الدفاع عن السنة The defence of the Sunnah

Episode 21: Attack on the Sunnah: His upbringing and evolution (3-4)

In the Statement of Omar ibn Al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - that the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - said to Aisha: (O Aisha! As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the least; they are the people of heresy and the people of whims, they have no repentance. Lo! I am clear of them and they are clear of me) (1)
Heresy, following whims, non-conformity to and abiding by the rule of Allah and His Messenger, has been the evil that disturbed the purity of this nation, and caused rifts between her sons; the starting point had been the heresy of the Kharijites. The first to start it in the era of the Prophet - peace be upon him -: was an ignorant and arrogant Bedouin, who stood between the hands of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - objecting to his rule in the apportionment of money, which came from Yemen. The Companions have described to us that man, saying: (a man with sunken eyes, protruding cheeks, prominent forehead, thick beard, shaved head and of short garment). He had said to the Prophet - peace be upon him – with the tone of the commander who pretends knowing after the apportionment of the Prophet - peace be upon him – of the money: (Fear Allah!). The prophet, peace be upon him, said to him: (Woe to you! Do I not deserve most to fear Allah amongst the people of the earth?).
When he returned, the messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - looked at him and said: (From this very person's posterity, there would arise people who would recite the Quran glibly, but it would not go beyond their throats; they would glance through the teachings of Islam so hurriedly just as the arrow passes through the pray) (2).
The Arch scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, said: (the first of heresies to appear in Islam and the most manifestly invective in the Sunan and the Trails, is the heresy of the rogue Harooris (3). The first one of them said to the Prophet - peace be upon him - to his face: Do justice, O Mohammed! For you have not done justice. The prophet - peace upon him - ordered to kill them and fight them. The Companions of the Prophet - peace be upon him - fought them with the Commander of the Faithful Ali bin Abu Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him) (4).
But the heresy of the Kharijites was soon extinguished, and people lived throughout the life of the Prophet - peace be upon him - and throughout the succession of the two Arch Successors (Abu Bakr and Omar), following the book of their Lord and treading in the steps of the Sunnah of their Prophet - peace be upon him. Heresies do not know a way to them, nor do indulgence and deepening find a way to their inner selves, apart from individual cases, which are eliminated in their infancy. By the end of the era of Uthman - may Allah be pleased with him - when the Islamic conquest spread to many countries, some of those whose hearts Islam did not conquer, due to them being new to it, and their lack of understanding thereof, embraced Islam. Also those who did not originally want Islam, but embraced it hypocritically in order to plot against Islam and its people, lurked among these. The results of that was the emergence of an armed revolution against Uthman - may Allah be pleased with him - at the hands of a band of ragtag and insolents, led by a wicked malicious Jewish person, who is Abdullah bin Saba’ Al-Humairi, which ended with the murder of the rightly-guided Successor Uthman bin ‘Affan - may Allah be pleased with him - wrongfully at the hands of these. This was the first weakness.
Then came the era of Ali - may Allah be pleased with him - where the sedition of the murder of Uthman bin ‘Affan - may Allah be pleased with him - and the subsequent wars for two heresies facing each other: the heresy of the expiatory Kharijites towards Ali - may Allah be pleased with him - and some of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - and the heresy of the Rafidhah (the rejecters) who claim his clerical leadership and infallibility, or his prophethood or divinity, then the egression of the groups followed in succession after that:

At the end of the era of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them - during the succession of Abdul Malik bin Marwan - the heresy of the Marjanah and the Qadaria occurred. At the beginning of the era of the Followers- at the end of the Umayyad Caliphate - the heresy of the Jahamis and the Mushabbihah mutilators occurred (5).

Ibn Katheer said: (The first heresy to take place in Islam was that of the Kharijites. Their instauration was because of worldly gains, when the Prophet - peace be upon him – distributed the spoils of Huneyn, as if they saw in their rotten minds that he did not do justice in his distribution!
They surprised him with this statement. Their skeptic, who is the owner of the small loin, may Allah disembowel his waist, said: do justice, for you did not do justice! The Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - said to him: (A hopeless and a loser, you are! Does He trust me over the people of the world and you do not trust me?! When the man finished, Omar bin Al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased him -, and in another narration: Khalid bin Al Waleed, sought permission to kill him. He - peace be upon him -said: (Let him! From this very person's posterity (his type) there would emerge a people, and you would hold insignificant your prayers as compared with their prayers, your fasting compared to theirs and your recitation compared to theirs. They would glance through the teachings of Islam so hurriedly just as the arrow passes through the pray. So when you meet them, kill them, for in their killing you would get a reward for the one who kills them) (6). Then was their emergence during the days of Ali bin Abu Taalib - may Allah be pleased with him - who annihilated them at Nahrawan. Out of these, peoples and tribes then branched, views and passions, articles and many widespread doctrines. Then the Qadaria emerged, followed by Al-Mu’tazilah, then the Jahamis and other heresies about whom the Truthful and Trustworthy- peace be upon him – informed in his saying: (this nation would split into seventy-three sects, all of which are in the fire except one). They said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: (those who follow that which my Companions and I follow) (7).

(1) Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in the Ramifications of Faith (5/449-450), Abu Na’eem in Adornments (4/138) and At-Tabaraani in As-Sagheer (1/303) from the statement of Abu Hurayrah. Al Haythami said in Al Mujamma’ (7/22, 23). The Isnad of At-Tabaraani in As-Sagheer is good.
(2) Narrated by Muslim, The Book of Zakat, the chapter pertaining to the mention of Kharijites and their attributes (2452).
(3) The Harooris: they are the Kharijites, so named for their adherence to a place known as: Haroora’.
(4) Madjmu’ Al Fataawa (19/72).
(5) See: the book: Minhaaj As-Sunnah (6/230-233) and As-Sawaa’iq Al-Murslah (1/147 151).
(6) See: the Kharijites and their attributes in Sahih Muslim, Book of Zakat, the chapter pertaining to the mention of Kharijites and their attributes (2449-2456) and Al Musnad (616) and Ibn Hibbaan (24).
(7) ‘Umdatut-Tafseer (1/353) and the Statement is narrated by At-Tirmidhi, Book of Faith, the chapter pertaining to what came in the split of this nation (2641) and said: This Hadith is Hasan Ghareeb, and has been interpreted. We do not know it like this apart from this side.

Episode 22: Attack on the Sunnah: His upbringing and development (4-4)

The seriousness of the band of Kharijites - the first of the bands to emerge – is that it rejects the command of the Prophet - peace be upon him - with insolence and intrepidity, and contravenes what he came up with. This contradicts what they allege that they believe in him as a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds. The credence in him as a messenger requires his obedience; this is why when the first one of them said to the prophet - peace be upon him -: (Do justice! For you have not done justice!). This saying of his was a justification from him to betray and do injustice, in what Allah has entrusted him of money! How does that reconcile with the claim of this person who says that he believes in him as a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds?! That is why the Prophet - peace be upon him – said to the likes of this man: (Does the One in heaven trust me and you do not?).
These (Kharijites) have rejected the established recurrent Sunan (duties), claiming that they contravene the Quran, such as their rejection of the provision of stoning, their denial of the minimal amount (prescribed amount set by jurisprudence) which warrants chopping off the hand of a thief. They claim that the married adulterer is flogged and not stoned, and that the thief gets his hand chopped off, whether (he stole) a little or a lot.
The Arch scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, says: (They do not see following the Sunnah, which they think contravenes the Quran, such as in stoning, the minimum amount in the case of theft, and other than that. Therefore, they went astray) (1), and this rejection of the Sunnah is not because of their denial of the truth of transmission from the Messenger, peace be upon him, but it is a rejection of the utterance of the Messenger, peace be upon him.
The Arch scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, says concerning that: (The Kharijites made it permissible on the Messenger himself to be unjust and strays in his Sunnah, and did not enjoin his obedience and his following, but believed him in what he conveyed of Quran, without that which he legislated from the Sunnah, which contravenes- as they claim – the evident meaning of the Quran) (2).
Those who came after them from the deniers of the Sunnah were more cunning than them. They did not proclaim as these did by rejecting the Sunnah, but they started to trick for that by various means.
The Arch scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, says: (the majority of the people of heresy outside the Kharijites follow them on this. They see: that the Messenger - peace be upon him - if he stated unlike their discourse, they would not have followed him, as ‘Amr bin ‘Ubeyd tells on the Statement of the truthful trustworthy, but they refute the accusation from themselves melancholically: by denying the transmission, or: by interpreting the transmitted. They sometimes contest the chain of narration, and sometimes the text (of the Hadith). Otherwise, they are neither following nor led by the reality of the Sunnah, which the Prophet - peace be upon him –came up with or even by the reality of the Quran) (3).
Those (people) have erred by refusing the Sunnah, and fell into serious errors, including: they considered Muslims infidels due to sins and evil deeds, and they deemed permissible (to shed) their blood and (take) their money, and made the house of the Muslims a house of war, and their house a house of faith. The reason for this, as the Arch scholar of Islam says, is: (their break away from the Sunnah and their making that which is not a bad deed, a bad deed, and that which is not a good deed, a good deed... In this partakes the innovations which contravene the Sunnah. The one that says it, must prove that which the Sunnah has denied and denies that which the Sunnah has proven, makes good that which it made repulsive, or make hideous that which it made good. This much may be done by some scholars by mistake in certain issues, but the people of innovation contravene the apparent narrated Sunnah) (4).

The noble Companions and those who followed them in truth had faced this band and the likes of it from among the people of innovations, so they denied them their innovations, and warned people against them.
According to Omar bin Al-Khattaab - may Allah be pleased with him – he said: "(The opinionated are the enemies of the Sunan, they failed to memorize the Hadiths, and they slipped out of their grasp to understand them, and they were embarrassed when they were asked to say: We do not know. They opposed the Sunan with their opinion, so beware of them) (5).
According to Abu Qulaabah, he said: "(Do not socialize with the people of whims, and not argue with them, for I trust not lest they submerge you in misguidance, or confuse you in the religion in some of that in which they were confused) (6).
According to Al-Hasan Al-Basri, he said: "(Do not sit with the people of whims, nor debate with them, nor hear from them) (7).
Then Allah - the Almighty - consecrated in each of the eras (someone) who stands up to these stray bands and their words on the lookout, faces their darkness with the light of truth. These are the bearers of the Sunnah. They were made aware by Allah and His Messenger of that which is stated in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and were enlightened by the approach of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - in their exposure of misguidance and suspicions, and the more the people of misguidance continued in their stubbornness and despotism in refusing the truth, the more the people of truth widen the response to them and expose their falsehood.
Ibn Al Madini – May Allah have mercy on him – says concerning the Statement of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him -: (There will always be a group of my nation victorious, upon the truth...), they are the people of Hadith, who committed themselves to the doctrine of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - and protect the knowledge. Without them, the Mu’tazilah, the Rafidhah, the Jahamis and the people of Irja’ (postponements) and opinion would have annihilated the people) (8).

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(1) Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa (13/208).
(2) Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa (19/73).
(3) Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa (19/73).
(4) Majmoo’ Al-Fataawaa (19/72).
(5) Narrated by Ibn Abd Al-Barr in Jaami’ Bayaan Al-‘Ilm (2001), and Al-Khateeb in Al-Faqeeh Walmutafaqqih (479).
(6) Narrated by Ad-Daarimi (1/120) and Al-Aajuri in Ash-Sharee’ah p.56.
(7) Narrated by Al-Laalkaa’ee in Sharh Usul I’tiqaad Ahl-Assunnah (1/133).
(8) – Miftaahul Jannah, p. 48.

Episode 23: The debate of Imam Ash-Shaafi’i (204 AH) against the rejecters of the Sunnah.

The first one to be known that he debated with the rejecters of the Sunnah, sustained the argument with them and the response to them, is Imam Ash-Shaafi’i - may Allah have mercy on him - he mentioned in his main book (Kitaab Jamaa’ Al-‘Ilm, the chapter pertaining to the story of the saying of the party who rejected all reports). Ash-Shaafi’i mentioned there a dialogue, which took place between him and a member of this band (who is ascribed to be knowledgeable in the doctrine of his fellows).
And here is the summary of the argument of those who rejected all reports, as told by Ash-Shaafi’i about them: that the Quran came to explain everything. When the Hadiths brought new provisions, which were not in the Quran, that was in opposition from the presumptive proof, which are the Hadiths, to the peremptory proof, which is the Quran; and the presumptive does not have the strength to oppose the peremtory. When the Sunnah came to confirm the rule of the Quran, the following was for the Quran and not for the Sunnah. When it came to elucidate that which the Quran summed up, that was to elucidate the peremptory, which renders infidel the one who denies a single letter from it, by means of the presumptive, which renders infidel the one who denies its confirmation, and thus it is incumbent that they accept the Hadiths if they were recurrent, because they imply the definite by their confirmation. They, however, do not admit them as axioms, for they are rather presumptive for them too, because they came from single presumptive methods; so the probability of lying in their narration stands, even if they were a great crowd) (1).
The answer of Imam Shafi'i – may Allah have mercy on him – about the suspicions of those can be summarized as follows:

1 - That Allah has enjoined upon us to follow His Messenger and this is universal including those who were in his time, and all that will come after that. There is no way to that for those who had not seen the Prophet - peace be upon him – except through the Hadiths, so Allah Has commanded us to follow them and accept them, because that which the duty is not complete without it, is a duty.
2 – That there must be acceptance of the Hadith in order to know the provisions of the Quran itself, for the abrogating (provisions) and the abrogated (provisions) can only be known by reference to the Sunnah.

3 - That there are provisions agreed upon among all scholars and Muslim communities as a whole, even those who deny the probativeness of the Sunnah, and that is such as the number of obligatory prayers, the number of their rak'ahs, the minimum amount of possession liable for payment of the Zakat (Almsgiving) and others. There was no way of knowing them and proving them, except from the Sunnah.

4 - That the legislation had come to specify the peremptory with a presumptive, as in the testimony on murder and wealth, for the sanctity of the self and wealth are unequivocal. The testimony of two (people) has been accepted in them, and is presumptive without argument.

5 - That the reports, even though they may admit mistakes, illusion and lies, but the eventuality following ascertainment, the sureness about the uprightness of the narrator, comparing the narratives with accounts of his fellow narrators has become less than the probability stated in testimonies, particularly if the backup of the narrative is a text from the Book or the Sunnah, then the probability would be non-existent.

6 - Ash-Shaafi’i – may Allah the Almighty have mercy on him - did not mention, in this emplacement, the answer to their saying: Allah revealed the Book as explanation to everything, and mentioned it in many emplacements of his book Ar-Risaalah.
His answer was: that Allah did not make mention in the book about each of the subsets of the Law, but elucidated the fundamentals of the Law, its sources, regulations and general principles. Among the fundamentals He elucidated: the necessity to practice the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, as in the verse: (So take what the Apostle assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you) (2).

From the opening chapter of the book (Ar-Risaalah) by Imam Ash-Shaafi’i, he finds that he responded lengthily to those who refuse argue by the Sunnah, or parts of it, like those who refused to argue by reports from single narrators (3).
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(1) – Consult Kitaabul Umm (7/250). See also: Defense of the Prophetic Hadith, p. 101, Al-Adhwaa’ As-Sunniyyah ‘Ala Madhaahib Raafidhiy Al-Ihtijaaj Bissunnah Annabawiyyah p.24, 25 and following pages.
(2) – Surah Al Hashr, 7.
(3) - See: Al-Adhwaa’ As-Sunniyyah, p. 27.

Episode 24: Ibn Qutaybah follows Ash-Shaafi’i in the response to the enemies of the Sunnah.

Ibn Qutaybah follows Ash-Shaafi’i in the response to the enemies of the Sunnah.
We have already gone through the interlocution of Imam Ash-Shaafi’i concerning those who deny the Sunnah. Then came the third century AH, in which of Imam Ash-Shaafi’i died on the fourth year of its beginning, to mark the golden age for the compilation of the Sunnah, its purification and its chronicling, where the Musnad of Imam Ahmad has been chronicled, the two Sahihs, the four books of the Sunan and other books.
Nevertheless, that century also included the attempted destruction of the hallowed Sunnah. If we look for example to the book (Ta’weel Mukhtalif Al-Hadith) (Interpretation of Conflicting Narrations) by Ibn Qutaybah, who died in 276 AH, we see that he made his book on the response to the enemies of the people (adherents) of the Sunnah, and the combination between the reports, which they alleged were waning and conflicting, and the reply to what they set forth from calumnies, with regard to certain comparable reports, or the issue to start with. Ibn Qutaybah does not content himself to replying to the calumnies and to clarify the misunderstanding of those who kindle those calumnies, but talks about the persons themselves, who kindled them, so that the reader grasps the cause of their hostility towards the people (adherents) of Hadith.
He cited An-Nadh-Dhaam, and says: An-Nadh-Dhaam existed as a cunning, sly person from the Shuttaar (a crime syndicate which emerged in Baghdad in 201 AH). He goes out drunk and comes back drunk, spends the night sipping it flowingly, embraces defilements, commits obscenities and shameful acts, etc...
He cited that An-Nadh-Dhaam broke away from the consensus of the community, slandered Abu Bakr, Omar, Ali, Ibn Mas’ood and Abu Hurayrah. Ibn Qutaybah then commented, following this, by saying: This is what he says - An-Nadh-Dhaam - in the Companions of the Messenger of Allah - peace be upon him - and may He be pleased with them, as if he did not hear of the statement of Almighty Allah in His Holy Book: (Mohammed is the Apostle of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other...) to the end of the Surah (1), and did not hear of the statement of the Almighty: (Allah was pleased with the Believers when they swore allegiance to you under the Tree: He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down Tranquillity to them...) to the end of the verse (2).
After talking about An-Nadh-Dhaam and his response to him, he says: "Then we come to the word of Abu Hudheil Al-‘Allaaf, we find him a liar and a scandalmonger, etc... (3), thus continued Ibnd Qutaybah in his book.
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(1) Al-Fath, 29.
(2) Al-Fath, 18.
(3) See: Ta’weel Mukhtalif Al-Hadith (Interpretation of Conflicting Narrations), p. 17/42.

Episode 25: Ash-Shaatiby responds also to the enemies of the Sunnah.

Ash-Shaatiby responds also to the enemies of the Sunnah.
Of those who defended the Sunnah and responded to its enemies, particularly those who relate the events restricting themselves to the Holy Book, is Imam Ash-Shaatiby , and that is in his worthy book (Al Muwaafaqaat) (The Conformities). He had said in them: ((the restriction to a book is the view of a people who do not have a share in happiness, transgressors against the Sunnah, since they relied upon that on which it has been founded, in that the book has the explanation of everything. They alienated the provisions of the Sunnah, which led them to disconnect from the Community, and the interpretation of the Quran contrary to what Allah has revealed)) (1).
And Ash-Shaatiby - may Allah have mercy on him - understood the purpose these were aiming for. Ash-Shaatiby had related several trails from the Predecessors inciting the confrontation of those who argue in the Quran with the Sunnah, as Omar bin Al-Khattaab - may Allah be pleased with him- said: (there will come a people who will argue with you by means of vagueness in the Quran, so face them up with the Hadiths, for the adherents to the Sunan know best the Book of Allah).

The statement of Abu Ad-Dardaa’ - may Allah be pleased with him-: (among that which I fear for you is the fault of a scholar and the argument of the one who professes belief in the Quran), and the statement of Ibn Mas'ood - may Allah be pleased with him -: (You will find people inviting you to the book of Allah, which they threw away behind their backs, so then stick to (religious) knowledge, and beware of coming up with a heresy, and beware of overstating, and keep to the old (ways) (2).
Ash-Shaatiby reported that scholars contextualize these texts to validate the interpretation of the Quran according to judgments, with presentation of the Sunan. He then determined that which the rejecters of the Sunnah aim for. He said: (a lot of the heretics alienated the Hadiths and interpreted the Book of Allah contrary to its interpretation, so they misled and were misled). Their aim is not the sanctification of the Book of Allah, but the manipulation of the Book of Allah.
Since the Sunnah has been a fence that protects the Quran from manipulation, they directed their efforts to shun it, in order to achieve validation through the Quran of their corrupt views without denial. Those whose intention was good and they think, in all honesty with themselves that by shunning the Sunnah they are venerating the Book, are wrong. This path leads to ignorance about the Book and its alienation.
Ash-Shaatiby – may the mercy of Almighty Allah be upon him, says: - (the Sunnah elucidates the comprehensive, restricts the absolute and details the comprehensive. It takes a lot of Quranic expressions out of their evident meaning in the origin of the language. If they were presented, and he followed the seeming expressions merely in pursuit of whims, such a consideration has become erratic in his view, ignorant about the book, stray in misguidance, wherein he is not guided to the truth, as minds do not realize the benefits and detriments in worldly behaviors, but very little, and in the ones relating to the Hereafter, is altogether far removed) (3).

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(1) See: Al-Muwaafaqaat (The Conformities), 3, 11.
(2) See: Al-Muwaafaqaat (The Conformities), 3, 12.
(3) See: Al-Muwaafaqaat (The Conformities), 3, 14.

Episode 26: As-Suyuty followed the footsteps of those who defended the Sunnah before him

In the time of Imam As-Suyuty (911 AH) a Muslim sect attacked the Sunnah and refused to hold it as a proof. Thereupon, Imam As-Suyuty exerted a lot of efforts to defend the Sunnah and wrote a book to refute their claims which was entitled: Muftah Al Jannah fi Al Ihtijaj bissunnah (The key of Paradise to hold the Sunnah as a proof). He wrote in the introduction: "Let it be known that there is a kind of knowledge that is like medicine and there is a kind of opinions that is like bathrooms that are not mentioned or meant except at necessary. However, something occurred recently, but had rooted long time ago which is: Rafidi heretic people has spoken lengthy and badly about the Prophetic Sunnah and the reported Hadiths (may Allah exalt and raise their honor) and claimed that they should not be held as a proof. They claimed that only the Qur'an should be held as a proof, then mentioned the following Hadith: (what has been reported from me, compare it to the Qur'an, if you find a source (matching the same meaning), then take it (and act accordingly), otherwise reject it). Thus, I as well as other people heard this speech from him. Some people did not pay attention to it while others neither know the origin of this speech nor from where it emerged. So, I decided to explain to the people the origin of this speech, explain its falsehood, and to show its bad consequences on Muslims." (1)
As-Suyuty spoke about the origin of that corrupt speech saying: The origin of that corrupt opinion is that heretics and a group of the Rafidah (a Shi`ah group denying the caliphates of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and `Umar ibn Al Khattab, making accusations against them and many other Companions of the Prophet) refused to hold the Sunnah as a proof and depended only on the Qur'an as a proof. They were of different doctrines: Some of them believed that prophethood was basically came to Ali and that Gabriel (Peace be upon him) had made a mistake by descending on the Master of Prophets (i.e., Muhammad peace be upon him) may Allah be Exalted of what they claim. Some of them admitted that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the original prophet but said: Caliphate was genuinely the sole right of Ali, but when the Companions gave homage to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), those wretched people (may Allah curse them) said: The Companions have converted from Islam when they oppressed Ali and gave homage to someone who did not deserve it. Moreover, they claimed that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was a disbeliever because he did ask for his right. As a result, they rejected all Hadiths because they were reported by disbelievers, indeed we are possessed by Allah and indeed to Him we shall return.
It was not permissible to mention those opinions, but it was necessary to mention them to explain the corrupt opinion of those people." (2)
As-Suyuty (may Allah be merciful with him) mentioned that the people who used to hold these opinions were present abundantly in the time of the Four Imams (Abu Hanifah, Malik, Al-Shafi`y, and Ahmad) and those who followed them. The great Four Imams (Abu Hanifah, Malik, Al-Shafi`y, and Ahmad) and their companions refuted their claims in their lessons and debates. (3)
Furthermore, As-Suyuty mentioned in his book many sayings of great scholars before him, confirming that holding the Sunnah as a proof is a fundamental basis of religion, as he reported their refutations to the claims of that corrupt doctrine.

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(1) Muftah Al Jannah p. 11.
(2) Muftah Al Jannah p. 12.
(3) Ibid. p. 12

Episode 27: Orient lists and their students repeat the same claims and doubts in modern time (1/2)

The sedition of attacking the Sunnah has not abated in this time, but the attacks increased and orientalists and their westernized students are the leaders of these attacks.
Al `Aqqad mentioned in his book "Al Islam Fi Al Qarn Al `Ishrin (Islam in twentieth century)" that Europe has set plans to attack Islam by commanding its experts and thinkers to study Islam and outline the elements of power so that they can fight it based on knowledge.
Those elements of power were: The Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the personality of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
This abstract shows why attacks are focused on the Sunnah?
The meaning of the Sunnah according to the European experts is the theoretical aspect of the Prophet's saying which are represented in his current certified Hadiths.
As for the personality of the Prophet (peace be upon him), it means to them the behavioral, practical, and moral aspect because he is the high moral example to follow for those who have believed and done righteously.
Moreover, the Hadith of the Prophet (the Sunnah) is the record of his behavior and the elements of his personality.
In this context, we understand clearly why attacks are focused on the Sunnah, because it represents two elements of power in Islam, which are:
1- The huge heritage of Hadith.
2- The personality of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
These are the priorities which are laid by the enemies of Islam to eradicate it because they understand that if they succeed to drop the Sunnah from the lives of Muslims, they will succeed to drop the Glorious Qur'an without approaching it because Muslims cannot apply the Qur'an without the Sunnah, as it is the explanation of the Glorious Qur'an.

The students of orientalists spread their poisons:
There were times during which the West was executing this mission by itself then they found (the alternative) which was the Muslims who are fascinated by them: A deceived group which received education at the hands of orientalists and that group drank the purposes and diseases of the West, so they no longer see but by Western eyes, do not hear but by Western ears, and do not understand except by Western minds. They were charged with doubts which they pushed into education houses and media to spread their poisons and to arouse doubts in the Sunnah. Hence, they left no rule of Hadith but aroused doubts in its value and importance and did not leave a narrator of the grand narrators either from the Companions and the Followers but aroused doubts about him, accusing them with terrible accusations in order to reject all their narrations.
Furthermore, they did not leave a book from the Sunnah which the entire nation approved and attested for its narrators with knowledge, understanding, and virtue but doubted its fundamentals its narrators, chain of transmissions, and texts.
Among the most eminent students was: Mahmoud Abu Rayyah who wrote "Adwa' `Ala As-Sunnah Al Muhammadiyyah (Lights on the Prophetic Sunnah)" book which was not lights but darkness. The was full of attacks against the Sunnah and its narrators, as he attacked the authentic Hadiths in their most authentic sources [books of authentic Hadiths]. Many times he declared his denial to many Hadiths that were reported in Al Bukhari, Muslim, and others. Moreover, he claimed that the books of authentic Hadiths contain many Israelite and Christian narrations (reported from the Jews). He ignored the rules and standards which the scholars of Hadith laid to identify authentic and fabricated Hadith.
You can realize his approach in grading a Hadith as authentic or weak from the following: He said: "I have come to know the Hadiths and narrations reported from the Messenger (peace be upon him) to the extent that I take what I take with full contentment and leave what I leave while my heart is comfortable, and there is no harm in taking or leaving these narrations (because I can distinguish well the authentic from the fabricated)." (1) He made his reason and mind a standard to accept or reject the Hadith. However, if we accept his approach, the Sunnah will be a toy in the hands of people; each group belie what the other group believes in.
Abu Rayyah went too far in attacking Abu Hurayrah by saying: "History recorded that he was gluttonous and used to eat daily in the house of the Prophet or in the house of anyone of his friends to the extent that some of them used to run away from him." (2) Moreover, he denied the Hadiths that were reported from the way of that venerable Companion.
By writing such a book, Abu Rayyah opened a great door of evil and many hateful people followed his steps, so there is no writer has attacked the Sunnah but benefitted from the doubts of Abu Rayyah.
It is enough to know that the roots of Abu Rayyah's doubts trace back to the writings of the enemies of Islam. This is not a claim against him but a truth which he wrote in his book: "Whoever wants to know more about the Israelite and Christian narrations found in Islam may refer to the books of Hadith, history, and to the books of the orientalists such as Goldzieher and Fone kramer." (3) However, those who follow the same way in attacking the Sunnah will not reach their goal but will keep wandering in darkness until they die at the end out of envy and hatred because Allah (Glory be to Him) has undertaken to protect His Religion. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'ân) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)." (4)

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(1) Adwa' `Ala As-Sunnah Al Muhammadiyyah p. 13, first edition 1958, Dar At-Ta'lif Print House.
(2) Adwa' `Ala As-Sunnah Al Muhammadiyyah p. 154.
(3) Adwa' `Ala As-Sunnah Al Muhammadiyyah p. 148. And see: Al Adwa' As-Sunniyyah `Ala Madhahib Rafidy Al Ahtijaj Bas-Sunnah An-Nabwiyyah p. 33-39.
(4) [Surat Al Hijr: 9].

Episode 28: Orientalists and their students repeat the same claims and doubts in modern time (2/2)

Allah (Exalted be He) says: "They (the disbelievers, the Jews and the Christians) want to extinguish Allâh's Light (with which Muhammad peace be upon him has been sent? Islâmic Monotheism) with their mouths, but Allâh will not allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kâfirûn (disbelievers) hate (it)." "It is He Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islâm), to make it superior over all religions even though the Mushrikûn (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh) hate (it)." (1)
In confirmation to this divine promise, Allah has assigned guardians to the Sunnah throughout history to guard it against the distortion, falsehood, and ignorance, therefore those guardians wrote many great writings anciently and recently in this field, of which:
1- Ar-Risalah (the message) and Ikhtilaf Al Hadith (Difference of Hadith) by Imam Al Shafi`y.
2- Ta`wil Mukhtalif Al Hadith (Interpretation of contradicted Hadiths) by Ibn Qutaybah.
3- Sharh Mushkal Al Athar (Explanation of contradicted narrations) by Imam At-Tahawy.
4- As-Sunnah Wa Makanataha Fi At-Tashri` Al Islamy (the Sunnah and its status in Islamic Shari`ah) by professor Mustafa As-Siba`y.
5- Difa`an `An As-Sunnah (In defence of the Sunnah) by professor Muhammad Abu Shuhbah.
6- Hujjiyat As-Sunnah (The Sunnah as a proof) by professor `Abdul-Ghany `Abdul-Khaliq.
7- Zhulumat Abu Rayyah (Darknesses of Abu Rayyah) by Sheikh Muhammad `Abdur-Raziq Hamzah.
8- Al Anwar Al Kashifah Lima Fi Kitab Adwa' `Ala As-Sunnah Min Al Zalal Wal Tadlil Wal Mujazafah (Guiding lights to the doubts, delusions, and ignorance reported in the book of Adwa' `Ala As-Sunnah) by `Abdul-Rahman Al Mu`alimy Al Yamany.
9- As-Sunnah Qabl At-Tadwin (The Sunnah before documentation) and Abu Hurayrah Rawiyat Al Islam (Abu Hurayrah the narrator of Islam) by professor Muhammad `Ajjaj Al Khatib.
10- Dirasat Fi Al Hadith An-Nabawy Wa Tarikh Tadwinuh (Studies in Prophetic Hadith and its history of documentation) by professor Muhammad Mustafa Al A`zhamy.
11- Al Hadith wa Al Muhaddithun (Hadith and its narrators) by Muhammad Abu Zahw.
12- As-Sunnah Fi Muwajahat Al Abatil (The Sunnah against falsehood) by Muhammad Tahir Hakim.
13- As-Sunnah Al Muftara `Alayha (the attacked Sunnah) and As-Sunnah Bayna Al Wahy Wal `Aql (The Sunnah between revelation and reason) by Counselor Salim Al Bahnasawy.
14- As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah Wa Mata`in Al Mubtadi`ah Fiha (the Prophetic Sunnah and the attacks of the attackers) by professor Mikky Al Shamy.
15- Al Mustashriqun Wal Hadith An-Nabawy (Orientalists and the Prophetic Hadith) by professor Muhammad Baha' Al Din.
16- As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah Bayna Du`at Al Fitnah Wa Ad`iya' Al `Ilm (The Prophetic Sunnah between the callers of sedition and the claimers of knowledge) by Professor `Abdul-Mawjud `Abdul-Latif.
17- Shubuhat Hawla As-Sunnah Wa Dahdiha (Doubts around the Sunnah and their refutations) by professor Khalil Mulla Khatir.
18- Ihtimam Al Muhadithin Benaqd Al Hadith Sanadan Wa Matnan Wa Dahd Maza`im Al Mustashriqin Wa Atba`ihim (The interest of the scholars of Hadith in criticizing Hadith texts and the chains of narrations, and refutation of the claims of orientalists and their followers) by professor Muhammad Luqman As-Salafy.
19- Al Qur'aniyyun Wa Shubuhatuhum Hawla As-Sunnah (Those who believe only in the Qur'an as a proof and their doubts about the Sunnah) by professor Khadim Husayn Ilahy Bakhsh.
20- Ad-Difa` `An As-Sunnah (Defending the Sunnah) and As-Sunnah Fi Muwajahat A`da'iha (The Sunnah against its enemies) Dalalat Munkiry As-Sunnah (The illusions of those who deny the Sunnah) by professor Taha Ad-Dusuqy Hibish.
21- Dawabit Al Riwayah `Anda Al Muhaddithin (Standards of accepting narration according to the scholars of Hadith) by professor As-Siddiq Bashir Nasr.
22- Daf` Ash-Shubuhat `An As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyayh (Defending the Prophetic Sunnah against doubts) by professor `Abdul-Muhdy `Abdul-Hady.
23- Mawqif Al Madrasah Al `Aqliyyah Min As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah (The stance of the rational school of thought toward the Prophetic Sunnah) by professor Amin As-Sadiq.
24- As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah Fi Kitabat A`da' Al Islam Munaqashatuha Wa Ar-Rad `Alayha (The Prophetic Sunnah in the writings of the enemies of Islam -discussion and refutation) by professor `Imad As-Sayyid Ash-Shirbiny.
25- As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah Bayna Kayd Al A`da' Wa Jahl Al Ad`iya' (The Prophetic Sunnah between the cunning of enemies and the ignorance of claimers of knowledge) by professor Hamdy As-Si`idy.
There are other books and letters in this field in addition to the efforts of the famous scientific foundations and websites.
Thus, we note that the scholars of the nation are full aware of the plots set against the fundamentals and sources of the nation. Doubts and delusions will reinforce their firm belief of their religion, strengthen their refutation to these claims, and add to their determination to continue. "So that those who were to be destroyed (for their rejecting the Faith) might be destroyed after a clear evidence, and those who were to live (i.e. believers) might live after a clear evidence." (2) "And those who do wrong will come to know by what overturning they will be overturned." (3)

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(1) [Surat At-Tawbah: 32-33].
(2) [Surat Al Anfal: 42].
(3) [Surat Ash-Shu`ara': 227].

Episode 29: the attackers of the Sunnah in the past and recently (1- 2)

Previously, we spoke about the history of attacking the Sunnah and the stages which the Sunnah has been through. During our speech, we mentioned some of the sects which denied and attacked the Sunnah. Here, we shall mention in detail those who attacked the Sunnah anciently and recently, but let me first draw your attention that the attackers of the Sunnah belong to different sects and groups, and their denial of the Sunnah is of different degrees:
1- Some of them have denied the entire Sunnah such as the Rafidah (a Shi`ah group denying the caliphates of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and `Umar ibn Al Khattab and making accusations against them and many other Companions of the Prophet) and like Ghulam Ahmad Berwiz who established (The society of the people of the Qur'an).
2- Some of them have denied the Sunnah but only approved the frequent practical Sunnah, such as Salah, Zakah, fasting, and Hajj (pilgrimage), which is the creed of Al Mu`tazilah (a Muslim sect) and many of the people who recently deny the Sunnah.
3- Some of them admit the Sunnah, but they do not hold the single narrations as a proof in the matter of creed such as many of the logicians.
4- Some of them do not have a fundamental or a criterion, but they deny this or that Hadith because it is contorary to his or her reason or whim, or because of something in themselves. (1)
Some may ask: Why should we speak about these sects?
Although the stances of those sects from the Sunnah and from the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were quite clear, they have a great impact in the disparity of the Muslim nation into parties and groups. From this standpoint comes the importance of studying these sects because of the following:
First, although these sects were old and their founders were not important, but the point is: these sects exist in our time. If we examine some of these past sects such as the Kharijite (Those who believe only in the Qur'an), we will find that it has other examples in our modern time. Likewise, Al Mu`tazilah whose ideas are still vivid and some of those, who are fascinated by the West, use them day and night. Accordingly, they began to glorify reason and use it in the texts of the Shari`ah, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, so when they find something in harmony with their reasons, they accept it; otherwise they reject it or interpreted it in a way that harms the creed of Muslims. Moreover, they accuse those who hold the Qur'an and the Sunnah as proofs of deterioration and solitude.
They want to deviate from the Islamic Shari`ah, but they did not dare frankly to do it. So, they found that covering behind these opinions is the best mean to achieve their goal, so they resorted to glorifying these ideas in order to achieve their far goals.
Hence, the importance of studying these sects shows up to explain their destructive ideas and opinions which are contrary to the reality of Islam and to show how those people who follow their steps adopt and spread these ideas in modern times. Let it be known that no current sedition or a claim but appeared long time ago because there is an heir to every people and Allah has said the truth when He said: "So said the people before them words of similar import. Their hearts are alike." (2)
Moreover, it is important to reveal the mask of these movements and destructive ideas which some people adopt these days. Furthermore, it is important to uncover their dangerous role in attacking and defaming Islam (represented in attacking the Qur'an and the Sunnah) from one side and spreading division and difference in the rows of the nation from another side, so we have to expose their thoughts and reality to the people to be aware of them.



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(1) See: Qadaya Manhajiyyah Wada`awiyyah p. 62.
(2) Surat Al Baqarah: 118.

Episode 30: The attackers of the Sunnah in the past and recently (2- 2)

In the previous episode, we mentioned the first point in the importance of studying the sects which attacked the Sunnah. In this episode, we shall continue our talk about the rest points:
Second, studying these sects reveals to us the roots of trials which dispersed the powers of Muslims, separated them into sects, and made them harsh toward one another. It also reveals for us the roots of doubts which the enemies of the Sunnah cast against the Sunnah in modern time. (1)
Third, the creed of the sects which showed up anciently were based on some deniable acts, however they claim to be the true sects and other sects were erroneous. So, they mixed the truth with falsehood and uncovered their deviation from the Qur'an and the Sunnah in glittering shapes to disseminate their heresies and to call the people for them.
So, it is important to study these sects to expose their harms on the Islamic creed and the unity of the nation, and to refute the claims of those who said that the Kharijites were part of the Companions and that Al Mu`tazilah sect was also part of the Companions and the Followers and they rejected the Sunnah in the matters of creeds as the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the Kharijites did. Moreover, they claim that they conveyed the Qur'an and the rites of religion before the spread of the Predecessors' doctrine in the Muslim Nation. (2)
Fourth, ignoring the study of these sects, refuting their claims, and negating their false ideas give a room for deviant sects to do what they want and to call for their heresies and superstition without finding someone to study and refute their claims as the case nowadays. Many knowledge seekers as well as the public do not know the ideas of the current sects which work day and night to spread their falsehood.

Perhaps this inattention of Muslims to reveal these deviant sects is part of the planning of those deviant sects themselves who like to cover the eyes of Muslims so as not to see their reality and their criminal planning. The proof to that is these ideas and phrases which many Muslims repeat in many of their Muslim societies without knowing that their sources trace back to the Kharijites: Such as their saying: We only hold the Qur'an as a proof and we do not recognize the Sunnah as a proof.
Another idea such as making the blood of Muslims lawful for the least doubt and calling Muslims non-Muslims, but rather calling the entire Muslim societies as non-Muslims for any guilt. Some of these ideas come from Al Mu`tazilah such as glorifying reason and resorting to it in judging the texts of the Shari`ah, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, so what is in harmony with the reason is accepted and what is not shall be rejected. Some of these ideas come from the Shi`ite such as calling the Companions or some of them disbelievers, accusing them of lying, and talking about the sedition of `Uthman, Ali, and Mu`awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them all).
Some of these ideas come from Bahaism such as glorifying number 19 ...etc.
It is known that these false ideas trace back to the ignorance of some youth with the ideas and the goals of these sects which misled many youth of this nation in many Muslim communities anciently and recently.
Hence, it becomes clear the importance of studying these sects and revealing the mask from their desires and heresies to provide light for the Muslim youth in the middle of this intellectual darkness created by the followers of these sects which work in the dark to spread their ideas and to impose their plans which are against Islam. (3)




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(1) See: As-Sunnah Fi Kitabat A`da' Al Islam (1 / 73).
(2) See: Kashf Ash-Shubuhat `An Sheikh Al Ghazaly p. 63, 77, 94.
(3) See: Firaq Mu`asirah Tantasibu Ila Al Islam Wa Mawqif Al Islam Minha (1 / 22 26).