Callers at the Gates of Hell
al-ʿAllāmah Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān
A noteworthy collection of fatāwá from al-ʿAllāmah Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān establishing the guidelines with regards to how one deals with the various duʿāʾt (callers) along with offering the prophetic guidance which foretold of callers at the gates of Hell calling the people to misguidance and a grievous torment. Towards the end, there are also fatāwá with regards to the world famous Jamāʿat al-Tablīgh and their station in the field of daʿwah.
The Noble scholar, Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān was asked in al-Muntaqá (1/320).[1]
Indeed, there are many who ascribe themselves to the daʿwah these days from amongst those who seek recognition of the considered people of knowledge, those who set out to guide the Ummah and its youth to the true manhaj and correct way. So who are the Scholars that you advise the youth to benefit from and follow their lessons, recorded audios — to take knowledge from and to refer back to in important issues, new affairs and times of fitan?
So Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān replied, “The call to Allāh is an affair which there is no doubt about. And the Religion has only become established due to daʿwah and Jihād after beneficial knowledge.”[2]
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ
“Except for those who believe, perform righteous deeds, advise each other with the truth and advise each other with patience.”
[Al-ʿAṣr, 103:3]
So īmān (faith) means to have knowledge of Allāh the Glorified and Exalted, His Names and Attributes and His worship. And righteous actions are a branch of beneficial knowledge, because undoubtedly actions must be based upon knowledge.[3]
Calling to Allāh, enjoining the good and giving sincere advice to the Muslims is an affair that is required. However, not everyone is equipped to carry out these duties. These affairs cannot be carried out except by the people of knowledge and the people of mature views, because they are important and heavy affairs. They cannot be carried out, except by those who are fully capable of carrying them out. And the problem today is that the door of daʿwah has become a door that is wide, everyone enters from it and attaches themselves to the daʿwah. Indeed, he could be an ignorant person who is not worthy of the daʿwah, so he ends up causing more corruption than rectification. Indeed, he could be overzealous, such that he takes the affairs with hastiness and heedlessness. So he produces actions which bring about more evil than remedies and whatever is intended by him from rectification. Rather, he could be from amongst those who ascribe themselves to the daʿwah, yet they have prejudices and desires that they call to and wish to actualize at the expense of the daʿwah, and through causing confusion amongst the youth in the name of daʿwah and honour for the Religion. And perhaps khilāf (differing) is intended by that, such as deviating the youth and deterring them from their communities, rulers and Scholars. So they come to them by way of advice and by way of daʿwah apparently, as is the condition of the hypocrites of this Ummah. They are those who desire evil, but portray a picture of goodness.[4]
I shall strike an example for that with regards to the inhabitants of Masjid al-Dirār (the mosque of harm). They built a mosque and outwardly portrayed it as a righteous action. Then they requested from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that he pray in it so as to encourage the people and to approve of it. However, Allāh knew from the intentions of its inhabitants that they only wanted to cause harm to the Muslims through that. They wanted to harm the Qubāʾ Mosque, the first mosque that was founded upon taqwá. And they wanted to unite the community of Muslims. So Allāh clarified the plot of them to His Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and He revealed His statement,
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مَسْجِدًا ضِرَارًا وَكُفْرًا وَتَفْرِيقًا بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَإِرْصَادًا لِّمَنْ حَارَبَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَلَيَحْلِفُنَّ إِنْ أَرَدْنَا إِلَّا الْحُسْنَىٰ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ ﴿١٠٧﴾ لَا تَقُمْ فِيهِ أَبَدًا ۚ لَّمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَىٰ مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَن تَقُومَ فِيهِ ۚ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَن يَتَطَهَّرُوا ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ ﴿١٠٨﴾
“And as for those who put up a mosque by way of harming and disbelief, and to disunite the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allāh and His Messenger aforetime, they will indeed swear that their intention is nothing but good. Allāh bears witness that they are certainly liars. Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein (to pray). In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allāh loves those who make themselves clean and pure.”
[Al-Tawbah, 9:107-108]
It becomes apparent to us from this tremendous story that everything that openly portrays goodness and righteous action could be truthful in what it does. However, sometimes the opposite of that which is apparent could be intended by what is being done.
So amongst those who ascribe themselves to the daʿwah today, there are misleaders who wish to deviate the youth, direct the people away from the true Religion, splitting up the Muslim community and falling into fitnah (trial, tribulation). And Allāh the Glorified and Exalted warned us against these ones,
لَوْ خَرَجُوا فِيكُم مَّا زَادُوكُمْ إِلَّا خَبَالًا وَلَأَوْضَعُوا خِلَالَكُمْ يَبْغُونَكُمُ الْفِتْنَةَ وَفِيكُمْ سَمَّاعُونَ لَهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ
“Had they marched out with you, they would have added to you nothing except disorder, and they would have hurried about in your midst (spreading corruption) and sowing sedition among you, and there are some among you who would have listened to them. And Allāh is the All-Knower of the transgressors.”
[Al-Tawbah, 9:47]
So attention is not given to the ascription, nor to that which is apparent. Rather, consideration is given to the realities and to the end results of the affairs.
As for individuals who ascribe themselves to the daʿwah, it is obligatory to look into them:
- Where did they study?
- Who did they take knowledge from?
- Where did they come from?
- What is their ʿaqīdah (creed)?
- And their dealings and effects amongst the people must be looked into. And it must be asked, what did they do which resulted in goodness?
- And which of their actions brought about rectification?
It is obligatory to study their conditions before becoming deluded by their statements and their outward conditions. There is no doubt about this affair, especially in this time which contains many duʿāt (callers) to fitnah. Indeed, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) described the duʿāt of fitnah by saying that they are a people with our skin and they speak with our tongue.[5] And when the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was asked about the fitan (trial, tribulation), he said, “They will be callers at the gates of Hell. Whosoever obeys them, then they will fling him into it.”[6] So he called them duʿāt (callers)!
So it is upon us to pay attention to this. And we must not gather everyone and their brother for the daʿwah, nor everyone who says, ‘I call to Allāh and this group calls to Allāh!’ So there is no escape from looking into the reality of the affair, and there is no escape from looking into the reality of the individuals and the groups. So Allāh the Glorified and Exalted restricted the call to Allāh to calling to the path of Allāh. Allāh the Exalted said,
قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ
“Say: This is my path, I call unto Allāh.”
[Yūsuf, 12:108]
This proves that there are people who call to other than Allāh, and Allāh the Exalted has informed that the disbelievers call to the Fire. So He said,
وَلَا تَنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكَاتِ حَتَّىٰ يُؤْمِنَّ ۚ وَلَأَمَةٌ مُّؤْمِنَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن مُّشْرِكَةٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ ۗ وَلَا تُنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَتَّىٰ يُؤْمِنُوا ۚ وَلَعَبْدٌ مُّؤْمِنٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن مُّشْرِكٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكُمْ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ بِإِذْنِهِ
“And do not marry the idolatresses until they believe. And a slave woman who believes is better than an idolatress, even though she may please you. And do not give your daughters in marriage to the idolaters, until they believe. And verily a believing slave is better than a free idolater, even though he may please you. Those idolaters invite you to the Fire, but Allāh invites you to Paradise and forgiveness by His permission.”
[Al-Baqarah, 2:221]
So it is obligatory to look into the affairs of the duʿāt.
Stated Shaykh al-Islām Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (d.1206 AH) – raḥimahullāh – about this āyah,
قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ
“Say: This is my path, I call unto Allāh.”
[Yūsuf, 12:108]
“In it is al-ikhlāṣ (sincerity). So many of the people only call to themselves, and they do not call to Allāh the Mighty and Majestic.”[7] End of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān’s words.
And the Noble Shaykh, Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān was also asked, “What is the ruling upon the presence of the likes of these sects: the Tablīgh, the Ikhwān and other than them throughout the Muslim countries?”
So his eminence answered,
It is obligatory upon us to not accept these jamāʿāt that have newly arrived, because they wish to deviate and divide us. They make this one a Tablīghī, and this one an Ikhwānī and this one is such and such! Why all this division? This is disbelief in the blessing of Allāh the Glorified and Exalted. We were upon one jamāʿah[8] (united body), upon unity and upon clarity with regards to our affair. Why should we exchange that which is better for that which is lesser? Why should we descend from that which Allāh the Glorified and Exalted has honoured us with from unity, harmony and the correct path into divided jamāʿāt, split up our unity and bring about enmity between us? This is not permissible, ever.[9]
And the Noble Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān was asked,
What is the Jamāʿah al-Tablīgh? And what is the manhaj upon which it traverses? And is it permissible to enter into it and to go out along with its individuals – as they say – for daʿwah? What if they are learned and people of sound ʿaqīdah (creed), such as the sons of this country for example?
So his eminence answered,
The basic principle is that it is obligatory to follow the Jamāʿah (united body of Muslims), and it is obligatory to join it, to traverse along with it and to act with it. This is the Jamāʿah which traverses upon that which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and his Companions were upon. As for whatever opposes it, then it is obligatory to declare oneself free from that.[10]
Yes, it is obligatory upon us to call them to Allāh, to clarify to them their errors, and to call them to the Book of Allāh and the Sunnah of His Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and what the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ were upon, because this is obligatory upon us. As for us joining them, going out with them, and walking upon their footsteps whilst we know that they are upon an incorrect path, then this is not permissible, because it constitutes walāʾ (allegiance) to other than the Jamāʿah which holds onto what the Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and his Companions held onto.[11]
Endnotes:
[1] The following is a translation of the small booklet Duʿāt ʿalá Abwāb Jahannam by Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān along with some additions, it was published by Maktabat al-Furqān in the UAE.
[2]Benefit – Knowledge Precedes Statement and Action: Stated Imām Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī (d.256 AH) – raḥimahullāh – in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/92), Chapter: Knowledge Comes Before Speech and Actions, as Allāh – the Most High – said,
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مُتَقَلَّبَكُمْ وَمَثْوَاكُمْ
“So have knowledge that none has the right to be worshipped except Allāh, and seek forgiveness for your sins.”
[Muḥammad, 47:19]
So He began with knowledge before speech and actions.” Stated Shaykh al-Islām ʿAbd al-Azīz ibn Bāz (d.1420 AH) – raḥimahullāh – in al-Daʿwah ilá Allāh wa Akhlāq al-Duʿāt (p. 38), “So knowledge is an essential obligation in calling to Allāh. So beware of calling to Allāh based upon ignorance, and beware of speaking without due knowledge. Indeed, ignorance destroys, it does not build, and it causes corruption, not reformation and correction. So — O worshipper of Allāh — fear Allāh and beware of speaking about Allāh without due knowledge, and do not call to anything except after knowledge of it and having insight into what Allāh and His Messenger (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) have said. So it is upon the student of knowledge and the dāʿī to have knowledge of, and insight into that which they call to, knowing its proofs and evidences.” Stated al-ʿAllāmah Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān (ḥāfiẓahullāh), “So the ignorant person is not suitable to be a caller (dāʿī). Allāh, the Most High, said to His prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam),
قُلْ هَٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ۖ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“Say, O Muḥammad: This is my way, I call to Allāh upon certain knowledge (baṣīrah). I, and those who follow me.”
[Yūsuf, 12:108]
‘Baṣīrah’ is knowledge. So the caller is certain to face those who are scholars of misguidance, those who will attack him with doubts and futile arguments in order to rebut the truth. Allāh, the Most High, says,
وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ
“And argue with them in a way that is better.”
[Al-Naḥl, 16:125]
Furthermore the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said to Muʿādh (raḍī allāhu ʿanhu), “You are going to a people from the People of the Book.”[Related by al-Bukhārī (no. 7372) and Muslim (no. 29) from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (raḍī allāhu ʿanhu).] So if the caller is not armed with sufficient knowledge for him to face every doubt and contend with every opponent, then he will be defeated in the first counter, and will be halted at the beginning of the way.” Refer to the Shaykh’s introduction to the book, Manhaj al-Anbiyāʾ fī al- Daʿwah ilá Allāh Fī al-Ḥikmah wa-al-ʿAql (p. 11) of Shaykh Rabīʿ ibn Hādī.
[3] Benefit – Actions Must Be Based upon Knowledge: Stated Shaykh al-Islām ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Bāz (d.1420 AH) – raḥimahullāh, “From the necessary or rather obligatory etiquettes and qualities that a dāʿī must possess is acting in accordance to what he is calling to, and being a righteous example of what is being called to. He should not call to do something and then not do it himself, nor call to leave something, whilst engaging in it himself. This is the condition of the losers — we seek Allāh’s refuge from this! It is those Believers who call to the truth, act upon what they call to the truth and hasten to righteousness and avoid the prohibited, these are the ones who will be successful and who will be rewarded. Allāh — the Most Majestic — says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٢﴾ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٣﴾
“O you who believe! Do you say that which you do not do. It is most hateful in the sight of Allāh that you say that which you do not do.”
[Al-Ṣaff, 61:2-3]
Likewise, Allāh — the One free from all imperfections said — whilst condemning the Jews for ordering the people with righteousness whilst forgetting it themselves,
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
“Do you enjoin righteousness upon the people whilst you yourselves forget to practice it, and you recite the Book? Have you no sense?”
[Al-Baqarah, 2:44]
And it has been established from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that he said, “A man will be brought on the Day of Judgement and he will be thrown into the Hellfire, so that his intestines will come out and he will go around like a donkey goes around the millstone. The people of Hellfire will gather around him and say, ‘O so and so! What happened to you? Did you not used to order us with good and prohibit us from evil?’ He will say, ‘I used to order you with good and not do it myself; and I used to prohibit you from evil and do it myself.” [Related al-Bukhārī (6/331) and Muslim (18/118) from Usāmah ibn Zayd (raḍī allāhu ʿanhu).] This will be the situation of the one who calls to Allāh, ordering the good and prohibiting the evil; whilst acting contrary to his saying, or saying things contrary to his actions – we seek refuge in Allāh from this. Therefore, from the most important qualities and one of the greatest obligations upon the dāʿī is to act upon what he calls to and abstain from that which he prohibits. The dāʿī should have excellent character and praiseworthy conduct, being patient and inviting to patience. The dāʿī should be sincere in his daʿwah and strive in spreading goodness to the people and keeping them away from falsehood. At the same time the dāʿī should supplicate for the guidance of others, saying, “O Allāh! Guide him, and grant him the ability to accept the truth.” So from the excellent manners of the dāʿī is supplicating, guiding and being patient with the harms that come with this daʿwah. When the Prophet (ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salām) was informed that the tribe of Daws had become disobedient he said, “O Allāh! Guide Daws and bring them.” [Related by al-Bukhārī (6/105) from Abū Hurayrah.] So the dāʿī should supplicate for guidance and ability to accept the truth for the one he is calling, and he should be patient and encourage patience in this. He should not despair, nor feel hopeless, nor say anything except good. He should not be harsh and strict, nor should he say a word which may cause aversion to the truth. However, if anyone commits aggression and oppression, then a different treatment is for such people, as Allāh — the Most Majestic — says,
وَلَا تُجَادِلُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا
“And do not argue with the people of the Book except in a good way, except those who do wrong.”
[Al-ʿAnkabūt, 29:46]
So a wrongdoer, who opposes the daʿwah with evil and enmity and seeks to cause harm, is to be dealt with in a different manner. If possible, such a person should be imprisoned, or something similar to that — depending upon the nature of his transgression to the daʿwah. However, as long as he causes no harm, then it is upon you to be patient and self-evaluating, and to debate with him in ways that are best. If any personal harm was caused by such a person, then such harm should be borne with patience — as the Messengers and those who followed them in goodness and righteousness patiently bore such harms.” Refer to al-Daʿwah ilá Allāh wa Akhlāq al-Duʿāt (p. 41-42).
[4] Benefit – The Enemies of Salafiyyah Shall Never Succeed: Stated Ibn al-Jawzī (d.597 AH), “The heretics of al-Islām were three: Ibn al-Rāwandī, Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī and Abū al-Alāʾ al-Muʿarrī. The worst of them upon Islām was Abū Ḥayyān, because the other two were clear (in their deviation), whilst he was hidden and unclear.” Refer to Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfiʿiyyah al-Kubrá (5/288), Siyār Aʿlām al-Nubaláʾ (17/120) and Bughyah al-Wuʿāh (2/191).
Said al-ʿAllāmah Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān – ḥāfiẓahullāh — in warning against the enemies of the callers to Tawḥīd — “Indeed, the enemies of this daʿwah (call) have tried to use force in dismantling it, yet they did not succeed. So they tried to gain influence over it by causing doubt and uncertainty and accusations of misguidance, and they describe it with negative descriptions, so they did not increase it except in radiance, clarity and acceptance. After that comes the era in which we are now living, where strange and doubtful calls have entered into our country in the name of daʿwah. Now there are many groups, with different names, such as al-Ikhwān al-Muslimīn, Jamāʿah al-Tablīgh and the jamāʿah of so and so. And their goal is one, and that is to drive away the call to Tawḥīd and to take its place.” Refer to the introduction of Ḥaqīqah al-Daʿwah ilá Allāh Taʿālá (p. 3).
He also stated, “So when the writers and speakers from amongst our own youth warn us against the ideological attack (al-ghazw al-fikrī), then which ideological attack is more dangerous than this one? So the obligation is to remove the problem from its very foundations and to direct attention towards it.” Refer to the introduction of Ḥaqīqah al-Daʿwah ilá Allāh Taʿālá (p. 4).
[5] Related by al-Bukhārī (8/92-93) from the ḥadīth of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān (raḍī allāhu ʿanhu).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Refer to Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (p. 45-46) of Shaykh al-Islām Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb.
[8] Stated Jamāl ibn Farīḥān al-Ḥārithī in al-Ajwibah al-Sadīdah (p. 6), “It is better to label every group that opposes the Book and the Sunnah upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ as sects. This is the Sharīʿah term for them, as the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) labelled them in the following ḥadīth of sects. As for the jamāʿāt, then there are none, except the Jamāʿah of the Muslims, as is pointed out in the ḥadīth of sects, and Allāh knows best.”
[9]Refer to al-Muntaqá min Fatāwá (2/376) of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān.
[10]The Noble Scholar ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-ʿAfīfī (d.1414 AH) was asked about going out with the Jamāʿah al-Tablīgh in order to remind people of the greatness of Allāh, so he responded with the following, “That which is the case, is that they are innovators and those who adhere to the manhaj of the Qadariyyah and other than them, and their going out is not (regarded as) in the Path of Allāh, rather it is in the path of (Muḥāmmad) Ilyās. They do not invite to the Book (of Allāh) and nor the Sunnah, rather they invite to Ilyās, their Shaykh in India. As for going out with them with the intention to invite to the path of Allāh, then that is (regarded as) going out in the path of Allāh but not that which is going out with the Jamāʿah al-Tablīgh. And I have known of the Jamāʿah al-Tablīgh from a long time and they are innovators wherever they may be: Egypt, America, Saudi Arabia and all of them attach themselves to their Shaykh Ilyās. Refer to Fatāwá wa-al-Rasāʾil (1/174) of al-ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-ʿAfīfī.
Shaykh al-Islām ʿAbd al-Azīz ibn Bāz (d.1420 AH) was asked, ‘The ḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) concerning the division of the Ummah, “My Ummah will soon split up into seventy-three sects…” So is the Jamāʿah al-Tablīgh, along with what they have of acts of shirk and innovation, and likewise the Ikhwān al-Muslimīn, along with what they have of ḥizbiyyah (partisanship), splitting the ranks, using force against the Muslim rulers, and not listening and obeying; so do these two sects enter into that?’ So the Noble Shaykh replied, “They enter into the seventy-two (misguided) sects. Whoever opposes the ʿaqīdah (creed) of Ahl al-Sunnah enters into the seventy-two sects. The intent behind his saying, “My Ummah…” means the Ummah that has responded to his call. Meaning they have responded to the call and have made apparent their following of him, and they are the seventy three sects. The saved and secure one is the one which follows him and shows steadfastness (istiqāmah) upon his Religion. And as for the seventy-two sects, amongst them is the disbeliever, the sinner and the innovator; they are of various types.” The questioner then said, ‘Meaning these two sects (the Ikhwān and the Tablīgh) are included within those seventy-two sects?’ The Shaykh replied, “Yes, from those seventy-two sects. And so are the Murjiʾah and others. The Murjiʾah and Khawārij, some of the people consider them to be from amongst the disbelievers. However, they are actually from the generality of the seventy-two sects.” From the cassette Sharḥ al-Muntaqá, in Ṭāʾif in the year 1418 AH.
[11] Refer to al-Muntaqá min Fatāwá (2/376) of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān.
Translated by: Maaz Qureshi
