AL WALA' WAL BARA'
ACCORDING TO THE AQEEDAH OF THE SALAF
(Love and Hate for
Allah's Sake)
by Muhammad Sa'eed Al
Qahtani
What
Negates Islam
~ Chapter 8
of the Book, entitled: 'Al Wala' wa'l Bara' Authored by:
Muhammad Sa'eed Al Qahtani ~
A
Summary of What the 'Ulamaa Say
The 'Ulamaa have mentioned ten actions
that negate Islam. These are:
First, associating other dieties
with the worship of the One God Who has no partners. Allah (Ta'aala)
says:
{Verily,
Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship)
with Him, but He
forgives whom He Wills sins other than that...}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 4: Ayah
116)
Second, relying on
an intermediary between oneself and Allah (Ta'aala) when seeking
intercession.
Third, refusal to condemn the
kufr of those who rely on other deities instead of Allah (Ta'aala), or
doubting that they are disbelievers, or approving of their religion, is
itself disbelief.
Fourth, belief that there is a
more perfect guidance than that of the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa
sallam), or that there is a form of governance that is preferable to
this, such as someone who prefers the rule of tyrants to that of the
Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam).
Fifth, dislike of any part of
the Revelation, even though one may act upon it, is disbelief. Allah (Ta'aala)
says:
{That
is because they hate that which Allah has sent down (this
Qur'an and
Islamic Laws); so He has made their deeds fruitless.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 47: Ayah
9)
Sixth, disparaging
any part of the Deen or any aspect of reward or punishment:
{Say:
'Was it at Allah and His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons
signs,
Revelations,
etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?' Make
no excuse; you
have disbelieved after you had Believed.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 9: Ayat
65-66)
Seventh, practising
magic, either black or white, is proof of disbelief:
{...but
the shayateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such
things that came
down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but
neither of these
two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said,
'We are only for
trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).'}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 2: Ayah
102)
Eighth, helping and
assisting the disbelievers in overcoming the Muslims:
{And
if any amongst you takes them (as Auliya' [friends, protectors,
helpers]),
then surely, he
is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people
who are
dhaalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers and unjust).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 5: Ayah
51)
Ninth, belief that
it is not necessary to follow the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam),
and that it is permitted to step outside the Law of Allah (Ta'aala), as
al Khadir did when he exceeded what had been revealed to (Prophet) Musa
('alayhee salaam). This is disbelief.
Tenth, wilful neglect of Allah's
Deen, neither learning it nor acting upon it. Allah (Ta'aala) says:
{And
who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayat of his
Lord, then turns
aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from
the mujrimun
(criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 32: Ayah
22)
No distinction is made as
regards these actions in terms of intention, whether a person is joking
or serious or even acts out of fear. The only excuse is compulsion.
These ten actions are extremely dangerous and exceedingly common. Every
Muslim should beware of them and feel a real fear in his heart of even
drawing near them. (1)
We will now take a closer look [Insha'
Allah] at two of these matters which are particularly relevant to our
discussion, because of the significance and the proximity of the danger
that they represent, and because this will clarify matters regarding
political legitimacy, loyalty and opposition.
The first matter is the
disbelief of someone who maintains that some other guidance is
preferable to that of the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam), or
that some system of governance other than that which he established is
better:
Ruling
by Other than What Allah has Revealed
The marginalisation of the Sharee'ah,
its disappearance from the mainstream of Islamic life and its
replacement by laws formulated by ignorant humans is a modern heresy
that has arisen during the last few centuries of the life of our
Community. This has happened despite the fact that Muslim societies had
for centuries sheltered under the protection of the Sharee'ah, which
provided for everyone's security, whether the governor or the governed.
Although some people were disobedient, some more than others,
nevertheless the guiding principle, both in public and private life
alike, was provided by the Sharee'ah.
Similarly, the continuation of the
Jihad, the pushing back of the frontiers of disbelief and the raising up
of the Word of Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala) throughout the world,
carried on over and above this.
Thus the charge that the
Sharee'ah,
that Islamic Law, is deficient, reactionary, and incompatible with
progress in the modern world, is something that could not have been made
until the rise of European colonialism and the resulting forgetfulness
of the Muslims: they forgot Allah (Ta'aala) and so He made them forget
their own souls.
We find, however, much guidance in the
Qur'an and in the Sunnah that clearly speaks about the governance of the
Community. This most surely constitutes a part of our Belief, and is one
of the most essential elements of our 'Aqeedah.
Allah (Ta'aala) says:
{And
whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed,
such are kafirun
(disbelievers.)}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 5: Ayah
44)
and:
{And
whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such
are the
dhaalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 5: Ayah
45)
and:
{And
whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed (then) such
(people) are the
fasiqun (the rebellious i.e. disobedient to Allah).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 5: Ayah
47)
And He (Ta'aala) says:
{Do
they then seek the judgment of (the days of) ignorance?
And who is
better in Judgement than Allah for a people
who have firm
Faith.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 5: Ayah
50)
and:
{But
no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you
(O Muhammad)
judge in all disputes between them, and find in
themselves no
resistance against your decisions, and accept
(them) with full
submission.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 4: Ayah
65)
and:
{Or
have they partners with Allah (false gods) who have instituted
for them a
religion which Allah has not ordained?}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 42: Ayah
21)
And He (Ta'aala) says in Surat an Nur:
{
They (hypocrites) say: 'We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger,
and we obey.',
then a party of them turn away thereafter, such are not
Believers. And
when they are called to Allah (i.e. His Words, the Qur'an)
and His
Messenger, to Judge between them, lo! a party of them refuses
(to come) and
turns away. But if the truth is on their side, they come
to him willingly
with submission.
Is their a
disease in their hearts? Or do they doubt or fear lest Allah and His
Messenger should
wrong them in Judgement. Nay, it is they themselves
who are the
dhaalimun (polytheists, hypocrites and wrong-doers). The only
saying of the
Faithful Believers, when they are called to Allah (His Words, the
Qur'an) and His
Messenger, to Judge between them, is that they say: 'We hear
and we obey.'
And such are the successful (who will live forever in Paradise).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 24: Ayat
47-51)
And He (Ta'aala) says in
Surat an Nisaa:
{And
whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right Path
has been shown
clearly to him, and follows other than the Believers' Way,
We shall keep
him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell -
what an evil
destination!}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 4: Ayah
115)
Then Allah (Ta'aala) exposes the claims
of those who say they are Believers, but who prefer to be ruled by
disbelievers:
{Have
you seen those (hypocrites) who claim that they believe in that
which has been
sent down to you, and that which was sent down before
you, and they
wish to go for judgement (in their disputes) to the taghut
(false judges)
while they have been ordered to reject them.
But Shaytaan
wishes to lead them far astray. And when it is said to
them: 'Come to
what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger',you
see the
hypocrites turn away from you (O Muhammad) with aversion.}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 4: Ayat
60-61)
One of our 'Ulamaa summed this up
nicely when he compared the person who wishes to substitute secular law
for the Sharee'ah to a beetle that loves the smell of urine and faeces
but hates the fragrance of roses and musk. (2)
And He (Ta'aala) says:
{Those
who oppose Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad),
they will be
among the lowest (most humiliated).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 58: Ayah
20)
The worst form of dispute is to oppose
Allah and His Messenger and to turn away from the Sharee'ah of Allah
(Ta'aala), and the Sunnah of His Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam).
The humiliation that the Muslims are today experiencing throughout the
world is only a natural consequence of their having abandoned the
Sharee'ah. Muslims today are numerous but they are like flotsam on a
full tide. They have been seduced by the basest of nations and conquered
by the most degenerate of people.
Indeed, the words of
the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa
sallam), have come
True: He (salallaahu 'alayhee wa
sallam) said:
'These
nations will call one another to invade you as people call one another
to come and eat
from one bowl.'
Someone asked: 'Will
it be because we are so few?'
He
(salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam)
replied: 'Indeed
no, in these days you will be many
but you will be
like flotsam and jetsam on the sea, for Allah
(Ta'aala)
will strip fear of
you from the
breasts of your enemies and He will cast Al Wahn into you.'
They said:
'What
is Al Wahn?' He
(salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam)
said:
'Love
of the world and a distaste for death.'
(3)
A large part of the
imbalance in Muslim life today is due to the handiwork of men who,
disguised as scholars, have persuaded people to substitute human
speculation for the Sharee'ah of Allah
(Ta'aala).
Surely they will carry the full burden of their actions, and also that
of those whom they have led astray, until the Day of Resurrection. Islam
will not be sullied by them. May Allah
(Ta'aala)
preserve the 'Ulamaa from among our rightly guided predecessors who
guarded the gates of Islam so that none of its enemies could penetrate
beyond them.
Ibn Katheer discusses
the condition of the Muslim Nation in the days of the
Tatars.
Discussing in his tafseer the ayah: {Do
they then seek the judgment of (the days of) ignorance?
}
(5: 50), he
says,
'The
Law of Allah (Ta'aala) encourages whatever is beneficial and discourages
whatever is detrimental. Allah (Ta'aala) has rejected all who would
depart from it, and who accept the views, opinions, and conventions
determined by men without any support from the Sharee'ah. This was done
in the times of the Jahiliyyah, when people ruled by chance and blind
conjecture in accordance with their own views and opinions.
So too do the Tatars rule, in
accordance with their own royal policy, pronounced by their king Ghingis
Khan, which they call the 'Yasaq'. This 'Yasaq' is a hotchpotch of all
the rules and systems that he has come across, taken from the Jews and
Christians and the Muslims, with many elements added which are based
purely on his whims and fancies. This, the Tatars say, is the law of the
land to which they give precedence, above the Book of Allah (Ta'aala)
and the Sunnah of His Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam).
Whoever amongst them does this is a
disbeliever who must be opposed until he returns to the Rule of Allah
(Subhannah wa Ta'aala) and His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa
sallam).
Such a person should not rule even for
a day.'
(4)
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn
Ibraheem Al ash Shaykh outlines the ways in which a ruler may commit the
greater disbelief (Kufr ul Akbar) that takes a person out of Islam:
If the ruler who rules by other than
the Revelation of Allah (Ta'aala) challenges the legal obligation to
rule by the Sharee'ah then he is outside Islam. This is the meaning of
what has been reported by at Tabari on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (radiallaahu
'anhu), who said that there is no disagreement among the 'Ulamaa about
someone who challenges the legitimacy of the Sharee'ah; that this is a
fundamental point about which everyone agrees; and that anyone who
challenges a fundamental point of Belief - or even a secondary issue
that all the 'Ulamaa are agreed about - or who denies any part of the
Revelation out of hand, is a disbeliever and is not a part of this
Community. (5)
If such a ruler does not challenge the
legitimacy of the Sharee'ah, but believes that he rules by a better
system of law than that which the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhee wa
sallam) observed, a system which in his opinion is more coherent and
more suited to the needs of the people in the face of their changing
needs and circumstances, then there can be no doubt that he too is a
disbeliever. He has formulated a rule that can never compete with that
of Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala). There is no issue whatsoever whose
answer is not contained in the text of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, either
explicitly or implicitly; whether or not a person knows this is a
different matter.
If a ruler does not believe that what
he has is better than the Sharee'ah, but still thinks that it is at
least equal to it, then he is like the others. This is disbelief that
takes him out of the Community, because it seeks to equate a creature
with his Creator. This is also true if someone believes that a ruler has
a right to deviate from the Sharee'ah in the way that the three types of
rulers outlined above do.
It is even worse still when a person
stubbornly supports his own rule in opposition to that of Allah
(Ta'aala) and His Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee wa sallam),
aggrandising it at the expense of the
Sharee'ah.
This is what modern secular rulers do, whose recourse is to French,
British and American law, or to whatever else they please to choose from
non-Muslim systems.
What could be greater
disbelief than this?
What could be more excessive than this in contradicting the declaration
of Faith, 'There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger'?
(6)
Finally, there is the
disbelief of many chieftains of the tribes and clans of the Bedouins -
and others like them - who cling to the tales of their ancestors, to
their habits and traditions. These form a kind of inherited common law
by which they rule themselves in preference to, and in spite of, the
Revealed Law of Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala).
Then there is the type of
disbelief that does not take one out of the Community, and which Ibn 'Abbas
(radiallaahu 'anhu) termed 'a disbelief less than disbelief'. Thus
someone who is overcome by his own desires in a particular situation may
act contrary to the Sharee'ah, and yet still be aware that he is acting
wrongly. He may later reproach himself for his error and failure to
follow the guidance of Allah (Ta'aala). Even though this action does not
take him out of the Community, it is still a very great sin, greater
than fornication or drinking or theft. Allah (Ta'aala) has called this
'disbelief', so it is more grave than other wrong actions which have not
been described in this fashion. (7)
It is because of the significance and
importance of the matter that we have examined the subject of governance
in detail. To ally oneself with a ruler who does not rule by what Allah
(Subhannah wa Ta'aala) has revealed, to approve of his rule and the
implementation of legislation under his authority - saying this is
lawful, without the Permission of Allah (Ta'aala) - is a contradiction
of the declaration of Faith. Allah (Ta'aala) is the only God, to whom
all devotion from the heart is due, in love, and in awe, and in
obedience, and in submission.
Such behaviour is a contradiction of
the statement, 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah', since
whoever truly believes this will follow what the Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhee
wa sallam) has commanded and leave what he has forbidden and what he has
criticised. If people only understood this fact then tyranny could not
persist, nor could it establish disbelief and push the Sharee'ah of
Allah (Ta'aala) to one side.
The second matter that should
be considered in this context is the helping and assisting of the
disbelievers against the Muslims.
Helping the disbelievers Against the Muslims
Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala) says:
{And
if any amongst you takes them (the Jews and Christians, as Auliya'
[friends,
protectors, helpers]), then surely, he is one of them. Verily, Allah
guides not those
people who are dhaalimun (polytheists
and wrong-doers
and unjust).}
(The Noble Qur'an, Surah 5: Ayah
51)
This is a major
contradiction of the declaration of Faith into which many people today
have fallen. They are nominally Muslims and still apparently within the
fold of the Faithful. And yet, we have come to feel a certain
embarrassment when it comes to calling a spade a spade, to saying to the
supporters of kufr, 'You are disbelievers!'
Some people even see this as an
impertinence in view of the wonder and awe, and the fear and anxiety,
that they feel for the enemies of Allah (Subhannah wa Ta'aala). And so
the matter of setting the pace, of setting an example, has given way
under the weight of their feebleness of faith. They are dazzled by the
enemies of Allah (Ta'aala) and long to be like them, even to the point
that if they entered the hole of a lizard they would follow them into
it.
Footnotes
1) Imam
Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab, Mu'alafat, 5/212-214.
2)
Abi Hibbatu'llah Isma'il al Khateeb,
Tadheer Ahl al Iman 'an al Hukm bighayri ma Anzala'r Rahman, in Rasa'il
al Muniriya, 1/139.
3) Abu Dawud,
Kitab al Malahim, 4/484, (4297); Mishkat al Masabih; also al Bayhaqi; al
Albani classifies it as sahih.
4) Ibn Katheer,
Tafseer, 3/123.
5) Tahkim al
Qawanin, p.5.
6) ibid. p.7.
7) ibid. p.8.
Formatted and Edited by Abu Suhayb
Due to the inferiority of the original
Qur'anic translations in this chapter - which was that of Muhammad
Pickthall's - all translations of Qur'anic text have been changed to
texts from the: 'The Noble Qur'an': A summarized Version of
At-Tabari, Al Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir with comments from Sahih al
Bukhari. Summarized in One Volume. Translation by Dr. Muhammad
Taqi-ud-Deen Al Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.
Maktaba Dar-us- Salam: Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, 1995
|
