Wisdom, Gentleness and Firmness
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Hādī ibn ʿAlī al-Madkhalī said:
Wisdom is to place things in their rightful place, thus harshness is to be placed where Allah has placed it and gentleness [is placed] where Allah ordered [gentleness] to be placed. The Prophet said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَفِيقٌ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ فِي الأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ
“Indeed Allah is Rafīq [gentle] and loves rifq [gentleness] in all affairs.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, hadith 6927; excerpt.)
We are mindful of this fact. It [gentleness] is the foundation [of all] affairs.
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ
فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ
“And by the mercy of Allah, you (O Muḥammad) dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh hearted, they would have broken away from you; so overlook (their faults), and ask (Allah’s) Forgiveness for them; and consult them in the affair. Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).” [Q 3:159]
Thus, [Allah] ordered His Messenger with this principle [gentleness], and the Qurʾānic verses and Prophetic narrations are numerous [in this regard], there is not enough time [to mention them all], however, if an individual comes raising his voice [with] falsehood and persistently champions falsehood, or misinterprets [the truth] in aid of falsehood, or does so [to please] its people; [because] he does not want to anger [the original] perpetrator of [this] falsehood, and as a result of this the children of Ahl as-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah leave [his gatherings].
If such an impostor comes to us, what should our response [in dealing] with him be?
[Answer]: We invite him [to the Sunnah] and we clarify [it] to him, however if he rejects it, then Allah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ
“O Prophet [Muḥammad]! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them.” [Q 9:73] (excerpt).
The people of Sunnah use [this verse which warrants] harshness against the hypocrites as evidence for being harsh against the people of desires and innovation, due to the stark resemblance of hypocrisy and hypocritical characteristics found in both sets of people, and as such, their danger to the Muslims is greater than that of the regular disbelievers. The danger posed by the people of innovation towards the Muslims is more serious than the danger posed by the regular disbelievers. Such are the fundamental principles [which] are historically established with the Imāms of the Sunnah.
[Likewise] the danger posed by the mumayyiʿūn to Ahl as-Sunnah, let whoever is angered by this be angry, the danger posed by the mumayyiʿūn to Ahl as-Sunnah is far greater and severe than the danger posed by the outright people of innovation, due to the fact that the innovator is known to us, and we are cautious of him by Allah’s grace, however the one that makes excuses for him [the innovator] and inclines towards him lending an ear to him, is the one who is dangerous to Ahl as-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah.
They say Muḥammad ibn Hādī says these things and says and says… [In reply] I say between you and me are the classical books of narrations, if you find that I have gone outside of them so much as a letter [of what the Salaf wrote] then come with it. [Furthermore] I am going to mention to you an excerpt regarding this issue, (and know that) the mumayyiʿūn do not like to hear this.
In the first volume of Imām al-Lālakāʾī’s [Sharḥ Uṣūl Iʿtiqād Ahl as-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah], wherein he mentioned the ʿaqīdah of Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī and Abū Zurʿāh al-Rāzī, may Allah’s mercy be upon them, he went on to mention his findings regarding the ʿaqīdah of Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī and mentioned therein ‘The warning of Ahl al-Ḥadīth wa-s-Sunnah against al-Karābīsī.’ Al-Karabīsī was a great and renowned scholar. (However) When he wrote his book about tadlīs and the names of narrators who practised it, which was later presented to Imām Aḥmad [for endorsement], his book was found to contain mistakes. He (al-Karābīsī) denied that to be the case.
It was said to him:
“This book (of yours) has reached Imām Aḥmad, but he refused to endorse it.”
With his denial they (his students) requested from him to retract, but he refused saying:
“Show it to him (Aḥmad). A righteous man is guided to attain the truth, so show it to him.”
(In the end) Imām Aḥmad began to warn against his companion (al-Karābīsī) and warn against sitting with him. Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī said at this point regarding the warning against al-Karābīsī and those who defend him such as Dāwūd ibn Alī al-Aṣbahānī, who was the Imām of the Ẓāhiriyyah school of thought, and renowned; he came to Imām Aḥmad (However) Imām Aḥmad refused to receive him, so Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī began to criticise him (Dāwūd) very harshly due to him defending who? al-Karābīsī. And (as for) al-Karābīsī, when Imām Aḥmad’s speech reached him, the miskīn became arrogant and began to criticise and disparage Aḥmad.
I am going to mention something to you (even though) it is bitter (however) it is mentioned in the books of our Salaf; so it can be known who is acting blind and deaf. Al-Karabīsī’s speech against Imām Aḥmad was mentioned to Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, upon which he said:
“May Allah curse him (al-Karābīsī)”.
Look!… He said: “May Allah curse him.” We are not looking into the correctness of this at the moment, but look at the harshness of who? .Yaḥyā against al-Karābīsī. He said:
“May Allah curse him; this individual deserves to be disciplined.”
. (This) did not harm Aḥmad, and al-Karābīsī died (in such a way that) al-Khaṭīb (al-Baghdādī) wrote in his biography, As he was a collector of ḥadīth and narrations –
“There was not even a road leading to his (al-Karābīsī’s) funeral”.”
(meaning) the students of Sunnah and ḥadīth fled from him.
Look at this reinforcement from the scholars of Sunnah for each other. Dāwūd ibn ʿAlī defended and made excuses for who? .al-Karābīsī, (so) Aḥmad rejected him (Dāwūd) refusing to meet him, (and consequently) Abū Ḥātim warned against him and many of the senior scholars of Sunnah at his time (also) criticised him (Dāwūd). What would the rank of the mumayyiʿūn scholars of today be with those (of the past)? a drop in the ocean. By Allah, whosoever opposes the way of those (Salaf) we shall certainly criticise him even if birds snatch us away or we are dangled by our heads or by our feet upside down. Do you think this religion reached us without any sacrifice (in the process)? By Allah no! By Allah no! Indeed individuals (from the Salaf) were imprisoned, lashed, beaten, banished and other than that, however their books are still with us, and their radiant journals are available to us. It is a must to be cautious of individuals who try to undermine the danger posed by Ahl al-Bidʿah and the deviants, as their danger to Ahl as-Sunnah and the Salafiyyīn is far greater than the outright Innovators.
Allah! O children (of the Sunnah), (I exhort you) to adhere to the authentic Sunnah from the Prophet and follow the path that is clear and upright which the prophet left for us and his companions and those that followed them in righteousness; (such as) the imāms of ḥadīth, may Allah be pleased with them- Az-Zuhrī and his likes, the two Sufyāns, Mālik, Ḥasan, ibn Sirīn, Ayyūb, Ibn Asbāṭ, the two Hammāds, Wakīʿ, Ibrāhīm, ʿAlqamah, and the rest. Aḥmad, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, at-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, and the rest of those who by way of them, Allah preserved the Sunnah of the Prophet and the narrations of his companions.
So if you want to excel to the likes of their rank, and set out for supreme glory the likes of which they had, then embark upon… what?! The ladder of taqwā which they have erected,, I ask Allah to make us of those who fear Him, So climb seriously and with determination like how they climbed. Therefore taqwā is a must; an individual must place it between his eyes not desiring anything except Allah and the hereafter; not desiring a large following or boastfulness, rather desiring nothing other than Allah’s (pleasure) and the final abode.
He wants salvation for himself firstly, and then for those whom Allah places in front of him so as to sit and learn from him; at the same time he must be self-disciplined and determined with firm intention, for indeed this religion came to us (in a manner) as you just heard and knowledge of it is not attained by relaxing.
So it is upon the student of knowledge to exert all he can in order to understand the Sunnah, and it is upon him if he hears the speech of the ignoramuses, to contrast it with their (the Salaf’s) speech, as the principle with us is the superior principle which all of you are familiar with:
“Whoever is following [a particular way] should follow the way of those who have died [the Salaf], for indeed the living are not guaranteed safety from fitnah [misguidance].”
So one must emulate those who died upon correct guidance, as for the living, they are not guaranteed safety from fitnah (misguidance).
References
The Qurʾān: 3:159; 9:73 (excerpt).
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Tārīkh Baghdād, biography of Al-Karābīsī, as cited by the speaker.
Al-Lālakāʾī, Sharḥ Uṣūl Iʿtiqād Ahl as-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah, volume 1, as cited by the speaker.
Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī ؒ (d. 256 AH / 870 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, hadith 6927, narrated by ʿĀʾishah ؓ; parallel 6024 has slightly different wording.
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Hādī ibn ʿAlī al-Madkhalī, / Mīrāth al-Anbiyāʾ, audio/7299, 18:27;28:38. The original recording’s current location and date have not been verified – http://ar.miraath.net/audio/7299 [18:27 – 28:38 mins]
