Asalamu alikum
The Heart of The Matter
A sad but true reality is that innovation (bid'ah) is spread far and wide. It is an evil of major proportions that has caused confusion about fundamental matters such as principles of faith and action among the Muslims. Many brothers and sisters who understand this danger and have taken the time to learn from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah and the statements of the scholars of the Sunnah deeply feel and understand the need to correct and reform the Muslims and to guide them. Many of these adherents of the sunnah see the disastrous effects of bida'h upon the ummah, sometime within their own families, not to mention in the Ummah at-large and it is a source of pain and frustration when due to the poison of bidah they face staunch opposition and rejection when calling to the truth sometimes for the simplest of matters.
It is the people of bidah who in reality mete out the most harshness toward the people of the sunnah with their charges of extremism against them. Many Muslims who are merely trying to implement the sunnah in all aspects of their lives are castigated and stereotyped by those who outnumber them.
If a sister who wears proper hijaab so much as opens her mouth to encourage her sisters to fear Allah and wear the hijaab according to the conditions laid out by the scholars of Islam, bringing evidence of those conditions from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and doing so in the nicest non-condemning way, she is still liable to be backbitten and called a fanatic! The same when a brother who does not shave his beard and who wears clothing that clearly identifies him as a Muslim bothers to point out any matter to those that feel threatened by that, they will quickly label him extreme and harsh no matter how soft, tactful or patient he is when doing so! They may even call him names publicly to turn people away from him. We have even heard of charges of assault made against decent brothers when they did nothing of the kind just because the person being corrected was afraid and trying to deflect from his own errors and misguided speech or actions. Some good and sincere da'ees have faced getting ostracized from certain mosques and even received physical threats!
The focus of this article is not on the deeds of those innocent and sincere brothers and sisters who uphold the way of the salaf in word and deed yet who nevertheless get attacked and labeled by their detractors. In fact, they mostly understand that they will be labeled and face hardships in calling to the correct path. It is the fate of the da'ee who is following the path of the prophets ('alaihimus salaam), most notably that of the Final Messenger Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions (radiallahu 'anhum) who faced much opposition and false accusations. Rather, the main focus of this treatise is to point to those true and actual occurrences that hinder the path to guidance for some that in fact are due to the manners of those who strive to adhere to the proper way but who miss the mark in their approach and as a result cause damage. Inadvertently perhaps, but damage nonetheless. This is written with love for those believers who want to follow the right path butnot to make excuses for the deviations and misguidance of those followers of desires who merely seek to protect their positions and parties no matter what the evidence is against them.
The Heart of The Matter
A sad but true reality is that innovation (bid'ah) is spread far and wide. It is an evil of major proportions that has caused confusion about fundamental matters such as principles of faith and action among the Muslims. Many brothers and sisters who understand this danger and have taken the time to learn from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah and the statements of the scholars of the Sunnah deeply feel and understand the need to correct and reform the Muslims and to guide them. Many of these adherents of the sunnah see the disastrous effects of bida'h upon the ummah, sometime within their own families, not to mention in the Ummah at-large and it is a source of pain and frustration when due to the poison of bidah they face staunch opposition and rejection when calling to the truth sometimes for the simplest of matters.
It is the people of bidah who in reality mete out the most harshness toward the people of the sunnah with their charges of extremism against them. Many Muslims who are merely trying to implement the sunnah in all aspects of their lives are castigated and stereotyped by those who outnumber them.
If a sister who wears proper hijaab so much as opens her mouth to encourage her sisters to fear Allah and wear the hijaab according to the conditions laid out by the scholars of Islam, bringing evidence of those conditions from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and doing so in the nicest non-condemning way, she is still liable to be backbitten and called a fanatic! The same when a brother who does not shave his beard and who wears clothing that clearly identifies him as a Muslim bothers to point out any matter to those that feel threatened by that, they will quickly label him extreme and harsh no matter how soft, tactful or patient he is when doing so! They may even call him names publicly to turn people away from him. We have even heard of charges of assault made against decent brothers when they did nothing of the kind just because the person being corrected was afraid and trying to deflect from his own errors and misguided speech or actions. Some good and sincere da'ees have faced getting ostracized from certain mosques and even received physical threats!
The focus of this article is not on the deeds of those innocent and sincere brothers and sisters who uphold the way of the salaf in word and deed yet who nevertheless get attacked and labeled by their detractors. In fact, they mostly understand that they will be labeled and face hardships in calling to the correct path. It is the fate of the da'ee who is following the path of the prophets ('alaihimus salaam), most notably that of the Final Messenger Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions (radiallahu 'anhum) who faced much opposition and false accusations. Rather, the main focus of this treatise is to point to those true and actual occurrences that hinder the path to guidance for some that in fact are due to the manners of those who strive to adhere to the proper way but who miss the mark in their approach and as a result cause damage. Inadvertently perhaps, but damage nonetheless. This is written with love for those believers who want to follow the right path butnot to make excuses for the deviations and misguidance of those followers of desires who merely seek to protect their positions and parties no matter what the evidence is against them.
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