Note: It is not my intention whatsoever to get into any sort of debate/dialogue about the following. I will provide sources and links to further resources throughout; you are kindly requested to research material yourselves. As Sheikh Hamza Yusuf said once, “We have become an Ummah of listening. Did you hear so-and-so?” etc, etc. I.e. we have become word-of-mouth people. So take the time, work through resources, material, books and websites because this is too crucial an issue to be just waved away into the pile of everyday mail that you probably receive. I am talking about the difference between the Good Pleasure of Allah and His Divine Anger.
If you are opposed to any of this, you have a right to be, as Allah says in His Book (“Let there be no compulsion in religion”) in which case please do not waste your time in sending me an email about exactly how you are opposed. But if you honestly want further clarification on any of the following then do not hesitate to get in touch.
I am laying out to you what a Sunni is as I have been taught from childhood by parents and relatives all the way up to being a disciple of an Eminent Scholar of Islam and the Ahl us-Sunnah.
Right now there is a silent war raging for the souls of the believers and I’m not talking about the one between Islam and the West. There is another war that is raging parallel to it and just like we have to choose whether we are with Islam or the West, we additionally have one more choice to make: the Ahl us-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah. We are either with it or we are with the hell-bound deviant sects. It is as clear as crystal, confirmed by countless contemporary and classical Scholars that this is the one saved sect, and it is also as clear who a Sunni is and who isn’t when you meet people.
I do not want to make this long-winded (like I sometimes end up doing!), so I will try and keep things short and then if you want further clarification (like I said above) you can research the matter further.
I have addressed the issue of Wahhabis in my previous articles, but I want to zero in on a branch of Wahhabism that was founded on the Indian sub-continent towards the beginning of the 20 th century: the Deobandis. Everyone knows the Fatwa of Kufr that was passed on the apostate Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (whom the Ahmadis/Qadianis follow). What I do not hear people mention often is who else was addressed in the same collection of Fataawa (plural of fatwa). Ghulam Ahmad was accompanied by the following individuals:
I repeat the summary of the above fatwa again: The above four mentioned are Apostates and Kaafirs. Apostasy, and in particular abusing, reviling or insulting the Messenger of Allah, in Shar’iah is immediately punishable by death. Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal were even of the opinion that even if this type of apostate repented, his blood should still be shed. If a Kaafir repents, according to Shar’iah, he has to restate the Kalima and if he was married when he became apostate, he has to contract a fresh marriage as his previous marriage is annulled on him becoming apostate and kaafir, this is how serious a matter it is.
The main fatwa is very famous, having been issued in 1900 C.E. by the Ulema (Scholars) of Makkah and Madinah Shareef; this was well before the Hijaz and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula came under the authority of the Al-Sa’ud dynasty. Full details of the fataawa can be found in Sirat ul Ahl us-Sunnah, as well as Husam al-Haramain, by the Great Reviver of Islam, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan of Bareilly (may Allah be pleased with him) who led the campaign to expose the apostates after investigating the books in which they described their beliefs. Further samples of blasphemous quotes from the apostates’ books can be found here: http://www.ahle-sunnat.org.uk/SATSCH3.html (you will have to scroll down some) The following is but one extract of a view of a major Scholar of Madinah Shareef documented in the work, Husam al-Haramain, to give you an idea of the gravity of the matter and what is at stake. I would love to copy all of the quotes out, but for brevity I shall just transcribe this one extract from which you should be able to get the picture:
The Teacher of Masjid Nabawi Sharif, Sheikh Abdul Qadar Taufeeq states:
“All praise to the one Allah and Durood and Salaam to he who there is no Prophet after and to his family and followers and their Hamd and Salat as to which has been proven that relates to him (Holy Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam) that Ghulam Ahmed Qadiyani and Qassim Nanotwi and Rashid Ahmed Gangohi and Khalil Ahmed Ambethwi and Ashraf Ali Thanvi and those who have been mentioned in the question, then of course this is an order of KUFR to them and the order which is given to all apostates, meaning to give them the sentence of death to go ahead and if this cannot be performed there, then it is necessary for Muslims to stay away from them and look at them with hatred on mimbars in mosques and in books and in groups etc. so that in the hope their intentions are burnt and their Kufr is openly known in the fear that their deceit does not come into the Islamic world.”
(Husam al-Haramain Pages 157/158)
Unfortunately, in some mosques in England I have heard people praising Ashraf Ali Thanvi (also known as Hakeem ul-Ummat amongst his admirers, who authored ‘Bahishti Zewar’, a famous book in Pakistan). It seems also that Deobandism and Tableeghism is being spread at an alarming pace in India and Pakistan, as I was to realise when I want there (to Pakistan) this year. Nearly every fourth person has been on a Tableeghi “round” and a worrying number of madrassas and Islamic Shar’iah colleges (also called a ‘Dar ul-Uloom’) seem to be of the Deobandi ilk. We must be aware of these issues at least for the sake of our relatives who live back there in those countries and who are simple Muslims, easily swayed and convinced.
The third named (Ambethwi) was the spiritual guide of the founder of the Tableeghi Jama’at on the sub-continent, Muhammad Ilyas, who himself uttered very incorrect statements in his works, definitely deviant if not heretical and blasphemous. Funnily enough, they were all members of the Sabiria branch of the Chishti order. Details of their relationships can be found in the book:
‘The Big Five Sufi Saints of India and Pakistan’, by W. D. Begg, p.221.
Suffice it to say, the Deobandis are ‘nice’ Wahhabis, but they are still Wahhabis. Although, I am not saying that every Deobandi is a kaafir (since only those four in the fataawa above have been explicitly named), the Deobandis and Tableeghis of today freely quote their work, possibly unawares as to their blasphemous statements. The Sayyed and Sheikh Muhammad bin Yahya told me once, “be careful who you love, because you will be raised (on Qiyamah) with the one you love.” If you love people who revile the Messenger of Allah, then you will be raised amongst them.
The reason that the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia and the Deobandis of India aren’t readily distinguishable from Sunnis is that the other sects (such as Shi’as, Ahmadis and the Nation of Islam) along with having their own inner actions (i.e. beliefs) have also developed their own outward actions (i.e. schools of law). So you can distinguish, for example, Shi’as by the way they pray. The reason why Wahhabis, Deobandis and Tableeghis are not OBVIOUS sects is that outwardly they conform to the Sunnis’ schools of law (e.g. Hanbali for Arab Wahhabis and Hanafi for Indian Wahhabis (i.e. Deobandis/Tableeghis)). But inwardly, their beliefs are in utter contradistinction to that of the Prophet, the Sahaba, the Ulema, all the Anbiya and the Awliya. Their beliefs are derived through concepts, ideas and methodologies that are foreign to the Ahl us-Sunnah and even sometimes to the religion of Islam itself.
People have to understand that there are 3 types of groups in the Qur’aan:
-Muslims (Good outwardly and good inwardly)
-Hypocrites (Good outwardly and bad inwardly)
-Disbelievers (Bad outwardly and bad inwardly)
A deviant may or may not be good outwardly but inwardly he will definitely be bad to an extent i.e. some of his beliefs will be wrong.
I have talked to many (mainly Pakistani) aunts and uncles, and unfortunately they are too taken in by deviants’ outward good actions without checking to see what their beliefs are. I myself have seen this on my trip to Pakistan earlier this year, where people treat ‘pious’ Deobandis with such respect. We must understand that our pious actions are meaningless and absolutely and utterly worthless if they are not accompanied by correct beliefs.
So below, I shall give a quick rundown of the beliefs and practices of the Ahl us-Sunnah. A brother once said to me that a sinning Sunni is better than a pious deviant. He must derive this idea from what the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wasallam) taught us: that the worst Muslim is still better than the best disbeliever. In other words, the emphasis is on correct belief, rather than just ‘pious actions’ as the Tableeghis stress.
My good Sheikh once said that there is a perfect litmus test to see which sect is the right one: it is the one that loves the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wasallam). The devotion, awe, love and respect with which Sunnis look to Habeeb-e-Mustafa (sallallahu alaihi was aalihi wasallam) with is not found in any other sect.. A further distinguishing factor between Sunnis and others is that other sects not only mistranslate but they also misinterpret and even ignore whole portions of the Qur’aan and countless Ahadith.
Below is a quick rundown of Sunni beliefs and practices, taken from pages 282-283 of the groundbreaking volume entitled ‘Sirat ul Ahl us-Sunnah – exposing the beliefs of the deviant sects, from Sirat ul Muslimin, Manchester:
Additionally:
To the one who demands proof for the above only and directly from the Quran and Ahadith (plural of hadith), you will not find it there word for word. But it does lie in the following four TOGETHER:
-Qur’aan
-Sunnat-e-Rasool
-Ijma (consensus) of the Scholars
-Qiyas (analogies)
Not everything is derived WORD FOR WORD from the Qur’aan and Ahadith. Also Ahadith is not the same as the Sunnat-e-Rasool. I do not want to get into a laborious legal discussion, however, since there is ample material for that elsewhere. I will be happy to refer you to some if you like, though, but for now I will cite two important contemporary books in this field:
Over the past few years, I have seen quite a few Muslims who have turned Khwaarij (and mind you, the Wahhabis ARE the modern-day Khwaarij. For more clarification see: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/wahhabi.htm) It has saddened me that they now do not hesitate to label their mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends and relatives all kaafir at a moment’s notice. I myself fell into that frame of mind, temporarily, and now in retrospect I feel very ashamed. These young and impressionable students are unfortunately taken in by the simple, attractive and easy-to-understand slogans like “Qur’an and Sunnah, brother”, “verses and hadiths” and “Tawheed”. If you disagree with them then they consign you to Jahannum straight away as more than one Wahhabi has done to myself personally. These people have arrogantly turned their backs on a rich, 1400-year-old tradition of scholarship and are now propagating their own narrow-minded and corrupt understanding of Islam. The Sunnis are carriers of mercy, not wrath and we must stop these careless accusations of ‘kufr, bid’a, shirk’. It is destroying the unity of the Muslims, and according to Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, such people are devils: stubborn, arrogant, argumentative and accusing.
The Sunni beliefs and practices are long established, well grounded in the Qur’an and Sunnah and they are irrefutable. Most of you if not all of you will be familiar with these beliefs and practices, the reason being that your parents have been raised as Sunnis and have therefore raised you as Sunnis too. You should be proud of who you are and must not let the line between Sunni and Wahhabi become blurred as I have heard many a brother say, “Oh brother we are all Muslim at the end of the day.” This is true, but only one group of Muslims have Allah’s blessing and you should want to be a part of that group and not want any disease to creep into it. I urge the brothers and sisters, especially at universities where there are many Wahhabi students studying side by side with Sunnis, to not let yourself be deluded by their seemingly outward piety and righteousness. To those who might think, “Tauseef is causing a tribulation by writing this”, you need to WAKE UP. Let me ask you the following question: Would you similarly not want me to expose Shi’as and Qadianis if they were to start to convert Sunnis? He himself (sallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wasallam) said: “Allah will never allow my Ummah to unite upon misguidance and incorrect beliefs. Allah’s mercy, blessings and protection are with the largest group of Muslims. And he who deviates from this largest group of Muslims will be thrown into Hell.” (Tirmidhi) Below are some characteristics from (again) Sirat ul Ahl us-Sunnah by which Wahhabis and their offshoots like Deobandis and Tableeghis may be recognised:
(For more hadiths, sources and analysis see my ‘Saudi and Wahhabi Revelations’ article (attached, for references’ sake))
Many Wahhabis of the modern era follow and conform to the heretical doctrines of the likes of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (whose theology is based upon Ibn Taymiyya’s doctrines) and anyone who quotes these two in a discussion must be reminded of their heretical nature. A letter to Ibn Taymiyya from Hafiz Imam al-Dhahabi, his former student, is transcribed here at the following link to give you an idea of what exactly this man (Ibn Taymiyya) was all about: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/dhahabi.htm
A short but concise biography of Ibn Taymiyya is also available here: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/ibntaymiyya.htm. For material on Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and his beliefs and life story, refer to the ‘Saudi and Wahhabi Revelations’ article.
At this point, I would like to insert an extract from Sirat ul Ahl us-Sunnah that lists some of the deviant, heretical and blasphemous beliefs of Ibn Taymiyya. These were collected by the 8 th century Scholar, Taj ad-Din Subki (Allah shower him with mercy), who listed Ibn Taymiyya’s disagreements with the Ahl us-Sunnah, some of which are listed in the extract taken from page 210 of the volume above:
He denies the fact that the Prophets are sinless. One does not have to think deeply to consider the consequences of his beliefs, which run contrary to our belief in Allah Ta’ala and the teachings of His religion. (End extract) Additionally, Ibn Taymiyya published statements that "Allah's 'hand', 'foot', 'shin' and 'face' are literal (wan auoozo billahi mina shaytaan nirajeem!!) (haqiqi) attributes, and that He is upon the Throne in person", but maintained that they are unlike the feet, hands, face of humans in any way.
For more information and sources relating to the above and on Ibn Taymiyya, see: http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/itay_e.html To put it simply, the people of the leaning of Ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab have complicated and heretical beliefs and a simple, yet deceptive Shar’iah. Sunnis have simple and beautiful beliefs and a huge, deep and merciful ocean of a Shari’ah.
Primary Objective
The main focus of Sunnis now should be to purge these poisonous attitudes and deviant and heretical beliefs from the minds of Muslims and bring them back into a correct, devotional and loving frame of mind. We cannot sit on the fence or be pacifist about this issue any longer. It is said that the Prophet used to chase people into Islam; these self-styled Salafis are now chasing people out of it. Let us follow the Sunnah way of attracting our (un-practicing) brothers and sisters to Islam and not drive them away. The harsh and impractical interpretation of Islam that the literalists employ is a sickness upon the human condition, the soul and the heart. Allah will no doubt hold these people to account for turning His religion into some sort of dry, autocratic, and tyrannical philosophy. It broke my heart when I read the following article, which is an example of what Wahhabism/Deobandism/Tableeghism/Literalism does to a human: ‘The Wahhabi who loved Beauty’, by Kerim Fenari. Go to: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/wobb.htm
On a positive note, I can guarantee you that if you are sincere in staying on the Straight Path then Allah will not let you down. Trust me on this. I know three Muslims personally who temporarily became trapped in the literalist mindset, and later came to realise how wrong they were and began to appreciate yet again how deep Islam really is and how much of a mercy it is. The best thing to do is to decide on where you stand, and then do Salaat ul-Istikhaarah with pure sincerity (details can be found almost anywhere of how to do this), which is a prayer of 2 nafl and then a du’a to Allah to keep you guided on a named matter. Another critical thing to do is to find yourself a Sheikh to guide you in the tri-lateral matters of belief, jurisprudence and spirituality. If you do not want to take bai’ah (pledge) into a silsila/tariqa, then AT LEAST associate yourselves with the honourable Ulema (Scholars) of Ahl us-Sunnah. They are everywhere, here in England, in Pakistan or anywhere else. You just have to go to them yourself because they cannot reach all Muslims by themselves plus we need them more than they need us. The Ulema are, at the end of the day, the Guardians of Islam.
It is a very problematic position we are in today, with simple-minded young Muslims pronouncing sentences of disbelief on the greatest humans that ever lived; true friends of God, after a few days reading Qur’aan or reading a hadith then taking it out of context. The worst thing I believe that has happened is best summed up in a poem that I heard somewhere, and with this I shall end this email. May Allah, the Most Generous, keep us steadfast with the Ahl us-Sunnah, and if we have strayed from it then may He with His boundless Favour, Mercy and Wisdom bring us back to the ‘Greater Majority’, characterised with and only with, our boundless and intoxicating devotion and love for the Beautiful, Beloved Prophet who will intercede for us tomorrow on the Day of Qiyamah. I swear by Allah that we do not do him justice.
Poem:
If Isa ibn Maryam descends tomorrow,
If the Dajjal emerges tomorrow,
If the Sun rises from the west in the morning,
If the Mahdi calls us tomorrow,
If Gog and Magog start their rampage now,
If the hill has cracked and the Beast has emerged.
Nay, these are not true signs of the Rising.
For what the prime and true sign of it has already come to pass.
For me the sign of Qiyamah is that we have to prove now the Greatness of Mustafa now not to the disbelievers for they already shower praise upon him in abundance,
But to the Believers themselves.
How wretched a condition we are in.
We tear to shreds him who wept for us, fought for us, prayed for us, lived and died for us.
He on whom we are to depend on that Great Day of Terror.
Are there no limits to the lows we stoop?