ibn Taymiyah] was asked about this book, and he replied as follows: With regard to the books Qoot al-quloob and the similar book al-ihya, which speak of the actions of the heart such as patience, gratitude, love, trust in Allaah, Tawheed (belief in Allah alone) and so on, Abu Taalib [the author of Qoot al-quloob] has more knowledge of hadeeth, reports and the views of scholars who spoke of spiritual matters among the Sufis and others than Abu Haamid al- Ghazzaali, and his words are more correct, more precise and further removed from bid ah (innovation). But nevertheless Qoot al-quloob includes da eef (weak) and mawdoo (fabricated) ahaadeeth, and many unacceptable things. With regard to what is said in al-ihya about things that may doom a person to Hell, such as pride, selfadmiration, showing off, malicious envy, etc., most of it is taken from al-haarith al-muhaasibi in al-ri aayah; some of it is acceptable and some of it is to be rejected, and some of it is controversial. There is a great deal of good in al-ihya but it also contains some blameworthy material and some corrupt material such as the words of the philosophers on Tawheed, Prophethood and the Resurrection. When he deals with Sufi topics it is like one who has taken an enemy of the Muslims and dressed him in Muslim garb. The leaders of Islam denounced Abu Haamid for this feature of his books, and they said that he was made sick by al-shifa, meaning Shifa Ibn Seena, which is about philosophy. [Shifa literally means healing in Arabic]. Al-Ihya contains da eef (weak) ahaadeeth and reports, and even many mawdoo (fabricated) reports. It contains many of the errors and myths of the Sufis. Nevertheless it also contains some of the words of Sufi 19