Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

dear brother,

asalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah e wa barakatuhu.

i am a new in your site,through a brother (may allah bless him,who have shown me a light in my life) i am reading the quistion and there reply.i have still hundreds of quistions in my mind,my problem is that I can not write good english as it is not my mother language,but i will try. can you please tell us"why there are so many factions in islam?who is the responsible for this?why our religious leaders are hatted or un popular?why they always support power?from yazeed till akbar badshah(our mullahs supported akbar´s"deen-e-ilahi")till today.where to go and to whom shall we simple moumneen follows?i have not very much knowledge of islam as i am living in europe since over 24 years,but now i am learning about deen more and with lot of intress. many thanks in advance for your reply

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Answer:

Role of Aalims in Islam

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

May Allah Subhanah help you and increase your quest for the knowledge of the Truth of Islam. May Allah bless the brother who helped you on this Path; rest assured Allah Subhanah will give him a full reward for all the good deeds that you do, without diminishing your reward in the least..Insha Allah. Whenever one makes a sincere intention and effort to turn back to Allah, the Merciful Lord opens his heart to the knowledge of Islam, and facilitates and makes the path easy for him.

What you have said about the State of the Muslim Ummah is unfortunately absolutely true! Each group has formed their own sects; sometimes on small differences and misunderstandings, and have broken away from the Ummah. May Allah guide them and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

Brother, we must understand that Allah Subhanah is the Creator of all mankind, and everything that is in existence. It is He, Who has given each individual intelligence and a free will, as a test in this life, to choose the path he wills for his salvation. Whoever, with his bestowed intelligence and of his own free will, chooses the Path ordained by Allah, obeys and follows his revealed guidance and His Messenger, they pass the test of life. Whoever, with his intelligence and free will, denies the Path chosen by Allah, and follows a path other than that, will fail the test. Allah Subhanah created this good and evil, precisely so that He may test who amongst his creation uses the intelligence bestowed upon him to recognize the Truth of Islam, and of his own free will, chooses the Path that Allah Subhanah has ordained.

Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 67 Surah Al Mulk verse 2:He (Allah) created death and life that He may test you, to see which of you is the best in deeds.

Whatever the forms of differences in beliefs between muslims and non-muslims; or even between muslims and muslims, the very test is that who amongst mankind recognizes and follows the guidance revealed by Allah Subhanah.

Brother, the best and probably only way is for one to read and understand the Book of Guidance that has been revealed by our Merciful Lord for the guidance of all mankind. Once a person has understood this clear teachings and guidance, everything becomes extremely clear to him. The Holy Quran are the very words of Wisdom from the All Wise Allah, and it guides only to the Straight Path of Islam. Once you have read this Glorious Book with understanding, Insha Allah, the Truth will stand clear from the falsehood.

Allah says in Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185:"Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for mankind and consists of CLEAR teachings which show the right way and are a Criterion of the Truth and falsehood."

You are also absolutely right about some of the religious scholars who have sold the words of Allah for a paltry worldly gain! But brother, all the five fingers are not alike! When we have a multitude of these unscrupulous and self-made holy men; there are also a multitude of good religious scholars and leaders who have sacrificed their lives and their possessions in always standing by the Truth. They spoke and acted in accordance to the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws), no matter what consequences they had to face! They bartered their worldly life and its pleasures, for the promise of forgiveness and mercy of Allah in the Hereafter. May Allah bless them, and give them an honorable place in the Gardens of Bliss. And Allah is a witness, there are many such people who live the life of Truth even today!

If there were the worldly mullahs who supported people like Akbar in the formation of his own deen, the history of the world is also witness to the likes of Imam Hussain (r.a.) who sacrificed his life, his family, and his possessions against the tyrants of his time and stood by the Truth; for no other reason than the sole Pleasure of Allah Subhanah!

Brother, this constant battle between right and wrong, good and evil, virtue and sin… in an unending one and will last till the end of time. And this is precisely the test that Allah Subhanah has ordained… Who amongst His slaves uses his intelligence, and of his own free will, recognizes the Truth from the falsehood, obeys and follows the Truth, and rejects falsehood at all times! If Allah has willed, everything would have been good and there would have been no evil and confusion on this earth, and each and every one would have been a believer… but then the test could not be held!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verses 99-100:Had your Lord Willed (that all the people of the world should be believers), all the dwellers of the earth would have believed in Him. Will you, then, force the people to become believers? No one can believe without the permission of Allah; and the way of Allah is that He throws filth on those who do not use their commonsense.

Your MILLION DOLLAR question: where to go and to whom shall we simple moumneen follow?

Obey and follow two things, and Insha Allah, you will never be misguided:

Allah Subhanah

The Last Messenger of Allah, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32:O Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.

Brother read the Quran with understanding in any language you understand best, and for further knowledge of the Truth read the ‘Seerah’ or life-history of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Other than these two sources of knowledge, there is no third knowledge needed for one to be guided aright.

Read and understand these two clear and easy sources of knowledge, and implore the Merciful Lord to open your heart to their understanding. And once you have even basic knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah, no power and no confusion in the world will ever be able to misguide you from the Straight Path of Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verses 125-126:So (the fact is that) whomever Allah wills to guide aright, He makes his breast wide open to Islam. And whomever He wills to let go astray, He makes his breast narrow and squeezes it so tight that (at the very idea of Islam) he begins to feel as if his soul were climbing up towards the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath over those who do not believe, whereas this Way is the Straight Way of your Lord, and We have made its Signs quite clear for those who are open to advice.

May Allah bless and increase yours and our quest for the knowledge of Truth, and guide you and us all to the Siraat al Mustaqeem.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan