41 - In the Thirteenth Dialogue the reformer says:

"Imam Ahmad said to Abu Dawud, 'Do not follow anybody in the religion! Take what is conveyed from as-Sahaba! You are free to adapt (tabi') yourself to those who came after as-Sahaba.' 'Adaptation' does not mean to 'follow' (taqlid). Taqlid means to follow a person's words or opinions without knowing where he has taken it from, without seeing his proofs. The Hanbali madhhab is the madhhab of the hadith. None of the scholars who adapted themselves to this madhhab gave up the hadith in return for their imam's opinions. Taqlid makes intellect useless. He who compares the deductions (ra'y) or ijtihads of scholars with the Nass and then gives up the ones disagreeing with the Nass will not have given up the words of scholars. Neither it is fard to follow ijtihads, nor those who do not follow them will be sinners or disbelievers. The imams or their disciples did not say that it was necessary to admit their deductions or ijtihads. Imam Abu Hanifa said, 'This is my ijtihad. If there should be anyone to say the better I will follow him.' When Harun ar-Rashid wanted to command everybody to follow the ijtihads of Imam Malik, the imam said, 'Do not do that! A hadith which is not known at some place is known at some other place.' A hadith reported by only one person denotes supposition. Such a hadith, even if it is sahih, is to be given up if it is against the public advantage. The Sunnat will not be abandoned by doing so. It will have been omitted because strong evidence against it has been seen. So is the case with Hadrat 'Umar's ijtihad upon divorce and mut'a. Hadrat 'Umar cannot be said to have opposed to the hadith."

He boasts of himself by writing through the preacher's tongue:

"O you virtuous young man! I now appreciate your deep and extensive knowledge."

He writes again through the preacher's tongue:

"The harm of taqlid, even if it were only getting stuck into the books of one's own madhhab and neglecting the books of hadith, will prove it [taqlid] wrong."

Not only Imam Ahmad but also the other aimmat al-madhahib said to their disciples, "Do not follow anybody, not even me. Take what is conveyed from as-Sahaba," because there were mujtahids among their disciples. Mujtahids had to do so. And the statement, "You are free to adapt yourself to those who came after as-Sahaba" is a lie, for, a mujtahid was not permitted to follow another mujtahid. Hadrat 'Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sharani wrote in Al-mizan al-kubra:

"An alim in the grade of ijtihad, that is, a scholar who can find out the adilla and infer rules from them, is not permitted to follow somebody else. However, according to the 'ulama', it is wajib for an ordinary Muslim to follow a mujtahid. They said that if a non-mujtahid Muslim did not follow a mujtahid, he would deviate from the right path. All mujtahids inferred rules from the documentary evidences they found in Islam. No mujtahid has ever talked out of his own opinion concerning the religion of Allahu ta'ala. Each madhhab is like a tissue woven with the threads of the Book and the Sunnat. Anybody who is not in the grade enabling him to employ ijtihad has to choose and follow any one he likes of the four madhhabs, because they all show the way leading to Paradise. A person who speaks ill of any of the aimmat al-madhahib shows his ignorance. For example, it was said unanimously by all the early 'ulama' and their successors that al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa Numan ibn Thabit (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) had had very great knowledge and wara', had worshiped much, and had been very meticulous and prudent in deducing rules. One should trust oneself to Allahu ta'ala against saying, 'He mixed Allahu ta'ala's religion with words disagreeing with the Book and the Sunnat by inferring from his own opinion and point of view,' about such an exalted imam. Every Muslim should be reverent towards the aimmat al-madhahib. The high status of al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa has been realized only by the great awliya' who were the possessors of kashf."

Claiming that the Hanbali scholars did not give up the hadith is a vituperation against the other three aimmat al-madhahib. As we have quoted before, the religion reformer, too, said, "Each imam al-madhhab said that his ijtihad should be given up when a sahih hadith was found." Now he denies it. And the statement, "Taqlid makes intellect useless," reflects the vulgar ignorance of the person who says so. Allahu ta'ala's religion is above intellect, comprehension and realization. If intellect is compelled to go up into it, its wings will fail and it will then become useless. The most effective medicine to protect the intellect in religious matters is to follow mujtahids. Comparison between scholars' ra'y or ijtihad and the Nass is a task which can be done by mujtahids only. For us, the ignoramuses, who know nothing of ijtihad or of the knowledge of tafsir or hadith, there is no other way than admitting and believing the greatness of an imam al-madhhab and to follow him. It was said unanimously by the 'ulama' of Islam that it was wajib for us ordinary people to follow an imam al-madhhab. [35]* The one who does not adapt himself to an imam al-madhhab's ijtihad becomes a sinner. It is written in the books of fiqh that the one who does not admit a decree which has been given unanimously by the four madhhabs and which has spread over every country will become a non-Muslim. [36]* Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) said about his own ijtihads, "This is my ijtihad. I have done what I could. If anyone does better than this, it is more probable that he is right." But he did not say, "I will follow him." There are those things which were decided to be halal, haram or wajib by the aimmat al-madhahib, though they were not explained clearly in the Qur'an al-karim or the hadith ash-Sharif. They did not give any decision when they could not find hints in the Qur'an al-karim or the hadith ash-Sharif. They were like the stars in the sky. Others are like the people walking about on the earth. The latter, seeing the former's reflection on the surface of water, think that they know them. Harun ar-Rashid, the Khalifa, visited Imam Malik and said, "I want to spread your books everywhere so that the whole Umma should follow only these books." Hadrat Imam said, "O Amir al-Muminin (the Head of Muslims)! The disagreement between the disagreement of scholars is Allahu ta'ala's compassion upon the Umma. Every mujtahid will follow the evidence which he knows as sahih. The rules deduced by them all guide to the right path. They are all in the way of Allahu ta'ala." Thus, he meant that all the madhhabs and mujtahids were on the right path. Strange to see, the religion reformer, who insists on saying that not hadiths but ijtihads should be given up, claims now that hadiths which are daif should be given up in muamalat. Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa, when employing ijtihad, would prefer a hadith daif, and even the words of any Sahabi, to his own ra'y. A daif hadith can be a document (dalil) only for supererogatory (fada'il) 'ibadat; in other words, the supererogatory 'ibadat can be performed also according to such hadiths. For the 'ibadat that are fard, wajib or sunnat muakkada, only those hadiths that are mashhur and sahih can be documents. While looking for such a document for an affair, or while employing ijtihad on an affair which had not been explained in an ayat or in such hadiths, in other words, while looking for the document of an affair similar to the affair in question, al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa would prefer a daif hadith to his own ra'y; that is, he would prefer the document shown by a daif hadith to his own deduction. For, the hadith ash-Sharif written in Al-madkhal by Imam al-Baihaki declares, "It is fard for all of you to follow the Qur'an al-karim. It is not excusable for any of you to abandon it. In those matters which you cannot find in the Qur'an al-karim, follow my sunnat! If you cannot find them in my sunnat, either, follow the words of my Companions! For, my Companions are like the stars in the sky. You will find guidance to the right path if you follow any of them. Disagreement among my companions is [Allahu ta'ala's] compassion upon you." This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the one who follows any of the four aimmat al-madhahib will find guidance to the right path. And this documents the fact that all the four madhhabs guide to the right path. The religion reformer's referring the ijtihad on divorce and mut'a [37]* to Hadrat 'Umar (radi-Allahu 'anh) is untrue, for no Sahabi disagreed with him, thus the unanimity of as-Sahabat al-kiram was formed.

It is also surprising that, to him, taqlid of a madhhab means to give up reading the books of hadith. All of those who wrote, explained and published thousands of books of hadith filling up the world's libraries today, were Ahl as-Sunnat, each of whom followed a madhhab. Imam Hamdan ibn Sahl (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) wrote: "If I were a Qadi (judge), I would imprison two kinds of persons: one is he who reads books of hadith but does not read books of fiqh, and the other is he who reads books of fiqh but does not read books of hadith. Don't you see how fast our aimmat al-madhahib held to the knowledge of hadith and how hard they studied fiqh, or that they did not content themselves with only one of them?" All the scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnat disapproved and prohibited speaking from one's own angle of comparison (qiyas) and deduction (ra'y) on Allahu ta'ala's religion. Who disapproved of it most was al-Imam al-'Azam Abu Hanifa (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih). He and the other aimmat al-madhahib are quoted on this subject in Al-mizan al-kubra. Does it befit a Muslim to say, "In their ijtihad they disagreed with the Nass and employed ijtihad incompatible with the hadith through deduction and comparison," about these scholars who said just the opposite? It is not permissible even to think so about our aimmat al-madhahib, who were Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) inheritors. Those who say so, in fact, deny the hadiths declaring that they were his inheritors, and thus give up the hadith ash-Sharif. Furthermore, by doing so they think ill of and slander Muslims. Both of them are grave sins. Because they perpetrate haram, they should repent before Allahu ta'ala.

42 - The religion reformer says at the end of his book:

"The taqlid of someone is a huge obstacle against knowledge and intellect. Not all the rules deduced through ijtihad by mujtahids originated from the same source. Some were deduced from the Book, while others from the Sunnat. Therefore, there are different views on some matters."

Having involved himself in a great matter which he could never cope with, the religion reformer now gets confused. The poor man, who can never tolerate Muslims' following the aimmat al-madhahib by obeying the above-quoted hadith ash-Sharif and the ayat quoted several times before, being unable to find any reason based on knowledge and intellect for blaming taqlid, says that taqlid obstructs knowledge and intellect. We answered this claim of his in the previous article. Is he a Muslim or an enemy of Islam who says that obeying the commands in the ayat and the hadith causes such harms? We leave the answer to the understanding and reason of our dear readers. Hadrat 'Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sharani wrote in his work Al-mizan al-kubra:

"O my Muslim brother! Meditate well! If Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had not explained what had been revealed briefly and symbolically in the Qur'an al-karim, the Qur'an al-karim would have remained concealed. If our aimmat al-madhahib (rahmat-Allahi 'alaihim ajmain), who were Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) inheritors, had not explained the brief hadiths, the Prophet's Sunnat would have remained concealed. Therefore, the scholars of each century, by following Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), explained all the brief hadiths. Allahu ta'ala declares in the 44th ayat of the Surat an-Nahl, "You (the Prophet) shall explain (bayan) to mankind what I send down for them." 'Bayan' means 'to express the ayats of Allahu ta'ala in other terms, in a different way.' If the scholars among the Umma had been able to explain ayats and to interpret brief ayats and to infer rules from the Qur'an al-karim, Allahu ta'ala would have said to His Prophet, 'Tell them what is sent to you through the Angel,' and He would not have commanded him to explain. Shaikh al-Islam Zakariyya (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) said, 'If Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had not interpreted what had been declared briefly in the Qur'an al-karim and if the aimmat al-madhahib had not explained what had been communicated symbolically, none of us could have understood them. For example, if the Shari' (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had not explained how to perform a ritual ablution in his hadiths, we would not have been able to deduce from the Qur'an al-karim how to perform it. Similarly, the number of rak'as in each salat, the rules, cases and amount of nisab, the conditions and fard and sunnat acts of fasting, pilgrimage and zakat could not be inferred from the Qur'an al-karim. None of the symbolically revealed Qur'anic rules would have been understood if they had not been explained in the hadith ash-Sharif.

"It is a symptom of faction (nifaq) to struggle against the 'ulama' of Islam since it means to struggle to oppose and reject their proofs (dala'il). Allahu ta'ala declares in the 46th ayat of the Surat an-Nisa of the Qur'an al-karim, 'For having believed, they have to appoint you to be an arbitrator to settle the disputes among them, admit your decision and surrender.' This ayat signifies that those who are not pleased with Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salam) decision or with the commandments of Islam do not have iman. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Do not quarrel or dispute in the Messenger's presence!' Since the 'ulama' are Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) inheritors, to quarrel or to dispute with the 'ulama' of his religion, to attempt to criticize their ijtihads, which are correct, means to dispute with him. As we have to believe and confirm all the revelations which he brought even if we cannot understand their ultimate divine causes and evidences, so we have to believe and confirm the knowledge conveyed from our aimmat al-madhahib, even if we do not understand their documentary evidences, since they are not against Islam. Despite the fact that there are different, even opposite principles in the religions of all prophets ('alaihimu 's-salatu wa 's-salam), we Muslims have to believe and acknowledge all of them as Prophets of Allahu ta'ala, since the 'ulama' declared it unanimously. The case is the same with the madhhabs. Non-mujtahids have to believe and acknowledge all the four madhhabs though they see that there are differences between them. A non-mujtahid's finding a madhhab as erroneous does not show that the madhhab is erroneous. Instead, it shows that he understands little and that he himself is erroneous. Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i said, 'To surrender oneself is half of iman.' Upon this, Hadrat Rabi' said, 'No, it is the whole of iman,' and al-Imam ash-Shafi'i admitted it. Again, al-Imam ash-Shafi'i said, 'A person with perfect iman does not speak on the knowledge of usul. That is, he does not ask why it is that way and not this way.' When asked what was the knowledge of usul, he said it covered the Book, the Sunnat and ijma' al-Umma. This remark of his shows that we have to say that we believe all knowledge that has come from Allahu ta'ala and the Prophet as He has revealed. So should be the case with what has been conveyed from the 'ulama' of Islam; that is, we should say that we believe the words of our aimmat al-madhhahib without speaking on them, without arguing. Therefore, Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Birr (d. 463/1071) said, 'None of our aimma has been heard to command his disciples to follow a certain madhhab. They told them to follow fatwas of any madhhab they liked, for all the madhhabs are Allahu ta'ala's compassion. It was not stated in any hadith, sahih or daif, that our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) commanded anybody of his umma to recommend a certain madhhab.'

"Al-Imam al-Qurafi says, 'As it was witnessed unanimously by as-Sahabat al-kiram, a person who followed Hadrat Abu Bakr and Hadrat 'Umar (radi-Allahu 'anhuma) by adopting their fatwas would also ask other Sahabis about his other affairs and would act upon what he learned. Nobody would ask for witnesses or documents. [38]* And by the unanimous declaration of the 'ulama', it is necessary today for a new Muslim to learn and do by asking the scholars of a single madhhab without asking for proofs, and if he cannot find scholars of the same madhhab, to ask any scholar but later, to learn one of the four madhhabs and follow it. A stubborn person who refuses this unanimity has to find proofs for his refutation.' " [39]

'Allama Sayyid Ahmad at-Tahtawi, a great Hanafi fiqh scholar of Egypt, wrote in the subject of 'Zabayih' in his Hashiyatu Durr al-mukhtar: "According to the majority of the scholars of tafsir, the ayat, 'They parted into groups in the religion.' referred to the people of bidat who would arise in this umma. In a hadith ash-Sharif reported by Hadrat 'Umar (radi-Allahu 'anh), Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) said to Hadrat 'Aisha (radi-Allahu anha), 'The ayat about the partition into groups in the religion refers to the people of bidat and to the followers of their nafses who would arise in this umma.' Allahu ta'ala declared in the 153rd ayat of the Surat al-Anam, 'This is the right path. Be on this path! Do not part into groups!' (that is, Jews, Christians and other heretics departed from the right path; you should not part like them!) In the 103rd ayat of the Surat al-i Imran, Allahu ta'ala declared, 'You all should hold on to Allahu ta'ala's rope! Do not part into groups!' Some scholars of tafsir said that 'Allahu ta'ala's rope' meant 'jamaat, unity'. The command, 'Do not part into groups,' shows that it is so and the jamaat are the possessors of fiqh and 'ilm. One who dissents from fuqaha' (scholars of fiqh) as much as a span falls into heresy, becomes deprived of Allahu ta'ala's help and deserves Hell, because the fuqaha' have been on the right path and have held on to the Sunnat of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) and on to the path of the Khulafa' ar-rashidin, the Four Caliphs (radi-Allahu 'anhum). The As-siwad al-azam, i.e., the majority of Muslims, are on the path of the fuqaha'. Those who depart from their path will burn in the fire of Hell. O believers! Follow the unique group which is protected against Hell! And this group is the one that is called Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat. For, Allahu ta'ala's help, protection and guidance are for the followers of this group, and His wrath and punishment are for those who dissent from this group. Today, this group of salvation come together in the four madhhabs, namely the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. In the present time, one who does not adapt himself to one of these four madhhabs is a man of bidat and is destined for Hell. All people of bidat claim that they are on the right path. This subject can be judged not by mere claim or imagination but by the reports of the specialists in this path and of the scholars of hadith, whose reports are based on the right path." [40]*

43 - The four aimmat al-madhahib are the archstones of the Islamic faith. The 'ulama' of Islam have written numerous books on their biographies and superiority, for example, the section "Ashadd al-jihad fi ibtali da'wal-ijtihad" of the Arabic book Al-minhat al-Wahbiyya fi raddi 'l-Wahhabiyya, and the books Hidayat al-muwaffiqin and Sabil an-najat, which are published in Istanbul. The following is the translation from Ashadd al-jihad to be a souvenir for the youth:

1) First of the four aimmat al-madhahib of the Ahl as-Sunnat was al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa Numan ibn Thabit (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih). He was born in 80 A.H. (699) and died in Baghdad in 150 (767). He was the founder of the Hanafi madhhab. The Ottomans, Muslims in India, Siberia and Turkistan have been performing 'ibadat in accordance with the Hanafi madhhab. A hadith declares: "Abu Hanifa is the light of my umma." There is no need to repeat about his wara', zuhd, generosity, keen sight and sagacity, which are well known. Three-fourths of the knowledge of fiqh belongs to him. And he shares the remaining one-fourth with the other aimmat al-madhahib. Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i said, "The sources of men's knowledge on fiqh are Abu Hanifa and his disciples. He who wants to learn fiqh should resort to Abu Hanifa's knowledge and his disciples. When I asked Imam Malik if he had seen Abu Hanifa, he said, 'Yes, I have seen Abu Hanifa. He was such a man that if he had claimed that this pillar were made of gold he would have proved it right. No one could oppose him.' " Men had been asleep concerning the knowledge of fiqh, and Abu Hanifa woke them all. When 'Isa ibn Musa, one of the 'abids (worshipers, devotees) and zahids (ascetics) of the time, was in the company of Abu Jafar Mansur, who was the Amir al-Muminin [Head of the Faithful], Abu Hanifa entered the room. 'Isa said to Mansur that the visitor was a world-wide great alim. Mansur asked the imam from whom he had acquired knowledge. He said he had learned from the disciples of Hadrat 'Umar (radi-Allahu 'anh). And Mansur said, "Indeed, you have got a very sound support."

Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa performed salat every night. Once, while he was sleeping in the Kaba, he was waken by a voice: "O Abu Hanifa! Thou hast served Me faithfully. Thou hast known Me well. On account of this faith and acknowledgment of thine, I have forgiven thee and those who will follow thee until Doomsday." What good news for Abu Hanifa and for the followers of his madhhab! His beautiful moral character and good qualities could exist only in an 'arif and imam who is a mujtahid. Of the mujtahid-imams and mature 'alims whom he educated, 'Abdullah ibn Mubarak, Imam Malik, Imam Mis'ar, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad ash-Shaibani and Imam Zufar are the witnesses of his high status. Though he wished to keep away from the people and go into retirement because he had much modesty and bashfulness, he began to issue fatwas when he was commanded by Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in his dream to promulgate his madhhab. His madhhab spread far and wide. His followers increased in number. Those who envied him appeared, yet they all were routed and disgraced. Many scholars learned the usul and furu' of his madhhab and wrote many books. Those who could observe and understand his naqli (narrated, traditional) and 'aqli (mental) documentation wrote about his superiority. Though Abu 'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi quotes some stories belittling al-Imam al-azam in his book, he wrote them not to belittle al-Imam al-'Azam but to show that there were those who were jealous of him. In the same book he praises al-Imam al-azam more than others. Al-Imam al-'Azam's father, Thabit, had visited Hadrat 'Ali (radi-Allahu 'anh), who had asked for a blessing on him and his children. The prayer manifested on al-Imam al-azam. Attaining the sohbat of some of as-Sahabat al-kiram, particularly of Hadrat Anas ibn Malik (radi-Allahu 'anh), he was honored with being one of the Tabiin.

['Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sharani wrote:

"Before writing my book Adillat al-madhahib, I studied the ijtihads of Abu Hanifa and his disciples very minutely. I saw that each of them was based on an ayat karima, hadith ash-Sharif or khabar (narration) reported from as-Sahabat al-kiram. Such great mujtahids as Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad and al-Imam ash-Shafi'i praised al-Imam al-azam very much. Others speaking favorably or unfavorably about him is not of any importance, for, those who are in the Maliki, Hanbali or Shafi'i madhhab have to love and praise whom their imam al-madhhab praised. If they do not love him they will have not obeyed their madhhab. It is wajib for anyone who adapts himself to a madhhab to follow his imam al-madhhab and praise al-Imam al-azam. One day, while I was writing al-Imam al-azam's biography, a man came in and showed me a piece of paper. It wrote ill of al-Imam al-azam. I told him that it had been written by somebody who had not understood al-Imam al-azam's ijtihads. He said he had taken it from Fakhr ad-din ar-Razi's book. 'Fakhr ad-din ar-Razi (d. 606/1209) is like a student when compared to al-Imam al-azam. Or he is like a villager compared to a sultan, or like a star which cannot be seen in a sunny sky. As it is haram for a villager to blame the sultan without any evidence, so it is haram for us, the muqallids, to disagree with the imam al-madhhab's ijtihad or to say groundless words against him unless there is a clear ayat that cannot be explained away,' I said. [41]* It is wajib for a muqallid who cannot understand one of the decisions which al-Imam al-azam made through ijtihad to act in accordance with it unless its opposite is proved.

"Abu Muti' related that while he was with al-Imam al-azam in the Kufa Mosque, Sufyan ath-Thawri, Imam Muqatil, Hammad ibn Salama, Imam Jafar as-Sadiq and some other 'ulama' came in. 'We have heard that you employ qiyas in religious matters. This will harm you very much, for it was the Devil who employed it first,' they said. Al-Imam al-azam answered them from morning till the time of the Friday prayer. He explained his madhhab. 'First I look in the Qur'an al-karim. If I cannot find in it, I look in the hadith ash-Sharif. If I cannot find it again, I look in the ijma' of as-Sahabat al-kiram. If I cannot find it, either, I prefer one of [their opinions about] those [matters] on which they disagreed. If I cannot find it, either, I then employ qiyas,' he said and showed some examples. They all stood up, kissed his hand and said, 'You are the master of the 'ulama'. Forgive us, please! Inadvertently, we have bothered you.' And he replied, 'May Allahu ta'ala forgive me and you.'

"O my brother! Refrain from speaking ill of al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa and the 'ulama' of fiqh who have been following his madhhab! Do not believe what the ignorant say or write! If you follow religion reformers who do not know the ahwal, zuhd, wara' and the prudence and strictness in religious matters of that exalted imam and say that his documentation is unsound, you will suffer perdition with them in the next world. If you, as I do, study his documentation, you will realize that all the four madhhabs are sahih (valid)! If you want to see the correctness of the four madhhabs as clearly as the noon sun, cling to the path of the men of Allahu ta'ala! Advance on the way of tasawwuf, thus guarantee your knowledge and worship to be only for Allahu ta'ala's sake. Then you will see the source of the teachings of Islam. You will realize that all the four madhhabs have spread by originating from this same source and that none of them contains any rule outside of Islam. good news upon those who behave properly and respectfully towards the aimmat al-madhahib and the 'ulama' who have followed them! Allahu ta'ala made them guides (imams) to show His human creatures the way to happiness. They are His great blessings upon people. They are the pioneers of the way leading to Paradise."[42]* ]

2) Imam Malik ibn Anas (rahmat-Allahi 'alaihima) was born in Medina in 95 A.H. [715] and died there in 179 [795]. He said that he had begun to issue fatwa after seventy imams had urged him. "Of my masters from whom I learned, there are very few who have not taken fatwas from me," he said. As al-Imam al-Yafii said, this statement of the imam was not intended for boasting. It was intended to reveal Allahu ta'ala's blessings. Az-Zarqani wrote in his commentary on Muwatta': "Imam Malik is a well-known imam al-madhhab. He was the highest of the high. He was a man of perfect intellect and obvious virtue. He was the inheritor of Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) hadiths. He spread Allahu ta'ala's religion among His human creatures. He had been in the company of nine hundred 'ulama' and gained much. He collected and wrote 100 000 hadiths. He began to teach when he was seventeen years old. Those who attended his lectures were more than those who attended his masters' lectures. They would assemble in front of his door in order to learn hadith and fiqh. He had to hire a doorkeeper. First his disciples and then everybody from the public would be admitted. He would go to the water-closet once every three days. 'I feel ashamed to stay too long in the water-closet,' he would say. When he wrote his book Muwatta', he began to doubt his own faithfulness. He put the book into water. 'If the book gets wet, I will not need it,' he said. Not a bit of the book got wet." 'Abd ar-rahman ibn Anas said, "There is nobody on the earth now who is more dependable than Malik in the knowledge of hadith. I have seen no person wiser than he. Sufyan ath-Thawri is an imam in hadith, but he is not an imam in the Sunnat. Al-Awzai is an imam in the Sunnat but not in hadith. Imam Malik is an imam both in hadith and the Sunnat." Yahya ibn Said said, "Imam Malik is Allahu ta'ala's witness on the earth for His human creatures." Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i said, "Wherever hadith is studied, Malik is like a celestial star. Nobody could be like Malik in memorizing, understanding and preserving knowledge. To me, in the knowledge about Allahu ta'ala nobody is as trustworthy as Malik. The witness between Allahu ta'ala and me is Imam Malik. Had it not been for Malik and Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, knowledge would have gone from the Hijaz by now." When 'Abdullah asked his father Ahmad ibn Hanbal who was the most learned among Zahri's disciples, his father said that Malik was the most learned in every branch of knowledge. Ibn Wahab said, "If it weren't for Malik and Laith, we all would deviate." Al-Awzai, whenever he heard the name of Imam Malik, would say, "He is the most learned of the learned, the greatest alim of Medina, and the Mufti of al-Haramain." Upon hearing of Imam Malik's death, Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna said, "The world does not have anybody like him now. He was the imam of the world, the alim of the Hijaz, the witness of his time and the sun of the Ummat al-Muhammad (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Let us be on his way." Ahmad ibn Hanbal said that Imam Malik was superior to Sufyan ath-Thawri, Laith, Hammad and al-Awzai. Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna said that the hadith ash-Sharif, "When people are in urgent need [of someone], they will find no one surpassing the scholar in Medina," signified Imam Malik. Imam Malik said that he dreamt of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) every night. Mus'ab said that he had heard his father say, "Malik and I were in Masjid an-Nabawi. Someone approached and asked which of us was Abu 'Abdullah Malik. We showed him who he was. He came near him, threw his arms round his neck and kissed him on the forehead. He said, 'I dreamt of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) sitting here. Call Malik, he said. You came, trembling. Relax yourself, O Aba 'Abdullah! Sit down and open up your chest, he commanded. Your chest opened and radiated fragrant scents everywhere.' Imam Malik wept and said that the dream was to be interpreted as knowledge."

3) Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i's (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) name was Muhammad ibn Idris ibn 'Abbas ibn 'Uthman ibn Shafi'. His descent traced back to Hashim ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib as his eighth father, whose uncle, Hashim, was among Rasulullah's ancestors. His fifth father, Sayib, was in the enemy army in the Battle of Badr, but later he and his son Shafi' became Sahabis. The imam, therefore, was called "ash-Shafi'i." His mother was a Sharifa, a descendant of Hadrat Hasan (radi-Allahu 'anh). He was born in Gazza in 150 A.H. [767] and died in Egypt in 204 [820]. When he was two years old, he was taken to al-Makkat al-mukarrama, where he memorized the Qur'an al-karim in childhood and Imam Malik's hadith book Muwatta' at the age of ten. He began to issue fatwas at the age of fifteen. He went to al-Madinat al-Munawwara in the same year and acquired knowledge and faid from Imam Malik. He came to Baghdad in 185. Two years later he went to Mecca for hajj. He returned to Baghdad in 198 and settled in Egypt in 199. Long after his death, there were those who wanted to take his body to Baghdad, and when his grave was dug, it emanated a musky scent, intoxicating the people there. They gave up digging. With respect to knowledge, worshiping, zuhd, marifa, intelligence, memory and pedigree, he was the most superior of the imams of his time, and superior also to most of those who came before him. His madhhab spread far and wide. All of the inhabitants of al-Haramain and al-Ard al-Muqaddas [Palestine] became Shafi'i. The hadith ash-Sharif, "The scholar of Quraish will fill the world with knowledge," appeared on al-Imam ash-Shafi'i. When 'Abdullah inquired of his father, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the reason why he prayed very much for al-Imam ash-Shafi'i, his father said, "O my son! Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i's place among people is like that of the sun in the sky. He is a healer of souls." In those days, Muwatta' contained 9500 hadiths, and later it was abbreviated to the present one which contains some 1700 hadiths. He won the nickname Nasir as-Sunnat (helper of the religion). It was astonishing that he founded a new madhhab in such a short time as four years. More than 40 books have been written revealing his biography and his superiority.

4) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal ash-Shaibani al-Maruzi (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) was born in Baghdad in 164 A.H. [100%] and died there in 241 [855]. He was an imam in both the sciences of hadith and fiqh. He was also skillful in the subtleties and inner essence of the Sunnat. He was famed for his zuhd and wara'. He went to Kufa, Basra, the blessed cities of Mecca and Medina, Yaman, Damascus and Mesopotamia in order to collect hadiths. He learned fiqh from al-Imam ash-Shafi'i, who learned hadith from him. Ibrahim al-Harbi said, "I saw Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Allahu ta'ala has given him every branch of knowledge." Qutaiba ibn Said said, "If Imam Ahmad had lived during the time of ath-Thawri, al-Awzai, Malik and Laith ibn Sad, he would have surpassed them all." He memorized a million hadiths. Al-Imam ash-Shafi'i sent him a letter from Egypt. He wept when he read it. When he was asked why he wept, he said, "He dreamt of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) who commanded him, 'Write a letter including my greetings to Abu 'Abdullah Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He will be asked if the Qur'an al-karim is a creature. Tell him not to answer the question.' " 800 000 men and 60 000 women attended his funeral. On the day he passed away, 20 000 Jews, Christians and Magians embraced Islam.

These four aimma of Ahl as-Sunnat were the best ones of the second century of Islam as praised in the hadith ash-Sharif. All of them are among "those" in the ayat, "Allahu ta'ala loves those who follow them [as-Sahabat al-kiram] in goodness." If a person, instead of following them, follows someone among ignorant and base people in the worst of all times, this will show his idiocy. Allahu ta'ala declared: "Obey Ulu 'l-amr!" Ulu 'l-amr are the 'ulama' or the governments which practice the fatwas of 'ulama'. According to both the interpretations, it is wajib to follow the aimmat al-madhahib. Fakhr ad-din ar-Razi inferred from this ayat that qiyas was a document and that it was wajib for a muqallid to follow the 'ulama'. And for the unanimity of the 'ulama' of usul, those 'ulama' who are not absolute mujtahids are muqallids, too. It is understood from the 114th ayat of Surat an-Nisa' that it is haram to dissent from the unanimity of the mujtahids. [43]*

44 - 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi wrote:

"An Ayat karima declares, 'Allahu ta'ala wishes His human servants to be shown facility. He does not want them to suffer difficulty.' A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'As Allahu ta'ala likes us to do 'azimas, so He likes us to do rukhsas.' In other words, He likes us to do the rukhsas which He has permitted. This should not be misunderstood. Al-Imam al-Manawi wrote in his commentary on Al-jami' as-saghir, 'It is not permissible to collect the rukhsas of madhhabs and make up a new madhhab of rukhsas, which means to dissent from Islam.' Ibn 'Abd as-Salam said that it would be permissible provided you will not diverge from Islam. Al-Imam as-Subki said, 'It is permissible to transfer oneself to another madhhab which comes easier to one when there is a need and strong necessity (darura). But it is not permissible without a strong necessity, for, in that case it will be for the advantage of one's self, not for protecting one's religion. It is not permissible to change one's madhhab frequently.' I have given detailed information on the taqlid of a madhhab in my book Khulasat at-tahqiq fi bayani hukmi 't-taqlid wa 't-talfiq. [44]

"It is not permissible to make up hilat Shariyya [45]* in order to make the halal haram or to make the haram halal, that is, it is not a rukhsa approved by Allahu ta'ala. Ibn al-'Izz, in the explanation of the taqlid of another madhhab, wrote, 'One should avoid making hilat Shariyya a means for one's own desires without understanding the words of the aimmat al-madhahib or knowing hilat Shariyya.' It is obvious that muqallids do not know hilat Shariyya, and they use the word 'hila,' which they have heard from the aimmat al-madhahib, in the line of their own desires. Al-Imam al-azam Abu Hanifa said that those Muftis who taught hilat Shariyya were to be punished.

"The rukhsas which Allahu ta'ala likes are the facilities which He has permitted for those who get into straits while doing His command. However, it is not permissible to escape doing the commands or to look for facilities suitable for one's own reasoning and understanding. Najm ad-din al-Ghazzi wrote in the book Husn at-tanabbuh, 'The Devil does not let one do the rukhsas permitted by Allahu ta'ala. For example, he does not let him apply masah on the mests. He has him wash his feet. One should act upon the ruhksas but not look for the rukhsas of the madhhabs all the time, for, it is haram to gather the facilities of the madhhabs together. It is a devilish way.'

"Most of the Salaf as-salihin (Muslims of the first two centuries of Islam) suffered inconveniences. They performed hard 'ibadat. You do not do like them! Take the way of the rukhsas stated clearly in the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif! But do not slander those great people! They were much more learned and intelligent than you are. You do not know what they knew. Do not meddle with things you do not know or understand, and do not follow them. And protect yourself from opposing those great people by depending on what you understand from the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif! They understood the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif better than you do. Having been closer to the time of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) than you are; their intellect having been enlightened with the Marifat-Allah (knowledge about Allahu ta'ala); having clung to the Sunnat fully; and their ikhlas (quality of doing everything only for Allahu ta'ala's sake), iman, tawhid (belief in the oneness, unity, of Allahu ta'ala) and zuhd (not setting one's heart on worldly things) having been much greater, they knew much better than you and the like. O you poor man with a religious post! Day and night you have been thinking of and running after the desires of your stomach and nafs. You have acquired some religious information in order to satisfy them. Relying on your smattering, you think of yourself as an authority on Islam. You attempt to compete with the Salaf as-salihin. Do not slander those great people of Islam who spent their lives learning and teaching knowledge and who purified their hearts with pious actions and who strictly abstained from mushtabihat in order to eat halal food and escape from the haram! They were much higher than you are. This state of yours is like that of a sparrow competing with a falcon in eating and drinking. The mujahada, riyadat, 'ibadat, ijtihads and words of those great people were all in a manner as to suit with the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif. The Salaf as-salihin themselves acted upon 'azimas, but issued fatwas for Muslims to act upon rukhsas.

"The majority of the 'ulama' of Ahl as-Sunnat said that iman by mere acceptance was sahih (valid, lawful), even though such a muqallid of iman was disobedient and sinful because he had given up istidlal (reasoning, convincing oneself with reasonable evidences). In other words, a person who believes only by learning from somebody without thinking or understanding is a believer, a Muslim. The karamat of awliya' are true. They may have karamat when they are dead as well as when alive. The karamat of Hadrat Mariam, of the Ashab al-kahf and of the Asaf ibn Barhiya, and of the Prophet Hadrat Sulaiman's ('alaihi 's-salam) vizier are revealed in the Qur'an al-karim. Karamat are the things that happen from the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat and which cannot be comprehended through reason or science. Because karamat did not happen from those who were not Ahl as-Sunnat, none of the seventy-two groups believed in karamat.

"A mujtahid does not err while searching for and choosing one of the ayats or hadiths as a document. But he may err while deducing rules from the document which he has found. Therefore, a mujtahid who has not erred will be given ten thawabs and a mujtahid who has erred will be given one thawab. About those affairs for which he could not find a nass, Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) commanded Hadrat 'Amr ibn al-As: 'You yourself deduce rules! If you do not err you will get ten thawabs; if you err you will get one.' The one thawab is not for his painstaking in ijtihad but for his hittingness in finding the document. If he errs in finding the document, too, he will not be given any thawab, but those who follow such ijtihads will not be tormented. To Allahu ta'ala, only one of various ijtihads [on a particular matter] is right. Others are wrong. According to the scholars of the Mutazila, a mujtahid never makes a mistake, and what is right varies. Ijtihad is detailed in Mirat al-usul, a commentary on Mirqat al-wusul, both by Molla Khusraw.

"It was declared in a hadith ash-Sharif that lies and slanders would increase after the third century [of Islam]. Bidats and heresies would increase. Those who deviate from the path of the Salaf as-salihin in faith and worship will increase in number. The 'ulama' of fiqh and the pilgrims (salikun) on the way of tasawwuf, who cling to the Book and the Sunnat, and the ijma' of the Salaf as-salihin will be saved, others will suffer perdition. The 'ulama' of fiqh and experts in tasawwuf will exist until the end of the world. But it will not be known for certain who they are. However, those whom Muslims unanimously approve of will be known.

"It is fard 'ayn (commandment for every Muslim) to learn 'ilm al-hal (books, teachings, of one madhhab). Allahu ta'ala declares, 'Learn by asking those who know!' So it is necessary for those who do not know to learn from the 'ulama' or their books. For this reason, it is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'It is fard both for men and for women to learn knowledge.' These commands show that it is necessary to learn the teachings that should be done with the body and with the heart from the books of 'ilm al-hal and that we should not believe what the ignorant, la-madhhabi men with religious post [especially religion reformers] say or write.

"As it has been declared by the 'ulama' of the right path unanimously, it is fard 'ayn for every Muslim to learn the belief of Ahl as-Sunnat briefly and the fard and haram actions thoroughly in his daily life and 'ibadat. If he does not learn these from the books of 'ilm al-hal, he becomes either a heretic or a disbeliever. It is fard kifaya (fard for at least one Muslim) to learn more than these, e.g., the twelve preliminary branches of the Arabic language, tafsir, hadith, science, medicine and mathematics. If one person in a town learns the fard kifaya, it is not fard but mustahab for other inhabitants of the town. Keeping fiqh books in a town is like keeping Islamic scholars. It is not fard for anybody in such a town to learn tafsir, hadith and the more-than-necessary of fiqh, but it is mustahab. It is never fard for anybody to find out the documents of the rules or to study them, while it is always mustahab for scholars. Learning those branches of knowledge that are mustahab is more thawab than performing supererogatory (nafila) 'ibadat. When there exists no caliph, scholars undertake his duties. It is wajib to obey those scholars who act in accord with their knowledge." [46]

45 - It dates from the time of as-Sahabat al-kiram that the enemies of Islam have been deceiving Muslims by disguising themselves as men with religious duties in order to demolish Islam from within. These enemies of Islam, who have worked in the disguise of men with religious posts, have been called "zindiqs," "religion reformers" or "bigots of science." They have deceived the ignorant and led them out of Islam in every century, yet they have not been able to harm Islam itself, for there have been many scholars of fiqh and great men of tasawwuf in every century who have been warning Muslims with their lectures and articles to prevent them from being deceived. But now, the scholars of Islam having decreased in number, the enemies of Islam have found an opportunity. Appearing in the disguise of men with religious posts, they have been attacking Islam. To detect these insidious enemies, Muslims should know how a scholar of Islam should be. Hadrat Muhammad Mathum al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi described the scholars of Islam as follows:

"Do not make friends with a person who does not obey Islam or who has deviated into a heretical path! Keep away from those men with religious posts who commit bidat! Hadrat Yahya ibn Ma'adh ar-Razi (quddisa sirruh) said, 'Hold yourself off from three sorts of people. Keep away from them.' These three sorts of people are the ghafil (preoccupied with self, so forgetful of Allahu ta'ala), and deviated men with religious posts; those Qaris (reciter of the Qur'an al-karim by heart) who fawn on the rich; and those men of tasawwuf who do not know anything of Islam. If a person who has come forward with the title of a man of religious authority does not obey Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) sunnat, that is, if he does not cling to Islam, we should keep away from him and should not buy or read his books. We should keep away even from the place where he is. Even a little credit given to him will ruin your faith. He is not a man of authority on Islam, but an insidious enemy of Islam. He defiles your faith and iman. He is more harmful than the Devil. His words may be sweet and persuasive and he may pretend to dislike this world, but you should still run away from him as you would run away from a fierce animal. Al-Junaid al-Baghdadi (quddisa sirruh), a scholar of Islam, said, 'There is only one way that will lead one to endless bliss: to keep within the footsteps of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam)'; 'Do not follow a man of religious post who does not read the books of tafsir written by the 'ulama' of Ahl as-Sunnat or who is not on the path shown in the hadith ash-Sharif, for a scholar of Islam should be on the path shown in the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif'; 'The Salaf as-salihin were on the right path. They were devotees. They attained Allahu ta'ala's love and consent. Their path was the path shown in the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif. They held fast to this right path.' [47]*

"The great men of tasawwuf and the 'ulama' of fiqh were on the path of the Salaf as-salihin. They all held fast to Islam. They were honored with being Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salam) inheritors. Not a hair's breadth did they deviate from Islam in their words, actions and morals.

"I write again and again that you shall not think of those who are slack in obeying Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam) or who deviate from his lightsome path as authorities on religion! Do not believe their false words or ardent writings! Jews, Christians and those Indian disbelievers called Buddhists and Brahmins also have been using sweet and stirring words and sophisms to propagandize that they have been on the right path and that they have been inviting people to goodness and happiness. Abu 'Umar ibn Najib said, 'Any knowledge which is not lived up to is more harmful than useful to its possessor.' The way leading to all kinds of happiness is Islam. The way to salvation is to keep within the footprints of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Obeying him is the sign that distinguishes right from wrong. Any word, writing or deed which is not compatible with his religion is of no value. Khariqa (prodigy; an extraordinary thing) happens out of staying hungry or riyada, and it is not peculiar to Muslims only. 'Abdullah ibn Mubarak (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih) said, 'He who is slack in doing the mustahab cannot do the sunnat. Slackness in doing the sunnat makes it difficult to do the fard. And he who is slack in doing the fard cannot attain to marifa, Allahu ta'ala's consent.' It is for this reason that a hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Committing sins leads one to disbelief.' Hadrat Abu Sa'id Abu 'l-khair (d. 440/1049), one of the great awliya', was asked, 'So and so walks on the surface of water. What would you say about that?' 'It is worthless. A duck can float on water, too,' he said. When asked, 'So and so flies in the air?' he said, 'A fly flies, too. He is as valuable as a fly.' When he was asked, 'So and so goes from one city to another instantaneously?' he said, 'The Devil also goes from the east to the west in a flash. Such things are worthless in our religion. A manly person lives among the people and goes shopping and gets married, yet he does not forget Allahu ta'ala even for a moment.' Hadrat Abu 'Ali ar-Rodbari (d. in Egypt in 321/933), one of the great awliya' and a disciple of al-Junaid al-Baghdadi, was asked, 'A man with religious duties who listens to musical instruments [or makes friends with na-mahram girls and women or allows his wife and daughters to go out dressing not as prescribed by Islam] and who says that his heart is pure and that the heart is important, what would you say about him?' 'His destination is Hell,' he said. Abu Sulaiman ad-Darani, who settled in a village called Darya of Damascus and died there in 205/820, said, 'First I compare my thoughts and intentions with the Book and the Sunnat. I then say and do the ones which are compatible with these two just documents.' The hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'The men of bidat will go to Hell'; 'The Devil makes a person worship very much who has made up a bidat and commits it. It makes him weep a lot,' and 'Allahu ta'ala does not accept the fast, salat, hajj, 'umra, jihad and fard or supererogatory worship of a person who commits bidat. Such a person goes out of Islam easily.' [48]* Shaikh Ibn Abi Bakr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Andulusee, who lived in Egypt and died in 734/1334, said in his book Ma'arij al-hidaya, 'Get to know what is right and be right! Each action, thought, word and manner of a perfect person is in perfect accord with those of Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam), for all kinds of happiness can be attained by following him. To follow him means to hold fast to Islam.'

"How do we follow Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam)? Here I write its important aspects:

"One should repent (tawba) right after committing a sin. The repentance of a sin which is committed publicly should be done publicly, and the repentance of a sin which is committed secretly should be done secretly. Repentance should not be postponed. The kiraman katibin angels do not record a sin immediately. It will never be written down if it is repented for. They will record it if one does not repent for it. Jafar ibn Sinan (quddisa sirruh) said, 'Not to repent for a sin is worse than committing a sin.' And he who has not repented on the spot should do it before death. We should not neglect wara' and taqwa. Taqwa is not to do what is clearly prohibited (haram), and wara' is not to do doubtful things (mushtabihat). It is more useful to avoid the prohibited than doing the commanded (fard). Our superiors have said, 'The bad as well as the good do favors. But it is only the Siddiqs, the good, who avoid sins.' Hadrat Maruf al-Karkhi [49]* said, 'Avoid very much looking at all women with the exception of the mahram ones! Do not look even at an ewe!' A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'It is the men of wara' and zuhd who will attain to Allahu ta'ala's Presence on the Day of Resurrection'; 'The salat of a man of wara' is acceptable,' and 'It is an 'ibada to be together with a man of wara'. Talking with him is as thawab as giving alms.' Do not do anything which your heart shivers at! Do not follow your nafs! Consult your heart about the things which you suspect! A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Any action which calms the nafs and relieves the heart is good. Any action which rouses the nafs and excites the heart is a sin.' Again a hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Things that are halal are evident. Harams have been revealed, too. Avoid doubtful things. Do what you know to be doubtless!' This hadith ash-Sharif shows that we should not do something which excites the heart and is doubtful. It is permissible to do something about which there is no doubt. Another hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'The things which Allahu ta'ala has made halal in the Qur'an al-karim are halal. He will forgive what He has not declared in the Qur'an al-karim.' When we meet a doubtful affair, we should put our hand on our heart. If the heart does not palpitate, we should do it. If it palpitates, we should not do that thing. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Put your hand on your chest! The heart will be calm about something halal. It will palpitate about something haram. If you doubt about something, don't do it! Don't do it even if men with religious posts issue a fatwa!' A person who has iman will refrain from small sins in order to escape from committing grave sins.

We should deem all of our 'ibadat and good deeds as defective. We should think that we have not been able to do Allahu ta'ala's commands precisely. Abu Muhammad 'Abdullah ibn Manazil [50]* (quddisa sirruh) said, 'Allahu ta'ala has commanded various kinds of 'ibadat. He has commanded patience, devotion, salat, fast and istighfar (begging Allahu ta'ala for the forgiveness of one's sins), which is done just before dawn. He has declared istighfar last. Thus, it has become necessary for human beings to deem all their 'ibadat and good deeds as defective and to ask for pardon and forgiveness.' Jafar ibn Sinan (quddisa sirruh) said, 'Worshipers deeming themselves superior to sinners is worse than their sins.' Once, Hadrat 'Ali Murta'ish (quddisa sirruh) gave up i'tikaf (retreat) and went out of the mosque after the twentieth of Ramadan. When asked why he had gone out, 'Seeing that the Qaris were reciting the Qur'an al-karim melodiously and boasting about it, I could not stay inside any longer,' he said.

"We should work in order to earn our household's and our own livelihood in a halal way. Trade and crafts are necessary for doing this. The Salaf as-salihin always worked and earned in this manner. There are many hadiths explaining the thawab in earning in a halal way. Hadrat Muhammad ibn Salim was asked: 'Shall we work and earn, or shall we only worship and put our trust in Allahu ta'ala?' He said, 'Tawakkul (trust in Allahu ta'ala) was a hal (quality) of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam), and earning by working was his sunnat. You shall work and put your trust in Allahu ta'ala!' Abu Muhammad Ibn Manazil said, 'It is more useful to work and put one's trust in Allahu ta'ala than to seclude one's self for worshiping ('ibada).'

"We should be temperate in eating. We should not eat so much as to slacken us. Nor should we diet so much as to prevent us from 'ibadat. Hadrat Shah an-Naqshaband (quddisa sirruh), one of the greatest awliya', said, 'Eat well and work well!' In short, everything which helps 'ibadat and the doing of good is good and blessed. And those which diminish them are prohibited. We should check and be careful about our intention on anything good we do. If the intention is not good, we should not do it.

"We should avoid ('uzla) those who do not obey Islam and those who commit bidats and sins. In other words, we should not be friends with such people. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Hikma is made up of ten parts, nine of which make up 'uzla. And one is reticence.' We should meet such people when necessary. We should spend our time in working, making dhikr, thinking and performing 'ibadat. The time for merry-making is after death. We should be friends with pious, pure Muslims, be useful to them and make use of them. We should not waste our time with useless, unnecessary words. [We should not read harmful books or newspapers, listen to such radio or watch such television programs. Books, newspapers, radios and televisions of the enemies of Islam have been striving insidiously to annihilate Islam. They have been making plans to make the youth irreligious and immoral. We should not fall into their traps.]

"We should treat everybody with a cheerful face, no matter whether he is good or bad. [We should not arouse instigation (fitna). Nor should we make enemies. We should follow Hafiz ShiRazi's words, 'Tell the friends the truth and handle the enemies with a cheerful face and a sweet language.'] We should forgive those who ask for forgiveness. We should show a good temper towards everybody. We should not oppose anybody's words or dispute with anybody. We should never speak harshly but softly to everybody. Shaikh 'Abdullah Bayal (quddisa sirruh) said, 'Tasawwuf does not mean salat, fast or 'ibadat at nights. These are the duties of every person as a human servant. Tasawwuf means not to hurt anybody. He who manages this attains to the goal.' Hadrat Muhammad ibn Salim was asked how to distinguish a wali from other people. 'He will be distinguished by his soft words, beautiful manners and plentiful favors, and he never disagrees when speaking with somebody but forgives those who ask forgiveness and pities everybody,' he said. Abu 'Abdullah Ahmad al-Makkari said, 'Futuwwat means to do favors to a person by whom one has been offended, to give presents to a person whom one dislikes, and to be cheerful towards a person by whom one is bored.'

"We should talk little, sleep little and laugh little. Laughing too much darkens the heart. We should work, but only from Allahu ta'ala should we expect its recompense. We should take pleasure in doing His commands. If we trust only in Allahu ta'ala, He will bestow on us whatever we wish for. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Allahu ta'ala gives every wish of the person who trusts only in Him. He makes other people help him.' Yahya ibn Ma'adh ar-Razi (d. in Nishapur in 258/872) said, 'Others will love you as much as you love Allahu ta'ala. Others will fear you as much as you fear Allahu ta'ala. Others will give you help in proportion to the worship you do for Allahu ta'ala.' Do not run after your own advantages! Abu Muhammad 'Abdullah ar-Rasibi (d. in Baghdad in 367/978) said, 'The largest curtain between Allahu ta'ala and man is man's thinking of only himself and his trusting in another man who is incapable like himself. We should think of ingratiating ourselves not with men, but with Allahu ta'ala.'

"We should behave with a sweet language and a cheerful face towards our wives and children. We should stay with them as much as to give them their due. We should not attach ourselves to them so much as to turn away from Allahu ta'ala.

"We should not consult the ignorant and deviated men with religious posts about our religious affairs. We should not stay together with those who are fond of this world. We should follow the Sunnat in everything we do and should abstain from any bidat. When we are happy we should not overflow the limits of Islam. Nor should we give up hope for Allahu ta'ala's help when we are in trouble. We should not forget that there is easiness alongside every difficulty. Our attitude should never change in happiness or in trouble, we should be in the same state in abundance and in scarcity. If ever, we should feel easy in scarcity and uneasy in abundance. Change of events should not make change in us.

"Instead of looking for others' faults, we should see our own faults. We should not deem ourselves superior to any other Muslim. We should hold every Muslim higher than ourselves. When we meet a Muslim, we should believe that our happiness may depend on his prayers for us. We should be like servants with those whom we are obliged to. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'A Muslim who does the following three deeds has perfect iman: serving one's household, sitting together with the poor [not with beggars!] and eating together with one's servants.' In the Qur'an al-karim, these three things are declared to be the qualities of believers. We should learn the manners of the Salaf as-salihin and try to be like them. We should not speak ill of anybody in his absence. We should prevent a backbiter. [It is ghiba to talk behind a person's back in a manner that would hurt him when he hears it and even if what you say is true. If it is a lie, it is iftira (slander). Both are grave sins.] We should form it a habit to perform al-amru bi 'l-maruf wa 'n-mahyu 'ani 'l-munkar. [51]* Muhammad ibn Alyan'a was asked how to understand if Allahu ta'ala likes one. He said, 'It is understood when ta'at comes sweet and committing sins comes bitter to one.' We should not be stingy with the fear of becoming poor. The Devil deceives man by saying that he may become poor and by tempting him to fornication. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'A person who has a crowded household but little food and who performs his salat well and who does not backbite Muslims will be with me on the Day of Resurrection.' " [52]*

A Muslim who possesses the qualities of goodness written above is called a man of religious authority. We should realize that a person who does not own such qualities, and who even dislikes, belittles those who posses them, is not a man of religious authority, but an enemy of Islam, and we should not believe his words or writings.

46 - What does bidat mean? In the 54th, 165th, 186th, 255th, 260th and 313th letters of the first volume of the book Maktubat, al-Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi elaborated on what bidat is and on the harms of committing bidats. We have translated all of the 313 letters in its first volume from Persian into Turkish, and partly into English, and published them in Istanbul in 1387 (1968). Also, there is detailed information on bidats in the first part of the Arabic book Hadiqat an-nadiyya by 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi. And this part also was published by offset in Istanbul in 1399 (1979). In the following, a translation of a part of his writings on bidat is presented:

Bidat means belief, deed or word that is incompatible with the Sunnat [that is, the religious teachings of Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam)]. Allahu ta'ala created His servants so that they should worship Him. 'Ibada (worship) means humiliation and degradation. In other words, it is man's offering his humiliation and incapability to his Rabb (Creator). And this, in its turn, means to disregard the beauty or ugliness dictated by mind, by the nafs and by customs, so as to submit oneself to the Creator's description of what is beautiful and what is ugly, and to believe and obey the Book and the Prophet ('alaihi 's-salam) sent by the Creator. If a person does some action by his own choice without considering that his Creator has permitted it, he has not offered servility to Him and has not fulfilled the requirements for being Muslim. If that action pertains to belief and is one of the facts which have been unanimously declared to be believed, this belief of his is a bidat that causes kufr (disbelief). If that action pertains not to belief but to words and actions related to the religion, it is fisq, a grave sin. It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person produces something nonexistent in the religion, it is to be rejected." This hadith ash-Sharif shows that if some belief, word, action or behavior that does not exist in Islam is introduced and believed to belong to the religion or to be an 'ibada, or if some addition or deletion is done in what is communicated by Islam and if it is expected that doing so will cause thawab, such an innovation or change is a bidat, in which case Islam will have been disobeyed and discounted. Those novelties which are done not in Islam but in customs, that is, those for which thawab is not expected, are not bidat' (pl. of bidat). For example, our religion does not reject the innovations and alterations done in eating, drinking, traveling and transportation or housing. [Therefore, eating at a table or from separate dishes; using spoons or forks; traveling by automobiles and airplanes; using any kind of building, house or kitchen utensils; and all sorts of technological knowledge, tools or works are not considered as bidat' in Islam. It is permitted, even a fard kifaya, to make and use them in beneficial fields. For example, it is permissible to produce radios, loud-speakers or electronic machines and to use them outside 'ibadat. The use of loud-speakers in worldly affairs is permitted, but the recitation of the adhan, al-Qur'an al-karim or mawlid through it is an alteration in 'ibada, thus a bidat. In order for the adhan to be heard from a distance, it should not be called through a loud-speaker, but we should build mosques in every district, and every muazzin should call it separately at each mosque.]

One day, Anas ibn Malik (radi-Allahu 'anh) was asked why he wept. He said, "Of the 'ibadat I had learned from Rasulullah ('alaihi 's-salam), only salat remained unchanged. And now I weep because I see that it has been changed, too." He meant that he wept because most of the people of his time did not carry out the requirements, wajibs, sunnas, mustahabs of salat and did not avoid its makruhs, mufsids and bidats. These were the people who could not realize the greatness of prophets, of awliya', or of the pious and devoted Muslims. Leaving their path, they changed 'ibadat according to their personal opinions and nafses. Abandoning the way to felicity, they relapsed into perdition. The reason for his weeping was that they changed salat by putting some additions and deletions in it. Thus they changed the Sunnat, [that is, Islam]. And it is bidat to change the Sunnat.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If an umma produces a bidat in the religion after the death of their prophet, they will lose a sunnat identical with it." In other words, if they make up a bidat that does not cause disbelief, they will lose a sunnat of the same kind.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Unless a holder of bidat gives up his bidat, Allahu ta'ala will not give him the chance to repent." That is, if a person produces a bidat or commits a bidat produced by someone else, he cannot repent for it because he considers the bidat to be good and expects thawab for it. And, because of the evil of that bidat, which may even cause disbelief, he will not get the chance to repent for any of his sins.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Allahu ta'ala will never accept any [good] deed of a person who commits something which is a bidat in the religion, unless he ceases from that bidat for Allahu ta'ala's sake." In other words, if a person keeps doing something which is a bidat in belief, deeds, words or morals, He shall not accept any of his 'ibadat of the same kind even if they are sahih. In order for his 'ibadat to be accepted, he has to cease from that bidat by fearing Allahu ta'ala, expecting thawab from Him or for gaining His consent.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Allahu ta'ala will not accept the fast, hajj, 'umra, jihad, abstention from sinning and justice of a holder of bidat. He will go out of Islam easily." That is, his 'ibadat will not be accepted even if they are sahih; he will not be given thawab. For, he keeps on committing a bidat that does not cause disbelief. The worship of a holder of a bidat causing disbelief are not sahih in any case. None of his obligatory or supererogatory worship will be accepted. Because bidat is committed out of following the nafs and Satan, its holder goes out of Islam, of the submission to the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. Iman is a function of the heart. [The five principles of] Islam are the function of the heart and language together. Iman is proper to the heart. But Islam comprises all: the heart, language and body. Iman in the heart and Islam in the heart are identical with each other. What forsakes the holder of bidat is the Islam in the language and body. One who goes on committing a bidat has become a person who obeys the nafs and Satan. One who commits sins becomes disobedient and sinful. He is not called a holder of bidat. But a man of bidat is disobedient and sinful and supposes his bidat to be an 'ibada and expects thawab for it. Sinning outside 'ibadat does not prevent the 'ibadat from being accepted.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "After me there will be differences among my umma. Those who live in that time must hold fast to my sunnat and to the sunnat of the Khulafa' Ar-rashidin! They must shun the innovations in the religion! Every innovation in the religion is a bidat. All bidats are heresy. The destination of heretics is the fire of Hell." This hadith ash-Sharif pointed out that there would be various differences among this umma; it says that, of them, we must cling to the one which follows the path of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his four caliphs. Sunnat means his utterances, all 'ibadat, beliefs and morals, and [the things approved by] his keeping quiet when he saw them being done.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "When corruption is spread among my umma, the one who clings to my sunnat will be given the thawab of a hundred martyrs!" That is, when people go beyond the limits of Islam by following the nafs, bidats and their own intellect, a person who follows his sunnat is given the thawab of a hundred martyrs one the Day of Rising. For, during the time of disunion and corruption, following Islam will be as difficult as fighting against disbelievers.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Islam began lonely (gharib). It will be lonely in its final times, too. Glad tidings be to those lonely people! They will amend my sunnat defiled by people." That is, as most people in the beginning of Islam did not know Islam and found it odd, so in the latest time those who know Islam will be few. They will restore his sunnat, which will be defiled after him. To this end they will perform al-amru bi 'l-maruf wa 'n-nahyi 'ani 'l-munkar. They will be examples for others in following the Sunnat, that is, Islam. They will write the teachings of Islam correctly, and will try to disseminate their books. Few people will listen to them, and they will have a lot of adversaries. During that time, the man with a religious post with many sympathizers will be the person who mixes sweet but false words with the truth. For, a person who tells the naked truth will have a lot of adversaries.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "Banu Israil (Sons of Israel) parted into seventy-two groups. My umma will part into seventy-three groups. Seventy-two of them will burn in the fire, and only one will be safe. They are those who follow me and my Sahaba." In other words, The Sons of Israel parted into seventy-two groups in religion affairs. And Muslims will part into seventy-three groups. That is, they will part into many groups. None of them will be disbelievers, but they will burn in Hell for a long time. Solely the group that will hold the same belief and perform the same 'ibadat as he and his Sahaba did will not enter Hell. If those scholars of Islam who do ijtihad in the teachings of the beliefs of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and as-Sahabat al-kiram err from a belief which is religiously indispensable and unanimously known, they become disbelievers. They are called mulhids. [53]* If they err from a belief which is not communicated by consensus and which is not indispensable, they become not disbelievers but holders of bidat in belief. They, too, are called Ahl al-qibla (Muslims). Also, while employing ijtihad in the teachings of deeds and 'ibadat, those who disbelieve those 'ibadat that are unanimously known to be indispensable become disbelievers or mulhids. But those scholars who err from those 'ibadat that are neither indispensable nor unanimously communicated earn thawab if they are mujtahids. They become la-madhhabi if they are not mujtahids. For, it is not permissible for a non-mujtahid to do ijtihad; he has to follow the madhhab of a mujtahid. It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "One who says, 'La ilaha ill-Allah', should not be called a kafir on account of his sinning! He who calls him a kafir will become a kafir himself." A person who will not enter Hell because of his correct belief may enter Hell because of the sins he commits. If he is salih (true, pious, devoted), that is, if he repents for his sins or attains forgiveness or shafa'a, he will never enter Hell. Because a person who denies a belief or a deed which has been communicated unanimously and is indispensable, that is, known even by the ignorant, will become a disbeliever or a renegade, he is not called a believer in "La ilaha ill-Allah" or a man of the qibla or a holder of bidat, even if he says "La ilaha ill-Allah," does all kinds of 'ibadat and avoids all kinds of sins.

Question: "Our Prophet (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) declared, 'All bidats are heresy.' But the scholars of fiqh said that some bidats were mubah (permitted), some were mustahab and some were wajib. How can these two statements be reconciled?"

Answer: The word 'bidat' has two meanings. The first is its lexical meaning, which is general. In this sense, any kind of innovation, whether in customs or in 'ibadat is called bidat. Customs are actions for which thawab is not expected and which are done for worldly advantages. But 'ibadat are done for gaining thawab in the hereafter. Lexically, bidat means all kinds of innovations introduced after as-sadr al-awwal, which covers the times of the Salaf as-salihin, that is, the Sahabat al-kiram, the Tabiin, and the Taba' at-Tabiin. Things introduced in their times are not bidats. Bidats are the innovations introduced after the Tabiin and the Taba' at-Tabiin.

The second meaning of the word 'bidat' is the innovations in the religion that are introduced after as-sadr al-awwal. These changes are either in belief or in 'ibadat. To invent a new 'ibada or to put some addition or deletion in an 'ibada is a bidat in 'ibadat. Of such bidats, those that were introduced without a verbal or practical, overt or denotative permission from the "owner of the religion," that is, from Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), are called bidat sayyi'a. None of the bidats in customs are called bidat sayyi'a since they are done not for worshiping but for worldly advantages. Innovations done in eating, drinking, dressing and habitation are bidats in customs. All bidats done in belief are bidat sayyi'a. The beliefs of the seventy-two heretical groups are bidat sayyi'a. The innovations done by the four madhhabs in 'ibadat are not bidats since they were derived not out of reasoning but from the adillat ash-Shariyya. They are not additions to the Nass but are the explanations of the Nass. If saying the takbir iftitah several times when beginning the salat is intended for extra thawab, it is a bidat. If it is done inadvertently because of scruples, it is a sin. If the bidats made in 'ibadat were overtly or denotatively permitted by the owner of the religion, they are called bidat hasana, which are mustahab or wajib. It is mustahab to build minarets for mosques. It is thawab to build them, and it is not sinful not to build them. A minaret is also called ma'dhana. Zaid ibn Thabit's mother (radi-Allahu 'anha) said, "The highest house around Masjid an-Nabi in Medina was mine. Formerly, Hadrat Bilal al-Habashi (radi-Allahu 'anh) used to call the adhan by mounting the roof of my house. After Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) masjid was built, he called it by mounting the high place built in the masjid." This shows that it is sunnat for muazzins (muazzin) to call the adhan by mounting the minaret. [It is a dismal fact that the bidat of calling the adhan through loud-speakers has been annihilating this sunnat.] Building religious schools and writing religious books are bidats that are wajib. It is thawab to do and sinful not to do them. So is the case with setting forth warning proofs against the doubts of the holders of bidat and mulhids, that is, holders of those bidats that are disbelief.

All the bidats stated in the hadiths written above are bidat' sayyi'a which were introduced into Islam. They are not useful to 'ibadat. Bidat' hasana, which are helpful in 'ibadat and which are done with the permission of the owner of the religion are not heresies. The hadith ash-Sharif, "Hold fast to my sunnat and to the sunnat of the Khulafa' Ar-rashidin," means "Give up the changes which you will make in Islam following your intellect and nafses and hold fast to my path," and shows that bidats in customs are not heretical. For, Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salam) path covers religious teachings. He did not say anything pertaining to customs. He came to inform men of their faith. He was not sent to tell them about their worldly affairs. For, men knew their worldly affairs well, while they could not guess what Allahu ta'ala's will and commands were.

Today, the word 'bidat' comes to mean the bidats in belief. Holders of such heretical beliefs are called mubtadi' and ahl al-hawa. For, they follow not Islam but their nafses. The seventy-two heretical groups are as such. The beliefs of some of them cause disbelief. Those who do not believe in the rising after death, deny the Attributes of Allahu ta'ala, or say that classes of beings are eternal are as such, too. Such beliefs, which cause disbelief, are called ilhad. Those who hold such beliefs are called mulhids. Such a belief does not cause disbelief, if the one who holds it derived it by interpreting wrongly one of the ayats and hadiths the meanings of which were inexplicit and dubious and, therefore, had to be explained away (tawil), that is, a proper meaning among many meanings of which had to be chosen. Those who do not believe in the torment in the grave or who do not believe in the Miraj are so. But these bidats, which do not cause disbelief, are more sinful than the gravest felonies, such as killing a believer unjustly and committing fornication. They do not become disbelievers because they derive their wrong beliefs by supposition from the Qur'an al-karim and from the hadith ash-Sharif. Today, many people disbelieve these facts not out of wrong tawil but saying that they are not conformable to reason and science. Such disbelievers who base their beliefs not on Islam but on reason and science become renegades. Mulhids whose beliefs cause disbelief think of themselves as Muslims, perform 'ibadat and avoid sins, but none of these deeds are valid.

Bidat' sayyi'a in 'ibadat are not so bad as the bidats in beliefs, but they, too, are unaccepted and heretical. It is necessary to avoid them more than avoiding any kind of sins. Especially, if a bidat in an 'ibada causes neglecting a sunnat muakkada, the bidat becomes even more sinful.

The belief which is the opposite of the bidat in belief is called Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat. The opposite of the bidat in 'ibadat is called Sunnat al-huda. The former represents the belief of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam), and the latter are the 'ibadat which he continuously did but sometimes omitted and which he did not prohibit others from omitting. Those which he prohibited to omit are called wajib. It is not sinful to omit a sunnat huda without any excuse. He who omits them continuously will be reproached on the Day of Resurrection. Examples of them are the adhan, the iqama, performing salat in jamaat and the sunnas of the five daily prayers of salat. But if all the inhabitants of a location omit them, they are to be fought against.

It is not heresy to do bidats in customs. It is wara' and better not to do them. Building houses higher than necessary, eating until being fully satiated, drinking coffee and tea, and smoking are bidats in customs. We cannot say that these are haram or makruh. A sultan's commands and prohibitions compatible with Allahu ta'ala's commands and prohibitions are valid. Obeying the orders which he gives following his nafs and intellect are not wajib, but it is not permissible to revolt against them. Moreover, it is wajib to obey a cruel sultan in order to be safe from his injustice and oppression. For, it is not permissible for one to put oneself in jeopardy. Ulu 'l-amr, whom the ayat commands Muslims to obey, means the sultan, ruler or judge who is Muslim. It is wajib to obey their right, just commands. The opposite of the bidats in customs is the sunnat az-za'ida which comprises Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu alahi wa sallam) habitual actions. Examples of this are the mustahabs such as the styles of his clothes, beginning with his right side when putting on his clothes and dressing up, eating, drinking, giving and taking something with his right hand, cleaning himself with his left hand after relieving himself, and entering the toilet the left foot first. [As it is seen, changes that take place in men's and women's clothing in the process of time, their wearing clothes like those of sinners, are bidats in customs. Women's dresses large enough to cover the whole body other than their hands and faces are not bidats in the religion. Nor are they sinful. In using such coverings they must follow the customs in their country. Using coverings and dresses that are not customary will cause repute and fitna, both of which are haram.]

As it will be understood from what has been told so far, bidat generally, in its lexical sense, are of two kinds: bidat in customs and bidat in the religion. When the word 'bidat' is used alone, bidat in the religion is meant. And bidats in the religion pertain to belief and 'ibadat. All of those pertaining to belief are sayyi'a. And there are two kinds of bidat in the 'ibadat: sayyi'a and hasana. Bidat' sayia are those bidats which are in belief but do not cause disbelief and those which are in 'ibadat and do not serve Islam. If a bidat in belief causes disbelief it becomes ilhad. Bidat' hasana are the innovations which serve Islam. They also are of two kinds: mustahab and wajib. The minaret is a bidat hasana which is mustahab. For, it is sunnat for the muazzin to call the adhan by mounting a high place. The minaret serves this sunnat. [It is not sunnat to call the adhan with a voice louder than a man's natural voice. It is makruh. Therefore, calling the adhan through an electrical apparatus called a loudspeaker serves not the sunnat, but the makruh. For this reason, using a loudspeaker is a bidat sayyi'a and prevents the sunnat of calling the adhan by mounting the minaret. It is not commanded to make the call of the adhan reach everywhere. It is commanded to raise the voice as loud as to be heard in the quarter. It is commanded that Muslims should build a mosque at every quarter and that the muazzin in every mosque should mount a high place and call the adhan separately. It is a bidat sayyi'a, an ugly bidat, for muazzins to call the adhan through loudspeakers so that the adhan called at one place may be heard in every quarter or to call it at one place and use loudspeakers installed in all the mosques. Allahu ta'ala declared, "The religion has been perfected. It has been explained how 'ibadat are to be done. Nothing is left incomplete." And the Salaf as-salihin called the adhan and performed salat the same as commanded for a thousand years. It would be an ugly bidat to dislike, or to find incomplete and unsatisfactory, what they did and to attempt to call the adhan through loudspeakers or to perform salat with loudspeakers. The hadiths above state that none of the 'ibadat of those who commit ugly bidats will be accepted, and that they will go to Hell. By ignoring Islam's command to build a mosque at every quarter, to try to defend the bidat of calling the adhan through loudspeakers under the pretext that otherwise it is not heard everywhere means to try to wash away faeces with urine. Yes, when washed off with urine, the faeces will disappear, and the ignorant will like it. But the case is that faeces spreads everywhere, and urine fouls the places it touches.] The innovations that are bidat' hasana are permitted, and even commanded, by the Shari', the Prophet ('alaihi 's-salam).

Question: "Why did the Sahabat al-kiram, the Tabiin and Taba' at-Tabiin not do the bidat' hasana that are mustahab and wajib?"

Answer: They did not need some of them. For example, they did not build schools, nor did they need to write books. For, there were many scholars and mujtahids. It was easy for everybody to ask and learn. Further, they did not have enough money or property to make huge buildings or minarets. But the most important reason was that they did more important duties, which left them no time to do them. Day and night they fought against disbelievers, against those states and dictators who impeded Islam's promulgation. They spent all their money and property for those jihads. Conquering countries and cities, they rescued millions of people from the talons of cruel states and, converting them to Islam, caused them to attain to felicity in this and the next worlds. They conveyed Islam's order and morals to Allahu ta'ala's servants. They did not have time to do other things.

Rasulullah (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "If a person makes a sunnat hasana in Islam, he attains its thawab plus the thawab of those who will practice it. If a person introduces a sunnat sayyi'a in Islam, he is given its punishment plus the punishment of those who will practice it." All the bidat' hasana are included in the sunnat hasana stated in this hadith ash-Sharif. His deserving the rewards or punishments of all the people who will practice a newly introduced sunnat till the end of the world depends on his intending for others also to do it. Likewise, if the imam of the jamaat does not intend to be the imam for the jamaat, he only gets the thawab of performing salat alone -not the twenty-seven times as much as this. For getting the total thawab of the jamaat, he has to intend to be the imam.

The harm of committing a bidat sayyi'a excels the harm of omitting a sunnat and even wajib. In other words, if it is dubious whether something is sunnat or bidat, it should not be done.

Question: "The religion has been perfected with the Book and the Sunnat. 'Ibadat not permitted by these two are bidat'. Now, is it proper to say that the adillat ash-Shariyya are four?"

Answer: The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat said that the adillat ash-Shariyya are four: the Book, the Sunnat, qiyas al-fuqaha' and ijma' al-Umma. But the last two originate from the first two. Therefore, in actuality, they are two: the Book and the Sunnat. A rule which is put by ijma', that is, by consensus, has to be based upon a proof, a document from the Book or the Sunnat. Also qiyas can be a proof for ijma'. An example of this is the ijma' which was applied for electing Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (radi-Allahu 'anh) the caliph. A hadith ash-Sharif reported by one person can be a proof, too. For, the documentation by ijma' does not need its proof to be certain. It is a document because it is the ijma'. If it were a condition for its proof to be certain, the ijma' would be unnecessary; the proof would be the document. For qiyas also, a proof, a principle from the Book or the Sunnat is necessary. For, qiyas discloses a hidden, concealed rule existing in the Book and the Sunnat. It does not add a rule to them. That is, it does not invent but reveals rules. It explains a general rule for furu' (the branch of science not only to be believed but also to be practiced). And ijma' can be a support, a source for qiyas. The Sunnat is the interpretation and explanation of the Book. Then, the only source of Islam is the Book of Allahu ta'ala.

Today some tekke shaikhs and false, mendacious men of tasawwuf, when they are blamed for their actions incompatible with Islam, say, "These are haram in zahir (exterior, apparent) knowledge. We have batin (hidden) knowledge. So they are halal for us." It is disbelief to say so. A person who says so or who approves such statements becomes a disbeliever. Explaining them away (tawil) or saying them without knowing their meanings is not excusable. These zindiqs say, "You acquire knowledge from books. But we acquire it from its owner, that is, directly from Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam). In case we are not satisfied with it, we ask and learn from Allah. We do not need to read books or to learn from a master. To attain to Allah it is necessary to give up the exterior knowledge and not to learn Islam. If our way had been wrong, would we have attained to such high states and karamat or have been seeing nurs (spiritual lights) and prophets' souls? When we do something sinful we are informed of it in our dreams. In our dream, Allahu ta'ala gives us permission to do something which you term haram, and we know that it is halal for us." Such words, which aim to annihilate Islam, are ilhad. That is, they mean to change the overt meanings in the Book and the Sunnat. They are dalala, that is, deviation from the path of believers. They mean to make fun of Islam. Such depraved words should not be believed. It is disbelief even to doubt that they are wrong. He who says or believes so is called a zindiq. One should not call a person a zindiq as soon as one hears from someone else that he says so. One cannot reach this conclusion unless it is understood canonically by the testimony of two just witnesses. Zindiq means dahri, one who worships matter and nature and does not believe in Allahu ta'ala and in the next world.

The rules of Islam cannot be learned by way of ilham. The ilham (inspiration) given to the awliya' cannot be a proof, a document for others. Ilham means knowledge coming to the heart from Allahu ta'ala. Yes, the ilhams of the awliya' are true. Their truth is judged by their compatibility with the teachings of Islam. But being a wali requires learning and obeying the teachings of Islam. The ayat, "Allahu ta'ala bestows knowledge upon the people of taqwa," proves this. Ilhams do not come to the heart of a person who does not adhere to the Sunnat or avoid the bidats. His utterances are heretical things that come from the nafs and Satan. These statements of ours cannot be said to be in contradiction with the conversation between Musa and Khidir ('alaihima 's-salam), for the latter was not of the former's umma. He was not commanded to follow him. Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), however, is the Prophet of all people and genies all over the world that will come till the end of the world. Al-'ilm al-ladunni and ilham are bestowed upon those who adapt themselves to Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam). Those who are endowed with this blessing understand the Book and the Sunnat well. Islamic teachings cannot be understood by dreams, either. A dream incompatible with Islam is to be judged as Satanic.

Al-Junaid al-Baghdadi (d. in Baghdad, 298/910), one of the greatest awliya', said, "The only way to lead man to Allahu ta'ala's consent is to follow Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam)." Again, he said, "A person who does not obey the Qur'an al-karim or the hadith ash-Sharif cannot be a guide." [Non-mujtahids cannot understand the Qur'an al-karim or the hadith ash-Sharif. Those scholars who founded the seventy-two heretical groups misunderstood them because they were non-mujtahids. They misled millions of Muslims. To obey the Qur'an al-karim and the hadith ash-Sharif, following one of the four madhhabs is necessary.] Yes, an illiterate person who has not read or learned anything may become an 'arif and be able to understand the meaning of the Qur'an al-karim, but he cannot be a guide for others. To be a guide, it is necessary to learn the rules in the Book and the Sunnat from a master [or from the books of fiqh in one of the four madhhabs], for the way of the Salaf as-salihin and their successors is the way of the Book and the Sunnat.

Sirri as-Saqati (d. in Baghdad, 251/865), one of the greatest awliya', a disciple of Maruf al-Karkhi and the maternal uncle and master of al-Junaid al-Baghdadi, said, "Tasawwuf comprises three meanings: To be a possessor of wara'; not to utter any words incompatible with the Book and the Sunnat; and not to commit harams as a result of karamat." [54]* Wara' means abstention also from doubtful actions. Al-Imam al-Ghazali (d. in Tus/Meshed, Iran, 505/1111) wrote in his book Mishkat al-anwar, "The heart is a house for angels. Such bad habits as wrath, lust, jealousy and arrogance are like hawling dogs. Angels do not enter a place where there are dogs. It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'Angels do not enter a house where there are dogs or pictures.' I do not say that the word 'house' in this hadith ash-Sharif means 'heart' or that the word 'dog' means 'bad habit.' I believe in their apparent meanings and also add the above meanings. These words of mine separate Ahl as-Sunnat wal-Jamaat from the group of bidat called Batiniyya. Batinis ignore the apparent meanings and invent heretical meanings. If the apparent meaning of an ayat contradicts the apparent meanings of other ayats, then its apparent meaning must be given up, and it must be explained away (tawil), that is, the most appropriate of its meanings must be given to it. Those who insist on giving apparent meanings when ta'wil is necessary are called Hishwi. For this reason, it has been said that the Qur'an al-karim has apparent and hidden meanings. Those who always give apparent meanings become Hishwi. Those who always give unusual meanings become Batini. Those who give both meanings as the case requires become perfect Muslims." Only an expert in the batin (hidden) and zahir (exterior) branches of knowledge can understand whether or not a statement of a man of tasawwuf is compatible with Islam. Those who do not know the meanings of the words used by the scholars of tasawwuf cannot understand it. Such people [like Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab], who are far from being perfect, suppose that Bayazid al-Bastami's saying, "Subhani ma azama shani'," is incompatible with Islam. Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi explained in detail that the meaning of that saying was kamal-I tanzih. A person who disobeys Islam may perform wonders. These are called not "karamat" but "istidraj." Bayazid al-Bastami saw a person who was known as a wali spit toward the qibla and said, "This man has ignored one of the good manners of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam). [So] he cannot be a wali."

Bayazid al-Bastami said, "Even if a person displays karamat, such as walking on water, going to distant places in a moment and flying in the air, do not consider him to be a wali unless he obeys Islam!" For obeying Islam, it is necessary to follow one of the four madhhabs. It has been declared by consensus that it is not permissible for non-mujtahids to follow as-Sahabat al-kiram. [Because, their madhhabs are not known.] Ijtihad will be employable till the end of the world. [But few scholars fulfill the conditions for being able to employ ijtihad. Further, there is no need for them to employ new ijtihads. A solution for every matter that will arise till the end of the world exists in one of the four madhhabs.] The 'ibada Allahu ta'ala likes best is to do the fard. The valuable ones of the supererogatory 'ibadat are those which are done together with the fards, which exist in them and which supplement them.

Muhammad ibn Fadl al-Balkhi (d. 319/931) said, "Four factors cause the nurs (spiritual lights) of Islam to leave hearts and hearts to darken: not to practice one's knowledge; to practice without knowing; not to learn what one does not know; to impede others' learning." Some people learn in order to be known as men of knowledge and to obtain property and posts. [They use being men with religious posts as a means for living and for politics.] They do not learn for practicing. They are men of religion in name. The way they follow is the way of the ignorant. Saying that Allahu ta'ala is compassionate and likes to forgive, they commit grave sins. They act according to their own reason and wish. They want others to do so, too. They blame true Muslims for not following them. Moreover, they suppose they are on the right path and will attain to salvation. They do not read the true books compiled from the books by the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat, and do not let their children read them, either. Their hearts are evil and their words are deceitful and false. Every day they masquerade in a different appearance. They show a smiling face towards people, but slander them behind their back. They prevent correct books which have not been interpolated with bidats from being read. [They say, "Do not read these books. They are harmful."] They intimidate those who publish and read them. With deceitful advertisements they praise the harmful books of the la-madhhabi. They insult the teachings of Islam. What they write with their short sights are presented to the youth under the name of knowledge and science. As it is understood from what has been written so far, all Islamic scholars and men of tasawwuf adhered to Islam, which consequently brought them to exalted grades. It must be realized that those who speak ill of them are ignoramuses in Islam. We should not believe the false words of such ignoramuses. They are thieves of the faith. They are the la-madhhabi or zindiqs who block the way to felicity.

A person who says that he does not believe in the torment in the grave becomes a disbeliever, for his statement expresses not a report or tawil or Islam but his disregard of Islam.

Those who belong to the group of Qadariyya, alias Mutazila, become disbelievers because they say, "Allah does not create evils or sins. Man creates his own deed."

Those who belong to the group of Batiniyya become disbelievers because they believe in the reincarnation of souls and say that man comes back to the world after death, that Allah's soul has entered the Twelve Imams, that it is unnecessary to obey Islam until the Twelve Imams are reincarnated and that Jabrail ('alaihi 's-salam) had been commanded to bring the wahi to 'Ali (radi-Allahu 'anh), but made a mistake and brought it to Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam).

Those Kharijis who call all Muslims "disbelievers" without depending on a tawil or who accuse 'Ali, 'Uthman, Talha, Zubair and 'Aisha (radi-Allahu 'anhum) of disbelief become disbelievers.

Adherents of the Yazidiyya group become disbelievers because they say that a Persian prophet will come and abrogate the religion of Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam).

Those who are in the Najariyya and Mutazila groups become disbelievers because they do not believe in the attributes of Allahu ta'ala.

The Jabriyya become disbelievers because they say that man cannot do anything, that Allah creates everything whether man requests it or not and that for this reason those who commit sins are excusable.

Some among the Mutazila group becomes disbelievers because they say that Allah does not see anything and will not be seen in Paradise.

The Qadariyya become disbelievers because they deny the attribute of Knowledge [of Allahu ta'ala] and say that Allah does not know anything.

Of the Murji'a group, those who say that Allah will forgive some disbelievers as He wills and torment eternally some believers as He wills, or who say that their 'ibadat will certainly be accepted and sins will certainly be pardoned, or who say that all the fard are supererogatory 'ibadat, and it is not sinful not to do them become disbelievers.

Kharijis fall into a group of bidat because they say that deeds and 'ibadat are included in iman, and a person who omits any fard becomes a disbeliever or that a person who commits a grave sin loses his iman, and his iman comes back when his sinning is over.

Masah on bare feet instead of masah on mests is not disbelief but a bidat. The salat performed behind an imam who has done masah on his bare feet [when performing an ablution] is not sahih. It is not permissible to make friends with holders of bidat. It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "If a person keeps away from a holder of bidat, Allahu ta'ala fills his heart with aman (security, peace) and iman. If a person disesteem a holder of bidat, Allahu ta'ala protects him against the fear of the Resurrection."

The first task for each Muslim is to learn the belief of Ahl as-Sunnat correctly and to strive so that his household and all his friends will learn it. He should pray to Allahu ta'ala that they will live in the belief of Ahl as-sunnat. He should be very alert not to be deceived by satanic men or genies, by evil friends or by misleading writings.

It is declared in a hadith ash-Sharif, "The best of people are the Muslims who live in my time. The next best are those who will succeed them. And the next best are those who will come after them. After these, lies will be widespread." This hadith ash-Sharif shows that falsities began to take place in words, behaviors and deeds at the end of the third century of Islam. People could no longer be trusted, for bidats among them were on the increase. In belief and in deeds they dissented from the path of the Salaf as-salihin. The great men of tasawwuf and the imams of fiqh, who were approved unanimously by Muslims, promulgated the path of the Salaf as-salihin.

The fatwa book Tatarhaniyya says, "One who says that 'Umar, 'Uthman 'Ali (radi-Allahu 'anhum) were not Sahabis becomes a holder of bidat. One who does not believe a narration reported by a single person becomes not a disbeliever but a holder of bidat. However, one who says that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (radi-Allahu 'anh) was not a Sahabi becomes a disbeliever since he thus disbelieves the ayat al-karima." The fatwa book Zahiriyya says, "It is true that one who disbelieves in the caliphate of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq or Hadrat 'Umar al-Faruq (radi-Allahu 'anhuma) becomes a disbeliever, for their selection as Khalifa was reported as an ijma'." [According to Ahl as-Sunnat, ijma' (consensus) is a documentary proof. He who disbelieves in this proof becomes a disbeliever. Since ijma' is not a proof for the Kharijis, Shiites and Wahhabis, they said that he who disbelieves something reported through ijma' will not become a disbeliever.]

Ibn 'Abidin, in the subject on renegades in the third chapter of Radd al-mukhtar, wrote, "Non-Muslim countrymen living in Dar al-Islam are called Zimmis. It is not permissible to violate the property, lives or chastity of zimmis or of those disbelievers who come to the country for trade or as tourists. They possess the same freedom given to Muslims. The case is not so with mulhids. Those mulhids who deceive Muslims are asked to repent. If they refuse, all of them are killed with the command of the head of the State. If they repent, their repentance is accepted. Those holders of bidat whose belief does not cause disbelief are given advice. If they refuse and do not repent, they are punished with tazir by the State. If it is considered necessary, they are forced to repent by imprisonment or beating. If their leader who endeavors to deceive Muslims, does not repent after imprisonment and beating, it is permissible for the State to have him killed. Though one who causes Muslims to part from the madhhab of Ahl as-Sunnat and to become la-madhhabi heretics and thus tries to spread bidats does not become a disbeliever, it is permissible for the head of the State to have him killed in order to protect the people from losing their peace and unity.

FOOTNOTES

[35] 'Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sha'rani, Al-mizan al-kubra, p. 68, where references added.

[36] Ibn 'Abidin, Radd al-muhtar, the beginning of the salat al-witr. It is for this reason that religion reformers attack against this valuable book and Hadrat Ibn 'Abidin (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih), who is one of the arch-stones of the Hanafi madhhab.

[37] Mut'a is an un-Islamic form of nikah, explained in detail in Endless Bliss.

[38] In other words, it was not possible for the new Muslims among the Tabi'un to follow the madhhab of only one Sahabi, since the madhhabs of as-Sahabat al-kiram were not codified or compiled in books as great madhahbs. It was to a few persons' lot to be in company with a Sahabi all the time and to ask him about everything, thus to act upon what they heard. They needed to ask any Sahabee they met and to listen and act accordingly. When there is darura (compulsory necessity), one can follow any madhhab. The Tabi'un never asked for proof.

[39] Al-mizan al-kubra, p. 41.

[40] This passage from at-Tahtawi reports openly and definitely that the Wahhabi, the Shi'ites and other laa-madhhabi people are the people of bid'a, dalala and Hell. The one-page Arabic original of this passage is appended photostatically in the book Radd al-Wahhabi published in Istanbul in 1399 (1979). Edited the first time in India in 1264 (1848), this book proves with authoritative references that the four madhhabs are right and that following one of them is necessary to escape Hell.

[41] Please note how Hadrat 'Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sha'rani, who was a Shafi'i, censured Fakhr ad-din ar-Razi, who also was a Shafi'i, because ar-Razi spoke ill of al-Imam al-a'zam. We suggest that religion reformers who have tried to deceive Muslims by saying that the Hanafis and the Shafi'is fought each other and caused Islam to go backwards shall read the lines above carefully and wake up from unawareness.

[42] Preface to Al-mizan al-kubra in the Arabic work 'Ulama' al-Muslimin wa Wahhabiyyun, p. 62, Istanbul, 1973.

[43] There is detailed information about ijma' and qiyas in al-Husami's book Al-muntahab fi usul al-madhhab, which was edited the second time together with its commentary-index titled Hami in Pakistan. Muhammad ibn Muhammad Husam ad-din al-Husami passed away in Farghana in 644/1246. See also the end of the thirty-third article.

[44] Photographic second edition of the Arabic original by Hakikat Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1974.

[45] Doing something suitably with a less-known rule of Islam when it cannot be done suitably with a well-known rule. See Al-basa'ir li munkiri 't-tawassuli bi ahli 'l-maqabir and the sixth part of Fatawa al-Hindiyya for more detail.

[46] 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi, Al-hadiqat an-nadiyya, part I, chapter III.

[47] As it is understood here, Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salaam) path is the path of Salaf as-Salihin, who were the group of those Muslims of the first two centuries of Islam which comprised as-Sahabat al-kiraam and the distinguished ones among the Tabi'un and Taba' at-Tabi'un. The four a'immat al-madhhahib were among these distinguished ones. Then, Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salaam) path is the path explained in the fiqh books of the four madhhabs. Therefore, as declared unanimously by the 'ulama' of Ahl as-sunna, a person who turns away from the fiqh books of the four madhhabs will have deviated from Rasulullah's ('alaihi 's-salaam) path. This unanimity is reported clearly in the annotation of the part Zabayih of Durr al-mukhtar by at-Tahtawi.

[48] These hadiths foretold about those men with religious posts who make reforms or alterations in the religion, for example, who use a radio or loudspeaker in the adhan or salat or who make known the time of salat with lights on minarets.

[49] He was the son of a Christian named Firuz. He was emancipated by imam 'Ali Rida and became the master of Sirri as-Saqati, who became the master of al-Junaid al-Baghdadi. He passed away in Baghdad in 200 / 815.

[50] His master was Hamdun al-Qassar, who passed in Nishapur in 271/884.

[51] Duty to teach others what Allahu ta'ala's commands are and to prevent, to disapprove somebody's committing His prohibitions.

[52] Muhammad Ma'sum al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi, Maktubat, vol. II, 110th letter.

[53] It is written in Bahr and Hindiyya that they are polytheists.

[54] A karama that causes one to commit a haram is called makr or istidraj.