Salman ibn Fahd al-'Awdah
There are issues that I used to follow closely a while back and that would flare up from time to time. I used to refrain from responding to them, however. I had always been certain that giving such matters any extra attention would be directing my energies away from more important pursuits. Then, in spite of the fact that these issues affected me directly, I began to see that their implications extended beyond the people involved and that it was necessary to address them, not on a personal level, but in order to explain our beliefs and our religion. I still spent years avoiding these matters as much as I could, resisting the urge to responds to what was being said, waiting for a less sensitive time when addressing these issues would not be seen as a personal defense, but as a purely academic discourse.
Then I received a letter from the respected Sheikh `Abd Allah b. `Abd al-Rahmân al-Jibrîn that made me start thinking that the time had come for me to say what I had to say, with the hope that Allah will make what I say beneficial to us all. What I received from Ibn Jibrîn was a letter full of questions that he had received from a very zealous brother. All of his concerns, however, could be summed up in two major questions, and it is these two that I wish to address.
The questioner wrote:
Al-Salâm `Alaykum wa Rahmah Allah wa Barakâtuh.
We wish the respected Sheikh `Abd Allah al-Jibrîn to answer the following questions:
1. What is the Islamic legal ruling regarding a person who says the following about a flagrantly sinful singer:
"Allah will not forgive him unless he repents, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned that he will not be excused, saying: 'All of my people will be excused except those who are flagrant about their sins.' because he had become an apostate from Islam by his action. This man is a permanent denizen of the Fire - may Allah protect us from such a fate! - unless he repents. Why? Because he does not believe in Allah's words: 'Do not approach fornication, for it is a calumny and an evil way'. I swear by Allah, whoever knows that fornication is forbidden, is a calumny, and that it angers Allah, would never go around boasting about it before the people - in front of hundreds of thousands or millions of people."
O Sheikh `Abd Allah al-Jibrîn, what is the Islamic ruling on someone who says something like that? Is he not a Khârijî? Should we warn the Muslims against him for the sake of Allah and His Messenger? Should we mention him by name when we do so? Bear in mind that he has been advised about his conduct, but refuses to recant his statement.
2. What is the Islamic legal ruling about a person who makes a distinction between the divinely supported faction and the saved group and who claims that Sheikh `Abd al-`Azîz b. Bâz agreed with him on that matter? When Sheikh Bin Bâz was asked about this, he said that he did not agree with it and said that the divinely supported faction was the same as the saved group.
Al-Salâm `Alaykum wa Rahmah Allah wa Barakâtuh.
Sheikh `Abd Allah b. Jibrîn graciously added the following comments to the letter and forwarded it to me.
He wrote:
`Alaykum al-Salâm wa Rahmah Allah wa Barakâtuh.
I see it appropriate to refer this matter to the respected Sheikh Salmân b. Fahd al-Oadah so he may respond to it since he is specialized in these issues and he is best suited to discuss them with the questioner and no doubt the questioner will be satisfied by his answer if that questioner is sincere in seeking the truth. And Allah knows best. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
`Abd Allah b. `Abd al-Rahmân al-Jibrîn 22/12/1422
I sincerely desire to respond to the questioner in a manner that will not injure his feelings, and I wish to clarify the issues at hand so that, by Allah's grace, there will be no misunderstanding. The first statement about the singer was made during a public lecture that I delivered entitled "A Meeting on the Platform".
The respected brother indicated that the speaker had been advised about his conduct, but refuses to recant his statement. It seems as if he understood from my statement that I deem sinners to be unbelievers. I admit that the statement I made, on the face of it, might be understood that way if considered apart from its context and the circumstances in which it was made. Yet it is a well known fact that I made the statement in an imprompt speech given to the general public. Words spoken off the cuff are not indicative of all their implications and subtle meanings as much as they are just trying to hit home a general point. Aside from this, scholars are agreed that the indirect implications of a person's statement are not to be taken into consideration when direct, unambiguous statements to the contrary are available from the same person. Imam Ibn al-Wazîr discusses this matter in his book al-`Awâsim wa al-Qawâsim and says that it is a matter of agreement between the people of knowledge.
The circumstances of this speaker and his well-known statements are sufficient to clarify what he meant on that occasion. However, in order to make things perfectly clear to anyone who needs clarification, I now say: No Muslim becomes an unbeliever on account of his sins as long as he does not declare these sins to be lawful acts in Islam. No one disagrees with this fact except for the sect known as the Khârijîs and those who follow in their footsteps - those who seek a way to make lawful the unjust killing of other Muslims, the seizure of their property, and the defamation of their honor.
This sect is false and those who have followed it are well known. There is no need for us to ferret out peculiarities in a person's speech to try and make him one of them. It should be assumed from the start that a Muslim is of sound beliefs. So, if a Muslim disassociates himself from the teachings of the Khârijîs, then he should be believed and his affair should be left for Allah to decide. There is no need to force this person to accept the unintended implications of a certain statement of his and then recant them.
The hypocrites came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) after his return from the Battle of Tabûk and offered him their excuses for why they did not participate in it. He accepted their excuses from them, sought forgiveness from them, and left their inner motivations for Allah to judge.
Today, we call the Muslims who have come together as brothers in faith to realize this type of good conduct in their interactions with each other. They should accept each other's excuses and seek forgiveness for each other. They should assume the best about each other and leave what is unseen for Allah to decide.
The statement in question was not intended to convey the meaning that the questioner understood from it. This should be clear because the printed text of the speech mentions his fornication, his seduction of young women, and his condemnation of those who do not act like he does. It mentions that he considers fornication to a sign of masculinity, a part of being young, and of being a complete person. It mentions that he makes light of his sins, even though Allah says: "Do not approach fornication, for it is a calumny and an evil way." Does anyone who believes that fornication is a calumny that brings about Allah's anger go around boasting about it?
This makes it clear that the issue at hand was not his singing to begin with, but his praise of licentious behavior, his extolling the virtues of fornication and those who engage in it, and his ridicule of those who abstain from it that they are not real men. This is quite different than just committing the sin itself.
When we look at this speech I gave, we should bear in mind that a person's words are merely the receptacle of his intended meaning. If his meaning is clear, then his choice of words may be pardoned, even if his choice of words could have been better and even if he was blatantly mistaken in his choice of words.
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) has related to us the story of a man who stumbled in his words and accidentally said: "O Allah! You are my slave and I am your Lord." That man was not sinful.
A person's words should not be taken out of context or exaggerated out of proportion. Hidden meanings should not be sought out by the listener or the reader so that the speaker can be held accountable for them, especially when the speaker's only purpose was to give advice and benefit people.
The Khârijîs had two equally corrupt tendencies that complemented each other. The first of these was extremism in matters of belief that they mistook as reverence for the sanctity of Islamic Law. They became injudicious because of their excessive tendencies and considered anyone who committed sins to be an unbeliever. The second of these tendencies stemmed from the first. It was that they aggressed against other Muslims and were violent in their conduct towards them, going so far as to deem their lives, property, and honor lawful to them.
We can thank Allah that the vast majority of Muslims do not accept the extreme views of the Khârijîs. They do not call sinners unbelievers. The number of people who subscribe to such extreme views is negligible. May Allah protect the Muslims from any harm that such people might be able to cause.
Unfortunately, there are those out there who transgress against the lives and property of other Muslims using twisted interpretations. What they are doing is dangerous. I have written extensively about them and have warned people against them. Such warnings, however, are not enough. The only way we can effectively deal with this problem is to get rid of its causes, among which are the vicious attacks and draconian limitations being foisted upon those who wish to work for Islam. These circumstances force those engaged in Islamic work to withdraw within themselves, which puts them in a situation where it becomes difficult for them to engage in needed self-assessment and correction.
Then there are those good people who possess understanding and reject the Khârijîs and their ideas, often vehemently. Sadly, however, some of them seem to have adopted for themselves one of the bad traits of the Khârijîs and that is their harsh treatment of those who disagree with them and the speed with which they are willing to heap accusations upon them. How quick they are to call other people heretics, misguided innovators, Murji'ites, or Khârijîs. They often do so without having any insight and without having sufficient knowledge to deal with the issues at hand. Their loyalty and their enmity for others become founded on this dubious basis. Often a young man among them gets so overwhelmed by such ideas that he spends all his time defending them and arguing about them and in the process wastes the most valuable years of his life which he could have spent increasing his knowledge and building his character.
Correcting people and clarifying the truth to them is a duty upon the people of knowledge who are qualified to do so, who possess both the knowledge and the compassion to carry it out effectively. Allah says: "We gave him mercy from Ourselves and taught him from Our knowledge." [Sûrah al-Kahf: 65]
People of discernment can see which efforts in Islamic work actually devour one another and cancel each other out, even though there may be a desperate need for similar efforts to be made that would prove effective, especially in a time where the Muslims are incapable of fending off their real enemies that are descending upon our lands and our wealth and interfering in every aspect of our lives.
Worse than all of this is our weakness in conveying Islam to others. While we are avidly bickering with one another on diverse matters, going around in circles without getting anywhere, four-fifths of the world are still non-Muslims, and most of them never had the message of Islam presented to them.
We should see that these two glaring problems are the real struggle that we should be preparing ourselves to engage in. We should cease attacking our brothers, preferring instead to be lenient with each other, accepting each other's excuses, and regarding each other in the best possible light. We should refrain from being severe. As for those brothers who claim to be defending the honor and reputation of certain Islamic workers, I say to them: You have done a good thing. However, it is more important for you to defend Islam and its beliefs and to try to better the sorry state of the Muslims. It is also more important for you to invite non-Muslims to Islam and work constructively in serving the religion and in developing the world.
It is not a problem if a person dies on true monotheism but has a bad opinion about me. It is, though, a problem for that person to die in ignorance of Allah, His religion, and His Law, or to die ignorant of His Book and His Messengers. We all know that the efforts that we can expend on our religion are limited by many constraints, so why then should we not concentrate on what is more important and beneficial?
The second issue brought up by our zealous questioner is that I make a distinction between the saved group and the divinely supported faction. He also brings up that I claimed Ibn Bâz agreed with me on this issue but that he actually disagreed and said they were both the same thing.
There is nothing wrong with investigating this issue, since it is a topic that always rewards reflection. Nevertheless, it is not a big issue. It is merely a matter of scholars comparing the meanings of different hadîth texts, as was done by the likes of al-Tahâwî, Ibn Qutaybah, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Taymiyah, and al-Nawawî. It is the same as what the commentators of the Qur'ân do when they compare and contrast the meanings of the words in its texts. These activities often lead to indecision and unintentional errors of judgment. The Muslims have been spared the sin of such mistakes, since the Prophet (peace be upon him) has informed us that a scholar who exercises his judgment will get two rewards if he is correct and one reward if he is mistaken.
Scholars have discussed matters of far more importance that the one we are concerned with here. Take, for example the meaning of Islam and that of faith. Some said both mean the same thing, others understood from each term a distinct meaning, and still others saw a distinction between the two in some circumstances only. Each of these positions has been held by scholars of great prominence. None of them became worthy of harsh treatment on account of their opinion, since the issue is a very particular academic matter. Ibn Taymiyah deals with this issue in detail in his book entitled Kitâb al-خmân (The Book of Faith).
The opinion that I gave in my book series Rasâ'il al-Ghurabâ' came as a commentary on the texts. I consider my opinion to be correct, but concede the possibility that I might be wrong. Likewise, I believe the opinion on this issue held by our questioning brother is wrong, but I hold out the possibility that he is right. There is no absolute certainty on this issue. It is not a matter of consensus, but a matter open to discussion.
Actually, some of the people who quote me on this matter make it seem as if I consider the saved group to be a completely separate and distinct entity from the divinely supported faction, which is not the case at all. I actually maintain that the saved group is a more general term than the divinely supported faction, with the divinely supported faction making up part of the saved group. Many Muslims attain salvation, even if they did not receive divine support in this world. The Companions who disagreed with each other and fought with each other were all saved, but not all of them enjoyed divine support in those matters of contention. I advise anyone who is interested to refer to what Ibn Taymiyah wrote on the matter: [al-Fatâwâ 4/443-450 and 4/467-470]
The Qur'ân lends support to this position. Allah says: "It is not for the believers to go forth together. Of every group a faction should go forth to devote themselves to acquiring knowledge of the religion so they can admonish the people when they return, that perhaps they will guard themselves." [Sûrah al-Tawbah: 122]
In this verse, a faction is more specific than a group. In the Arabic language a faction (tâ'ifah) is smaller than a group (firqah). Even a single individual can be called a faction, as some commentators understand to be the case in the following verse: "And let a faction of the believers witness their punishment." [Surah al-Nûr: 2]
My position is further supported by the fact that the two words not only indicate different meanings, but they are qualified by two distinct descriptive terms. One of them is describes as "saved" and the other is described as "divinely supported". The general rule in the language is that such differences in construction indicate a difference in meaning. And Allah knows best.
In any event, I never said that the divinely supported faction is completely different than the saved group. I only said the divinely supported faction is part of the saved group. Some people can attain salvation even if they fall into some error, although they will not enjoy divine support. Other people will have both salvation and divine support.
I have dealt with this issue in depth in other writings and I see no reason to go into greater detail here. As for the position that the two terms are synonymous, it also has its strong points.
Sheikh Nâsir al-Dîn al-Albânî writes the following on this issue in his work Silsilah al-Ahâdîth al-Sahîhah:
"As for the idea promoted by one of our brother Islamic workers that there is a difference between the divinely supported faction and the saved group, it is an opinion of his that I do not see as too far from the truth. It has already been mentioned that the opinion of the hadîth scholars is that the divinely supported faction are the people of hadîth. We know for a fact that most of the saved group are not scholars of Islam at all, and definitely not all of them are specialists in hadîth. Can we not see that the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are the best representatives of the saved group, and it is for this reason we are commanded to adhere to their ways? In spite of this, they were not all scholars; most of them followed the scholars among them. Therefore, it is clear that a group is more general than a faction. At the same time, I see no great benefit in arguing about this point. We should strive instead to maintain our unity and continue working for Islam." [1/932]
I admit that the terms "divinely supported" and "saved" are synonymous to a degree, since the reasons for salvation, taken together, are the reasons for divine support. Likewise, divine support is only enjoyed by people who are on the path to salvation. Therefore, there is a common denominator between the two terms. This does not mean, however, that they correspond exactly. It is possible that they are utterly synonymous, which is the opinion of some of our brothers. It is also possible that one is more general than the other, which is the opinion that we prefer. The fact that one word is more general than another does not rule out a general sense of synonymy between them.
If we accept the view that our questioner seems to prefer that the terms "divinely supported" and "saved" agree in meaning absolutely, then I feel that in this case the terms still differ in their degree of intensity. Many scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah maintain that two words can disagree in the intensity of their meaning are still be in absolute agreement as to the meaning that they share. These words can still take on different shades of meaning depending on the contexts in which they are found. Scholars are agreed that a word in a given context often has a different meaning than a word taken by itself.
It is an indisputable fact that there are differences between believers in their spiritual status and in their works. Paradise has many levels. The inhabitants of these many levels differ according to the differences in what they earned in their worldly lives. There are the prophets, there are those who possessed absolutely certain faith, there are the martyrs, and there are the righteous. There will be people in Paradise who are not on the level of any of these. Some people will enter Paradise without having to face judgment. Others will have to enter Hell for a time before being allowed into Paradise. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Allah has prepared 100 levels of Paradise for those who fight in Allah's cause. The distance between any two of these levels is like the distance between the sky and the Earth. So when you ask for Paradise, ask for al-Firdaws, for it is the highest, most central place in Paradise. Above it is the Throne of the Beneficent and from it spring forth the rivers of Paradise."
Scholars have offered many approaches to classifying the people into their varying degrees. The scholars of ethics and character development have been the ones to engage in this activity. They differed in their classifications because of the different factors that they took into consideration and because of the degree of detail they were willing to pursue in this regard.
One of the underlying themes of Islamic Law is the justice that it brings about by putting everything in its proper place and giving every individual his or her rights. People are of different degrees in their faith and their works. Whenever a person attains a certain level of development; he then must strive to attain the one that is above it. Allah says: "And those who strive in Our cause, We will surely guide them to Our paths, for verily Allah is with those do right." [Sûrah al-`Ankabût: 69]
The most important point that must be understood from all of this is that we should busy ourselves with knowledge that will benefit us, and we should consider such knowledge in high regard. We should not use knowledge to dispute with each other and become distracted from our goals and objectives.
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