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 By Imaam Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaanee
Imaam Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaanee [d. 1420] delivers a short yet concise overview of ‘our da’wah’ as in the da’wah of ahlus-sunnah wal-jamaa’ah, ad-da’watul-anbiyaa. Shaykh al-Albaanee (rahimahullaah) explains the three levels of Islaamic knowledge with many clear-cut evidences that will leave the listener no choice but to understand that ‘true Islaam’ is the Qur’aan and Sunnah upon the understanding of the salaf. The noble muhaddith continues with an explanation of knowledge in the sharee’ah as opposed to linguistic knowledge, the vast contrast between the two and the harm of making rulings without sharee’ah knowledge.
Review:
The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, "Near the establishment of the Hour, there will be the days of al-Harj, and the religious knowledge will be taken away (vanish i.e. by the death of Religious scholars) and general ignorance will spread." Aboo Moosaa said, "al-Harj, in the Ethiopian language, means killing," Ibn Mas'ood added: I heard Allaah's Apostle saying; (It will be) from among the most wicked people who will be living at the time when the Hour will be established." [1]
Explains the muhaddith of his time, Imaam Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaanee (rahimahullaah), “This does not mean that at one time we will not find any scholars on the earth, rather, what it points to, as time passes the less scholars we will have, till we will not find on the earth people who say ‘Allaah, Allaah’. The hadeeth says ‘ignorant people’; from the ignorant people are those who give the tafseer of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah with no tafseer (preceding them).
States Imaam al-Albaanee, “Knowledge is at three levels:
Allaah said (the Qur’aan) - The ahaadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
- The statements of the Companions (radiyallaahu ‘anhum)
As many people say, when they speak about this topic, ‘Islaam is taken from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)’, and with this there is no doubt, but then, it is incomplete. As we see Ibnul-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) did not stop at ‘The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said’ rather he said ‘The Companions (radiyallaahu ‘anhum) said’ and we hardly hear this from the preachers who call to Islaam today. This is taken from the hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam),
“The best of people is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them."[2]
Concerning the third level of taking knowledge, the statements of the Companions (radiyallaahu ‘anhum), “It is based upon an ayaah in the Qur’aan,
“And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) 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. [Sooratun-Nisaa, 4:115]
…And you should notice that Allaah included, ‘…and follows other than the believers’ and this is not done without a great wisdom. So let not this ayaah be dismissed, remember this ayaah continuously so that you do not deviate right or left, this will be a safeguard for you from the evil sects which are not going to be successful as in the hadeeth that I will mention in short,
He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Indeed, the people of the Book before you split-up into seventy-two sects. And this nation will split-up into seventy-three sects, seventy two are in the Fire and one is in Paradise." [3] And in another narration, “All of them are in the Fire except one.” It was asked, ‘Who is that one?’ He replied, “That which I and my Companions are upon.”
In this ayaah, Allaah promises the person who deviates from the path of the believers, the hellfire. And the one who follows the path of the believers the paradise. So Ibnul-Qayyim mentioned in his poetry ‘The Companions (radiyallaahu ‘anhum) said’, which he included amongst the sources of knowledge. He did not speak of his own whims, his own opinion, his own itjihaad (derivation), rather took it from the previous ayaah and hadeeth. Also, there is another hadeeth that points to this,
The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, …Those of you who live long after me will see a lot of differences, so hold fast to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs after me. Cling to it tightly and beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and all misguidance is in the Fire." [4]
The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) did not only say ‘stick to my sunnah’ but rather ‘…hold fast to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs after me’ who are actually the Companions. Today the youth are confused and find it hard to join a group, they ask ‘to which group should I join?’ but it should said to them, ‘Follow the path of the believers’ (in reference to the previous ayaah, Sooratun-Nisaa, 4:115).”
So, Shaykh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaanee advises the youth, “Follow the path of the believers, this is not the path of today but the ‘manhaj as-salafus-saalih’ (the methodology of the pious predecessors), those who are our examples. So we should know in short that our da’wah stands upon three pillars, 1) the Book of Allaah, 2) The Sunnah of the Messenger (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam), 3) The way of the salafus-saalih. So for the one who claims that he follows the Qur’aan and the Sunnah but does not follow the way of the salafus-saalih then he in fact is not following the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. So if he is not following the path of the believers, he will either be following his whims or his intellect and both will send him into a great and far misguidance. And I believe that the difference between the sects of the past was one factor, they did not return to the way of the salafus-saalih. So all the sects say we follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah but the actual line which divides us is that we follow the Book and the Sunnah upon the methodology of the salafus-saalih.”
Footnotes:
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