O you who seek salvation
Listen to the words of a sincere helper
In all your affairs hold fast
To the Revelation, not fanciful ravings
And aid Allah’s Book and the Sunnahs
Related from him who was sent with the Criterion
And strike with the sword of revelation every rejector (of the Attributes)
Like the strike of a Mujahid on every fingertip
For Allah’s sake without any cowardice
Be firm and patient underneath the banners of guidance
Whatever you do shall be for the pleasure of ar-Rahman
Let Allah’s Book and the established Sunnahs
Be your weapon, and keep a healthy soul
Who will accept the duel, let him come forward
Or who will take the lead into the battlefield
Split them with the saying of the Messenger, and fear not
From the scarcity of supporters,
For Allah will aid His religion and His book,
And Allah will suffice His slave with scarcity.
Do not fear from the plot of the enemy and their scheming,
For it is but with falsehood and lies that they fight.
The soldiers of the followers of the Messenger are the angels.
And their soldiers are but the armies of Shaytan;
How great they divide between the two armies. Whoever is Confused, let him but examine the two parties.
Stand firm and fight under the Banners of Guidance
And be patient, for the Aid of Allah, your Lord, is near.
And remember the battles of the knights of guidance;
From Allah is reward for their battles.
And strike with the Words of the Texts in the neck of the enemy,
And stone them with bright stars.
Fear not their multitudes, they are but the riff-raff of mankind,
And their mosquitoes. Do you fear from mosquitoes?
In debate, occupy them with debating one another,
This is the wise course for the knights.
If they should attack you, be you not
Distressed at there attack nor cowardly,
And be firm and do not attack with no forces, for
That is not considered praiseworthy by the brave.
So when you see the party of Islam
Has gathered its armies with power
Then penetrate their ranks and
Be not weak nor cowardly
And beware of two garments, whoever wears them
Finds debasement in humiliation and censure;
A garment of compound ignorance, over it
A garment of blind partisanship, how evil are the two garments!
Adorn yourself with fairness, what an excellent garment!
It is to adorn the sides and shoulders.
Let fear of ar-Rahman be your slogan
Along with sincerity to the Messenger, how excellent are the two matters.
And he, may Allah have mercy on him, stated:
And beware of Shirk, for apparent Shirk
Is the type that cannot be forgiven.
And it is to take a rival to ar-Rahman
-Whether it should be a stone or person-
Calling upon it, placing hope in it and fear,
And to love it as Allah should be loved.
By Allah, they did not make them equal with Allah
In creation, nor in provision, nor in generosity,
For to them, Allah is the Creator, the Provider,
And he is the Granter of all Bounty and Generosity.
Yet they equated them with Allah
In Love, in magnification, and in faith.
The very foundation of Tawhid is love so he states concerning it:
They love them along with ar-Rahman
They did not make their love only for ar-Rahman.
If their love was for Allah’s sake, they would not
Have shown enmity to those he loves for their faith,
Nor would they loved that which he detests and avoided
That which he loves and that which gains his pleasure.
The condition of love is to agree with the one you love
In his love without any disobedience,
So if you claim to love him while opposing
Him in what he loves, you are telling a great falsehood.
Do you love the enemies of the beloved and
Claim to love him? That is not possible.
And likewise you oppose with all your efforts those he loves.
Where is that love (which you claim), o brother of Shaytan?
Worship is nothing else but Tawhid of love
Along with humility of the heart and limbs.
Love is to concur with him in what he loves
And to hate with your soul what he is not pleased with.
Agreeing with him is to follow him in his orders
And to seek the Face of Allah, the Owner of Bounty.
This is the Ihsan which is a condition for the acceptance
Of one’s efforts; understand it well from the Qur’an.
And following without the explanation of His Messenger
Is impossible and is the Greatest of falsehoods.
So when you toss aside His Book and His Messenger,
And you follow the order of the self and of Shaytan,
And you take rivals whom you love like
Allah ought to be loved, then you do not have faith.
He described the people of his age by saying:
And we have seen from a party claiming Islam
Shirk that is clear to see.
They set up partners whom they love and they equate
Them with him in love, not in authority.
By Allah, they did not equate them with Allah,
They loved them even more as is not hidden.
By Allah, they do not get angry when the orders of their lord are violated, secretly or openly.
Until if anyone should speak of the idol which
Listen to the words of a sincere helper
In all your affairs hold fast
To the Revelation, not fanciful ravings
And aid Allah’s Book and the Sunnahs
Related from him who was sent with the Criterion
And strike with the sword of revelation every rejector (of the Attributes)
Like the strike of a Mujahid on every fingertip
For Allah’s sake without any cowardice
Be firm and patient underneath the banners of guidance
Whatever you do shall be for the pleasure of ar-Rahman
Let Allah’s Book and the established Sunnahs
Be your weapon, and keep a healthy soul
Who will accept the duel, let him come forward
Or who will take the lead into the battlefield
Split them with the saying of the Messenger, and fear not
From the scarcity of supporters,
For Allah will aid His religion and His book,
And Allah will suffice His slave with scarcity.
Do not fear from the plot of the enemy and their scheming,
For it is but with falsehood and lies that they fight.
The soldiers of the followers of the Messenger are the angels.
And their soldiers are but the armies of Shaytan;
How great they divide between the two armies. Whoever is Confused, let him but examine the two parties.
Stand firm and fight under the Banners of Guidance
And be patient, for the Aid of Allah, your Lord, is near.
And remember the battles of the knights of guidance;
From Allah is reward for their battles.
And strike with the Words of the Texts in the neck of the enemy,
And stone them with bright stars.
Fear not their multitudes, they are but the riff-raff of mankind,
And their mosquitoes. Do you fear from mosquitoes?
In debate, occupy them with debating one another,
This is the wise course for the knights.
If they should attack you, be you not
Distressed at there attack nor cowardly,
And be firm and do not attack with no forces, for
That is not considered praiseworthy by the brave.
So when you see the party of Islam
Has gathered its armies with power
Then penetrate their ranks and
Be not weak nor cowardly
And beware of two garments, whoever wears them
Finds debasement in humiliation and censure;
A garment of compound ignorance, over it
A garment of blind partisanship, how evil are the two garments!
Adorn yourself with fairness, what an excellent garment!
It is to adorn the sides and shoulders.
Let fear of ar-Rahman be your slogan
Along with sincerity to the Messenger, how excellent are the two matters.
And he, may Allah have mercy on him, stated:
And beware of Shirk, for apparent Shirk
Is the type that cannot be forgiven.
And it is to take a rival to ar-Rahman
-Whether it should be a stone or person-
Calling upon it, placing hope in it and fear,
And to love it as Allah should be loved.
By Allah, they did not make them equal with Allah
In creation, nor in provision, nor in generosity,
For to them, Allah is the Creator, the Provider,
And he is the Granter of all Bounty and Generosity.
Yet they equated them with Allah
In Love, in magnification, and in faith.
The very foundation of Tawhid is love so he states concerning it:
They love them along with ar-Rahman
They did not make their love only for ar-Rahman.
If their love was for Allah’s sake, they would not
Have shown enmity to those he loves for their faith,
Nor would they loved that which he detests and avoided
That which he loves and that which gains his pleasure.
The condition of love is to agree with the one you love
In his love without any disobedience,
So if you claim to love him while opposing
Him in what he loves, you are telling a great falsehood.
Do you love the enemies of the beloved and
Claim to love him? That is not possible.
And likewise you oppose with all your efforts those he loves.
Where is that love (which you claim), o brother of Shaytan?
Worship is nothing else but Tawhid of love
Along with humility of the heart and limbs.
Love is to concur with him in what he loves
And to hate with your soul what he is not pleased with.
Agreeing with him is to follow him in his orders
And to seek the Face of Allah, the Owner of Bounty.
This is the Ihsan which is a condition for the acceptance
Of one’s efforts; understand it well from the Qur’an.
And following without the explanation of His Messenger
Is impossible and is the Greatest of falsehoods.
So when you toss aside His Book and His Messenger,
And you follow the order of the self and of Shaytan,
And you take rivals whom you love like
Allah ought to be loved, then you do not have faith.
He described the people of his age by saying:
And we have seen from a party claiming Islam
Shirk that is clear to see.
They set up partners whom they love and they equate
Them with him in love, not in authority.
By Allah, they did not equate them with Allah,
They loved them even more as is not hidden.
By Allah, they do not get angry when the orders of their lord are violated, secretly or openly.
Until if anyone should speak of the idol which
They supplicate mentioning its deficiencies,
Then may ar-Rahman save you from (their) anger and
(Their) warring and insults and enmity.
And may ar-Rahman save you from beating
And punishment and cursing and imprisonment.
And he mourned for the people of his time saying:
Additionally, I am being tested by
Four (types), each of them full of animosity;
A rude, harsh, ignorant man feigning knowledge
Wearing a large turban and a broad cloak,
A man feigning Fiqh, yet well-versed in ignorance
He is deprived of any knowledge or understanding,
One having a poor mix of the various sciences
And he mixes erroneous thought with irrational talk
He complains to Allah of (his) rights wrongfully
Out of his ignorance as if he is suffering an ailment
He is ignorant, feigning knowledge of medicine, he gives verdicts to mankind
And he attributes that to the Decree of ar-Rahman.
The private parts of the creation cry out, as he does their blood,
And likewise their rights, to Allah against him. [This is because the Qadi passes judgement concerning issues involving marital rights, bloodshed, and other rights]
He has no knowledge accept Takfir and
Tabdi’ and Tadlil and false accusations. [Takfir is to declare someone a Kafir, Tabdi’ is declaring someone an innovator, and Tadlil is to declare someone misguided]
When he realizes that he is about to be vanquished
As the knights meet in the battlefield,
He says, “complain of him to the Qadis, either they will
Pass judgement, or if they do not, I shall complain of him to the Sultan.
Say to him, ‘this weakens the kingdom, rather
It causes its collapse as with so-and-so.’
And when he calls you to the Messenger and his judgement,
Then call him, all of you, to the opinion of so-and-so.
Disable him before his affair grows great
Due to the strength of his followers and supporters.
And when you gather in assemblies speak noisily (to drown out the others)
And do so whenever he uses the Qur’an as evidence. [See Surah Fussilat (41:26)]
And seek victory with reports and testimony
Coaxed gently and with great care.
Do no task the witnesses how they witnessed
Nor at what time or even at what place.
Modify their testimony and except it irregardless of its condition
In fact, adapt it as much as you are able.
And when they bear witness, declare them trustworthy,
And listen not to any who criticizes them.
Say, ‘their trust worthiness is certain,
We will not reject it for the word of so-and-so.
It is established to the judges, in fact, they judged by it
So criticism of it is not possible.
Whoever comes to criticize them, let him have
A back hard like stone.”
(Their) warring and insults and enmity.
And may ar-Rahman save you from beating
And punishment and cursing and imprisonment.
And he mourned for the people of his time saying:
Additionally, I am being tested by
Four (types), each of them full of animosity;
A rude, harsh, ignorant man feigning knowledge
Wearing a large turban and a broad cloak,
A man feigning Fiqh, yet well-versed in ignorance
He is deprived of any knowledge or understanding,
One having a poor mix of the various sciences
And he mixes erroneous thought with irrational talk
He complains to Allah of (his) rights wrongfully
Out of his ignorance as if he is suffering an ailment
He is ignorant, feigning knowledge of medicine, he gives verdicts to mankind
And he attributes that to the Decree of ar-Rahman.
The private parts of the creation cry out, as he does their blood,
And likewise their rights, to Allah against him. [This is because the Qadi passes judgement concerning issues involving marital rights, bloodshed, and other rights]
He has no knowledge accept Takfir and
Tabdi’ and Tadlil and false accusations. [Takfir is to declare someone a Kafir, Tabdi’ is declaring someone an innovator, and Tadlil is to declare someone misguided]
When he realizes that he is about to be vanquished
As the knights meet in the battlefield,
He says, “complain of him to the Qadis, either they will
Pass judgement, or if they do not, I shall complain of him to the Sultan.
Say to him, ‘this weakens the kingdom, rather
It causes its collapse as with so-and-so.’
And when he calls you to the Messenger and his judgement,
Then call him, all of you, to the opinion of so-and-so.
Disable him before his affair grows great
Due to the strength of his followers and supporters.
And when you gather in assemblies speak noisily (to drown out the others)
And do so whenever he uses the Qur’an as evidence. [See Surah Fussilat (41:26)]
And seek victory with reports and testimony
Coaxed gently and with great care.
Do no task the witnesses how they witnessed
Nor at what time or even at what place.
Modify their testimony and except it irregardless of its condition
In fact, adapt it as much as you are able.
And when they bear witness, declare them trustworthy,
And listen not to any who criticizes them.
Say, ‘their trust worthiness is certain,
We will not reject it for the word of so-and-so.
It is established to the judges, in fact, they judged by it
So criticism of it is not possible.
Whoever comes to criticize them, let him have
A back hard like stone.”
When this is their preparation, then let your answer be,
"Will you reject it with enmity to Allah?"
From the book: Al-Kafiyah Ash-Shafiyyah, by Imaam Ibnul Qayyim (rahimahUllah)
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