Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's monumental stance !

‘Umar (ra) said, “By He in whose hand is my soul, if Abū Bakr had obeyed us, we would have committed kufr in a single morning, and that was when they asked him to go easy concerning zakāh [by not waging war against the apostates over it], but he refused. He said, ‘If they were to withhold from me a short rope, I would wage jihād against them over it.’” [Musannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah]

He (ra) also said, “We almost committed kufr in a single morning if not that Allah saved us through Abū Bakr as-Siddīq (ra).” [Al-Ibānah al-Kubrā]

Abū Rajā’ al-‘Utāridī said, “I entered al-Madīnah and saw the people gathered around a man kissing the head of another while the kisser was saying, ‘May I be killed in your defense! If not for you, we would have been ruined.’ So I asked, ‘Who is the kisser and who is the one being kissed?’ They said, ‘That is ‘Umar kissing Abū Bakr’s head for his war against the people of apostasy who resisted zakāh.” [Tārīkh Dimashq]

Abū Hurayrah (ra) said, “By He other than whom there is no god, if Abū Bakr had not been appointed khalīfah, Allah would not be worshipped on the Earth!” He repeated this three times. [Al-I’tqād – al-Bayhaqī]

Wakī’ Ibn al-Jarrāh said, “If not for Abū Bakr, Islam would have perished.” [Al-Ibānah al-Kubrā]

One who practices Witchcraft !

Question:
What is the correct ruling on one who practices magic or witchcraft?

Answer:
Praise be to Allah.

Magic in all its forms is Haraam according to all divinely-revealed laws, and there is scholarly consensus that magic and learning magic are Haraam.

Magic goes against that which the Messengers brought and it opposes the purpose for which the Books were revealed.

Most of the scholars were of the view that the one who practices magic is a Kaafir whom the authorities are obliged to execute.

Allah says:
وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيْمَانُ وَلَٰكِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ كَفَرُوا يُعَلِّمُونَ النَّاسَ السِّحْرَ
“Sulaymaan did not disbelieve, but the shayateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic” [2:102]
وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ
“But neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)’” [2:102]
 
This proves that magic is Kuffr!

Most of the Shafi’i fuqaha (jurists) were of the view that the one who practices magic is not a Kaafir unless he believes that magic is permitted or he believes something like the people of Babylon believed, that practising magic would bring them closer to the seven stars (which they used to worship).
 

Every Nation was sent a Messenger !!!

It is an Islamic belief that every nation was sent a Messenger for their guidance. The important matter was the concept of Tawheed. The secondary matter was Shari'ah, or religious Law, which kept changing from tribe to tribe and nation to another. Allah alone knows what is good for His creation.

As it is mentioned in the Quraan: "And for every nation is a messenger. So when their Messenger comes, it will be judged between them in justice, and they will not be wronged." [10:47] And: "And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, (saying): 'Worship Allah and avoid Taghoot (i.e., false deities)'. And among them were those upon whom error was (deservedly) decreed. So proceed (i.e., travel) through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers." [16:36]

Some of these Messengers are mentioned in the Quraan by Allah and some of them are not, as the Quraan says: "And We have certainly sent messengers before you (O Muhammad). Among them are those (whose stories) We have related to you, and among them are those (whose stories) We have not related to you. And it was not for a messenger to bring a sign (or verse) except by permission of Allah. So when the command of Allah comes, it will be concluded (i.e., judged) in truth, and the falsifiers will thereupon lose (all)." [40:78]

So, we decided to have a look at the issue of Messengers sent to various tribes and nations and take the advice mentioned in the Quraan: "…So proceed (i.e., travel) throughout the earth and observe how was the end of those who denied." [3:137]

A brief similitude regarding disobedience...

Imaam Ibnul Qayyim said:
“Obedience to (Allah and His Messenger) is a light and disobedience is darkness. And whenever the darkness becomes more intense, straying increases until (the person) falls into bidah, affairs of misguidance and destruction, whilst he does not know–similar to a blind man who comes out in the darkness of night and walking by himself.” [Al-Jawaab Al-Kaafee: page: 13]

Consequences of Persisting Upon Evil, Whilst Receiving More Provision – By Imaam As-Sadi:
Allah said:
"Those who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive not.  And I respite them; certainly My Plan is strong." [7:182-183]

"سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم  – We shall gradually seize them with punishment" – by granting them plentiful provision and respite until they think that they will neither be taken to task for their disobedience nor punished, so they increase in disbelief and transgression, and evil upon evil. And through this their punishment is increased and multiplied, so they harm themselves in ways they perceive not. This is why Allah said:
"إِنَّ كَيْدِي مَتِينٌ -certainly My Plan is strong"
[An Excerpt from ‘Tayseer Al-Kareem Ar-Rahmaan Fi Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan’ by Imaam Sadi]

"سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ –  We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive not": Imaam Sufyaan Ath-Thawri said that this means, ”Whenever they commit (major) sins, Allah bestows a blessing on them and make them forgetful of seeking forgiveness." [Al-Mukhallisaat 2352]

Reconciling People...

Reconciling people is among the great noble morals. The Shari'ah urged it in more than one occasion as Allah says: "So fear Allah and amend that which is between you." [8:1] The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Sadaqah (i.e. charity) is due on every joint of a person every day the sun rises. Administering of justice between two men is also a sadaqah. Assisting a man to ride upon his riding animal, or helping him load his luggage upon it is a sadaqah; a good word is a sadaqah; every step that you take towards prayer is a sadaqah, and removing harmful objects from the pathway is a sadaqah." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Due to the importance of this virtue, Islam assigned one of the disbursement channels of Zakaah for those who seek to reconcile people. The Prophet (saws) said: "The best charity is to reconcile between people." [At-Tabarani in Al-Mu‘jam Al-Kabeer]

Poets did not forget the virtue of reconciling people, so they immortalized it in their poems. One Arab poem said a line of verse that means: All merits are referred to two matters; glorifying the Orders of Allah and seeking to reconcile people.

Reconciling people is a branch of faith and an Islamic moral code through which grudges are eliminated, hearts are purified, and flames of fitnah are extinguished. Allah said – about this quality –: "No good is there in much of their private conversation, except for those who enjoin charity or that which is right or conciliation between people. And whoever does that seeking means to the approval of Allah – then We are going to give him a great reward." [4:114]

Islam urges the believer to regard 'reconciling people' as one of his most important aims in his worldly life, as it is through reconciliation that the Ummah becomes a coherent unit where one part thereof seeks to amend the other part. Thus, it becomes like a single body; if one organ of it complains, the rest of the body suffers sleeplessness and fever. Neglecting this matter leads to the disintegration of the Ummah and the severance of its ties.
 

The Foundation of Islam & its Principle, PART-4.

So, the fourth, and this one will be a little bit shorter. The fourth thing that is mentioned here is making Takfir or declaring to be non-Muslim, the people who leave Tawhid. So, just the first, you know something to talk about before getting into this topic, is the idea of or the phrase here used is Takfir, and this is something which people probably hear very often and it creates something in their heart, or they feel uncomfortable when they hear it.

This is a product of many factors that have come about and things that have gone on in the Ummah in the last 60 years, and the way that this phrase is used by certain groups to scare people away from certain aspects of Tawhid, because in and of itself, what does Takfir mean? It means saying someone isn't a Muslim, that’s all takfir means. So, from this, we can see that it's not a good word nor it's a bad word.

If someone comes up and says “I'm Jewish”, then you say he's not a Muslim, that's Takfir. No one would say you’re crazy to say that, everyone would accept that. If you see a priest and he’s not Muslim, this is takfir. So, in and of itself this word isn’t something good and it’s not something bad, it’s just the calling someone non-Muslim.

At the same time, if someone walks in here and sees a row of Muslimin praying and he says these people are all kuffar, this is also takfir. No one would say that, that’s something acceptable either, calling a Muslim, who’s confirmed as being Muslim, calling him a Kafir, it’s a sinful thing and it’s a very grave matter to do. At the same time, not calling Kuffar, Kuffar is also something that's a very grave thing. So, if you see a Kafir and you say it’s okay we can call him a Muslim, or he’ll enter Jannah. So, on the other side, there’s just as dangerous things that come from the opposite aspect of this issue of Takfir.

Just be careful when you hear that word that it's not being used in a way that's just a means to scare you away from certain aspects of Tawhid. Obviously, if someone doesn’t do anything which takes them out of Islam, we can’t call him a Kafir, and it would be haram upon us to do that, and we have to give him his rights of Islam and all this. But at the same time, you’ll find people who say if you call a Jew or Christian or someone who’s Druzi or someone who’s a Rafidi and you say this guy’s not Muslim, they’ll freak out and say he’s making Takfir. But what else am I going to do, I’m not going to call him a Muslim because he’s obviously not a Muslim, he’s worshipping ‘Ali, he’s making Tawaf on graves and he doesn’t even call himself a Muslim to begin with, how am I not going to call him a Kafir or how am I going to call him a Muslim.