سنن دارمي
Sunan ad-Darimi
مقدمهIntroduction
باب رِسَالَةِ عَبَّادِ بْنِ عَبَّادٍ الْخَوَّاصِ الشَّامِيِّ:
Chapter: The Letter of ‘Abad ibn ‘Abad al-Khawwas al-Shami
Hadith 672
أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْأِنْطَاكِيُّ، عَنْ عَبَّادِ بْنِ عَبَّادٍ الْخَوَّاصِ الشَّامِيِّ أَبِي عُتْبَةَ، قَالَ: "أَمَّا بَعْدُ، اعْقِلُوا وَالْعَقْلُ نِعْمَةٌ، فَرُبَّ ذِي عَقْلٍ قَدْ شُغِلَ قَلْبُهُ بِالتَّعَمُّقِ عَمَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ ضَرَرٌ، عَنْ الِانْتِفَاعِ بِمَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّى صَارَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ سَاهِيًا، وَمِنْ فَضْلِ عَقْلِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُ النَّظَرِ فِيمَا لَا نَظَرَ فِيهِ حَتَّى لَا يَكُونَ فَضْلُ عَقْلِهِ وَبَالًا عَلَيْهِ فِي تَرْكِ مُنَافَسَةِ مَنْ هُوَ دُونَهُ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ، أَوْ رَجُلٍ شُغِلَ قَلْبُهُ بِبِدْعَةٍ قَلَّدَ فِيهَا دِينَهُ رِجَالًا دُونَ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، أَوْ اكْتَفَى بِرَأْيِهِ فِيمَا لَا يَرَى الْهُدَى إِلَّا فِيهَا، وَلَا يَرَى الضَّلَالَةَ إِلَّا بِتَرْكِهَا، يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ أَخَذَهَا مِنْ الْقُرْآنِ وَهُوَ يَدْعُو إِلَى فِرَاقِ الْقُرْآنِ، أَفَمَا كَانَ لِلْقُرْآنِ حَمَلَةٌ قَبْلَهُ وَقَبْلَ أَصْحَابِهِ يَعْمَلُونَ بِمُحْكَمِهِ، وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِمُتَشَابِهِهِ ؟ وَكَانُوا مِنْهُ عَلَى مَنَارٍ لِوَضَحِ الطَّرِيقِ، وَكَانَ الْقُرْآنُ إِمَامَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِمَامًا لِأَصْحَابِهِ، وَكَانَ أَصْحَابُهُ أَئِمَّةً لِمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ رِجَالٌ مَعْرُوفُونَ مَنْسُوبُونَ فِي الْبُلْدَانِ، مُتَّفِقُونَ فِي الرَّدِّ عَلَى أَصْحَابِ الْأَهْوَاءِ مَعَ مَا كَانَ بَيْنَهُمْ مِنْ الِاخْتِلَافِ، وَتَسَكَّعَ أَصْحَابُ الْأَهْوَاءِ بِرَأْيِهِمْ فِي سُبُلٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ جَائِرَةٍ عَنْ الْقَصْدِ، مُفَارِقَةٍ لِلصِّرَاطِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ، فَتَوَّهَتْ بِهِمْ أَدِلَّاؤُهُمْ فِي مَهَامِهَ مُضِلَّةٍ، فَأَمْعَنُوا فِيهَا مُتَعَسِّفِينَ فِي تِيهِهِمْ، كُلَّمَا أَحْدَثَ لَهُمْ الشَّيْطَانُ بِدْعَةً فِي ضَلَالَتِهِمْ، انْتَقَلُوا مِنْهَا إِلَى غَيْرِهَا، لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَطْلُبُوا أَثَرَ السَّالِفِينَ، وَلَمْ يَقْتَدُوا بِالْمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ عَنْ عُمَرَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِزِيَادٍ: هَلْ تَدْرِي مَا يَهْدِمُ الْإِسْلَامَ ؟ زَلَّةُ عَالِمٍ، وَجِدَالُ مُنَافِقٍ بِالْقُرْآنِ، وَأَئِمَّةٌ مُضِلُّونَ، اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَمَا حَدَثَ فِي قُرَّائِكُمْ وَأَهْلِ مَسَاجِدِكُمْ مِنْ الْغِيبَةِ، وَالنَّمِيمَةِ، وَالْمَشْيِ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِوَجْهَيْنِ وَلِسَانَيْنِ، وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ أَنَّ مَنْ كَانَ ذَا وَجْهَيْنِ فِي الدُّنْيَا، كَانَ ذَا وَجْهَيْنِ فِي النَّارِ، يَلْقَاكَ صَاحِبُ الْغِيبَةِ فَيَغْتَابُ عِنْدَكَ مَنْ يَرَى أَنَّكَ تُحِبُّ غِيبَتَهُ، وَيُخَالِفُكَ إِلَى صَاحِبِكَ فَيَأْتِيهِ عَنْكَ بِمِثْلِهِ، فَإِذَا هُوَ قَدْ أَصَابَ عِنْدَ كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمَا حَاجَتَهُ، وَخَفِيَ عَلَى كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمَا مَا أُتِيَ بِهِ عِنْدَ صَاحِبِهِ، حُضُورُهُ عِنْدَ مَنْ حَضَرَهُ حُضُورُ الْإِخْوَانِ، وَغَيْبَتُهُ عَنْ مَنْ غَابَ عَنْهُ غَيْبَةُ الْأَعْدَاءِ، مَنْ حَضَرَ مِنْهُمْ كَانَتْ لَهُ الْأَثَرَةُ، وَمَنْ غَابَ مِنْهُمْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ حُرْمَةٌ، يَفْتِنُ مَنْ حَضَرَهُ بِالتَّزْكِيَةِ، وَيَغْتَابُ مَنْ غَابَ عَنْهُ بِالْغِيبَةِ، فَيَا لَعِبَادَ اللَّهِ أَمَا فِي الْقَوْمِ مِنْ رَشِيدٍ وَلَا مُصْلِحٍ بِهِ يَقْمَعُ هَذَا عَنْ مَكِيدَتِهِ، وَيَرُدُّهُ عَنْ عِرْضِ أَخِيهِ الْمُسْلِمِ ؟ بَلْ عَرَفَ هَوَاهُمْ فِيمَا مَشَى بِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَاسْتَمْكَنَ مِنْهُمْ وَأَمْكَنُوهُ مِنْ حَاجَتِهِ، فَأَكَلَ بِدِينِهِ مَعَ أَدْيَانِهِمْ، فَاللَّهَ اللَّهَ، ذُبُّوا عَنْ حُرَمِ أَغْيَابِكُمْ، وَكُفُّوا أَلْسِنَتَكُمْ عَنْهُمْ إِلَّا مِنْ خَيْرٍ، وَنَاصِحُوا اللَّهَ فِي أُمَّتِكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ حَمَلَةَ الْكِتَابِ وَالسُّنَّةِ، فَإِنَّ الْكِتَابَ لَا يَنْطِقُ حَتَّى يُنْطَقَ بِهِ، وَإِنَّ السُّنَّةَ لَا تَعْمَلُ حَتَّى يُعْمَلَ بِهَا، فَمَتَى يَتَعَلَّمُ الْجَاهِلُ إِذَا سَكَتَ الْعَالِمُ، فَلَمْ يُنْكِرْ مَا ظَهَرَ، وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ بِمَا تُرِكَ ؟ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ، اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ فَإِنَّكُمْ فِي زَمَانٍ رَقَّ فِيهِ الْوَرَعُ، وَقَلَّ فِيهِ الْخُشُوعُ، وَحَمَلَ الْعِلْمَ مُفْسِدُوهُ، فَأَحَبُّوا أَنْ يُعْرَفُوا بِحَمْلِهِ، وَكَرِهُوا أَنْ يُعْرَفُوا بِإِضَاعَتِهِ، فَنَطَقُوا فِيهِ بِالْهَوَى لَمَّا أَدْخَلُوا فِيهِ مِنْ الْخَطَإِ، وَحَرَّفُوا الْكَلِمَ عَمَّا تَرَكُوا مِنْ الْحَقِّ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُوا بِهِ مِنْ بَاطِلٍ، فَذُنُوبُهُمْ ذُنُوبٌ لَا يُسْتَغْفَرُ مِنْهَا، وَتَقْصِيرُهُمْ تَقْصِيرٌ لَا يُعْتَرَفُ بِهِ، كَيْفَ يَهْتَدِي الْمُسْتَدِلُّ الْمُسْتَرْشِدُ إِذَا كَانَ الدَّلِيلُ حَائِرًا ؟ أَحَبُّوا الدُّنْيَا , وَكَرِهُوا مَنْزِلَةَ أَهْلِهَا، فَشَارَكُوهُمْ فِي الْعَيْشِ، وَزَايَلُوهُمْ بِالْقَوْلِ، وَدَافَعُوا بِالْقَوْلِ عَنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَنْ يُنْسَبُوا إِلَى عَمَلِهِمْ، فَلَمْ يَتَبَرَّءُوا مِمَّا انْتَفَوْا مِنْهُ، وَلَمْ يَدْخُلُوا فِيمَا نَسَبُوا إِلَيْهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ، لِأَنَّ الْعَامِلَ بِالْحَقِّ مُتَكَلِّمٌ وَإِنْ سَكَتَ، وَقَدْ ذُكِرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: إِنِّي لَسْتُ كُلَّ كَلَامِ الْحَكِيمِ أَتَقَبَّلُ: وَلَكِنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى هَمِّهِ وَهَوَاهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ هَمُّهُ وَهَوَاهُ لِي، جَعَلْتُ صَمْتَهُ حَمْدًا وَوَقَارًا، لِي وَإِنْ لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ، وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا سورة الجمعة آية 5: كُتُبًا، وَقَالَ: خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ سورة البقرة آية 63، قَالَ: الْعَمَلُ بِمَا فِيهِ، وَلَا تَكْتَفُوا مِنْ السُّنَّةِ بِانْتِحَالِهَا بِالْقَوْلِ دُونَ الْعَمَلِ بِهَا، فَإِنَّ انْتِحَالَ السُّنَّةِ دُونَ الْعَمَلِ بِهَا كَذِبٌ بِالْقَوْلِ مَعَ إِضَاعَةِ الْعَمَلِ، وَلَا تَعِيبُوا بِالْبِدَعِ تَزَيُّنًا بِعَيْبِهَا، فَإِنَّ فَسَادَ أَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ لَيْسَ بِزَائِدٍ فِي صَلَاحِكُمْ، وَلَا تَعِيبُوهَا بَغْيًا عَلَى أَهْلِهَا، فَإِنَّ الْبَغْيَ مِنْ فَسَادِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ، وَلَيْسَ يَنْبَغِي لِلطَّبِيبِ أَنْ يُدَاوِيَ الْمَرْضَى بِمَا يُبَرِّئُهُمْ وَيُمْرِضُهُ، فَإِنَّهُ إِذَا مَرِضَ، اشْتَغَلَ بِمَرَضِهِ عَنْ مُدَاوَاتِهِمْ، وَلَكِنْ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَلْتَمِسَ لِنَفْسِهِ الصِّحَّةَ لِيَقْوَى بِهِ عَلَى عِلَاجِ الْمَرْضَى، فَلْيَكُنْ أَمْرُكُمْ فِيمَا تُنْكِرُونَ عَلَى إِخْوَانِكُمْ نَظَرًا مِنْكُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَنَصِيحَةً مِنْكُمْ لِرَبِّكُمْ، وَشَفَقَةً مِنْكُمْ عَلَى إِخْوَانِكُمْ، وَأَنْ تَكُونُوا مَعَ ذَلِكَ بِعُيُوبِ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَعْنَى مِنْكُمْ بِعُيُوبِ غَيْرِكُمْ، وَأَنْ يَسْتَفْطِمَ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا النَّصِيحَةَ، وَأَنْ يَحْظَى عِنْدَكُمْ مَنْ بَذَلَهَا لَكُمْ وَقَبِلَهَا مِنْكُمْ، وَقَدْ قَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ رَحِمَ اللَّهُ مَنْ أَهْدَى إِلَيَّ عُيُوبِي، تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَقُولُوا فَيُحْتَمَلَ لَكُمْ، وَإِنْ قِيلَ لَكُمْ مِثْلُ الَّذِي قُلْتُمْ، غَضِبْتُمْ، تَجِدُونَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فِيمَا تُنْكِرُونَ مِنْ أُمُورِهِمْ، وَتَأْتُونَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ أَفَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ عَلَيْكُمْ ؟ اتَّهِمُوا رَأْيَكُمْ وَرَأْيَ أَهْلِ زَمَانِكُمْ، وَتَثَبَّتُوا قَبْلَ أَنْ تَكَلَّمُوا، وَتَعَلَّمُوا قَبْلَ أَنْ تَعْمَلُوا، فَإِنَّهُ يَأْتِي زَمَانٌ يَشْتَبِهُ فِيهِ الْحَقُّ وَالْبَاطِلُ، وَيَكُونُ الْمَعْرُوفُ فِيهِ مُنْكَرًا، وَالْمُنْكَرُ فِيهِ مَعْرُوفًا، فَكَمْ مِنْ مُتَقَرِّبٍ إِلَى اللَّهِ بِمَا يُبَاعِدُهُ، وَمُتَحَبِّبٍ إِلَيْهِ بِمَا يُغْضِبُهُ عَلَيْهِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَفَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ فَرَآهُ حَسَنًا سورة فاطر آية 8، فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالْوُقُوفِ عِنْدَ الشُّبُهَاتِ حَتَّى يَبْرُزَ لَكُمْ وَاضِحُ الْحَقِّ بِالْبَيِّنَةِ، فَإِنَّ الدَّاخِلَ فِيمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ آثِمٌ، وَمَنْ نَظَرَ لِلَّهِ، نَظَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ، عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَأْتَمُّوا بِهِ، وَأُمُّوا بِهِ، وَعَلَيْكُمْ بِطَلَبِ أَثَرِ الْمَاضِينَ، فِيهِ، وَلَوْ أَنَّ الْأَحْبَارَ وَالرُّهْبَانَ لَمْ يَتَّقُوا زَوَالَ مَرَاتِبِهِمْ، وَفَسَادَ مَنْزِلَتِهِمْ بِإِقَامَةِ الْكِتَابِ بأَعْمَالِهِمُ، وَتِبْيَانِهِ مَا حَرَّفُوهُ وَلَا كَتَمُوهُ، وَلَكِنَّهُمْ لَمَّا خَالَفُوا الْكِتَابَ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ، الْتَمَسُوا أَنْ يَخْدَعُوا قَوْمَهُمْ عَمَّا صَنَعُوا مَخَافَةَ أَنْ تَفْسُدَ مَنَازِلُهُمْ، وَأَنْ يَتَبَيَّنَ لِلنَّاسِ فَسَادُهُمْ فَحَرَّفُوا الْكِتَابَ بِالتَّفْسِيرِ، وَمَا لَمْ يَسْتَطِيعُوا تَحْرِيفَهُ، كَتَمُوهُ، فَسَكَتُوا عَنْ صَنِيعِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ إِبْقَاءً عَلَى مَنَازِلِهِمْ، وَسَكَتُوا عَمَّا صَنَعَ قَوْمُهُمْ مُصَانَعَةً لَهُمْ، وَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُ، بَلْ مَالَئوا عَلَيْهِ وَرَقَّقُوا لَهُمْ فِيهِ".
‘Abbad al-Shami said: To proceed! O people! Use your intellect, for intellect is a great blessing. How many intelligent people are there who, instead of benefiting from what they need, have occupied their hearts with delving deeply into harmful things, to the extent that their hearts have become completely heedless of benefit.
The perfection of a man’s intellect is that he does not ponder over matters in which he has no wisdom, so that his intellect does not become a calamity for him due to delving into purposeless things, and that he refrains from competing in righteous deeds with those lesser than himself.
There are some people who, leaving the Companions of the Messenger, have adopted the imitation of others and have occupied their hearts with innovations and superstitions.
Some have sat with their own opinions and have confined and limited guidance to their own views, and have come to consider abandoning these views as misguidance and deviation. They are afflicted with the false notion that the source of this (innovation) is the Qur’an, whereas in reality they are far removed from the Qur’an. Were there not, before them and their likes, bearers of the Qur’an who knew its decisive rulings and believed in its ambiguous verses? Who were like bright beacons in the middle of the path?
The Noble Qur’an was the original source and leader of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, his Sunnah; his Companions were its source, and his Companions were the leaders for those who came after them, who were well-known and famous in their lands, and despite their differences of opinion, they were united in denouncing and refuting the people of desires. Those slaves of whims who, in their opinions, had deviated from the path of truth, had abandoned the straight path, were wandering in misguidance, and these leaders had pushed them into the pit of misguidance, so they kept sinking into it, and Satan kept inventing new innovations for them, and they kept moving from one innovation to another, and they neither sought the way and path of the earliest predecessors nor followed the example of the emigrants.
It is narrated from our master ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said to Ziyad: Do you know what will destroy Islam? The slip of a scholar, the argument of a hypocrite using the Qur’an, and a misguided leader (i.e., these three will destroy Islam). Then he said: Fear Allah, and beware of what has arisen among your scholars (reciters) and the people of the mosques, such as backbiting and slander (and agreeing with everything), and avoid going among people with two faces and two tongues, for it is narrated that whoever has two faces in this world will have two faces in Hell.
The backbiter, when he meets you, backbites in front of you about someone whose evil you like, and when he goes to that person, he opposes and speaks ill of you just as he did in front of you. In this way, he achieves his purpose with both of you, while it remains hidden from both of you what poison he has spread between you. His presence is like the presence of brothers, but his absence is as if he is your enemy. Among these backbiters, when one is present, he is liked, and when absent, he has no respect, and whoever goes to them falls into the trial of self-praise, and whoever stays away from them is backbitten. Alas, is there not among Allah’s servants a wise person or a reformer who exposes their deceptions and does not let them play with the honor and dignity of their Muslim brothers, who understands their tricks and overcomes them, and does not fulfill their needs so that the backbiter does not consume their religion with his own?
For Allah’s sake: Defend the honor and dignity of your notable ones, and restrain your tongues from everything except good regarding them. If you are bearers of the Book and the Sunnah, then be sincere to your community, for the Book does not speak until it is clarified, and likewise, the Sunnah has no effect until it is acted upon. How will the ignorant acquire knowledge if the scholar remains silent, and does not denounce what evil appears, and does not command what good is abandoned, even though those who were given the Book were taken a covenant from that they would clarify it properly and not conceal it.
O people! Fear Allah, you are in a time in which asceticism and piety have become thin and humility has decreased, the corrupters have taken up the burden of knowledge, who wish to be considered people of knowledge, and do not wish to be called those who waste knowledge. They use the name of knowledge to express their desires, for by their misguidance they have altered knowledge, and in interpreting their evil and wrong ways, they have distorted the very phrases. Their sins are so great that they cannot be forgiven, and their faults so many that they cannot be overlooked. How will the seeker of guidance and right path find light and guidance when the guides themselves are robbers, astray from the path of truth?
They have made the world beloved and disliked the status of its people; in luxury and comfort, they are with them, but in word and deed, they are opposed. They defend themselves by attributing evil deeds to themselves, and they do not refrain from the evil deeds from which the righteous abstained, and they did not enter into what was attributed to those righteous. The one who acts upon the truth, even if he remains silent, his action speaks.
It is narrated that Allah, the Exalted, says: I do not accept the words of every wise person, but I look at his intention, desire, and purpose; if his intention is for Me, then his silence becomes praise and dignity for him, even if he says nothing. Allah, the Exalted, has said: The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah, then did not carry it, is like that of a donkey carrying books. [الجمعه 5/62 ]
And He also said: Hold fast to what We have given you [بقره 63/2], meaning, hold firmly to what is in it by acting upon it. Do not suffice with adopting the Sunnah in words without action, for adopting the Sunnah without action is a small thing and a loss of knowledge. Do not adorn the defects of innovations, for the corruption of the people of innovation is not greater than your righteousness. Nor should you excessively denounce innovation by transgressing against the people of innovation, for this excess will be due to the corruption of your own soul. It is not appropriate for a doctor to treat the sick with something that makes them averse or increases their illness, and when the doctor himself becomes ill, he will abandon treating others and become occupied with his own illness. Therefore, it is appropriate for him to seek health for himself so that he can treat the sick with strength. So your dealings with your brothers should be like what you dislike for yourself, and from your side there should be advice for your Lord and compassion for your brothers. Moreover, you should pay more attention to your own faults than to the faults of others, and advise one another, and whoever advises you or accepts advice is fortunate in your eyes.
Our master ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: May Allah have mercy on the one who informs me of my faults. You want what you say to be tolerated, but if the same is said to you, you become angry. You will find among people matters which you will denounce, even though you yourself commit similar acts. Why do you not like to be held accountable for them as well? Consider your own and your contemporaries’ opinions as open to criticism, and investigate before speaking and acquire knowledge before acting. A time will come in which truth and falsehood will be mixed, in which good (ma‘ruf) will become evil (munkar) and evil will become good, because of which many seekers of nearness to Allah will become distant from Him, and those who love Allah will anger Him. Allah, the Exalted, has said: Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deeds is made attractive so he considers it good? [فاطر 8/35 ]
Therefore, in the presence of doubts, adhere to caution until the truth becomes clear to you with clear evidence, for whoever enters into what he does not know without knowledge is sinful, and whoever looks for Allah’s sake, Allah will look for him.
Hold fast to the Noble Qur’an, follow it, and take it as your leader, and in this matter, follow the footsteps of the earlier people. If the rabbis and monks (scholars of the Jews and Christians) had not feared for their status by acting upon their book and clarifying it, they would not have altered it nor concealed it.
But when they opposed the Book with their actions, they began to seek excuses to deceive the people so that their corruption would not become apparent to the people and their ranks would not be ruined and destroyed. Therefore, they altered the Book of Allah, and whatever they could not alter, they concealed, and out of fear for their own status, they remained silent about their own deeds, and because of their own actions, they also remained silent about the deeds of their people, even though Allah had taken a covenant from the People of the Book that they would clarify it to the people and not conceal it. Instead, they helped their people in their deeds and were lenient with them.
The perfection of a man’s intellect is that he does not ponder over matters in which he has no wisdom, so that his intellect does not become a calamity for him due to delving into purposeless things, and that he refrains from competing in righteous deeds with those lesser than himself.
There are some people who, leaving the Companions of the Messenger, have adopted the imitation of others and have occupied their hearts with innovations and superstitions.
Some have sat with their own opinions and have confined and limited guidance to their own views, and have come to consider abandoning these views as misguidance and deviation. They are afflicted with the false notion that the source of this (innovation) is the Qur’an, whereas in reality they are far removed from the Qur’an. Were there not, before them and their likes, bearers of the Qur’an who knew its decisive rulings and believed in its ambiguous verses? Who were like bright beacons in the middle of the path?
The Noble Qur’an was the original source and leader of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, his Sunnah; his Companions were its source, and his Companions were the leaders for those who came after them, who were well-known and famous in their lands, and despite their differences of opinion, they were united in denouncing and refuting the people of desires. Those slaves of whims who, in their opinions, had deviated from the path of truth, had abandoned the straight path, were wandering in misguidance, and these leaders had pushed them into the pit of misguidance, so they kept sinking into it, and Satan kept inventing new innovations for them, and they kept moving from one innovation to another, and they neither sought the way and path of the earliest predecessors nor followed the example of the emigrants.
It is narrated from our master ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said to Ziyad: Do you know what will destroy Islam? The slip of a scholar, the argument of a hypocrite using the Qur’an, and a misguided leader (i.e., these three will destroy Islam). Then he said: Fear Allah, and beware of what has arisen among your scholars (reciters) and the people of the mosques, such as backbiting and slander (and agreeing with everything), and avoid going among people with two faces and two tongues, for it is narrated that whoever has two faces in this world will have two faces in Hell.
The backbiter, when he meets you, backbites in front of you about someone whose evil you like, and when he goes to that person, he opposes and speaks ill of you just as he did in front of you. In this way, he achieves his purpose with both of you, while it remains hidden from both of you what poison he has spread between you. His presence is like the presence of brothers, but his absence is as if he is your enemy. Among these backbiters, when one is present, he is liked, and when absent, he has no respect, and whoever goes to them falls into the trial of self-praise, and whoever stays away from them is backbitten. Alas, is there not among Allah’s servants a wise person or a reformer who exposes their deceptions and does not let them play with the honor and dignity of their Muslim brothers, who understands their tricks and overcomes them, and does not fulfill their needs so that the backbiter does not consume their religion with his own?
For Allah’s sake: Defend the honor and dignity of your notable ones, and restrain your tongues from everything except good regarding them. If you are bearers of the Book and the Sunnah, then be sincere to your community, for the Book does not speak until it is clarified, and likewise, the Sunnah has no effect until it is acted upon. How will the ignorant acquire knowledge if the scholar remains silent, and does not denounce what evil appears, and does not command what good is abandoned, even though those who were given the Book were taken a covenant from that they would clarify it properly and not conceal it.
O people! Fear Allah, you are in a time in which asceticism and piety have become thin and humility has decreased, the corrupters have taken up the burden of knowledge, who wish to be considered people of knowledge, and do not wish to be called those who waste knowledge. They use the name of knowledge to express their desires, for by their misguidance they have altered knowledge, and in interpreting their evil and wrong ways, they have distorted the very phrases. Their sins are so great that they cannot be forgiven, and their faults so many that they cannot be overlooked. How will the seeker of guidance and right path find light and guidance when the guides themselves are robbers, astray from the path of truth?
They have made the world beloved and disliked the status of its people; in luxury and comfort, they are with them, but in word and deed, they are opposed. They defend themselves by attributing evil deeds to themselves, and they do not refrain from the evil deeds from which the righteous abstained, and they did not enter into what was attributed to those righteous. The one who acts upon the truth, even if he remains silent, his action speaks.
It is narrated that Allah, the Exalted, says: I do not accept the words of every wise person, but I look at his intention, desire, and purpose; if his intention is for Me, then his silence becomes praise and dignity for him, even if he says nothing. Allah, the Exalted, has said: The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah, then did not carry it, is like that of a donkey carrying books. [الجمعه 5/62 ]
And He also said: Hold fast to what We have given you [بقره 63/2], meaning, hold firmly to what is in it by acting upon it. Do not suffice with adopting the Sunnah in words without action, for adopting the Sunnah without action is a small thing and a loss of knowledge. Do not adorn the defects of innovations, for the corruption of the people of innovation is not greater than your righteousness. Nor should you excessively denounce innovation by transgressing against the people of innovation, for this excess will be due to the corruption of your own soul. It is not appropriate for a doctor to treat the sick with something that makes them averse or increases their illness, and when the doctor himself becomes ill, he will abandon treating others and become occupied with his own illness. Therefore, it is appropriate for him to seek health for himself so that he can treat the sick with strength. So your dealings with your brothers should be like what you dislike for yourself, and from your side there should be advice for your Lord and compassion for your brothers. Moreover, you should pay more attention to your own faults than to the faults of others, and advise one another, and whoever advises you or accepts advice is fortunate in your eyes.
Our master ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: May Allah have mercy on the one who informs me of my faults. You want what you say to be tolerated, but if the same is said to you, you become angry. You will find among people matters which you will denounce, even though you yourself commit similar acts. Why do you not like to be held accountable for them as well? Consider your own and your contemporaries’ opinions as open to criticism, and investigate before speaking and acquire knowledge before acting. A time will come in which truth and falsehood will be mixed, in which good (ma‘ruf) will become evil (munkar) and evil will become good, because of which many seekers of nearness to Allah will become distant from Him, and those who love Allah will anger Him. Allah, the Exalted, has said: Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deeds is made attractive so he considers it good? [فاطر 8/35 ]
Therefore, in the presence of doubts, adhere to caution until the truth becomes clear to you with clear evidence, for whoever enters into what he does not know without knowledge is sinful, and whoever looks for Allah’s sake, Allah will look for him.
Hold fast to the Noble Qur’an, follow it, and take it as your leader, and in this matter, follow the footsteps of the earlier people. If the rabbis and monks (scholars of the Jews and Christians) had not feared for their status by acting upon their book and clarifying it, they would not have altered it nor concealed it.
But when they opposed the Book with their actions, they began to seek excuses to deceive the people so that their corruption would not become apparent to the people and their ranks would not be ruined and destroyed. Therefore, they altered the Book of Allah, and whatever they could not alter, they concealed, and out of fear for their own status, they remained silent about their own deeds, and because of their own actions, they also remained silent about the deeds of their people, even though Allah had taken a covenant from the People of the Book that they would clarify it to the people and not conceal it. Instead, they helped their people in their deeds and were lenient with them.
