Aqeedah IV - Darkness To Light

Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

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Chapter One
Chapter Summary:
1. The various usage of the term Sunnah among the Muslim scholars
2. The legal status of the Sunnah in Islam
3. The obligation to honour and respect the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad
4. The position of Ahlul Bidah (People of Innovation) from the hadith of Prophet Muhammad

5. Those who oppose the obligation of following the Sunnah
6. The ways that the innovators reject the Sunnah
7. The ruling concerning one who rejects the Sunnah
Introduction
There are two sunnahs we should hold on to: the sunnah of the prophet and the sunnah of the
companions (the salaf as-saalih)
Rasulullah said:
Indeed the people of the Book before you split into seventy-two sects. And this nation will split
into seventy-three sects, seventy-two are in the Fire and one in Paradise. And in another
narration, All are in the Fire except one. It was asked: Who is that one? He replied, That
which I and my Companions are upon
[Jami at-Tirmidhi (5/62) and Mustadrak al-Haakim (1/128)]
What he and his companions are on i.e the jamaaa.
Unity is the outcome of so many things the basis of which is understanding the religion properly
and agreeing on the bases.
Always aim to the best and to the highest goal - dont settle for less. The goal of this class is to
raise the bar in our standard of living, our studies, our academics, whatever area of life - strive
to be the best.
We should walk out with hearts full of mercy toward others. Ayyub As-Sukhtiani rahimahullah
said that one of Allahs favours upon a person who starts practicing the religion is that Allah will
guide them to a person of sunnah to teach them the religion. So we should be grateful for
knowing the sunnah and show that by practicing it. And this leaves no space for arrogance even
against the people you disagree with - wish the best for them and be grateful you are upon the
sunnah.
Stay away from being black and white. Dont see the word black and white. Black and white is
limited to limited areas. Dont try to understand things as only black and white; see other
colours.
An-Nawawi rahimahullah said: Unfortunately so many of our people (i.e the Shafiee scholars)
wrote in this area and they were influenced by so many of the mutazili and khawarij ideas.
And these are presented to us as the most factual things in religion.
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We will learn how to identify innovators and how to deal with them.

Chapter One
Holding on to the Sunnah
- In the time of 'Umar , they conquered Persia. Al-Mughirah brought a Persian
slave (Abu LuLu) who was very skilled in weaponry to Madinah but 'Umar never liked him.
He always said that that man gives me a bad feeling; I do not like the look of him. Once the slave told
'Umar that I will make something special for you. He made a double-edged dagger and soaked it in
poison for a long time. One morning, as they were praying Fajr, the slave hid and when 'Umar started
the salah, he stepped out and stabbed 'Umar . Umar was accustomed to praying a long prayer
and the people at the back did not know what happened, they just couldnt hear anyone reciting. It was
dark and the man tried escaping and stabbed 13 other people as well. Finally one of the comapnions (Al-
Qa Qa) overpowered him. They captured him and he stabbed himself. Umar lived 3 days after this. The
first thing he asked when woke up was: Did the people pray? They told him Yes, and he said,
Alhamdulillah. Then he asked who stabbed me and they said the slave of Al-Mughirah. 'Umar
said: Alhamdulillah my death came at the hands of someone who never prayed a single time to Allah. He
asked his son to go to Aisha and say: Umar (dont say the khalifah, say 'Umar because it is not an order
but a personal request) would love to be with his two friends in death.
There was only one space left next to Rasulullah and Abu Bakr , and Aisha was
saving it for herself but she gave it up to 'Umar .
There is no chance for a person to claim Islam if (s)he doesnt pray.
- A man came at that time and started praising him, and 'Umar advised him to raise his
garment off the floor - at this time, when hes dying, he still takes the time to make a change in
someones life.
- They gave him water mixed with grape and the water was coming out of his injuries. The doctor gave
him milk and the milk started coming out of his injuries.
His son was putting 'Umars head on his thigh and ''Umar asked his head to be put in the dust
saying 'Umar would be a great loser if Allah would not have mercy on him today.
He said to his son: I dont doubt your ability to lead but I dont want this to be a monarchy so I am
excluding you from this so do not feel slighted by it. He chose the 6 people to choose amongst
themselves to succeed him as Khalifah. Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, Talha, Za-Zubayr, Abdur Rahman ibn Awf,
'Ali, Uthman . He said if I choose then I am following the example of one better than me and
if I dont choose, that is also the example of one really better than me.
Soon after he died and was buried near Rasulullah and Abu Bakr . He was
placed at the shoulder of Abu Bakr and Abu Bakr was placed at the shoulder of Rasulullah
. This was done out of respect because they were not equal. When Aisha used to visit
their graves before 'Umar was dead, she would take off her hijab but after 'Umar was buried
there, she never took off her hijab out of respect to 'Umar .
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The ummah got over this but this incident was an alarming incident. Once Hudhaifah asked
about the fitan and he asked what is between us and that time. Rasulullah said a door
but this door is closed. Hudhaifah asked if this was metaphorical and he said yes. He asked: will the door
be broken or opened and Rasulullah said it will be broken. Afterward Hudhaifah
said: wallahi I knew this was Umar.

'Umar used to make dua to die as a shaheed in Madinah and no one thought he could die as
a shaheed in Madinah because all the battles were fought outside Madinah and since 'Umar was the
Khalifah, he stayed in Madinah. However, Allah brought the man to Madinah to answer his
dua.

After his death, the Muslims were able to continue and move on quickly. The six people 'Umar chose
gathered to decide amongst themselves. Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said he was too old. Talha said I give my
vote to Uthman and Zubayr said I give mine to 'Ali. AbdurRahman said Ill judge between you two. He
spent 3 days going to the Muhajireen and Ansar and gathering their opinions. Then he went to 'Ali and
Uthman and asked 'Ali if he chose Uthman if he will take it and he said yes and he asked Uthman the
same. Then he said I have found no one who will prefer 'Ali over Uthman so Uthman became
the khalifah.

Years go by and then Uthman is killed but this time not by non-Muslim, but by overzealous young
Muslims. Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr was amongst those who killed Uthman and he regretted it later in
his life. They debated Uthman and spread rumours about him and finally they came and surrounded his
house and killed him in an ugly scene. Uthman asked Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr if his father would agree
with him. Muhammad started crying and left the crowd and repented. Chaos spread through the
Muslim community and in the midst of this Ali became Khalifah. He found he couldnt
control this chaos so he went to Kufa, Iraq where he had a lot of support. In this one city, 200
companions lived so it was the logical place to go. He declared the khilafah there but things didnt go
well; people didnt listen to him. Resistance to the khalifah grew because they were angry over the
death of Uthman and that 'Ali wasnt looking for his murderers. In this time a lot of ideologies began to
take root.
After Ali made peace between Muawiyyah and the other companions, the same people who killed
Uthman gathered in Hawara and broke away from the army of Ali and of Muawiyyah. They said Allah is
the only one who can Judge. They called Ali kafir and anyone in his army and anyone who agreed with
them as well were kafir. Basically everyone else but them are kuffar. They used to question everyone
who passed by what they thought of Ali. They murdered the son of Kabab ibn Al-Arat and his wife. At
this point, Ali said we cant take this anymore.
The companions heard them reciting at night but Ali said, dont let this deceive you for the prophet
warned us of them. I heard the prophet say: There is a people who will come after you if you compare
their prayer to theirs, yours seem nothing. When you compare their fasting to yours, yours seem
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nothing. They recite Quran but their recitation doesnt go deeper than their throats.
But now Ali is in a tough position because people would think he is lying to start the war. Ali swore he
heard the Prophet say this and say that if he meets them, hell fight and kill them. After they killed the
son of the companion, he said enough and fought them. He didnt treat them the way the he treated Az-
Zubayr and Muawiyyah when he fought them. He treated them as enemies of Allah and this is a major
difference that needs to be noted in Nahawand.
They escaped to Oman and from that time they always had a stronghold there until today. They were
shaved and polished over the years but they always had influence.
One group of people considered killing Ali the best deed ever and the other group started loving Ali too
much.
Of the companions, barely any participated in all this.
Amidst all this, people became confused as to whats sunnah and whats not. The khawarij denied most
of the sunnah because they couldnt take hadith from those they considered kuffar. This led people to
use the term Ahlul Sunnah as opposed to those who didnt follow the sunnah. They also had the people
who were of the Jamaaa as opposed to those who broke the unity of the jamaaa. Jamaaa also refers to
the companions because they are the jamaaa. So the terminology that became famous as that time is
Ahlul Sunnah wal Jamaaa. They used the term as well, e.g in the interpretation of one verse On that
day faces will be shining... Ibn Abbas said these are Ahlul Sunnah wal Jamaaa and those whose face
will be dark are those of bida and misguidance.
There are quite a few terminologies that emerged e.g Ahlul hadith to counter those who denied the
hadith. Those who follow the salaf - we stick to the early interpretation of the text as opposed to
wanting to re-interpret the Quran.

I. Defining As-Sunnah
Linguistic Definition: It comes from the word sanna and means A way, course, rule, manner of living, or
a way that has been instituted or pursued by former people and has become one pursued by those after
them.
- This conduct can be good or bad.
- Ibn Faaris (author of Al-Mujam) came up with the theory that no two words are completely identical in
Arabic. Every word has a unique meaning. He said the meanings of Sanna all go back to something that
consistently happens; happens one time after another.
Basically the Sunnah is the way of doing things. So the Sunnah of Rasulullah is the way of Rasulullah.
- One of the meanings he said, the word sunnah, usually the arabs use it to refer to something thats
easy to be done and copied. They wouldnt use it for something difficult. The word sunnah gives the
connotation that its easy to be followed and practiced so from the linguistic definition, we get the
impression the sunnah is easy to follow.
- Some scholars say sunnah only refers to that which is good but Rasulullah said: Whoever starts a good
sunnah ... whoever starts a bad sunnah....he describes sunnah with the word bad.

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Technical Definition: The word sunnah has many different usages depending upon the context in which
it is used.
1. As-Sunnah as a partner to the Qur'an:
As-Sunnah as a partner to the Quran. As-Sunnah here means whatever comes from the
Prophet other than the Qur'an itself, in the form of his speech, actions or
tacit approvals. This is the definition of the legal theorists. The scholars of hadith added any
description of the Prophet relating to his appearance or manners.
*Note: This is the definition we will focus on.
- They come to the conclusion that the sunnah is a partner to the Qur'an by looking at the text.
Rasulullah said: Im leaving something behind that if you hold onto it, you will never be misguided:
kitabullah and sunnati.

2. As-Sunnah as a counterpart to the Fard or Wajib (obligation):
Here it refers to any recommended act, even if it comes from the Qur'an. This is the
definition used by the Muslim jurists. A sunnah, or recommended act, is one which a person
will be rewarded for doing, but will not be sinful for leaving. Equivalent to mustahab or
mandub. It is better to use those terms so one will not get confused as to what is meant by
sunnah in this context.
3. As-Sunnah as a counterpart to Bidah:
Here it refers to the guidance from the Prophet and his companions
encompassing all aspects of knowledge, belief, statement and deeds.
This is usually used by jurists and theologians. Rasulullah said whoever leaves my sunnah is
not of me they are doing bidah. Thats why you see the early scholars saying: to do a little
bit of good according to the sunnah is much better than doing much deeds of bidah.
4. As-Sunnah as a counterpart to the Bidah of Shiism (Ar-Rafidah).
Ibn Taymiyyah: Anyone who agrees on the khilafah of Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman that
it was correct and acceptable, then he is Sunni and anyone who disagrees is Raafidi.
That means even if he disagrees with you in other areas, then he is sunni. Thats why even
other innovators such as Jahmiyyah etc are all considered Sunni but not this group.
5. As-Sunnah meaning the correct belief:
This definition refers to the correct aqidah thus excluding all the deviant sects. This is why
we call it the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah.
So Sunni refers to the one with the correct belief in every area in aqeedah. Books of
sunnah can also be about aqeedah actually the majority are about aqeedah.
Ibn Abi Asim, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal wrote books on Sunnah whose focus was
aqeedah.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri: whoever fulfills these 10 things, will be sunni: accept Abu Bakr as imam,
etc...- He uses the word in reference to aqeedah.
The scholars of the early generation used the word to refer to aqeedah,
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6. As-Sunnah is used to mean the religion as a whole, including both Aqidah and Fiqh.
Abu Bakr said: As-Sunnah is Allahs rope that you should hold on to.
You have to hold on to both the aqeedah and the fiqh.
Imam Abul Huasyn Al-Baghawi wrote Sharh As-Sunnah. In this 18 volumes book, you find
everything - aqeedah and fiqh - everything related to religion. So Sunnah here means
everything related to religion.
Makhul said,
As-Sunnah is of two types: a sunnah which is an obligation, the leaving of which is kufr; and a sunnah
which taking of is virtuous and recommended, but leaving it is not a sin.
(Al-Aajurree, Ash-Shareeah)
The first type of sunnah is applicable to 1, 6, 5. The second is applicable to definition 2.
The first definition includes the other definitions. The 6th includes both Quran and Sunnah because the
Quran was the sunnah of Rasulullah.

* Dont always think that sunnah means a hadith or text from Rasulullah. You have to look at the context
and whos using it to be able to understand what exactly it means. One of the main reasons people
cannot relate to the shariah is that they dont understand the terms.

II. The Ruling Regarding Following the Sunnah
Following the Sunnah is an obligation upon every Muslim
Is the sunnah a source for the religion? Does it have authority? Definitely yes. Following the sunnah is an
obligation upon every Muslim male and female.
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and whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ) gives you, take it, and whatsoever He forbids you,
abstain (from it) , and fear Allh. Verily, Allh is Severe In punishment.
(Al-Hashr: 7)

Al-Imam Al-Shafi'ee rahimahullah said: I have never heard of anyone that is considered by
others as a scholar, or even considers himself to be a scholar, who disagrees that Allah
has made following the Prophet , accepting him, and obeying him
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obligatory.
(Al-, Shafi'ee. Kitab Jimaa Al-'ilm)
It was unheard of for any Muslim to doubt the sunnah. There are so many statements of the
scholars that whoever denies the sunnah is not Muslim. What does it mean that it is an
obligation to follow the sunnah?
Sufyan Ath-Thawri rahimahullah said: As-Sunnah is of two types: a sunnah the taking of which
is a guidance and the leaving of which is a misguidance, and a sunnah which the taking of is a
guidance but the leaving of is not a misguidance.
(As-Suyooti, Al-Amru Bil-itibaa)
Following the sunnah refers to follow the sunnah the way it is. You are obligated to treat an act
the way the Prophet did e.g Fajr is 2 rakaat, fasting monday and thursday is recommended - it is
obligatory to keep it recommended and not fard. We dont mean everything he said and did is
obligatory on me to do. It is obligatory to keep it the way it was.

Whenever you want to prove a point, textual evidence is not the only proof. Use various
evidences to show your point.

Evidence for the Oligation of Following the Sunnah
The Quran
Al- Imam Ahmad rahimahullah said, I read the whole Qur'an and I found that Allah
has ordered us to obey the Prophet 33 times (Ibn Battah, Al-Ibanah).
1. Direct Commands to obey the Prophet
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and whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ) gives you, take it, and whatsoever He forbids you,
abstain (from it) , and fear Allh. Verily, Allh is Severe In punishment.
(Al-Hashr: 7)
2. Pairing the command to obey the Prophet with the command to obey
Allah .
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_|| < _.l | ,.. `... <!, ,,l > ,l: ,> _.> ,!. __
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O You who believe! obey Allh and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of You (Muslims) who are In
authority. (and) if You differ In anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allh and his Messenger ,
if You believe In Allh and In the Last Day. that is better and more suitable for final determination.
(An-Nisa: 59)
3. Making the obedience of the Prophet a sign of iman
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The only saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allh (His words, the Qur'n) and His Messenger
, to judge between them, is that they say: "We hear and we obey." And such are the prosperous ones
(who will live forever In Paradise).
(An-Nur: 51)
4. Warnings of punishment and falling into trials to those who disobey the Prophet

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:l .`>,l _.] l!> _s .:. ,,.. .. ,.`, ,.s ',l __
And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad) Commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts
of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes,
killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.
(An-Nur: 63)
Imam Ahmad said the trial mentioned in this ayah is shirk. You will end up falling in misguidance if you
question everything Rasulullah says. Ask yourself if every time you hear Rasulullah ordered or
recommended something, do you rush to obey? This is a gauge of your eman.
5. The command to solve disputes through the sunnah of the Prophet
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O You who believe! Obey Allh and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of You (Muslims) who are In
if You believe In Allh and In the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination.
(An-Nisa: 59)
Refer to it to the messenger if he is alive, or his sunnah if he is passed away.

6. Ordering us to accept and submit to the Prophets commands
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_-, < .`]. .1 _. .l. !.,. __
It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allh and his Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have
any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allh and his Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.
(Al-Ahzab: 36)
7. Making the obedience of the Prophet from the obedience and love of
Allah
_. _L`, _.l .1 _!L < _. _|. !. ,..l. ,l. !L,> _
He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad ), has indeed obeyed Allh, but he who turns away, then
We have not sent You (O Muhammad ) as a watcher over them.
(An-Nisa: 80)
You have no choice when Allah and His messenger says something except to obey

Rasulullah said: I am the naked warner. It refers to when the Arabs used to be fighting all the time and
there was no time to warn the tribe of an attack so the person who sees the attack coming would strip
naked and run into the city. Everyone would see that and run to get arms. So Rasulullah was saying hes
like that warner - its a very serious thing. Whats the enemy Rasulullah is warning us from? Hellfire. It is
not fun to do it, but its a very serious issue.

The Sunnah
Rasulullah: Whoever will remain on my sunnah, he will be guided; whoever leaves it will be misguided.
Al-Mikdad said Rasulullah once said: There soon will come a time, a man will be laying on his couch, he
will hear a hadith and he will say: if this is similar to what is in Quran, we will take it; if it is not, then we
will reject it. Whatever Rasulullah forbade is what Allah forbade...
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Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi: whenever you read a hadith, dont need to be backed up by Quran; Hadith is
hujjah in itself.

It is reported from Anas that the Prophet praised and thanked Allah
, then said,
What is the matter with some people who say such-and-such? But as for me, I pray and I sleep; I fast
and I break my fast, and I marry of women. Whoever turns away from my sunnah has nothing to do with
me.
(Muslim, Sahih Muslim)
Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet said,
All of my nation will enter Jannah except those who refuse. They (the sahabah) asked, :Who could
(possibly) refuse? He said, Whoever obey me enters Jannah, and whoever disobeys me has refused.
(Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Once a man was eating with his left hand in the presence of Rasulullah and he told him to eat with his
right hand. He said I cant (out of arrogance because it was a sign of arrogance to use the left hand that
time). Rasulullah made dua against him and immediately his right hand froze. The
ulema said Rasulullah did this because it is obligatory to obey him.
When Rasulullah asked Bareerah why she doesnt go back to her cousin, she asked if it was an order or
just an intercession? She understood if it was an order, she had to obey but Rasulullah was just
interceding.
Allah revealed the ayah that they will not be a believer until they submit to the judgment of Rasulullah
when the man accused Rasulullah of favoring Zubayr in his ruling about watering the trees. Rasulullah
then told Zubayr to take his full right not the minimum.

Narrations from the Salaf
Abu Bakr said: I would never leave anything the Prophet used to do. I am
afraid if I leave anything from his Sunnah, I would be misguided.
(Ibn Battah, Al-Ibanah)
This is the attitude of the great imam, what about us? Thats why that generation was so very
different from us and so strong in their eman.
Umar: There will come a day when people will argue with the mutashabih of Quran, if you meet
them, argue with them with the sunnah.
Once a woman from Bani Asad came to Ibn Masud and said I am an educated woman, and I read
the Quran. I heard you said if someone plucks their eyebrow they are cursed by Allah. I read the
Quran and didnt find it. He said you should have found it. She told him to show her so he recited
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the verse, whatever Rasulullah commands... and then said: I heard the messenger curse these
women...
A lot of times we focus on the apparent sunnah and not the inner sunnah - we get caught up in the
details and forget the spirit - we worry about how many times we move our fingers in tashahhud
rather than the khushoo he had. When the woman asked Aisha about how many rakah Rasulullah
prayed, the focus of her answer was in his khushoo and the number was mentioned at the end.
Az-Zuhri rahimahullah said, The scholars before us used to say, Upholding the sunnah is (the
means of) survival, safety.
(Abu Nuaym, Al-Hilyah)
Consensus (Ijmaa)
Abul Hasan Al-Ashari in Risala Ala... he mentions the ijmaa
Consensus regarding this issue has been mentioned by
o Al-Imam Al-Shafi'ee rahimahullah (As-Suyuti, Miftah Al-Jannah)
o Abul Hasan Al-Ashari rahimahullah (Al-Ashari, Ar-Risala illaa Ahlul Ath-Thaghr)
o Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm rahimahullah (Ibn hazm, Al-Ihkan fee Usul Al-
Ahkaam, Vol 1)
o And Ash-Shawkani rahimahullah (Ash-Shawkani, Irshad Al-Fuhul)
Analogy
Allah mentions the stories of past nations.
The People of Nuh:
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_,.s __
But they belied him, so We saved him and those along with him In the ship, and We drowned those who belied
Our Ayt (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.). They were indeed a blind people.
(Al-Araf: 64)

The People of Ad:
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__
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So We saved him and those who were with him by a mercy from Us, and We cut the roots of those who belied Our
Ayt (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), and they were not believers.
(Al-Araf: 72).
These stories are a sign - all of them have one thing in common. All of these people rejected their
messengers so Allah destroyed us so by analogy if we do the same the same can happen to us.

Qiyas Al-Awla (A Priori)
o If Allah has made it obligatory for all the Prophets to obey the
Prophet Muhammad , then it is even more so for us to obey him.
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!.l >-. _`...l ., ..`...l _! `., ,..> _ls >l: _.| l! !. _!
.:! !. >-. _. _..:l _
And (remember) when Allh took the Covenant of the Prophets, saying: "Take whatever I gave You from the Book
and Hikmah (understanding of the laws of Allh, etc.), and afterwards there will come to You a Messenger
(Muhammad) confirming what is with you; You must, then, believe In Him and help him." Allh said: "Do You
agree (to it) and will You take up My Covenant (which I conclude with you)?" they said: "We agree." He said:
"Then bear witness; and I am with You among the witnesses (for this)."
(Al-Imran: 81)
- If Ibrahim and Musa and Isa must obey Rasulullah , then how about us?
We are more deserving of this ruling.
- 'Ali said: Allah never sent a messenger to a people unless He made a covenant and
one of them is that they must obey their messenger.
- It is clearly shown that when Isa returns, he will follow the sunnah of Rasulullah
- he will pray behind one of Rasulullahs ummah.

o If Allah has made it obligatory upon us to obey rulers and scholars, then it is
even more obligatory to obey the Prophet .
!!., _.] `.., `-,L < `-,L _.l _|` . `>.. | ,.s... _ ,`_: ::`
_|| < _.l | ,.. `... <!, ,,l > ,l: ,> _.> ,!. __
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

13

authority. (and) if You differ In anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allh and his Messenger (), if You believe
In Allh and In the Last Day. that is better and more suitable for final determination.
(An-Nisa: 59)
- If we must obey rulers and scholars then how about the best ruler and scholar?

Logic
o If the Qur'an and Sunnah are both revelations and it is obligatory to follow the Qur'an,
then one must also follow the Sunnah.
Allah has sent down Al-Kitab and Al-Hikmah - Al-Hikmah is the sunnah. Some
verses that command following the messenger are:
_. _!: _.l _. .-, !. _,,. `] _.l _,`., ,s _,,. _,...l .]. !. _|.
.`.. .> ,,!. ,.. _
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 Path He has chosen, and burn Him In Hell -
what an evil destination.
(An-Nisaa: 115)
:| _! .`] ., l`. _! .l`. ,l _,.l.-l _
When his Lord said to him, "Submit (i.e. be a Muslim)!" He said, "I have submitted myself (as a Muslim) to the
Lord of the 'Alamn (mankind, jinns and All that exists)."
(Al-Baqarah: 131)
..,l!, ,l !.l. ,,l| .] _,,.l _!.ll !. _. ,l| l-l _`>., __
With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). and we have also sent down unto You (O Muhammad ) the
Reminder and the advice (the Qur'n), that You may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they
may give thought
(An-Nahl: 44)
So Allah gave him the dhikr to explain the Quran -the sunnah is the thing that
explains the Quran.
!. _L., _s _> _ | > | "_`- _-`, _
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

14

Nor does He speak of (his own) desire./ It is Only an Inspiration that is inspired.
(An-Najm: 3-4)
_ !. . l.., _. _.l !. _: !. `_-`, _ _>, | _,. | !. _-`, _|| !. !. |
",.. _,,. _
Say (O Muhammad Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa Sallam):"I am not a new thing among the Messengers (of Allh) (i.e. I
am not the first Messenger) nor do I know what will be done with Me or with you. I Only follow that which is
revealed to Me, and I am but a plain warner."
(Al-Ahqaf: 9)
!.| _> !.l. .] !.| .l L.>' _
Verily We: it is we who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'n) and surely, we will Guard it (from corruption).
(Hijr: 9)
- Similar is also mentioned in Surah Qiyamah.
If they are both revelation, isnt it then logical to follow the sunnah as well as Quran?
o If we believe that the Prophet is a prophet, this belief entails that he
must always speak the truth and that he is infallible in delivering the message. If we do
not obey him or adhere to his sunnah, it is as if we have doubted his prophethood.
o If obeying Allah is a must, and there is no way to know what pleases Allah
and what does not except through His prophets and messengers ,
then following His messenger is obligatory.
Allah tells the Prophet to say: If you love Allah follow me and Allah will love you
as well

III. The Obligation to Honor and Respect the Hadith of the Prophet
When Ayyub As-Sukhtiyani came to teach in the area Imam Malik was in, Imam Maliks students
asked if they should go study under him. Imam Malik said let me check him out first them I will let
you know, so he went to attend one of Ayyub As-Sukhtiyanis halaqas. Imam Malik returned to his
students and said no do not study under him. Years later, Ayyub As0Sukhtiyani returned and again
the students asked Imam Malik if they should study under him. Imam Malik checked him out an
returned saying, yes you can study under him. The students asked why didnt he allow them the first
time and why is he allowing them now? Imam Malik said: the second time, I noticed a change in his
voice when he about to narrate hadith and he had tears in his eye that love and respect he had for
Rasulullah touched his heart every time he was about to narrate hadith and
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

15

physically affected him when Imam Malik saw that love and respect expressed, then he allowed
him to teach his students.
The sanctity and the honour of Rasulullah has nothing to do with time. It is even
after his death. Thats why the ulema took the verse Allah revealed: dont raise your voice over that
of the Prophet and said that we shouldnt be louder than the one narrating hadith.
Shaykh Bin Baz pulled a magazine because he realized one of the articles had mentioned Imam
Ahmads opinion then narrated the hadith of Rasulullah - he refused to have Imam
Ahmads opinion mentioned before the hadith of Rasulullah.
Imam Malik said he never narrated hadith without making ghusl and dressing up. When he died he
had so many clothes because he used to dress up when narrating hadith.
Jafar ibn Muhammad, a tabiee, was known to joke around a lot but when Rasulullahs name would
be mentioned or he narrated a hadith, he would change completely. He also would never narrate
without having wudu.
Al-Qadhi Iyadh Rahimahullah said,
Know that the sanctity and honor of the Prophet after his death is the same as during
his life and that is when his hadith, seerah, name, and sunnah are mentioned.
Al-Qadhi Iyadh, Ash-Shifa
Ibn taymiyyah said in his Tawassul: Part of respecting Rasulullah is making salaat and salam on him
whenever hearing his name; thats why the ahlul hadith are so close to him.
Respecting the prophet is mentioned in the Qur'an in Surah Hujurat as well as Surah Nur:
63.
l-> ,!s: _.l ., ,l.. >.-, !.-, . `l-, < _.] _ll.., >..
:l .`>,l _.] l!> _s .:. ,,.. .. ,.`, ,.s ',l __
63. make not the calling of the Messenger (Muhammad) among You as Your calling of one another. Allh knows
those of You who slip away under shelter (of some excuse without taking the permission to Leave, from the
Messenger ). and let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad) Commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways,
orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions,
earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.
(An-Nur: 63)
1. All the evidences which prove the obligation to follow his sunnah and obey him, mentioned
previously. The command to follow him necessitates that his speech is honored.
2.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

16

!.| ...l. ..: :,`. ,.. _ `...l <!, .]. :'-. :`. :>,.
:, ,. _
Verily, we have sent You (O Muhammad Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa Sallam) as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings,
and as a warner./ In order that You (O mankind) may believe In Allh and his Messenger (Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa
Sallam), and that You assist and honour Him (Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa Sallam), and (that you) glorify (Allh's)
praises morning and afternoon.
(Al-Fath: 8-9)
Ibn Abbas said that this means to honor and respect him the most.
3.
!!., _.] `.., `..1. _,, _., < .]. 1. < | < _,.- ,l. !!.,
_.] `.., `-. >.. _ ,. _,.l `> .l _1l!, > .-,
_-,l 1,> >l..s `.. '-:. _ | _,.] .-, .. ..s _. <
,.l` _.] _>.. < ,l _1`.ll l :-. '> ',Ls _
O You who believe! do not put (yourselves) forward before Allh and his Messenger (Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa
Sallam), and fear Allh. Verily! Allh is All-Hearing, All-Knowing./ O You who believe! raise not Your voices
above the voice of the Prophet (Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa Sallam), nor speak aloud to Him In talk as You speak aloud
to one another, lest Your deeds may be rendered fruitless while You perceive not./ Verily! those who lower their
voices In the presence of Allh's Messenger (Sal-Allaahu 'alayhe Wa Sallam), they are the ones whose hearts Allh
has tested for piety. for them is Forgiveness and a great reward.
(Al-Hujurat: 1-3)
Al-Imam ibn Mahdhi rahimahullah used to order his students not to talk and to remain quiet and
solemn when the Prophets ahadith were being narrated. He would use this verse as
evidence for that.
- Al-Qadhi Iyadh, Ash-Shifa
4. The Prophet said, Falsely attributing something to me is not like falsely
attributing something to anyone else. Whoever falsely attributes something to me shall take his
own seat in the Hellfire (Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari).
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17

This hadith was narrated by over 200 sahabi. It is the only hadith narrated by all ashara
mubashara (10 guaranteed Jannah).
Other narration says: Dont be among the two kinds of people who attribute false statements to
me...
You can do this by:
- fabricating the lie
- or you promote the hadith
- Ibn Masud and Anas when they narrated would always say at the end...Or it is similar to what
Rasulullah said Just to ensure they dont attribute a lie to him.

5. Narrations which show how much the Sahabah and scholars used to respect the hadith of the
Prophet and order others to do so.
Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet said, Do not stop the women from
going to the masjid. One of his sons said, We will stop them. He became very angry. He said, Im
telling you that the Prophet said not to and you say you will do it. Surely I will never
speak to you again. He did not speak to him until he died.
- Muslim, Sahih Muslim
Ibn 'Umar died soon after this incident. His son was actually referring to Aisha s
narration that after the prophet died, women started coming to the masjid behaving and dressing
inappropriately so he meant that they will stop those women from coming to the masjid but it was the
way of saying it. There is an appropriate manner of speaking in reference to hadith of Rasulullah
.

'Ali and Ibn Mas'ud said, If I narrate a hadith of the Messenger of Allah
to you, then do not have any bad thoughts or doubts regarding its meaning.
- Ad-Darimee, Sunan Ad-Darimee
Does this mean we cancel our logic and mind? No, but our logic and mind should lead us to conclude
that this is what the Prophet said so I need to stop now. No matter how smart I am, this is from Allah
and my knowledge is wayyyyyyy limited and Allahs is infinite.

IV. The Position of Ahlul Bidah (People of Innovation) from the hadith of Prophet Muhammad

Ibn Al-Qasim rahimahullah said, You will never find any innovator unless he disrespects the Prophet
even if he claims that he honors him.
They will say we honour the Prophet but yet they say he married fornicators or he married his two
daughters to Uthman because he was afraid of him.

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18

Al-AwzaI rahimahullah said, Any innovator, if you narrate a hadith which opposes his innovation, he
feels dislike toward the hadith.
They reject the hadith of the Prophet because it goes against their logic or what they want to
believe.
Ibn Qutaybah criticized Jahm ibn Safwan because he used to narrate hadith then follow it up with
narrations from evil people. Also, he made fun of some of the hadith in his book.
- Whatever you do, dont combine bad practice and bad attitude. Even if you are bad in your
practice, dont add bad attitude to it.

Ibn Al-Qattan rahimahullah said, There is no innovator in the world but who dislikes Ahlul Hadith.
When a person innovates, the sweetness of hadith is stripped away from his heart.
Ibn Majah started his book of hadith with a chapter of respecting Rasulullah then chapter of obeying the
Sunnah.

Reasons for their position:
- Simple ignorance - they dont know
- Double ignorance - they dont know that they dont know
- Disrespect
- Opposing and Rejecting
Examples of these people are: Amru ibn Ubad and Jahm ibn Safwan.

Q&A: What is the proper etiquette for asking about a hadith in order to clarify, not in order to question?
The proper etiquette of asking about a hadith in order to clarify:
1. Check your intention. Do you intend to argue or to learn?
2. The words you use. Use respectful words.

V. Those Who Oppose the Obligation of Following the Sunnah
They are three main groups:
Group One:
Those who do not believe that the Sunnah is an authority whatsoever.
Those who completely reject the sunnah of Rasulullah . They say they only use what is in
Quran. That is why Ash-Shafiee has a chapter: the position of the group who reject all hadith. Ibn Hazm
and Suyooti in Miftahul Jannah mentioned this group. The tendency to reject sunnah and only take
Quran came early it is not a late phenomenon. This explains why, when you read a book on aqeedah
youll find, and we believe in wiping over the socks it is not the wiping itself but rather the
principle of taking hadith - other sects reject the sunnah so they will not believe in such practices in
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

19

wiping over the socks, etc. Ayyub As- Sukhtaiyani said: if someone when you narrate hadith to him, he
doesnt accept it but asks for evidence from Quran, then he is misguided.
These beliefs existed as ideas here and there but was never developed . This idea developed into a
theology by a man who came in the 13th C. Was codified by Syed Ahmad Khan who came up with
evidences for it. They said:

Those that deny the authority of the Sunnah base their positions upon three arguments:
A. The Qur'an explains everything therefore there is no need for the Sunnah
They said if the Quran is sufficient for all things, we dont need the sunnah. Then how can we answer
this?
- The Quran also says take what Rasulullah gives you.
- The Quran explains all the principles, the usool (foundation), and some details but the rest
details were not explained - details were left to sunnah.
- What would be the point of the messengers then? Allah would send the Book and not the
messengers.
!.l. .,ls ..>l !..,,. _>l ,`_: _.> .> _:, _,.l`..ll __
And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur'an) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a Mercy, and
glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allh as Muslims).
(An-Nahl: 89)
!. !.L _ ..>l _. ,`_: . _|| , _:> __
We have neglected nothing In the Book, Then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.
(Al-Anam: 38)
This verse also refers to the Safe Tablet (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz) not the Quran so all the details are in there
not the Quran.
B. Since there is no promise that the Sunnah will be protected and saved, we cannot trust it
Adh-Dhikr in the verse where Allah promises to protect this deen refers to the religion - both
the Quran and Sunnah. So Allah does promise in this verse to save the religion and this includes the
sunnah.
Ibn Mubarak was asked about someone who fabricated 10,000 hadith, he said dont worry, the scholars
will point it out.
Theres no hadith that the whole ummah accepts as authentic and in reality its weak and also there is
no hadith that we agree is weak but its authentic in reality.

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20

C. The hadith of the Prophet in which it is claimed that he said, My hadith will
become widespread, so whatever is according to the Quran then it is from me, and
whatever contradicts it, is not from me.
This hadith is weak.
In modern times, many Progressive Muslim groups and Islamists (non-Muslim, Western
researchers who extensively study Islamic Sciences) have raised doubts about the authenticity
of the Sunnah.
The most popular of their arguments are:
A. There are so many ahadith that were fabricated by the Companions and their students.
Al-Imam Az-Zuhri rahimahullah was used by the Umayyads to fabricate ahadith and Az-Zuhri
rahimahullah admitted that by saying: Those princes forced me to write narrations.
- The companions are all trustworthy
- There is not a single hadith abu Hurayrah narrated that is not backed up by another sahabah.
- Rasulullah made dua that Abu Hurayrah be a container of knowledge.
- Dont doubt Abu Hurayrahs memory - he only had 5000-6000hadith without isnaad
memorized but others like Imam Ahmad memorized millions with isnaad!
B. They claim that scholars of hadith only verified/ examined the chain of narrators and not the
specific text. It is possible then that a sound chain was placed before an inauthentic
narration.
- They claim that the muhaddith only verified the isnaad not the matn. The muhaddith have more
than 10 things to check in the matn itself in order to verify the text e.g any grammar mistakes,
any historical mistakes, anything logically impossible. As for Az-Zuhri: they twisted his words
whereas he actually said: They forced us to write the hadith (i.e write down the hadith for
them).
Group Two:
Those who do not accept Ahad ahadith.
Some said we will accept mutawaatir but nothing beyond. Again, they say that Allah did not
promise to protect the sunnah. They also say they dont trust the sahabah.
This is the opinion of some Shiah, Mutazilah, and Khawarij. They only accept what is
mutawatir, such as the method of prayer and the method of making Hajj.
The first to come up with this is Al-Asum and Al-Aqiyah and Al-Qashani (Shii) and Ibn Dawud
and the Rafidah.
Group Three:
Those who do not accept Ahad ahadith in matters of Aqidah
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

21

They say that matters of Aqidah must be based upon certainty and ahad narrations cannot
establish certainty in the heart because they are based upon uncertainty.
They said aqeedah means to believe in something and thus must be based in certainty and since ahad
hadith cannot build certainty in the heart so cannot be used. This idea was adopted by mutazilah and
Ashaira, and Maturidi.
Shaykh Al-Azhar said: They say this is agreed upon and must be taken. I dont think anyone with sanity
will disagree with us.
In order for us to address this, set things in the right perspective. To say that hadith ahad establishes
certainty or not, this argument is flawed and false because Ahad is a vague term. There are authentic
and weak narrations among ahad. Ahad doesnt describe authenticity so we cant generalize that it
doesnt establish certainty.

Refutation:
A. This opinion is an innovation
Firstly, who came up with this idea? Who made this criteria? Ibn Ulayyah - one of the
leaders of the Mutazilah. Imam Shafiee debated him about this and asked him where he
got it from, any mutawaatir hadith or Quran or your own analysis? Youre saying aqeedah
must come from mutawaatir and Quran then where is your proof for this opinion!
B. We cannot generalize whether ahad narrations will establish certainty or not because some
ahad narrations are weak and others are authentic. That is the measure of certainty and
uncertainty
They say Umar asked for more people when he was told that it is allowed to wipe over
socks. - Actually it was in a matter of fiqh not aqeedah...and he asked for 1 other person, not
10 so the narration would still ahad.
Rasulullah sent Muadh ibn Jabal to teach the people of Yemen - 1 person was enough to
establish the hujjah; he didnt send 2 companions. The concept of mutawaatir didnt exist -
they actually contradicted this idea.
C. Classifying the religion into fundamentals that can only be based on tawatur and branches
which can be proven by ahad is an innovation.
Classifying the religion into fundamentals that can only be based on tawatur and branches
which can be proved by Ahad is an innovation - these branches were separated to teach but
are not separated in reality.
D. There are many evidences in the Qur'an and sunnah that contradict this opinion
Allah says:
!!., _.] `.., | `,l> _.! |,., `.,. ,,.. !. .> >,`.. _ls !. `.l-
_,.... _
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

22

O You who believe! if a rebellious evil person comes to You with a news, verify it, lest You harm people In
ignorance, and afterwards You become regretful to what You have done.
(Hujurat: 6)
- So therefore, if a trustworthy person comes to you, then accept it.
- In Surah Anfal, Allah mentions All of them go all together to jihad but one group go
to learn religion and teach the others. Al-Bukhari said 1-2 is a group. He has a whole chapter on
this. We leave behind 1-2 people to learn the religion, and we take it from them!

E. There are many contradictions between this opinion and the beliefs of the people who hold
it.
E.g they say Rasulullah said whoever says la ilaaha illallah will enter jannah - this is an ahad
hadith, so why they using it to prove their aqeedah point?
They will take poetry over Bukhari and Muslim e.g they interpret the word istiwa in relation
to Allah by the use of a poet...
They didnt get their interpretations from mutawaatir text!
Note:
- Some scholars might say that ahad ahadith will not establish certainty but they will still
accept it in aqidah.
- They claim that the majority of the scholars say that ahad ahadith do not establish certainty.
This is a false claim.

VI. The Ways that the Innovators Reject the Sunnah
1. Attacking the narrators:
The Khawarij, Ar-Rafidah/Ash-Shiah, some of the the Mutazilah and the Orientalists. The
mutazilah had very evil positions toward the companions.
The following two points can establish the refutation to all of these sects:
A. Allah has promised to protect the Sunnah as the Sunnah as the promised to
protect the Qur'an
B. All the companions of the Prophet are trustworthy
2. Attacking the Texts
They can do this in three ways:
A. Contradicting the ahadith with logic
Al-Imam As-Samani rahimahullah said, Those who follow their mind/logic to reject the
Sunnah are in reality saying La ilaaha ila Allah, and my logic is the Messenger of Allah
(Al-Asbahanee, Al-Hujjah)
The rule of Ar-Razi in his book Asas At-Taqdis which states that if intellect and text
conflict, both cannot be acceptable, and one must be taken and the other rejected. Because
intellect is what led to accepting the texts, the taking of the text over intellect would negate
the acceptability of both.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

23

They use their logic to reject the hadith - they think that somebodys logic can abrogate
what Allahs Messenger said.
It is impossible for the texts of Shariah to contradict logic because Allah would never say
anything unwise or foolish.
When there is a definite evidence and indefinite evidence contradict each other, we must
reject the indefinite evidence in favour of definite regardless of whether it is intellect or
text.
If there is a contradiction between intellect and text then we take the text because even
logic tells us Rasulullah is infallible while our intellect is not.
B. Contradicting the Sunnah with kashf (Claimed divine inspiration through dreams, visions,
etc)
Kashf: reach a level to see the truth - they dont need hadith any more. The Sunni Sufis like
Al-Junayd completely reject this.
C. Contradicting the Sunnah with the opinions or statements of the imams and scholars
Ibn Abbas said to some of the young tabi'een, Allah might punish
you by sending a storm from the heavens to destroy you if I tell you that the Prophet
says and you reply by saying but Abu Bakr and 'Umar said. (Ahmad,
Musnad Imam Ahamd)
- A lot of people reject hadith because it goes against the fatwa of their imam. Some say its
either abrogated or weak. His madhab became what you judge hadith according to instead
of other way around.
- The sahabah didnt narrate by word for all the ahadith but by meaning for some of it and it
was allowed for them because they mastered the language and understood exactly what
the prophet meant so they knew what could be substituted for what and the
full meaning still be preserved.

VII. The Ruling Concerning One Who Rejects the Sunnah
There are general statements from the scholars saying that whoever rejects the sunnah is a kafir.
1. Rejecting the authority of the Sunnah is Kufr
2. Rejecting a hadith because he thinks it is weak, or interprets it to have another meaning based
upon evidence, or believes it was abrogated based on ijtihad will not be considered sinful
3. Rejecting it based on ignorance, following his desires, or blind imitation of his imam, it will be
considered a form of fisq and innovation. Such a person should be advised regarding the
severity of rejecting the words of Allah and His Messenger .

Test Yourself
1. In this chapter, six definitions were given to As-Sunnah. Mention three of them.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

24

2. Mention two evidences commanding that the Messenger be followed.
3. What are the three groups that oppose the obligation of following the Sunnah?
4. In what scenario does the rejecting of a hadith not cause the person to be sinful?
5. What is the ruling on those who reject the authority of the Sunnah?

Chapter 2
Chapter Summary:
1. The definition of As-Salaf
2. Reasons for Restricting the term Salaf to the Sahabah
3. What is meant by following the Salaf
4. Evidences Proving the Obligation to Follow the Methodology of the Sahabah
5. Evidences proving the obligation to follow the methodology of the sahabah
6. The importance of following the methodology of As-Salaf
7. The position of the innovators from the methodology of As-Salaf
8. The way of the Salaf is safer, wiser and more logical
9. Merits of the methodology of the Salaf
Authority of the Sunnah of the Sahabah (As-Salaf)
I. Defining Salaf:
Linguistic Definition:
It comes from the root word salafa and means something or someone in the past. The word appears
in the Qur'an meaning an example (Zukhruf: 56).
Technical Definition:
1. The sahabah only
Abi zayd al-Qayrawani and so many others say As-Salaf are the companions.
2. The sahabah and the tabi'een
Al-Ghazali says it is the companions and the successors.
3. Those that made up the first three or four generations for Islam
Opinion of As-Safarini
4. The first three generations and all those who follow their methodology until the Day of
Judgment
Opinion of Ibn Hazm
Conclusion:
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

25

The word salaf can be used in two different ways:
1. The early ones that those who come after them take as role models.
2. Everyone who follows the methodology of the sahabah, even up to this day,

II. Reasons for Restricting the term Salaf to the Sahabah:
1. Proofs in the Quran and Sunnah order us to follow their footsteps
- We do not have evidence showing we should follow anyone else.
2. There are large numbers of narrations from the tabi'een and the imams regarding the obligation
to follow the companions of the Prophet .
3. There were no innovators among the sahabah
4. The statements of the sahabah have a special ruling
- The statements of the sahabah are marfu hukman if it is not known that they take from
Christian sources - if they say something we treat it as they took it from Rasulullah.
- If a companion came up with an opinion and no other companion opposed him, then it is
considered ijmaa.
5. The generation of the sahabah reached the peak of knowledge, righteousness, understanding,
purity of the Arabic language
6. All of the sahabah are trustworthy
Allah already testified for them, no one else needs to prove their trustworthiness.
The first principle that Al-Imam Ahmad rahimahullah mentions in his book The Foundations of the
Sunnah is following the sahabah and taking them as role models. He says:
They are the ones with the deepest knowledge and the purest hearts and closest to Rasulullah. Their
behavior is excellent and Allah chose them Himself to accompany Rasulullah.

III. What is meant by following the salaf?
Following the sahabah is to follow their methodology and the way they understood the religion.
Examples of Scholars who were upon the way of the Salaf throughout history:
1
st
Century (Tabi'een):
Al-Hasan Al-Basri (110 AH)
Ayyub As-Sukhtiyani (131 AH)
2
nd
Century:
Abu Hanifah (150 AH)
Al-AwzaI (157 AH)
Sufyan Ath-Thawri (161 AH)
Al-Imam Al-Malik (179 AH)
Al-Imam Al-Shafi'ee (204 AH)
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

26

3
rd
Century:
Al-Imam Ahmad (241 AH)
Al-Bukhari (256 AH)
Muslim (261 AH)
Abu Dawud (275 AH)
At-Tirmidhi (279 AH)
4
th
century:
At-Tabarani (360 AH)
Ad-Daraqutni (385 AH)
Abu Abdullah ibn Battah (387 AH)
Abul- Qasim Al-LalakaI (418 AH)
5
th
Century:
Abu Uthman As-Sabuni (449 AH)
Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi (463 AH)
Shaikh Al-Islam Abu Ismail Al-Harawi (481 AH)
6
th
Century:
Qawam As-Sunnah Abul Qasim Al-Asbahani (535 AH)
Ash-Shaikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani (561 AH)
7
th
Century:
Al-Muwaffaq ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi (620 AH)
Abul- Barakat ibn Taymiyyah (653 AH)
Shaikh Al-Islam Taqiyy Ad-Din Ahmad ibn Abdul Halim ibn Taymiyyah (728 AH)
8
th
Century:
Al-Imam Shams Ad-Din Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawwziyyah (751 AH)
Al-Imam Adh-Dhahabi (748 AH)
Al-Imam ibn Abi Al-Izz Al-Hanafi (792 AH)
Al-Hafidh ibn Kathir (774 AH)
*Note: See the end of the class notebook for a more thorough list of scholars
The methodology and statements of the sahabah regarding the principles of faith and those of the early
Muslim generations have been narrated, recorded, and collected in many books of Muslim scholars.
*Note: Flip to the end of the notes for a list of some of these books.
This shows that the methodology of the salaf has always been well known and was well recorded.
Generation after generation followed in their footsteps. This is a refutation to myths that claim there is
no such thing as the methodology of the Salaf or that it has not been recorded.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

27

IV. Evidences Proving the Obloigation to Follow the Methodology of the Sahabah
Ibn Masud says here are about 100 evidences that show this.
Allah says in Surah Nisa: Whoever opposes the messenger of Allah after guidance has come clear to
him...the believers refer to the companions.

1. The Quran
_1,..l l _. _>..l !.. _.] >`-,. _..>|, _. < .s
. .s .s > ..> _>. !.> `.. _..> !, ., ,l: `l `,L-l
And the first to embrace Islm of the Muhjirn (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and
the Ansr (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhjirn) and also those who
followed them exactly (in Faith). Allh is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He
has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to Dwell therein forever. that is the
Supreme success.
(At-Taubah: 100)
_. _!: _.l _. .-, !. _,,. `] _.l _,`., ,s _,,. _,...l .]. !. _|.
.`.. .> ,,!. ,.. _
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 Path He has
chosen, and burn Him In Hell - what an evil destination.
(An-Nisa: 115)
2. The Sunnah
The Prophet said, The Jews were divided into 71 groups, the Christians were divided
into 72 groups, and my Ummah will be divided into 73 groups. All these groups will be in the hellfire
except one. They (the sahabah) asked, Which (group) is it, Oh Messenger of Allah ? He
replied, Those who follow my way and the way of my companions (At-Tirmidhi, Sunan
At-Tirmidhi).
The hadith narrated by Al-Irbad ibn Sariyah in which the Prophet addressed his
companions. In it he told them, Whoever from you will live after me will see a lot of changes and
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

28

disputes. So follow my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khalifahs after me. Hold on to it with
your molar teeth. And beware of innovated matters (Ahmad, Musnad Imam Ahmad).
Khalifah = those that took the role of the Prophet in terms of politics as well as knowledge. The sahabah
are all khulafah in terms of knowledge.

What is meant by following them is saying or doing what they said and refraining from what they
refrained from. They are the closest to what the Prophet meant because they are the most familiar with
the language, culture, context, etc. They knew why something was revealed, how it was revealed and if
it is meant to be waajib, etc...They implemented the deen in front of Rasulullah and he
approved/disapproved it.

3. Narrations from the Salaf
Ibn Masud said, Allah looked into the hearts of all humanity and He chose
Muhammad to be His Last Messenger. Then He checked the hearts of all other people.
Then He chose the Prophet s Companions to accompany him and be his supporters. So
whatever the believers see as good, Allah sees it as good, and whatever they see as bad,
Allah sees it as bad as well (Ahmad, Musnad Imam Ahmad).
Al-AwzaI rahimahullah said, Follow the way of the salaf before you, say what they said and refrain
from what they refrained from saying or doing (Al-Aajurri, Ash-Shariah).
4. Logical Evidences
Since the Qur'an was revealed in the specific dialect of the sahabah theyw ere the most familiar with the
language it used. They also witnessed and lived the incidents that caused the ayat to be revealed. They
saw the Prophet with their eyes and directly asked him about matters they did not
understand. This makes them closer to the truth than those who came after them.
Since the Prophet said that the generation of the Companions was the best generation,
this indicates that they are worthy of being followed.
V. The Importance of Following the Methodology of As-Salaf
1. Their methodology is the means of following the Qur'an and the sunnah
2. Their methodology is one of the sources of religion
3. It is one of the clear signs that differentiate between those who follow Sunnah and the
innovators
4. It is the only way to guarantee protection from the hellfire
5. It protects one from falling into innovation
You will never find a link between the innovators and the sahabah. You will either find a link
between the innovators and other innovators or unknown people.
If you see innovation appearing in your society, follow the sunnah of the sahabah.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

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6. It solves disputes
7. Leads to the best knowledge and best deeds
8. Following the way of As-Salaf means respecting your sanity and humanity
Never find anything like beating yourself and all that in the methodology of the salaf
9. The way of As-Salaf is based on knowledge, not ignorance, desires and folk tales.
- No weird stuff. No dancing, singing, twirling...The scholars didnt want you to be blind
followers, they wanted you to learn and know and use your intellect.

VI. The Position of the Innovators from the Methodology of As-Salaf
Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah said, The clear sign of every innovator is that they do not follow the salaf
1. Position of the Khawarij and the Shiah: cursed the sahabah. fabricated narrations from Ahlul
Bayt
2. Position of the Mutazilah
3. Position of the Ashairah and the Maturidiyyah: came up with their own ideas regarding the
nature of issues such as prophethood. They started using new methods of understanding the
topic different from that used by as-salaf and the scholars of Quran and hadith. They brought
more logical evidences to prove their point and this showed clearly in their understanding of
Allah. They started interpreting Allahs attributes instead of understanding them literally.
The Salaf never interpreted Allahs attributes and gave it another meaning. They wanted to be
on the safe side. The intellectuals thought they had more knowledge - they used to say, the
way of the salaf is safer but the way of the khalaf is wiser and more knowledgeable. They
discredited the manhaj of the salaf and claimed their way was better.

The methodology of the Salaf is safer, and the methodology of the khalaf is wiser and more
logical.
Refutation:
- This statement that the methodology of the salaf is safer... is contradictory. Would you feel safer if the
person who guides you is safer? Of course! You feel safe with someone of knowledge guiding you so if
you have the knowledge, how is it less safe?
- The knowledge and the wisdom exists in the Quran and Sunnah not the interpretations of the later
generations and the earlier generations followed the Quran and Sunnah.
- The way of the early Muslim generation - their methodology is consistent. The Khalaf is not consistent.
All the groups claim to be the wiser but they all differ from each other. Even within the groups there are
disagreements.
- So many of the khalaf admitted their wrongness at the end of their lives and repented and wanted to
go back to the way of the salaf. The leaders themselves such as Al-Juwayni who said: I have seen the
way of the philosophers - I have gone so far in studying this and I am sure this is not the way to
happiness and peace. I am warning you, stick to the methodology of the salaf. Ar-Razi said the same
thing.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

30

- They said the way of the salaf is safer and theirs wiser because they never understood the
methodology of the salaf. They think that the salaf said to accept the words without understanding the
meaning. We dont know the meaning. That was actually the methodology of the early version of
Asharism. This concept was never the methodology of the salaf. Our way is more knowledgeable than
just saying we dont understand the meaning of these verses.

VII. Merits of the Methodology of the Salaf
They are the most moderate group. Today people attribute fundamentalism to those who follow the
footsteps of the sahabah. But if we follow their footsteps wed be moderate. There were so many
opinions amongst them and they were never bothered by it. They accepted and tolerate different
opinions as long as its based on correct methodology. The more you read about them, the more you
learn a sense of tolerance and variety but they were united in their methodology.
1. Moderation in:
A. Allah s Names & Attributes
We didnt go to extremes in the Names of Allah. Other groups went to extremes to
anthropomorphism and then other groups went to nothing - they worshiped nothing! We say
we believe in it but we dont know what its like it is not similar to what we know.
B. Al-Qadr
Other groups say Allah does everything; others say He knows nothing. Were in the middle -
Allah knows everything; we make our own choices.
C. Texts promising punishment or reward
Some groups say any sin = hell forever; others say: no matter what sin, you get top of Jannah as
long as you say laa ilaaha illallah.
D. Iman
We say eman increases and decreases.
E. As-Sahabah
Some people curse them while some are extreme in their love of Aalul Bayt.
F. Use of Logic
Sufis dont use logic; other groups use it above every other source. We say it is a tool, not the
main source.
We dont accept the wrongs of the leader but we dont cause chaos in the society. Advise them.

2. Unity: They are the ones who unite people. Ahlul Sunnah always the element of bringing
people together and uniting them. They never cast people out
3. Authenticity of Sources: we dont base our religion on dreams. The Maulid started by
someone saw a dream in Kurdistan that Rasulullah told him to celebrate it 500 years
after Rasulullah died. This practice was never even mentioned by the fuqaha.
4. Simplicity and Clarity: their explanations and beliefs are so confusing. They say Allah is
not alive but Hes not dead. Whereas, the Quran and Sunnah is very simple and clear:
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

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Allah is not like us. He hears and sees but not like us. Once a Mutazili was debating a
scholar in front of the khalifah and he said how dare you say Allah talks? Arent you
afraid when you are resurrected on the Day of Judgment and Allah will ask how you say I
talk? The scholar said: Easy, Ill say look - You talk!
Dont complicate things. The nature of this religion is easy. The moment something
becomes complicated, you need to review your position.
5. Consistency and Tranquility: one of them said as they were dying: I left the books of
Ahlul Islam and I left the scholars of Ahlul Islam and I entered the ocean of philosophy
and today I die upon the religion of the old women in naisapur (i.e the average person in
the street).
6. Practicality: Study to practice the knowledge not just to debate or for fun. Rasulullah
said whoever learned this knowledge to debate or to show off to others, he will have
nothing but hell.

Test Yourself
1. What does the root word of Salaf mean?
2. The word Salaf can be used in two ways; mention them.
3. What is a logical evidence for following the Salaf?
4. Explain the position of the Mutazilah towards the Salaf.
5. In which areas does the methodology of the Salaf exhibit moderation?
6. Why do you think the Ashairah and the Maturidiyyah said, The methodology of the Salaf is
safer, and the methodology of the khalaf is wiser and more logical.
Chapter Three
Chapter Summary
1. The Definition of the Sahabah
2. The levels of the Sahabah
3. The methodology of Ahlus-Sunnah with Regards to the Sahabah
4. The position of Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah regarding the fitnah and the fighting that occurred
between them
5. The ruling against sabb as-sahabah
As-Sahabah
I. Defining As-Sahabah
It comes from the root word sahiba, which means to accompany.
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32

Whoever met the Prophet while believing in him and died as a Muslim.
This is the definition of Ibn Hajr. Before this it used to be whoever saw the Prophet definition by
Bukhari etc but Ibn Hajr disagreed because the word saw would exclude blind people such as ibn
Maktum.
Explanation:
Whoever met the Prophet
- Includes any companionship, regardless of duration
- Includes blind people
- Includes children except infants
- Excludes creation of the Unseen world
- Excludes Mukhadramun (witnessed Jahiliyyah and Islam without physically meeting the prophet
)
while still believing in him
- Meeting the Prophet before his prophethood
- Excludes any kafir who met him and then accepted Islam afterwards and did not meet him again
- What if someone met him before Islam, then Rasulullah died and the person accepts islam - not
sahabah.
and died as a Muslim.
- Even if there was a period of Riddah (apostasy) in between
- Excludes the murtaddin
Ibn Maddah: Whoever met Rasulullah before he was a prophet, then became Muslim later on but never
met Rasulullah after, he is considered Sahabi. But many other scholars disagreed. An example of such a
person would be Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl.

What about infants and kids. The scholars debated and they said, infants will never be considered sahabi
unless they remembered the meeting between them and rasulullah.
Some scholars say they must reach the age of puberty but this is not very valid as it would exclude such
companions as Abdullah ibn Abbas, etc.

A lot of progressives and secular researchers will bring up the opinion that the person had to have spent
1-2 years with Rasulullah or participated in battle etc - these opinions do exist but never became
popular. These were set by some individuals but never used by the scholars in books or anything.

Ibn Taymiyyah: The key point here is that the more you lived with Rasulullah, your level as a companion
became higher. The problem with those people is that they look at the sahabah as one level but they are
not of the same level. Cannot consider the one who met Rasulullah once at 5 years to be like Abu Bakr
and Umar but he still has the status of companion. Doesnt make him the best
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

33

and most knowledgeable. There are about 400,000 companions, the books of seerah will not mention as
much. The ones who carried the deen are much less - very few. And this is the case with every muslim
community.

II. The Levels of the Sahabah
There is a consensus among the early Muslim generations that the best person after the Prophet
is Abu Bakr , then 'Umar .
o Mentioned by Ash-Shafiee, Al-Bayhaqi, etc
o Allah honored them by allowing them to be buried next to Rasulullah .
o Ali said: The best one in this Ummah after Rasulullah is Abu
Bakr then Umar.
o Imam Malik: I do not think anyone doubts this.
o Ibn Umar: We used to say in the time of Rasulullah is that Abu Bakr is the best then
Umar then Uthman.
o Ahlul Sunnah later added Ali after Uthman and this is the position of Ahlul Hadith, Ahlul
Rai...
The majority of Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah consider Uthman to be 3
rd
best and 'Ali to be 4
th

best radiAllahu anhuma. As Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf said, I have consulted the
people in Madinah and I could not find anyone that favors 'Ali over Uthman
(Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari).
Ayyub As-Sukhtiyani rahimahullah said, Whoever favors 'Ali over Uthman
has not given the opinions of the Muhajirin and the Ansar their due respect (Ibn Katheer, Al-
Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah).
o Sufyan Ath-Thawri: Anyone who would favour Ali over Abu Bakr and Umar, he has
disrespected the opinions of 12000 muhajir and ansar.
o Among Ahlul Sunnah there are those who favour Ali over Uthman but never over Abu
Bakr and Umar such as Abu Hanifah and Ath-Thawri so this is a valid opinion. But anyone
who says that Ali deserved the khilafah more than Uthman is an innovator because
there is ijmaa that the khalifah doesnt have to be the best of the ummah and Ali gave
the baya to Uthman.
o The scholars would never talk about any other sahabah specifically but generally. The
best are the Ashara Mubashara.
Narrated Saeed bin Zayd: Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Akhnas said that when he was in the mosque, a man
abused Ali (RA). So Saeed bin Zayd got up and said, "I bear witness to the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) that I
heard him say, 'Ten persons will go to Paradise. Abu Bakr will go to Paradise, Umar will go to Paradise,
Uthman will go to Paradise, Ali will go to Paradise, Talha will go to Paradise. Zubair bin Al-Awwam will
go to Paradise, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas will go to Paradise, Abdur-Rahman bin Awf will go to Paradise and
Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah. If I wish, I can mention the tenth." The People asked, "Who is he?" so he
kept silent. They again asked, "Who is he?" He replied, "He is Saeed ibn Zayd." He then said, "The
company of one man whose face has been covered with dust by the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) is better
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

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than the actions of one of you for a whole life time even if he is granted the life-span of Noah."
[Abu Dawud]
Ibn Hazm said that the wives of Rasulullah are higher even than Abu Bakr and Umar but this is a strange
opinion. His reasoning are as follows:
1. They are with Rasulullah in Jannah and he is the highest. - They are only there because they are
the wives of Rasulullah not because of their actions. That would mean theyre better than the
other prophets and messengers and Abu Bakrs wife is better than Umar, etc.
2. They were in his company the most - but so were his servants and they are not better than
others
3. Because Rasulullah said he loved Aisha most. Rasulullah used to love Zayd ibn Haritha more than
anyone else and no one says he is better than Abu Bakr. Love is natural.
- This is the danger of coming up with something no one ever though of before.

III. Our Position towards the Sahabah
A. The Methodology of Ahl As-Sunnah al-Jamaah with regards to the Sahabah
1. Loving them is a sign of iman
Ibn taymiyyah: We love them; it is part of our deen. We dislike those who hate the sahabah.
Saying bad things about them is kufr.
2. Asking Allah to forgive them and to be pleased with them, praising them, and
mentioning their merits. We have been asked to ask forgiveness for them.
3. They are the best of all people after the prophets
4. Studying their lives, narrating their biographies, and following their way
The second generation of Islam used to teach their children the life of Abu Bakr and Umar
like they used to teach them surahs from Quran. The sahabah that were killed in Uhud - so
many newborns were names after them to keep their legacy alive.
5. They are all trustworthy (udul)
6. They are not infallible

B. The Position of Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah regarding the Fitnah and the fighting that occurred
between them
1. To refrain from mentioning what occurred between them in a negative way. Mention it to
learn lessons but dont raise doubt about them. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: This fitna, Allah
protected our hands from it so we should protect our tongues from it.
2. All narrations reported regarding these events fall into one of the following categories:
a. Fabricated narrations that have no basis: this was done to put hate in the hearts of
people at that time.
b. Narrations based on true events but which contain much exaggeration and false
details: e.g they say Aisha went to fight Ali - they never intended to fight. Sometimes
the event is true but its representation is false.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

35

c. Authentic narrations: we need to differentiate between judging the action and the
one who did the action.
Our Position towards these authentic narrations:
- With regards to the actions themselves
It should be judged according to Quran and Sunnah just because they did it is not ok -
should be according to Quran and Sunnah.
- With regards to those who performed the actions
1. They may be correct in their action and will earn two rewards, or they may be mistaken in their
judgment and will earn one reward and Allah will forgive their mistake
2. They would admit that they were mistaken and would repent from it. No one should be
criticized for a sin he repented from.
3. Although they may have done what we know as a mistake, they have so many good deeds which
will erase these sins or will be forgiven through any other way by which sins are forgiven.
4. We cannot compare between the amount of good they have done for Islam and the few
mistakes that they made.
C. The Ruling Against Sabb As-Sahabah
Al-Imam Ahmad was once asked about cursing the sahabah and he said that the person should be
punished but he is Muslim.
Imam Malik was once asked about those who curse Abu Bakr, Umar - they are non-Muslim. Imam
Ahmad, Shafiee etc said the same.
- There is a contradiction. The ulema are not stupid; they knew what theyre saying. They would say one
statement referring to one thing and another referring to another incident. So you have to know the
context and what the question was about.
Sabb is an ambiguous word and sometimes it means something that will take the person out of Islam
and sometimes it doesnt mean that.

Sabb As-Sahabah means using inappropriate language regarding them, insulting them, cursing them, or
saying anything which disrespects them or casts doubt upon their trustworthiness.
So if one uses improper language, its considered as much a curse in the Arabic language as casting
doubt on their faith.

The Prophet said, Do not curse my companions. Do not curse my companions. I
swear by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if any one of you were to spend in charity an amount of
gold equivalent to the Mountain of Uhud, it would not be equal to a handful, or even a half, given as
charity by any one of them.
(Agreed Upon. Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari; Muslim, Sahih Muslim)
1. If one believes it is lawful (halal) to curse them, this is kufr.
The Prophet said, Whoever curses my companions then the curse of Allah
, His Angels, and the Believers will be upon him (At-Tabarani, Al-Mujam).
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36

2. If one curses the sahabah in general or the majority of them, or claims that they are misguided
or Kuffar, this is kufr.
3. If one curses a well-known sahabi, such as one of the four khulafa or Ahl al-Bayt, or claims that
he/she is misguided or a kafir, then this is kufr.
4. If one accuses one of the Prophet s wives of adultery, indecency, or Kufr, this is
kufr.
5. If one insults one of the Sahabah or says bad words about him/her without saying something to
cast doubt upon their Islam or righteousness, he has not committed kufr but has committed a
sin and should be chastised.
Test Yourself
1. What is the technical definition of sahabi?
2. What is the position of Ahl As-Sunnah in the respect to the authentic narrations that have
reached us regarding the fighting between the companions?
3. In which scenario is the cursing of the sahabah not considered an act of kufr?
4. True or False? There is a consensus amongst Ahl As-Sunnah that the best of the companions are
Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, then Uthman, then 'Ali.
5. Mention four of the aspects of our methodology regarding the sahabah.
Chapter Four
Chapter Summary:
1. Defining Al-Jamaah
2. Misconceptions Regarding the Concept of Jamaah
3. The Authority of Imamah
Holding onto the Jamaah
I. Defining Al-Jamaaah
It comes from the root word jamaa, meaning to bring things or parts together.
- Refers to physical, tangible unity, as well as an abstract, intangible unity
o This ummah will not agree on anything incorrect - it is intangible. Doesnt mean the
scholars have to exist in one time and place.
- Opposes tangible and intangible dispute, disunity, division, separation, and scattering.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

37

`_. ,ls !,. _. :| _! ..1l ,1., | l ` _>,l. _.!1. _,.. .,!:, < _l-
< l. `-.-! . ,l. . _>, . _>,l. .s . . _||
`L.. _
So put together your plan, you and your partners, and let not your plot be in doubt for you. Then pass your
sentence on me and give me no respite.
(Yunus: 71)
1. As-Sahabah
Mentioned by 'Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, At-Tabari
2. As-Sawad Al-Atham
(The majority of people)
Mentioned by At-Tabari and Ash-Shatibi
3. The scholars of Islam
Opinion of Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, Al-Bukhari, Ash-Shafi'ee, At-Tirmidhi,
and many others.
4. Matters agreed upon by all Muslims, which differ from non-Muslim practices
Mentioned by Ash-Shatibi
5. Everything that has been sanctioned by the shariah and to those practicing it
Opinion of ibn Masud, Nuaim ibn Hammad, Abu Shamah
If the jamaaa is corrupted then the people will be corrupted so make sure you hold on to the
jamaaa of those who came before and you will be the jamaaa. Ishaq ibn Rahwaiyh said
Muhammad ibn Aslam is the jamaaa (because he was upon the sunnah).
6. The leaders of a country
(Princes, governors, scholars, military leaders, judges, etc)
Opinion of Ibn Battal
7. The people who have the power and control in a country
Opinion of As-Sarakhsi
8. When Muslims gather upon an Imam
Opinion of At-Tabari
9. When Muslims gather upon a righteous/Sunni Imam
Mentioned by Ash-Shatibi
10. Any kind of gathering; any group of Muslims that gather upon anything are called a Jamaah
Like how Rasulullah said eat in jamaaa, pray in jamaaa, etc.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

38

So which are we talking about? Not #10. #5 includes all the previous 4. Number 8 represents 6 and 7.
and If you join 5 and 8, then # 9 appears. Therefore, we can say it has two meanings:

Conclusion:
All of these varying opinions come down to two basic usages.
1. Intangible Jamaah (Ilmiyyah)
When they gather around a leader and give him bayah. Elect him to be ameer.
2. Tangible Jamaah (Amaliyyah)
Holding onto the truth.
When you have both together, you have the best jamaaa such as in the time of Abu Bakr, Umar,
Uthman, Ali, and some of the righteous khulafah.

Al-Jamaah Al-Ilmiyyah (Intangible Jamaah)
- It is the safe and victorious sect that will remain until the Day of Judgment
- It is obligatory upon every Muslim to be part of this Jamaah, in any place and time
- This Jamaah is not defined by quantity
- One who leaves this jamaah is either an innovator or an apostate (Murtad)
- One who leaves this Jamaah will take the rulings of the innovators or apostates
Evidences Pertaining to Holding on to the Intangible Jamaah
...s _,> < !-,.> . `: .-. < >,l. :| ,.. ,.s l! _,,
>,l ,.`>,.! ..,-., !.>| ,.. _ls !: :`> _. !.l .1.! !.. ,l. _,,`, <
>l ...,, _>l-l ..: _
And hold fast, All of You together, to the Rope of Allh (i.e. This Qur'n), and be not divided among yourselves,
and Remember Allh'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 Islmic Faith), and You were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved
You from it. Thus Allh makes his Ayt (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you,
that You may be guided.
(Al-Imran: 103)
Ibn Abbas said to Simak Al-Hanafi, Oh Hanafi, Al-Jamaah, Al-Jamaah. Surely, the previous
nations were destroyed for no other reason but their disputes and divisions (among themselves), and
then he recited the above verse (Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami).
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Ibn Masud narrates that the Prophet said, The blood of a Muslim is not permissible (i.e
he may not be killed) except for one of three reasons: killing an innocent person, the adulterer, and the
one who leaves the religion and leaves the Jamaah (At-Tirmidhi, Sunan At-Tirmidhi).
- He said 3 things but mentioned 4 so therefore religion = jamaah.
Allah will not put this ummah on a false jamaah.
Al-Jamaah Al-Amaliyyah (Tangible Jamaah)
- This jamaah refers to those who follow the leader
- It may not exist at some times and in some places
- Joining this jamaah is only obligatory upon Muslims that live where it is established
- This Jamaah is dependent on quantity since it is a result of power, control and strength
- One who leaves this jamaah is called Baghi (transgressor) or Muharib (rebel)
- One who leaves this Jamaah will take the rulings of transgressors and rebels
Evidences Pertaining to Holding on to the Tangible Jamaah
Narrated Ibn Abbas that the Prophet said, Whoever notices something
which he dislikes done by his ruler, then he should be patient, for whoever becomes separate from the
Jamaah of the Muslims even for a span and then dies, he will died as those who died in the Pre-Islamic
period of ignorance (as rebellious sinners) (Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari).
Arfajah narrates that the Prophet said, Whoever comes after you have already chosen
the Khalifah to break you away from him or to break your Jamaah, he should be killed (Muslim, Sahih
Muslim).
II. Misconceptions Regarding the Concept of Jamaah
- Jamaah refers to the Islamic Jamaat (groups)
You dont need to be part of a specific group to be right.
- Both types of Jamaah can be absent
Maybe we dont have a khilafah, but the truth will always exist.
- Tangible Jamaah must always exist
It doesnt need to be there: Hudhaifah asked what should I do if a time comes and theres no
jamaaa and no leader. Rasulullah said avoid all innovation and stick to the truth.
- Intangible Jamaah necessitates the absence of ikhtilaf (difference of opinion)
This is incorrect. We might have unity but we still have variety. Dont ever think because you
come with new suggestions, youre breaking the jamaaa. Dont ever be mad when there is
difference of opinion as long as they are legitimate.

III. The Authority of Imamah
A manifestation of holding onto the tangible jamaaa is imamah.
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Imam Al-Qurtubi said: This is something fundamental in religion
Umar said there is no islam without jamaaa and there is no jamaaa without imamah and
there is no imamah without obedience.
One of the most obligatory things upon a community is to elect a leader.
This is part of the Islamic creed as well as a fiqh issue - the real issue between sunni and shiism is the
issue of imamah and how they are elected. It is a theological debate. The Shia say that the imam is
infallible and that their imams will come back to life. Al-Khawarij and Mutazilah say if the imam
commits a sin, it is permissible to carry weapons and fight them.
The issue of giving takfir today - If you look at the work of Ahlul Sunnah, you will always find talk about
imamah. Many of those who write on this in modern times are not specialists in islamic sciences. Other
contemporary authors wrote about imamah theoretically and many times their views were impractical.
Al-imaamah is a means and not the goal as it is for the shia. The absence of khilafah is not the only
reason for the weakness of the Muslim ummah. This is not true - the Muslim ummah was very weak
while they had a khilafah so it cannot be the only reason. We cannot say if we had a khalifah everything
would be good - it would make things better but not perfect. It is important in these modern days to
provide humanity with the Islamic concept of politics and ruling.
Defining Imamah
It comes from the root word amma, meaning to lead and to be followed.
Anyone in a leadership position is meant to be followed so make sure you are qualified.

When the leaders of the community (Ahl Al-Hall wal-Aqd) accept a Muslim man to lead them whether
by their choice or by force originally.
This is how it works: The general populace elects representatives e.g the leader of tribes. The
representatives (Ahl Hall wal- Aqd) elect one or a few people to be khalifah and then we see who the
most people would agree on to be khalifah.
Ahl Hall wal-Aqd have 2 powers: To elect leader and to impeach him if he betrays the trust of the
people.

Explanation
When the leaders of the community (Ahl Hall wal-Aqd)
- Excludes the general populace
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accept a Muslim man to lead them
- Excludes non-Muslims and includes a fasiq
- Excludes females and male minors
whether by their choice or by force originally
- Shows the ways imams may take over leadership of the community
Categories of Imamah
1. With regards to how it affects the general Muslim public, it can be divided into 2 categories:
a. General Imamah (Khalifah): When the leaders of the Muslim World (Ahl Al-Hall wal-
Aqd) accept a Muslim man to lead them whether it was by their choice or by force.
- there can be more than one imams and khalifahs. After the mass expansion, it became
reality that the ummah couldnt be ruled by one khalifah.

b. Partial Imamah: when the leaders of one country (Ahl Hall wal Aqd) accept a Muslim
man to lead them whether it was by their choice or by force. There is no basis for
denying partial imamah.
Evidences Supporting the Legitimacy of Partial Imamah
1. The absence of any evidence from Quran and Sunnah prohibiting this kind of Imamah
2. Establishing partial Imamah falls under the general command of Allah in the
following verse:
1.! < !. ,.-L.`. `-.`. `-,L 1. ,> .. _. _`, _:
... ,.l`! `> >l. _
So keep Your duty to Allh and fear Him as much as You can; listen and obey; and spend In charity, that is
better for yourselves. and Whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, Then they are the successful
ones.
(At-Taghabun: 16)

3. It also falls under the prophet s command If I command you to do something
then fulfill it to the best of your ability (Remember, partial imamah may only occur in the
absence of General Imamah).
4. All advantages that will be established through general imamah may also occur through the
Partial Imamah.
5. All logical evidences and the general rules of the Shariah which apply to the legitimacy of
General Imamah, also apply to the partial imamah.
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2. With regards to the Imam, Imamah can be divided into 2 categories:
a. A general representative for the Imam
Represents the imam in all matters (princes or governors of the regions or provinces,
etc)
b. A restricted representative of the Imam
Represents the Imam in specific matters (judges, ministries, ambassadors, military
generals, law enforcers, etc).
Ways of Establishing the Imamah
There are three valid ways to establish the Imamah amongst Ahlul Sunnah
1. Ahl Al-Hall wal Aqd nominate certain individuals.
If the agreed upon accepts the offer, they give him bayah and the public follows. This is the best
way to establish imamah.
2. The Imam appoints someone to take over the Imamah after him.
Ahl Al-Hall wal-Aqd must give bayah in order for him to become Imam. This is the 2
nd
best way
of establishing Imamah.
Umar did not become khalifah just by Abu bakrs appointment of him - the Ahlul hall had to
accept him.
Monarchy is not the best way. If a king chooses his son or family to lead and Ahlul Hall accepts,
it is acceptable.
3. A leader who attains his position by force and is able to establish a state is given bayah by Ahl
al-Hall wal-Aqd
Examples are many of the Ummayd, the Abbasid, and the Ottoman Caliphs. The scholars have
said that this means is forbidden, but should it occur, the imamah is valid.
If someone takes over the country in war, he will become the leader. But the people have to
accept him as leader. Abdullah ibn Umar was asked who should we side with when Az-Zubayr
was fighting Marwan ibn Al-Hakm (the khalifah). He said dont get involved but whoever wins,
we accept his leadership.

The Shia believe that the Imam is chosen by Allah , not the people.
Doesnt this contradict that they have an elected president? Al-Khomeini invented the concept of
Wilayatul faqih - the mahdi will appoint someone to lead until he can reveal his true identity.

The Ruling Regarding Establishing an Imamah
1. There is a consensus regarding the obligation to have a leader for the Muslims (Ibn Hazm, Al-
Qurtubi, An-Nawawi, Abu Yala).
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2. This obligation applies only to those that have the power to elect the Imam (Ahl Al-Hall Wal-
Aqd).
The Ultimate Goals of Imamah
Religious goals and worldly goals are both important.
A. Religious Ultimate Goals: the establishment of the religion.
_.] | ..>. _ _ `.! :l.l '., :l `. .`-.l!, . _s
>..l < ,1.s `. _
Those (Muslim rulers) Who, if we give them power In the land, (they) order for Iqamat-as-Salt. [i.e. to perform
the five compulsory congregational Salt (prayers) (the males In mosques)], to pay the Zakt and they Enjoin
Al-Ma'rf (i.e. Islmic Monotheism and All that Islm orders one to do), and forbid Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief,
polytheism and All that Islm has forbidden) [i.e. they make the Qur'n as the Law of their country In All the
spheres of life]. and with Allh rests the end of (all) matters (of creatures).
(Hajj: 41)
1. Establishing the Religion, either completely or the minimum basics of tawhid and
prohibiting shirk.
The ulema said that the Muslim leader doesnt have to make sure every single detail
of the shariah is implemented. But he is obligated to bring an environment where
people can worship Allah and Allahs word and law is highest.
2. Protecting the religion from innovation and heresy
3. Providing religious freedom and facilitating righteousness for the public
4. Establishing a moral society
B. Worldly Ultimate Goals:
1. Security
It is more important to have security in the country than a righteous ruler who
cannot provide security.
2. Economy
Must bring a good economy
3. Justice
Ibn Taymiyyah: Justice is the basis for ruling. This dunya is based on justice not
necessarily righteousness. So you will see someone who Allah will not grant him the
akhira but Allah will grant him the dunya because he can establish justice and
someone who will have the akhira but will not be given the dunya because he
cannot establish justice.
4. Placing legal structure
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The laws Islam establishes are not extensive.
'Umar said: There is no Islam without Jamaah, and there is no Jamaah without an Imam,
and there is no Imam without obedience.
Conditions that Must Exist in an Imam
Most of the books that talk about this topic list all the conditions together, about 15 conditions.
Conditions mean that if it doesnt exist, the imam isnt valid. But there are 2 types of conditions: one to
make things valid and one to make things perfect.
The Muslim leader has a religious duty to fulfill such as leading salah, ruling between people

A. Conditions of Validity:
1. Muslim
!!., _.] `.., `-,L < `-,L _.l _|` . `>.. | ,.s... _ ,`_: ::`
_|| < _.l | ,.. `... <!, ,,l > ,l: ,> _.> ,!. __
if You believe In Allh and In the Last Day. that is better and more suitable for final determination.
(An-Nisa: 59)
2. Male
`_l>l _`. _ls ,!..l !., _. < `.-, _ls _-,
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allh has made one of them to excel the other.
(An-Nisa: 34)
The Prophet said,
No people shall attain success if they give their leadership to a woman.
(Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari)
3. Adult
Consensus mentioned by Ibn Hazm
4. Sane
5. Free: this condition is debated but if he is a slave, then his master will be imam because he
has to obey his master! However, if he used to be a slave or is descended from a slave, then
he can be the leader.
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B. Conditions of the Ideal Imamah
1. Righteous and Just
If hes not, then his imamte is still valid. Rasulullah said: Obey and listen to
your leader as long as they pray and dont prevent prayer.
2. From Quraysh
An-Nawawi said this is a consensus because Rasulullah said Imama is from
quraysh. It is well known and established that the khalifah should be from quraysh.
3. Knowledgeable in Shariah and politics
4. Experienced in leadership
5. Wise
6. Brave
7. Middle-aged
8. Maintains a good appearance
9. Not physically disabled
- It is an act of worship to Allah to obey the ruler. But if he loses authority, then you have to
obey the law but not the ruler.
- It is very dangerous to say the leaders are kuffar. Scholars who fear no one but Allah will not
even say that. It is a serious allegation. You dont know what is in their hearts.

Methodology of Ahl Al-Sunnah Wal-Jamaah Regarding the Absence of Tangible Jamaah (Khilafah)
There are two possible categories that fall under this:
1. The residency of a Muslim in a Non-Muslim country
Hijrah means that you should live in the place where you can practice your deen freely and benefit the
people around you. The ideal place is definitely where there is Islam but if not then settle in the best
place. If they say Muslims are not allowed to live in non-Muslim lands, then where will the 80 million
Muslims go? Realistically, when there is war in Somalia, Saudi Arabia didnt offer you visas to go there or
Egypt or Pakistan - its the non-Muslim lands that opened their doors and helped us out.

2. The absence of Islamic legal system in a Muslim country
- Naturalization and adopting citizenship of non-muslim country.
- Participating in the political and electoral system
- As long as there is benefit in it for us
- Learn as a community to choose experts who are good in this area and give them our support.
- Turning to its judiciary system
- You are allowed to get your rights through courts; but it is better to use mediation though.
- Obeying the laws of the country
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- You choose to stay here so have to obey laws such as tax, etc.
- If you are nominated for jury duty, do it and make the decision best as you see Islamically.
- Participating in law enforcement and joining the military
- cannot generalize and say allowed or not allowed. In this job you cannot be unfair and unjust.
e.g cannot kill an innocent person.
- Obedience and cooperation in that which provides benefit to the community

The two above-mentioned categories fulfill many of the worldly goals and may even help fulfill some of
the religious goals.
For this reason, a Muslim must realize the following:
A. Obedience and cooperation in that which provides benefit to the society
B. Cooperating with them and helping them in all that which is good, and advising them regarding
any evil
C. Calling to Allah and openly practicing His religion
D. There is a difference of opinion among Muslim scholars regarding participating in any military or
political position, but all agree that it is not permissible to take any position related to
participating in fighting or killing innocent people.
E. In non-Muslim countries where Muslims are a minority, they must gather in their community,
show unity, and choose a wise, religious representative (person or institute) to follow.
F. If they are in a Muslim country (without an Islamic legal system), then they must follow their
country in public affairs, such as the beginning of Ramadan, Eid, etc.
G. Muslism should hold tight onto the intangible jamaah, in the absence of a tangible jamaah.
H. Gathering upon trustworthy scholars and supporting them.
Test Yourself
1. What are the two types of Jamaah and what are their characteristics? Please explain.
2. What is the best way to establish an imamah?
3. The ruling regarding establishing an Imamh is that it is ________________.
4. The differences between partial and general Imamah are:
5. The four ultimate (religious and worldly) goals of the imamah are:
Fiqh of Unity: Unity is one of the ultimate goals of Islam. Unity is an outcome of listening to one
another. It does not necessitate absence of difference. Unite around principles and concepts not details.
Fiqh of disagreement: difference of opinion whether good or bad depends on what it is based on - if it is
based on personal opinion, then it is not good.

There is a difference of opinion toward scholars difference of opinion:
- Why do they have differences? Their methods (usool) may be different, and/or they may have access
to different ahadith.
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- Every scholars opinion is not correct.
- Which scholars opinion to follow;
- look at the issue itself.
- look to the one who you feel is most righteous.
- knowing the scholars specialty and position
- Dont disrespect the scholars or the students of knowledge. The Ulema said: the mistake of the scholar
is better than the correct answer of the ignorant person. The methodology of the scholar will prevent
him from making mistakes down the road.

Chapter Five
Chapter summary
1. The concept of bidah (innovation) according to ahl us sunnah wal jamaah
2. The definition of bidah
3. The ruling on bidah
4. The adverse consequences of innovation ( bidah)
5. Reasons behind innovation in religion ( bidah)
6. The spread of bidah and how to counter it
7. Defining a mubtadi ( innovator)
8. Al hajr (boycott)
Al Bidah (Innovation) And Its Rulings In Islam
I. The Concept Of Bidah (Innovation) According To Ahl Us Sunnah Wal Jamaah
Innovation from a theological point of view can be determined by:

1. An innovation is in acts that are intended to be acts of worship and ways of seeking
nearness to Allah and performed ritually.
Abu Shamah r.a. said innovation is what people perceive as a way to seek nearness to
Allah. (al Baith ala inkar al bida wal hawadith)

2. An innovation can be in matters that have no basis in the religion. Ibn Rajab r.a. said and
what is meant by al Bidah (innovation) is what was invented in the religion of which there is
no basis from the shariah to support it. ( Jaami al uloom wal hikam)
3. Innovation can be in matters whose description has no origin in the deen (religion).
ibn umar heard a man saying after sneezing alhamdulilllah wassalaatu was salaam he said say only
Alhamdulillah and keep the salatu wa salam in your mothers home.
4. Innovation can be both in doing an act or leaving one.
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abstaining from something can be for religious or non religious purpose. For non religious purpose is
okay. But for religious purpose you need proof in shariah otherwise it is haraam.
5. Innovation is in those matters that were invented after the era of the Prophet ( peace be
upon him) but their justification existed during the time of the Prophet ( peace be upon him)
while no obstacle was there to prevent their establishment.
eg in the adhan of dhuhr and asr - to add the words as salaatu khairum min naum because people
do qailulah(nap). One of the Umayyad khalifah saw that people left after the eid prayer and did not
listen to khutbah so he made the khutbah before eid prayerdid the prophet do it? No so this is
bidah. We have to Differentiate between bidah and maslah.

II. Bidaah
Linguistic definition: it originates from the root word badaa and has 2 meanings:
a. To begin something in a form the like of which has never existed
b. Seclusion and fatigue.
Technical definition: al Imam ash Shatibi r.a. said : it is an invented way in the religion,
which is meant to assimilate with the Shariah ( legitimate) way and intended to be
followed to arrive at the objectives that the legitimate way would achieve.
His statement What it includes What it excludes

a way in the religion

Acting on the deeds
or quitting them. May
be in beliefs,
statements or actions.
All worldly
matters.

invented Actions that have never
been established by the
legislator ( Allah and His
Messenger s.a.w.)
That which has
been established

intended to reach the
same objectives as the
legitimate way

May include in it the
mundane acts
That which does not
carry the intention of
worship.

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Based on the concept of ahl us sunnah wal jamah about al Bidah, it can be said that
It is any form of seeking nearness to Allah, which He has not legislated originally or by description of
what would have been justified to do and no obstacle had prevented its commission at the time of the
Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, yet the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam did not practice.
seeking nearness to Allah:
Comprises every act of the heart , the tongue ( speech) or the limbs either in executing it or leaving it.
which Allah has not legislated:
This restriction excludes every practice that was implied from the texts of the quran and the sunnah or
the consensus or was known to be practiced by one of the companions where no textual evidence or
another companion was reported to have opposed him on it.
Originally or by description:
That includes all innovations that have no proof nor of the method of its practice.

Of what would have been justified at the time of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wasallam:
This restriction excludes the al Masalih al mursalah unrestricted public interests.
CATEGORIES OF BIDAH:
A. Bidah may be divided into two categories based on its ruling:
1. Bidah which constitutes kufr. ( al bidah mukaffarah) eg slandering aisha r.a.
2. Bidah which does not constitute kufr but constitutes Fisq ( al bidal mufassaqah) major sins.

B. Bidah may be divided into two categories based on its relationship to the shariah:
1. Bidah Haqiqiyah ( original) no basis in religion
2. Bidah idafiyyah ( additional) no basis in terms of manner.

C. bidah may be divided into two categories based on its occurrence as an act of the heart or an
act of the tongue and/or limbs
1. Bidah Itiqadiyyah innovation in beliefs eg wahdatul wujuud.
2. Bidah amaliyaah innovations in actions.

D. Bidah can be divided into two categories based on its level of severity:
1. Major bidah kufr/fisq.
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2. Minor bidah minor sins.

III. The ruling on Bidah
BIDAH IS FORBIDDEN IN ISLAM.

( 3377 )
say , my Lord has on ly forbidden immoralities what is apparent of them and
what is concealed and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with
Allah tht for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah
that which you do not know. ( al araf:33)

Jabir r.a. reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, used to
say in his sermon: every innovation(the technical definition) is a misguidance and
every misguidance is in the Hellfire. (sahih muslim)

( 613661 )
16:116 (Picktall) And speak not, concerning that which your own tongues qualify (as clean or
unclean), the falsehood: "This is lawful, and this is forbidden," so that ye invent a lie against
Allah. Lo! those who invent a lie against Allah will not succeed.
The imam of Madinah, Malik ibn Anas .r.a. said, whosoever introduces into Islam an
innovation, which he deems is good, then he has claimed that Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wasallam, has betrayed ( the trust of conveying) the message. Read the saying of Alllah the
Mighty and Majestic:
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this day I have completed your religion for you and I have perfected My favor upon you and I
am pleased with islam as a religion for you (al maidah:3)
So whatever was not part of the religion on that day, is not part of the religion on this day. And
the last part of this ummah (nation) will not be rectified, except by that which rectifiec its first
part.
Is there a bidah hasanah ? good bidah
1. Allahs Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, he, who establishes/initiates a Sunnah
hasanah ( good sunnah) in islam, he will have the reward of those who perform if after him until
the Day of Judgement. (sahih muslim)
This hadith is used to prove that good sunnah can be initiated or innovated.
Refutation - a sunnah hasana here it is in linguistic meaning, and the prophet said sunnah not
bidah.
Who will decide that the bidah they do is good one?? ibn masoodr.a. said so many people have good
intention but they do not reach the good. The acion should be pure and in accordance with the sunnah
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
2. umar ibn al Khattab, r.a. remarked upon seeing people praying tarawih in congregation that
this is a good Bidah. ( sahih al bukhari)
This statement is used to prove that Umar r.a. is explicitly defining an example of a good bidah.
Refutation - bidah = here he meant linguistically.

3. Ibn masood r.a. said - what the muslims see good is good in the sight of Allah and what they
see as bad is bad in the sight of Allah. (musnad Ahmad)
This statement is used to prove that whatever the masses of the musilms accept and adopt must
be good and cannot be considered a bad innovation.
Refutation he said this in regarding the khilafa of abu bakr that the sahabas agreed to. There
is no bidah that the muslim have ijma on it.

4. al izz ibn Abdus-Salaam r.a. said there is bidah hasana and he divided bidah into 5 categories
a. obligatory innovation like building schools
b. religiously recommended innovation
c. religiously forbidden innovation
d. religiously condemned innovation like decorating the masjid
e. religiously permitted innovation like having more than one type of food on table at a time
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Refutation - Shatibi says he has contradicted himself obligatory bidah??? Obligation is
established in quran and sunnah so its not bidah. And we are talking about bidah in
religion not in worldy matters. Like ibadah, dhikretc.

IV. The adverse consequences of innovation (Bidah)
1. all the deeds that have been based on innovation have been renedered in vain and
useless.
2. The innovator will be held responsible for his fault and the faults of those who
follow him on his Bidah.
3. Bidah might prevent its perpetrator or initiator from advancing to al hawdh(the
basin) of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
4. Innovation is the prelude to kufr, Ibn sireen r.a. said they will be the first to leave
religion when the false messiah comes hadith the first ones to leave deen when
false messiah comes ( in times fitna) are the khawarij.

5. The innovator might be expelled from the Mercy of Allah. Sufyan said bidah is more
beloved to iblis than sin because he will never repent.

6. Innovation might prevent one from being subject to the intercession of the Prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
7. Bidah is one of the reasons why some people will be in hellfire.
8. Innovation is the cause behind fitnah in religion (trials and deviation in religion).
9. Bidah stands betweenits perpetrator and repentance
10. Bidah is the cause for one to be humiliated and his face to be darkened - In surah
araf muftari alllah will humiliate in dunya and aakhirah.

11. Bidah is the cause behind division and discord in the Ummah. Taqleeed of imam/
madhab caused severe divisions in ummah. See the history of islam. Even the duaat
were divided
12. Bidah is the cause for the sunnah to be removed. Ibn abbas - every bidah kills a
suunah

V. Reasons behind innovation in religion ( bidah)
1. Establishing rulings and opinions based on incorrect sources such as
logic,
dreams, and claims of Divine inspiration,
claiming infallibility to other than the prophet sallallahu alahi wasallam,
weak and fabricated ahadith,
folk tales.
2. Incorrect methods of understanding the religion - and interpreting,
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rejecting the sunnah as an authority,
at Tawil claiming that a word or statement means other than its apparent meaning
without proof,
using unclear texts (mutashabihat) without understanding them in the light of clear
texts (muhkamat),
not taking all relevant texts into consideration when establishing rulings,
excessive use of logic or opinions that oppose the textual evidence.
3. Incessant questioning argumentation and debate ibn batta said this caused the previous
nations to change the religion. Abu Umammah r.a. narrated that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam said, No people go astray after having been guided except after they developed
argumentation. (musnad imam ahmad). Al Imam al baghawi r.a. said, the scholars of the early
generations of ahlus sunnah all agreed upon the prohibiton of argumentation. ( al baghawi,
sharh as sunnah)
4. Ignorance - the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said Allah does not remove
knowledge by snatching it from His slaves. He does so by collecting scholars ( by death) until
when no scholar is left, people will take for themselves ignorant leaders who will be consulted
and they will issue Fatawa ( religious answers) without knowledge, and will misguide people and
they themselves will be misguided. Agreed upon.
Ignorance of sunnah,
Ignorance of the methods of salaf ( the early Muslim generations)
Ignorance of the language - Arabic.
5. Influence of non muslim ideologies and views
Judaism
Christianity
Hinduism and Buddhism
Greek and roman philosophers.
6. Following desires

( 05382 )
But if they do not repond to you then know that they only follow their own desires. And
who is more astray than one who follows his desire without guidance from Allah?
Indeed, allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. (al qasas:50)
7. Extremism extreme reactions to others errors.

VI. The spread of bidah
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

54

abu Hurayrah r.a. narrates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasalam said
Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give
glad tidings to the strangers. (sahih muslim)
on the authority of hudayfah r.a. that he raised two rocks and preseed them against
each other. He then asked his companions, can you see the light coming through from
between these rocks? they replied, O abu Abdullah, we only see very little light
coming through. He replied, By the One in whose hand is my soul, innovations will be
so widespread that it will cause the Truth to be hidden so that all you can see remaining
of it is similar to the small amount of light you saw soming through. By Allah,
innovations will become so popular that when an innovation is left, people will say that
a sunnah was left. ( ibn waddah)

some of the causes /reasons for the spread of bidah

- Shaytan makes it appealing
- To please or make an contemporary issues acceptable
- Cooperatioin between ahlul bidah and not so amongst ahulusnnah
- Lot of ppl buy it because everyone wants to please allah
- Influence of corrupt leaders
- Ignorance
- Culture mixed with bidah
- Taking religion not from scholars but from elders
- Blind following
- We as sunni muslims and students dont have good manners v/s ahlul bidah have good
manners though they dont have daleel the awaam will follow the adab
- Ahlusunnah did not stand up for leadership position
How to recognize bidah ?-
1- Not based on authentic hadith or verse
2- Their evidence is Only on a general verse in the quran or a weak hadith
3- Based on karamat
4- Being under the banner of ascetic or wali

How can we counter the spreading of bidah?
- Spread ilm of sunnah and correct aqeedah
- Improve our akhlaq in dealing with people
- Dont shy away from leadership positions
- Be lenient and gentle, use hikmah in giving dawah.

Sh. Waleed Basyouni

55

VII. Defining Mubtadi (innovator)
Linguistic definition
A Mubtadi is anyone who initiates the act of innovation or brings it to existence.
Technical definition
Everyone who perpetrates a Bidah by initiation, association, manifestation, or is
characterized with Bidah behavior or association with Kufr.

Can everyone who engages in a Bidah be called a Mubtadi? WE JUDGE ACTIONS,
ALLAH JUDGES PEOPLE.
1. Not everyone who engages in a Bidah is a Mubtadi
2. It is imperative to know the difference between the rulings applied in this world and
the rulings applied in the hereafter. Always say Allahu aalam. It is His prerogative to
forgive or punish.
3. Any Bidaah that was extablished through ijtihad, while keeping up with the texts of
the Quran and sunnah is considered an unintentional error, which is opposite of
deliberate perpetration. Such Bidah is forgiven as Allah said :
O our Lord! hold us not responsible for what we have forgotten or erred.
(al baqarah:286)
4. Generally the label Mubtadi can be given to each of the following
a. Everyone who introduces any innovationinto the religion that has never
been known before
b. Everyone who perpetrates and innovation intitating or imitating in one of
the fundamentals of the religion or anyh of its foundations
c. One who practices a multitude of innovations in the secondary matters of
the religion or its many details that takes him away from the way of ahl
us sunnah and their guidelines. Or one who tends more to bidah than to
sunnah.
d. Everyone who establishes an innovation that takes one out of the fold of
Islam.
e. Everyone who associates himself with a misguided sect
f. Everyone who subscribes to one of the principles (like cursing the sahaba
is one of the priniciples of shiaism, rejecting the belief that Allah is over
the throne is trait of jahmiyah, Allah is not seen in aakhira mutazilah)
of the misguided sects, even if he does not agree with all of their beliefs
or all of their statements.
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

56

g. Everyone who determines his allies and foes based upon an innovation (
al walaa wal baraa)
h. Everyone who goes public with his bidah brags about it or invites others
to it.
i. One who ascribes to one of the sects and identifies himself with them.

VIII. Al Hajr Boycott
Liniguistic definition it comes from the root word ha ja ra and it means to
abandon and distcance oneself from
Technical definition to ostracize the innovator al Mubtadi for the sake ofAllah
alone and for the purpose of protecting and deterring oneself and others from
his Bidah or punishing the Mubtadi.

Explanation
- The word mubtadi is used to distinguish this type of boycott from the other types
such as boycotting the disbelievers or muslims besides the innovators.
- For the sake of Allah - is mentioned to rule out all types of boycott that may be
done for personal or other reasons
- The term protecting and punishing - shall include all types of boycott that is
sanctioned by the shariah.

Types of boycott
There are two reasons for boycott
1. For a personal reason it is not permitted for more than 3 days
2. For the sake of Allah alone - there are two types of this boycott
a. Boycott to protect and prevent yourself from them sufyan ath thauri
said he will put doubts in your heart or will affect you. There is ijma of
sahabah that hearts are weak and shsubuhaat are strong.
b. Boycott to punish and discipline -the 3 companions who were boycotted
by the Prophet after battle of tabuk. Ibn abdul barr r.a. said it is
forbidden to use this if you know that it will not cause benefit or you
know that it will cause or increase harm. Once a man came to Imam
Ahmad /attend his class, ibn ishaq his student asked him about this man,
pointing out that he is the leader of zandiqah, imam ahmad told him
uskut man amarakum bihadha? stay quiet who told to say such and
Sh. Waleed Basyouni

57

suchabdur Rahman ibn Salih said a raafidh came to attend imam
ahmads class and he permitted him saying its okay for him to come and
benefit he claims to love Allah and ahlul Bayt.
Once his son asked him and he replied since when did you know that
your father curses people? THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FOR TOLERANCE
remember they were in islamic state and with muslims as majority.

SO HOW CAN INTOLERANCE BETWEEN MUSLIMS BE ALLOWED WHILE
THEY ARE AMONGST MINORITIES???????

Test Yourself
1. Mention four of the adverse consequences of bidah
2. Is all debate wrong? If not state the guidelines for acceptable debate
3. What is the technical definition of a mubtadi
4. Bidah has two categories based on its relationship with the shariah mention them
5. The label of innovator can be applied to one of eight categories mention four.

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

1

SECOND WEEKEND SH. YASIR QADHI

This class is added with academic justice to know what is iman and kufr, what is
the line in between and their levels.

1. THE BLESSINGS OF IMAN
Some of them discussed in the previous light of guidance class. What is discussed here is from a
different perspective, focusing on the adjectives and verbs that Allah subhanahu wa tala used to
describe iman.
a. The single greatest blessing that Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA) bestows on anyone is that of
Iman.
.., ,,ls .l`. _ ... _ls _>..l`.| _, < _., _>,l.
_>..> _..,l | `.. _,... _
They consider it a favor upon you that they have accepted Islam. Say: Do not [use] your Islam as a
favor upon me. Rather, Allah has shown you favor by guiding you to Iman if you are indeed truthful.
[Al-Hujurat:17]
And the sign of this faith is the gratitude and thankfulness a slave expresses for this favor.

b. Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA) writes/inscribes Iman in the hearts of His chosen servants.
.> !. _`..`, <!, ,,l > _:`, _. :!> < .`]. l
.l >,!,, >,!., `.>| :,:s ,.l` . _ `,l
_.., >.`, _`, .. `l>.`, ..> _> _. !.> `.. _..> !,
_. < .s . .s ,.l` ,> < | ,> < `> >l.
__
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

2

they are the ones whom Allah has written Iman in the hearts, and He has helped them with a spirit
from Him. He shall cause them to enter gardens underneath which rivers flow to dwell therein for all
of eternity. Allah is pleased with them and they are please with Him. These are the party of Allah, and
indeed, the part of Allah is truly the victorious. *Al-Mujadilah:22]

c. Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA) makes Iman beloved to those whom He loves, and beautifies it
for them.
.l. >, _. < l _>`-,L`, _ ,. _. . ,..-l _>.l < ,>
`>,l| _.., ..`, _ _>,l : `>,l| >l _.l !,`.-l ,.l`
`> _.:l _ . _. < .-. < ',l. ',>> _

but rather, Allah has made Iman beloved to you and beautified it in your hearts, and cause dyou to
despise disbelief, and sin, and evil these are the rightly guided. A bounty from Allah, and a blessing,
and indeed Allah is all-Knowing, all-Wise. *Al-Hujurat:7-8]
ALLAHUMMA ZAYYINA BEE ZEEYNATIL EMAN.

d. Iman has a taste and provides spiritual nutrition
He who is content with Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA) as His Lord, and with Islam as his religion, and
with Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)as his Prophet has tasted the reality of Iman. *Muslim,
Sahih Muslim]
The word Taam in Arabic means both taste and nutrition, therefore a mumin has an internal
energy and is always optimistic, strengthened with tawakkul, so even if the body gets physically
weak the eman / spirit is always strong.

e. Iman is like a beautiful and blessed tree.
l . , ,. < .. .l ,,L :>: ,,L !l. ,!. !`s _
,!..l __

Have you not seen how Allah has given the similitude of a beautiful kalmia as a beautiful tree, whose
roots are firmly established, and whose branches tower in the skies *Ibrahim: 24+. It is the beneficial
tree of date palm
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

3

( this parable also mentioned in a hadith. The similitude is discussed in detail in the light of
guidance class - Eman consists of 7- (another version 60) branches, and the highest is laa
illaha illlah. So this is the best.
At-tabari -> Ibn Abbas : the kalimah tayyibah referred to in here is laa illaha illalah.
Tayyibah: 2 connotations: pure, and pleasing. This kalimah leads you to a beautiful and
pleasing tree.
Roots firm in the ground, branches towering in the skies.
In 5 words Allah gives us a perfect description incomparable in any other
language.
Tree: what is the analogy between the kalimah and the tree? What is the symbolism?
Flourishes, grows over your lifetime.
One seed provides bounty for everyone. One phrase gives you so much back.
Provides shade and coolness.
Life. Imagine walking in a desert and you see tress: LIFE! A tree symbolizes to mankind life.
Modern sciences tell us a bit more to make it more profound. Trees are the basic building
blocks of the entire ecosystem. It gives us the air that we breathe. The wood with which we
build our house, fruits for nourishment. Everything we need to live. If we would remove the
trees, there would be no more life. Similarly, laa illaha symbolizes the building block of
spirituality and eman. Just the sight of the tree gives you a sense of peace and life and
calmness. This is something implied in the parable. \
Roots go very, very deep:
-stability: implies tawheed gives you stability in your life. Gives you a sense of purpose
in your life. You have anchored yourself in a very firm position in your life. When you
dont have it you have no stability and no purpose. Like a leaf blowing in the wind.
Look at the life of those with no eman., they live day by day, foe the pleasures of this
dunya. It gives you a sense of id even if the world around you changes. Some trees
have been around since Isa was alive.
- when the winds come and the rains come., and the storms come, the tree does not
shake; it remains firm. Houses, cars, etc are uprooted, but not trees so much.
Therefore, Allah describes eman as anchoring you to the ground. When
the fitan come, the tornadoes of reality, eman allows you to remain firm.
- eman achors itself in the heart, and once it does it does not leave it after that. True
eman does not leave the heart. The seed of eman is planted in the right soil in the
heart of a Muslim: the right soil is the fitrah.
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

4

But once true eman enters the heart, it never leaves. Branches towering in the skies:
The very symbolism of height, conveys the notion of taking you up, uplifting you.
Taller tree, larger branches, more shade and shelter, more fruits and more benefits.
A tree whose branches are towering in the skies, such a tree can never be hidden even if you
tried. Eman is something that can never be hidden. Its not possible to do so even if you
wanted to. A person of sincerity and faith will show that eman and faith to everyone whether
you want to or not. It will be shown in each and every step you take. Eman is based in the
heart, but when it exists in the heart, it will manifest itself in the limbs. If you were a good
Muslims, it would hsow on your outer limbs, it wouldnt be hidden in ur heart.
This tree give sits fruits: fruits of eman are not just one, multiple types. Throughout the year, at
every moment of time. These 2 facts are never combined in any worldly tree. There is no tree
on earth that is fruitful all year round. It gives you multiple fruits all year round. We need
fruits for nourishment. This tree of eman will give you what you need to live, throughout your
life. Whatever desire you have for your life, will be met with eman. We need diffetent things
throughout your life, and this tree will give you all that you want. )

f. Iman has a sweetness that the heart feels
Three *matters+ whoever has them shall taste the halawa of Iman. *Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Those three matters are - love of Allah and messenger, and love one another for Aallah and
hatesto return to kufr like he hates to be thrown in fire.

g. Iman has a light that enlightens the heart eman is a light and it enlightens the heart which is
the seat of the eman. There are many verses in the quran referring to this -
< '. ,...l _ `_.. .:. :>:. !, _!,`.. _!,`..l
_ >l>` >l>l !.l ' _: .`, _. :>: .,. ..,
,. ,,`s :l>, !., ',_.`, l `l `.... "!. . _ls . _.
< .:`.l _. ',!: . < _... _!.ll < _>, ,`_: ',l. __
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a
Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit
from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor the west, whose oil is will-nigh luminous,
though fire scarce touched it. Light up Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light, and
Allah doth set forth Parables for men, and Allah doth know all things. [Al-Nur:35]
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

5

This verse is called ayatun nur and there is lot of debate regarding the interpretation of this verse. Some
of them are exotic. Ahlussunnah wal jamaah understood this verse in the light of the explanation given
by ibn abbas radiallahu anhu, (The parable of His Light) There are two views concerning the meaning of
the pronoun (His). The first is that it refers to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, meaning that the
parable of His guidance in the heart of the believer is (as a niche). The second view is that the pronoun
refers to the believer, which is indicated by the context of the words and implies that the parable of the
light in the heart of the believer is as a niche. So the heart of the believer and what he is naturally
inclined to of guidance and what he learns of the Qur'an which is in accordance with his natural
inclinations.
If Allah does not give you light then there is no light for you, this is explicitly mentioned in the following
verse
!!., _.] `.., 1. < `.., .]., >.`, _ _. ...> _-> l .
:.. ., -, >l < "s ,> __

O ye that believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam), and He will
bestow on you a double portion of His Mercy: He will provide you a Light by which ye shall walk (straight
in your path), and He will forgive (your past): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. *Al-Hadid:28]

In every single verse it is Allah who is bestowing the light and beautify it - there is no intermediary in
between so a believer should feel humbled the profundity of the metaphors of the quran its beauty.
The methodology of ahlussunnah is to use literally as much as possible so is it literal light not quite
true but there will be a time when it will be literal light and help us cross the sirat in the herafter so
this way the verse have similitude and a literal meaning this world is darkness and what gives us light
and life in this dark world is the light of eman given by Allah to the believer what is the defining line
between symbolic interpretation and literal interpretation == ibn qayyim says the metaphor should
not contradict the literal meaning, the metaphorical meaning must have some legitimate basis in quran
and sunnah, and it should not be farfetched ( for eg Allah says to musa - ikhlaa nalaika inna ka fee
wadil muqaddis tuwa before you come to my presence remove all desires of jannah and come only
with love of me the person who wrote this is the author of revival of--) and we should have some of
salaf who mentioned metaphorical interpretation.

h. Iman finds a dwelling-place in the heart of a believer another beautiful metaphor
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

6

_.] ',,. .] _.., _. _al, ',> _. >!> ,l| .> _ >.. >l>
!.. . _`.`, _ls .. l l , .!.> _. _`, _: ... ..l`! `>
_>l.l _

But those before them (i.e., the Ansar) had inhabited homes (in Madinah) and Iman, they love those
who fled unto them for refuge, and find in their hearts no need for that which hath been given them,
but prefer (the fugitives) above themselves though poverty become their lot. And whoso is saved from
his own avarice such are they who are successful *Al-Hashr:9]

The Ansaar are praised with 2 descriptions they inhabited the houses of medina and have the eman
dwelling in their hearts, the verb used - (inhabiting) that is not normally used for eman because of the
blessing of wealth and eman - they give to the muhajir and give with love though they have necessity.

i. The Caller to Iman
!.`, !..| !.-.. !,:!.`. _:!.`, _..,l `.., >,, !..!: !.`, s! !.l !.,.:
!.s !..!:,. !.. _. , __

Our Lord! We have heard a crier crying out for faith Have Iman in your Lord so we have believed.
Our Lord! Forgive our sins, and remove from us our faults, and cause us to die amongst the righteous.
[Al-Imran: 193+

The caller to eman is praised, and the best person is the one who believes and calls others directly
they are the prophets and indirectly it could be all those who call for religiosity and eman a crier == is
an ambassador who has special privilege with one who sends them so this noble status of emissary
of Allah.

j. Iman brings about nothing but good in this life and the next
l .l , .., !-. !...,| | _.`, !.l `.., !.: .s ,.s _>l
_ :,>l !,..l ,t..-`.. _|| _,> __

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

7

Why was there not a single township (among those We warned), which believed, - so its faith should
have profited it, - except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the penalty
of ignominy in the life of the present, and permitted them to enjoy (their life) for a while. *Yunus: 98+

The blessings increase with it in proportion to their eman every single prophet was rejected and all
towns did so - except the town of yunus the whole town accepted islam when you have true faith in
Allah - blessing of dunya increases.

k. Iman conquers all else, and nothing conquers it
`.. .> `.. ls | .. _,... __

And do not become feeble, nor grieve, for you shall be the victors if you truly have iman *Al-
Imran:139+
You can destroy the body but nothing can conquer the internal spirit ibn taymiyyah what can my
enemy do to me my jannah is in my heart.
It does not mean every believer will succeed in dunya but in the aakhirah their victory is secured if the
condition of eman is fulfilled.

l. Iman Has levels and branches.
Iman is composed of sixty odd branches. The best of them is the testimony of faith, and the lowest of
them is to remove some harm from the path. And modesty is one branch of faith. *Muslim, Sahih
Muslim, another version mentions 70 odd branches, but the version with 60 is more authentic]
Eman has levels and branches categories its not one entity .the highest level is to fully comprehend
and practice the conditions of eman the lowest level is picking up trash and hayaa is branch of eman
this is reason for us to study the levels and branches of eman 7:43 alhamdullillah ladhee hadaana li
hadha -----0 imam bayhaqi had tried to corelate every branch with some aspect of ibadah- some
scholars say the numbers are only used as expression to show the ballpark figure meaning a large
number Allah says if you ask forgiveness for hypocrites 70 times Allah will not forgive we dont know
precisely the names of these branches just like Allahs 99 names there are many more than 99 as
shown in the hadith.
the methodology of ahlusunnah is that ulitimately hidaya comes from Allah He bestows on whom He
wills and to some aspect the servants have chosen eman about badr prisoners in surah anfal if
there is good in your heart Allah will magnify it ( desire and intention)Hhe will bestow eman to you .(
see rays of faith notes qadariyya and jabariyya -- wa maa tashaauna illa an yashaaa allahu rabbal
alameen.)

2. DEFINITION OF IMAN ACCORDING TO AHL AL-SUNNAH
2.1 METHODOLOGY OF DEFINING: how does one make any definition and who has the
right??
1. Defining words through Scriptural Evidence (Quran and Sunnah) e.g., Salah (linguistically it
means dua, islamically it is the specific worship with specific movements and timings)
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

8

2. Defining words through linguistic evidence (poetry, lexicons, etc) e.g., ila al-kabayn (include or
upto - difference of opinions 3 schools v/s hanafi, majority say it is upto and includes
elbow/ankles)
3. Defining words through cultural norms e.g., safar

Q. Which one should we choose from the term Iman?
All groups except ahlussunnah say eman should be defined through linguistic perspective. Even though
our understanding of eman is crystal clear from quran and sunnah vast majority of muslims have
defined like the other groups. And they find it strange when we talk of it from quran and sunnah.
Liniguistically - emaan - comes from a ma na = 1. Aman means to grant protection, saftety and security
and remove fear In quran - alladhee ataamahum wa aamaanahum min khawf. Surah quraish.
to believe in your truthfulness in 12:17 this is the pinnacle of evidence used by our theological cousins
wa maa anta bi mumin lanaa wa law saadiqeen. Ibn taymiyyah said the most prcise/closest
synonymn to eman in Arabic language is not tasdeeq but it is iqraar belief with certainity. Allah uses
iqrar for eman 3:83 a aqrartum? Qaaluu aqrarnaa. For the murjia and others eman is not tasdeeq so
ibn taymiyyah refuted them linguistically as well as sharii level. Even in surah yusuf it means you will
not have certainity.
Islamically - IMAN IS A SERIES OF BELIEFS, STATEMENTS AND ACTIONS, WHICH INCREASES WITH GOOD
AND DECREASES WITH SINS AND EVIL - so from scientific or logic perspective it is not a definition.
According to ahlussunnah wal jamah there is no watertight precise entity that we can say this is eman
in the quran and sunnah there are qualitative descriptions of eman and not quantitative.
2.2 DEFINITION FROM THE SALAF is by description and not by demarcating or
quantifying it.

It is a Mutawatir from the early scholars that Iman is comprised of statements and actions; it
increases and decreases.

a. Abdullah b. Umar said, We learnt Iman, and then we learnt the Quran so we increased
in our Iman.
b. Hasan al-Basri said, Iman is not by decorating oneself *with outward matters], nor is it
by wishful thinking. Rather, it is what settles in the heart and is confirmed with actions.
c. Al-Bukhari said, it is composed of statements and actions, and increases and
decreases.
d. Sahl al-Tustari was asked, What is Iman? He replied, Statements, actions,
intentions and Sunnah. For if Iman is only statements without actions, this is kufr, and
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

9

if it is statements and action without intentions, this is nifaq, and if it is statements
and actions and intentions without sunnah, it is bidah.
e. Story of al-ShafiI after he quoted a hadith, then was asked what his opinion was,
Subhan Allah! Do you see me go to church? Or do you see a zunnar tied around me? I
tell you that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)said something, and then you dare
ask me what my opinion is? He was asked a question of fiqh and yet he got angry
because for a muslim it cannot be that he would willingly contradict the sunnah of the
PROPHET peace be upon him.

3. PILLARS OF IMAN
1. Belief in the heart

a. Knowledge and Affirmation (qawl al-qalb).

l! ,s !.., _ l `... _>.l l !..l`. !.l _>., _.., _ >,l
| `-,L. < .`]. >.l, _. >l..s !:,: | < "s ,> _

The Bedouins say: We believe. Say: you have not believed, but rather you have accepted Islam; and
Iman has yet to enter your hearts. *Al-Hujurat: 14]

This is thebelief in Allah, the prophets, angels, books, resurrection. for vast majority of muslims iman is
only this ( belief in heart ) but this is not sunni way of understanding. In the verse Allah denies iman but
affirms islam for the Bedouins. 16:106 eman in heart - (except one who was forced while his heart
is at peace with the faith) This is an exception in the case of one who utters statements of
disbelief and verbally agrees with the Mushrikin because he is forced to do so by the beatings
and abuse to which he is subjected, but his heart refuses to accept what he is saying, and he is,
in reality, at peace with his faith in Allah and His Messenger . The scholars agreed that if a
person is forced into disbelief, it is permissible for him to either go along with them in the
interests of self-preservation, or to refuse, as Bilal did when they were inflicting all sorts of
torture on him. It is better and preferable for the Muslim to remain steadfast in his religion, even
if that leads to him being killed, as was mentioned by Al-Hafiz Ibn `Asakir in his biography of
`Abdullah bin Hudhafah Al-Sahmi.

b. Actions of the heart (amal al-qalb). The emotions are the internal actions of the heart
and a believer must have certain actions in his heart love, hope, fear, submission,
trust, respect for Allah and His signs.
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

10

_. _!.l _. .>`., _. : < :.. .',> > < _.l `.., .: !',`> <
l _, _.] `,lL :| , ,.-l :1l < !-,.> < .,.: ,.-l __

And those who believe love Allah even more *Al-Baqarah: 165]

It is not possible to have eman without some bare minimum level of actions in heart Alllah mentions
clearly that it is possible to have a. without b. 23:70 = the prophet has come to them with truth but most
respond hate it they know and affirmed it but instead of loving it they hate it and calls them kaafir
2:165 those who believe love Allah. Eg of those who have a. affirmation without b. love Iblees, he
did not deny any thing in theory but refused to submit zero actions so ibless did not do kadhdhaba
/refuse to believe , what he did was abaa was takbara wa kaana minal kaafireen. Other eg who
believed but not to the level of eman abu talib, he believed and acknowledgement in the prophethood
of his nephew but this did not translate into actions. Another eg firawn did he actually believed in his
heart that he is lord - they rejected musa even though they had yaqeen that he has the truth and
yaqeen is the highest level of affirmation.

2. Admitting with the tongue (al-iqrar bi-l-lisan)
l !.., <!, !. _. !.,l| !. _. _|| .>,| _,-..-| _.>`.| ,1-, 1!,`. !.
_. _.`. _.,s !. _. _,,.l _. `, _. _,, .> `.. _> .l `,l`.`.
__ | `.., _:., !. ,..., ., .1 ..> | l. !.| > _ _!1: `,>,.
< > _,..l `,l-l __

Say all of you: We believe in Allah, and what has been revelaed to us, and Ibrahim *Al-Baqarah: 136-
7]

This is for one who is capable to speak it can be said in non Arabic language some form of public
expression this public must be out loud between oneself and allah does not necessarily have to be in
front of a congregation hadith I am ordered to do jihad /qitaal till people say la ilaha illaallah. In the
time of the prophet it was defensive jihad And offensive jihad. Around 150H defined the muslim lands in
the era o fumayyads. From that point on the scholars never thought of offensive jihad, in the time
Abbasids too no offensive jihad needed. Once in a while it was required the fall of constantipole, the
rule is offensive jihad is not resorted to. Other verses say 2:136 , there must be a general type of
worship/dhikr of allah with tongue hadith in bukhari aisha Abdullah ibn judaan was a noble person
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

11

generous and died as non muslim aisha was related distantly to him and she asked will he enter
jannah = prophet said no because he did not say once with his tongue of Allah forgive me .
So say kalima, general dhikr with tongue and the third thing is you must abstain from speaking kufr
except under coercion it is impossible for a musilm to ridicule or say any negative of Allah and His
messenger or His signs

3. Acting with the limbs (al- amal bi-l-jaqarih)
,l. >..l-> . !L. ..l ,.: _ls _!.l >, `_.l >,l. .,: !.
!.l-> ,1l _.l . !,l. | l-.l _. _,., _.l _.. l1., _ls ,,1s | .l
:,,>l | _ls _.] _.> < !. l < _,.`,l >...,| _| < _!.l!, .',l ',>
__

And Allah will not cause your Iman to go to waste *Al-Baqarah: 143]

The famous hadith of the Delegation of Abd al-Qays (see below); the fact that in over seventy
verses, Allah () always mentions Iman along with amal al-salih.
One evidence: The famous hadith of the branches of faith clarifies this point:
o Iman is composed of sixty odd branches. The best of them is the testimony of faith, and
the lowest of them is to remove some harm from the path. And modesty is one branch
of faith.
There is a unaninmous consensus that action is part/pillar of faith and there are many verses in quran
that actions are part of eman -an average muslim believes that only saying kalima is enough to be a
muslim even if he does not pray once in his lifethime. ( murijiah tul fuqaha befin of faith) of the
evidence given are 2:143, which was revealed at the time of change of the qiblah those who died
while facing Jerusalem Allah will not cause your iman to go to waste though the question was
regarding the salah and Allah responded with eman not being wasted bukhari, shafi, ahmed used this
verse to prove that salah is the outward action that is proof of eman so they are equated. There is no
action that Allah called it eman except salah. There is controversy on this point NO PRAYER NO EMAAN.
Over 70 verses - al lahdeena aaman wa amilus saalihat -- never has Allah praised eman without amal
to show the inherent relationship between them the hadith eman has 70 odd branches highest is
kalima saying it, lowest is picking trash and hayaa is eman - these two are action of limbs and action of
heart.

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

12

4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMAN AND ISLAM
These two terms seem to occur in very different contexts; sometimes they seem to mean
same thing, sometimes different things. What is the difference between them? Both concepts
mentioned in the quran.
Key evidences
a. The concluding verses of surah al hujurat MEMORIZE THEM

l! ,s !.., _ l `... _>.l l !..l`. !.l _>., _.., _ >,l
| `-,L. < .`]. >.l, _. >l..s !:,: | < "s ,> _

The desert Arabs say, We believe. Say, Ye have faith; but say, We have submitted our wills to Allah,
For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhe wa
sallam), He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. *Al-
Hujurat:14] and in verse 17 (They regard as a favor to you that they have embraced
Islam. Say: "Do not count your Islam as a favor to me...'')

o Hadith of Jibrilpeace be upon him, when he questioned the Prophet
about Islam, then Iman then Ihsan.
a. Hadith of the Delegation of Abd al-Qays: Once a delegation ofAbdul Qays came to Allahs
Apostle and said, We belong to such and such branch of the tribe of Rabia, and we can
only come to you in the Sacred Months. Order us to do something good so that we may
take it from you and also invite our people whom we have left behind (at home) to it. The
Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)said, I order you to believe in Allah. And do you know
what is belief in Allah? [It is[ to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah,
and I am the messenger of Allah, and to offer prayers perfectly, and to pay zakat, and to give
the khumus. And I forbid you from dubba and hantam and muqatrat and naqir (all these are
utensils used for the preparations of alcoholic drinks) *Agreed Upon+ ( hajj not mentioned
because not yet made fard) this is the exact defn of islam
How to reconcile apparently difffereing texts??

Scholars have differed over the relationship between these two terms, as follows:
o First Opinion: The Two Terms are Synonymous
Held by Al-Bukhari; I bn Mandah; and Muhammad b. Nasr al-Marwadhi.
Their evidence was the fact that the two seem to refer to the same reality.
They combined the two hadiths - Hadith of Jibril and delegation of abd
al qays and the verse
!.>>! _. l !, _. _,...l __ !. !..> !, ,s ,, _. _,.`..l __

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

13

Then We evacuated those of the Believers who were there; But We found not there any Muslim person
except in one house *adh-Bhariyat: 35-36]

Bukhari was askjed about the verses of hujurat the meaning of aslamnaa he explained it is political
acceptance out of fear, outwardly accepted so it is linguistic term of submitting to the political
dominanace of islam

o Second Opinion: Islam signifies the Shahada and Iman signifies the actions.
o This was the opinion of another group, such as al-Zuhri, Hammad b. Zayd,
and also reported from Imam Ahmad.
o Verse of Hujurat imam ahmad explained that islam is to say the kalima
and iman is to act.
o Hadith of Sad b. Abi Waqqas, Allahs Apostle (sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam)distributed (zakat) amongst (a group of) people while I was sitting
there but Allahs Apostle left a man whom I thought the best of the lot. I
asked, O Allahs Apostle! Why have you left that person? By Allah I regard
him as a mumin. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)commented:
Or merely a Muslim. I remained quiet for a while, but could not help
repeating my question because of what I knew about him. And then asked
Allahs Apostle, Why have you left so and so? By Allah! He is a mumin.
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)again said, Or merely a Muslim.
And I could not help repeating my question because of what I knew about
him. Then the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)said, O Sad! I give to a
person while another is dearer to me, for fear that he might be thrown on
his face in the Fire by Allah. *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari] out of fear that
he will misuse the money. Imam Ahmad said the Prophet knew he has
outwardly accepted islam.
o Third Opinon: Synonymous at times, different at times. MAJORITY OPINION
o if the two terms occur in different contexts, they are synonymous, but if
they occur in the same context, Islam signifies the outward actions and
Iman signifies the inner beliefs. According to ahlussunnah both are needed
for a believer.

o Combines all of the evidences above along with other Scriptural references.

In hujurat outwrardly you have professed islam prayed fasted, but real iman not in heart so there
must be some eman because they are not called munafiq actions without eman. H0w can we say this
when Allah says you dont have eman Allah says in the verse 17 Allah conferred favor by guiding you
to eman (lilemaan) so there are levels of eman and there must be some kernel of eman to perform
the actions since Allah mentions that He will not waste their deeds and we know that allah accepts
good deeds only from a believer.
In hadith jibreel islam then higher level eman then highest ihsan so how can one pray before you
believe in the six pillares of eman so with verse if hujurat there has to be a base level of eman to act
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

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and perform the worship higher level of eman is to be God consicious at every point and level in our
life so allalh has negated this higher level of eman while affirming their base level allah will accept
your worship ( and allah does not accept worship from kaafir)
Relation between aql and qalb --- Allah affirms knowledge to heart but we know it resides in mind
similarly is the thought. Some say the qalb is the metaphor for soul the inside -- which includes mind
this is metaphysical discussion where does the eman reside?? The spiritual soul - it is not the eyes
that are blinded but it is the hearts in the chest that is blinded
If one only has belief in the 6 pillars of eman -- then that was also the state of iblees, abu talib.
It is possible for a muslim to go out of islam with some action - and he will
have to make taubah and redo his shahadah. There are certain actions that
will take the muslim out of fold of islam eg ridiculing Allah and His prophet
in surah taubah= qad kafartum baad al imaanit is a sign of eman if you
have feeling of disgust when someone ridicules Allah and His messenger.
5. INCREASE AND DECREASE OF IMAN
5.1 Evidences for Increasing and Decreasing of Iman
o This is of the fundamental unique positions of Ahl al-Sunnah. We know this because we all
experience it.we know if from our fitrah, And we dont need evidence for it. The majority of
theological groups say eman is stagnant and does not go up and down ( one of the
priniciples of aqeedah at tahawiyyah says this_) - THIS BELIEF IS UNIQUE TO AHLUSUSNNAH
WAL JAMAA THAT IMAN INCREASES AND DECREASES and there are explicit verses in the
quran that eman increases, mutawaatir hadiths, ijma, fitrah, and logic all prove that iman is
dynamic in nature.
o Evidences:
!..| _`...l _.] :| : < l> ',l :| ,l. ,ls ...,, :: !...,| _ls
`, l., _

The believers are those who, When Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are
recited to them, their Iman increases *Al-Anfal: 2]

:| !. l. :. .. _. `_1, , .: .:..> !...,| !.! _.] `..,
.: !...,| `> `:,.`. __

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And whenever a Surah is revealed, there are those who *mockingly+ ask, Who amongst you has
increased in Iman? So as for those who *truly+ believe, their Iman increases and they rejoice. *At-
Tawbah: 124]

> _.] _. .,>.l _ ,l _,...l ::,l !...,| _. ...,| < :`.`> ,...l
_ l < !.,ls !.,>> _

He is the one who has sent down peace to the heart of the believers, so that they can increase Iman
upon their Iman. *Al-Fath: 4]

. ! > - l . ! > . l . ! | . l . > . ! > - l . ! s . : | . . l . _ ` l , .` . , 1 _ ] . _ .
l > . . , : : ] . _ , . .` | , , . . ! , . ! , ] . _ . l > . . l . . .` l , 1 _ ] . _ _
,l "_. `.>l :!. : < .., .. ,l. _.`, < _. ',!: _. _. ',!:
!. `l-, :`.`> ,, | > !. _> | _: :,ll _

so that the People of the Book have certainty, and the people of Iman increase in their Iman. *Al-
Muddathir: 31]

_.] _! `l '_!.l | _!.l . `-,> >l >:>! >: !...,| l! !.,`.> <
-. `_,l __

Those whom, when the people said to them They have gathered against you, so be scared of them!,
they only increased in their Iman *Al Imran: 173+

The narrations from the Prophet show that eman is of different levels -
Hadith: I have never seen any with lesser aql and religion and that *still+ manages to cause a smart
mans intelligence to disappearDoes she not leave prayer in her menses? So that is her deficiency in
her religion *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari] there is an entire chapter in sahih bukhari on this. The
deficiency in deen is due to their missing prayers in menstruation( the khawaarij hold the opinion that
women should make up these missed prayers, therefore the retort of aisha radiallahu anhu to the
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

16

woman who asked about making up these prayers are you from amongst the haruuriyah??) Touchy
issue woman portrayed inferior to men Scientifically they are equal - is it IQ factor? Exam scores?
so how to understand this hadith ibn taymiyyah good explan aql here is not IQ factor aql is to
restrain and generally speaking man is able to restrain his emotions and can perform more rationally
than emotionally whereas woman act or judge more emotionally than rationally. This is the beauty of
Allahs creation where balance in family and society maintained with emotional mother and rational
father. therefore woman are not sinful in missing these prayers so she can make up in rewards by
excelling in other avenues. Overall this hadith proves that missing an action even for legitmate reasons
causes decrease in eman so how much so for illegitimate reasons????

o Hadith: The one who fornicates does not fornicate as a mumin; the one who steals does not
steal as a mumin, the one who drinks does not drink as a mumin. *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-
Bukhari] this negation of eman is not such that it takes one out of fold of islam as claimed by
khawaarij (their belief that major sins takes one out of fold of Islam and treachery is a major sin)
o Hadith: Whoever amongst you is able to change an evil with his hand, let him do so, and if not,
then with his tongue, and if not, then with his heart, and that is the weakest Iman. *Imam
Ahmad, Musnad Iman Ahmad]
o Hadith: While I was sleeping I saw (in a dream) some people wearing shirts of which some were
reaching up to the chests only while others were even shorter than that. Umar b. al-Khattab
was shown wearing a shirt that he was dragging. The people asked, How did you interpret it,
Oh Allahs Apostle? He replied, The religion. *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]

o All the traditions that mention people will be removed from the Fire in batches, depending on
their level of Iman.

(*Note: Some controversy over Imam Maliks position) Some say imam malik was of the opinon that
iman does not go down i.e. stagnant. There are some reports from his students quran says eman
goes up so I am not going to say it goes down. Some say he did this to avoid going down the route of
khawaarij who said one who sins eman is removed. Another narration of malik - he says eman increases
and decreases.
5.2 Examples of how this occurs
Our theological cousins eman is like light switch on/off - binary system 0 or 1. Eman is belief in Allah
and if if goes down then you are doubting and doubting is kufr this is the rational they use. So slightest
deficiency is kufr.
. Our perception is light switch is round and with varies levels, it goes up and down.
Ibn Taymiyyah clarified how Iman Increases and Decreases: (kitab ul eman)

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

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1. The details of what believers have been commanded varied from time to place. The
details varies with knowledge.
2. The level of commitment and action that believers undertake. those
who do bare min is not same as those who do more nawaafil ibaadah
3. Actual affirmation of truth is in fact of various levels. there are decimal
points between 0 and 1. Abu bakr given title of sideeq in the incident of
isra and miraj one who witnesses and sees is not the same as one who
hears( there is a hadith to this meaning) he gives an interesting story
after musa spending 40 days and allah says his people worshipped calf
but his anger exploded when he saw the golden calf

4. Detailed knowledge of a matter adds levels of perception and certainty that summarized
knowledge does not. ACADEMICS GIVES EMAN RUSH AND SPIRITUALITY.
5. A belief that causes one to act upon it is necessarily stronger than a
belief that does not cause any action. how many believe in jannah
and hell but how many struggle to achieve it / stay away

6. The actions of the heart (humility, love, modesty etc), which are an integral part of Iman,
very widely between people.
7. The outward actions vary widely between people. This is similar to point 2.
8. States of ghafla ( heedlessness, lapse of eman) are more frequent for some than others.
Ihsan is absence of ghafla. A tabeeyeen said to be conscious of Allah increases eman and
neglecting dhikr decreases eman.
9. It is possible that a matter or belief is denied because of ignorance, and when someone
learns of its truth, he accepts it. This shows something has changed in him internally
How do I know my state of eman look at your actions and phases of ghafla, the khushu in
prayer and other ibadah deeds.

When Ibrahim asks to show how resurrection occurs?? Dont you believe?? Ofcourse but I want
ease of heart mutmainnah hadith prophet -- we have more right than Ibrahim to have
that level of shakk --
6 LEVELS OF IMAN
1) The bare minimum of Iman
*This is also called al-Iman al-Mujmal and mutlaq al-Iman

Definition: says the kalima and attempts to practice the commandment.
The bare minimum level of Iman is embodied in the Kalima itself: believing that Allah (SUBHANAHU
WA TAALA) and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)are truthful in all that they say, and
then wishing and attempting to implement their commandments, even if it is a minimal attempt.

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

18

This level was affirmed by Allah for the Bedouins, the born muslims, thus who converted for
political reasons - under islam dominate, one who converts to marry a muslim. ( this is
different from one who converts for theological reasons who are very sincere )

*Note: There is controversy over the bare minimum of actions required to be
discussed later.

Benefits:
o In this world, the person shall enjoy the LEGAL RIGHTS AND benefits of a Muslim
In the hereafter, the person shall be saved from eternally remaining in jahannam. might
enter hellfire but eventually is saved from it and made to enter paradise.
This level in and itself is not praiseworthy , the quran never calls them mumin
unconditionally
Ibn taymiyyah - so most ppl who have iman mujmal do not have reality of eman - to enter
but they may reach if allah wills and if doubt enters about islam they might fall into it if
they are saved from trials and tests they might eventually enter paradise but if they are put
into tests and trials(sacrifice wealth and life) they might fall into it and end up being
hypocrisy when the going gets tough the tough gets going but the weak ones crack up
this is like punishment in dunya and they forfeit their blessings in the aakhirah. For some the
trials increase their eman.

2) The minimal level required by Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA)*
o *This is also called al-Iman al-wajib, al-Iman al-Kamil al-wajib and al-Iman al-mutlaq.

Definition: The fulfillment of the obligatory deeds and the avoidance of major sins

Benefits:
o Enjoy the benefits of the protection of Islam in this world besides the benefits of the
previous level, they enjoy extra blessings and mercy,
o Protection of Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA) in this world and the next
o Guaranteed to be protected from the Fire even if he is punished in other ways in dunya
or in the grave or on sirat passing on the bridge over hellfire. This level is negated for
the Bedouins in surah al hujurat.
*Note: Every time the characteristic of Iman is negated in the Quran or Sunnah, it is to this
level of Iman, and not the previous, unless evidence indicates otherwise.
thief/drunkard/fornicator === has no eman
Bukhari 3X he does not have eman wallahi laa yumin one whose neighbor is not safe
from his hands and tongue.
None of you truly has eman till he love for his brother what he loves for himself.
The descriptions for the mumin in the quran aftrer the characteristics ---- these are the
mumin see the first 10 verses of surah aal muminuun khushoo in salah, laghw talk, zakat,
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

19

guarding their private parts, fulfill their trusts, --- in the verses of beginning of surah anfal
whenever Allah is mentioned their hearts trembles, ulaaika muminuna haqqa
Anytime and action is praised and negated for believers it is this level of eman

3) The perfection of Iman
*This is also called al-Iman al-kamil al-mustahabb

Definition: There is no precise definition that separates this level from the next this is the
ultimate level of striving that is preferred. a person has perfected sunnah and healthy dose of
nawafil, consciousness of allah more than mumin and has ihsan. The one quality prophet
described of ihsan you worship as though you see allah

Benefits:
o Increase protection in this life and the next

Evidences:
_.] `.., `l .,l, ...,| lL, ,.l` `l _. > ... __

Those who have faith, and do not mix their faith with injustice, they are the ones who shall
have security (amn), and they are the ones who are rightly guided. *Al-Anam:82+
ibn taymiyyah uses various verses 6:82 = faith not mixed with dhulm for them there shall
be given aman security, he comments that therefore the more eman a person has the
more aman he will have from allah in this world and next i.e. the qualitive of life increases
in this dunya more optimistic and tranquililty, their pain and anguish washed away.

One verse explicitly mentions 3 categories 35:32-36 all believers given the book some
of them wronged themselves, some were in the middle, some were in the forefront of good
and for all 3 they will enter jannah so all 3 will eventually enter jannah - the quickness of
entry and the level will depend on the level of eman you achieved
. !.. ..>l _.] !.,L. _. !.:!,s `.. 'l!L ...l .. ...1.
.. _,!. ,,>l!, :|, < .l: > `_.l ,,l __ ..> .s
!.l>., l> !, _. !. _. >: ll `.!,l !, ",> __ l! ..>'
< _.] >: !.s >' _| !.`, "-l >: __ _.] !.l> : .!1.l _.
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

20

.. !..., !, '.. !..., !, ',-l __ _.] ` `l '!. .>
_.1`, ,l. .., > .s _. !,.s ,l. _> _ __

Then We have given the Book for inheritance to such of Our Servants as We have chosen: but there are
among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by
Allahs leave, foremost in good deeds; that is the highest grace. Gardens of Eternity will they enter:
therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.
Who has, out of His Bounty, steeled us in a Home that will last: no toil nor sense of weariness shall touch
us therein. But those who reject (Allah) for them will be the Fire of Hell: No term shall be determined
for them, so they should die, nor shall its Penalty be lightened for them. Thus do we reward every
ungrateful one! *Fatir: 32-36]

Aleman almutlaq

bare minimum to eventually enter paradise MUTLAQUL IMAN/AL EMAN AL MUJMAL

HELL FIRE KAAFIR

7 MINIMAL LEVEL OF ACTIONS
The Quran is full of evidences that demonstrate actions are an integral part of Iman.

_,l >,.!.!, _.!. _> ..l _. _.-, ,. > ., .> .l _. : < !,l
,.. __ _. _.-, _. .>l..l _. : _.. > "_.`. ,.l`! l>.,
n

Minimum level of mn

Minimum required level of mn to prohibit Hell ijma
on this point (5 pillars /obligations and avoidance of
major sins) ALEMAN AL WAAJIB/AL EMAN AL
MUTLAQ/AL EMAN AL KAMIL AL WAJID. Allah
wants from us from us
Fisq. Eman and kufr concepts can be in a person together
but he is only one of 2 either mumin or kaafir. 12:106
Kufr eterHELLnal hellfire -
iblis
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

21

.>l .lL`, ,1. __ _. _.> !.,: _.. l`. .> < > "_.>: _,. .
,>,| !,.> .> < ,>,| ,l> __

(This) shall not be in accordance with your vain desires nor in accordance with the vain desires of the
followers of the Book; whoever does evil, he shall be requited with it, and besides Allah he will find for
himself neither a guardian nor a helper. And whoever does good deeds whether male of female and he
(or she) is a believer these shall enter the garden, and they shall not be dealt with a jot unjustly. And
who has a better religion than he who submits himself entirely to Allah? And he is the doer of good (to
others) and follows the faith of Ibrahim, the upright one, and Allah took Ibrahim as a friend. *Al-Nisa:
123-125]

_. ..!, !..`. . _.- .>l..l ,.l`! `> .>.] _l`-l __

And whoever comes to Him as a mumin, having done good deeds, these are the ones that shall have
the high ranks. *Ta Ha: 75+

_.. _l. _ _>.l ,. _|. __

So he neither gave charity nor prayed, but rather rejected and turned away. *Qiyamah: 31-32]

Abu Bakr al-Ajurri (d. 360) writes
o O you who have been blessed with understanding of the halal and haram, if you
understand the Quran as you are supposed to, you will see that Allah (SUBHANAHU WA
TAALA) has obligated upon people after they believe in him that they actand I have
read the Quran, and found 59 times in the Book of Allah this fact. For Allah never
causes anyone to enter Jannah with only Iman, but rather through His mercy, and by
allowing them to believe in Him and act righteously.

To Clarify: There are four logical possibilities with respect to inner and outer coordination
o 1) Iman in the heart of and outward actions outwardly clearly mumin
o 2) Both non-existent clearly Kafir
o 3) Outer actions without inner Iman clearly munafiq
1. 4) Inner Iman without actions Has inner eman but no outward actions- no good not
avoids evils == but says he is muslims this is the crux of diff betn is ahlussunnah and
murjia ahlussunnah = you cannot have inner faith without any outward manifestation
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

22

is impossible , it is not eman and will not help in hereafter, murjia = says he is mumin.
There is direct correlation betn inner and outer if one exists the other follows.
o different between murjia and Ahl al-Sunnah
Ahl al-Sunnah: This situation is simply an impossibility
Very controversial issue what is the minimum level of actions that is required by Allah --??
There is no question that the basis of eman is in the heart, however the key diff betn
ahlusunnah and murjia is that there must be some outward manifestations of eman. There are
many evidences to show that actions must be part of eman
Shafii and ahmed 98:5 they are commanded to worship sincerely and pray and fast - -- allah
was not satisfied that they only believe but they perform actions of worship
2:177 ayaaatul birr it is not merely sufficient to have faith used by bukhari
4:123-125 == religion is not upto your desires, whoever does good be he male or female while
he has faith will enter jannah, 21:94 = who doesr good and strives while he has faith
9:4 the verse of sword specific verse for specific event mecca conquered 8H hajj in 9
th
H
4 months notice to mushrik only for haram area once the sacred months over either they go
out they be escorted to safety or be killed no mushrik allowed to stay in mecca or medina
9:5,11,12 but if they repent and believe and pray and give zakah they are your brothers in
faith,
Thre is another category that knowledge without eman and actions are not muslims 2:146
they recognized him as prophet like they recognize their own children, Allah affirms their
knowledge but not their faith huyay ibn akhtab his story narrated by his daughter who is
mother of believers ( zainab) , romans recognized the truthful of islam but could not give up
their lavish life style and favors of emperors
Another category of verses that clearly tells that actions must be part of belief tawallah == to
turn your back == did not act upon it, 3:132 obey allah and his messenger and if you turn away
from this obedience allah does not llike the kaafirs, 75: -- kadhaba wa tawlaa ibn taymiyyah
said khadhaba is by heart and tawalla is by body 20:48 and 24:48.
Allah has obligated to all ppl that after they believe they submit to His commands and do the
worship

There is a direct correlation between the inner and outer level of Iman. Inner faith and outer
actions are indications of the other, and the absence of one is an indication of the absence of
the other.

o 1) Must perform an unspecified type of good deed (jins al-amal)
like smiling in the face of your brother JINS AL AMAL This opinion is a
completely modern one that contradicts common sense.
o 2) The five prayers:
A) Leaving any one prayer is kufr. this was the opinion of sh bin baaz, he has
fatwa if man sets alarm for 8am and knows he will not get up for fajr is kaafir
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

23

B) Leaving prayers completely is kufr
:| _, `> `- _`-, __
And when it is said to them to bow down they do not do so *Al-Mursalat: 48]

_.. _l. _
So he neither gave charity nor prayed, but rather denied and turned away *Qiyamah: 31+

!. `>l. _ 1. __
What has caused you to enter Saqar? They said: We were not of those who prayed *Al-Mudaththir:
42], Also [Al-Baqarah: 143]

l>' _. >.-, l> `s!. :l.l `-,. ,:l .. 1l, !,s __
So there came after them a generation adau the prayer *Maryam:59+
a. What is the meaning of adau? he has left praying in any sense or fashion
regularly- be it regular eid prayer, it is said this is the opoinon of the sahaba, shafii
has 2 opinons and this is one of them, ahmed and other majority ulema of first two
generation, what is their evidences???? Ibn qayyim wrote comprehensive the
hukm of taariqas salaah the verdict of one who leaves the prayer quran, sunnah,
ijma and aathar of salaf quran 77:148 --- when it was said to them bow they did
not bow in rukku, 75:31 neither prayed nor charity, 74:42 what caused to enter
hell we were not of those who used to pray, 2:143 salah = eman, 68:43 when
they were called to prostrate they did not so on this day they will not be able to
prostrate, maun alladheena an salaatihim saahuun those who are lax in prayer
sad ibn waqqas they did not care for timings for which they are punished in wail
the valley in helll , if they had left prayer they would be kaafirs . the verse 30:--31-
establish salah and dont be amongst the mushriks, if you leave salah you might as
well be pagans, 19:59 adaaaus salaah ibn masood they lost it not punctual, if
they had left if they would be kaafirs, many hadith narrations sahih muslim
when sone of adam prostrates for the verse of sajdah- shaytan weeps , ishaq
rahway said iblees became kaafir for one sajdah that he refused so one who
knowingly leaves salah is kaaaifr, in another hadith jaabir betn man and kufr and
shirk is leaving salah, another version there is nothing betn man and kufr is leaving
salah. In musnad ahmed mihjan a Bedouin converts reported he went to masjid in
mina and sat at the back when prophet saw him at the back why did you not pray?
Are you not a muslim?? He said I already prayed in my tent so prophet said when
you meet a congregation you join it .this hadith applies to masjid only. In bukhari
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

24

whoever prays our prayer and faces qiblah and eats our dhabeeha is muslim, who
has protection from allah and messenger. In sahih muslim an expedition sent he
would not allow to attack at night but to wait till fajr and see if adhan called dont
attack if no adhan then attack. Abu umaaha in sahih muslim every time a pillar of
islam is destroyed ppl will go to next the first pillar to be destroyed will be
leadership and the last pillar to be lost in this religion is salah. Another hadith -
whoever guards salah willhave light and be safe and evidence on d of j and one who
does not pray will be resurrect with qarun, hamam, firawn, uaby ibn khalaf in
ahmeds musnad this means these ppl had their characteristics so one who
fooloows them will be with them . ijma == umar ibn khattab said on mimbar abnd
on his death bed - there is no share of islam to one who does not pray.
Q why did this group leave zakah??? Their crux was the hadith in bukhari there is
no owner of camels who deos not give zakah except that these will trample on him
on the day ofjudgement until allah judges between them and decrees paradise or
hell --- even though he did not give zakah he is sinner.
Th e majority position is one who does not even pray eid regularly is kufr. ( but be
carful to put the label of kaafir)

3) The five prayers and zakat

:| _l. `: ``>' l.! _,:.l ,> `>...> `>.> >.> .`-
l _ ..`. | ,!. `.! :l.l '., :l l> l,,. | < "s
',> _
So if they repent, and establish the prayer and pay the zakat, then let them be *at-Tawbah:5]

.1l .> < _..,. _., _,,`.| !..-, `.. `_.. :s !,,1. _! < _.| -. _l
`.. :l.l `.., :l ..., _l.`, >..s `.. < !. !..>
>.s >.!:,. .l>: ..> _> _. !.> `.. _. .-,
.l: .. .1 _. ,. _,,.l _
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

25

So if you establish the prayer, and pay the zakat, and believe in My Messengers and help them *Al-
Maidah:12]

= Incident of the Wars of Ridda abu bakr fought wars of ridda those who refused to pay
zakah, ( note the debate between umar and abubakr between their understandings of
believer, did those ppl refuse theobligation of zakah or felt greedy, the first category of
scholars say they denied its obligation therefore abu bakr fought them, the early reference
dont mention and it shows us that abu bakr did not bother to ask them their stand on it
actions are speaking for the inner state )
The famous opinion of ahmed is the minimum level is of five prayers
How did these scholars interpret hadith of abuhurairah in sahih bukhari = animals trampling,
the hadith says whoever does not give the reights of animals so they paid zakah but less
than their full rights. This is similar to the hadith those who guard their salah have the
saftety
4) All of the pillars of Islam

All of the above evidences put together:
o Hadith of Jibril
o Hadith of the Delegation of Abd al-Qays:
Once a delegation of Abdul Qays came to Allahs Apostle (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)and said, We
belong to such and such branch of the tribe of Rabia, and we can only come to you in the Sacred
Months. Order us to do something good so that we may take it from you and also invite our people
whom we have left behind (at home) to it. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)said, I order you
to believe in Allah. And do you know what is belief in Allah? [It is] to testify that none has the right to
be worshipped but Allah, and I am the Messenger of Allah, and to offer prayers perfectly, and to pay
zakat, and to give the khumus. And I forbid you from dubba and hantam and muqaytat and naqir (all
these are utensils used for the preparation of alcoholic drinks) *Agreed Upon+

The sahaba understood as salah and zakah are only mentioned because only these can be monitored
the other pillars are between you and allah so the diff between third opinon ( 5 prayers and zakat) and
the fourth pillar is semantics why is it called a pillar rukn is necessary requirement ---- so without it
the structure does not stand you cannot judge fasts and hajj but they are given special status
therefore mentioned so explicityly in the hadiths jibrel, abu qays etc. realistically all of these opinion
automatically comes under the second opinion of five prayers so one who prayes will not ignore
fasts and the other arkaan
The three main opinion in ahlussunnah prayer some form of regularity like 2 of 5 , he is on the fence
betn iman and kufr therefore the hadith if one who misses 3 jumuah straight nifaaq is sealed on him..
the second opinion - zakal is included and the third says its theoreitcall all the pillars are integral part of
islam and your commitment to attempt to sincerely fulfill them ( hajj 2 opinons faurii, as soon as
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

26

capable or anytime in life). The hadith I wish to burn the houses of those who avoid the congregational
salah in masjid close by to you - no scholar said that one who prays at home is kaafir.
8 THE ISSUE OF ISTITHNA
Historical controversy: How does one respond when asked, Are you a mumin?
One gp says whoever says inshaallah has committed kufr
Another gop you have to say otherwise you commit kkufr
Ahlusunnah - its better to say but if you leave then its not kufr why??
Position of Ahl al-Sunnah:
o Did not like the question, and said the whole issue was an innovation.
o However, they said it was permissible (perhaps even better) to say inshaaAllah after
this phrase, and it was permissible to leave it.
o It was permissible (or better) to say inshaaAllah because:
1) Iman is of levels, and no one knows for sure whether he has perfected those
levels or not.
2) True Iman is that which has been accepted by Allah (SUBHANAHU WA
TAALA), and no one knows if that will be the case.
3) No one knows in what state one will die, hence if one adds inshaaAllah it is
as if one is hoping and praying to die in that state
4) As for the basic level of Iman regarding which one should not be in doubt, it
is in face permissible to occasionally used istithna even when one is not in
doubt.
o And it was permissible to leave because there is no evidence that suggests it is
obligatory, and people should be certain about having entered the basic level of Iman.

Ahmad b. Hanbal was asked, Doesnt saying inshaaAllah constitute doubt? He replied, I seek
Allahs refuge! Doesnt Allah say, You shall, inshaaAllah, enter the Sacred Mosque, safe and
secure *Al-Fath:27+ and didnt the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)say, And we will,
inshaaAllah, join you. So where is the doubt in this?

Alqama was asked, Are you a mumin? He replied, I hope I am, inshaaAllah.

However, Ahl al-Sunnah did not allow istithna in Islam, so one says, I am a Muslim because
this deals with the outward testimony of faith and rulings of this life.

There is one gop you are supposed to say inshallah for future and present events .
But we are supposed to say inshaallah for future events- for present and past its not relevant.

Another historical controversy: Is Iman created or not? This is also a bygone controversy
there are elements of eman that are uncreated like quran, shahadah . my actions are created

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

27

9 FACTORS THAT WEAKEN ONES IMAN
9.1 . Major and minor sins = who categorized them?? Allah

_.] ,..> ., . _>l | .l | ,`, _. :-.l > `l. _>, :| _!:
_. _ :| `.. .> _ L, >... . >.. > `l. _., _.. __

Those who avoid great sins (kabair) and shameful deeds, only (falling into) small faults *An-Najm: 32]

| ,..> !, !. .. .s >. >.s >.!:,. l>.. >.. !., _

If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you
to enter an honorable place of entering. *An-Nisa:31]

_.` ..>l _. _,.>.l _,1:`. !.. , l1, !..l,., _!. ..> ..l
':!-`, :,-. :,, | !..> .> !. l.s .l> `lL, ,, .> __

And the Book shall be placed, then you will see the guilty fearing from what is in it, and they will say:
Ah! Woe to us! What a book is this! It does not omit a small one (saghira) nor a great one (kabira),
except that is enumerates it (all). And what they had done they shall find present (there), and your Lord
does not deal unjustly with anyone. *Al-Kafh:49]

And in the hadith,
o Of the kabair is a man cursing his own father *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]
o The five prayers, and the Friday prayer to the Friday prayer, and one Ramadan to the
next, forgives all that is between it, as long as the kabair are avoided *Al-Bukhari, Sahih
Al-Bukhari]
o avoid the seven deadly sins, the biggest of all kabaair is the shirk with allah
What is the definition of a kabira?
Allah punishes with had, ibn hazam how can it be so there is no had for cursing father
Sins that were forbidden in other shariah and ours- but this again is wrong- drinking alcohol , al
ghazali and his teacher al juwayni defined major and minor based on the state of the persons
heart if your heart feels the guilt then it is minor sin and if your heart is devoid of guilt then it
is major sin but again if one fornicates and feels the guilt it is minor ? ibn abbas -- every sin for
which hell fire or invoked curse or anger is major sin
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

28

o Ibn Taymiyya defined it as every sin that has been assigned a wordly punishment (had),
or has been threatened with the Fire, or Allahs curse, or His anger.

Q: Does a habitual minor sin become a major sin?
Answer: Maybe, it depends on the state of the sinner. ? This is so when it is done without any
remorse and it becaome habit and leads to arrogance here we follow ghazaalis defn
Habitual sins with remorse does not become major Abdullah ibn salaam mentioned clearly

Another categorization:
o Sins performed out of lust and desire (Adam)
o Sins performed out of arrogance (Iblis)
ibn abbas was asked of minor sins no better way to define this than fornication of eyes.
These sins that will be forgiven with good deeds.

9.2. Status of sins vis--vis Iman
1. Rule: Sins that are less than kufr do not in and of themselves expel a person from Islam.
khawaarij oppose this any major sinner is kaafir.
There are 5 categories of evidences
a. Shirk is the only unforgivable sin and perfecting tawheed leads to jannah. Verses in
surah an nisaa
b. Those who commit major sins will enter paradise - Ubadah b. al-Samit reported that
the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)took the oath from the women and said, give
me the oath of allegiance: that you shall not commit shirk, or steal, or fornicate, or kill
your offspringso whoever fulfills this shall have his reward with Allah. And whoever
falls into any of these [sins] and is punished in this world, then that shall count as an
expiation for him. And whoever commits any of these [sins] secretly shall be left to
Allah if He wills, He shall forgive, and if He wills, He shall punish him. *Al-Bukhair,
Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Abu Dharr , I visited the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)when he was sleeping,
and he was wearing a while thawbwhen he woke up, I sat next to him. He said, No
servant says La ilaha ila Allah and dies with tha t except tha the shall go to Paradise. I
said, Even if he fornicated and stole? He said, Even if he fornicated and stole! I said,
Even if he fornicated and stole? He said, Even if he fornicated and stole! I said, Even
if he fornicated and stole? He said Even if he fornicated and stole but then added on
the fourth, even if Abu Dharr doesnt want it! *Muslim, Sahih Muslim+

c. Evidences that affirm faith to those who commit major sin - Abu Dharr addressed Bilal
as You son of a black woman! The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam), addressing
Abu Dharr, said: Abu Dharr! Have you criticized him because of his mother? You still
have traces of Jahiliyyah in you *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]. . The verse in hujurah -
2 gps of muslims fighting which is major sin and allah calls them believers
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

29

Haatib ibn abi balata committed treason by revealing the secret of the Prophet to the
quraish, surah mumtahinah beginning verses he was not executed nor considered
apostate. The hadith in bukhari a drunkard punished repeatedly and one said may alah
curse you dont help shaytaan against him for by allah I know he loves allah and his
messenger.
d. All of the evidences of the intercession of the Prophet discussed in light of guidance
class. Musnad ahmed explicit my shafaa is for those who committed major sins of my
ummah. Because those who avoided major sins will enter jannah
e. The purpose of haddd punishment would be useless if that sinner was not a muslim.

Q: Are these traditions problematic?
There are mushkil hadith that the khawarij use =you never use one hadith and ignore the rest of
the evidences,. There are more than 15 evidences in each of the 5 categories that major sin does
not expel one from islam
Of these mushkil hadiths
A. Anyone who has atoms wt of pride will not enter jannah so does an arrogant person become
kaafir. Arrogance is major sinn and there is threat of him not entering jannah immediately. This
is the general verdict that he does not deserve jannah but allah may choose whatever he wills
B. One who has 4 characteristics is a hypocrite --- the mushkil point is the words he is a pure
hypocrite it does not mean he is munafiq in aakhira, so we interpret in light of other hadiths. If
a person has these traits with allah yaani nifaaq Itiqaadi then he is kaafir??
Hadith fornicator when he fornicates, -- when he drinks ----- when he steals so this is
restricted to the times of committing the sins -- - and this is eman kaamil

Sahl al-Tustari said, Even if the sinner is punished, his punishment will not be like the
disbeliever, He shall not be thrown in like him, nor shall he remain [eternally] like him, nor shall
he suffer like him.
Rule one -----Major sinner is muslim, must repent and if he repents then is mumin, if if given
haadd then that is ---- if no haaadd and no t repented it is upto Allah -- forgiven or intercession.
Even if he is punished it is not eternal and will be different level than a kaafir.
Rule two: Considering sins to be permissible (istihlal) expels one from Islam even if one does
not commit the sin. even theologocial cousins consider this -- you have rejected the
commandment of allah we are talking about that which is wellknown to be haraam and not
that which is controverseial like mortgage, the interest that is given by banks is not riba thisis
ludicrous but not kufr. He differentialted betn paper money and gold and silver but majority of
ulemea say that paper money is equal to gold and silver.

9.3 Forgiveness of Minor Sins vs. Major Sins
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30

The traditions mention many specific good deeds that expiate minor sins, such as [partial list]:
o 1) The five prayers
o 2) Fasting Ramadan
o 3) Umrah
o 4) Hajj (of the most powerful, if not the most powerful deed) that is kaffarah for both
major and minor sins (the only thing that trumps this deed is a non muslim accepts
islam)
o 5) Wudu
o 6) Fasting on Ashura
o 7) Fasting on the 9
th
of Dhul Hijjah
WARNING; Some people who are deceived rely too much on things like fasting
on Ashura or the day of Arafah, to the extent that some of them say, Fasting
on Ashura will expiate for the sins of the whole year, and fasting on the day of
aRafah will being extra rewards.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: This misguided person does not know that fasting in Ramadan and praying
five times a day are much more important fasting on the day of Arafah and Ashura, and that
they expiate for the sins between one Ramadan and the next, or between one Friday and the
next, so long as one avoids major sins. But they cannot expiate for minor sins unless one also
avoids major sins; when the two things are put together, they have the strength to expiate for
the minor sins. Among those deceived people may be one who thinks that his good deeds are
more than his sins, because he does not pay attention to his bad deeds or put a check on his
sins, but if he does a good deed he remembers it and relies on it. This is like the one who seeks
Allahs forgiveness with his tongue (i.e., by words only), and glorifies Allah by saying Subhan
Allah one hundred times a day, then he backbites about the Muslims and slanders their honor,
and speaks all day long about things that are not pleasing to Allah. This person is always
thinking about the virtues of his tasbihat (saying Subhan Allah) and tahliyat (saying La ilaha ill-
Allah) but he pays no attention to what has been reported concerning those who backbite, tell
lies and slander others, or commit other sins of the tongue. They are completely deceived.

Q: Which deed is the most powerful?
The most powerful hadith even the angels argue. Narrated by Muadh ibn jabal ( tirmidhi, authentic)
Mu'ath Bin Jabal, Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ubaydah Bin al-Jarrah, and others (RAA)reported that the Prophet (ASWS)
was once so late in coming out to lead the morning prayer that the sun was about to rise. He came out
of his home hurriedly, led the people in a (relatively) short prayer, and then turned toward them and
said:

"Stay in your places, for I will tell you what delayed me this morning: I
got up during the night and prayed for as long as was decreed for me. Then I
became so sleepy while praying that I found it hard to continue (so I
slept). I then saw (in a dream) my Lord (AWJ) in the best form.

He asked me, "O Muhammad, about what does the most supreme society (i.e., the angels) argue?" I
said, "I do not know, my Lord." He asked me (again), "O Muhammad, about what does the most
supreme society argue?" I said, "I do not know, my Lord." He asked me (a third time), "O Muhammad,
about what does the most supreme society argue?" I said, "I do not know, my Lord." Then He placed His
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

31

palm (on my back) between my shoulder-blades, and I felt the coolness of His fingers inside my chest.
Everything then became clear to me, and I knew (the answer). He asked me, *"O Muhammad, about
what does the most supreme society argue?"*I replied, "(They argue about) the expiating
acts/mukaffarat and (the acts that elevate) the ranks (of the believers in Jannah)." He asked, *"What are
the expiating acts?" I replied, "(They are) walking (once and again) to the jama'ah prayers, sitting in the
place of prayer (saying thikr) after prayers, waiting (with anticipation) for the (next) prayer after the
(previous) prayer, and performing complete wudu' (even in) disliked conditions."
He asked, "What are the (acts that elevate in) ranks?" I replied, "(They are:) feeding food (to the needy),
spreading (the greeting of) salam, speaking kindly (to others), and praying at night while people are
asleep." Then He commanded me, "Ask (from me), *"Allahumma inni as'aluka fi'l-al-khayrat, wa-tark-al-
munkarat, wa-hubb-al-masakin, wa-an-taghfira li wa-tarhamani. Wa-itha aradta fitnatan fi qawmin, fa
tawaffani ghayra maftun. Wa-as'aluka hubbaka, wahubba man yuhibbuka, wahubba 'amalin
yuquarribuni ila hubbikO Allah, I ask you (to guide me to) doing good deeds, avoiding evil deeds, and
loving the needy. And ( I ask you) to forgive me and show me mercy. And when You will to afflict some
people (around me) with a (destructive) tribulation, take my life without being changed (in faith). And I
beseech You (to grant me) the love of You, of those who love You, and of all deeds that can bring me
nearer to Your love." Revolution, it was recorded by at-Tirmithi, ahmad, and others. Verified to be
authentic by al-Albani (as-sahihah no. 3169, as-sunnah nos. 388, 465-471, and Irwa'ul-ghalil no. 684).

Final Warning: Beware of the sins that are considered trivial, for they gather together around a
person until they destroy him. *Imam Ahmad, Musnad Imam Ahmad+ other hadiths compare
the minor sins to twigs and too many twigs lit up the fire.
Know that decreasing our minor sins is also perfection of our eman

9.4. The Effects of Sins
Ibn al-Qayyim listed many of the evil effects of committing sins [partial list]
o 1) Prevention of knowledge
o 2) Prevention of rizq
o 3) Weakening of the heart
o 4) reduces lifespan (barakah)
o 5) Contempt from Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA)
o 6) Decrease of remorse
o 7) Increase of humiliation
o 8) Lack of intelligence
o 9) Sealing of the heart
o 10) Spoiling the lands resources
o 11) Disappearance of modesty
o 12) Becoming neglectful of Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA)
o 13) Pain and suffering in this world and the next

9.5. The Expiation of Sins
Ibn al-Qayyim listed ten factors that forgive or expiate sins:
o 1) Tawbah
o 2) Istifhfar
o 3) Good deeds
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

32

o 4) Problems and grief of this world
o 5) Prayer of others for you (in life) and over you (after death)
o 6) Good deeds done on behalf of those who are deceased
o 7) Trials and punishments of the grave
o 8) Affliction on the Day of Judgment
o 9) Intercession
o 10) Allahs Mercy and Forgiveness
10 FACTORS THAT NEGATE ONES IMAN (NAWAQID AL-IMAN)
10.1 Intro to the topic

_.] `, .-, < .1., _..,.l _

Those who fulfill the Covenant of Allah and break not the Mithaq (bond, treaty, covenant) *Al-Rad:20]
NAQADA rip off from roots
There are two categories:
o 1) Those who never entered Islam (kufar asliyyun)
o 2) Those who entered Islam and then left is (murtad)

,.l:`. _s :l ,>l _!. , _ _!. , ,, .. _s _,,. < .,
.>`..l ,>l _>| .> .. ..s < ..l _. _.1l l,
>.l..1`, _.> :`, _s .,: | `-.L.`. _. :.., >.. _s ..,: ., >
"l ,.l`! L,> `l..s _ !,..l :> ,.l` .>. !.l > !,
_..> __

They ask You concerning fighting In the sacred months (e.e. 1
st
, 7
th
, 11
th
, and 12
th
months of the Islamic
calendar). Say, Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allah is to
prevent mankind from following the Way of Allah, to disbelieve in him, to prevent acess to Al-Masjid-al-
Haram (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants, and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And they will
never cease fighting You until they turn You back from Your Religion (Islamic Monotheism) if they can.
And Whosoever of You turns back from his Religion and dies as a disbeliever, Then his deeds will be lost
in This life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein
forever. *Al-Baqarah:127]

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

33

The naqaqid are beliefs, statements, and actions that expel one from Islam after having entered
it.
The controversial idea not to call non muslims kaafir since it is for those who have known
and rejected islam. Since it is viewed as a negative/pejorative word
But quran has termed non Muslims as kaafir, but that does not mean you start jihad --- what it
means that the rulings of kufr will apply to him. Whether he will be saved in the next life or not
is a different issue we dont judge a person in this world that so and so is kaafir and will be in
hellfire
Those who say that there is a third category ( modern phenomena of last 30 yrs) betn kaafir and
muslim-
Ridda == to turn around you accepted islam and turned back 2:217. Ridda is a state and nawaaqid is
the cause of it.

There are three matters that contradict Iman:
o 1) Kufr
o 2) Shirk . It is one of the most evil manifestations of kufr
o 3) Nifaq. Na fa qa = tunnel it is a secret tunnel to escape from islam. One who pretends
to be a Muslim externally while internally he is not. It is the medinan phenomena,
therefore those who converted before hijrah are the best and free from hypocrisy.

Kufr
o Linguistically: From kafara, which mean to over up
o Technically: The absence of Iman (antithesis)
Shirk
o Linguistically: From the root word that signifies mixing, assimilation
o Technically: To give the rights of Allah to other than Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA)
Nifaq
o Linguistically: From the root word that is used for tunnel, burrow
o Technically: To pretend to be a Muslim while belying the message.

Q: What is the relationship between these three terms?
o Nifaq and shirk are subsets of kufr. Kufr and nifaq are equal to shirk in their being
unforgivable but shirk mentioned because of its most heinous and ugly nature.
All three are divided into major and minor, it is the major kufr/shirk/nifaq that expels one from
Islam. Minor kufr/shirk/nifaq are major sins that a muslim commits.
*NOTE: Fisq and dhulm are also major and minor

Major fisq is major kufr and major dhulm is major shirk.
Fisq is synonymous to kufr and dhulm is synonymous to shirk

10.2 The Reality of Kufr

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

34

A. From the Heart:
a. Lack of belief (qawl al-qalb)
i. This could be due to:
1. Ignorance
2. Incorrect information
3. Doubt (shakk)
4. Turning away (irad) most hedeinouse who dont even care to read or
study.
b. Denial of belief (amal al-qalb) there are many who studied like orientalists, know the
religion but dont have any emotions of attachment
i. This could be due to:
1. Arrogance (istikbar) like ibless and firawn. Arrogance can also mean that
you value something else more than alllah abutalib was not arrogant
in the sense that he is better than allah but he valued his lineage
Heraclius valued power this is his arrogant. The monk who saw and
knew the prophet but fenied because of valyes of materials gifts from
roman rulers and dont want to sacrifice and take the pains
There are pl who genuinely feel sympathetic for islam and muslims but dont accept it these are the
closet muslims ostracization

2. Outright rejection (juhud) like firawn
3. Hypocrisy (nifaq0 those who pretend and they will be in the lowest
depths of hellfire.
B. By the tongue:
a. Outright rejection
b. A statement that necessitates rejection (ridicule, sarcasm, rejection of a fundamental
commandment) doubting something that is well established.
C. From the Body:
action with limbs --- willfully worships to idols blatant shirk, the common eg in books of fiqh
is to show disrespect to quran knowingly throwing putting foot on it etc ijma of ulemea that
it is kufr.

a. Sufyan b. Uyayna (d. 198) was asked about the murjia. He said: Iman consists of
statements and actions, and the murjia considered Jannah to be obligatory on those
who testified the shahada even if his heart was adamant at not doing the obligatory
good deeds, and they considered this a sin, just like incest. But they are not the same!
Because incest, if it is still considered impermissible, is a sin, but leaving the obligatory
deeds intentionally, without ignorance or excuse, is kufr. And the example of this is In
Adam, Iblis, and the scholars of the Yahud. As for Adam, he was prohibited from eating
from the tree, but he ate intentionally, desiring power or eternal life. So he was called a
sinner, without any kufr. As for Iblis, he was told to prostrate once, but refused
intentionally and rejected it, and so he was called a kafir. And as for the scholars of the
Yahud, they recognized the characteristic of the Prophet just as they know their sons,
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

35

and they admitted this with their tongues, but they did not follow his Shariah, so they
were called Kafir. *Dhahira al-Irja, p. 482]

Q what is the ruling of those who has never heard of islam? = how can one not know of islam while
living in the midst of Muslims? in this world the ruling of kufr applies. In the hereafter --- ashari school
claim that such ppl will be automatically saved ibn hajr, suyuti and nawawi]
Mutazila and maturiidy you will not be saved if you worshipped false gods, but if you worshipped the
true god ( one god- monotheist) will be saved because they say logically you should know that there is
only one god
Ahlussunnah has number of oopinons
Majority in classical age tawaqquf only allah knows best
Ibn taymiyyah these ppl will be tested on the day of judgement there isno guarantee of hell or heaven
based on hadith in musnad ahmed ( hasan hadith) 4 ppl will come and complain to allah one a
senile, deaf, and a man who lived in between prophets ahlal fatrah, and ----------------------- all 4 will say
o allah no one came to us. Allah will ask them what would you do if I had sent a prophet? Then an angel
will be sent in the form of prophet follow me and this is fire fall in it those who obey and fall the fire
will be paradise and those who reject will be in hellfire
Ashari rejected this saying its nonsensical but truly theirs is non sensical position since the kaafir is
better off than muslims since wthey will be heaven and why should then on edo dawah to no n muslims

10.2 Minor Kufr, Shirk, and Nifaq
It is possible for a muslim to commit these while still being a muslim where do we get the evidence of
this category
Hadith prophet explicitly called some deeds as minor shirk eg riyaa. There is no quranic or sunnah
term as minor kufr and minor nifq based on one term shirk al asghar the ulema extrapolated major
shirk and looking into quran they found term kufr for actions that does not take person out of fold of
Islam , similaryly for nifq like lying is nifq 0- so the ulema derived that thre is major and ninor kufr

Many traditions mention sins by calling them kufr
o For example: Cursing a Muslim is a sin, and fighting him is kufr *Bukhari, Sahih Al-
Bukhari]
o Yet, in the Quran, Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA) says:
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

36

| !.!L _. _,...l l.. >l.! !.., | -, !...>| _ls _> l..1
_.l _-,. _.> ,_.. _|| . < | ,,! >l.! !.., _.-l!, L. | < >
_,L.1.l _

And if two parties or groups among the believers fall to fighting, Then make peace between them
both *Al-Hujurat:9]

Similarly, the Prophetic traditions mention certain acts as being shirk or nifaq, yet are clearly
sins.
o Proves the existence of some type of Kufr that is present amongst Muslims; i.e., minor
kufr (and minor shirk and minor nifaq)
In debating with our cousins use the bukihari muslim and other muhaddith ( bukhari many
works on aqeedah_) hadith in s bukhari fighting a muslim is kufr ( with intention to kill) yet in
surah hujuraat if two parties of believers are fighting then cause reconciliation - allah called
them mumin despite they committed kufr - so this means kufr does not necessarily take a
person out of islam - so there are minor and major kufr fighting a muslim is minor kufr. And
the same applies for nifaq eg lies, breaks promise betrays amaanah, foul language in arguing.
Being double faced
ONE NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU COME ACROSS AN AYAH AND HADITH OF KUFR AND
NIFQ TO SEE IF IT IS MAJOR OR MINOR one of the problems with khawaarij was that they did
not differentialte between major and minor and also did not follwow the guideline on hwo to
make takfir //
Ghazali kaafir 3 types those who never heard/lived with muslims under jizya/in border states
wsith muslims and interact if they know enough of islam and rejects will be held liable.
The general rule any belief or statement or action that explicitly contradicts eman is kufr-
One aspect of kufr is isthlaal and vice versa to reject the law of Allah.
Utter statements against allah /prophets / books- without coercion

10.4. Issues of Ridda

Linguistically: To return from something
Technically: To return to kufr after having left it for Islam.
o Or: coming forth with a belief, statement or action after entering Islam, that nullifies it.

10.4.1. Examples of beliefs, statements, and actions that constitute ridda

Heart:
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

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o To ascribe divinity to other than Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA)
o To believe something that contravenes the fundamentals of Islam
o To consider something haram as halal when it is established otherwise
Tongue
o To utter statements of kufr without duress
o To ridicule Allah or His Messenger
Body
o To perform any action that demonstrates a lack of Iman, such as disrespecting
the Quran, or prostrating to an idol, etc.

*NOTE: Scholars have unanimously agreed that hadd punishments can only be applied by a
legitimate Caliph. Muslims living under non-Muslim rule can NEVER take the law into their own
hands. A Muslim who becomes a murtad may be socially ostracized, but nothing else.
In our shariah - the punishment of murtadd is execution ijma of classical scholars and shia this is
applicable in the land of islam under Islamic rule in the times of prophet too a person apostate in
abysynnia and no muslims touched him nor did the prophet order to execute him in the land of najjashi.
Ubaidullah ibn jahsh = husband of ramlah bint abi sufyan (umm habeebah) was contemporary of
waraqah ibn naufal searching for religion. He converted to Christianity and became Muslim when
Islam rose migrated to habasha and apostated became Christian.
So if we come across a murtadd we are allowed to ostracize and boycott him we have the right and
privilege to put emotional pressure on them. We need to handle them on case by case basis find out
why this happened? And try to counsel and find a solution the most common ridda is to become an
atheist.

10.4.2. Ruling by a Law other than the Shariah

This issue has become one of the most controversial issues of our times. It is exploited
by extremist groups to justify radical ideologies and militants actions.
o Theoretical issues (different opinions)
o Practical ramification (extremist groups ignore)
Conclusion: Regardless of the theoretical factors, all major scholars the world over state
that making blanket takfir of societies, or politicians, leads to a far greater harm than
any possible good. It is for this reason that no senior scholar supports takfiri groups in
either their theory or their practices.
This is most talked by theologians used by ulema and extremist who make takfir on all
muslim govts unconditionally jihadist prescribe the rule that ruling by other than allah
is major kufr they base this on the fatwa of ibn taymiyyah 698H against Mongols ---
the emperor of Mongols at that time converted to islam outwardly and he started
establishing shariah adhaan, prayers , on the other hand he attacked the muslims
the ppl were fed up with the mamluk rule in the ppl of Damascus power corrupts
high taxes so they were debating whether it is better to have the Mongols come and
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

38

rule us ibn taymiyyah was instrumental in rallying ppl against Mongols and defend the
mamluk dynasty and in one fatwa he said the Mongols are not muslims one of the
reason was because he said they dont practice the shaair of islam they claim to pray
but they dont and they dont go for hajj there is no regular ritual prayer or
collectionof zakat nor hajj and since their conversion they have not changed the law of
Genghis khan and they dont apply our shariah their system of governance is the same
as before they converted - so his fatwa that the Mongols is not muslims their
conversion is a political agends to convince the masses - in our times we cannot cut and
paste this fatwa
In our times our mainstream scholoars none or them hold the jihadist rule sh
uthaymeen said a Muslim ruler substitutes an Islamic law for a completely diff set of
rules - this is kufr but we do not pronounce him to be kaafir because of various reasons
out ignorance? Rebelling against them weigh the good and bad if the bad is more
than good then it is haraam to rebel because outcome is geater evil. This is wisdom
look at the reality.
Sh bin Baaz disagreed that ruling by other than Allah is not kufr it is a major sin and
does not make him kaafir. Though both said you dont take law in your hands.
Theoretically there is diff of opinions but there are practical ramifications all the
greatest ulema of all groups are pragmatic and realistic.
In north America we dont really have to worry us since it has no effect we need to see
the implications of such fatwa those who declare blanket takfirs since last 40 yrs
what good has been the outcome in the ummah and the massive bloodshed came about
The group who started modern guriella warfare - they assainated anwar sadat the first
person they assassinated - the greatest scholar of the time - dr muhammad haytham
Minister of Islamic affairs in egypt ph d from azhar ( book on tafsir one of the best
books)
Sh bin Baaz and others said it is far easier to die for sake of allah than it is to live for
sake of Allah

10.5. The Issue of Takfir
Rule: Whoever is a Muslim for certain cannot be considered a non-Muslim based on doubt

Whoever calls his brother O kafir! it shall return to one of the two. So if the other was as he said [it
will go to him+, otherwise it shall return upon the one who said it. *Muslim, Sahih Muslim+
various interpretation the sin is retained on him not the kufr, if you call a muslim kaafir and you are
believing too on that then you too are kaafir there are many other opinons0- bottomline its dangerous
issue the realm of takfir is the legal judgement and only the judge in Islamic state can make it or the
scholars in the area 0 the avg muslim is not empowered to do so.. in sahih muslim a man of bani Israel
saw hi s friend committing sin and tried to stophim so the friend got aangry and rebuked the
righteous man got arrogant - wallahi allah will never forgive the first one was rude and angry but did
not fall in to kufr the second one in his self piety got arrogant and so allah said who are you to limit my
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

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mercy wallahi you will not be forgiven and the first one was forgiven this is crucial hadith for us to
understand to those who make takfir.
If you see a person doing any of the signs of islma is a muslim -0 we judge on outward actions and its not
upto us to see theirinner hearts you assume muslim by any action of islam.
The general rule you have to say the shahadah to become a muslim, but if you dont know the shahadah
and says anything to indicate his willingness to submit is enough

Rule: Takifr of characteristics does not necessitate takfir of individuals with those
characteristics.
The different between takfir al-mutlaq and takfir al-muayyan
Ibn Taymiyyah writes:
o So it is possible that an action or statement be kufr, and one may generalize and say
that whoever is guilty of it is a kafir. However, it is not allowed to specify a particular
person who has done such a deed as being a kafir until sufficient proof is presented to
him (iqamat al-hujja) a proof that is so clear that one may consider the one who
opposes it to be kafir. And this is a matter that is clear in all of the texts that mention
punishments, and [one that] Ahl al-Sunnna affirms. So one does not testify regarding
specific person of this Umma that he shall be in the Fire, because there is a possibility he
shall not, due to an impeding factor or a lock of the necessary conditions. *Ibn
Taymiyyah, Majmu alFatawa+ *M.F. 35/165+

Excuses that prevent takfir:
1. Ignorance (jahl)
a. An uneducated man blindly following his leaders (taqlid)
b. Not being capable of knowing or learning (ajz)
c. Ignorance is relative (time, place, person)
hadith in bukhari a man who lieved before us wasiya to kids to cremate his body and scatter
his ashes out of fear of allahs punishment allah forgave him because of fear ibn taymiyyah
comments - this man tried to outdo allah and in his actions he denied that allah is
overpowerftul, he partially denied day of judgment thinking he will be exempt and allah forgave
him due to ignoranc
Hadith of abu waaqid al laythi one day old muslims passed by a tree good luck tree
dhaatu anwaaq to hand weapons subhanallah you have asked idol other than allah good
luck charm god other than allah who can protect you prophet did not make takfir on him
his ignorance excused him.
Blind following leaders taqleed allah says in quran that the excuse of blind following of idol
worshippers is not accepted but we are differentiating muslim from kaafirs we see muslims
going to grave based on the teaching of his sheikh thinking that this is the teaching of islam
this is diff from a hindu worshipping idol he is ignorant and may be forgiven
Ignorance is relative time place person one born in 4
th
century Baghdad v/s kid in 21
st

century in America --- this is one of the easiest places to use the excuse of ignorance
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

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What is iqamatul hujjah you present the evidence so clearly crystal that the opponent knows
that he is rejecting allah an dhis messenger - we have this movt of secular muslims in America
progressives who say we believe but dont take the quran as source of legislation
Evidences for iqamatul hujjah it is the establishment of the evidence that removes the excuse
of ignorance your opponent understands that by rejecting you they are rejecting allah ( 17:15)
allah does not punish until messengers are sent so who are we to establish takfir witout giving
th emessage. 4: --- messengers are sent so that ppl will have no excuse from allah therefore if
the message has not come you have excuse
67:7 the angels ask did not the messengers come? You cannot end up in hell till you are
completely ignorant 28:56 messengers sent to give message
Summarize this section someone who hold the believ of kufr does not become kaafir and be
sure that excuses are not met like ignorance,
Bin baaz interpreted the verse inil hukmu illa billah tafsir tabari ibn abbas said this is kufr
doona kufr lesser kufr and it is major sin-
Iqamatu hujjah should be done by group of scholars
Hallaj was executed - for saying ana al haqq he was in prison for 2 yrs and many scholars
debated him and them sent the verdict
everyone knows that alcohol is haram, no idol worship, prophet is the last prophet so what
is daroorah is varied through time and place and person.
Whoever shows respect to the signs of allah is from the taqwa.
Average American born muslim is utterly jaahil of what is necessitated

2. Genuine mistake (khata). it is of the mercy of allah that khataa is not even written down and
held to account. There is penalty in this dunya depending on the gravity of the ppls rights
violated through this khataa in verse in taubah there is no sin for the khataa but that which
is determined is held accountable.
The common eg in the book of fiqh throwing the quran on floor ( v/s that which falls accidently
on floor this is not penalized) but this is clear kufr
Hadith memorize principle of fiqh ibn majah my lord has overlooked frommy ummah
anything that is done with mistakes, under compulsion or forgetfulness. An explicit eg is the
man who looses his camel and then after dismal death he finds and in joy says I am your lord
and you are my slave prophet smiled and said he said kufr out of extreme joy

3. Being coerced (ikrah). hadith Allah overlooks that is under compulsion. The story of ammar
ibn yaasir made to say kufr statements of blasphemy against the prophet. He asked how do
you find your heart? He said the same state as it was before - surah annahl :106 revealed
prophet said if they ask you to repeat , repeat it.
There is unanimous consensus that ikrrah can only occur on external body your inside must be
mumin since no one can force you to love someone or hate there are conditions for ikraah
genuine threat that is executable of loss of life or limbs, there is level of commonsense
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

41

involved see the books of usul al fiqh. People are of diff strength - woman v/s man, there are
various scenirios. You can never kill another under compulsion because your life is no more
sacred than another human this is the beauty of our deen. By unanimous consensus that to
sacrifice yourself and not to bend down to the threat is of higher status and reward so the
level of yaasir and summaiya and bilal I s better than ammar. There is hadith in sahih muslim
when sahaba asked when will the help of allah arrive? He said you are being hasty ppl b4 were
tortured and killed-------but if the person does not have so much of resolve he is forgiven

4. A genuine incorrect interpretation (tawil)

_. <!, _. .-, ....,| | _. : .,l _.L`. _..,!, _>.l _. _. >l!,
.. `,l- '.s _. < `l .s ',Ls _

Whoever disbelieved in Allah after his belief, except Him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at
rest with faith but such as open their breasts to disbelief, on them is Wrath from Allah, and Theirs will be
a great torment. *An-Nahl:106]
A genuine interpretation the hadith in s. bukhari anytime a person judges with correct ruling
2 rewards and if wrong ruling 1 reward. The story of person who asked his kids to cremate
had distorted understanding, muadh after coming back from Syria and prostrated to prophet
he saw the priests and rabbi werer prostrating so I thought you deserve more ( this was his
taweel) . there was a companion ( very famous ) who misinterpreted a verse in quran and say
alcohol is permissible umar punished him for drinking but never gave him the ruling of ridda.
Though in the fiqh books you see the fatwa that anyone who considers alcohol is halal is doing
kufr. Another sahaba ( ibn masood) said surah falaq and naas are dua and not the surah
revelation of quran, this is b4 the uthmaani compilation of quran. There is a scholar who says
that every qul in quran is interpolation qul is commandment to jibreel to say and quran
starts with huwathe ulema made takfir of this person since in our times we cannot say this or
use taweel with quran
Ahlusunnah deny qadr is kufr but we don t say takfir on every individual mutazila
Not every taweel is excused extreme 7ers ismailis made a type of tawweel that are not
excused all halal and haram in quran are symbolic --- go fo hajj m,eans visit imam therefore
agha khanis have no shariah. The sufi concept of dhaahir and baatin of understanding of quran.
Our cousins have taweel of asma wa sifat yet our ulema do not make takfir, but they made
takfir on baateeniyah who tried to annul the shariah, but our cousins taweel was genuine
tanzeeh of allah. Ibn taymiyyah has said If I were to hold this belief that allah has no direction I
would be kaafir but I dont say to you that you are kaafir
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

42

To deny direction to allah means to claim non existence of allah this is necessity of the claim-
but the claim is that we cannot attribute or restrict to allah. So if you asks ahlussunnah that this
is kufr for it means there is no god but if you ask them do you believe in allah they say yes.
LAAZIMUL MADHABI LAISA BIMADHABI THAT WHICH AN OPINION NECESSITATES IS NOT
AN OPINION.
So there is no mistaken or jahl that there is no prophet after Muhammad so qaadiyani are
kaafir. Nation of islam say allah came to earth no mistaken taweel.

10.6. Sumary of Iman and Kufr
1. The essence (or base, or foundation) of kufr and Iman are mutually exclusive.
2. Both have pillars and foundations, and also branches and subdivisions
3. Both are composed of inner belief and outer actions
4. Some actions and beliefs are intrinsically linked to iman and kufr. Only a muslim prays and only a
kaafir worships idol

5. All good deeds exist as pillars or branches of Iman, and all sins are manifestations of the
branches of kufr.
6. It is possible that a person has the foundation of Iman but some branches of kufr, and vice
versa.
7. Having a branch of kufr does not necessitate becoming a kafir.
And vice versa A MUSLIM CAN COMMIT KUFR WITHOUT BEING A KAAFIR AND A KAAFIR CAN
DO DEEDS OF EMAN ALLAH WILL REWARD HIM IN DUNYA BUT HE WILL NOT REWARD HIM
WITH ITS BASIS IN JANNAH.

THE TOPIC TO BE DISCUSSED LATER IN ANOTHER CLASS AL WALAA WAL BARAA
These are terms found in quran and sunnah walaa comes from waw lam yu walyu == means proximity,
it can be physical, by blood, kinship, friendship. Baraa bar uu is the opposite to distance yourself
from.
Tech to have affiliation love for allah and messenger and the followers of the deen and baraa is to
dissociate from all those factore
Terms used more than 30 times in quran and sunnah awliayaa , ikwatun, hizbullah, bunyaanun
marsoos. Baraa is opposite the beginning verse of taubah, Ibrahim and his followers surah
mumtahinah inna nahnu buraaa it is part of islam and it is logical if you love anything then you will
hate anyone and anything that threaten your love its is human nature to love and hate emotions in
heart if you have passion for anything - and you will support that cause and oppose those who oppose
it . as muslims we are supposed to love allah and messenger and to some extent hate those who
oppose them ( this is topic which requires lot of disclaimers have to balance the allegiance to the
deen and country)
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

43

Guidelines
1. Yes we love the truth and hate the opposite as requisite of islam, in the history of islam only in
our times the progressives have derided this concept which was so far unanimously agreed on
by every gp sunni, shia
2. Even in idealistic Islamic society the govt does not have the right to stop shirk and practice
their culture we can only stopthem from extending that to muslims selling alcohol to musims
baraa is in the heart-
3. Does our religion teach hatred of non muslims?? This is the cornerstone debate in our society
quran and sunnah shows that person can be loved in some aspect and hated for some the
concept that we are supposed to hate is the kufr in them and not their person imp evidence
of abu talib consensus of sunni he is kaafir. The prophet loved him innaka laa tahdee man
ahbabta so you hate the kufr in your parents but you love them for other reasons and you are
allowed to uphold that love as long as it does not conflict with religion. Muslim marrying ahle
kitab how can there be successful marriage and flourishing family without love??? Those who
treat us bad and hate for our religion we are allowed to retaliate but how many are they? In
the entire seerah the prophet did good and responded with praise to those who helped and
sympathized, at times he even forgave those who hated him or did harm him. Mutim ibn adiyy
who did things that no pagan did for islam he plotted a plan to help break the boycott against
muslims, he would go in the middle of night and bring camel loaded food for them, yet he died
as mushrik. In the prisoner of badr prophet made cryptic comment -if mutim were alive and
requested to return these prisoner I would have handed back all to them. This is the honor and
respect posthumously given to a pagan because of his favors.
4. The key passages to look are the verses in surah mumtahinah 7-9, birr to justice is the
spectrum and what level you will do depends on the situation and individual cases another
verses in surah anfal : 72 allah differentiates between political walaa and theological walaa.
They both do not go hand in hand,
5. Yq believes any muslim who resides in this land should educate the ppl around in ways that
will not harm him or his family. The countries we live in are modern product and having
citizenship means you will safeguard the existence of it. We need new fiqh and ijtihad and not
apply the rulings by medieval scholars which was for their time. I can be loyal to allah and not be
treacherous to this land. The constitution gives you the right to criticize the constitution.
6. The concept of darulsalaam and darul kufr there is no verse in quranand hadith but there is
legit deriving from implicit references in quranand sunnah and based on this they derived rulings
but that was for a diff world - and times. Hadith in abu daud if someone trusts you then
fulfill the trust and do not do khiyaanah and if someone is treacherous to you then dont be
treacherous to him.
11 THE OPPOSING GROUPS
11.1. The History of the Conflict
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

44

Death of Umar b. al-Khattab
o Who amongst you has heard the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)discuss fitnathe
ones that are like the tidal waves of the ocean? Hudhayfa responded, What do you
have to do with those, O Commander of the Faithful, for between you and it is a closed
door. Will the door be broken or will it open? No, rather it will be broken. Then
it makes sense that it shall never be close after it. So we asked Hudhayfa if Umar knew
who that door was. He said, Yes, just like he knows that after today shall come
tomorrow. *Muslim, Sahih Muslim+
Discontent during the time of Uthman Eventual assassination
Two wars at the time of Ali (Battle of the Camel and Battle of Siffin in 36 AH)
Formation of numerous groups as direct or indirect result
o Various groups of Companions (at least 3)
o The khawarij
o The shiites

11.2. The KHawarij
Abu Salama related that Abu Said said, While the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)was
distributing *zakat+, Abdullah ibn Dhil-Khuwaysira at-Tamimi came and said, O Messenger of
Allah, be just! He said to him, Woe to you! Who will be just if I am not just? Umar ibn al-
Khattab said, Give me permission to cut off his head! He said, Leave him. He has companions
whose prayer will make yours seem paltry and whose fasting makes your seems paltry. They
will pass through the deen like the arrow passes through game. One looks at his arrowhead and
there is nothing on it. Then he looks at the mount of its head and there is nothing on it. He will
look at its shaft and there is nothing on it. Then he will look at its feather and there will be
nothing on them, for it has been too fast for excrement and blood. Their sing will be a dark
man, one of whose arms is like a womans breast, or a piece of meat palpitating. They will
emerge when there are parties among the people.
Camped at a place called Nahawand (around 6 thousand)
Ibn Abbas was sent to debate with them
Ali was forced to fight them

Leaders:
o Nafi b al-Azraq (founded the Azariqa)
o Najda b. Amir
o Abdullah b. Ibad

Beliefs
o Iman consists of faith, statements, and actions, as an entire whole
o A person either has this entire whole, or he has nothing
o Therefore, if one essential action is missing (or a sin committed), the entire name of
Iman must be taken away
o Any person who commits a sin will be treated as a murtad life, property and women
will be permissible.
o All of the Companions who participated in the Arbitration have committed a sin, hence
are non-Muslims.
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

45

11.3. The First Murjia
Al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Hanafiyya (grandson of Ali)
o *NOTE: Not related to Imam, but the term was coined

11.4. The Murjia of the Jurists
Founded by: Dharr b. Abdullah al-Harawi (d. ~ 99 AH) or Hammad b. Abi Sulayman (d. 120 AH)
o Iman consists of belief and affirmation of the tongue
o Actions are not a part of Iman, but an indication ( to refute the kharijite belief that
action are whole part of eman)
o People are all the same in their base level of Iman, but not in their actions
o Actual Iman does not increase or decrease, but some emotions of the heart and actions
do
o Did not allow istithna (i.e., saying InshaaAllah when asked about ones Iman) since the
essence of Iman is the same, and to doubt it is kufr

11.5. The Jahmiyya
Founded by Jahm b. Safwan (d. 124 AH)
o Belief was only knowledge (marifa)
o Actions do not form a part of Iman or kufr

11.6. The Real Murjia
Many different founders of different groups (at least 15 different groups)
o Iman consist of belief of the heart only
o Actions are not a part of Iman completely independent of it
o People are all the same in their level of Iman
o Iman does not increase or decrease
o The sinner is a mumin with full Iman and shall enter paradise
o Most did not allow istihna

11.7. The Asharites and Maturidites
Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari (d. 324) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333)
o Iman is belief (tasdiq)
o Agreed with the murjia on all of their premises

11.8. The Evidences of the Opposing Groups
The Murjia of the Jursists
The creed of al-Tahawi:
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

46

o 57. We do not consider any of the people of our qibla to be unbelievers because of any
wrong action ( here we have to add other than kufr and shirk) they have done, as long
as they do not consider that action to have been lawful.
o 58. Nor do we say that the wrong action of a man who has belief does not have a
harmful effect on him.
o We hope that Allah will pardon the people of right action among the believers and grant
them entrance into the Garden through His mercy, but we cannot be certain of this, and
we cannot bear witness that it will definitely happen and that they will be in the Garden.
We ask forgiveness for the people of wrong action among the believers and, although
we are afraid for them, we are not in despair about them
o 61. A person does not( may) step out of belief ( if he says or acts things that contradict
eman) except by disavowing what brought him into it.
o 62. Belief consists of affirmation by the tongue and acceptance by the heart(actions
of limbs)
o 64. Belief is, at base, the same for everyone, but the superiority of some over others in
it is due to their fear and awareness of Allah (SUBHANAHU WA TAALA), their opposition
to their desires, and their choosing what is more pleasing to Allah.

The Murjia
Ibn Taymiyya mentions that the term murjia was applied by the salaf to three groups:
o 1) Those who said that Iman exists only in the heart
A) Excluded actions of the heart (such as the Jahmiyya) for them eman is only
to know that there is God. Accordingly for them iblees and firawn are also
muslims.
B) Included actions of the heart (most groups)
o 2) Those who said that it exists in the tongue only (the Karramiyya) these are no more
existing.
o 3) Those who said that it is the belief of the heart and the affirmation of the tongue
(murjiatul fuqaha)
First Evidence: Fabricated Traditions
o Whoever presumes that Iman increases and decreases then its increase is nifaq and
decrease is Kufr. They must repent or be killed; they are the enemies of al-Rahman;
they have left the religion of Allah and accepted kufr
o Does Iman increase and decrease? No, its increase is hypocrisy and its decrease is
disbelief.
Second Evidence: Linguistic Understandings
o The Asharite definition of Iman is that it is synonymous with tasdiq, or merely affirming
the truth. They based this on two basic premises:
First Premise: Linguistically, Iman is completely synonymous with faith, or
tasdiq
_. `lL _.. _. _ls < !,. . ...,!:, ..| _l`, _`.>.l _
And you will never be a mumin to us even if we are sadiqin *Yusuf:17+

Claimed ijma
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

47

Second Premise: Tasdiq is purely an action of the heart and exists only in the heart.
Ahl al-Sunnahs response:
o Where did you get this unanimous consensus from?
o Even if this definition were correct, it would only be defining the linguistic meaning of the
word, and not its technical, Islamic one.
o The two words are in fact not synonymous [Ibn Taymiyya views the word iqrar as being
linguistically close to Iman].
o There are clear Quranic examples of those who have tasdiq but are not believers
o The Quran and Sunnah used the term tasdiq for actions

Third Evidence: Various Texts
1.
.> !. _`..`, <!, ,,l > _:`, _. :!> < .`]. l .l
, , ! , > , . ! , > | > . ` s : , : ` l . , . _ l , ` , . . _ ,` . > , ` _
.. `l>.`, ..> _> _. !.> `.. _..> !, _. < .s . .s
,.l` ,> < | ,> < `> >l. __
For such He has written faith in their hearts *Al-Mujadilah: 22].

Ahl al-Sunnahs response: The context is evidence against them; Iman settles in the heart.

2. The hadith of the slave girl, for the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)testified that she was a
mumin just by her shahadah.

o Ahl al-Sunnahs response: The issue of the relationship between Islam and iman; also
the context, for one must free a believing slave, so he is not testifying to her high faith
but rather that she is a believer.

3. The hadith of the people of hell

o Ahl al-Sunnahs response:
The hadith is evidence against them in the issue of increase/decrease of iman
Combining all of the versions
Linguistically, it is allowed to say he does not have it if he does not have the
necessary and acceptable requirements, even if he has some parts of it.
There might very well be such people if the hadith is taken at its face value
completely literally and Allah might forgive them for their ignorance.
This is the very last group of people, and no matter how one interprets it, it is
not precise to make definitions out of exceptions.
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

48

4. The entire Quran, from beginning to ending, always differentiates between Iman and actions.
In over seventy verse this phrase appears. This clearly shows that the two are not the same.

o Ahl al-Sunnahs response:
Once again this is evidence against them
The conjunctive and does not necessarily imply difference
Context of the term
People who believe yet are not Muslims

The Khawarij and Mutazila
Evidences:

!.| !.l. .`.l !, _.> ". `>> !, _,,.l _.] .l`. _.l :!> ,..`,l
'!,> !., L`>.`. _. .. < .l ,ls ,.: ':>. _!.l :>
: . , : ! , . . _ . . . ! l , . _ l ` > > , . ! . _ < ! ` l . , > ` l > . ` _ _

And whoever does not judge by the revelation of Allah is a kafir *Al-Maidah:44+

, , , . , . . . 1 ! ` | , > , . _ : > ` . l , . . ! < s l _ l . ! _ > _ l , . _ .` . L ! _
| l , . , , . _ | < s . _ s _ l - . l . , _ _ _

And Allah has obligated upon mankind the pilgrimage to the House, whoever can afford to do so. But
whoever does kufr then Allah is not in need of the creation *Al-Imran:97]

.s < _.] `.., `>.. l.s .>l..l `.l>.`.,l _ _ !. l>.`.
_.] _. l, _.>,`,l > `.,: _.] _.. > .l.,`,l _. .-, > !..
, - , . . . _ : _ _ : , : ! . _ , - . : l , ! ` l . , > ` l . . 1 _ _

So whoever does kufr after that is indeed amongst the fasiqs *Al-Nur: 55]

Response:
o Selection of some verses while ignoring many others
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

49

FITAN AT THE TIME OF SAHABA prophecy of trials and tribulations in this ummah
The prophet spoke a lot of khawaarij and their overzealousness and extremists seem to be
deceiving by their piety but they are murderers and blood shedders foolish, overzealous,
eloquent speakers ( sunan abu daud)
What did they believe? The very first controversy in our deen was over eman what constitutes
it? And are the actions part of eman?? Yes but khawaarij believe that all actions are part of
eeman so if you do one sin you are a kaafir. Whereas ahulussunnah say that actions are part of
eman but committing sin does not make you kaafir eman is dynamic state. For the khawaarij
all are murtadd and their blood is legal and their wives are legal it is imp to note that there
were no sahaba in their camp.
A huge controversy erupted what is the status of sahaba who participated in the conflict of ali
and muawiyah al hasan b. Muhammad al hanafiyaa said we delay ( irjaa) and stay away from
it. With every one action there is equal and opposite reaction, so in reaction to khawaarij came
the murjiaa- - murjiaa of jurists founded by hammad b abi sulayman
This gp was composed of righteous ulema and ascetics of iraaq eventually a famous scholar
wrote a book on the aqeedah of this school at tahaawiyy
Another gp came who claimed actions are not even part of iman - jahm ibn safwan who formed
the worst murjia belief this led to formation of real murjia = many gps atleast 15 gps, for the
murjia iman is tasdiq = believe of the heart only, actions are completely independent of eman
it is at same level for all ppl so sinner is mumin with full eman even if he is hell one extreme say
my iman is same as that of the prophet
When abul hasan al ashari tried to form composite aqeedah taking part from mutazila part from
kullabiya - they are our theological cousins. He agrees with most of the premises of most of the
gps. He had to add that sinner is under the threat of punishment iman is only tasdiq and
actions are not part of eman.
What creed do they hold? Read aqeedah attahawiyy the murjia have some historical
precedence in tahawiyy.
Ibn taymiyyah said murijia was applied to 3 eman is only in heart/eman is only on
tongue/eman in heart and tongue.
Evidences of murjia fabricated hadiths, their main evidence is linguistic defn of eman == just
belief, surah yusuf :17 and they say there is ijma that eman is just belief ( tasdiq) ibn taymiyyah
refutes that the closest term is iqraar. Why restrict onlyeman with ling defn when you dont
define salah and zakat liniguistically. Allah did not give sharie status of mumin to those who
knew --- iblees refused and rejected, firawn 27:14 had yaqeen that musa was true, 17:102, the
people who knew prophet to be true like yahuud,and lastly the term tasdiq can also be applied
to actions.

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

50

Hadith sahih muslim allah takes out ppl from hellfire in batches lam yamluu qatt -- there
are many ways to respond 1. Clearly this is exception not the rule only one person did not do
any good for what ever reason and allah has accepted his eman so you cannot take your rule
from the exception but from generality.
Another way to understand is that he did some good actions but it is allowed to negate when
done properly like the hadith of Bedouin who prayed incorrectly.
Another point- this is shaadh narration there are 5 narrations from other sahaba this word
not mentioned.
Allahs taking out ppl in batches is proof that iman increases and decreases because if all was one
level then all should be taken out together.

Another verse those who believe and do good action they say that eman and action are two
different things
Why is always action always emphasized to show that it is important manifestation of eman
The conjunction wa--- does not always imply 2 different entity and can be used to emphasise
one important part of the whole surah baqarah those who are enemy to angels wa jibreel
wa mikaail also in haafidhu aslsaati was salaatil wustaa
Another evidence used - hadith of bitaana , hadith whoever says kalima with sincerity enters
jannah == response our method is to use all the evidence as a whole and not in part and
parcel,
There are conditions to the shahada even the murjia dont take this hadith literally -
Knowledge- Certainity-Acceptance-Submission-Trust-Sincerity-Love

CONCLUSION
Some of the Characteristics of the People of Iman:

. _l `...l _.] > _ :. `-:.> _ _.] > _s -ll _.-`.
_ _.] > :ll l-. _ _.] > >`l L.> _ | _ls > !.
>l. ..., .| ,s _,.l. _ _. _-., , ,l: ,.l`! `> :!-l _
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

51

_.] > ..... >.s `s _ _.] _`= _ls :l. L!> _ ,.l` `>
.l _.] ., _:l > !, ..>
Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive. And
they who turn away from ill speech. And they who are observant of zakah. And they who guard their
private parts. Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be
blamed But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors. And they who are to their
trusts and their promises attentive. And they who carefully maintain their prayers. Those are the
inheritors Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally. [Al-Muminum: 1-11]

!..| _`...l _.] :| : < l> ',l :| ,l. ,ls ...,, :: !...,| _ls
`, l., _ _.] _.,1`, :l.l !.. .. 1.`, _ ,.l` `>
`...l !1> > .>: ..s `, :-. _ ', _

The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His
verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their lord they rely The ones who
establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. Those are the believers, truly.
For them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision. [Al-Anfal: 2-
4]

!..| _`...l _.] `.., <!, .]. . l ,!., ..> l.!, `.. _
_,,. < ,.l` `> _...l _

The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam)and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is
those who are the truthful. [Al-Hujurat: 15]

Sh. Yasir Qadhi

52

`...l ....l .-, ',!,l _-, _'.!, .`-.l!, ., _s >..l
_.,1`, :l.l _.`, :l _`-,L`, < .`]. ,.l` `.-,. < | <
,s ',>> _

The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid
what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu alayhe
wa sallam). Those Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exhalted in Might and Wise. *At-
Tawbah: 71]

_,.`.l _.,.-l _...>' _>..l _`-l _.>..l `.
.`-.l!, _>!.l _s ..l L.>l :.>' < :, _,...l _

*Such believers are+ the repentant, the worshippers, the praisers [of Allah], the travelers [for His cause],
those who bow and prostrate [in prayer], those who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and
those who observe the limits *set by+ Allah. And give good tidings to the believers. *Al-Tawbah:112]

,, _`..`, _.> .>>`, !., >: `., . .> _ .. l>> !..
,. .l. !.,l`. __

But no, by your Lord, they will not *truly+ believe until they make you, *O Muhammad (sallallaahu
alayhe wa sallam)+, judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find
within themselves no discomfort form what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission. [Al-
Nisa: 65]

_,l l l. >>`>` _, _:.l ,-.l _>.l l _. _., <!, ,,l >
.l.l ..>l _.,,.l _., _!.l _ls .,`> _: _1l _...,l _,>...l
_ _,,.l _!.l _ !l ,! :l.l _., :l _.l >.-, :|
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

53

..s _..l _ ,!.!,l ,.l _,> _!,l ,.l` _.] .. ,.l` `>
1`..l __

Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or west, but *true+ righteousness is *in+
one who believes in Allah, Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of
love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves;
[and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and
[those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been
true, and it is those who are the righteous. [Al-Baqarah: 177]

_l..1. !. .>. `..., .> _>|, _.l > ',., . :.
`.:> <! _> ::> | .. _,... _

Do you fear them? But Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are *truly+ believers. *Al-
Tawbah: 13]

_. _,...l _l> .. !. ..s < ,ls .. _. _. .,> .. _. `L.., !.
l., ,.,. __

Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah. Among them is he who has fulfilled his
vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of
their commitment] by any alteration. [Al-Ahzab: 23]

None of you has Iman until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-
Bukhari]

None of you has Iman until I am more beloved to him than his father, son and indeed all of mankind.
[Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhair]

Whoever truly believes in Allah and the last Day let him say well, or else be silent! And whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day let him not harm his neighbor! And whoever believes in Allha and
the Last Day let him be generous with his guest. *Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari]

The most perfect of believers in his Iman is the one with the most beautiful manners. *Abu Dawud,
Sunan Abu Dawud]
Sh. Yasir Qadhi

54

Abdullah b. Masud said: A believer can have any characteristic, except for treachery and lying.

Ubay b. Kaab said, The believer is in one of four scenarios: if he is tested, he is patient, and if he is
given, he is thankful, and if he speaks, he tells the truth, and if he judges, he is just.

Hasan al-Basri said, Being in-between a state of fear and hoe is a constant matter for the believer.

Fudayl b. Iyad said, The believer speaks little, but does much. And the hypocrite talks a lot, but does
little. The believers speech is wisdom, his silence is contemplation, his gaze is pondering, his actions are
righteous. So if this is your state, you shall perpetually be in worship.

Malik b. Dinar said, The believer is like a pearl; wherever he goes, his beauty is ever with him.

CONCLUSION
Dont just be donkey laden with books load we need to increase our eman seek beneficial
ilm, and let not your tomorrow be same like today eman increases and decreases and life is
slippery slope so beware of all downfalls
Ways to increase eman
1. Recite quran
2. Study aqeedah and allahs names and attributes
3. Good deeds in general
4. Dhikr of allah especially dua
5. Pious company
6. Seerah and biography of sahaba and scholars and all the prophets of allah
7. Tadabbur over creation secular sciences when studied with eman gives eman rush
8. Decreasing sins
9. Conscious of death and
10. Thinking of herafter
Let not this class be mere academics check list the verses of the characteristics of the
believers and look in the mirror are you that person ???

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Aqeedah IV: Darkness to Light

Sh. Waleed Basyouni

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