The Albaani Site

Translation from the Works of the Reviver of this Century

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May 1, 2011

Al-Albaani on Ahmed Deedat


 

With regard to Shaikh Ahmed Deedat, some people say, and we asked about his methodology, and, inshaa Allaah naturally it will be from the good methodologies, so some people say, the methodology is not important, the important thing is that he is a Muslim … so if you could clarify this for us O Shaikh, and may Allaah reward you with good.

Shaikh al-Albaani: We truly hope that Shaikh Ahmed is on the Salafi methodology of old, who believe in Allaah and worship Him as He truly ought to be worshipped.

But we need to always remember [generally] that just because a person believes in the presence of a creator of this universe this does not mean that he has become a believer. Two fundamental conditions must be met:

The first: that he bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah.
The second: that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah.

The first condition, that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah does not only mean that the Creator of the universe is One, because it is possible that faith and disbelief come together in one person, faith and disbelief may come together in one person. The one who says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah,’ [then] naturally this saying has prerequisites, these prerequisites being connected to these two testimonies.

So if we were to picture a person who bears witness that, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah,’ but [at the same time] he says that the Quraan is deficient … if we were to picture a person who bears witness that, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah,’ but [at the same time] he says that the Quraan is deficient, then the testimony of Laa ilaaha illallaah has not benefitted this person, because it is like honey poured on to something bitter, ruining it.

And in the same way belief and disbelief gathers in a person, for this reason He, the Most High, said about the early polytheists, “And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him.” [Yusuf 12:106]. This aayah shows us that these people are believers but that at the same time they are polytheists, and most of them believe not in Allaah except that their condition is this, that they are polytheists.

So, faith and disbelief can be present in a person, I gave you an example of a person who testifies that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah but [he says], “The Quraan is deficient,” this is shirk, but [the person who said this] believes in Allaah and believes in the Messenger of Allaah, so His Saying, the Most High, applies to him, “And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him.”

To be precise in this topic, i.e., that it is possible that faith and disbelief be present in a person, faith and tawheed and shirk, the Saying of our Lord, “And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him,” applies to most of the people even in this time [of ours].

Let us take a look at the reality, those Muslims who pray, fast, perform Hajj and give charity, they go to a certain place, or to a grave of the Allies of Allaah [Awliyaa], to seek intercession from them, to seek well-being from them, these people [are from those to whom the Saying of Allaah applies], “And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him.”

They know that Allaah exists, but they worshipped others along with Him, whereas Allaah had said [in the Quraan], “You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything),” [Al-Faatihah 1:5], so they sought the aid of other than Him, the Most High.

For this reason, the verifying scholars categorised tawhid into three types:

1 Tawhid ar-Ruboobiyyah (Maintaining the Unity of Lordship)
2 Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah (Singling out Allaah with worship)
3 Tawhid al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (Maintaining the Unity of Allaah’s Names and Attributes)

Namely that Allaah is One in His Essence, One in the fact that He is the only One who deserves to be worshipped, none other than Him is to be worshipped, and that He is One in His Attributes, “There is nothing like unto Him,” [Ash-Shuraa 42:11]. This does not mean that Allaah exists and that’s it! No, [but rather that] Allaah exists and nothing from His Creation resembles Him.

So for example, in their celebrations the Christians spread these pictures, you will see pictures of their lord, an old Shaikh, with a long white beard, is that the Lord of all Creation whom nothing resembles?

The Jews and the Christians believe that this universe has a creator, so they believe in the first type of tawhid, what is it called? Tawhid ar-Ruboobiyyah (Maintaining the Unity of Lordship), i.e., that this universe has a creator.

Questioner: Is the one who says this an atheist?

Shaikh al-Albaani: They differ from the atheists or naturalists, those who say there is no creator and no creation, the Jews and the Christians say that Allaah is the One who created the universe so they are monotheists in Tawhid ar-Ruboobiyyah, but when it comes to tawhid al-uluhiyyah, the tawhid of worship, then the Jews worshipped Uzair and the Christians worshipped Jesus.

These people disbelieved in the tawhid of worship, so they do not say, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah,’ and if they have said it, then it is either out of hypocrisy or ignorance as to its true meaning, for if not, if they said it believing in it, they would not have worshipped Jesus, nor would they have submitted to him, or prostrated to him and so on, nor would they have placed his image and that of his mother Maryam in the churches.

These people are believers from one angle, and disbelievers from another since they are not like the atheists who say there is no god, no, they do say that Allaah exists, but look what is the benefit of that saying when they liken Allaah to His Creation?

Questioner: Or when they worship others alongside Him?

Shaikh al-Albaani: Or when they worship others alongside Him, ah, here is the [main] point from [all of] this talk–many of the Muslims, and I do not only mean their general masses, but many of their scholars or students of knowledge too, say, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah,’ but they worship other than Allaah, and they disbelieve in Him as regards His Attributes.

Now for example, we know that many of them other than those we just pointed to, [we know that] they call on the dead and the righteous, submitting to them, praying by them and so on, they say that Allaah exists in all places, [but indeed] Allaah is greater than all things, and He was in existence when there was nothing other than Him, so what/how is it that you went and put Him and the universe together [as one]? To such an extent that some of them said, “And Allaah in relation to these Shaikhs …  is but as a snowflake in water.”

Can you differentiate between snow and water? This is Allaah in the eyes of these people, this is disbelief.  In the Noble Quraan it says that Allaah is Self-sufficent and in no need whatsoever of His Creation, [but] these [people] have gathered Him [in the same category as] the creation like a silkworm which harms itself, it digs itself in and becomes strangulated and dies–[but the reality is that] Allaah is in no need of the worlds whatsoever, so these people have believed from one angle and disbelieved from the other.

For this reason, and in reality it matters to us that Shaikh Ahmed [Deedat], may Allaah reward him with good, has fulfilled a great obligatory action, but this undertaking and this exertion [jihaad] will only benefit him if he believes in Allaah as one Lord, as [the only] One who is worshipped, [i.e., fulfilling all requirements of tawhid like all Muslims should] and what is not meant by [this saying], ‘that He is the only One worshipped,’ [is to restrict it to only mean] that he prays just to Him, no, for if he called upon Khidr in a time of need then he would not have worshipped Allaah alone, since supplication is part of worship, he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “Du’aa is worship.”

So we hope that he [i.e., Deedat] has studied the correct tawhid in his land so that he is a muwahhid [monotheist, who] singles Allaah out solely in His Essence, in His worship, a muwahhid of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, in relation to His Attributes, [i.e., the] three [categories of tawhid], and then his jihaad would be something about which we could say that he has performed an obligatory duty that all of the [other] Shaikhs did not carry out.

Questioner: Allaahu Akbar.

Shaikh al-Albaani: Yes, by Allaah.  May Allaah reward him with good.

Questioner: May Allaah bless you, our Shaikh, may Allaah bless us by [allowing us to benefit from] your life, inshaa Allaah.

Shaikh al-Albaani: May Allaah protect you.

Questioner: Please carry on, our Shaikh.

Shaikh al-Albaani: What is meant byTawheed ar-Rububiyyah is that the Muslim decisively believes that the Creator of this universe and all that it contains is one in His Essence, having no equal/opponent, no partner.

The Magians believe that there are two gods, a god of evil and a god of good, they committed shirk in [the first category] Tawhid ar-Rububiyyah, do you understand?

So if the Muslim, Allaah forbid, were to believe that there are Allies of Allaah [Awliyaa] and righteous people who can harm and benefit along with Allaah, and who can give life and death, and who can feed and give provisions, [then] he would have disbelieved in tawhid, tawhid ar-Rububiyyah, and would have associated partners with Him, because [through this belief of his] he would have held there to be two creators: [he would have held that] Allaah creates the good and evil and that likewise the Allies of Allaah [Awliyaa] and the righteous people give provisions, give life and death, and for this reason he [such a Muslim] goes to them, seeking blessings from them.

Question: There are many women who cannot get pregnant who take themselves and go to a tree under which there is the grave of a wali and so she will tie things above [the grave on the tree] and so on, yes.

Shaikh al-Albaani: Allaahu Akbar, this is shirk in rububiyyah. Shirk in Lordship [uluhiyyah] is shirk in worship, and it is that someone worships other than Allaah while believing that Allaah is One in His Essence but [at the same time] he slaughters for such and such wali, this is shirk in worship, he calls upon so and so the wali, [even though] that wali has become dust in his grave, a man from mankind, [but this Muslim] believes that he can hear and save him, and harm and benefit, this would then have become shirk in worship.”

Mawsoo’atul-Allaamah, al-Imaam, Mujaddidil-Asr, Muhammad Naasirid-Deen al-Albaani, of Shaikh Shady Noaman, vol.2, pp. 59-64.

22 Comments
April 30, 2011

On Hizbut-Tahrir | 2


“… As for the first discussion then by it I am referring to the Islamic callers whom it is assumed are not blind followers, from those who give precedence to the sayings of the Imaams who are not infallible over and above the sayings of Allaah and His Prophet who is infallible.

So when the affair, therefore, goes back to creed, and creed is taken from the Book and the Sunnah and what the Salaf were upon, because these Salaf are what is referred to in the first aayah, “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the Believers …,” ‘and follows other than the way of the Believers,’ Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, did not mention this sentence in the middle of this aayah in mere jest or in vain, but rather to firmly establish a principle by it, and to lay down a foundation through it, which is: that in understanding the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet it is not permissible for us to rely on our intellects which are [intellects] that have come later in time [than the Salaf] and which differ in their understanding.

The Muslims will only be following the Book and the Sunnah, both in principle and [upon a firm] foundation, when they add to the Book and the Sunnah: “… and what the Pious Predecessors were upon.”  Because the text of this aayah includes [the fact that] it is obligatory upon us not to oppose the Messenger, not to contradict and oppose the Messenger, just as it includes [the fact that] we should not oppose and follow a path other than that of the Believers.

So both the first and second restrictions mentioned in this aayah mean that it is obligatory on us to follow the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and to abandon contradicting and opposing him, just as it is obligatory on us to follow the path of the Believers and not to oppose it.

Based upon this we say, based upon this firstly we say: it is upon every sect or Islamic group to correct the root of its starting point and [that is done by]: relying on the Book, and the Sunnah, and upon what the Pious Predecessors were upon. Hizb at-Tahrir do not adopt this condition/restriction as [part of their] thought nor do the Muslim Brotherhood and nor those like them from the many sects. And we only refer to the Islamic sects [when we say this], as for those that have openly declared war against Islaam like the Ba’athists or the Communists, then we are not talking about them now.

So the point [being established here] is this third principle: following the path of the Believers–Hizb at-Tahrir do not adopt it, nor do all the other sects.

When the affair is as such, then it befits every Muslim male or female to know that when a path is bent or crooked from the top then every time it moves forward it will increase in its deviation or digression and distance from the path that is straight and about which the Lord of all the worlds said in the Noble Quraan, “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path.” [Al-An’aan 6:153].

This aayah is explicit and unequivocal in its meaning as Hizb at-Tahrir, from amongst all of the other Islamic Islamic groups, constantly love to say in their call, their books, their lectures, ‘This is unequivocal in its meaning.’ That is because the aayah says that the path which leads to Allaah is one and that the other paths are the ones which will distance the Muslims from the Path of Allaah, “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path.”

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) further explained and clarified this aayah, as is his way (صلى الله عليه وسلم) always and forever, as Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, mentioned in the Noble Quraan when he addressed His Messenger saying, “And We sent down unto you the Reminder [i.e., the Quraan] that you may explain clearly to the people what was sent down to them,” [Nahl 16:44]. So the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the complete explanation of the Quraan.

The Quraan is the root/foundation, it is the constitution of Islaam, as for the Sunnah, then it is [that which] explains and consolidates it.  And without comparing and only by way of clarifying [what I mean]: the Quraan in relation to the system of the earth is like a constitution, and the Sunnah is like the Law which explains the constitution.

For this reason it was agreed upon by all of the Muslims without exception that it is not possible to understand the Quraan except with the explanation of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), this is something unanimous.

But the thing in which the Muslims differed, [the thing] in which their footsteps differed, is that all of the misguided groups of the past did not pay any heed to this third principle, which is, “… following the Pious Predecessors,” and by doing so they opposed the aayah which I just mentioned over and over again. Thereafter they opposed the Path of Allaah, because the Path of Allaah is one, and it is that which is mentioned in the previous aayah, “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path.”

I say: indeed the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made this aayah even clearer through that which one of his (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Companions reported from him who was well known for his understanding, Adbullaah ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah the Most High be pleased with him, where he said, “The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) drew a straight line one day upon the earth, then he drew small lines around this straight oen, then he pointed his noble finger to the straight line and recited the aayah, “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path.” He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, while passing his finger over the straight line, “This is the Path of Allaah.” Then he pointed to the short lines around it and said, “And these are [other] paths, at the head of each one is a devil calling the people to it.” So this hadith also explains another one [which I will mention now], and this other one along with the hadith of the straight line are regarded as those which explain the aayah about the Path of the Believers.

[And it is] that hadith which the companions of the Sunan reported, like Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi and their likes from the Imaams of Hadith by way of a number of people from a group of the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with all of them, like Abu Hurairah, Mu’aawiyah, Anas ibn Maalik and other than them, that the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “The Jews split into seventy one sects. And the Christians split into seventy two sects. And my nation will split into seventy three sects. All of them are in the Fire except for one.” They said, “Who are they, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “It is that which I and my Companions are upon.”

This hadith clarifies the aforementioned Path of the Believers in the ayah for us. Who are the Believers [being referred to] in it? They are those which the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) mentioned in the hadith of the sects when asked about the Saved Sect, its methodology, its characteristics, its starting point. So he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “It is that which I and my Companions are upon,” “It is that which I and my Companions are upon,” so I would like you to pay attention, because the answer of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) if it isn’t revelation from Allaah, then it is an explanation from the Prophet of Allaah regarding ‘the Path of the Believers’ mentioned in the Saying of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, which I quoted to you many times just now.

Whereby Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, mentioned the Messenger in the aayah and [also] mentioned the Path of the Believers. In the same way the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made the [distinguishing] sign of the Saved Sect which is not from the seventy-two misguided ones, he made its sign: that it will be upon what the Prophet and his Companions were upon.

So we find in this hadith the same thing we found in the aayah. Just as the aayah did not restrict itself to making mention of the Prophet alone, then in the same way the hadith did not restrict itself to mentioning the Prophet alone–rather the aayah mentioned the Path of the Believers and likewise the hadith mentioned the Companions of the Noble Prophet, so the hadith came together [perfectly] with the Quraan. This is why he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “I have left two things among you. You will never go astray so long as you hold on to them: the Book of Allaah and my Sunnah. And they will never split until they return to me at the Lake.”

Many of the sects of the past and [also] modern day ones do not pay attention to the restriction mentioned in the aayah and in this hadith, the hadith about the seventy-three sects, where he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made the characteristic of the Saved Sect, indeed the [distinguishing] sign of the Saved Sect, that it will be upon what the Messenger and his Companions were upon.

Similar to this hadith somewhat is the hadith of al-Irbaad ibn Saariyah, and he is from the Companions of the Prophet, from the People of the Saff, who were poor and would always stick to the mosque, always being present at the gatherings of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and he took knowledge from the Book of Allaah and the mouth of the Prophet fresh and new. Al-Irbaad said, “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave us an admonition which caused the hearts to fear and the eyes to shed tears, so we said, “Advise us, O Messenger of Allaah.” So he said, “I advise you to fear Allaah, and to hear and obey, even if an Abyssinian slave is placed in authority over you. And whoever lives long from amongst you will see great controversy. So stick to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the orthodox, rightly-guided caliphs after me, cling to that with your molar teeth, and beware of the newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance …”

The proof [taken from] this hadith is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not restrict [his answer] to encouraging the Muslims when they differ … he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “Indeed whoever lives from you will see great conflict.”

For this reason the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) answered in a wise manner, and who is wiser or more just than him after the Most Just of all judges? No one from mankind is wiser than the Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for this reason when he said, “Indeed whoever lives from you will see great conflict…” he answered the mandatory question [which follows such a statement] … [i.e.,] so what should we do, O Messenger of Allaah, he said, “So upon you is [to follow] my Sunnah …” but he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not suffice with ordering those who live in the time of differences like this era of ours, he did not suffice with his saying, “So upon you is [to follow] my Sunnah …” only, rather he increased upon that, saying, “And the Sunnah [way] of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.”

Thus, let the Muslim who is sincere to himself add this [condition] to his creed that it is obligatory to return to the Book, the Sunnah and to the Path of the Believers [this being based upon] the proof taken from the aayah, the hadith about the [seventy-three] sects and the hadith of al-Irbaad ibn Saariyah …”

3 Comments
April 27, 2011

On Hizbut-Tahrir | 1


The­­­ following is the translation of a lecture by the Shaikh.  I’ll be posting it in parts, and the PDF will follow at the end, inshaa Allaah.

باب كلمة حول مصادر الاستدلال عند أهل السنة، مع بيان التعرض لبيان موقع العقل من هذه المصادر، وبيان خطأ تقسيم الأحاديث إلى ظنية

ويقينية وما يترتب على ذلك

Chapter A Talk Concerning the Sources which the Ahlus-Sunnah Derive Proofs from, along with an Examination of the Position of the Intellect in Relation to these Sources, and an Explanation of the Incorrectness of Categorising the Sayings of the Prophet into Hypothetical and Absolute and what that Entails

The Imaam said, “All Praise is due to Allaah, we praise Him, and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah, the Most High, from the evils of our own selves and from our wicked deeds. Whomsoever has been guided by Allaah, none can misguide him, and whomsoever has been misguided by Allaah, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no true god worthy of being worshipped except Allaah, Alone, without partner or associate. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His true slave and Messenger.

O you who believe! Fear Allaah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islaam (as Muslims with complete submission to Allaah). Aali Imraan 3:102

O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam) and from him He created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women, and fear Allaah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allaah is ever an All-Watcher over you. An-Nisaa 4:1

O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him, and speak (always) the Truth, He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great success. Al-Ahzaab 33: 70-71

As for what follows:

Then the best of speech is the Speech of Allaah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The worst of affairs are the newly-invented matters, and every newly-invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance and all misguidance is in the Fire.

In front of me are two questions which both centre around one point, which is: a question about Hizb at-Tahrir.

The first question says: I have read a lot about Hizb at-Tahrir and many of their ideas appeal to me. So I would like that you explain or that you give us a synopsis of Hizb at-Tahrir.

The second question is talking about the same topic but he wants an explanation and says: We would like an extensive explanation from you about Hizb at-Tahrir, its goals, its ideas, their mistakes, and whether their mistakes have permeated and caused corruption in the matters of creed?

In answering these two questions, I say: any sect–and I do not only mean Hizb at-Tahrir to the exclusion of the other Islamic groups, or the [other] Islamic fronts, or the [other] Islamic factions–any one of these groups whose sect or group is not established on the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), and in addition to the[se] two sources I say: the methodology of the Pious Predecessors … any group which is not established on the Book, the Sunnah and the methodology of the Pious Predecessors then without doubt the outcome of its affair will be loss.

And that no matter how sincere it is in its call … and my research and answer is only concerning these Islamic groups which it is assumed are sincere to the Religion of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and [sincere] in their advice to the ummah, as occurs in the authentic hadith, which indeed is his saying (صلى الله عليه وسلم), “The religion is sincere advice. The religion is sincere advice. The religion is sincere advice.” They said, “To whom, O Prophet of Allaah?” He said, “To Allaah, His Book, and the leaders of the Muslims and their general masses.” [Muslim, no. 205].

So when the call of any one of these groups is not based upon the Book, the Sunnah and the methodology of the Pious Predecessors, then it will not reap anything except loss from its call. This is because the affair is as our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, has said in the Noble Quran, “And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our Ways.” [Ankaboot 29:69].

So whoever’s striving is for Allaah, and is upon the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allaah, upon the methodology of the Pious Predecessors, then these are the ones to whom the saying of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, applies, “If you help [in the cause of] Allaah, He will help you.” [Muhammad 47:7]. I repeat this great principle to you which every Muslim group has to base its call upon: the Book, the Sunnah, upon the methodology of the Pious Predecessors.

So when the affair is as such, then I say based upon my acquaintance with all of the groups and sects established on the face of the Islamic earth today, that all of them, except for one group, and I do not say, ‘[except for] one ‘sect,’’ because this [one] group does not split into sects, and does not form a coalition, nor show partisanship or bigotry, except towards the previous principle we just mentioned, which is: the Book of Allaah, the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allaah, and the methodology of the Pious Predecessors …

I know very well that no one apart from this group calls to this principle which we have just clarified and which I have repeated many times, over and over again, to you. Rather they recourse back to the Book and the Sunnah only, and do not join our previous saying, i.e., ‘… on the methodology of the Pious Predecessors,’ to the Book and the Sunnah.

At that moment the importance of this third principle, ‘… on the methodology of the Pious Predecessors,’ will become clear to you, it will become clear to you through the reality of the [situation of the] Islamic groups, rather the Islamic sects, from the day they first raised their heads, or showed their horns, amongst the first Islamic groups: i.e., from the day the Khawaarij revolted against Ali ibn Abi Taalib, and from the day of Ja’d who called with the call of the Mu’tazilah, and those who came after him, following him in his I’tizaal, to other than those groups whose names were well-known in the past, and which are reviving their ideas in recent times using new names.

These groups, all of them, the old and the new, no group can be found among them that says and [openly] declares, “We are not on the Book and the Sunnah.” All of these sects, bearing in mind the differences between them, whether these differences are in creed, fundamentals, or whether in [matters of] rulings or subsidiary issues, all of these who are split in their religion say, as we do, “The Book and the Sunnah,” but they split away from us for they do not utter our saying, which is the completion of our call, ‘… on the methodology of the Pious Predecessors.’

So, what is it that judges between these groups when all of them, at least verbally and in their call, affiliate themselves to the Book and the Sunnah? What is the determining judge between [all of] these who say the same thing?

The answer is, ‘… on the methodology of the Pious Predecessors.’

Here, as they say nowadays, a question presents itself with regard to some people, and it is: where did we get this addition from, i.e., ‘… on the methodology of the Pious Predecessors?’

We got it from the Book of Allaah and from the hadith of the Prophet of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and what the Imaams of the Pious Predecessors and the masses of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah, as they say nowadays, traversed upon.

The first of that is His Saying, the Blessed and Most High, “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the Believers we shall keep him in the path he has chosen and burn him in Hell–and evil it is as a destination.” [Nisaa 4:115].

So you hear His Saying, the Mighty and Majestic, in this aayah, “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger…” so if Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, had not mentioned, “…and follows other than the way of the Believers …,” if the aayah had been: “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him, we shall keep him in the path he has chosen and burn him in Hell–and evil it is as a destination,” [then] according to the call of those groups of the past and the modern ones … they would not have lost out on anything if this good sentence was not part of the aayah, i.e., His Saying, the Most High, “…and follows other than the way of the Believers …,” because they say, “We are on the Book and the Sunnah.” It is obligatory, firstly, to implement this saying by following the Book and the Sunnah completely and secondly by implementing it practically.

For example, His Saying, the Mighty and Majestic, which is well-known amongst the scholars, “And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allaah and the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination.” [An-Nisaa 4:59]. The blind followers from all of the Islamic world when called to Allaah and His Messenger, [when called] to the Book of Allaah and the hadith of His Prophet, they say, “No, we follow our madhhab,” this one says, “My madhhab is Hanafi,” and this one, “My madhhab is Shaafi’ee,” and so on.

So have these [people] who have established their blind-following of the Imaams in place of following the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) implemented this noble aayah which I mentioned lastly, “And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger …?”

The answer is that they have not done anything from that, [and] thus their saying, “We are on the Book and the Sunnah,” did not benefit them because they do not practically implement the Book and the Sunnah. This is an example by which I wanted to make clear the topic [at hand] firstly, because I am referring to the blind followers through this example …”

Mawsoo’atul-Allaamah, al-Imaam, Mujaddidil-Asr, Muhammad Naasirid-Deen al-Albaani, of Shaikh Shady Noaman, vol. 1, pp. 230-234.

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April 17, 2011

Shaikh Al-Albaani’s Life | Questions and Answers | E-Book


الحمد لله الذي بنعمته تتم الصالحات

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February 17, 2011

Every son of a female …


“When I (Shaikh Ali Hasan al-Halabi), informed Shaikh Al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy upon him, of the death of his Eminence Shaikh Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy upon him, he could not stop himself from crying, his eyes were filled with flowing tears, and he spoke of him with compassionate, righteous words.  So he, may Allaah have mercy on him,  said, and I wrote this down from him:

‘To Allaah we belong and to Him we return.  Oh Allaah!  Recompense me for my affliction and replace it for me with something better.  May Allaah have mercy upon him, a vast mercy.  And may He reward him well on behalf of Islaam and the muslims.

Every son of a female, even if he is well for a long time
will, one day, be carried on a bier [to his grave]

Indeed Shaikh Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, was from the elite of the scholars.  We ask Allaah, the Most High, to make Paradise his dwelling.  If this life were to last forever for anyone, it would have lasted as such for Mustafaa, sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam.

May Allaah have mercy on him and may He cause us and him to be with the righteous.’”

Ma’a Shaikhinaa Naasirus-Sunnnah … of Shaikh Ali Hasan, p. 15.

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February 10, 2011

Celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday ﷺ


The PDF: Celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday.

لا بركة في الجهل
“There is no blessing in ignorance.”

The Imaam said: Celebrating the noble birthday of the Prophet ﷺ, is it good or evil?

Questioner: [It is] good.

Al-Albaani: Okay.  This good—were the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions ignorant of it?

Questioner: No.

Al-Albaani: I am not satisfied now with you [just] saying no.  Rather it is obligatory upon you to proceed and say, “It is impossible for this good—if it is good—or any other such good to be hidden from the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions specifically since we do not know Islaam except by way of Muhammad ﷺ,” so how do we know some good which he did not?!  This is impossible.

Questioner: Establishing the celebration of the Prophetic birthday is a revival of his remembrance ﷺ and in that is honour for him.

Al-Albaani: This philosophising is something we are acquainted with.  We hear it from many people and have read it in their books, but when the Prophet ﷺ called people did he call them to all of Islaam or to Tawhid?

Questioner: Tawhid.

Al-Albaani: The first thing he called them to was Tawhid, after that the prayers were made compulsory, after that fasting, then Hajj and so on.  Therefore, you [too] should proceed, step by step, according to this prescribed Sunnah.

We have now agreed that it is impossible that there can be some good with us which the Prophet ﷺ did not know, [since] we have come to know all good through him ﷺ. No two people will differ about this and no two rams will strike horns over it, and I believe that whoever doubts this then he is not a Muslim.  From the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ that support this is, “I have not left anything which will bring you closer to Allaah except that I have ordered you with it.” [Reported by at-Tabaraani, authentic, refer to Asl Sifatis-Salaatin-Nabee, vol. 3, p. 942]

So if celebrating his birthday was good and was something which would bring us closer to Allaah then it is imperative that the Prophet ﷺ should have directed us to it.

Correct or not?

I do not want you to agree with me without being totally convinced about every letter I say.  And you have total freedom to say, “Please, I am not convinced with this point.”  So is there anything that you are not convinced with so far or are you with me?

Questioner: With you totally.

Al-Albaani: May Allaah reward you with good.  So [the Prophet ﷺ said], “I have not left anything which will bring you closer to Allaah except that I have ordered you with it.”

We say to all those who claim that it is permissible to hold this celebration, “According to you this celebration is good, therefore either the Prophet ﷺ directed us to it or he did not direct us to it.” So if they say, “He directed us to it.” We say, “Bring your proof if you are truthful.”  And they will never ever find a way to be able to do that.  And we have read the writings of [the Sufi Muhammad ibn] Al-’Alawi [Al-Maaliki, see here for a refutation of him in Arabic] and others regarding this and they do not use as proof anything except the saying that, “This is a good innovation! [bid’ah hasanah]  This is a good innovation!”

All people, whether it is those who celebrate the birthday or those who denounce this celebration—all of them agree that this celebration was not present in the time of the Prophet ﷺ nor the time of the Noble Companions and nor the time of the eminent scholars.

But those who allow this celebration say, “And what is there that happens in this celebration?  It is a remembrance of the Prophet ﷺ and the sending of salutations upon him and so on!”

So we say, “If it was good they would have preceded us in it.”  You know the saying of the Prophet ﷺ, “The best of people is my generation then the ones who follow them then the ones who follow them,” this hadith is reported in the two Sahihs.

His generation ﷺ is the one he and his Companions lived in, then the ones who followed them are the Taabi’een and those who followed them are the Atbaa’ut-Taabi’een, there is also no disagreement about this.  So can you imagine that there is any good which we could have preceded them in, in both knowledge and action?  Is that possible?

Questioner: As for knowledge, if the Prophet ﷺ had said to anyone in his time that the Earth spins …

Al-Albaani: I’m sorry.  I would prefer you do not sidetrack.  Since I asked you about two things: knowledge and action …  and in reality, what you just said has benefitted me—since naturally when referring to knowledge I am referring to religious [shar’ee] knowledge not medicine, for example.

I can say that a doctor here is more knowledgeable than Ibn Sina was in his time, because he came generations later, and he has had much much more experience and practice, but this does not prove his virtue before Allaah and nor does it put him before the generations that were given witness to [in the above mentioned hadith].  But it does prove his virtue in the knowledge [i.e., field of expertise] which he knows.  And [in our current discussion] we are speaking about legislative [shar’ee] knowledge, may Allaah bless you.  So we must pay attention to this.

When I say to you, “Do you believe that it is possible that we can be more knowledgeable?” I am referring to religious [shar’ee] knowledge not knowledge gained through experience like geography, astronomy, chemistry or physics.  Suppose, for example, in this time there is a disbeliever in Allaah and His Messenger ﷺ but he is the most knowledgeable of all people in these sciences, will that bring him closer to Allaah?

Questioner: No.

Al-Albaani: Thus we are not talking now about knowledge in those fields but about that knowledge by which we want to get closer to Allaah, the Blessed and Most High.  And a short while ago we were talking about the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ. So the question now returns, and I hope that I will obtain a clear answer without any side-tracking again.

So I say: do you believe, with what you have been given of intellect and understanding, that it is possible for us—and we are at the end of time—to be more knowledgeable than the Companions and the students of the Companions [Taabi’een] and the Mujtahid Imaams in religious [shar’ee] knowledge, and that we can be faster in doing good actions and getting closer to Allaah than these righteous predecessors?

Questioner: By religious knowledge do you mean exegesis [tafsir] of the Quraan?

Al-Albaani: They are more knowledgeable than us regarding tafsir of the Quraan, they are more knowledgeable than us regarding explanations of the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ—at the end of the day they are more knowledgeable than us regarding the entire Shari’ah of Islaam.

Questioner: Regarding tafsir of the Quraan, maybe in this time it is more than in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. For example, the Quranic aayah:

وَتَرَى ٱلۡجِبَالَ تَحۡسَبُهَا جَامِدَةٗ وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ ٱلسَّحَابِۚ صُنۡعَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَتۡقَنَ كُلَّ شَيۡءٍۚ إِنَّهُۥ خَبِيرُۢ بِمَا تَفۡعَلُونَ

“And you will see the mountains and think them solid, but they shall pass away as the passing away of the clouds. The Work of Allaah, Who perfected all things. Verily! He is Well-Acquainted with what you do.” [Naml: 27:88]

If the Prophet ﷺ had said to anyone in his time that the Earth spins on its axis would anyone have believed him?  No one would have believed him.

Al-Albaani: So, no offense, [but] you want us to record another sidetrack against you?  O my brother, I am asking about knowledge on the whole, not a part of that knowledge, we are asking a general question.

Islaam as a whole, who is more knowledgeable about it?

Questioner: Of course, the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions.

Al-Albaani: This is what we want from you, may Allaah bless you.  As for the tafsir you are referring to, it has no connection to action.  It has a connection with pondering and understanding.  And we have already spoken with you about the previous aayah and we have established for you that those who quote this aayah as a proof that the Earth spins are mistaken.  Because the aayah is referring to the Day of Judgement:

يَوۡمَ تُبَدَّلُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ غَيۡرَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُۖ وَبَرَزُواْ لِلَّهِ ٱلۡوَٰحِدِ ٱلۡقَهَّارِ

“On the Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens, and they will appear before Allaah, the One, the Irresistible.” [Ibrahim: 14:48]

In any case, we are not talking about this subject.  For argument’s sake, let me agree with you that there could be a man from those who came after who has more scientific knowledge or more knowledge of the natural sciences than a Companion or a student of the Companion and so on.  But this has no connection to righteous actions.  Since today, for example, the disbelievers are more knowledgeable than us in astronomy and its like,

but what do they benefit from that?  Nothing.  So we do not want to delve into this thing now.  We want to talk about that which will bring us closer to Allaah.  We now want to talk about the noble birthday of the Prophet ﷺ.

And we had agreed that if it was good then our Pious Predecessors [As-Salaf As-Saalih] and at the head of them the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ would have been more knowledgeable about it than us and faster in acting upon it than us.  Is there any doubt in this?

Questioner: No, there is no doubt about that.

Al-Albaani: Then do not exceed this boundary now [by delving into] matters from experiential knowledge that have no connection with getting closer to Allaah, the Most High, with righteous actions.

This celebration was not present in the time of the Messenger ﷺ—by the agreement of all—so this ‘good’ was not present in the time of the Prophet ﷺ or the Companions or their students or the Imaams!  So how was this good hidden from them?!

We are forced to say either one of two things.

1) They knew this good like we know it even though they are more knowledgeable than us, or
2) they did not know it [and if they did not know it], then how do we know it?

So if [for argument’s sake] we were to say that they knew it—and this statement is closer and better for the ones who uphold the legitimacy of celebrating the birthday—then why didn’t they act upon it?  Are we closer to Allaah [than them]?

Why didn’t a single one of them make a mistake even once—a Companion, or a taabi’ee or a scholar from them or a worshipper—[why didn’t a single one make a mistake] and act upon this ‘good’!?

Does it enter your mind [that it is possible that] not a single one [of them] acted upon this good even though they were millions in number?!  And they were more knowledgeable than us and better than us and closer to Allaah?!

You know the saying of the Prophet ﷺ, “Do not abuse my Companions.  For by the One who has Muhammad’s souls in His Hands, if one of you were to spend the like of Mount Uhud in gold, it would not equal a mudd of one of them or even half of it.” [Reported by Bukhaari and Muslim]

Do you see the extent of the difference between us and them?

Because they strove in the Way of Allaah, the Most High, with the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ, and they received knowledge from him fresh and new without all of these numerous intermediaries that are between us and him ﷺ. As he ﷺ indicated in the authentic hadith, “Whoever loves to read the Quran ‘ghadan tariyaa’ then let him read according to the reading of Ibn Umm ’Abd,” [Reported by Ibn Maajah, no. 138, authentic] namely, [by Ibn Umm ’Abd he was referring to] Ibn Mas’ood, [and], ‘Ghadan tariyaa’ means fresh and new.

It is not possible for us to imagine that these Pious Predecessors and at the head of them the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, were ignorant of some good which would bring them closer to Allaah and [that] it is we [and not them] who have come to know it!  And if we say they did know like we know, then it is impossible for us to imagine that they neglected this good.

Maybe this has clarified the point that I am talking about, inshaa Allaah?

Questioner: Alhamdulillaah.

Al-Albaani: May Allaah reward you with good.  There is something else.  There are many verses and sayings of the Prophet ﷺ which clarify that Islaam has been completed, and I think this is a reality you are aware of and believe in.  There is no difference between a scholar, a student of knowledge or even a commoner on this point, which is that Islaam has been completed and that it is not like the religion of the Jews and the Christians which changes and is replaced daily.

And I remind you of the saying of Allaah, the Most High:

ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ وَأَتۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡإِسۡلَٰمَ دِينٗاۚ

“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion.” [Maaidah: 5:3]

Now comes the question—and this is from another angle, different to what preceded, to show that celebrating the birthday is not good—and that is that if it were good they would have preceded us in it and they, namely the Pious Predecessors, are more knowledgeable than us and worshipped [Allaah] more than us.

This celebration of the Prophet’s birthday ﷺ if it is good then it is from Islaam.  So we say:  Do all of us, both those who deny this celebration and those who uphold it, are we all in agreement as we were on the previous point, that this celebration was not present in the time of the Prophet ﷺ—are we all [still] in agreement [on this second point?] That this celebration, if it is good, then it is from Islaam and that if it is not good it is not from Islaam?

And the day this aayah was revealed:

ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you …”

[The day it was revealed] there was no celebration of the Prophetic birthday.  So is it part of the religion according to you?!

I want you to be totally frank with me.  And do not think that I am from the Shaikhs who silence the students or even the common folk, saying, “Be quiet!  You do not know, you do not know!”  No, you are totally free, as though you are talking to a person like yourself or even less than you in age and knowledge.  If you are not convinced then say, “I am not convinced.”

So now, if the celebration is something good then it is from Islaam and if it is not good then it is not from Islaam.  When we agree that the celebration of the birthday was not present when the aforementioned aayah was revealed, then it is very logical [to say] that it is not from Islaam.

And I will confirm what I am saying with more from the Imaam of the place of Hijra [i.e., Madinah] Imaam Maalik ibn Anas, who said, “Whoever introduces an innovation into Islaam …” note how he said a single innovation not innovations, “… holding it as something good then he has assumed that Muhammad ﷺ betrayed Prophethood.” And this is a very dangerous affair—what is you proof O Imaam [Maalik]! Imaam Maalik said, “Read, if you wish, the saying of Allaah, the Most High:

ٱلۡيَوۡمَ أَكۡمَلۡتُ لَكُمۡ دِينَكُمۡ وَأَتۡمَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ نِعۡمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلۡإِسۡلَٰمَ دِينٗاۚ

“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion.” [Maaidah: 5:3]

So what was not religion that day is not religion today.”  End of his words.

When did Imaam Maalik say this?  In the second century after the hijrah—one of the generations that had been testified for as having good!  So what about now in the fourteenth century?

This is speech that should be written in gold.  But we are heedless of the Book of Allaah, the Most High, and the sayings of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ and the sayings of the Imaams that we presume we are following, how very far, how very far [indeed].  And the difference between us and them in following [Islaam] is like the difference between the East and the West.

This is the Imaam of the place to which the Prophet ﷺ migrated saying in a clear Arabic tongue, “So what was not religion that day is not religion today.”

Today celebrating the Prophetic birthday is [regarded as] religion, and if it were not then this dispute would not be taking place between scholars clinging to the Sunnah and defending [the religion] against innovations.

How can this be religion when it was not present in the time of the Prophet ﷺ nor in the time of the Companions nor in the time of the Taabi’een [and] nor in the time of the followers of the Taabi’een?!

Imaam Maalik is from the followers of the Taabi’een and he is from those mentioned in the hadith, “The best of generations is my generation then those who follow them then those who follow them,” [and he is saying], “So what was not religion that day is not religion today.  And the last of this nation will not be rectified except with that which rectified the first of it.”

What was the first of this nation rectified with?  By innovating matters into the religion and trying to get closer to Allaah, the Most High, with things that the Prophet ﷺ did not do?!

The Prophet ﷺ said, “I have not left anything that will bring you closer to Allaah except that I have ordered you with it.”

Why didn’t Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ order us to celebrate his birthday?  This is a question and it has an answer.  There is [in fact] a [different] celebration of the prophetic birthday contrary to this unlegislated celebration. This legislated celebration was present in the time of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ as opposed to the unlegislated one, along with the huge difference which also exists between the two.

The first of those differences is that the legislated celebration [which will soon be mentioned] is worship which is agreed upon by all of the Muslims.  Secondly, the legislated celebration reoccurs once every single week whereas their unlegislated celebration only occurs once a year.

These are the two distinguishing matters between the two birthday celebrations—namely, that the first is worship and reoccurs every week as opposed to the unlegislated one which is neither worship and nor does it reoccur every week.

And I am not just saying anything on a whim for which Allaah has revealed no authority.  Rather I will relay a saying of the Prophet ﷺ to you which is reported in Sahih Muslim, may Allaah have mercy upon him: from Abu Qatada Al-Ansari who said, “A man came to the Messenger ﷺ and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah!  What do you say about the fast of Monday?’  So he said, ‘That is the day on which I was born.  And the Quraan was revealed to me on it.’” [Reported by Abu Dawud, no. 2097, authentic, and others]

What is the meaning of this?  It is as though he ﷺ is saying: How can you ask me about it when Allaah brought me out to life on that day and also sent down revelation to me on it?  Namely, it is befitting that you fast on Mondays as thanks to Allaah, the Most High, for creating me on that day and for sending down revelation to me on it.

And this is similar to the fast of the Jews on the day of ’Aashoora, and maybe you know that before the obligation to fast the month of Ramadaan fasting on the day of ’Aashoora was the obligation on the Muslims.  And there occurs in some sayings of the Prophet ﷺ that when he migrated to Madinah he found the Jews fasting the Day of ’Aashoora.  So he asked them about that and they replied saying that this is the day that Allaah saved Moses and his people from Pharaoh, so we fast on it as thanks to Allaah.  So he ﷺ said, “We have more right to Moses than you.” [Reported by Bukhaari and Muslim]

So he fasted that day and ordered fasting on it so it became obligatory until Allaah sent down His Saying:

شَهۡرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ هُدٗى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٖ مِّنَ ٱلۡهُدَىٰ وَٱلۡفُرۡقَانِۚفَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهۡرَ فَلۡيَصُمۡهُۖ

“The month of Ramadaan in which was revealed the Quraan, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadaan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe fasts.” [Baqarah: 2:185]

Thereafter fasting on the Day of ’Aashoora became a Sunnah and the obligation was abrogated.  The proof [taken] from this is that the Prophet ﷺ participated with the Jews in fasting the Day of ’Aashoora as thanks to Allaah, the Most High, that He saved Moses from Pharaoh.  So the door of thanks has also been opened for us by fasting on Mondays because it was the day on which Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ was born and it was the day when revelation came down upon him.

Now I ask you: these people who celebrate the [unlegislated] birthday which we know has no good in it—I know that a lot of these people fast on Mondays just as they fast on Thursdays.  But do you see most of the Muslims fasting on Mondays?

No, they do not fast on Mondays, however most of the Muslims celebrate the Prophetic birthday once every year!  Isn’t this a reversal of the reality?  The saying of Allaah, the Most High, to the Jews is true regarding these people:

أَتَسۡتَبۡدِلُونَ ٱلَّذِي هُوَ أَدۡنَىٰ بِٱلَّذِي هُوَ خَيۡرٌۚ

“Would you exchange that which is better for that which is lower?” [Baqarah: 2:61]

This is good—i.e., fasting which is agreed upon by all of the Muslims—fasting on Mondays.  Yet, in spite of that, most of the Muslims do not fast it.  So now we turn our attention to the ones who do fast it [and ask]:

Do they know the secret behind fasting on that day?  No, they don’t know.

So where are the scholars who defend the [unlegislated] celebration—why don’t they tell the people that fasting on Mondays is the legislated celebration of the birthday and encourage them regarding it instead of defending the celebration that has not been prescribed?!

And Allaah, the Most High, spoke the truth:

أَتَسۡتَبۡدِلُونَ ٱلَّذِي هُوَ أَدۡنَىٰ بِٱلَّذِي هُوَ خَيۡرٌۚ

“Would you exchange that which is better for that which is lower?” [Baqarah: 2:61]

And His Messenger ﷺ spoke the truth when he said, “Indeed you will follow the ways of those nations who came before you, span by span and cubit by cubit (i.e., inch by inch) so much so that even if they entered a hole of a lizard, you would follow them.” [Reported by Bukhaari and Muslim] And in another narration, “… so much so that if there was someone from them who would have intercourse with his mother in the middle of the road there would be someone from you who would do that also.” [Reported by ad-Dawlaabi and Haakim, declared hasan by al-Bazzaar and al-Albaani agreed with him, see Silsilah, no. 1348]

So we have followed the way of the Jews.  We exchanged that which was good for that which was base—we exchanged the celebration of the birthday which occurs once a year and has no basis [in the religion] with that which was good, which is the celebration every Monday. And that is a legislated celebration which you perform by fasting while bearing in mind the secret behind it which is that you fast it as thanks to Allaah, the Most High, that He created the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ on that day and sent down revelation on it.

And I will finish my speech by mentioning his saying ﷺ, “Allaah refuses to accept the repentance of an innovator.” [Reported by Ibn Maajah and Al-Albaani declared it to be weak but there is another hadith which he declared to be authentic with a similar meaning reported by Abush-Shaikh in Taarikh Asbahaan, p. 259, at-Tabaraani in al-Awsat, no. 4360, and others, that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Indeed Allaah has prevented the repentance of the companion of every innovation.” See As-Silisilah, vol. 4, p. 154, no. 1620]

And Allaah, the Most High, says:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلرَّسُولُ بَلِّغۡ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ مِن رَّبِّكَۖ وَإِن لَّمۡ تَفۡعَلۡ فَمَا بَلَّغۡتَ رِسَالَتَهُۥۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعۡصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِۗ

“O Messenger! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allaah will protect you from mankind.” [Maaidah: 5:67]

And it has been reported in Sahih Muslim that one of the Taabi’een came to ’Aaishah, may Allaah be pleased with her …

Questioner: Reading the biography of the Prophet ﷺ is that [not] honouring him?

Al-Albaani: Yes.

Questioner: In it is reward, this is goodness from Allaah!

Al-Albaani: All goodness!  But you will not benefit anything from this question.  Therefore I will cut you off with a question: Does anyone prevent you from reading his biography?  I will now ask you another: if there is a legislated form of worship, but the Prophet ﷺ did not sanction a specific time for it and neither did he make a specific form for it, is it then allowed for us to designate—from ourselves—a specific time or a specific form/method?  Do you have an answer?

Questioner: No, I have no answer.

Al-Albaani: Allaah, the Most High, said:

أَمۡ لَهُمۡ شُرَكَٰٓؤُاْ شَرَعُواْ لَهُم مِّنَ ٱلدِّينِ مَا لَمۡ يَأۡذَنۢ بِهِ ٱللَّهُۚ

“Or have they partners with Allaah (false gods), who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not allowed?” [Shuraa: 42:21]

And He, the Most High, also said:

ٱتَّخَذُوٓاْ أَحۡبَارَهُمۡ وَرُهۡبَٰنَهُمۡ أَرۡبَابٗا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡمَسِيحَ ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ وَمَآ أُمِرُوٓاْ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُوٓاْ إِلَٰهٗا وَٰحِدٗاۖ لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَۚ سُبۡحَٰنَهُۥ عَمَّا يُشۡرِكُونَ

“They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allaah and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God, there is no deity [worthy of worship] except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.” [Tawbah: 9:31]

When Adiyy ibn Haatim, may Allaah be pleased with him, heard this—and before he became a Muslim he was a Christian—it was difficult for him so he said, “We never used to worship them.”  So he ﷺ said, “Would they not forbid what Allaah made permissible and so you would make it forbidden; and [would they not] make lawful what Allaah had made forbidden, so you would make it lawful?” So he said, “Of course.”  He ﷺ replied, “So that was your worship of them.” [Reported by Tirmidhee (3095) and the Shaikh declared it to be hasan]

And this clarifies the danger of innovating in Allaah’s Religion.

Silsilatul-Hudaa wal-Noor, no. 1/94, transcribed with abridgement.

Bukhaari Volume 8, Book 76, Number 437(6065), Muslim (2533) Tirmidhee (3859) Ibn Maajah (2362).

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