wasalm

May Allah guide us all to the truth…Ameen.

A Question from a Reader on my Islamic Education
Posted (anwar) in Imam Anwar’s Blog on August-12-2008

I have received the following question from one of the readers of my blog:

I am not sure how much you have noticed, but in the West, their is a campaign to undermine your personal credentials as an ‘Alim. The all-too-common tactic of attacking the ‘messenger’ rather than the message itself is being employed in these campaigns.

We want to be able to refute any false claims against you and support all of your works, wholeheartedly. Can you please provide us information regarding the Shuyukh that you have learned under in the past, and who you may be currently learning under? As well as, the source of your ‘ijaza, etc. This will be very important in refuting any slanderous attacks against your credibility.

ANWAR AL AWLAKI:

I have received this question in various forms and the frequency of it increased lately. Here is my response:

Alhamdulillah I have had the chance to experience the various methods of gaining Islamic knowledge through studying directly under shuyukh in their general circles or privately. I have experienced the regular academic method of university study, studying by correspondence, and studying directly from books.

Studying under shuyukh in their general circles:

I have attended the circles of the scholars of Makkah and Madina for a combined period of a few months and for a short while attended the circle of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen.

Studying under shuyukh privately:

In addition to an ijaza in Quran recitation according to the recitation of Hafs I have read and completed Sahih al Bukhari with Shaykh AbdulRahman Shumailah al Ahdal and he has given me ijazah to narrate Sahih al Bukhari from him through three high isnaads, one of them being the highest existing isnaad in the world. The other two he has received from his shuyukh in Makkah.

I have also read and completed Sahih Muslim and al Muwata by Imam Malik with Shaykh AbdulRahman and he has given me ijazah on both books.

I have studied al Minhaaj by Imaam Nawawi on Shafi fiqh with Shaykh AbdulRahman al Ahdal and Shaykh Hamud al Ahdal and received ijaza from both of them.

The above mentioned shuyukh have also given me ijazah to narrate through their isnaad the six books of Hadith, al Adhkaar by Imaam Nawawi, al Shifa by Qadhi Iyaad, and some other books in Shafi fiqh.

I have studied, traveled and lived with Shaykh Hassan al Ahdal and it was through him that I got to study with other scholars from this blessed family of scholars who are descendants of al Hussain bin Ali may Allah be pleased with them. They are based in al Marawa’ah in Tihama which is in the Western part of Yemen on the coast of the Red Sea and this is the land of the Sahabi Abu Musa al Ash’ari. He has given me a general ijaza in the six books of hadith, Buloogh al Maraam by Ibn Hajjar al Asqalani, Umdat al Ahkaam by al Maqdisi, al Minhaaj by al Nawawi, al Ghaya wal Taqreeb by Abu Shuja, and al Waraqaat by al Juwaini.
I have spent a short time with Shaykh Salman al Odah.
I have benefited considerably from the scholars I met in the US during the 90’s, a time in which there was a great influx of scholars in America.

And last but not least, I have benefited and continue to benefit from the Shaykh whom I trust his deen and know him to be a scholar who does not fear in the sake of Allah and is willing to stand up for the truth, Shaykh Hussein bin Mahfoodh. He is a friend whose relationship with me extends over the years. Until this day, I consult with him on the various important aspects of Sharia that I am presented with and I have continued to benefit from his knowledge and wisdom over the years. I have accompanied him and traveled with him and consider him to be one of the best scholars that I have come to know.

Regular academic university study:

In 2002 I was given permission from the administration of the University of Eman in Yemen to attend any class at any level and I took advantage of this and attended classes in Tafsir and Fiqh for a period of a few months. I have also benefited from the teachings of Shaykh Abdul Majid al Zindani the Rector of the University.

Studying Sharia by Correspondence:

I studied for two years through correspondence with the Islamic university in France. I lost interest and discontinued my studies with them because I reached the conclusion that it was not a proper method of disseminating Islamic knowledge. This was in the mid 90’s so things must have changed now in the field of correspondence study due to advances in technology.

Studying from Books:

After receiving the basics from the scholars and the keys of knowledge, learning from books is a lifelong practice of the seeker of knowledge.

My Ijazah:

In addition to the ijaza’s I have mentioned above I have a general ijaza in Quran, Sciences of Quran, Hadith, Sciences of Hadith, Tafsir , Fiqh, Usool Fiqh and Arabic from:

Shaykh Hassan Maqbooli al Ahdal
Shaykh Hussein bin Mahfoodh
Shaykh AbdulRahman Shumailah al Ahdal
Shaykh Hamud Shumailah al Ahdal

My purpose in writing this is not to pass fatawa, for the Sake of Allah, but to share information with my brothers and sisters which they may not have….

And then..trying to convince that your Fatawa Is right and is backed by heavy proofs.

If you all unite to Fight against shirk and Biddah in the same way as you are doing now.. Then Summa InshaAllah.. We all will HAve muslim rulers and that Is ALLAHs promise which is in Surah An Noor.

And we all know how much shirk has the garve worshipping sufis and shias have spread.Then we got people whose deen revolves only around certain bid’ah like Tableeghi jamat,Hizbut TAHREEK And mawlids.Then we have muslims who dont know the ABC of Islam.Why dont u raise your voice against this.

Asalamu alaykum,

My purpose in writing this is not to pass fatawa, for the Sake of Allah, but to share information with my brothers and sisters which they may not have. The information concerns:

A. What the Quran, Sunnah, and the Salaf say about making takfir on rulers?
B. Whether the Scholars are wrong for support the rulers?
C. Who the Khawarij are and What kufr duna kufr with respect to these rulers?
D. Advice to Muslims who follow government scholars

A.

What does Quran, Sunnah, and the true Salaf say about takfir and rulers?

The manifest proofs given by the pious scholars who show how the current rulers of the Muslim countries apostatize from Islam:

1. The Rulers are allies to Christians and Jews:
a. militarily (allies in the ‘war on terror’) building military bases for the kuffar in the
Muslim lands, letting them use Muslim airspace, and seas, all of this to kill
millions of Muslims
b. educationally (Crusaders and Jews design school curriculums to be used in the
Muslim countries. These curriculums denounce Jihad and denounce condemning
the Jews as Allah has already done in the Qur’an.)
c. spiritually (set up and promote inter-faith programs)

“Oh you who believe take not kafirs as allies (protectors) instead of the believers. Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest proof against yourselves? Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth of the Fire; no helper will you find for them.” (4:144-145)

“Oh you who believe don’t take the Jews and the Christians as allies, they are but allies of each other. And if anyone of you takes them (as allies) then verily he is one of them. Verily Allah does not guide the people who are Zalimun.” (5: 51)

“The disbelievers are allies and protectors of each other..” (8:73)

“Verily those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder men from the Path of Allah.” (8:36)

2. The Rulers obey every whim of the Crusaders, Zionists, and other kafir
members of the UN and NATO:
a. No Muslim is allowed to go help and fight along side the oppressed
Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Kashmire,
Somalia, etc.
b. Sanctions are placed on innocent Muslims in order to starve millions of them to
death
c. Crusader Military bases are built in Muslim lands to spy on, control , exploit and
murder Muslims

“Oh you who believe if you obey a group of the People of the Book they will render you as Kafirs after you have believed.” (3:100)

“ Oh you who believe if you obey those who disbelieve they will send you back on your heels and you will turn back (from Faith) as losers.” (3:149)

“Those who have turned back (have apostatized as kafirs) after the clear guidance came to them…This is so because they said to the people who hate what Allah revealed ‘We will obey you in part of the matter.’” (47:25-26)

3. The Rulers hate the establishment of Caliphate:
a. they desperately try to stop it.
b. if anyone mentions a word about wanting it in the land he is jailed and tortured.
c. they spend their wealth to stop the Mujahideen who try to establish the
Caliphate, building billion dollar fences to stop them from entering the country,
spending billions to train their security forces to capture or kill them..

And when it is said to them: ‘Come to what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger (sws) you see the hypocrites turn away from you with hatred.” (4:60-61)

“Verily those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder men from the Path of Allah.” (8:36)

4. The Rulers govern by Democracy and other non-Islamic systems
a. they have given licenses and permits legalizing haram (i.e. alcohol, interest,
printing and distributing pornography, etc.)
b. they have made laws criminalizing the halal (i.e. jihad, polygamy, etc.)

Allah (SWT) told us in the Qur’an that judgment and ruling belongs to Him Alone, and therefore He (SWT) doesn’t allow anyone to share in His Legislation, in His Judgment.

“So Al Hukm – The Judgment (Decision, Ruling) is only for Allah, The Most High, The Most Great.” (40:12)

“Al Hukm - The Judgment (Decision, Ruling) is only for Allah, He declares the Truth and He is the Best of Judges.” (6:57)

“Surely, for Him is Al Hukm - The Judgment (Decision, Ruling) and He is The Swiftest in taking account.” (6:62)

“Al Hukm – The Judgment (Decision, Ruling) is Only for Allah.” (12:40)

“And He (Allah) doesn’t allow anyone to share in His Legislation.” (18:26)

What did Allah say about One who Rules by other than the Quran?

According to consensus of the scholars whoever tries to share with Allah in His Hakimiyyah (Legislation, Governance, Laws) or goes against His Legislation by governing (ruling, judging, legislating) by other than what Allah revealed is guilty of shirk and he becomes a kafir, a Zalim, and a fasiq. Allah says:

“And whoever doesn’t legislate (judge, rule, govern) by what Allah revealed, such are the Kafirun.” (5:44)

“And whoever doesn’t legislate (judge, rule, govern) by what Allah revealed, such are the Zalimun.” (5:45)

“And whoever doesn’t legislate (judge, rule, govern) by what Allah revealed, such are the Fasiqun.” (5:47)

Is it the system (laws, governance, rules) of Jahiliyyah which they seek after, and who is better as a Judge (Commander) than Allah for a people sure of the Hereafter.” (5:50)

In giving the tafsir of the above ayah, Sheikh of Islam Ibn Kathir said:

“So whoever abandons the wise sharia’h which was revealed to Muhammad (SWS), the seal of the Prophets, and goes to other abrogated Sharia’hs (the Taurah , the Injeel, etc.) for judgment, he becomes a kafir. So how about the one who goes to the Al-Yasir, the man-made book of the Tartars for judgment and gives it precedence over the Sharia’h of Muhammad (SWS). Whoever does this has become a kafir by IJMA (CONSENSUS) of the Muslims.”
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Maidah: 50)

What did The Prophet (sws) Say about such a Ruler?

The Messenger of Allah took Bai’ah from us and among the conditions on which he (sws) took the pledge was that we were to listen and obey (a Muslim leader) whether it is convenient or inconvenient to us, and at our times of difficulty or ease. And to be obedient to the Muslim ruler and give him his right even if he didn’t give us our right, and not to fight against him UNLESS we see him having clear kufr, for which we had a proof with us from Allah.

(Bukhari, Vol.9, #178, Ch.2, Pg. 140) , (Summarized Muslim, Pg. 672, #1221), (At-Tabarani, 1:477), (Ibn Kathir, Vol.1, Pg.186)

What did the consensus of Scholars of the Salaf say about Rulers?

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “And whenever a person legalizes the haraam that is agreed upon or forbids the halaal that is agreed upon or changes the Sharia’h that is agreed upon, he is a kafir by the consensus of the Fuqaha.”
(Majmu’ah Al-Fatawah, Vol.3, Pg.267)

Ibn Taymiyyah also said, “Whenever a person dismantles the Sharia’h and every group which rebels against a clear, well known law (what is known in Islam by necessity) of the Islamic Sharia’h must be fought and killed by the consensus of all the Imams of the Muslims, even if they (group who rebels against the sharia’h) pronounces the shadah.”
(Vol.28, Pg.510)

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “And it is known of Islam by necessity and it is a CONSENSUS of all Muslims that he who legalizes to follow other than the religion of Islam or the Sharia’h of Muhammad (SWS) is a Kafir, and his kufr is similar to the one who believed in part of the book and rejects faith in another part.
(Vol.28, Pg.524)

Ibn Kathir said, “Allah rejects anyone who rejects His Wisdom, which encompasses all that is good and repels all that is evil. Whoever places his opinion and desires or the customs of his people besides the Sharia’h is like those who came before Islam and ruled according to customs, without guidance or knowledge and who followed their own fleeting desires and dreams. Thus the Tartars ruled the kingdom forged by their leader, Genghis Khan, by laws which he gave them in a book called ‘Al-Yasar’, which was comprised of laws taken from several systems; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and others. Some of the laws came from his own desires and opinions. So the people gave precedence to this law (Al-Yasar) over the book of Allah and the Sunnah of Muhammad (SWS). Whoever does this is a kafir. It is obligatory on all the Muslims to oppose such a ruler.”
(Ibn Kathir, Vol.2, Pg.54 (or 64))

Imam Nawawi said, “The SCHOLARS ALL AGREED (IJMA - Consensus) that the Imamate must not be conferred to a kafir. Should the ruler reveal his kufr, he must be removed immediately. Likewise, if he abandons establishing the prayers and calling for them or he calls to a bida’h. Some scholars of Basra said the Imamate should be conferred to him and should still lead because he is Mutawwil, however the accurate opinion is that if he manifests kufr, a change of sharia’h or bida’h, he is outside the fold of Islam and the fold of leadership and obeying him becomes invalid. It is the obligation of the Muslims to stand up and remove him and replace him with a just ruler if they are able to do so. But if that can only be done by a group of them, it is an obligation to remove such a kafir ruler.”
(Imam Nawawee, Sharh of Saheeh Muslim, vol. 12, pg. 229)

Sheikh Muhammad Ibraheem (The teacher of Sheikh Bin Baz) said, “Tawheed Al Hakimiyyah (in Allah’s Legislation) is the twin half of Tawheed Al Uluhiyyah (in worship). To judge by the Sharia’h alone and nothing else is to worship Allah alone and no one else.”

Sheikh Ash-Shinqiti said, “To commit shirk with Allah in Judgment (Tawheed in Allah’s Legislation) is to commit shirk with Allah in worship, there is no difference. The shirk is similar to the man who bows down to idols.”
(Ash-Shrqiqi Tafseer, Adnal, Al Bayyan, Vol.7, p.162)

B.

Are the Scholars Wrong for Obeying and Supporting the Rulers?

The Prophet (sws) told the Muslims we must obey the Muslim ruler when he commands us to righteousness, and we must disobey him if commands us to sin. To obey a command to do sin is sinful itself and is punishable by Allah.

Ibn Omar (rah) narrated that the Prophet (sws) said: “It is obligatory upon a Muslim to listen (to the ruler) and obey whether he likes it or not, except when he is ordered to do a sinful thing; in such case, there is no obligation to listen or to obey.” (Bukhari 7144) (Summarized Muslim, Vol.2, Pg.674, Hadith 1225)

Ali’ (rah) narrated: The Messenger (sws) sent an army and appointed a man as their commander. The man made a fire and then said (to the soldiers): “Enter it.” Some of them intended to enter it while others said: “We have run away from it (i.e. embraced Islam to save ourselves from the Hell Fire).” They mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah (sws) who said about the people who had intended to enter the fire: “If they had entered it, they would have remained in it until the Day of Resurrection.” Then he said: ” No obedience is due when it involves disobeying Allah, obedience is only in what Allah loves and all that Islam ordains.” (Bukhari 7257), (Summarized Muslim, Vol.2, Pg.674, Hadith 1225)

Furthermore, the Prophet (sws) instructed us to fight against the ruler who demonstrates clear kufr.

On the authority of Junadah bin Abu Umaiyah who heard Ubadah bin As-Samit say that The Messenger of Allah took Bai’ah from us and among the conditions on which he (sws) took the pledge was that we were to listen and obey (a Muslim leader) whether it is convenient or inconvenient to us, and at our times of difficulty or ease. And to be obedient to the Muslim ruler and give him his right even if he didn’t give us our right, and not to fight against him UNLESS we see him having clear kufr, for which we had a proof with us from Allah.
(Bukhari, Vol.9, #178, Ch.2, Pg. 140), (Summarized Muslim, Pg. 672, #1221), (At-Tabarani, 1:477), (Ibn Kathir, Vol.1, Pg.186)

These leaders have ordered their hired scholars to do the following treacherous and deceitful acts:

1. Justify their ruling by man-made laws
2. tell the Muslims that overthrowing the leaders is haram, despite all of the ayat,
ahadith and fatawa of the true Salaf commanding it when there is clear kufr.
3. tell the Muslims that whoever tries to fight the ruler is of the khawarij.
4. justify the rulers’ persecution, imprisonment and execution of the Mujahideen
and callers to the establishment of the Islamic state.
5. Justify the rulers’ allegiance to and support of Crusaders, Zionist, and Mushrikeen.
6. Justify the rulers’ theft of the Muslims’ wealth and resources which is wasted and
given to the Crusaders and Zionists.
7. Justify their leaders’ help given to the Crusaders to murder and oppress millions of
Muslims all over the world.
8. Tell the Muslims to worry about themselves and not about all of the kufr and shirk
that the leaders allow to take place in the Muslim lands (i.e. Kafir festivals in the
Arabian Peninsula, selling of haram products, etc).

What does The Qur’an, Sunnah, and the true Salaf tell us about such corrupt Scholars?

Corrupt scholars should come as no surprise because both Allah (swt) and His Messenger (sws) warned us about these scholars who sell their Hereafter for life of this world and end up in the Hell Fire.

Allah said:

“And recite to them the story of him (a religious scholar) to whom We gave our ayat (proofs, evidences, knowledge, etc.), but he threw them away; so Shaytan followed him up, and he became of those who went astray. And had We willed, we would surely have elevated him with them (the ayat; signs, evidences, knowledge, proofs, etc. from Allah), but he clung to the earth and followed his evil desires. So his parable (example) is the parable of the dog: If you drive him away, he lulls his tongue out, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lulls his tongue out. Such is the parable of the people who reject our ayat (proofs, evidences, knowledge, signs etc.). So relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect.” (Surah Al-A’raf, verse 175-176, Also see Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

This scholar of Bani Israel knew one of Allah’s Greatest names and was even given an answerable du’a. In spite of this, he was ungrateful to Allah for these blessings and threw them all away to acquire some dunya. For this reason, Allah compared him to a dog. He committed shirk in Allah’s Legislation by agreeing with the falsehood of apostates, accepting their bribe, and opposing the Prophet Musa (as). He followed his evil desires and sold his deen for the dunya just to end up in the Hell-Fire forever. So Allah tells us to reflect on his story, if he had those blessings could others who have less do as he did, or worse than he did?

Furthermore, the Prophet (sws) said we (Muslims; both scholars and laymen) will follow the Jews and Christians that came before us in everything.

“You will follow the nations that came before you step by step, even into the hole of a lizard.” The companions asked, “Do you mean the Christians and Jews?” He (sws) replied, “Who else?” (Ibn Kathir, Vol 4, pg.409-410, pg. 414-415)

So we should not be surprised to find some of the scholars of our ummah selling out to the leaders for the dunya just like the Jewish scholars of old did, because the Prophet (sws) said:

“Some people of my ummah will become scholars of religion and they will read the Qur’an; and they will say, ‘We are going to the rulers to get some of their dunya, and we will keep away from them with our religion.’ However, it is impossible to do so, because nothing can be harvested from trangacanth (a kind of thorn tree) except thorns. Likewise, nothing will be gained from being associated with them (rulers) accepted … (here the prophet (sws)) as if he meant sins).”
(Ibn Majah, Ibn Hajar al Asqalani, Mukhtasar, At-Targhib)

However, just like the corrupt Christian and Jewish scholars have been condemned to Hell, so to will these corrupt scholars of our ummah. The Prophet (sws) said:

“There will be after me rulers, so he who enters upon them and agrees with them in their falsehood and helps them in their wrongdoing, then he has no connection with me and I have no connection with him; and he will not come to me at the Haud (the pond in Paradise). However, he who does not enter upon them (rulers) and does not help them in their wrongdoing and does not agree with them in their falsehood, then he is from me and I am from him; and he will come to me at the Hawd.
(Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, At-Tirmidhi, Nisai, Ibn Hibban)

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Anytime a scholar leaves off his knowledge and follows the ruler of a government that goes against Quran and Sunnah that scholar has become an apostate, a kafir, and he deserves to be punished both in this life and in the Hereafter.”
(Fatwa, Vol 35, Pg.373)

C.

Who are the Khawarij and what is Kufr of the lesser degree?

The Khawarij

According to the pious scholars they are Muslims who go against the shariah by unjustly make takfir on and kill Muslims who commit haram acts (i.e. zina, gambling, drinking alcohol) despite the fact that these Muslims didn’t consider their act of doing haram things to be halal. Also, they deal harshly with the Muslims, yet they are soft and gentle with the kuffar. Further, they consider the sahabah to be kafirs (i.e. Ali ibn Talib (rah), Muwawiah (rah)).

We didn’t hear or read any statements wherein Imam Anwar, Yusuf al-’Uyayree , or the mujaahideen who are fighting to establish the Islamic State in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Somalia, and other Muslim countries made takfir on Muslims for committing haram unless the perpetrator says that their crime is halal and nor did they make takfir on the Sahabas, nor are they soft with the kuffar. On the contrary, they’re trying to help the oppressed Muslims and they are very harsh with the kuffar. Their characteristics are in direct conflict with the description of the Khawarij.

Kufr duna kufr (kufr of a lesser degree, or minor kufr)

According to some of the ulema the fatwa attributed to Ibn Abbas (rah) wherein he stated kufr of a lesser kufr was to clarify to the khawarij who accused Ali and Muwawiya of being kafirs that the kufr which was being committed was not the kufr that matched the ayah (i.e. ‘whoever doesn’t rule by what Allah revealed, he is a kafir’) because they didn’t tamper with the sharia’h, it was still intact. Furthermore, Ali (rah) had been promised to enter Paradise by the Prophet (sws), so how could he be a kafir. For further clarification, please read “Khawarij and Jihad” written by Hamza al Misri.

Other scholars consider it to be a da’if hadith. While still others scholars, like Sheikh of Islam Imam Qurtabi, said that this saying of kufr duna kufr was said by a Tabi’a (successor). In Tafsir Qurtabi, Vol.6, Pg.190,

“Ibn Abbas (rah) said,”Anyone who dismatles the Sharia’ and doesn’t govern by what Allah revealed because he rejects the Qura’n as his hukm and he denies what the Messenger (sws) has brought, this person is a kafir.”

Imam Qurtabi went on to say that it was Tawoos who said kufr duna kufr (a minor kufr). This man never met the Messenger of Allah (sws).”

Furthermore, when someone asked Ibn Masud (rah) about the man who takes bribery to pass a bogus fatwa, Ibn Masud (rah) said, “That is the real kufr, and whoever doesn’t rule by what Allah revealed, he is a kafir.” (Tafsir Shawqani, Vol.2, pg.44)

So there seems to be two opinions about the saying of kufr duna kufr.

1. The kufr of dismantling the shariah had not been committed
2. It was said by Tawoos, a man who never met the Rasul (sws)

However, there is Ijma (consensus) amongst the scholars that when a leader rules dismantles the Sharia’ and rules with man-made laws, he has left Islam and has become a kafir. Just to name a few of the ulema:

1. Ibn Abbas (rah)
2. Ibn Masud (rah)
3. Ibn Taymiya
4. Ibn Kathir
5. An-Nawawi
6. Sheikh Ash-Shinqiti
7. Muhammad Ibrahim (The teacher of Sheikh bin Baz)

Further, according to the ulema you should be warned that it is not allowed to go against the ijma (consensus) of scholars because Allah (swt) said:

“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!”
(4:115)

Here is the tafsir of this ayah:

This contradiction could be in the form of contradicting a text (from the Qur’an or Sunnah) or contradicting what the Ummah of Muhammad has agreed on. The Ummah of Muhammad is immune from error when they all agree on something, a miracle that serves to increase their honor, due to the greatness of their Prophet. There are many authentic Hadiths on this subject. Allah warned against the evil of contradicting the Prophet and his Ummah.

(Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

D.

Advice to Muslims who follow government scholars

To the Muslims who follow and obey the government scholars, beware of them; they are inviting you to the Fire by misleading you and convincing you to support the apostate, puppet leaders who are allies with the greatest enemies of Islam, i.e. the Crusaders and the Jews. This evil trio is oppressing, humiliating, and massacring millions of Muslims all over the globe. By looking closely at their actions and statements, they fit the description of the khawarij. Further, these government scholars are causing the straight path of Jihad in Allah’s Cause to seem crooked by calling it terrorism and by calling the Mujahideen terrorist and khawarij. They hide behind their claim that they are following the salaf such as the great scholars like ibn Taymiya and ibn Kathir, but they are, in fact, far from being like those sincere scholars of the salaf, and their call is clearly to the Hell Fire. Their characteristics strikingly resembles the description of the people whom the Prophet (sws) warned us about in a hadith.said:

Hudhaifah bin Al-Yaman narrated: People used to ask the Messenger of Allah (sws) about good, but I used to ask him about evil for fear that it might overtake me. Once I said, “O Messenger of Allah (sws), we were in ignorance and in evil, and Allah has bestowed upon us the present good (Islam): will there be any evil after this good?” He (sws) said, “Yes.” I asked, “Will there be good after that evil?” He (sws) said, “Yes, but it will be tainted with evil.” I asked, “What will its evil be?” He (sws) said, “There will be some people who will rule by other than my Sunnah. You will see their actions and disapprove of them.” I said, “Will there be any evil after that good?” He (sws) said, “Yes, there will be inviters at the gates of Hell, whoever accepts their invitation, he will be thrown in it.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah (sws)! Describe those people to us.” He said. “They belong to us and speak our language.” I asked, “What do you order me to do if such a thing should take place in my lifetime?” He said, “Adhere to the right group of Muslims and their ruler.” I asked, “If there is neither a group (of Muslims) nor a ruler (what shall I do)?” He said, “Keep away from all those different sects, even if you had to stick to the trunk of a tree, until you die while you are in that state.” (Bukhari 3606, Summarized Muslim, Vol.2, Pg.677, Hadith 1231)

Be careful O Muslims who follow and obey government scholars, because some of these scholars tell the Muslims to support fatawa which make the haraam into halaal and make the halaal into haraam. I have already given the examples, but I will mention them again.

1. It is haraam to rule by man-made laws but some of the government scholars have
made it halaal by saying and teaching that it is a minor issue.

2. It is haraam to take Christians, Jews, and other kafirs as allies, but some of the
government scholars have made it halaal by saying and teaching that the leaders are
too weak to defend themselves (even though they have spent billions of dollars
to equip their air force, navy, and army?)

3. It is halaal to join the Mujahideen and wage Jihad against the Crusaders and Zionist
Jews, but some of the government scholars have made it haraam by saying and
teaching that the Mujahideen are terrorists and khawarij and that the Jihad against
these Crusaders is terrorism.

These are just a few examples of how they reverse Allah’s Legislation. I caution you because if you obey them in such issues, then you will fall into what the people before us fell into, i.e. worshiping the scholars. The Prophet (sws) said:

“You will follow the nations that came before you step by step, even into the hole of a lizard.” The companions asked, “Do you mean the Christians and Jews?” He (sws) replied, “Who else?” (Ibn Kathir, Vol 4, pg.409-410, pg. 414-415)

How did the people before us end up worshipping their scholars? By obeying them in what they changed from haraam to halaal and vice versa. Allah (swt) said:

“They took their rabbis and priests as lords beside Allah, and (even) the Messiah, son of Maryam. However, they were only commanded (in their Taurah and Injeel) to worship One Ilah (Allah). There is nothing worthy of worship except Him. Praise and Glory is to Him, (far above is He) from having the partners they ascribe to Him.” (9:31)

A Christian man heard that ayah, but rejected the concept that the laymen worshipped their religious leaders, so the Prophet (sws) clarified it for him by explaining how these laymen committed shirk of worshipping besides Allah. He (sws) said that their religious leaders forbade what Allah had made legal and they legalized what Allah had forbidden, and the laypeople followed them in this. The Prophet (sws) said that that was how the laypeople worshipped their religious leaders.

“Once while Allah’s Messenger (sws) was reciting this verse, ‘Adi bin Hatim said, “O Allah’s Messenger! They do not worship them (i.e. the rabbis and monks).” Allah’s Messenger (sws) said: “They certainly do. They (rabbis and monks) made the lawful things as haraam and the prohibited things as halaal, and they (Christian and Jewish laypeople) followed them; and by doing so they really worshipped them.”
(Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Jarir)

So we learn from this hadith, that the act of following anyone, be he a leader or scholar, who makes rules, laws, or fatawa which are contrary to Allah’s Laws is the same as worshipping that leader or scholar besides Allah. Thus, according to the scholars, the person who willfully follows such a leader or scholar in his un-Islamic laws or fatawa (knowing that it contradicts Allah’s Legislation), in fact, violates Tawheed ul I’badah and thus commits shirk of worshipping besides Allah (shirk ul I’badah).

In another episode of the seerah, some pagans of Mecca were trying to convince the Muslims that their meat which came from an animal that died of itself was better than the meat of the Muslims. They argued that Allah had slaughtered their meat for them, while the Muslims slaughter it themselves, therefore the pagans claimed their meat was superior.

Allah revealed in the Qur’an that the Muslims should not eat meat which didn’t have Allah’s Name mentioned over it because it is evil. He (SWT) further told them that the devils do inspire the kafirs in order for them to debate with the believers. Lastly, Allah (SWT) warned them that if they obey the pagans and eat the meat which Allah had made haram, then they would definitely be guilty of taking the pagans as a god besides Allah, thereby, committing shirk and they would become pagans themselves.

“Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of slaughtering of the animal), for sure it is Fisq (a sin and disobedience of Allah), And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them (by making Al-Maitah – a dead animal lawful by eating it) then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists).” (6:121)

The great scholar of Islam, Ibn Kathir, said in his tafseer of this ayah: “When you turn away from Allah’s Command and Legislation to the saying of anyone else , preferring other than what Allah has said, this constitutes shirk.” (Ibn Kathir,Vol.3, pg. 454)

In conclusion, we have seen that there is consensus amongst the ulema of the true salaf which states that to rule by other than Allah’s Shariah is major kufr which ejects that ruler out of Islam . Therefore the claim that some Muslims make of such an act being minor is incorrect. Secondly, we have seen that some scholars of the past nations as well as of this nation have followed their desires and proved treacherous against Allah’s Deen, therefore we shouldn’t be surprised to find it now. Next, we have learned that the Mujahideen, the scholars, and the duat who call for the establishment of the Caliphate and who wage Jihad against the apostate rulers and Crusaders and their allies are not khawarij nor are they terrorists. So these are the people of truth who are following Islam when they fight against the ruler who has gone against Allah’s Laws, and these are the people we should support and follow. Again I suggest you read “Khawarij and Jihad” written by Hamza al Misri for a better understanding.

Finally my advice to the followers of government scholars is that you should disavow from the government scholars immediately before the Angel of Death takes your soul because Allah (SWT) has said that He will put the leaders (i.e. kafirs and apostates) and their followers all in Hell. There, the leaders will disavow from their followers. Moreover, on tasting the punishment, the followers will ask Allah (SWT) to give their scholars and leaders a double punishment. Furthermore, they will regretfully wish that they could come back to the dunya to follow Islam properly and to disavow from their leaders; all to no avail. Allah says:

“When those who were followed (i.e. kafir leaders and wicked scholars) disavow from the followers and all ways of escape will be cut off. The followers will say, ‘If only we had one more chance to go back to the dunya, we would disavow from them the way they disavowed from us.’ This is how Allah shows them their deeds to make them regret. And they will never get out of the Fire.” (2:166-167)

Also He (SWT) says:

“Verily, Allah curses the kafirs and has prepared for them the Blazing Fire to abide therein forever. They will not find any protector or helper. On the day their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: ‘O we wish that we would have obeyed Allah and Obeyed the Messenger(Muhammad (sws)).’ And they will say:‘Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones and they mislead from the (Straight) Path.’ ‘Our Lord! Give them a double punishment and curse them a mighty curse! (33:66)

Lastly, you should also understand that some of the government scholars are extremely dangerous to the whole Muslim ummah and we should stay far away from them and refrain from learning from them lest they corrupt our Islam and put us on the path to the Fire. The Prophet (sws) warned us when he said:

“I fear for you a danger that is more dangerous than the Dajjal, wicked scholars.” (Ahmed ibn Hanbal)

And the great scholar Ibn Mubarak, gave us great advice when he said, “Don’t trust the scholar that goes to the gates of the leaders because he is a thief. Don’t take your deen from him.”

I have said what I said and I seek Allah’s Forgiveness for us all, and my last du’a is:

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen

I agree, but there are ‘ulema (non “takfiri” or “extremist”) who say this is permissible. For example Shaykh ‘Uthaymin (raheemahullah). What would you say to this?

——————————————————-

The Verdict of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Sālih Al-‘Uthaymīn

The Shaykh, may Allāh be merciful towards him, said in a tape recording regarding this topic :

“And the second (matter) is the forbiddance of killing women and children in times of war. But if it is said: ‘If they (the kuffār) do this to us - meaning that they kill our children and women - Then do we then kill them?’

The apparent [Thāhir] is that it is (permissible) for us to kill their women and children - even if it means that we lose profit/benefit from it [since keeping them alive is a profit/benefit because they become the property of the Muslims]; (and killing them in this situation is permissible) due to it threatening the hearts of the enemies and a humiliation for them.

And due to the generality of the Statement of Allāh:

“Then whoever transgresses the prohibition against you, you transgress likewise against him” Al-Baqarah: 194

And to (purposely) destroy property (which could later belong) for the Muslims (by killing them in this case) is nothing strange.

And due to this, the baggage, the baggage of the one who steals from the Ghanīmah is burned, even though in that, there is the loss of some property of one the fighters.

Then if someone says:

‘If they rape our women then do we rape their women?’

No, this, no, no we do not do it.

Why? Because this is prohibited as a (whole) category [i.e. it is forbidden within itself], and it is not possible for us to do it.

Meaning, it is not forbidden out of respect for the rights of others [i.e. not because we are respecting their rights] - rather, because it is forbidden as a category [i.e. the action of ‘intercourse’]. So it is not permissible for us to rape their women.

But if the dividing (of the Ghanīmah) takes place, and the woman from them ends up as a slave woman, then she becomes property of the right hand. The person can have intercourse with her as a right hand possession, which is permissible and there is nothing wrong with this”

Later on, the Shaykh was asked about the fact that the women being killed are not the ones who killed our women, so is this justice?

So he answered:

“Then whoever transgresses the prohibition against you, you transgress likewise against him” Al-Baqarah: 194

What is justice? Not at all. They kill our women, we kill their women. This is the justice. It’s not justice to say ‘if they kill our women we won’t kill your women.’

Because this, I notice from this that it has many enormous affects on them”

End of quote from Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Sālih Al-‘Uthaymīn, may Allāh have mercy upon him.

Would that be a question for us or for the ulamaa?

This is what we have been warning above.

If we get it right or wrong, we still get a sin for speaking without knowledge. If the ulamaa answer and they get it right, they get two blessings and if they get it wrong they get one blessing.