The Legacy of Salafiyyah in the West – Lecture delivered by Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul Waahid (hafidhahullaah) in Germantown Masjid, Philadelphia
All praise and thanks are due to Allaah, we seek His Help and we seek His Forgiveness. We seek refuge with Him from the evil of our souls and the evil of our actions. Whosoever Allaah guides then none can misguide him, and whosoever Allaah leaves to stray then none can guide him. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship save Allaah, the One Who has no partner and we bear witness that Muhammad (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) is his servant and Messenger.
“O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Aadam)He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allaah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship. Surely, Allaah is Ever an All Watcher over you.” [Sooratun-Nisaa’, 4:1]
“O you who believe! Fear Allaah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islaam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allaah.”
[Soorah Aali-Imraan 3:102]
“O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise).
[Sooratul-Ahzaab 33:70-71]
As for what follows: Verily the most truthful speech is the Word of Allaah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and the worst of affairs are the newly invented matters (in the Religion) and every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is a going astray and every going astray is in the Fire.
Before I begin today, just to get the date correct Inshaa’Allaah, for the record, which is the 7th of Sha’baan, which is the month after Rajab, the month before Ramadhaan in the year 1435, coinciding with Thursday 5th of June 2014. I am here, and honoured to be here in the presence of my brothers, my respected and noble students of knowledge, and at this Masjid here, Masjid as Sunna-tu-Nabawiyyah, in the City of Philadelphia in the United States of America. I am honoured to be introduced by my beloved brother Abu ‘Abdillaah Hassan As Somaali (hafidhahullaahu ta’aala), and also to be in the presence of others of his calibre from the students of knowledge that have been praised by ahlul ‘ilm, the likes of our brother Abul Hassan Maalik, (hafidhahullaahu ta’aala), our brother Anwar Wright and our brother ‘Abdul Wali, and others who are present from the students of knowledge and the du’aat who have been active in the da’wat-us-Salafiyyah here in the United States of America. This of course, as you are well aware, is not my first visit to the United States, I have visited on several occasions before, even in the era of our noble brother Abu ‘Uwais (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), in his era when the da’wah was being solidified and consolidated and clarified in his era, and we were honoured also in those times to be invited by the likes of Abu ‘Uwais for the purpose of being united on the haqq, regardless of where we are, whether we be in the United Kingdom or the United States.
I remember Abu ‘Uwais (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), inviting him myself, after being advised by our brother Abu Talha Daawood Burbank (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), I remember I think it was in 1996, that I said to our brother Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah), I said to him, ‘who do you advise with inviting from the United States to come and aid us in the da’wah with the translations, with the duroos’, and so on. He said, ‘I can’t think of anyone beyond Abu ‘Uwais’ (rahimahullaah), and I said to him, ‘but I’ve heard that some of the people are refuting him in the United States’, and some of them were, like the likes of Abu Muslimah, and others were speaking ill of him. He said ‘I don’t care what they say, Abu ‘Uwais is the one who introduced me to da’wat-us-salafiyyah, and he is the one that I trust, and he has been steadfast since the day that I knew him’, and that was of course back in 1996 or 1997 when I had this conversation with him.
So we invited him to the United Kingdom, and without a doubt he had a strong effect upon the da’wah in the United Kingdom, and I saw him in the company of our brother Abu Talha, both of them of course now have passed away, (rahimahumullaah), they have passed away, and both of them, may Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) shower them with His Mercy and forgive them their shortcomings and enter them into the gardens of paradise; and both of these, I saw them and I was in their company, and I saw over the years their effect upon the da’wah.
Of course they were not the only two, and they were from those individuals who introduced us to the scholars, Abu Talha with his translations (rahimahullaah) of the works of Shaykh al Albaani, Shaykh Rabee’, Shaykh Muqbil, Shaykh bin Baaz, Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen, and other than them from the ‘Ulema, and likewise our brother Abu ‘Uwais, was from the first, if not the first and Allaah knows best, of those who openly refuted Abu Muslimah and his bid’ah and his hizbiyyah, that he wished to spread in the United States of America.
So these people were brave men. They had courage and they wouldn’t fear the blame of the blamers, and anyone who met the likes of Abu ‘Uwais (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), then no one could have doubted the man’s courage and his standing in the face of opposition of the mukhaalifeen.
Abu Talha (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), likewise in his writings, he was vehement against Ahlul Bid’ah. He translated Sharh us Sunnah in a time when the ‘aqeedah and the manhaj in the Western world generally was vague, the methodologies were vague. He translated that back in 1993. Photocopies of his handwriting, handwritten translation of the book were being circulated before the book actually came out, and then the book was published in 1995, Sharh us Sunnah of Barbaharee in 1995. It shows the effort of these types of individuals and this is not to raise them beyond their level; neither of them wanted to be called an ‘aalim, neither of them; they would race even if you called either of them ‘Shaykh’, then they would get angry, how dare you call me Shaykh, because the connotation in the West of the word ‘shaykh’ has the connotation of ‘aalim, even thought amongst the Arab it is different. So they didn’t even want to be called Shaykh, brother is enough, uncle at the most, ustaadh, maybe; Shaykh, no, they didn’t want to be called Shaykh or ‘aalim.
So we are from them and they are from us. I benefitted from them and I regard both of them to be from my teachers, amongst of course, not to take away from that which we have benefited from the ‘Ulema, as they benefitted from the ‘Ulema; but everyone is given his due, and we do not glorify anyone beyond Allaah.
Nevertheless the ‘Ulema that they introduced their brothers to, and the ‘Ulema you are continually being introduced to, and being connected to, they are Ahlussunnati wal Jamaa’ah, they are considered as the Jamaa’ah, as Ishaaq ibn Raahuway (rahimahullaahu ta’aala) said, the great Imaam who died in the year 238 AH, Imaam Ishaaq bin Ibraaheem ar Raahuway, when he was asked who was the Jamaa’ah, look at the answer, his answer was actually quite lengthy, but he said ‘the Jama’aah are the ‘Ulema’ they are the Jamaa’ah, and likewise when ‘Abdullaah ibn Mubaarak the great Imaam who died in the year 181AH, he was asked a question, ‘Who is the Jamaa’ah?’ he said, ‘Abu bakr and ‘Umar’, so it was said, ‘but Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are dead, so who is the Jamaa’ah, he said it is ‘fulaan wa fulaan’, they said, ‘and so and so has also died, so who is the Jamaa’ah’, then he said it is Abu Hamza as Sukkari al Khurasaani, (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), quoting an ‘aalim from the ‘Ulema of that time, an Imaam from the a’immah.
The Jamaa’ah, my brothers and sisters, are the ‘Ulema, and they are present in every era and in every time, just as the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said in the ahadeeth that we are all familiar with, or we should be familiar with, reported by Imaam Muslim in his Saheeh, wherein the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said ‘There will never cease to remain a group of my Ummah, manifestly upon the truth’, or ‘aala al haqq mansooreen’, or that they are upon the Truth, aided, taa’ifatul mansoorah, and they are manifest ‘dhaahireen alaa al haqq’, that they are apparently upon the truth, they are apparent, they are not hidden, ‘they don’t conceal that which they possess, and they are not harmed by those who betray them, forsake them’, those who don’t aid them upon the haqq, those that when you expect the da’wah to be aided and the Sunnah to be aided and look around for support and you don’t find them there, because they are mukhadhileen, they are betrayers, they betray the people of Truth and they betray the Truth itself, because they don’t want to defend it, and they don’t want to stand up for the haqq.
Ahlussunnah, the taa’ifatul mansoorah, the aided group are not harmed by them, nor are they harmed by those who oppose them from the mukhaalifeen, and they will remain as such up until the command of Allaah comes, wa hum alaa dhaalik, and they will remain as such upon the haqq. Every generation.
Imaam at Tirmidhee (rahimahullaahu ta’aala) said that ‘they are ahlul ilm’, in another narration they are ‘ahlul hadeeth’, and ‘ahlul fiqh’. They are the people of knowledge, they are the people of hadeeth, they are the people of understanding the fuqaaha, the jurists; those who have understanding of the religion, they are the taa’ifatul mansoorah, and they exist in every era. There has not come a generation except that they have been present; they are the likes of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, as ‘Abdullaah ibn Mubaarak said, and ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood and Ibn ‘Abbaas, and Abu Hurayrah and ‘Aa’ishah, and likewise from the generation that came thereafter, it is ‘Abul Aaliyah, who died in the year 90 AH and Sa’eed ibn Musayyib, who died in the year 94 AH. These are from the students of the Sahaabah (radhiyallaahu ‘anhum), or the likes of al Hassan al Basri, who died in the year 110 AH, raised in the household of the wife of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) Umm Salamah. He said that ‘I remember hearing the khutbah of ‘Uthmaan bin Affaan at the age of eight, in the Masjid an Nabawee’, and then he migrated after the assassination, he left after the assassination of ‘Uthmaan, he went to Basrah, and Anas ibn Maalik, (radhiyallaahu anhu), the Sahaabi used to refer the people to al Hassan al Basri (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), and the likes of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil Azeez; and the likes of Imaam az Zuhri, who died in the year 124 AH, and the likes of Imaam Maalik, his student, who died in the year 179 AH, and the likes of Fudayl ibn Iyaad, who died in the year 187 AH, and the likes of Sufyaan ath Thawri, 161 AH, al Awzaa’ee 157 AH, Imaam Ash Shaafi’ee, 204 AH.
You can see as the generations are going by, look at the names of these illustrious Imaam’s, they are the Jamaa’ah; and then Ahmed ibn Hanbal in his era, and the ‘Ulema of his era, the likes of himself, Ahmed, Imaam of Ahlussunnah, died in the year 241 AH, Imaam al Bukhaari 256 AH, and then the generation that came after them, the likes of al Barbaharee, 329 AH.
So in to the third Century we enter and we see that Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) has not left a generation, has not left an era, except that Allaah has raised a ai’mmah, and then in the fourth century, the likes of Imaam as Saaboonee, fifth Century, the likes of al Laalikaa’ee, sixth Century, the likes of ‘Abdul Ghani al Maqdasee, and then the generation that came after that, ibn Qudaama, then the generation that came after that. From there we enter the era of Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, and then his students, the likes of ibn Katheer, and ibn al Qayyim, being the one who took and inherited the da’wah of Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, ibn al Qayyim. So ibn Taymiyyah. So now we enter the eighth Century 728 AH, ibn al Qayyim, 752 AH, and the likes of ibn Katheer, Imaam ad Dhahabee; these are from the produce of the da’wah of Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, then the generation that came thereafter, from those who took the knowledge of ibn Taymiyyah, and they carried it, even though those from the Ahlul Bid’ah and from the people who wished to extinguish the light of Sunnah, the flame of Sunnah; they wished to stop the people from drinking the pure Sunnah, they tried to extinguish the books of Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, so much so that Ahlul Bid’ah used to purchase the manuscripts of ibn Taymiyyah, purchase them just for the purpose of burning them, so that everything that ibn Taymiyyah wrote in or ibn al Qayyim wrote in, that they could demolish it, annihilate it and extinguish it, so the da’wah of ibn Taymiyyah is crushed; because the da’wah of ibn Taymiyyah revived the da’wah of the likes of Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Imaam ash Shaafi’ee and Sufyaan ath Thawri, and Imaam al Awzaa’ee, and Abul Aaliyah; this is why Majmoo’ ul Fataawa and other books of ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaaj-us-Sunnah and other than them are filled with the quotes of those a’immah of the Salaf.
So they wanted that extinguished because they wanted the people to take from the ‘aqeedah of the Ashaa’irah and the Soofeeyyah, and other than them; the Mu’tazillah and other than them; so they wanted the books of ibn Taymiyyah to be extinguished. They worked for one Century, two Centuries, three Centuries, and they tried to bring down the da’wah of Shaykh ul Islam ibn Taymiyyah; but Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) was not going to allow that to happen. Just like Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said in his Radd alaa al Jahmiyyah wal Zanaadiqah, that he mentions, Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, that between the Messengers Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) raises individuals, ‘Ulema, a’immah; these a’immah that give life to the dead, whose hearts have been killed by Iblees by the permission of Allaah, Allaah gives them life, whose hearts have been killed by Iblees. ‘Ulema, my brothers and sisters, then the generation that came after, up until we reach the time, of Shaykh ul Islaam Muhammad bin ‘Abdil Wahhaab, (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), and Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhaab, he gave life to the books of ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhaab; he gave life to the manhaj and the da’wah and the ‘aqeedah of the Salaf of this Ummah; so even though the people tried to hide, the Ahlul Bid’ah, they tried to extinguish that flame, they tried to extinguish the da’wah of Ahlul Haqq; Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) raised the likes of ibn ‘Abdul Wahhaab, and his children and his grandchildren, and the Imaams of Ale Sa’ood, the Rulers of Ale Sa’ood, Muhammad bin Sa’ood who became a student of Shaykh ul Islaam Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhab, a ruler; and then his children who became Imaams and Scholars in their own right, and that da’wah continued up until this day. From the sons of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhaab, then his sons, then his sons, his grandchildren, his great grandchildren, known as the a’immatu da’wah, the Imaams of the da’wah, compiling, writing, explaining the books of ibn Taymiyyah , explaining the books of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and giving khidmah and service to the books of their great grandfather and their great great grandfather, Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhaab (rahimahullaahu ta’aala).
Up until the era that we were introduced to the da’wah, to Islaam and da’wat-us-Salafiyyah, the era of the likes of Muhammad bin Ibraaheem Aali ash Shaykh, the Shaykh of ‘Abdul ‘Azeez bin Baaz, and ‘Abdul ‘Azeez bin bBaaz himself, and Imaam as Sa’dee the Shaykh of ibn ‘Uthaymeen, and al Qar’aawee, the Shaykh of Ahmad an Najmee, who was sent by the ruler, Maalik ‘Abdul ‘Azeez, the ruler, the founder of the third state of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He wrote him a letter, he said go down to Saamitah, go down to Jazaan, and go and teach the people tawheed, so he left Najd, al Qar’aawee, and he went down to Jazaan to teach them tawheed, and then he remained there, and from his students, Haafidh al Hakami, Ma’aarij ul Qubool, and the likes of Ahmad an Najmee, from his students, the likes of our Shaykh, Shaykh Rabee’ al Madkhalee, Zayd al Madkhalee; look how Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) in every age and every era. Not an era passes except that Allaah will raise rijaal, and I use the term rijaal, not in the sense that you are males, rijaal in the sense that they were courageous; Imaam’s stood for the truth, stood for the Sunnah, stood for Salafiyyah, and they remained till this time, and we like to think of ourselves as being a product of their da’wah, by the permission of Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala), and what an honour that is, my brothers and sisters, that you can live in a time, in the fifteenth Century of the Hijri calendar, and that you are thousands of miles away from where the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was born and raised and spread the Sunnah and spread the Revelation; yet in this land, that Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) guided you to Islaam and the Sunnah. That in itself, my brothers and sisters, should be enough for us to continually thank and praise Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala), without ever stopping; that in itself my brothers and sisters is a bounty and a ni’mah, that my brothers, we could never repay to Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala), that Allaah guides us in a land like this, a land my brothers and sisters where you are surrounded by non Muslims in every direction, yet Allaah guided you not only to Islaam, but to the Sunnah and the Jamaa’ah, that is a point of gratitude, my brothers and sisters that we take for granted, we don’t think about what Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) has given us, by way of blessings by way of bounties, that Allaah guides you, guides your wife, guides your children, guides whole communities, like this community; and then on top of that Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) gives you the ability to establish a Masjid upon the Sunnah, upon Salafiyyah, where we can sit here now, one thousand two hundred years after Ahmad bin Hanbal, and say qaala Ahmad bin Hanbal (rahimahullaahu ta’aala),
أصول السنة عندنا
التمسك بما كان عليه أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، والإقتداء بهم ، وترك البدع ، وكل بدعة فهي ضلالة
We can utter these words twelve hundred years later from a manuscript that was written in that time, and then passed on generation after generation till it reached us. That’s a blessing my brothers and sisters, you’re looking at the hardship that you’re living in, and the difficult times you are living in, that Islaam is under attack, the Sunnah is under attack, the enemies of Salafiyyah have gathered against us; we are living in those times, and you have other problems that you face on a daily basis, your work, your families, your children, tarbiyyah of your youth, tarbiyyah of the next generation, these are all things my brothers and sisters that the solution to all of these problems, you will not find it except in the Kitaab and the Sunnah and the madhhab of the Salaf; that’s exactly what Imaam Maalik ibn Anas (rahimahullaahu ta’aala) said, and that’s what he intended when he said, ‘the latter part of this Ummah will not be rectified except by that which rectified its earliest part.’
This is the basis of our unity, the basis of our mutual love, our mutual respect for each other, our affection for each other, that’s why the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said ‘the similitude of the believers is like a body, the similitude of the believers in their mutual mercy, and their love and their mutual affection between each other is like a body.’ This is what the Salafi’s are and this is more applicable to the Salafi’s than everybody else, because everybody else is divided even though they claim that they are united, they’re not united, Ahlul Bid’ah, all of the other sects of misguidance, they are not united even if they display outwardly that they are united,
حۡسَبُهُمۡ جَمِيعً۬ا وَقُلُوبُهُمۡ شَتَّىٰۚ
You would think they were united, but their hearts are divided (Al Hashr: 14)
That you will consider them, or would imagine that they are united but their hearts, they are scattered and shattered, they are not united my brothers and sisters, because the foundation of unity is the Revelation itself, and the understanding of that Revelation in light of the Sahaabah (radhiyallaahu anhum) with the understanding of the Sahaabah and the earlier generations. There is a beautiful narration from Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), from Majmoo’ ul Fataawa, Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah he said, in volume four of his Majmoo‘, he said, ‘Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala he said,
وَلاَيَزَالُونَمُخْتَلِفِينَإِلاَّمَنْرَحِمَرَبُّكَ
But they will not cease to differ (disagree) – Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy…
(Hud: 118-119)
There will never cease to be a difference with each other, they will never cease, who? Mankind will never cease to differ, except upon whom your Lord has bestowed his Mercy, and for this Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) created them. So then, Shaykh ul Islaam after mentioning, and remember the quote here, or the statement of Allaah ‘that they will never cease to differ, except for whom your lord has bestowed his mercy’ he mentions, Allaah (subhanaahu wa ta’aala), he stated that Ahlul Rahmah, the People of Mercy, that they do not differ, wa Ahlul Rahmah, the People of Mercy, they are those who don’t differ, my brothers and sisters, this is the point here, that Allaah mentions that all of mankind differ, except for the people who Allaah has given Mercy. So who are the people that Allaah has given mercy to, who don’t differ? He mentions, Ahlul Rahmah, meaning the People of Mercy who do not differ because Allaah has showered them with His Mercy; they are the followers of the Prophets, in speech and in action. Not just giving lip service that we are Sunni, we love the Sunnah, we love Muhammad we love ‘Isa, we love Moosa we love Haaroon, we love Ibraaheem we love Nooh. Not just lip service, because every Muslim does that, this is why he mentioned in speech and in action, they are the followers of the anbiyaah, and they are Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth, they are the People of the Qur’aan and hadeeth in this Ummah; and whomsoever differs with them in anything, then such a person leaves the Mercy of Allaah to the extent that he differs with them, he differs with whom? With Ahlul Rahma. Who are Ahlul Rahma? Ahlul Qur’aan Ahlul Hadeeth, the People of Qur’aan and the People of Hadeeth. So the more that you differ with the People of Qur’aan and hadeeth; who are the People of Qur’aan and hadeeth? Ahlussunah wal Jamaa’ah. Look at the thinking of this great Imaam Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, from this one ayah , what he extracted.
Other ‘Ulema have mentioned, from them the likes of Imaam ash Shaatibee, from them the likes of ibn Taymiyyah himself, that Allaah created two types of mankind, those who are mukhtalifeen, those who differ, and those who are Ahlul Rahma, from this ayah; because Allaah only divided mankind into two, ‘mankind will never cease to differ except the people of mercy’ that Allaah has showered with His Mercy, two types of people.
So who are Ahlul Rahma, and who are the mukhtalifeen? The mukhtalifeen are those who oppose the People of Qur’aan and the People of Hadeeth. Who are the People of Qur’aan and Hadeeth? Ahlussunnati wal Jamaa’ah, and who are at the head of Ahlussunnati wal Jamaa’ah, the ‘Ulema. Who are the best of the ‘Ulema of this Ummah? They are the Sahaabah and those who came after them, then those who came after them. ‘Khayrun naas qarni’, as the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘the best of mankind is my generation, thumma ladheena yaloonahum thumma ladheena yaloonahum, then those who come after them then those who come after them’.
First three generations. In a narration the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was asked which of mankind are the best he said ‘I and those alongside me’, so the best of mankind, Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and those who are with him, thummalladheena alaa al athar, then those who are upon that path and follow that way, thummalladheena alaa al athar, then those who are upon that path and follow their way. These are Ahlussunnati wal Jamaa’ah, they are the best of mankind and they are the best of Ahlussunnah. They are Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth, and whomsoever follows their way, then they are considered to be amongst them, and whomsoever differs with them to the extent that he differs with them then he exits the Mercy of Allaah.
So this thing is not just in academic knowledge, we are talking about being under the Mercy of Allah, the Forgiveness of Allaah, the Aid of Allaah, the Bounty of Allaah the Blessings of Allah. The more that you oppose the People of Qur’aan and the People of Hadeeth; the further you are away from the Mercy of Allaah, the more distanced you are from being from Ahlul Rahma, which is amazing my brothers and sisters with regards to that which Allaah (subhanaahu wa ta’aala) has guided us to in his book; like we mentioned that statement of Imaam ash Shaatibee (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), he likewise mentions this statement ‘that they will never cease to differ except for those who your lord has shown mercy’, he said ‘here we realise and we understand that the people of two types, Ahlul Ikhtilaaf wal Marhoomeen, those who are the People of Differing and those who are the People of Mercy, those who have been shown Mercy by Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’alaa) if you want to be from those whom Allaah showers His Mercy upon, then you must be from Ahlul Qu’raan wal Hadeeth, and you must be from the atbaa’ul anbiyyaah, wa rusool, qawlan wa f’ilan, and you must follow the Prophets and the Messengers, both in speech and action.
That’s why our brother Hassan as Somalee (hafidhahullaahu ta’aala) mentioned what he mentioned in the beginning, that those who speak and those who talk, and they claim attachment to the Sunnah, and they say that we are Sunni and we follow the Sunnah, even they will say ‘we are Salafi’, then the label itself is not enough my brothers and sisters, the label is not enough, without following that up with speech and action, then the label itself is nothing. What about those people that take on the label and then they contradict the label? They say ‘we are Salafi’ and then they oppose the usool of Salafiyyah, and then they ascribe to the Salafi ‘aqeedah and the Salafi manhaj, that which the Salafi da’wah is free of. You find people like that, and America is ridden with those types of people, wallaahul musta’aan, who claim attachment to Salafiyyah, Yasir Qadhi, Shadeed Muhammad, and how many other countless others, who claim that they are Sunni upon the Sunnah and then they will utter statements which clearly oppose the Kitaab and the Sunnah, and then when they are corrected, instead of humbling themselves and returning back to the haqq, you find them staunch and arrogant and haughty, and proud upon the falsehood that they have embarked upon. The likes of Shadeed Muhammad, look what he said about the Sahaabah, he said the Sahaabah differed in ‘aqeedah, people might say, well what’s the big deal?! So he made a statement, one sentence you’re going to condemn a man!? Look at what he’s saying, the Sahaabah differed in their ‘aqeedah, so therefore, why are we worrying about other differences for? Meaning let us sweep our differences under the carpet, that’s why you find him where you find him now, with all types of people of deviation and misguidance, praising Abu Usama Khaleefah al Mubtadi’ as Ahmad an Najmee quite correctly labelled him as an innovator, Abu Usama, formally American, unfortunately he’s over with us at the moment, may Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) rid us of him. Those types of individuals, my brothers and sisters.
Sahaabah differed in ‘aqeedah? Abu Usama, the Sahaabah initiated bid’ah, in the time of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), they were upon innovation and bid’ah, that you find all of them that they want either to make some kind of belittlement of the Sahaabah, or ascribe something to the Sahaabah that the Sahaaba were free from. Shaykh ul Islam ibn Taymiyyah he said, that the sahaabah (radhiyallaahu anhum), that they did not differ, rather he said, that they did not fight with each other for any differing that occurred between them that was connected to the aqaa’idah min qawaa’idal Islaam, from any fundamentals from the fundamentals of Islaam, never did the Sahaabah; rather he said they did not differ in any ‘asl from the usool of al Islaam at all, the Sahaabah did not differ in any fundamental asl of the deen at all.
Not in the qaa’idah, not in any asl from the usool, not in any point of ‘aqeedah, the Sahaabah did not differ. Then he starts giving examples, Shaykh ul Islaam himself ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaaj us Sunnah volume 6, he said ‘in asmaa wa sifaat they were united, in the issue of qadr they were united, in the issue of the rulership they were united’, i.e. that you don’t rebel against the rulers, he said they were united, ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaj us Sunnah.
Not an ‘aalim from the ‘Ulema ever opposed that speech of ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah), from Ahlussunnah, no one said that ibn Taymiyyah was wrong there. That is why Shaykh ul Islaam Imaam Ahlussunnati wal Jamaa’ah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, at the beginning of his Usool us Sunnah, look what he said
أصول السنة عندنا :
التمسك بما كان عليه أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، والإقتداء بهم ، وترك البدع ، وكل بدعة فهي ضلالة
That ‘the foundations of the Sunnah with us is that which the Sahaabah radhiyallahu anhum which the sahaabah of allaah’s messenger sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam were upon, and to take them as a model and an example to be followed and to abandon innovation, meaning as the ‘Ulema say, to abandon that which they were not upon, for every innovation is misguidance.
So why did Imaam Ahmad begin with the foundations of being with the Sahaabah? Because the Sahaabah were united upon usool; they did not differ with each other, they were united in their belief, they were united in their tawheed, they were united with regard to all of those fundamentals, whether it be with regard to the Names and Attributes , with regard to pre decree with regard to how to deal with the Muslim ruler, with regard to how to deal with Ahlul Bid’ah, the Sahaabah were united, they were united that Jannah and Naar are already created, the sahaabah were united that there is a Bridge over the Hellfire, that all of the creation will have to cross, the Sahaabah were united in the fact that there is a meezan yawmul qiyyaamah, that there are Scales and that the good deeds and the evil deeds will be weighed; the Sahaabah were united my brothers and sisters.
So now a man turns up in 2012 or 2013, and said the Sahaabah differed in ‘aqeedah meaning that if the Sahaabah differed in ‘aqeedah then you, O Muslim don’t worry about the ‘aqeedah of Soofee, don’t worry about the ‘aqeedah of the Tableeghi, don’t worry about them, because the Sahaabah differed in ‘aqeedah. So what if Jamaa’at-ut-Tableegh differ, do you understand where they’re coming from my brothers and sisters, this is why they say what they say. This is the mantra of al Ikhwaanul Mufliseen, the Ikhwaanul Mufliseen, this so called Islamic Brotherhood that was established in the 1920s by their founder Hassan al Banna, and then the cause was furthered by Sayyid Qutb, in the in1940s and 1950s up until he was executed in 1966, that’s what they’re trying to push across to the Muslim Ummah, is that all of these differences with the fundamentals of belief are unimportant, what’s important is ruler-ship and political ascendancy. So therefore if the Sahaabah for nearly five six decades…Ikhwaanul Muslimeen have been trying to find out where the sahaabah differed in ‘aqeedah. They’ve been trying to push that on to the Ummah, and those who follow in their footsteps; the likes of Shadeed Muhammad and other than them, and the likes of Yasir Qadhi and other than them, they try to push forward this ‘the Sahaabah differed, the Saahabah differed’ so then eventually you and I will say, well if the Sahaabah differed we can differ.
So it doesn’t matter if someone worships at the grave, prostrates his head to the dead one at his grave and seeks his help, and assistance, it doesn’t matter because the Sahaabah differed in belief! So what if he carries a different belief to you? If a person comes along and says that Allaah is everywhere, and you say, no Allaah is above the seven heavens, then ‘leave him alone akhee, that’s his ijtihaad, you have your ijtihaad’; so now the ‘aqeedah becomes ijtihaadiyyah, open to one’s own personal juristic opinion. So now if a person says that Allaah is everywhere, fee kulli makaan, or Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) is dwelling inside of the creation, it doesn’t matter, because the Sahaabah differed; that’s why they want to push upon you this idea that the Sahaabah differed, why? Because they want to unite with the groups who oppose the ‘aqeedah of the Sahaabah, that’s why they want to go to their platforms, sit upon their platform, take money as they’re sitting, you think these guys leave their houses for free?! Do you think that they sit upon those platforms and they don’t get paid? They won’t leave their house and speak upon a microphone unless it’s paid for.
So how do they open up the fact that they now want to go and sit on the platforms of Ahlul Bid’ah, and sit with them and hug them, even if they call it the ‘jannah hug’.
No matter what they do, they want to sit with them because this is the way to gain status and to gain some sort of standing within the community, and to gain money. So now you find them sitting upon all types of platforms, you find Abu Usama in the United Kingdom sitting with Surooree’s, Qutubi’s, Ikhwaani’s. This is what you find from them, and then when they are warned against, they say ‘wallaahi! these people they call to disunity!’, look what Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah said, go back to the ayah, mankind are of two types, Ahlul Ikhtilaaf and Ahlul Rahma, so which one are you, are you a people who have differed from the Sahaabah, are you upon that which Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were upon, are you upon what they were upon? Are you upon what the khulafa ar raashideen were upon, when the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said ‘I have left you upon clear proof, its night is like its day, and no one strays from it except that he is destroyed.‘
And then he said, (sallallaahu ‘alayhi w sallam), ‘whomsoever lives for long from amongst you will see a great amount of differing and controversy’, so stick to what you know from my Sunnah when? When the differing occurs stick to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided successors after me’, like Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali. Stick to their Sunnah, hold onto that with your molar teeth. He didn’t say ‘go and differ with the people go and differ with the Sunnah, it doesn’t matter, makes no difference, follow any path that you want all rivers lead to the same sea’. That’s not what the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said. The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said ‘when differing occurs, return back to what you know of my Sunnah, and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Successors after me. Hold on to that with your molar teeth’, and then he said ‘beware of newly invented matters’, beware of what? People who come along and they introduce new affairs into the religion, they ascribe things to Islaam that Islaam is free of; so here we find the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), commanding us to stick to the Sunnah in times of differing, look what Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) likwise said in the Qur’aan,
وَٱعۡتَصِمُواْ بِحَبۡلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعً۬ا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواْۚ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ كُنتُمۡ أَعۡدَآءً۬ فَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم بِنِعۡمَتِهِۦۤ إِخۡوَٲنً۬ا وَكُنتُمۡ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفۡرَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنۡہَاۗ كَذَٲلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَہۡتَدُونَ
And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh (i.e. this Qur’ân), and be not divided among yourselves[], and remember Allâh’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islâmic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allâh makes His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided. (Imraan: 103)
Hold fast to the rope of Allaah all of you together, to the rope of Allaah and be not disunited, and remember the bounty of Allaah upon you when you were enemies one to another and Allaah brought your hearts together, and you became by the grace of Allaah brothers one to another. allah brought your hearts together, my brothers and sisters based upon what, upon the rope of Allaah, what is the rope of Allaah, what they decide, what Ahlul Bid’ah decide is the rope of Allaah something ijtihaadi? Well I’ll decide what the rope of Allaah is that we’re all going to hold onto. The rope of Allaah, as Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah said in ‘Minhaaj us Sunnah’ volume 3 ‘Indeed the rope of Allaah has been explained to mean the Book of Allaah, meaning His Book the Book of Allaah, and His Religion, and Islaam and Ikhlaas and His Commands and His Covenant and obedience to Him and with sticking to the Jamaa’ah.’
This is what the rope of Allaah is, all of this is the rope of Allaah. Ibn ‘Abdil Barr (rahimahullaahu ta’aala) in ‘at Tamheed’ he said that ‘The rope of Allah, it is the Jamaa’ah and they are the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu anhum). That is the rope of Allaah that we have been commanded to stick to, so then he mentioned, Shaykul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, that these terms, all of them, have been narrated from the Sahaabah and the taabi’een, who came after them and all of these meanings are correct. He mentions, ‘for indeed the Qur’aan, it commands with the religion of Islaam, and it commands with the covenant to Allaah, and obedience to Allaah and it commands also that we stick to the obedience to Allaah and to the covenant to Allaah, and to the religion of al Islaam, and to hold fast to it, together, united’, and he said, ‘that is not done except by way of the Jam’aa’ah’.
So returning back to the Jamaa’ah, and the Jamaa’ah, my brothers and sisters, as we mentioned are the ‘Ulema who take from the Kitaab and the Sunnah, they are Ahlul Haqq, they are the People of Truth, because they adhere to the Truth, and this is what ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood intended by his statement, ‘the Jamaa’ah is whatever is in accordance to the truth even if you are one person’. Even if you are one person, it is the truth which is beloved my brothers and sisters.
I have travelled now in the United States just on this visit here, I started in Washington DC, with the brothers that organised the conference at the Masjid Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth, and the reason why that narration came to me was because when I visited them for the first time, I thought to myself there’s a narration from ibn Taymiyyah about Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth. I said to them, you named your Masjid, Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth, do you know what you’ve done, by calling your Masjid Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth; do you realise the burden of responsibility you have placed upon your shoulders, that you’ve ascribed yourselves to Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth, they are the atbaa’ul anbiyyaah, qawlan wa fi’lan, they are the followers of the Prophets in speech and action. Do you know what you’ve done, can you adhere to those principles, can you adhere to that weight upon your shoulders, that you are going to adhere to the Qur’aan and hadeeth to the extent that you are now called Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth? Do you know that Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth they are Ahlul Rahmah. They are the ones under the Mercy of Allaah, you’ve carried a burden upon your shoulders; and of course ascribing ourselves to Salafiyyah, and to the madhhab of the Salaf, they are Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth also, because all of these terms are synonymous, Ahlussunati wal Jamaa’ah, they are the Salafiyyoon; they are the Salafiyyoon as Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymeen said(rahimahullaahu ta’aala) in his Sharh of al ‘Aqeeadtul Waasitiyah, when he was asked a question, ‘who is Ahlussunnati wal Jamaa’ah, are they the Salafiyyoon, or are they the Ashaa’irah, he said ‘Ahlussunati wal Jamaa’ah are one, and they are the salafiyoon.’
It is a burden, my brothers and sisters, that if a person is going to ascribe himself to something he has to adhere to its principles, to its fundamentals.
Hold onto it with his molar teeth because this is what Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) has commanded; you were enemies, one to another, and Allaah brought your hearts together, brought your hearts together upon what, upon Kitaab and Sunnah and way of the Sahaabah, and the Salaf of this Ummah.
From there we saw the brothers in Washington dc, we saw the brothers from Baltimore, we saw the brothers from North Carolina, the brothers with Rasheed Barbee, and those brothers, the brothers from Philadelphia, New York came down, the Salafi brothers; brothers travelled from Florida and other places to that conference. From that conference we went down to Florida and we spent the weekend there, for the conference in Palm Beach at the Islamic Centre of Palm Beach. I didn’t know that they had a Salafi community that strong. Salafi’s turned up from Orlando, from Miami; I didn’t know there were Salafi’s in Miami, I just thought there were gangsters in Miami! Salafi’s in Miami, sitting down with notepads and pens in the duroos, and now I’m here in Philadelphia at the brothers here in Germantown, and then tomorrow Insha’Allaah we’re going to travel to Newark to the conference there, thereafter to Chicago, thereafter to Toronto.
Salafiyyah as I see it today, and I was here in the United States in 1997, I came to the United States and I stayed with our brother Abu ‘Uwais (rahimahullaahu ta’aala), at his house, in Asbury park, and I travelled to DC and I travelled to New York from that time till this time on and off I’ve been coming to the United States; I have never seen the da’wah as strong as it is today and as united as it is today in the United States of America, and after Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) we thank the brothers who have aided in that unity, and in that strengthening of the da’wah. I have never seen the kalimah of the brothers so united as it is today, that’s why Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) said to the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَيَّدَكَ بِنَصۡرِهِۦ وَبِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ
‘It is Allaah who aided you with His support and with the support of the believers. (Anfal: 62)
But the point is, here, and this is the aid that the Messenger of Allaah (sallaallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) received, but the point here is the next statement of Allaah,
وَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِہِمۡۚ لَوۡ أَنفَقۡتَ مَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِيعً۬ا مَّآ أَلَّفۡتَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِهِمۡ وَلَـٰڪِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيۡنَہُمۡۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ۬
And He has united their (i.e. believers’) hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allâh has united them. Certainly He is All-Mighty, All-Wise. (Anfal: 63)
So Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) is addressing as Shaykh Fawzaan mentions, in his explanation of al haa’eeeyyah, that it was Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) who brought their hearts together, that even if the wealth of the earth the treasures of the earth were to be spent in bringing the hearts of mankind together, were you each to give a bullion of gold, it would not bring their hearts together; rather Shaykh al Fawzaan said that the dunya only causes the hearts to be split, because everyone has his own goal, everyone has his own passions his own desires in what he seeks, so the dunya will not unite the hearts, but Allaah will unite their hearts. Allaah aided the Messenger of Allaah, and the Companions, Allaah (subhaaanahu wa ta’aala) sent to the messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), the best of mankind aided the Messenger of Allaah (sallalaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), he had the best of companionship (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and they had the best leader, the best teacher, the best Imaam and the best Prophet and the best Messenger over them. So Allaah united their hearts, the closer you are to revelation, the closer you are to the truth, the more that you bite onto the truth, up until you follow the madhhab of the Salaf in totality, then the more united your hearts become, and then you truly become Ahlul Rahma, and Allaah will shower you with His Mercy, in your families, in your dealings, in your brotherhood, in your mutual love, you will not hate each other. The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘do not hate one another, and do not try to outbid one another, or inflate the prices against one another, and do not turn your back on one another.’
Your brother needs you, when Salafiyyah is being attacked, we need to be more united, we don’t need to split our ranks; just like we stand in prayer, and we say to you stand shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, heel to heel, don’t let the Shaytaan come in between you, this is in the Salaah, in your rows in the prayer; likewise, in our da’wah do not allow the Shaytaan to come in between you, be united, be upon the haqq, ‘dont turn your backs upon one another’ dont abandon your brother dont betra your brother’ he needs you. The da’wat-us-Salafiyyah, when it is being attacked, don’t run, don’t run for cover, stand like a man! Let them come, we’ll stand, and we’ll stand as one, we’ll stand united. Who wants to come and damage this daw’ah, the Ashaai’rah, the Mu’tazillah, the Soofeeyyah, the Shia, the Jam’iyaat the Jama’aat the firaq, the sects, the groups, the parties; they want to come and give us their sweet words and throw money at us; we are not interested. The Salafi cannot be bought.
Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) could not be bought. They said, we’ll give you the wealth of Quraysh, if you give up, he said I don’t want your wealth, he wouldnt take it. They said we’ll give you the most beautiful woman, he said I don’t want it. They said we’ll make you our leader, not interested. What do you want?
All he wanted (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was for them to say laa ilaaha ilallaah, to believe in Allaah, and to submit to Allaah,
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُواْ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَقَـٰمُواْ
Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allâh (Alone),” and then they stand firm, (Fussilat: 30)
Those who say our Lord is Allaah and they are steadfast. The reason why da’wat-us-Salafiyyah is now so strong in the United States of America, thousands, tens of thousands, I would say, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, New Jersey, Philadelphia; other parts, Pennsylvania, Washington, Maryland, Florida; Salafi’s in Florida, Salafi’s in California. We got some brothers that we met in Madeenah about two weeks ago, they work in Riyaadh and they live in Riyaadh, and they’re doing da’wah in Mexico City, Masjid Markaz Salafi in Mexico city; the world capital of kidnapping. Salafi’s there, Salafi’s in Brazil. I’m on a Whatsapp group and there’s Salafi brothers in brazil, giving da’wah, returning back to the United States, saying da’wah Salafiyyah is strong, because of this tamassuk, the further you are away from Ahlul Qur’aan wal Hadeeth, the further you are away from the Mercy of Allaah and the closer you are to ikhtilaaf and differing and splitting.
So hold fast my brothers and sisters, to the Book and the Sunnah. Don’t let people come and divide your word, be as the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said ‘the believer in his mutual mercy and his love and his affection is like one body,‘ it’s like one body my brothers and sisters, that’s how we should be. This is why you see dawat-us-Salafiyyah spreading, so vehemently across the United States of America; that we make idhaar of our Salafiyyah, we don’t hide it in our pockets, we make it apparent; we show the people that we are upon Salafiyyah, and we tell the people these are our ‘Ulema, and it is a shame that you don’t know the ‘Ulema. We don’t hide the fact that we take from bin Baaz, ibn ‘Uthaymeen, al Albaani, Muqbil, Ahmad an Najmi, Zayd al Madkhalee, Rabee’ al Madkhalee, Fawzaan, al Luhaydaan, ‘Ubayd al Jaabiree, Muhammad ibn Haadee.
We don’t hide that from the people, we don’t hide from the people Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and we’re upon the madhdab of imaam Ahmad, in our ‘aqeedah and the madhhab of Shaafi’ee in our ‘aqeedah, the madhhab of Maalik in our ‘aqeedah; because their ‘aqeedah was one ‘aqeedah, we don’t hide it. Like Ahlul Bid’ah, when you speak to them you say what’s your madhhab? They say oh ‘I’m Maaliki’, I say you’re Maaliki, in everything you’re Maaliki, Imaam Maalik, khalaas?, they say, ‘no my ‘aqeedah is Asha’ari’. I thought you said you’re Maaliki?! I’m Maaliki but ‘Ash’ari in ‘aqeedah.’ I say ok, anything else? ‘Yeah I’m sahwardee in tareeqah, Soofee’, anything else? Yeah, Ikhwaani in outlook.’ So where’s Maalik gone then?! Maalik’s been relegated, somewhere in the background you make wudoo’ like Maalik, but your ‘aqeedah is Ash’ari which opposes the ‘aqeedah of Maalik; your tareeqah is some Soofee, Chishti, Qaadiree tareeqah in Soofeeyyah that opposes Maalik. Your outlook is Ikhwaani, basically Khaarijee Mu’tazilee, so where’s Maalik gone!
They just use these as covers my brothers and sisters, that, by the way, is the likes of Hamza Yusuf and those people, and the likes of Nuh Haa Meem Keller a Shaafi’ee, what Shaafi’ee? He said I’m Shaafi’ee, ‘aqeedah Ash’ari. What, Shafi’ee was Ash’ari?! Yes Shaafi’ee was Ash’ari. How is that possible when Shaafi’ee died in 204 AH, Abul Hassan al Ash’ari he died in 324 AH two Centuries later. How can the one before follow the one who came after!
Important my brothers and sisters that we recognise that though they claim they are united, their hearts are divided and separated. Ahlussunnah we are united. Even if I differ with my brother, I may argue with my brother, I may fall out for a couple of hours with my brother, then get on that phone and ring him and say yaa akhee I’m sorry, this is Ahlussunnah.
There’s a hadeeth that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar had a dispute, they argued with each other on an occasion, voices were raised, ‘Umar stood up and left. As ‘Umar reached his house he felt remorse, how can I argue with Abu Bakr? As ‘Umar is leaving going to his house, Abu Bakr feels remorse in his heart; this is ‘Umar, how can I be angry with ‘Umar. Abu Bakr gets up and goes to the house of the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), to ask him to intercede and he said to the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) I argued with ‘Umar, and voices were raised and we disputed. ‘Umar in the meantime is returning back to the house of Abu Bakr, to apologise, in the meantime Abu Bakr continues explaining to the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), I believe it was my fault. The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said no, he should not argue with you. So when ‘Umar reaches the house of Abu Bakr he finds Abu Bakr is not there, so then he thinks, aah he must be with Rasoolullaah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), so he goes back to the house of Rasoolullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam), knocks on the door to come in to apologise to Abu Bakr, the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says you ‘Umar, are arguing with him, Abu Bakr says, no ya Rasooslullaah, it’s my fault, it’s me. He says no, you were there one who said that I believe in you when the people disbelieved in me. Look at how the Sahaabah were, look at how their hearts were my brothers and sisters; how much love affection, even if something occurred between them, look how quick they were. Love, muhabbah that they had between each other why, because they knew that they were upon the same path as the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said ‘this is the straight path of Allaah, and follow my straight path and do not follow other paths for they will divide you from His straight path.’
The straight path is what they were upon. So whatever may occur between them, wallaahi! They were united in their hearts, they didn’t even like their physical bodies being separated from each other; they didn’t even like that my brothers and sisters, as the hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) on an occasion they were upon a journey and the Companions they disembarked and they separated from each other whilst they were just relaxing. So the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) called them; he said this separation of yours in the pathways, this separation of yours is from Shaytaan, physical bodily separation is from Shaytaan. Let me ask you my brothers, were their hearts united? The Sahaabah, were their hearts united, yes. So if the physical bodily separation upon a journey is from Shaytaan what about the division of the hearts?
That is from Shaytaan, that is more from Shaytaan because the man can physically be separate from another brother, like we are in the United Kingdom and you’re in the United States, they are brothers. Did you know there are brothers up in the Antarctic, a brother Whatsapp’d me and he said akhee listen, we are up in the Antarctic and one of these Inuit, Indians…Eskimos basically, becoming Muslim, Salafi; can we organise some tele-links and introduce them to the Scholars and the works of the Scholars. Salafi’s up there! From Toronto, I think it’s about a six hour flight or something ridiculous like that, north you have to go, one flight every two weeks or something like that.
Salafi’s in Alaska, Salafi’s in Brazil, Salafi’s in Pakistan, Salafi’s in China; Salafi’s in Japan, Salafi’s in Australia; we do tele-links, Salafi’s in New Zealand. Our hearts are united because our ‘aqeedah is one, our methodology is one our outlook is one. We look at the world through the same, lens. we look at the Revelation through the eyes of the Sahaabah (radhiyallaahu anhum), that’s what unites our hearts; but when they’re upon a journey those Sahaabah, they separated from each other, just relaxing, one there, one there; he said no, come together, for this bodily division is from Shaytaan, so what about Muslims? One Muslim believes Allaah is everywhere, and this is a belief of kufr, to believe that Allaah is everywhere; another Muslim believes that Allaah is above the Seven Heavens, that He is distinct and separate from His Creation, above the Seven heavens, that is the belief of Ahlussunnah.
So if they’re divided in their ‘aqeedah, one Muslim believes he can bow down to the graves, the other one says it’s shirk; one Muslim believes that you can go to a soothsayer or to a fortune teller or to an astrologer, another Muslim says that that’s kufr, that’s the knowledge of the Unseen possessed only by Allaah. Can their hearts be united?
Impossible! Cannot be united because their ‘aqeedah is not one, their belief is not one their outlook is not one; so never mind bodily separation, their hearts aren’t united in the first place! But it is the Revelation that united the heart of the Sahaabah, it is Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) who united their hearts, so may Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) keep our hearts united, baarakallahu feekum.
we have invited the brothers, we have a conference in the United Kingdom – by the way there is a conference in Toronto Canada, Insha’Alalah, I advise you all to try and attend the conference in a week from now on Family and Children; not only on the basis that we support Ahlussunnah wherever they are. I told the brothers in Washington DC, I said you brothers that are sitting here today come to Florida and meet your brothers from Ahlussunnah in Florida; I told the brothers in Florida come to Newark New Jersey, there’s a conference in Newark New Jersey; and I’m telling you now my brothers, come to Newark for the conference this weekend and come also to Toronto.
How far is the drive? Twelve hours…nothing! I must have driven about 72 hours by now! Look, I landed in Newark, drove to Washington DC; from DC all the way down to Orlando, and then to West Palm Beach, South Florida, and then a;l the way back up to here. then tomorrow up to Newark New Jersey, then to Chicago, then to Toronto, join me!
America’s renowned for these road trips…route 66 and all of that, America’s renowned for it, how come no one likes travelling. Or jump on a flight, but make it, yaa ikhwaan, we have a conference in the United Kingdom, Birmingham, you can fly to that one. We’ve invited our brothers ‘Abdul Wali, Abul Hassan Maalik, Anwar Wright, Hassan Somalee and Kashiff Khan; five brothers we’ve invited, all five have agreed to come, for their love of Ahlussunnah. Abu Iyaad has been here, Abu Hakeem has been here before we travel we meet each other to benefit from each other and to remind each other of the deen of Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala); this is all that we’re here for, baarakallaah feekum. So we ask that you likewise aid in your cities across the United States, if the brothers have organised a conference, tell your wife, forget the shopping this weekend, forget it. Put your money in your pocket, we’ll spend it on the road trip. And we’re going to…there’s a Cleveland conference coming upon the 20th, go to the Cleveland conference, go to the Toronto conference…
Wa jaazakumallaahu khayran, walhamdulllaahi rabbil ‘alaameen wa sallallaahu ‘alaa nabiyyinah Muhammad wa ‘alaa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam, wa jazakumallahu khayran.
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Audio courtesy of http://www.troid.ca