Saturday, January 5, 2019

Kashf ash-Shubuhat fit-Tawhid, PART-7

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8a/a9/22/8aa9225cd7e9953a5e7868b8756644cd.jpg
Last week, we finished talking about or we began talking about the issue of having a sufficient amount of knowledge to be able to, first of all know your Tawhid, and to know your religion in a sufficient manner, so that one doesn’t fall into matters of Shirk or kufr. Likewise, to have sufficient amount of knowledge, or that there’s a level of knowledge above this that is needed, in order to be able to refute or to keep away any doubts or any sort of misconceptions that people try to bring and try to have matters of shirk and kufr come into Islam.

We spoke about that these matters are often propagated by different groups, some that are Muslimin but are upon misguidance, and some that are out of the fold of Islam. Certain groups like the Rafidah, and certain groups like the Sufis or what people call Quburiyyun, the people who worship graves and modernists and things like this, that will try to bring things from the Qur’an and things from the Sunnah and try to say that a matter of Shirk and a matter of kufr is actually apart of Islam.

So, there’s two levels of knowledge that’s needed. So first of all, in order to not fall into this ourselves, we need to have a certain amount of knowledge, but likewise we need to have enough knowledge to repel these misguidances and these doubts because someone might know that something’s wrong when they’re told it, or when someone brings it up but they don’t have a sufficient amount of knowledge to disapprove this idea, or to prove to others that it’s a wrong idea and to get rid of this doubt. So, there’s two levels of knowledge that we talked about, so that’s where ended off last week.

The next thing that the author says is that:
“The general person or the lay person from the Muwahhidin.”

So, meaning from the Muslimin, the people of Tawhid.
“…has the ability to beat 1000 of the scholars of the Mushrikin. As Allah said, “And our soldiers, they will be the ones who are victorious.” [37:173]

And then he continues, and he says: 
“So the army of Allah, or the soldiers of Allah [in this context, he’s referring to the Muslimin], they are those who are victorious when it comes to there proofs on their tongue, just as they are the ones who are victorious with their swords and their spears.”So, meaning, just as they’re victorious on the battlefield when they fight, they’re also the ones who are victorious when it comes to arguing for Tawhid and arguing against Shirk.

Then he said: 
“The only thing that is feared is for the Muwahhid or the person of Tawhid [so in this context, he’s referring to the Muslimin] is to go about this path [calling to Tawhid] but they don’t have the sufficient amount of weapons.”
So, what he’s referring to here is someone who gets involved in this matter, calling to Tawhid and arguing against Shirk, but they don’t really know, they don’t have a sufficient amount of knowledge to refute these types of things. So this is what’s feared, someone may get involved in this issue, and they’re on the truth, and they know what’s wrong, but then they get themselves involved in arguments, and they get themselves involved in discussions. That even though they’re correct, they don’t know how to refute these ideas and because of this, people listening or people who are sitting around while this is going on, it looks to them that this person doesn’t know what he’s talking about  and therefore they might follow the thing that is wrong.

So, this is what the author says, this is why he says it. Here he refers to the general lay person being able to beat 1000 of the scholars of the Mushrikin. So, what he means here is that, or the reason for this is because something that’s wrong can’t be right, it’ll never be right, Shirk, so something that’s an insult to Allah, regardless of how many people follow it or how many people call to it, it’s never something that will be correct.

So, as long as the person is on Tawhid, then he is able to beat the scholars of Shirk on this matter. This doesn’t mean he’ll always win an argument clearly because he might not know how refute what’s being said or he might not know what to say to these people, but the fact he’s still upon Tawhid and that he knows Shirk is wrong, then this is something that’s sufficient for him to be considered that he was victorious, or he was the one who won in this situation.

When we say people who are lay people or people who are ‘ammi’, so that’s what the author refers to here, literally it translates to someone who is illiterate or unlettered. There’s a number of different types that we can talk about for this, so one is called “Amm-il harfi wa’l qira’a”, or someone who is illiterate when it comes to reading or writing and this is also what could be called “al-Ummi”, so when Allah referred to the Prophet (saws), He referred to him as “al-Ummi”, and this has nothing to do with the amount of knowledge, all it means is that the person can’t read or write.

The second type is what we say is that he’s an “Ammi”, it can be when it relates to his belief. So, he’s a lay person, he has no knowledge when it comes to his beliefs, and this, we would call someone who’s not upon Islam because obviously someone who’s upon Islam opposed to someone who isn’t upon Islam, the person who’s Muslim would be considered one of knowledge, and the person who’s on Shirk, would be considered someone of ignorance.

The last one, and this is what the author’s referring to here is the “Ammi” from the Muwahhidin, or the general lay person from the Muwahhidin, or from the Muslims. In this context, we call him an “Ammi” or someone who’s a lay person, merely because he doesn’t know the arguments, or he doesn’t know the evidence from the Qur’an and the Sunnah to prove his beliefs. He’s on the correct beliefs but he doesn’t have the evidence to prove them. So, he might be correct in and of himself and be safe in and of himself because he’s upon Tawhid, but his benefit doesn’t go further than that and he can’t benefit people beyond himself in that sense. 

The next point to talk about is when Allah said that the victory will be for the Muslimin or His ‘jund’. There’s a number of different types of ‘ghalabah’ or victory, or being victorious that we can talk about.

The first is the victory that is related to being upon the correct ‘Aqidah. So just being upon the correct ‘Aqidah is already a type of victory because if we know that the vast majority of the people aren’t upon Islam, and the people who are in Islam, according to the hadith of the Prophet (saws) when he said: “This Ummah will be divided into 73 sects, all of them are in the Fire except for one.” We know that the vast majority of people who attribute themselves to Islam aren’t upon the correct Islamic belief. They’re still Muslimin, but they still have these misguidances. So, the fact that the person’s upon the correct beliefs, this in and of itself is a victory.

The second type of ‘ghalabah’ or the second type of victory is when Allah gives you victory in the sense that you’re able to stay steadfast upon what your beliefs are, so whether it relates to people bringing you misguidances or misconceptions and you’re able to refute them, and you’re able to stay away from following them. Or if it becomes to someone is being put through trials in the dunya that’s related to the religion and someone is able to stay steadfast upon the religion, then this is also a type of victory. This is what Allah referred to when He said,
“It is those who believe, and confuse not their belief with dhulm [meaning Shirk], for them there is security and they are the ones who are guided.” [6:82]

So, here Allah referred to those who are upon Islam and don’t then perform any Shirk that they are the ones who are safe and have security, and they’re the ones who are guided. And Allah said,
“Allah will keep firm those who believe with the word that stands firm in this world and the Hereafter, and Allah will cause to go astray those who are dhalimin and Allah does whatever He wills.” [14:27]

Allah also said,
“As for those who strive hard in Our Path, we will surely guide them to Our Paths, and verily Allah is with the Muhsinin.” [29:69]

And lastly, Allah said,
“O you who believe, if you support Allah, He will support you and make your foothold firm.” [47:7]

So, here Allah mentioned a number of situations which if the person stays steadfast upon the religion, and that’s whether it is related to misconceptions that are brought to them, or whether it’s related to trials that are bought to them in the dunya with regards to their wealth, or with regards to their self or their family, that if the person stays steadfast upon this, then Allah will give him the means to stays steadfast as long as the person is sincere. So, this is the second type of victory.

The third is that if the person dies upon something good, so meaning they at the very least die upon Islam and in a better situation. They die in a good state, so maybe while they’re praying, or they die while making da’wah or they die while fighting for Islam or something like this. So, this is the last type of victory, and that’s similar to when Allah mentioned in Surat al-Buruj about ‘Ashab al-Ukhdud’, that these people were killed and all of them were killed but despite that, Allah said that they were victorious.
“That is the great victory” [85:11]

So, Allah said this about them and the only reason that was said about them because they died upon Tawhid, and they died upon what Allah was pleased with. So, this is a bit about the issue of ghalabah.

There’s also a second way of looking at victory, the first way we looked at victory relates to the actual victory itself so what is considered victory. The second type we look at is how will the victory come.

So, the author mentioned two types, the first was the victory or the ghalabah as it relates to proofs and arguments, so meaning that if someone is upon Islam, and they’re calling to Tawhid, then they will be victorious with regards to the proof that they use and the arguments that they have and the reason for that is…we know that Tawhid is correct and Shirk is something that’s false so it can never be proven that Shirk is something that’s correct. So, maybe the person in and of himself can’t argue for it and can’t prove it with his words, but in and of itself, what he’s arguing for is something that’s correct, and this is what the author referred to.

The second is the type that relates to fighting itself when it comes to weapons and this is the type that sometimes the Muslimin will be victorious with it and sometimes they won’t be. We know in the time of the Sahabah, there were certain battles that they lost and in the time of the Tabi’in and so on and all the way down, we know that there’s sometimes Allah will give the Muslimin victory, like physical victory and sometimes He won’t, but when it comes to arguing on behalf of Tawhid, then we know that it will always be something that is victorious.

The next part that the author mentioned as I quoted before is that what’s feared is the one who goes about this path and doesn’t have the sufficient amount of weapons. So, meaning that he doesn’t have a sufficient amount of knowledge and a sufficient amount of proof for what he’s arguing for.

So, what we fear for him is two things, one is that he might actually be taken astray, so maybe if he doesn’t have sufficient knowledge and he doesn’t have enough knowledge and enough studying that he’s done with regards to the issues of Shirk, he might actually be convinced and taken astray by people who bring misconceptions about Islam. The second type is that even if he doesn’t have enough knowledge or he doesn’t go astray when it comes to matters of Shirk, he might at the same time not be able to prove to other people how these things are false.

So, he might not be convinced by these Shubuhat or these misconceptions that people bring to him with regards to Shirk, but at the same time we fear for him. We fear for the person who doesn’t have enough knowledge, he might not be able to convince others so he’ll get himself in a situation where he might look like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or he might look like what he’s calling to is incorrect because he doesn’t really know how to speak on behalf of Islam the way he should. So, these are two ways that we would fear for someone who doesn’t have enough knowledge.

The next point that the author says is he says:
“And Allah has given us a virtue in His Book as He’s made it a clarification for everything, and a guidance and a Mercy and a clear call or giving of glad-tidings for Muslimin, and that no person of falsehood with come with a proof, except that in the Qur’an we find something that would negate it and show that it’s something false as Allah said, “And no example or similitude that they bring but we reveal to you the truth and a better explanation thereof.” [25:33]”


And then he said:
“And some of the scholars of Tafsir have said this verse is general with regards to every argument or proof that someone of falsehood comes with until the Day of Resurrection.”

So, here the author is saying that the Qur’an contains evidence to refute everything that a person of falsehood comes with. So, if we know that in general, Tawhid is correct, regardless of any argument someone brings, whether they try to bring it from the Qur’an or from the Sunnah or from the statement of the Sahabah and their actions, or anything after, if they try to bring something to show that a matter of Shirk is correct. We know for a fact that in the Qur’an we’ll find something that will refute this and show it’s incorrect. Likewise, whether it’s with regards to Shirk or whether it’s with regards to kufr, or whether it’s with regards to something against the Sunnah, anything that’s wrong, in the Qur’an will find something that will be an argument against this and a proof to show that it’s actually wrong.

So, this is what the author said next, after this he goes into the second part of the book. So, as we talked about when we first started this book, it’s divided into a number of categories or a number of sections. The first was a general introduction to the book and to why it’s being discussed and some of the points that need to be known before he goes into the actual crux of the book. The second part is mentioning the misconceptions and the doubts that people bring about Islam, particularly by the people of Shirk, to mention what they say as argument and then to refute them, so this is the second part of the book which we’re starting now.

This we can say is also two parts, so the first is a general refutation, so the author will give us some arguments and some evidence from the Qur’an and the Sunnah that gives us a proof and gives us strength to able to look at any argument that’s bought, that is calling to Shirk and anything else that’s false, it gives us enough proof to refute this in general.

So, we might not be able to use it to look at every evidence that they bring and say, “This evidence is wrong because of this and this.” He will give us some general rules for us to say if we hear something that’s against Islam, we can use this general rule to refute it. The second part of this section, he brings specific evidence that they use from the Qur’an and shows how each one of these evidences is something that’s wrong. So, we won’t get through all this section today, we’ll start with part of it.

So, the first is the general refutation or the general ‘Radd against some of these misconceptions. So, the author says:
“And I’ll mention some of these things to you that Allah mentioned in His Book as a refutation or an answer to the words which are used as evidence by the people of Shirk or the Mushrikun in our time. So, we say that answering the people of falsehood, there’s two ways to do so. First is general and the second is specific. As for the general rule or the general answer we give them, then this is the great matter and the important benefit to those who can understand it. And that is His statement: “It is He Who sent down to you the Book, in it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book, and others not entirely clear...”

And then He continues,
“So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation, they follow that which is not entirely clear, seeking fitnah, and seeking its hidden meanings.”’ [3:7]

Then he continues and says:
“That it’s authentic from the Prophet (saws) that he said, “If you see those who follow that which isn’t clear from it [meaning from the Qur’an], then those are the ones who Allah has mentioned or has labelled so beware of them.” An example of this is, some of the Mushrikin say, “No doubt, indeed the awliya or the allies of Allah, no fear shall come to them, nor shall they grieve.” [10:62]”

So, he says that if we look at this Verse from Surah Ali-‘Imran, then we understand that Allah revealed two types of Ayat in the Qur’an.

So, the first, is that which is clear and there’s no way of anyone misinterpreting it, and there’s no doubt about what it means, and the second types which aren’t entirely clear, and that someone can try to use this Verse as an argument for something that’s false. Allah told us that there’ll be people who follow these unclear Verses, or Verses that might have some ways of misinterpreting them and they follow these ones, or they follow these Verses as a means to make fitnah and they try to use these Verses to say, this is from Islam, this is what the Qur’an says, this is something correct and they’ll bring a Verse that really doesn’t prove what they’re saying but someone could interpret it that way, or someone might look at it and say “I could see how it could mean that.”

Then he mentioned that the Prophet (saws) said that if you see the people who do this, then these are who Allah warned us about so beware of them, so meaning stay away from them. Then he gave an example of this, the Verse when Allah said, which means that the allies of Allah, there’s no fear upon them and they’ll never grieve.

So, this is where we are at this point so then they say:
Meaning the Mushrikin will say that the Shafa’a or the intercession, meaning when someone intercedes on our behalf to Allah, this is something that’s correct, and it’s done by the Anbiya, and its done by the Shuhada, and it’s done by the Salihin and so on.

So, if we know this and we know that there’s no fear for them, then according to them, they say it only makes sense for us to then make du’a to these people and ask them for Shafa’a for us, because why would we ask Allah ourselves when we’re very low, and we don’t have knowledge, and we’re not very pious. But these people were and the Anbiya received Wahi from Allah, or revelation and they were protected from major sins, and they were protected from making mistakes in regards to da’wah, and for example, the Prophet (saws), we know that all of his sins were forgiven, and we know that all the rewards that Allah has promised him, so why would we ask Allah for something. Let’s ask the Prophet (saws) to then ask Allah for us, because if Allah loves the Prophet (saws) more than us, he’ll more likely have his du’a answered than us, and they’ll say Allah said this, isn’t this correct.

So, they’ll bring things like this that each of them in and of themselves are correct, but if we put it together, it’s a completely false concept. So, the author says that this is an example of this, that they’ll bring this verse. He mentions that what we first need to know is that this is something that the people of falsehood will do, they’ll bring things that aren’t clear, and they’ll try to prove something that is completely against Islam, and he said that even someone who doesn’t know the specific answer to this, or how to answer this verse, if they know a general rule, and they know a general concept in Islam, this will be sufficient for them to refute this.

Then he gave the example when Allah said,
“and they worship besides Allah, things that hurt them not nor profit them, and they say, “These are interceders with Allah.” Say: “Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the Heavens and in the Earth.” Glorified is He above all that which they associate partners with Him.” [10:18] 


So, the author continues and says:
“This is something that’s very clear, and no one can change its meaning, and that which you mention to me O you Mushrik [he’s giving us how to argue with someone who calls to shirk], that which you mention to me from the Qur’an or the statement of the Prophet (saws), I don’t know what it means, but I know that the words of Allah do not contradict each other, and that the words of the Prophet (saws) do no contradict the words of Allah. This is a very good answer, but most people will not understand it, except those who Allah has given tawfiq to, or success too, so do not take it as something light, as He has said, “But none is granted it, except those who are patient, and none is granted it except the owner of a great portion.” [41:35] 

So, here he’s saying that if we understand this general argument which is that, if we look at what the Mushrikin did at the time of the Prophet (saws), the claim that those who they were worshipping were at a higher status than them, so they would make du’a to them, to make du’a to Allah.

So, now when a mushrik comes to you, whether he claims Islam or not, whether he’s from a sect within Islam, or whether he’s from a sect outside of Islam, he tries to claim that this is something correct, and they’ll say that, this person will make Shafa’a or that we’re making du’a to this person, that if we know that Allah at the time of the Prophet (saws) called these people Mushrikin and he judged them as being disbelievers because they did this same act, then we know that whatever proof you bring to us to try to validate this, to make it to be something that’s correct, we know that it’s wrong.Doesn’t matter what evidence you bring us, even if I don’t know how to answer this specific evidence, I know that it was wrong in the time of the Prophet (saws) so it’s wrong now. Even if I don’t understand, maybe you bring me a hadith that’s weak, if I don’t know that it’s weak, it doesn’t matter because I know that it’s incorrect because it was incorrect at the time of the Prophet (saws).

So, this is where the author stops with regards to the general answer, so insha’Allah we’ll stop there, next week I’ll comment a bit about the general answer, and next week we’ll get into the specific doubts or misconceptions some of the mushrikin use to try to justify their Shirk from the Qur’an, and then we’ll talk about how to refute those insha’Allah. Wallahul A’lam. 

Kashf ash-Shubuhat fit-Tawhid #7 [Transcribed] - By Shaykh Haytham Sayfaddeen

TO BE CONTINUED INSHA'ALLAH...


TO READ MORE, CLICK:

No comments:

Post a Comment