ibn-agim

[ibn-agim]

The 'Ulamā have differed whether abandoning the Ṣalāh is Kufr, which takes one out of the fold of Islam or the kufr of action, but what we can say for certain is,

يكفي تارك الصلاة عاراً أن أهل العلم اختلفوا فيه: هل هو مسلم أو كافر؟

"Sufficient for the one who abandons the Ṣalāh is disgrace [i.e, shame]. For indeed the people of knowledge differed as to whether he is, a Muslim or Kafir?"

Despite this, it seems the more correct opinion is that it is Kufr Billah which takes one out of the fold of Islam.

The Āyāt and Aḥādīth which indicate that abandoning the Ṣalāh is kufr are many! I will mention one in particular,

When the Ṣaḥābī, Miḥjan bin Abī Miḥjan did not get up to pray when the adhān was called, (he already prayed with his family). The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him,

ما منعك أن تصلي ألست برجل مسلم؟

"What prevented you from praying, are you not a muslim man?"

[سنن النسائي]

Meaning, If you were a muslim, you would pray.

Also, what has been narrated from the Ṣaḥābah and Tābi'īn,

'Umar bin Al Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) said,

لا حظ في الإسلام لمن تارك الصلاة

"There is no share of Islam for the one who abandons the prayer."

[الموطأ]

'Abdullah bin Mas'ūd (رضي الله عنه) said,

من ترك الصلاة فلا دين له

"Whoever abandons the Ṣalāh, there is no religion for him"

[تعظيم قدر الصلاة]

Ibrāhīm An Nakhā'ī said,

من ترك الصلاة فقد كفر

"Whoever abandons the Salah has disbelieved."

and Ayyūb As Sakhtiyānī said,

ترك الصلاة كفر لا يختلف فيه

"Abandoning the Salah is Kufr, there is no dispute in this [matter]"

[كتاب لمذا نصلي؟]

Ibn Rajab (رحمه الله) mentions,

وكثير من علماء أهل الحديث يرى تكفير تارك الصلاة

"Many of the scholars of Ahlul Ḥadīth saw the one who abandons the Ṣalāh to be a kāfir,

وحكاه إسحاق ��ن راهويه إجماعا منهم [...] وروي عن عطاء ونافع مولى ابن عمر أنهما سئلا عمن قال: الصلاة فريضة ولا أصلي، فقالا: هو كافر. وكذا قال الإمام أحمد

Isḥāq [bin Rahawayh] narrated that there was an 'ijmā' among them [...] and it is narrated that 'Aṭā' and Nāfi', the freed slave of Ibn 'Umar, were asked about the one who says, "prayer is obligatory but I do not pray." They said, "He is Kāfir". This was also said by Imām Aḥmad.

وقد روي عن علي وسعد وابن مسعود وغيرهم قالوا: من ترك الصلاة فقد كفر

"[Imām At Tirmidhī who] narrated that 'Ali, Sa'd, Ibn Mas'ūd and others said, "Whoever abandons the Ṣalāh has disbelieved."

[فتح الباري لابن رجب]

Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) mentions,

وتكفير تارك الصلاة هو المشهور المأثور عن جمهور السلف من الصحابة والتابعين

"And takfir of the one who abandons the Ṣalāh is well known [and] transmitted from the majority of the Salaf from the Ṣaḥābah and Tābi'īn."

[مجموع الفتاوى]

اللهم اجعلنا من المصلين

May Allah make us from amongst those who pray.

* [Important note] *

A lot of people are ignorant in this subject and therefore excused for their ignorance. Applying the hukm of kufr on an individual can only be done if the conditions of takfir are met and it has been made clear!! to the individual that abandoning the Ṣalāh is kufr. Also, some 'Ulamā' add that a person is not ruled to be a disbeliever by leaving the Ṣalāh except by the decree of a judge.

Rather we advise and show the severity of abandoning the Ṣalāh!

May Allah enter us into His garden without account. آمين

[ibn-agim]

The reality of Shirk

Taken from the reading of the book [كتاب الحقائق في التوحيد]

Shaykh 'Alī bin Khuḍayr Al Khuḍayr (فرج الله عنه) then explains,

(...) إذا ماهي حقيقة الشرك؟

(...) "So what is the reality of Shirk?

والشرك هو أن تجعل (...) كما في الحديث وهو حديث ابن مسعود وهذا تعيرف نبوي "أن تجعل الله ندا" وهذا أحسن تعريف للشرك وهو تعريف نبوي

Shirk is (…) as mentioned in the hadīth, the hadīth of Ibn Mas’ūd, and this is a prophetic definition, which is "to place rivals besides Allāh". This is the best definition for shirk, and it is a prophetic definition.

وفي الحديث الثاني أيضا تعريف للشرك هو "ما عبد من دون الله أو دعي مع الله" (...) الحديث رواه أبو يعلى وفيه ضعف ولكنه مندرج تحت أصل صحيح (...) ومعناه صحيح

and in the second hadīth also contains a definition of Shirk, "All what is worshipped or called upon besides Allah." (...) the hadīth has been narrated by Abu Ya'la, and in it is weakness. However, it falls under a correct foundation (...) and its meaning is correct

كذلك كلام ابن عباس "المشرك الذي عبد مع الله إلها غيره"

same for the words of Ibn 'Abbās, "The Mushrik who worships another deity other than Allah."

هذه ثلاث التعاريف كلها منضبطة الأول نبوي والثاني قاله الصحابة وأقره الرسول (ﷺ) والثالث قول صحابي كلها تعاريف للشرك لا مزيد على ذلك (...)

these are three definitions and all of them are applicable, first is prophetic, second was said by a ṣaḥābah and approved by the Messenger (ﷺ) and third is the saying of a ṣaḥābi (i.e, Ibn 'Abbās). These are all the definitions for Shirk, and we don't have to add upon that (...)

إذا حقيقة الشرك "أن تجعل الله ندا"، "أن تعبد غير الله أو تدعو غير الله"، "أن تجعل مع الله إلها أخر" وهذه التعاريف مأخوذة من الأحاديث النبوية

so the reality of Shirk is "to place rivals besides Allāh", "to worship other than Allah or to call upon other than Allah," "to take another deity besides Allah." and these definitions are taken from the prophetic aḥādīth."

[https://youtu.be/q_ljoK1qjq4?si=JaddkJyc0F0VbyhU]

[ibn-agim]

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said,

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَندَادٗا يُحِبُّونَهُمۡ كَحُبِّ ٱللَّهِۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَشَدُّ حُبّٗا لِّلَّهِۗ [...]

"And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allāh as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allāh. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allāh [...]"

[سورة البقرة (٢) : ١٦٥]

Imām Aṭ Ṭabarī (رحمه الله) explains,

وقال آخرون: بل الأندادُ في هذا الموضعِ إنما هم سادَتُهم الذين كانوا يُطيعونهم في معصيةِ اللهِ تعالى

"And others said, "but rather andād (partners, rivals, etc) that is referred to here are their leaders whom they used to obey [in matters] that involved the disobedience of Allah."

[he then quotes As Suddī]

As Suddī (رحمه الله) said,

[...]الأندادُ مِن الرجالِ، يُطيعونهم كما يطيعون اللهَ، إذا أمروهم أطاعوهم وعَصَوُا اللهَ

"[...] these are andād (partners, rivals, etc) among men whom they obey as they obey Allah, when they issue commands, they obey them and disobey Allah."

[جامع البيان عن تأويل آي القرآن - تفسير الطبري]

Ibn Al Qayyim (رحمه الله) said,

فأخبر أنّ من أحبّ من دون الله شيئًا كما يحبُّ الله تعالى فهو ممّن اتّخذ من دون الله أندادًا، فهذا نِدٌّ في المحبّة، لا في الخلق والرُّبوبيّة، فإنّ أحدًا من أهل الأرض لم يُثبِت هذا النِّدّ، بخلاف ندِّ المحبّة

"[For Allah] tells us that whoever loves anything as he loves Allah is one of those who have taken (for worship) rivals besides Allah. This is a rival in love, not in creation or Lordship. For no one among the people of the earth claim that this is a rival (in Lordship), unlike the case of a rival in love,

فإنّ أكثر أهل الأرض قد اتّخذوا من دون الله أندادًا في الحبِّ والتّعظيم.

for most of the people of the earth have taken rivals besides Allah in love and veneration (i.e, they love and venerate others besides Allah)."

[مدارج السالكين]

[ibn-agim]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮'𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬

The Mu'min (believer), as stated by Ibn Mas'ūd (رضي الله عنه), regards their sins,

كَأَنَّهُ قَاعِدٌ تَحْتَ جَبَلٍ يَخَافُ أَنْ يَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ

"as if he were sitting under a mountain, fearing it will fall upon him."

and the Fājir (wicked) regards their sins,

 كَذُبَابٍ مَرَّ عَلَى أَنْفِهِ

"as if they were a fly passing over his nose.”

The problem today is that many people lack fear in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and His prohibitions. Some disobey Allah all day, and some all night. There are also those who regard sins as insignificant. So they view Aṣ Ṣaghā'ir (minor sins) as inconsequential.

So they might say,

"What harm can I possibly do if I look at this non maḥram woman?"

Or

"How bad can it really be?"

Whether it is a kabīrah (major sin) or ṣaghīrah (minor sin). Compare this attitude with the following.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

إيّاكم ومُحَقَّراتِ الذنوبِ

"Beware of the minor sins,

فإنَّما مَثَلُ مُحَقَّراتِ الذنوبِ مَثَلُ قومٍ نَزَلوا بَطنَ وادٍ فجاء هذا بعودٍ، وجاء هذا بعودٍ، وجاء هذا بعودٍ حتى أنضَجوا خُبزَتَهم

for an example of minor sins are like that of a group of people who stopped in the bottom of a valley. One of them brought a piece of wood, and another brought a piece of wood, and another brought a piece of wood until they gathered enough to cook their bread.

وإنَّ مُحقِّراتِ الذُّنوبِ متى يُؤخَذُ بها صاحبُها تُهلِكُه

These minor sins, if a person is called to account for them, will destroy him."

[أحمد، الطبراني، بيهقي]

and

Anas (رضي الله عنه) said,

إنكم لتعملون أعمالاً هي أدق في أعينكم من الشعر

"You do things which in your eyes are less significant than a hair,

كنا لنعدها على عهد النبي (ﷺ) من الموبقات

but at the time of Prophet (ﷺ), we used to count them as things that could destroy a man."

[صحيح البخاري]

The scholars have stated that when minor sins are accompanied by lack of shame or sorrow or with no fear of Allah, then there is a risk that they will be counted as major sins. Hence, it is said,

لا صغيرة مع الإصرار ولا كبيرة مع الإستغفار

No minor sin [is minor] with persistence, and no major sin [is major] with Istighfār (seeking forgiveness).

والله تعالي أعلم

and Allah surely knows best!

[ibn-agim]

Your Shuyūkh and your Hawā [Desires]

In the book, "Essential Contemplations" [ضروريات التفكر], Under the point, "You and your Desires" [أنت والهوى],

Shaykh 'Abdur Raḥmān Al Mu'allimī Al Yamānī (رحمه الله) mentions,

افرض أنك نظرت في مسألة قال إمامك فيها قولا وخالفه غيره ألا يكون لك هوى في ترجيح أحد القولين بل تريد أن تنظر لتعرف الراجح منهما فتبين رجحانه؟

"Suppose that you looked into an issue regarding which your Imām had said something (i.e, taken a position on this issue) and it was contradicted by another [Imām]. Wouldn't you have some hawā (desires) in deciding which of the two sayings was the correct opinion instead wanting to look [i.e, research] and know which opinion from both was most likely to be correct?

[...] افرض أنك وعالما تحبه وآخر تكرهه أفتى كل منكم في قضية

[...] Suppose that you, a scholar whom you love and one you dislike all gave a ruling on a an issue.

واطلعت علي فتويي صاحبيك فرأتهما صوابا ثم بلغك أن عالما آخر اعترض علي واحدة من تلك الفتاوى وشدد النكير عليها أتكون حالك واحدة، سواء كانت هي فتواك أم فتوى صديقك أم فتوى مكروهك؟

After referring to the fatwayay (the two fatwas) of your two companions, you find them to be correct. It then reaches you that another scholar has severely criticised one of these fatawā. Would you feel the same whether that fatwa was yours, your friends or the one you hate?"

My dear brothers and sisters, examine yourself and question, could my shaykh be wrong? Is he free from mistakes? Is this criticism to him fair? Am I blind following?

Have we become muqallidūn (blind followers)? When one sends criticism or questions your Shuyūkh, you throw a fit of rage? You instantly reject the criticism? Some say this person is off the manhaj or even go as far as saying this person is a kāfir? Is this not taqlīd?

No matter who your shaykh is, he is not free from mistake nor correct criticism.

Ponder upon this.

As Ayyūb As Sakhtiyānī (رحمه الله) said,

لا تعرف خطأ معلّمك حتى تجالس غيره

"You will not know the mistakes of your teacher until you sit with other than him."

[جامع بيان العلم وفضله]

Yet, just because no scholar is free from mistakes doesn't mean we should be so quick to label, slander and backbite every scholar we don't agree with, calling them Murji, Khariji and so on. We should still give scholars their rights. Their flesh is poison to backbite. Take knowledge from the Ulama wherever you find it and reject their criticism to each other.

As Ibn 'Abbās (رضي الله عنهما) said,

استمعوا عِلمَ العُلماء ولا تصدّقوا بعضهم على بعض

"Listen to the knowledge of the 'Ulamā' (i.e, scholars) and don't believe them when they speak against each other.

فوالذي نفسي بيده لهم أشد تغاورًا من التيوس في زربها

For by the One in whose hand my soul is, they become more jealous than the goat in its pen."

[جامع بيان العلم وفضله]

and Allah surely knows best.

اللهم اجعلنا من المخلصين

May Allah make us from amongst the sincere.

[ibn-agim]

أترجو أن تكون وأنت شيخٌ

كما قد كنت أيام الشباب

لقد كذبتك نفسك ليس ثوبٌ

دريسٌ كالجديد من الثياب

[ibn-agim]

وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ وَمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ

While Allah created you, and that which you do?

[ibn-agim]

Ibn Al Qayyim (رحمه الله) said,

الدين كله خلق

This Deen, all of it is good character,

فمن زاد عليك في الخلق

So whoever passes you in good character,

زاد عليك في الدين

passes you in this Deen."

[مدارج السالكين]

-

Ibn Al Mubārak (رحمه الله) said,

[...] كانوا يطلبون الأدب ثم العلم

"[...] They [The Salaf Aṣ Ṣāliḥ] would seek manners [first], then knowledge."

[غاية النهاية]

[ibn-agim]

[ibn-agim]

Sufyān Ath Thawrī (رحمه الله) said,

لا يذوق العبد حلاوة الإيمان حتى يأتيه البلاء من كل مكان

"The 'Abd (Slave) will not taste the sweetness of Imān (Faith) until calamities come to him from every place."

[تاريخ بغداد]

[ibn-agim]

'Abdur Raḥman bin Mahdī (رحمه الله) said,

لو كان لي من الأمر شيء لقمت على الجسر فلا يمر بي أحد من الجهمية إلا سألته عن القرآن

"If it was up to me on the matter of things, I would stand on a bridge, so no one will pass me from the Jahmiyyah except that I would ask him about the Qur'ān

فإن قال إنه مخلوق ضربت رأسه ورميت به في الماء

If he [The Jahmi] says, "It is created," I would strike his head and throw him into the water."

[كتاب السنة لعبد الله بن أحمد]

Ibn Al Qayyim (رحمه الله) said,

بل الذي بين أهل الحديث والجهمية من الحرب أعظم مما بين عسكر الكفر وعسكر الإسلام

"Rather that which is between Ahl Al Ḥadīth and the Jahmiyyah as war, is greater than what is between the soldiers of Kufr and the soldiers of Al Islām."

[اجتماع الجيوش الإسلامية]

[ibn-agim]

Imam Ash Shafi'i (رحمه الله تعالى) said,

قل بما شئت في مسبة عرضي

Say what you wish in abuse of me,

فسكوتي عن اللئيم جواب

For [Indeed] my silence towards the idiot is an answer.

ما أنا عادم الجواب ولكن

I am not at a loss for an answer, but rather,

ما من الأسد أن تجيب الكلاب

It is not [befitting] from the lion to answer to the dogs.

[ديوان الإمام الشافعي]

[ibn-agim]

It was said to Imām Ash Shāfi'ī (رحمه الله)

ما لك تكثر من إمساك عصا ولست بضعيف؟

"Why do you often carry a stick when you are you are not with weakness?

قال لأذكر أني مسافر

He said, "To remind myself that I am a traveller [in this Dunyā]."

[سير أعلام النبلاء]

[ibn-agim]

Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) said,

فلا ألفة بين روحين أعظم مما بين الزوجين

"No love [or intimacy] between two souls is greater than that which is between the spouses."

[تفسير ابن كثير]

[ibn-agim]

The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

إن الإسلام بدأ غريبًا، وسيعودُ غريبًا كما بدأَ، فطُوبى للغُرباءِ

"Indeed, Al Islam started strange, and it will return being strange as it began. So glad tidings to the strangers.

قيل من هم يا رسولَ اللهِ

It was said, "Who are they O' Messenger of Allah?

قال (ﷺ) الذينَ يصلحونَ إذا فسدَ الناسُ

He (ﷺ) said, "Those who rectify [themselves/others] when the people have become corrupt."

[سلسلة الأحاديث الصحيحة وشيء من فقهها وفوائدها]

-

Al Ḥasan (رحمه الله) said,

المؤمن في الدنيا كالغريب

"The Mu'min (Believer) in this Dunya is like a stranger,

لا يجزع من ذلها ولا ينافس في عزها

"he does not become upset when it degrades him, nor does he compete [with others] in what it gives in honour.

له الشأن وللناس الشأن

For him is a condition and for the people are a condition."

-

Yūnus bin 'Ubayd (رحمه الله) said,

ليس شيء أغرب من السنة وأغرب منها من يعرفها

"There is nothing more stranger than the Sunnah and [more] stranger than it is the one who knows it."

[كشف الكربة في وصف أهل الغربة]

[ibn-agim]

How to enjoin good and forbid evil!

Imām Aḥmad was asked (رحمه الله) about enjoining good and forbidding evil, "How should one enjoin it?"

He (رحمه الله) said,

يأمر الرفق والخضوع

"[one should] enjoin [good] with gentleness and humility.

ثم قال إن أسمعوه ما يكره لا يغضب فيكون يريد ينتصر لنفسه

If they make him hear what he dislikes, he should not get angry such that he wants to avenge himself."

-

He [Imām Aḥmad] also said,

كان أصحاب ابن مسعود (رضي الله عنه) إذا مروا بقوم يرون منهم ما يكرهون يقولون

"The companion Ibn Mas'ūd (رضي الله عنه), if he passed by a people from whom he saw something they hated, they would say,

مهلاً رحمكم الله

"Take it easy, May Allah have mercy on you."

[الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر للخلال]

-

Shaykh Al Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said,

ولهذا قيل ليكن أمرك بالمعروف بالمعروف

"It has been said, "Let your enjoining of good, be good

ونهيك المنكر غير منكر

and your forbidding of evil, have no evil."

[الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر لابن تيمية]

[ibn-agim]

Don't be so hasty!

Shaykh Muḥammad Naṣr Ad Dīn Al Albānī (رحمه الله) said,

لا رأي لطالب العلم أن يستعجل في التأليف، بمعني أن ينشر ذلك على الناس

"[It is] not [fit] in my opinion for the student of knowledge to rush into writing, meaning he spreads that [i.e, whatever he writes] upon the people.

بل عليه أن يفعل ذلك بعد ثلاثين سنة من طلبه للعلم على العلماء

Rather, upon him is to do that after thirty years of seeking knowledge from the Ulama' (Scholars)

فإن تعجل ففي خمسة عشر

[And] so if he is hasty [in this matter], then in fifteen years.

ولا يمنع أن يكتب قبل ذلك ويراجع من هم أقدر منه في هذا الشأن

And there is no harm if he writes before that [i.e, before fifteen or thirty years] and returns [i.e, consults] to those who are more able than him in this matter..."

[الإمام الألباني دروس ومواقف وعبر]