Question:
What is said about exaggeration (Ghulu)?
Answer:
Islam is a religion of moderation. It does not allow excess or deficiency. Extremism and negligence are two extremes, and Islam lies in between them. Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah are established on moderation in their beliefs and actions. The germs of atheism arise from extremism and negligence; the more a person indulges in them, the further he moves away from the fold of Islam. Extremism occurs in both beliefs and actions; if there is extremism in beliefs, it leads to polytheism and disbelief, and if there is extremism in actions, it gives birth to innovations and superstitions. Just as there are degrees of polytheism, disbelief, innovations, and superstitions, there are also degrees of extremism and negligence. In any case, it is destruction and ruin.
Exceeding the Shariah limits is extremism.
❀ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ali Jassas Hanafi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
الغلو فى الدين هو مجاوزة حد الحق فيه
By extremism in religion is meant crossing its true and correct limits.
❀ Imam Qatadah bin Daamah, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
إياكم والتكلف والتنطع والغلو.
Avoid exaggeration, undue depth, and extremism.
❀ Imam Muhammad bin Nasr Marwazi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
عامة أهل الأهواء والبدع إنما هم بين أمرين غلوا فى دين الله وشدة ذهاب فيه حتى يمرقوا منه بمجاوزتهم الحدود التى حدها الله ورسوله أو إحفاء وجحودا به حتى يقصروا عن حدود الله التى حدها، ودين الله موضوع فوق التقصير، ودون الغلو.
All innovators and worshippers of desires are characterized by two things: they are extreme and harsh in religion, to the extent that they cross the limits set by Allah and His Messenger, while religion is placed above negligence and below extremism.
❀ Imam Abu Nu’aym Ahmad bin Abdullah Asbahani, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
الحسنة بين السيئتين يعني بترك الغلو والتقصير
Goodness lies between two evils, meaning to abandon extremism and negligence.
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
دين الله بين الغالي فيه والجافي عنه، وخيار الأمور أوسطها .
The religion of Allah (Islam) lies between those who are extreme and those who are negligent. The best matters are moderate.
❀ Allama Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
دين الله بين الغالي فيه والجافي عنه، وخير الناس النمط الأوسط، الذين ارتفعوا عن تقصير المفرطين، ولم يلحقوا بعلو المعتدين، وقد جعل الله سبحانه هذه الأمة وسطا، وهى الخيار العدل، لتوسطها بين الطرفين المذمومين، والعدل هو الوسط بين طرفي الجور والتفريط .
The religion of Allah lies between extremism and negligence. The best people are the moderate ones, who are above those who go into negligence and are not associated with those who commit excess in extremism. Allah Almighty has made this Ummah moderate, meaning the best moderate Ummah, because it lies between these two blameworthy extremes. Justice means the middle degree between oppression and negligence.
Extremism is forbidden and unlawful and is a great destruction. The ruin and destruction of previous nations was due to extremism. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, forbade extremism and called it the practice of Jews and Christians. It is also explained that Jews and Christians made the graves of their prophets places of prostration. To show extremism in the status of any prophet by attributing to him the attributes of Allah is a great misguidance.
Previous nations were misguided for this reason; Christians called Sayyiduna Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him, and Jews called Sayyiduna Uzair (Ezra), peace be upon him, “Son of God” due to extremism. Also, elevating the sacred status of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to the level of Allah is extremism. Similarly, exaggerating the status of Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, or any member of Ahl al-Bayt or any righteous person also falls under extremism, while the path of Islam is moderation. Extremism is forbidden and unlawful.
❀ Hasan Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
وضع دين الله دون الغلو وفوق التقصير
The religion of Allah (Islam) is placed below extremism and above negligence.
Extremism is forbidden and unlawful. The destruction and ruin of previous nations was caused by extremism.
Allah Almighty says:
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ
O People of the Book! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not say about Allah except the truth.
❀ Allama Ibn al-Arabi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
نهى الله سبحانه أهل الكتاب عن الغلو فى الدين من طريقيه؛ فى التوحيد، وفي العمل؛ فغلوهم فى التوحيد نسبتهم له الولد سبحانه، وغلوهم فى العمل ما ابتدعوه من الرهبانية فى التحليل والتحريم والعبادة والتكليف .
Allah Almighty forbade the People of the Book from extremism in religion in both respects: in Tawhid and in actions. Extremism in Tawhid was that they attributed offspring to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. Extremism in actions was that they adopted monasticism in declaring lawful and unlawful and in worship and legal obligations.
The Word of Allah Almighty is:
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا أَهْوَاءَ قَوْمٍ قَدْ ضَلُّوا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ
O Prophet! Say to the People of the Book, “Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not follow their desires who have gone astray and mislead many from the way of Allah.”
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said three times:
هلك المتنطعون.
Those who are extreme perish.
❀ Hafiz Khattabi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
المتنطع المتعمق فى المتكلف البحث عنه على مذاهب أهل الكلام الداخلين فيما لا يعنيهم الخائضين فيما لا تبلغه عقولهم .
المتنطع
By this is meant a person who delves into matters that are very difficult to investigate, like the method of the people of Kalam (theologians). They enter into matters that are of no benefit and ponder over things beyond the reach of their intellect.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said three times:
إياكم والغلو فى الدين فإنما هلك من كان قبلكم بالغلو في الدين .
Avoid extremism in religion, for the people before you were destroyed because of extremism in religion.
This hadith has been authenticated by Imam Ibn al-Jarud, may Allah have mercy on him
, Imam Ibn Khuzaymah, may Allah have mercy on him
, and Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him
. Imam Hakim, may Allah have mercy on him
, declared it authentic according to the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim, and Hafiz Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, agreed.
❀ Allama Abu al-Abbas al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
هم المتعمقون فى الكلام الغالون فيه، ويعني بهم : الغالين فى التأويل العادلين عن ظواهر الشرع بغير دليل؛ كالباطنية، وغلاة الشيعة، وهلاكهم بأن صرفوا عن الحق فى الدنيا، وبأن يعذبوا فى الآخرة .
Those who perish are those who go into undue depth in speech and exaggerate in it. They are those who exaggerate in the interpretation of texts and deviate from the apparent meaning of Shariah without evidence, like the Batini sect and the extremist Shi’a. Their destruction is that they turned away from the truth in this world and will face punishment in the Hereafter.
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
قوله: إياكم والغلو فى الدين عام فى جميع أنواع الغلو، فى الاعتقاد والأعمال والغلو : مجاوزة الحد بأن يزاد الشيء فى حمده أو ذمه على ما يستحق ، ونحو ذلك . والنصارى أكثر غلوا فى الاعتقادات والأعمال من سائر الطوائف، وإياهم نهى الله عن الغلو فى القرآن .
The Prophetic command: “Avoid extremism in religion.” This includes all types of extremism, meaning both belief and actions. Extremism means exceeding the limits, that is, exaggerating in the true praise or blame of something.
Among all religions, the Christians were the most extreme in beliefs and actions, which is why Allah Almighty forbade the Christians from extremism in the Quran.
He also says:
كذلك الغلو فى بعض المشايخ؛ إما فى الشيخ عدي ويونس القتى أو الحلاج وغيرهم؛ بل الغلو فى على بن أبى طالب رضى الله عنه ونحوه بل الغلو فى المسيح عليه السلام ونحوه، فكل من غلا فى حي؛ أو فى رجل صالح كمثل على رضى الله عنه أو عدي أو نحوه؛ أو فيمن يعتقد فيه الصلاح كالحلاج أو الحاكم الذى كان بمصر أو يونس القتى ونحوهم وجعل فيه نوعا من الإلهية مثل أن يقول : كل رزق لا يرزقنيه الشيخ فلان ما أريده أو يقول إذا ذبح شاة : باسم سيدي، أو يعبده بالسجود له أو لغيره أو يدعوه من دون الله تعالى؛ مثل أن يقول : يا سيدي فلان اغفر لي أو ارحمني أو أنصرني أو أرزقني أو أغثني أو أجرني أو توكلت عليك أو أنت حسبي؛ أو أنا فى حسبك؛ أو نحو هذه الأقوال والأفعال؛ التى هي من خصائص الربوبية التى لا تصلح إلا لله تعالى فكل هذا شرك وضلال يستتاب صاحبه فإن تاب وإلا قتل ، فإن الله إنما أرسل الرسل وأنزل الكتب لنعبد الله وحده لا شريك له ولا نجعل مع الله إلها آخر .
Similarly, some sheikhs are exaggerated in their status, such as Sheikh Uday, Yunus Qatti, and Hallaj, etc., and even in the status of Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and others, and in the status of Sayyiduna Masih (Jesus), peace be upon him, and others. Whoever exaggerates in the status of any living person or any righteous person like Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, or Uday, etc., or in the status of someone considered pious, such as Hallaj, the ruler of Egypt, or Yunus Qatti, etc., and attributes any kind of divinity to them, for example, saying that the provision given by such and such sheikh is not needed by me, or saying while slaughtering a goat: “In the name of my master,” or prostrating to him or worshipping him, or calling upon him besides Allah, for example saying: “O my master! Forgive me, have mercy on me, help me, provide for me, come to my aid, protect me, or I rely on you, you are sufficient for me, I entrust myself to you,” or uttering such phrases or performing such acts which are characteristics of divinity and can only be done for Allah Almighty. All this is polytheism and misguidance. Whoever does this should be admonished to repent; if he repents, it is correct, otherwise he should be killed. Because the purpose of Allah sending messengers and revealing books was that we worship Allah alone without associating any other deity with Him.
❀ Hafiz Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
الغلو والاطراء منهي عنه، والأدب والتوقير واجب، فإذا اشتبه الإطراء بالتوقير توقف العالم وتورع، وسأل من هو أعلم منه حتى يتبين له الحق ، فيقول به، وإلا فالسكوت واسع له، ويكفيه التوقير المنصوص عليه فى أحاديث لا تحصى، وكذا يكفيه مجانبة الغلو الذى ارتكبه النصارى فى عيسى، ما رضوا له بالنبوة حتى رفعوه إلى الإلهية وإلى الوالدية، وانتهكوا رتبة الربوبية الصمدية، فضلوا وخسروا، فإن إطراء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يؤدي إلى إسائة الأدب على الرب، نسأل الله تعالى أن يعصمنا بالتقوى، وأن يحفظ علينا حبنا للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كما يرضى .
Exceeding limits in reverence is forbidden, while respect and honor are obligatory. When there is suspicion of exaggeration in praise, a scholar should pause and stop, and consult a senior scholar so that the truth becomes clear, then speak about it; otherwise, silence is better. The respect that has been clearly explained in numerous hadiths is sufficient. Likewise, avoid extremism, which the Christians committed regarding Jesus, peace be upon him. They were not satisfied with his prophethood but declared him Allah and the son of Allah, thereby violating the Lordship and Oneness of Allah. Thus, they became misguided and unsuccessful. Similarly, exceeding limits in reverence for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, leads to disrespecting Allah. We ask Allah to protect us through piety and to firmly establish love for the Prophet, peace be upon him, in our hearts as He likes.
❀ Allama Ibn Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him
, says:
إنما هو اعتقادهم أنه كلما غلوا وزادوا غلوا فيه كانوا أقرب إليه وأخص به فهم أعصى الناس لأمره وأشدهم مخالفة لسنته وهؤلاء فيهم شبه ظاهر من النصارى الذين غلوا فى المسيح أعظم الغلو وخالفوا شرعه ودينه أعظم المخالفة، والمقصود أن هؤلاء يصدقون بالأحاديث المكذوبة الصريحة ويحرفون الأحاديث الصحيحة عن مواضعها لترويج معتقداتهم .
These people believe that the more they exaggerate, the closer and special they become to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, while in reality, these people are more opposed and disobedient to his commands and Sunnah than anyone else. These people clearly resemble those Christians who exaggerated excessively regarding Sayyiduna Isa, peace be upon him, and opposed his Shariah greatly.
