A Summary of the most important characteristics of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah
A Summary of the Most Important Characteristics of
Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’ah Shaykh Naasir ibn ‘Abdul-Kareem al-‘Aql /1. From Mujmol Usool Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah Fil-‘Aqeedah (pp.27-29)
Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah (those who follow what the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his Companions were upon; with respect to beliefs, actions and guidance) are the Saved-Sect in the Hereafter and the Victorious and Aided Group in this world. Despite the distance of (time and place) between them, they possess certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. From them are:-
[1]: They attach great importance to the Book of Allaah; its recitation, memorisation and understanding its correct tafseer (explanation). Likewise they attach great importance to the Hadeeth (Prophetic narrations), by their knowledge and understanding of it, and their distinguishing the authentic narrations from the weak and false ones. These two – the Qur’aan and the authentic hadeeth – are the root source of acquiring the ‘aqeedah (beliefs) and ahkaam (rulings). Furthermore, they couple their knowledge with action, according to the level of their knowledge.
[2]: They enter into the Religion completely. They have eemaan (certainty of belief) in all of the Book, having eemaan in the textual promises and threats that are mentioned in it. They also have eemaan in those verses affirming Allaah’s Attributes and those that negate any resemblance of Allaah to His creation. They combine having eemaan in al-Qadr (Pre-Decree and Predestination) along with affirming the fact that the slave possess free will and choice in action. They also combine knowledge along with worship, strength along with mercy, and utilising the necessary worldly means along with having zuhd (renouncing the world).
[3]: They follow the Sunnah (Prophetic guidance) and abandon innovations in the Religion. Likewise, they shun sectarianism and ikhtilaaf (differences) in matters of Religion.
[4]: They follow the guidance of the trustworthy Scholars; the Sahaabah (Companions), and all those who traverse their path – following them in matters of beliefs, actions and da’wah (calling to Allaah). They keep away from those that oppose the path of the Companions.
[5]: They adhere to the middle position. Thus, in matters of i’tiqaad (beliefs), they hold a middle position between those sects that go into extremes. Likewise, in acts of worship and sulook (conduct), they adhere to a middle position between those who exceed the limits and those who fall short.
[6]: They strive to gather the word of the Muslims upon the truth, and to unify their ranks upon tawheed (to single out Allaah alone for worship) and ittibaa’ (following the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the Companions and the Pious Predecessors of this Ummah), and seek to eliminate all avenues that lead to differing and splitting between them. From this standpoint, they do not distinguish themselves from the rest of the Muslims – in matters concerning the usoolud-deen (fundamentals of the Religion) – with any other name, except that of the Sunnah and the Jamaa’ah. Likewise, they do not form walaa (love, loyalty and allegiance) or ‘adaa (enmity and disalliegence) with anyone, upon a bond other than Islaam and the Sunnah.
[7]: They call to Allaah, and towards enjoining the good, forbidding the evil, Jihaad, reviving the Sunnah, reviving the Religion, and establishing the Sharee’ah (Prescribed Law) of Allaah and His Rule, in every matter – large or small.
[8]: They have insaaf (fairness) and ‘adl (justice). So they observe the right of Allaah – the Most High – when dealing with people. When doing so, they neither look towards their own self-interests, nor that of their group. This is why they do not exploit others, nor do them wrong, nor do they belittle those who deserve esteem whosoever they may be.
[9]: They possess a uniformity in understanding, and a similarity in their stances – even though there are great distances between their respective lands and times. This is from the fruits of them possessing a single source for the Religion, and a single unified methodology for its acquisition.
[10]: They possess ihsaan (kindness), rahmah (mercy), and husnul-khalq (good manners) towards all people.
[11]: They show naseehah (sincerity) to Allaah, His Book, His Messenger, and are sincere and give sincere advice to the Muslim leaders and the general body of Muslims.
[12]: They are concerned with the affairs of the Muslims, aid them, fulfil the rights towards them, and prevent any injury from reaching them.
From Al-Istiqaamah Magazine
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What is Tawheed?
What is Tawheed?
from the ‘Invitation to Islam’ Newsletter, Issue 1, May 1997
The word Tawheed has by the grace of Allah, become a word which is well known amongst the Muslims of today. But do we really know the reality of this word?
‘What is tawheed?’ you ask any Muslim ‘Is it the oneness of Allah?’ he would reply ‘What’s that?’ You ask again. ‘I’m not too sure’ he would say. This is the kind of scenario which the Muslims are involved in, and what a sad state of affairs it is when we cannot even explain the basics of our religion to those around us.
Some of us are so dedicated to completing our studies, that we engross ourselves in the textbooks for hours. Others of us love the western culture and lifestyle so much, that we can mimic and relay the words of non-Muslims to such an extent that we even start to quote chapter and verse from the latest Hollywood blockbuster! Yet upon being asked ‘What is Tawheed? ‘ our tongues fall silent.
The cure for ignorance is knowledge, and in order to cure ourselves we have to take time-out to learn about this beautiful religion, even if it means reading articles such as this!
It is true that tawheed is simply the oneness of Allah, yet at the same time it is something which is so vividly explained in our religion, that it is a life long quest for knowledge. The detailed nature of tawheed is something which unfortunately, is not known by the majority of the Muslims and this is why you find many Muslims saying that Christianity and Judaism, like Islam, are monotheistic[1] religions. Yet if these Muslims were to truly learn about Islam they would discover that religions such as Christianity and Judaism are forms of idol-worship, which are far from being similar to Islam.
The Reality of Tawheed Linguistically the word tawheed means unification (to make something one). However Islamically it is in reference to Allah being singled out alone, in all that is particular to him. The opposite of tawheed is ‘Shirk’ which is to associate partners with Allah by giving that which belongs to him, to others.[2]
Traditionally tawheed has been divided into three categories which help us to understand why Allah alone deserves to be singled out for worship. The division of tawheed into these three categories was something which was not done by the prophet of Allah (saws) or any of his companions. So is this something new that has been introduced into the religion (bida[3])? The answer to this is no, because we find that the basis of these three categories are to be found in the verses of the Qur’aan, hadeeth [authenticated reports] of the prophet (saws) and the statements of his companions.
The necessity for dividing up tawheed into three categories first came about during the early days of Islam. After the death of the prophet (saws) Islam spread like wildfire and before long the empires of Africa, Byzantium, Persia and India all fell under Muslim rule. Many people from these areas became Muslims. However some of these converts to Islam also carried with them some of their old pagan beliefs. This caused much confusion amongst people, and the simple belief of Islam which the people had accepted, started to become clouded. The task of opposing these new thoughts and ideas which were becoming prevalent, fell upon the shoulders of the Muslim scholars, who rose to meet this challenge intellectually. Amongst the first people to divide tawheed into three categories was the famous scholar of Iraq, Abu Haneefah.[4]
Before mentioning what these three categories are, it has to be stressed that the concept of tawheed is in no way similar to the Christian concept of trinity except the fact that they both begin with the letter ‘T’!! The division of tawheed does not divide Allah up into three separate parts (as does trinity), but rather it helps us to understand as to how our Creator is unique and alone in being singled out for worship and reverence. Unfortunately there are some Christians today[5] who seem to forget this fact and continue to spread lies about the meaning of the tawheed of Allah.
This first category of tawheed is known as tawheed-ur Ruboobeeyah or the unity of Allah’s lordship. Through this we understand that it is Allah who alone created the universe which is why one of his divine names is AlKhaliq (the Creator). Through this we know that it is Allah alone who controls the universe and allows things to happen. This is why Allah refers to himself in the Qur’aan as AI-Malik (The Owner of the universe). Hence when something happens, it only happens with the permission of Allah:
“And no calamity strikes except with the permission of Allah” (Surah At-Taghabun 64:11)
The prophet Muhammed (saws) further elaborated on this concept of Allah’s control over the universe by saying: “Be aware that if the whole of mankind gathered together in order to do something to help you they would only be able to do something for you which Allah had already written for you. Likewise, if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm you, they would only be able to do something to harm you which Allah had already written to happen to you”. [7]
We know that another name, which Allah chooses to call himself by, is Ar-Razzaq (the Sustainer). It is Allah who provides us with our food, shelter, clothing, families and friends. When our crops seem to be dying and there is not a cloud in sight, it is Allah who sends down His rain from the skies and sustains us.
“Allah created all things and He is the agent upon which all things depend” (Surah Az-Zumar 39:62)
From this you would expect that people would turn back to Allah for good or bad fortune. However this is not the case. Today we find people relying on all kinds of good luck charms[9], which they believe will bring them good fortune and ward off evil.
Unfortunately, this selfish act of turning away from the favours of Allah has hit the Muslims hard, we find in many of our societies that the Muslims believe in all kinds of superstitions and good luck charms such as the Tawees (amulet). These practices have absolutely no basis whatsoever in Islam, but rather the prophet (saws) warned us by saying: “Whosoever brings something new into Islam, something which does not belong to it, will have it rejected”.[10]
The Unity of Allah’s names and Attributes
This category of tawheed is known as Tawheed-al-Asma Wa-Siffaat or the unity of Allah’s name and attributes. Allah says in the Qur’aan:
“Allah there is no god but be. To Him belong the most beautiful names” (Surah Ta-Ha 20 : 8 )
This category of tawheed helps us to understand who our Creator is through His Names and Attributes. Through His Names and Attributes we know that Allah is far beyond our imagination and bears no resemblance to human beings. In fact it is this principle which makes Islam unique from all the other religions on the face of this earth. Allah says in the Qur’aan:
“There is nothing like Him and He hears and sees all things” (Surah Ash-Shura 42:11)
It is in this verse that a distinction is made between those who truly worship their Creator and those who worship the creation. The most prominent example of this is that of the Christians. They claim that Jesus (as) was God, this negates the Tawheed of Allah’s Names and Attributes because it degrades the Creator (whom the Christians say was Jesus) to the level of human beings and gives Him those weaknesses which humans possess. It is known from the bible that Jesus ate, drank, felt tired, slept and did all the things which normal humans do. So how is it right for the Christians to say that god lowered himself to the level of humans? As Muslims we say ‘Allah is above such imperfection’ (subhanallah) and rather it is us weak humans who need to turn to this perfect lord and Creator.
This part of tawheed is known as tawheed-al-eebadah or the unity of Allah’s worship. It is this aspect of tawheed which it could be said is the most important. It is through this that we learn how to worship our Creator alone. Allah is not the kind of god who does not respond or hear your calls. He is not the kind of god who needs some sort of middleman to take our prayers up to Him. Rather Allah says:
“And your lord said : Call on me and I will answer you” (Surah Ghafir 40:60)
There is nothing to prevent a person from calling directly upon Allah and asking for His help and forgiveness. Unfortunately this is violated by most of mankind who believe that other men can intercede for them and even grant them forgiveness because of their apparent special status! An example of this is the Catholic religion which holds that the celibate priests are more purer then normal people. This allows for them to then hear the confessions of people’s sins and subsequently grant them forgiveness. It is this kind of behaviour which takes a person away from the worship of Allah to the worship of man.
As Muslims we too should be careful of this, because it seems that many of our brothers and sisters are indulging in this kind of evil and are not even aware of it. How many Muslims are there today who call upon others besides Allah? We find that in countries such as Pakistan and India there are millions of Muslims who go to the graves of ‘saints’ and ask them for children, wealth, fame and more sadly, forgiveness. What makes this more ironic is the fact that many of these Muslims pray five times a day, and in every rakat (unit) of their prayer they say the following to their Creator:
“You alone do we worship and You alone do we seek help from” (Surah Al-Fatiha 1:4)
Learning about the tawheed of Allah is the most important thing for the whole of humanity. For if we learn how to trust and worship our Creator with sincerity, then -and only then- will we escape from the slavery and captivity of this life. By worshipping Allah alone does a man achieve true peace and success. This is the reason why when the adhaan[15] is called, the muezzin[16] says “Haya alal Falaa” (come to success). And we ask Allah to make us amongst those who go to this success. Ameen
Footnotes
1 Monotheistic – The belief in one God
2 The topic of Shirk will be dealt with in the next issue, Inshallah
3 Bida – The Arabic word for innovation (something new broughtinto the religion)
4 Abu Haneefah an-Nu’man ibn Thabit was born in Kufah (Iraq) in the year 700 CE. He made his living as a cloth merchant, but devoted his entire life to studying and teaching Islam. His refusal to he appointed the judge of Kufah resulted in him being imprisoned and incurring punishment. He died in the year 767 CE in prison. His rulings and reasoning became the basis of the Hanafite school of Islamic law.
5 One of these Christians is a man by the name of Joseph Smith. Smith is on a continuous crusade against Islam and is a regular preacher in Hyde Park (London). A debate between Smith and Abdur-Raheem Green, entitled “The Sources of Islam” conducted last year shows the fallacy of Smith’s lies against Islam.
6 Surah At-Taghaabun 64:11
7 At-Tirmidhee
8 Surah Az-Zurnar 39:62
9 Such as four-leaf clovers, rabbits paws and horseshoes.
10 Bukhari ( Eng. Trans Vol .3 pp 535 No. 861 ) and Muslim Eng Trans Vol. 3 pp 931 No 4266
11 Surah Ta-Ha 20:8
12 Surah As-Shura 42:11
13 Surah Ghaffir 40:60
14 Surah Fatiha 1:4
15 The call to prayer
16 The one who calls to prayer
What is Shirk?
Majmoo Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn Uthaymeen,
and al-Qawl ul-Mufeed Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed
Shirk is of two types, major shirk which puts a person beyond the pale of Islaam, and lesser shirk.
The first type, major shirk, is, every type of shirk which the Lawgiver described as such and which puts a person beyond the pale of his religion – such as devoting any kind of act of worship which should be for Allaah to someone other than Allaah, such as praying to anyone other than Allaah, fasting for anyone other than Allaah or offering a sacrifice to anyone other than Allaah. It is also a form of major shirk to offer supplication (du’aa) to anyone other than Allaah, such as calling upon the occupant of a grave or calling upon one who is absent to help one in some way in which no one is able to help except Allaah.
The second type is minor shirk, which means every kind of speech or action that Islaam describes as shirk, but it does not put a person beyond the pale of Islaam – such as swearing an oath by something other than Allaah, because the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) said, “Whoever swears an oath by something other than Allaah is guilty of kufr or shirk.”
The one who swears an oath by something other than Allaah but does not believe that anyone other than Allaah has the same greatness as Allah, is a mushrik who is guilty of lesser shirk, regardless of whether the one by whom he swore is venerated by people or not. It is not permissible to swear by the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), or by the president, or by the Ka’bah, or by Jibreel, because this is shirk, but it is minor shirk which does not put a person beyond the pale of Islaam.
Another type of minor shirk is showing off, which means that a person does something so that people will see it, not for the sake of Allaah.
The ways in which showing off may cancel out acts of worship are either of the following,
The first is when it is applies to an act of worship from the outset, i.e., the person is not doing that action for any reason other than showing off. In this case, the action is invalid and is rejected, because of the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah which was attributed to the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), which says that Allaah said,
“I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else’s sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me.” [Muslim, Kitaab az-Zuhd, no. 2985]
The second is when the showing off happens later on during the act of worship, i.e., the action is originally for Allaah, then showing off creeps into it.
This may be one of two cases,
The first is when the person resists it – this does not harm him.
For example, a man has prayed a rak’ah, then some people come along during his second rak’ah and it occurs to him to make the rukoo’ or sujood longer, or makes himself weep, and so on. If he resists that, it does not harm him, because he is striving against this idea. But if he goes along with that, then every action which stemmed from showing off is invalid, such as if he made his standing or prostration long, or he made himself weep – all of those actions will be cancelled out. But does this invalidation extend to the entire act of worship or not?
We say that either of the following must apply,
Either the end of his act of worship was connected to the beginning (with no pause); so if the end of it is invalidated then all of it is invalidated.
This is the case with the prayer – the last part of it cannot be invalidated without the first part also being invalidated, so the whole prayer is invalid.
Or if the beginning of the action is separate from the end of it, then the first part is valid but the latter part is not. Whatever came before the showing off is valid, and what came after it is not valid.
An example of that is a man who has a hundred riyals, and gives fifty of them in charity for the sake of Allaah with a sound intention, then he gives fifty in charity for the purpose of showing off. The first fifty are accepted, and the second fifty are not accepted, because the latter is separate from the former.
The Meaning of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah
The Meaning of
Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’ah
Sunnah In the language: “a path/way or a course” [1]
Its usage in the Sharee’ah: “the guidance which the Messenger and his companions were upon in terms of knowledge, belief, speech and action. This is the Sunnah, the following of which is obligatory, whose adherents have been praised, and whose abandoners have been rebuked [2]. The term ‘sunnah’ is also used for the various acts of worship and beliefs, just as everything which is contrary to it is termed ‘bid’ah’ (innovation)” [3]
In the language: “is from Ijtimaa’ (a gathering, where people come together, i.e. a unification) and this is the opposite of separation, dispersal. The Jamaa’ah are a people who have united together on a certain matter/affair”. [4]
Its usage in the Sharee’ah: “They are the salaf[5] of this Ummah, from among the Sahaabas (companions) and the Taabi’een (successors of the Companions) and whoever follows them in goodness till the Day of Judgement. They are those who unite themselves upon the Book and the Sunnah and upon their leaders (i.e. their scholars) and those who travel upon that which the Messenger, His Companions and those who followed them in goodness were upon”. [6]
“They are those who hold on to the Sunnah of the Messenger, the ones who unite themselves upon that and they are the Companions of the Messenger, the Scholars of Guidance, who follow the Companions and whoever travels upon their path in terms of belief, speech and action until the Day of Judgement[7], while remaining steadfast upon this adherence. They avoid innovating and innovations in whatever place or age/era they may be. They are the ones who will remain uppermost, aided (by Allaah) until the Day of Judgement.”
So Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah have been described with sticking to the Sunnah and [in all circumstances] avoiding/disregarding the invented matters and innovations in the Deen (religion)[8].
By the word Jamaa’ah the totality of muslims is not meant, nor those who are largest in number or the great majority[9]. This is because the Messenger mentioned that the Taa’ifat ul-Mansoorah[10]is a single group from among the seventy three groups.
Other Terms for the Ahl us-Sunnah The Ahl us-Sunnah have also been named with other terms and descriptions which have been reported from the Messenger or from the scholars who guide themselves by the Ahl us-Sunnah. So they have been called Ahl us-Sunnah without the annexation of Jamaa’ah. They have also been called Al-Jamaa’ah alone which has been reported from the Prophet by Mu’aawiyyah who said: The Messenger said: “Indeed this Ummah will split into seventy three sects and all of them are in the Fire except for one and that is the Jamaa’ah” [11]
As-Salaf as-Saalih[12] and Ahl ul-Athar The phrase ‘As-Salaf as-Saalih’ (The Righteous Predecessors) is synonymous with Ahl us-Sunnah. The Ahl us-Sunnah has also been named ‘Ahl ul-Athar’ (The People of Narration) meaning: Followers of the Sunnah transmitted from the Messenger and his companions.
Ahl ul-Hadeeth They have also been named ‘Ahl ul-Hadeeth (the People of Hadeeth) as they take from the Sunnah of the Messenger that which has been reported, and what is contained therein of knowledge/cognizance, and are the followers of his guidance outwardly and inwardly.
The Ahlus-Sunnah, therefore are the Ahl ul-Hadeeth with respect to this meaning.
The naming of the Ahlus-Sunnah, At-Taaifatul Mansoorah, and Al-Firqat un-Naajiyyah with Ahl ul-Hadeeth is a matter which is elaborate and extensive in the view of the Salaf of this Ummah because it is a requirement of the various texts, of the description of the actual state of affairs and of factual evidence. This has been established from Ibn Al-Mubaarak, Ibn Madeenee, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imaam Bukhaaree, Ahmad ibn Sinaan and others besides them (radiallaahu-anhum)[13].
Many of the scholars have named them (the Ahlus-Sunnah) in a similar manner and have introduced their books, compositions and compilations with this name. For example the book: [Aqeedat us-Salaf Ashaab ul-Hadeeth] (The Aqeedah of the Salaf, the Companions of Hadeeth) of Imaam Isma’eel Saaboonee 449 H.
Also see Majmoo ul-Fataawaa of Shaikh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah 4/9, 95 where he has named the Ahlus-Sunnah with Ahlul-Hadeeth.
And also: the ‘Firqat un-Naajiyah (The Saved Sect) ‘: this is the one which is rescued from the Fire due to its adherence to the Sunnah of the Messenger. This (term) has been taken from the hadeeth: “And this Ummah will split into seventy-three sects, seventy-two will be in the Fire and one in Paradise and that is the Jamaa’ah”[14]
And this is why many amongst the Salaf and the Scholars of the Deen name the Ahl us-Sunnah with ‘Al-Firqat un-Naajiyyah’ and those who are clearly upon the Truth with ‘At-Taa’ifat ul-Mansoorah’ (the Aided Group) . These are the ones whom the Messenger himself has named due to his saying: “There will never cease to be a small group (Taai’fah) from my Ummah clearly upon the Truth until the Hour is established”[15]
They are also called ‘The Jamaa’ah’ and sometimes ‘Ahl ul-Jamaa’ah’as has preceded.
The (word) Jamaa’ah, which is the Jamaa’ah of the Ahl us-Sunnah, those who come together and unite themselves upon the Truth, is taken from the word Ijtimaa’ (an assembly, gathering) and that is the opposite of Furqa (separatedness, disunity).
The word Jamaa’ah contains the meaning of ‘Ijmaa’ which is ‘Ittifaaq’ (unanimous agreement) the opposite of which is ‘Ikhtilaaf’ (disagreement).
The Ahl us-Sunnah have been described as those who have united themselves upon the Usool ud-Deen[16], have agreed upon them and have united upon the scholars of the Deen.
Ahl ul-Ittibaa’ They have also been described with ‘Ahl ul-Ittibaa” (The People of Adherence and Imitation) because it is from their way: to follow the Aathaar (tracks) of the Messenger outwardly and inwardly, to follow the path of the first and foremost of this Ummah from among the Muhaajireen and the Ansaar[17] and to follow the advice of the Messenger when he said: “You must follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me. Hold onto it (my Sunnah) and bite onto it with your molars. Beware of the newly invented matters for every bid’ah is misguidance… “[18]
Footnotes:
1. See [Mukhtaar us-Suhhaah] p. 317 and Ibn Mandhoor’s [Lisaan ul-Arab] 13/220 -228
2. See [Al-Wasiyyat ul-Kubraa Fee Aqeedatu Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah] p23, [Sharh Aqeedat ul-Waasitiyyah] by Muhammad Khaleel Kharraas p.16, and [Sharh Aqeedat ut-Tahaawiyyah] p.33.
3. See [Al-Amr bil-Ma’roof wan-Nahee anil-Munkar] by Ibn Taymiyah p.77.
4. See [Lisaan ul-Arab] 8/53-60.
5. Salaf : Its meaning in the arabic language is ‘those who precede, have gone before’. Its usage: a word used by the earliest scholars for the first three generations of muslims and those who are upon their way in accordance with the hadeeth of the Messenger which is reported by Bukhaaree: “The best of generations is my generation, then those that follow them, then those that follow them”. Imaam Abu Haneefah (rahimahullaah) d. 769 (150 H.) said: “Adhere to the athar (narration) and the tareeqah (way) of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) and beware of newly invented matters for all of it is innovation” [Reported by As-Suyootee in Sawn al Mantaq wal-Kalaam p.32] By clinging to their way, holding on to their beliefs and understanding them as they did, worshipping Allaah in His Oneness, upon the Authentic Sunnah of the Messenger in the manner of the Companions one is guaranteed success in this life and security from the Fire in the next life. When questioned by his companions about those who will be saved from the Fire, the Messenger replied: “They are those who are upon what I and my companions are upon” [Reported by Tirmidhee from Amr ibn al-Aas – Hadeeth Hasan] All the great scholars from the earliest to the later times have advised clinging to the way and methodology (manhaj) of the Salaf and adherence to it as it is the only means of deliverance. Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) says: “There is no fault/criticism for the one who manifests/proclaims the way (madhdhab) of the Salaf, who attaches himself to it and refers to it. Rather, it is obligatory to accept that from him by unanimous agreement (Ittifaaq) because the way (madhdhab) of the Salaf is nothing but the Truth (Haqq)” [Majmoo al-Fataawaa 4:149]
6. See [Al-I’tisaam] by Ash-Shaatibee 1/23 and [Sharh Aqeedat il-Waasitiyyah] by Haras p.16-17 and [Sharh Aqeedat it-Tahaawiyyah] p.33
7. See [[Sharh ul-Aqeedat il-Tahaawiyyah] by Abi Izz al-Hanafee p.330 and [Risaa’il fil-Aqeedah] p.53.
8. The term Bid’ah is meant for every belief, speech, action, which is not from the Messenger and His companions and has no precedence from them. This term is relevant in every age and era and will remain so until the Day of Judgement. Allaah has provided every generation with trustworthy ones who will preserve His Deen.
9. Abu Umaamah reports that the Prophet “My Ummah will split up into seventy-three sects, seventy-two in the Fire and one in Paradise” We said. Describe them to us. He said: “As-Suwaad al-A’dham (the Great Majority)” Reported by al-Laalikaa’ee in [Sharh Usool il-I’tiqaad] and Ibn Abee Aasim in [as-Sunnah]. The Great Majority here does not refer to the great majority of people in every age and era. Rather this is specific for the era of the Companions and the Taabi’een. Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ood said: “The Jamaa’ah is whatever (agrees) with the Truth. Even if it is only one person” . Ishaaq ibn Raahawaayah (d.238) said: “If you were to ask the ignorant people about the Great Majority they would say: The majority of people. They do not know that al-Jamaa’ah is the Scholar who clings to the narrations from the Prophet and his way. So whoever is with him (the scholar) and follows him, then he is al-Jamaa’ah” Reported by Abu Nu’aym in [Hilyat ul-Awliyaah]. In the era of the Companions and their Followers the Taabi’een the Great Majority in that time were upon the Truth. This was due to the fact that people were in nearness to the time of the Messenger and the Messenger attested to the credibility of the best of generations. As for those who came after them then the fact that they are many is not to be considered due to the generality of the texts which give evidence that evil will increase and spread amongst the people, the Ummah will split into seventy-three sects and that Islaam will return as something strange.
10. The Aided Group: a synonymous term for Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah.
11. Reported by Ibn Abee Aasim in [Al-Kitaab was-Sunnah] (1/33). Al-Albaanee said: Hadeeth Saheeh.
12. The addition ‘As-Saalih’ means ‘righteous’. See footnote 5 which has preceded for an explanation of this point.
13. Ibn Al Mubaarak (rahimahullaah) said: “According to me, they are the Ashaab ul-hadeeth” Imaam Bukhaaree said: Ibn al-Madini said: “They are the Ashaab ul-Hadeeth (People of Hadeeth)” Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: “If the Aided Group is not the Ashaab ul-Hadeeth then I have no idea who it is!” Shaikh Abdul Qaadir al-Jilaani said: “As for the Saved Sect it is the Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah and there is no name for the Ahl us-Sunnah except one and that is the Ashaab ul-Hadeeth”
14. Reported by Abu Daawood in his [Sunan] in the ‘Book of Sunnah’ no. 4597
15. Reported by Muslim, Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah and Al-Haakim – Saheeh.
16. Usool ud-Deen: The Fundamentals of the Religion. This refers to the matters of belief (Aqeedah), including the manner of belief in Allaah Azzawajall and all that is due to him from the meanings of Tawheed regarding His Essence, His Names and His Attributes.
17. Muhaajireen: Those who emigrated from Makkah to Medinah with the Messenger . Ansaar. Those who received the emigrants in Medinah and aided them.
18. Reported by Ibn Aasim in his [Book of Sunnah] Al-Albaanee said: Its isnaad is Saheeh and its narrators, all of them, are trustworthy.
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