One who loves a scholar or a daa’ee (caller to Islam)

[Umm Yoosuf]

Impermissibility of Blindly Following a Scholar
Author: Shaykh Saalih Fawzaan
Source: Al-ajwibatul Mufeedah
Translated by: Kashif bin Hazoor Khan as-Salafi
Footnotes by: Jamaal bin Fareehan al-Haarithi
Produced by: Waseelatus Salafiyyah

Question: What is a ruling on someone who loves a scholar or a daa’ee (caller to Islam) and says, I have a great love for him and I do not want to hear anyone refute him and I will take from him even if what he says goes against the proofs because he is more knowledgeable of the proofs than me.

Answer: This is an ugly and abominable blind following and it is not permissible.[1] We love the scholars and for Allah is all praise and we love the callers to Allah, the Exalted Most High, but if someone from amongst them commits a mistake in a certain mas’ala (issue) then with proof we make the truth clear in that issue. And that does not decrease the love of the scholar who has been refuted nor does it decrease him in his reputation. Imaam Maalik (rahimahullaah) says: “There is no one from amongst us except that he can be refuted with the exception of the man in this grave (referring to Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi was sallam)).” [2] If we refute some of the people of knowledge and some of the exemplary people then this does not mean that we hate them or we decrease them in what they have but verily we are only making the truth known. And because of this some of the scholars say when one of their peers make a mistake that “So and so is very beloved to me but the truth is more beloved to me”.[3] This is the correct way. And do not understand a refutation upon some of the scholars in a issue that they have made a mistake in that the meaning of the refutation is to lower them or hatred but the scholars have not stopped refuting each other and they still have love for each other. And it is not permissible for us to take everything that a certain person says unchallenged weather it be the truth or a mistake because this is blind following.


The one from whom we take all his statements and we do not leave anything is the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu was sallam) because he reports on his Lord and he does not speak from his desires. And as for other than him then they make mistakes and they are correct. Even if they are from the best of the people and the hardest working then they still will make mistakes sometimes and be correct sometimes. There is no one who is free from mistakes other than the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu `alayhi was sallam). It is obligatory for us to know this and not to remain silent upon a mistake because of our love for a certain person, but it is upon us to make the mistake clear. The messenger of Allah (sallallaahu `alayhi was sallam) says: “The deen is advice.” So we said “for whom?” and he said: “For Allah and His Book and His Messenger to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk".[4] And making the mistake clear is from advice for all of the people while silence is the opposite of advice. .................................................. .................................................. ..

Footnotes
[1] Muhammad Sultan al-Khujandee, the author of “Hal al-Muslim Mulzim bittibaa’I madhab mu’aiyyin minal madhaahib al-arba’a” quotes from ‘Ali al-Qaree al-Hanafee’s saying: “It is not obligatory upon anyone from this ummah to be a Hanafi or a Maaliki or a Shafi’ee or a Hanbali but it is obligatory upon every one of the people if he is not a scholar to ask someone from ahlu-Dhikr, and the four Imaams are from ahlu-Dhikr, and because of this it is said: whoever follows a scholar meets Allah saleem (unharmed and sound) and every mukallif (one who is obligated to observer the precepts of religion) is ordered with the following sayyidul Anmbiyaa, our Messenger Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi was sallam) “ p:58 – tahkeeq of al-Hilaali. And I say that something close to this meaning has come by Shaikhul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah when he says : “Who ever blindly follows a particular person other than the Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi was sallam) like the one who blindly follows Imaam Maalik or Imaam Shafi’ee or Imaam Ahmad or Imaam abu Haneefah and sees that the statement of this particular person is the complete truth and it should be followed other than the statement of an Imaam who opposes him then whomsoever does this is ignorant and astray, and he may be a Kaafir for he believes that it is obligatory upon the people to blindly follow someone from these Imaams with the exception of other Imaams. So it is requested from him to make Tawbah (repentance), so either he repents from it or is killed.” – Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa v.22 p.248-249 And Imaam Shafi’ee says, “The muslims have agreed that when the sunnah becomes clear to a person it is not permissible for him to leave the sunnah for the statement of another man.” – ‘elaam al-Mauqi’een by ibnul Qayyim v.1 p.7

[2] See the takhreej of this narration in the book siffatu Salaatin Nabi of Shaykh Naasiruddin al-Albaani p.26 footnote 3.

[3]This is the statement of Shaikhul Islaam ibnul Qayyim regarding Abu Ismaa’eel al-Harvi. See madaarijus Saliheen v.3 p.394

[4]Narrated by Muslim.

[chacha_jalebi]

mashallah good post :D:D:D