..."It does not behove and befit a true believer, who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day, to belong to any self-invented and man-made sect
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:
In
reference to a previous question (Question No.3877)
[in
what i must say seems to be one of your best answers!]
Where
you mentioned:
and i
quote..."It does not behove and befit a true believer, who sincerely
believes in Allah and the Last Day, to belong to any self-invented and man-made
sect; but rather he should be proud to be recognized with the name his Lord
Most Gracious has chosen for his believing slaves: ie. 'muslims'."
But
what about those people who call themselves 'Salifs' or 'The Saviour Sect'
Your
previously sent me a good email about the term Salif aqeedah, However if the
above quote is correct then that contradicts those who call themselves 'Salifs'
- May i add that on one website i found that they said it was ok InshAllaah to refer
to themselves as that...according to the Qur'aan and Sunnah.
I
don't mean to be awkward, i am just trying to get this clear, and yet the more
research i do the more confusing things seem to get...
Anyway
i hope my question is clear, and that you are not feeling offended.
Regards.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Call Oneself Salafis or sect name
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.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah
Hujuraat verse 13:
13 O mankind! We created you
from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and
tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the Sight
of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well
acquainted (with all things).
My dear and beloved Brother in Islam, Allah Subhanah
created all humanity from a single pair of common parents and made mankind
aligned to a nation or tribe or race so that we may recognize each other. Thus if one belongs to the nation of Arabia,
there is absolutely no harm if one claims and declares that he is from the
geographical location of Arabia so that he is recognized. If one wishes to be further recognized, there
is absolutely no harm if one claims or declares that he belongs to a particular
tribe (eg. Hijazi, Najdi, Ansari, Qurayshi, etc.), or even a particular family
(eg. Banu-Makhzoom, Banu-Hashim, etc.). Thus
the recognition of the
But to segregate and recognize one who has professed
belief in the Supreme Oneness of Allah and the appointment of
Allah says in Chapter 30
Surah Rum aayat 31-32
This (Islam) is the right and true faith, but
most people do not know. (Be steadfast on this) turning wholly and sincerely
towards Allah Alone, and fear Him, and establish the Salat, and do not be
like the mushriks, who have set up their separate creeds and divided themselves
into sects, each sect rejoicing in what it has.
Allahs says in Chapter 42 Surah Ash-Shura aayat
13
He (Allah) has appointed for you the same Way of
Life, which He had ordained for
The Messenger of Allah (saws), his noble companions, his
noble family, and all the true believers who followed them in belief and in
deeds neither called themselves Shias, or Sunnis, or Salafees or by any other
prefix or self-invented sect name….they were all proud to be recognized by the
name Allah Subhanah has chosen for the believers; ie. ‘muslims’!
There is absolutely no harm if one dissects one
geographical or tribal liaison and narrows it down to a family or a house for
his recognition; but to dissect a ‘muslim’ by his belief so that one may be
recognized as a Shia, or a Sunni, or a Hanafi, or a Shafei, or a Salafee, etc.
when the Lord Most High has Himself named the believers ‘muslims’ is absolutely
inappropriate and against the guidance of Islam.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah
Hajj verse 77-78:
O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow down) and do ‘sajdah’
(prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it
may be that you attain true success!
Exert your utmost for the cause of Allah, as one should. He has chosen you for His service, and has
not laid on you any hardship in your religion.
Therefore, be steadfast in the
religion of your father
Dear and beloved brother in Islam, Shias, Sunnis,
Ismailis, Bohris, Salafees, etc. are all sect names which man has named and
chosen for himself; the name Allah has chosen for the believers is ‘muslims’!
It does not behove and befit a true believer, who
sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day, to belong to any self-invented
and man-made sect; but rather he should be proud to be recognized with the name
his Lord Most Gracious has chosen for his believing slaves: ie. ‘muslims’.
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘There will
befall my Ummah exactly (all those) evils which befell the people of Isra'il,
so much so that if there was one amongst them who openly committed fornication
with his mother there will be among my Ummah one who will do that, and if the
people of Isra'il were fragmented into seventy-two sects, my Ummah will be
fragmented into seventy-three sects! All
of them will be in Hell Fire except one sect.
They (the Companions) said: ‘O Allah's Messenger (saws), which one is
that?’ Whereupon he (saws) replied: ‘It
is one to which I and my companions belong.’
Your
Statement: Anyway i hope my question is clear, and that you are not feeling
offended.
Beloved brother in Islam, never ever hesitate or apologize
for asking any questions in the deen; for the deen or ‘way of life’ called
Al-Islam is based on the Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge of the All Knowing Lord,
and every single command of the All Wise Lord is abundant in common-sense and
logic. Asking any type of questions in
Islam to gain more knowledge, or to confirm the Truth so that one’s heart is
more content, or to understand and thus follow with more conviction the
dictates of the deen is not only permissible, but absolutely encouraged in
Islam. It is the right of the brother or
sister to ask anything they wish to clarify in the deen; and it is the
responsibility and duty of the good scholars to address the question asked to
the best of their knowledge and ability, and in the most polite and humble
manner.
What is discouraged in Islam is if one asks questions for
the sake of asking, or arguing to ridicule the Truth with absolutely no
intention of obeying or following when the Truth is made clear to them,
etc. But if one asks questions to
clarify and seek knowledge so that one may better follow the deen; such seeking
of the Knowledge of Truth is absolutely encouraged in Islam
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being
misled; but if one believes, obeys and
follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in
Islam,
Burhan
Wister