Who are the Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah

by Sayf ad-Din Ahmed Ibn Muhammad, hafazah-Ullah

Chapter 16 of "Al-Albani Unveiled, An Exposition of His Errors and Other Important Issues",
An-Noor Bookshop, 2nd Edition, Muharram/July, 1415/1994, p.122-146.

Courtesy of
al-Noor Bookshop, 54 Park Road, London

Many people today like to classify themselves as belonging to the Saved Sect (Firqatun-Najiyyah) - Ahl as-Sunnah Wa'l Jama'ah; but do these people really know which is the Saved Sect, from the many sects we have today? The following is an attempt to clarify some misconceptions by way of definitive proofs from the Qur'an and Sunnah, as well as quotes from the profoundly learned Classical Scholars of Islam. Know that there is only one Saved Sect in Islam, and this is the original pristine form of Islam that has been transmitted to us by Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala in his Qur'an, his Rasul (Peace and blessings be upon him), the blessed Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) and the great scholars of Islam (Allah's mercy be upon them all) who have been following their Straight Path for more than one thousand years of Islam's history. The first question that should be raised is: "What differentiates one sect from another sect?" The answer to this is simple and definitive! Know that the chief characteristic that distinguishes one sect from another, lies not in the differences of opinion that its scholars have attained by making ijtihad from the sources of the Shari'ah (this leads to the formation of the Madhhabs), but rather the actual belief (aqid'ah or i'tiqad in Arabic) that the scholars and laity of the sect in question are clinging onto - since the founding of their respective sect. 

According to Shaykh Husseyn Hilmi 'Ishiq, author of the book Belief and Islam, (pp. 78-9), the faith of the People of the Sunnah and Jama'ah was spread as follows: 

"Nowadays, some mouths frequently use the name of 'Salafiyya'. Every Muslim should know very well that in Islam there is nothing in the name of the Madhhab of Salafiyya but there is the Madhhab of the Salaf as-salihin who were the Muslims of the first two Islamic centuries (i.e; the Companions, their successors and the followers of the successors) which were lauded in a Hadith sharif. The ulama of Islam who came in the third and fourth centuries are called Khalaf as-sadiqin. The i'tiqad (belief) of these honourable people is called the Madhhab of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah. This is the Madhhab of Iman, tenets of faith. The Iman held by the Sahaba al-Kiram (may Allah be pleased with them all) and by the Tabi'un (Allah's mercy be upon them all) was the same. There was no difference between their beliefs. Today most Muslims in the world are in the Madhhab of Ahl as-Sunnah (i.e; most Muslim's claim to be Sunni's). All the seventy-two heretical groups (see later for the actual Hadith and its commentary) of bid'ah appeared (mainly) after the second century of Islam. Founders of some of them lived earlier, but it was after the Tabi'un that their books were written, and that they appeared in groups and defied the Ahl as-Sunnah. 

Rasulullah (Peace and blessings be upon him) brought the beliefs of Ahl as-Sunnah. The Sahaba al-kiram (may Allah be pleased with them all) derived these teachings of Iman from the source (the Qur'an and Sunnah). And the Tabi'un (successors), in their turn, learned these teachings from the Sahaba al-kiram. And from them their successors learned, thus the teachings of Ahl as-Sunnah reached us by way of transmission and tawatur (through many undeniable chains of transmission). These teachings cannot be explored by way of reasoning. Intellect cannot change them and will only help understand them. That is, intellect is necessary for understanding them, for realizing that they are right and for knowing their value. All the scholars of Hadith held the beliefs of the Ahl as-Sunnah. The Imams of the four Madhhabs in deeds, too, were in this Madhhab. Also, al-Maturidi and al-Ashari (Allah's mercy be upon them), the two Imam's of our Madhhab in beliefs, were in the Madhhab of the Ahl as-Sunnah. Both of these Imams promulgated this Madhhab. They always defended this Madhhab against heretics and materialists, who had been stuck in the bogs of ancient Greek philosophy. Though they were contemporaries, they lived in different places and the ways of thinking and behaving of the offenders they had met were different, so the methods of defence used and the answers given by these two great scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah were different. But this does not mean that they belonged to different Madhhabs (rather they were both from the Ahl as-Sunnah). Hundreds of thousands of profoundly learned ulama and awliya (friends of Allah) coming after these two exalted Imams studied their books and stated in consensus that they both belonged to the Madhhab of the Ahl as-Sunnah. The scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnah took the nass (Qur'an and Sunnah) with their outward meanings. That is, they gave the ayats and Hadiths their outward meanings, and did not explain away (ta'wil) the nass or change these meanings unless there was a darura (necessity) to do so. And they never made any changes with their personal knowledge or opinions. But those who belonged to heretical groups and the la-Madhhabi (those who do not belong to one of the four Madhhabs) did not hesitate to change the teachings of Iman and Ibadat (worship) as they had learned from (the books of) Greek philosophers and from sham scientists, who were Islam's adversaries."

Let us now see what the definition of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah was according to the classical scholars of this aided, Victorious sect (Tai'fatul-Mansoorah) of Islam.

(1) Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974/1567; R.A.) 

Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami defined the Sunni Muslims as follows in his book Fath al-jawad: 

"A mubtadi (innovator) is the person who does not have the faith (aqid'ah) conveyed unanimously by the Ahl as-Sunnah. This unanimity was transmitted by the two great Imam's Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari (d.324/936; Rahimahullah) and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d.333/944; Rahimahullah) and the scholars who followed their path." Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami also said in his book al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya (pg. 205): "Man of bid'ah means one whose beliefs are different from the Ahl as-Sunnah faith. The Ahl as-Sunnah faith, is the faith of Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and those who followed them. One who brings forth something which is not approved by Islam becomes a man of bid'ah."

(2) Imam Ahmad Shihab ad-Din al Qalyubi (d.1069/1659; R.A.) 

Imam al-Qalyubi wrote on the fourth volume of his marginalia to the book Kanz ar-raghibin: 

"One who departs from what Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (Allah's mercy be upon them) reported is not a Sunni. These two Imam's followed the footprints of Rasulullah (Peace be upon him) and his Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them all)." 

(3) Imam Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad (d. 1132 AH; Rahimahullah) 

Imam al-Haddad stated in The Book of Assistance (pg. 40): 

"You must correct and protect your beliefs and conform to the pattern of the party of salvation, who are those known from among the other Islamic factions as the "People of the Sunnah and Jama'ah" (Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah). They are those who firmly adhere to the way of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). 

If you look with a sound understanding into those passages relating to the sciences of faith in the Book (Qur'an), the Sunnah, and the saying of the virtuous predecessors, whether they be Companions or followers, you will know for certain that the truth is with the party called the Ashari (NB-the Maturidi's are also upon the truth), named after the Shaykh Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari, may Allah have mercy on him, who systematized the foundations of the creed of the people of the truth, and recorded its earliest versions, these being the beliefs with the Companions and the best among the followers agreed upon."

(4) Imam Abdal Ghani an-Nablusi (d. 1143/1733; Rahimahullah) 

Imam an-Nablusi stated in his book al-Hadiqat an-Nadiyya (vol. 2, pg. 103): 

"Jama'ah is rahma, that is, the union of Muslims on truth brings Allahu ta'ala's Compassion. Tafriqa is adhab, that is, separation from the Community of Muslims brings about punishment from Allahu ta'ala. Hence, it is necessary for every Muslim to unite with those who are on the right path. He must join and believe like them even if they are only a small group. The right path is the path of as-Sahaba al-Kiram. Those who follow this path are called Ahl as-Sunnah Wa'l Jama'ah. It should not confuse us that many heretical groups appeared after the time of as-Sahaba al-Kiram. Al-Imam al-Bayhaqi (d. 458/1066; Rahimahullah) said, 'When Muslims go astray, you should follow the right path of those who came before them! You should not give up that path even if you are left alone on the path!' Najm ad-Din al-Ghazzi (d. 1061/1651; Rahimahullah) wrote: 'Ahl as-Sunnah Wa'l Jama'ah are those ulama who keep on the right path of Rasullullah (Peace and blessings be upon him) and as-Sahaba al-Kiram. As-Sawad al-Azam, that is, the majority of Islamic scholars, have followed this right path. The Firqatun-Naajiyyah which was defined to be the group of salvation among the seventy three groups is this true Jama'ah.' The Qur'an al-Karim declares, 'Do not disunite!' This ayat means 'Do not disunite in i'tiqad, in the teachings of beliefs!' Most ulama, for example, Abdullah ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him), interpreted this ayat as above and said that it meant, 'Do not deviate from the right path by following your desires and corrupt ideas.' This ayat does not mean that there should be no disagreement in the knowledge of fiqh. It forbids separation which causes discord and dissension in the knowledge of i'tiqad (see Imam al-Qurtubi's opinion later). The disagreement in the knowledge (of fiqh) derived through ijtihad in the field of practices (amal) is not a discord, because such disagreement has brought to sight the rights, the fards and the subtle teachings in amal and Ibadah (worship). As-Sahaba al-kiram (Allah be pleased with them all), too, differed from one another in those teachings that explained the daily life, but there was no disagreement among them in the knowledge of i'tiqad."

(5) Allamah Sayyid Ahmad at-Tahtawi (d. 1231/1816; Rahimahullah) 

Allamah Sayyid Ahmad at-Tahtawi, a great Hanafi fiqh scholar of Egypt, wrote on the subject of 'Zabayih' in his Hashiya al-Durr al-Mukhtar: 

"According to the majority of scholars of tafsir, the ayat, 'They parted into groups in the religion,' referred to the people of bid'ah who would arise in this Ummah. In a Hadith reported by Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), Rasulullah (Peace and blessings be upon him) said to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), 'The ayat about the partitions into groups in the religion refers to the people of bid'ah and to the followers of their nafs who would arise in this Ummah.' Allah declared in the 153rd ayat of Surah Al-An'am, 'This is My Straight path, so follow it! Follow not other ways, lest you be parted from His way!' (that is, Jews, Christians, and other heretics departed from the right path; you should not part like them!). In the 103rd ayat of Surah Al-Imran, Allah declares, 'And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and do not separate!' (see later for a brief commentary). Some scholars of tafsir said that Allah's rope meant Jama'ah, unity. The command, 'Do not separate', shows that it is so and the Jama'ah are the possessors of fiqh and ilm (knowledge). One who descents from fuqaha (scholars of fiqh) as much as a span falls into heresy, becomes deprived of Allah's help and deserves Hell, because the fuqaha have been on the right path and have held on to the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Peace and blessings be upon him) and on to the path of al-Khulafa ar-Rashideen, the Four Khaliphs (may Allah be pleased with them). As-Sawad al-Azam, that is, the majority of the Muslims, are on the path of fuqaha. Those who depart from their path will burn in the fire of Hell. O believers! Follow the unique group which is protected against Hell! And this group is the one that is called Ahl as-Sunnah Wa'l Jama'ah. For, Allah's help, protection and guidance are for the followers of this group, and His wrath and punishment are for those who dissent from this group. Today, this group of salvation comes together in the Four Madhhabs, namely the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali." 

It is very important to have unity in the Ummah, and to achieve this goal of unity it is incumbent that the whole Ummah has the correct and preserved aqidah of the Salaf as-salihin (may Allah be pleased with them all); since Allah will no doubt ask us about our aqidah if it is not in conformity with the divine revelation and what his Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) transmitted to us. The way of the Salaf as-salihin is the way of the saved sect of the Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah. And we should all know that the Jama'ah is the sect which has the most correct and united aqid'ah out of all other Jama'ahs. To know what is the real Jama'ah, one must look into the Qur'an and Hadith for evidence. If one was to look deeply in to this matter with an open and scholarly mind, one will come to the conclusion that this great Jama'ah is the one which is composed of the foremost scholars of Qur'anic commentary, Hadith, fiqh and other Islamic sciences; it is no doubt the Jama'ah which has had the greatest following throughout Islamic history in terms of scholars and laity, and this alone is the main body of Islam which represents the views of the great mass of believers (as-Sawad al-Azam) as we shall see from the Hadith evidence below. Let us now see what Allah ta'ala has said about unity and schism in the Holy Qur'an. 

Qur'anic Evidence

(1) Surah al-Imran (3:103): 

"And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah and be not divided."

Imam Sayf ad-Din al-Amidi (d. 631/1233; Rahimahullah) said in his al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam (The proficiency: on the fundamentals of legal rulings, pg. 295) with regard to the above Qur'anic verse: 

"Allah has forbidden separation, and disagreement with consensus (ijma) is separation." 

Hence, if Allah has forbidden separation then surely we must all unite on the unanimously accepted aqid'ah of our pious predecessors. And I have already quoted Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (Rahimahullah) as saying: "This unanimity (in aqidah) was transmitted by the two great Imam's Abu'l Hasan al-Ashari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (Allah's mercy be upon them) and the scholars who followed their path." 

Mahmoud Ayoub wrote in The Qur'an and Its Interpreters (vol. II, 275-6): 

"Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373) interprets the 'rope of Allah' in verse 103 as 'The covenant of Allah,' citing in support of this interpretation verse 112 below (in Surah al-Imran). Another view, he adds, is that 'The rope of Allah' here refers to the Qur'an, as reported on the authority of Ali (Allah be pleased with him) who said that 'The Qur'an is Allah's strong rope and the straight way.' He cites another Hadith, on the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him), where the Prophet (Peace be upon him) declared, 'The book of Allah is Allah's rope stretched from heaven to earth.' Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (Allah be pleased with him) reported -that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said, 'Surely this Qur'an is Allah's strong rope, manifest light, and beneficial source of healing. It is protection for those who hold fast to it, and a means of salvation for those who abide by it.' 

Ibn Kathir interprets the injunction, 'and do not be divided' to mean strict adherence to unity among Muslims. He reports on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, 'Allah will be pleased with three acts from you, and wrathful with three others. He wishes that you worship Him alone without associating any thing with Him; that you hold fast all together to the rope of Allah and be not divided; and that you show loyalty to those whom Allah has set in authority.' (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, II, pp. 83-4) 

Qurtubi (d. 671/1273; Rahimahullah) agrees with Tabari (d. 923 CE; Rahimahullah) and Ibn Kathir regarding the meaning of 'the rope of Allah' in verse 103. He cites with approval the famous traditionist Ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181/797; Rahimahullah) who said, 'Surely unity is Allah's rope; therefore hold fast all together to 'its firm handle' (see Qur'an 2:256).' Qurtubi adds that 'Allah enjoins concord and forbids dissension, for in disunity is perdition, and in unity salvation.' 

Qurtubi offers two possible interpretations of the phrase 'And be not divided': 

'Be not divided in your religion as were the Jews and Christians divided in their religions' and 'Be not divided in following different false opinions and purposes. Rather, be brothers in Allah's religion.' 

As a jurist, Qurtubi observes that, 'There is no indication in this verse of the prohibition of disagreement in the branches (furu') [of fiqh] as this in reality is not dissension. This is because true dissention is one wherein concord and unity become virtually impossible. As for disagreement in judgements based on personal effort (ijtihad), it is due to differences in deducing obligations (fara'id) and the minutiae of law.' On page 279, Imam al-Razi (d. 606/1210; Rahimahullah) was quoted as saying in conclusion to his commentary on the above ayat: 

'If a person going down into a well must hold fast to a rope in order that he may not fall in, so also the Book of Allah, His covenant, religion and obedience to Him, as well as unity and harmony among the people of faith are means of security for anyone who holds fast to them from falling into the bottom of Hell.'" 

(2) Surah al-Imran (3:105): 

"And be not like those who separated and disputed after the clear proofs had come unto them: For such there is an awful doom." 

(3) Surah al-Imran (3:110): 

"Ye are the best community that has been raised up for mankind. Ye enjoin the good and forbid the evil; and ye believe in Allah" 

(4) Surah Al-An'am (6:159): 

"As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou has no part in them in the least: Their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did." 

(5) Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:52-53): 

"And verily this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah and I am your Lord, so keep your duty unto Me. But they have broken their religion among them into sects, each sect rejoicing in its tenets." 

(6) Surah Al-Rum (30:32): 

"Those who split up their Religion, and become Sects, each sect exulting in its tenets." 

(7) Surah Al-Nisa (4:115): 

"He that disobeys the Apostle (Muhammad) after guidance has been made clear to him and follows a way other than that of the believers, We appoint for him that unto which he himself hath turned, and expose him unto Hell - a hapless journey's end!" 

(8) Surah Al-An'am (6:153): 

"This is My Straight path, so follow it. Follow not other ways, lest ye be parted from His way. This has he ordained for you, that ye may ward off (evil)."

Hadith Evidence

(1) Imam Abu Dawood (Rahimahullah) has quoted the well known Hadith concerning the division of the Muslim Ummah into seventy-three sects in his Sunan (3/4580, English ed'n):

Abu Amir al-Hawdhani said, "Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) stood among us and said, 'Beware! The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) stood among us and said': 'Beware! The People of the Book before (you) were split up into 72 sects, and this community will be split up into 73, seventy-two of them will go to Hell and one of them will go to Paradise, and it is the majority group (Jama'ah).' 

Another version of the above Hadith has been reported by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (Rahimahullah) in The signs before the day of Judgement (pg. 14): 

"Awf ibn Malik reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, 'The Jews split into 71 sects: one will enter Paradise and 70 will enter Hell. The Christians split into 72 sects: 71 will enter Hell and one will enter Paradise. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, my Ummah will split into 73 sects: one will enter Paradise and 72 will enter Hell.' Someone asked, 'O Messenger ofAllah (Peace be upon him), who will they be?' He replied, 'The main body of the Muslims (al-Jama'ah).' Awf ibn Malik is the only one who reported this Hadith, and its isnad is acceptable." And in another version of this Hadith the Prophet (Peace be upon him) goes onto say that the saved sect, "...Are those who follow my and my Sahaba's path" (Tirmidhi, vol. 2, pg. 89) 

Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad al-Sirhindi (d. 1034/1624; Rahimahullah) who is regarded by many people in the Indian sub-continent as a great renovator of the Tenth Islamic Century (Mujaddid alf Thani) wrote in his Maktubat (Vol. 3, Letter 38): 

"It was declared in a Hadith that this Ummah would part into 73 groups, 72 of which would go to Hell. This Hadith informs us that the 72 groups will be tormented in the Fire of Hell. It does not inform us that they will remain in torment eternally. Remaining in the torment of Hell Fire eternally is for those who do not have Iman. That is, it is for disbelievers. The 72 groups, on account of their corrupt beliefs, will go to Hell and will burn as much as the corruptness of their beliefs. One group, the 73rd, will be saved from Hell Fire because their belief is not corrupt. If among the members of this one group there are those who committed evil deeds and if these evil deeds of theirs have not been forgiven through repentance or intercession, it is possible that these, too, will burn in Hell as much as their sins. All of those who are in the 72 groups will go to Hell. But none of them will remain in Hell eternally. Not all of those who are in this one group will go to Hell. Of these only those who have committed evil deeds will go to Hell. The 72 reported groups of bid'ah, which will go to Hell, should not be called disbelievers, because they are Ahl al-Qibla (people of the Qibla in prayer). But, of these, the ones who disbelieve those facts in the Deen that are indispensably required to be believed, as well as those who deny the rules of the Shari'ah which every Muslim has heard and knows, become disbelievers." 

In another letter (vol. 1, letter 80) he said: 

"There is no doubt whatsoever that the sect that made conforming to the conduct of the Prophet's Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) necessary, that alone is the Ahl as Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah." 

Shaykh Abdal Qadir al-Jilani (d. 561/1166; Rahimahullah) stated in his commentary to the above Hadith in Ghunyat at-Talibin (pg. 90), 

"The Believer should adapt himself to the Sunnah and to the Jama'ah. The Sunnah is the way shown by Rasulullah (Peace be upon him). The Jama'ah is composed of the things done unanimously by the Sahaba al-Kiram who lived in the time of the four caliphs called Khulafa' ar-Rashidin (and others in their path). A Muslim must prevent the multiplication of the men of bid'ah and keep away from them, and should not greet them (as given in many Hadith on this issue). Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullah), the Imam of our Madhhab, said that greeting a man of bid'ah meant loving him since it had been declared in a Hadith, 'Disseminate (your) greeting (salaam)! Love one another in this way!" He also said (pg. 143): "The title, Ahl as-Sunnah, which the innovators have expressed for themselves is not appropriate for them." 

Although Ibn Taymiyya was accused of holding certain corrupt points in his aqid'ah, which led so many scholars to denounce him for his heresy, he never the less hit the right point when he described those who are the real Sunni's in his Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyyah (pg. 154): 

"Their creed is the religion of Islam which was sent to the world by Allah through the Prophet (Peace be upon him). But the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, 'My Ummah will get divided into 73 sects and each one will go to Hell save one and that one is the Jama'at.' Also in one Hadith he said, 'They are those people who will follow this path which I and my Sahaba follow today.' Therefore they have caught hold of Islam unalloyed from every adulteration and these are the people of Ahl as-Sunnah Wa'l Jama'ah. This group includes the truthful, the martyrs and the virtuous; it includes the minarets of guidance, lamps in the darkness and owners of such superiorities and virtues who have been already mentioned. It includes the saints and also those Imams on whose guidance Muslims are unanimous. It is this successful group about which the Prophet (Peace be upon him) has said: 'One group from my Ummah will always remain dominant with truth; the opponents will never be able to harm its members or afflict them upto the Doomsday.'" 

(2) Imam Muslim (Rahimahullah) has collected a number of variant Hadith on the saved sect. He has related a longer version of the last Hadith quoted above: 

"Abdal Rahman ibn Shamasa al-Mahri said: 'I was in the company of Maslama bin Mukhallad and Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with them).' Abdullah said, 'The Hour shall come only when the worst type of people are left on the earth. They will be worse than the people of pre-Islamic days. They will get what ever they ask of Allah.' While we were sitting Uqba ibn Amir came, and Maslama said to him, 'Uqba, listen to what Abdullah says.' Uqba said, 'He knows, so far as I am concerned, I heard the Prophet (Peace be upon him) say: A group of people from my Ummah will continue to fight in obedience to the Command of Allah, remaining dominant over their enemies. Those who will opose them shall not do them any harm. They will remain in this condition until the Hour over takes them.' (At this) Abdullah said, 'Yes. Then Allah will raise a wind which will be fragrant like musk and whose touch will be like the touch of silk; (but) it will cause the death of all (faithful) persons, not leaving behind a single person with an iota of faith in his heart. Then only the worst of men will remain to be overwhelmed by the Hour.'" (Sahih Muslim, 3/4721, English ed'n, see also Sahih al-Bukhari, 9/414, English ed'n) 

Imam Nawawi (d. 676/1277, Rahimahullah) said in his Sharh Muslim (vol. 2, pg. 143): 

"The group of people (mentioned in the above Hadith) consists of scholars, jurisprudents, authorities on Hadith, those who enjoin Good (Maroof) and forbid Evil (Munkar) and all such persons who do good deeds. Such righteous persons may be found spread all over the world." 

Imam al-Tirmidhi (Rahimahullah) said: 

"The explanation of al-Jama'ah according to the people of knowledge: They are the people of fiqh, knowledge and Hadith." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 4/2167; Ahmad Shakir ed'n) 

Imam Bukhari (Rahimahullah) stated in his Sahih (vol. 9, chapter. 10, English ed'n), 

"The statement of the Prophet (Peace be upon him): 'A group of my followers will remain victorious in their struggle in the cause of the Truth.' Those are the religious(ly) learned men (Ahl ul-Ilm)." 

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Rahimahullah) said about this group: 

"If it is not the people of Hadith, then I do not know who they may be." (Sahih Muslim Sharif-Mukhtasar Sharh Nawawi, vol. 5, pg. 183, W. Zaman) 

Qadi Iyad (Rahimahullah) said in ash-Shifa (pg. 188): "In a Hadith from Abu Umama (Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, `A group of my community will remain constant to the truth, conquering their enemy until the command of Allah comes to them while they are still in that condition.' He was asked, 'Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), where are they?' He replied, `In Jerusalem.'"

(3) Imam Muslim (Rahimahullah) has related in his Sahih (3/4553) under the chapter heading 'Instruction to stick to the main body of the Muslims in the time of the trials and warning against those inviting people to disbelief', a Hadith on the authority of Hudhaifa ibn al-Yaman (Allah be pleased with him), who said: 

"People used to ask the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) about the good times, but I used to ask him about (the) bad times fearing lest they overtake me. I said, 'Messenger of Allah, we were in the midst of ignorance and evil, and then Allah brought us this good (time through Islam). Is there any bad time after this good one?' He said, 'Yes'. I asked, 'Will there be a good time again after that bad time?' He said, 'Yes, but therein will be a hidden evil.' I asked, 'What will be the evil hidden therein?' He said, '(That time will witness the rise of) the people who will adopt ways other than mine and seek guidance other than mine. You will know good points as well as bad points.' I asked, 'Will there be a bad time after this good one?' He said, 'Yes. (A time will come) when there will be people standing and inviting at the gates of Hell. Whoso responds to their call, they will throw them into the fire.' I said, 'Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), describe them for us.' He said, 'All right. They will be a people having the same complexion as ours and speaking our language.' I said, `Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), what do you suggest if I happen to live in their time?' He said, 'You should stick to the main body of the Muslims and their leader' I said, 'If they have no (such thing as the) main body of the Muslims and have no leader?' He said, 'Separate yourself from all these factions, though you may have to eat the roots of trees until death comes to you and you are in this state.'" 

(NB-It is not likely that there will be an absence of a Jama'ah, since I have already quoted the Prophet, peace be upon him, as saying: 'A group of people from my Ummah will continue to fight in obedience to the command of Allah, remaining dominant over their enemies. Those who will oppose them shall not do them any harm. They will remain in this condition until the Hour overtakes them.') 

(4) Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) as saying: 

"Who (ever) defected from the obedience (to the Amir) and separated from the main body of the Muslims - then he died in that state - would die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyya (pre-Islamic ignorance). And he who is killed under the banner of a man who is blind (to the cause for which he is fighting), who gets flared up with family pride and fights for his tribe - is not from my Ummah, and whoso from my followers attacks my followers (indiscriminately) killing the righteous and the wicked of them, sparing not (even) those staunch in faith and fulfilling not his obligation towards them who have been given a pledge (of security), is not from me." (Sahih Muslim, 3/4557 & 4555; English ed'n)

Imam al-Bayhaqi (d. 458/1066; Rahimahullah) stated in his: The Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith (pg. 42-3), under the fiftieth branch of faith (50 - Holding firmly to the position of the majority): "Allah Most High has said: Hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah, and do not be disunited. [3:103]. Muslim (Rahimahullah) relates on the authority of Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, 'Whoever is disobedient, and departs from the majority, and then dies, has died in a state of Jahiliyya.' He also relates the following Hadith on the authority of Ibn Shurayh (Allah be pleased with him): 'After I am gone, there will come days of corruption and turmoil. When you see people damaging the unity of the Community of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), you must fight them, whoever they may happen to be.' 

Abdal Hakim Murad (the translator of the above book) said in the footnote to the fiftieth branch of faith: 'Orthodoxy in Islam is defined as the doctrine of ahl al-sunna wa'l jama'a, the People of the Sunna and the Community. To know whether a doctrine or practise is orthodox or heretical, the Muslim is required to find out whether it is recognised by the majority of Muslim scholars (see later for Imam al-Munawi's commentary). Thus even without looking into their theology, he will know that sects such as the Isma'ilis, the Khariji's, the Wahhabi's, the Twelver Shi'a and others (not to mention anti-Islamic groupings such as the Ahmadiya and the Bahais) are to be repudiated.'" 

(5) Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as saying: 

"One who found in his Amir (the ruler of the true Islamic state; which is absent today) something which he disliked should hold his patience, for one who separated from the main body of the Muslims even to the extent of a handspan and then he died, would die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyya." (Sahih Muslim, 3/4559; English ed'n & Sahih al-Bukhari, 9/257; English ed'n)

(6) Imam's Ahmad and Abu Dawood (Allah's mercy be upon them) said that Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as saying: 

"He who separates from the main body (of the Ummah) by even a hand's breadth from the Community he throws off Islam from his neck." (Mishkat-ul-Masabih, 1/185 & Sunan Abu Dawood, 3/4740)

NB-The following five Hadith have been mentioned by the great scholar of Hadith, Hafiz Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597/1201; Rahimahullah) in his Talbis Iblis (section entitled: Adherence to the Sunnah and Jama'ah). A section of the above work has been translated by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips in to English, under the title: The Devil's Deception of the Shee'ah (pp. 4-5). Bilal Philips has put footnotes to the five Hadith that I will be quoting below (to declare some of the Hadith to be Da'eef), but one thing that should be mentioned is that he has mainly relied upon al-Albani's classification of the Hadiths in question; hence these 'classifications' of al-Albani need re-verifying! I say this because it is a well known fact that Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi was noted for his exceptional stringency in accepting Hadith, and he has been known to have declared some of the Hadith in Bukhari/Muslim to be Da'eef, as well as declaring some sound Hadith to be fabricated! Nevertheless, I would like to make it clear to those readers who are unaware of the status of Bilal Philips, that he has heavily depended on the classifications of al-Albani in most of his books! If the esteemed reader is convinced that the errors of al-Albani are most apparent, then one should beware of the status of those Hadiths that have been used by Bilal Philips (on account of his accepting al-Albani's classifications). Bilal Philips seems to be a leading critic of Taqleed who has been swept away by the tide of modern day "Salafiyyism"; and it seems that he has 'blindly' accepted the classifications of al-Albani without himself reverifying al-Albani's classifications! I ask you, is this not a clear cut example of Taqleed? If it has been proven that al-Albani's classifications are unreliable, would it not be just for Bilal Philips to re-verify all the Hadiths that have been authenticated by al-Albani and correct any misclassifications in his books? Allah know's best. 

(7) 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported that on one occasion Allah's Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) stood up among them and said, "Whoever among you desires the centre of paradise should keep close to the Jama'ah for the Devil closely accompanies the solitary individual and is more distant from two." (Collected by Imam Tirmidhi) 

(8) And 'Arfajah (Allah be pleased with him) reported (Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, as saying): "that Allah's hand is over the Jama'ah and the Devil is with whoever deviates from the Jama'ah." (Collected by Imam al-Tabarani) 

(9) 'Abdullah ibn Masood (Allah be pleased with him) reported that once Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) drew a line in the dust with his hand and said, "This is the straight path of Allah." Then he drew a series of lines to the right of it and to the left and said, "Each of these paths has a devil at its head inviting people to it." He then recited (Qur'an 6:153), "Verily this is my straight path so follow it and do not follow the (twisted) paths." (Collected by Ahmad, Nisai and Darimi; see Mishkat ul-Masabih, 1/166) 

(10) Mu'adh ibn Jabal (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) said, "The Devil is like a wolf among humans as a wolf is among sheep; it snatches the stray sheep. So beware of the paths which branch off and adhere to the Jama'ah, the masses and the masjid." (Collected by Imam Ahmad; NB- The version given in Mishkat, 1/184, also on the authority of Imam Ahmad does not have the addition 'the masses and the masjid.') 

(11) And Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) reported from the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that, "Two are better than one, and three better than two; so stick to the Jama'ah for verily Allah, Most Great and Glorious, will only unite my nation on guidance." (Collected by Ahmad) 

(12) Al-Harith al-Ashari (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: 

"I bid you to do five things: to remain attached to the main body (Jama'ah of Muslims), listen to your ruler (the Khalif of the Islamic state) and obey him, and migrate, and fight in the way of Allah. And he who detaches himself from the main body of the Muslims (Jama'ah) to the extent of one span of hand, he in fact, throws off the yoke of Islam from his neck, and he who calls with the call of ignorance, he is one from the denizens of Hell beyond doubt, even if he observes fast and says prayers and considers himself as a Muslim." (Musnad Ahmad, vide: Selection from Hadith, no. 288; by A.H. Siddique)

(13) Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) as saying: 

"Follow the great mass (as-Sawad al-Azam) for he who kept himself away from it, in fact would be thrown in Hell Fire." (Ibn Majah; vide: Mishkat, 1/174, by A.H. Siddiqui). 

The translator of Mishkat-ul-Masabih (A.H. Siddiqui, pg. 113) said in the footnote to the last Hadith: 

"There is a good deal of difference of opinion as to what the term Sawad al-Azam implies. The overwhelming majority of the scholars are of the view that As-Sawad al-Azam means the largest group of the learned scholars and pious persons whose opinions are held in high esteem in Islam." 

(14) Imam al-Shafi'i (Rahimahullah) said in his Risala (pg. 252-3): 

"Sufyan (ibn Uyayna) told us from Abd al-Malik ibn Umayr from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah ibn Masood from his father, that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, `God will grant prosperity to His servant who hears my words, remembers them, guards them, and hands them on. Many a transmitter of law is no lawyer (faqih) himself, and many may transmit law to others who are more versed in the law than they. The heart of a Muslim shall never harbour vindictive feelings against three: sincerity in working for Allah; faithfulness to Muslims; and conformity to the community of believers (Jama'ah) - their call shall protect (the believers) and guard them from (the Devil's) delusion.'" (vide: Sunan al-Darimi, vol. 1, pp. 74-6; Ibn Hanbal, vol. 6, pg. 96; Musnad al-Shafi'i, vol. 1, pg. 16; Mishkat-ul-Masabih, 1/228; and al-Bayhaqi in his al-Madkhal). Imam al-Shafi'i said (pg. 253): "The Apostle's (Peace be upon him) order that men should follow the Muslim community is a proof that the ijma (consensus) of the Muslims is binding." 

(15) Imam al-Shafi'i (Rahimahullah) stated in al-Risala (pg. 286-7): 

"And Sufyan (also) told us from `Abd Allah ibn Abi Labid from `Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn Yasar from his father, who said: `Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) made a speech at al-Jabiya in which he said: The Apostle of Allah (Peace be upon him) stood among us by an order from Allah, as I am now standing among you, and said: Believe my Companions, then those who succeed them (the Successors), and after that those who succeed the Successors; but after them untruthfulness will prevail when people will swear (in support of their saying) without having been asked to swear, and will testify without having been asked to testify. Only those who seek the pleasure of Paradise will follow the community, for the devil can pursue one person, but stands far away from two. Let no man be alone with a woman, for the devil will be third among them. He who is happy with his right (behaviour), or unhappy with his wrong behaviour, is a (true) believer.'" (see also Musnad al-Shafi'i, vol. 2, pg. 187; and Ibn Hanbal, vol. 1, pg. 112-13, 176-81).

Imam al-Shafi'i said in conclusion to this Hadith: 

"He who holds what the Muslim community (Jama'ah) holds shall be regarded as following the community, and he who holds differently shall be regarded as opposing the community he was ordered to follow. So the error comes from separation; but in the community as a whole there is no error concerning the meaning of the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and analogy (qiyas)."

(16) Imam Hakim (1/116) has related a Sahih Hadith from the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in the following words: "My Ummah shall not agree upon error." 

(17) Imam al-Tirmidhi (4/2167) reported on the authority of Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), who said: "Verily my Ummah would not agree (or he said the Ummah of Muhammad) would not agree upon error and Allah's hand is over the group and whoever dissents from them departs to Hell." (see also Mishkat, 1/173) 

Imam al-Azizi (d. 1070/1660; Rahimahullah) quoted Imam al-Munawi's (d. 1031/1622; Rahimahullah) commentary to the last Hadith in his al-Siraj al-munir sharh al-Jami al-saghir (3.449), as follows:- Allah's hand is over the group 

(al-Azizi): Munawi says, "Meaning his protection and preservation of them, signifying that the collectivity of the people of Islam are in Allah's fold, so be also in Allah's shelter, in the midst of them, and do not separate yourselves from them." The rest of the Hadith, according to the one who first recorded it (Tirmidhi), is: and whoever descents from them departs to hell. 
Meaning that whoever diverges from the overwhelming majority concerning what is lawful or unlawful and on which the Community does not differ has slipped off the path of guidance and this will lead him to hell." (vide: The Reliance of the Traveller, pg. 25)

1st Appendix

Wahhabi Tampering of Imam an-Nawawi,
rahimah-Ullah

by the "Ahlus Sunnah Muslim Association of Sri Lanka" and Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad
revised edition and tashih by the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community

A review of the translation of Imam al-Nawawi's Riyad as-Salihin published in 1999
by Darussalam Publishing House, Riyad: http://www.dar-us-salam.com/h4riyad-us.htm

A team of unprincipled editors and translators out of a Saudi publishing house by the name of Darussalam was commissioned to produce a glossy 2-volume English edition of Imam al-Nawawi's Riyad al-Salihin - being distributed for free to Islamic schools around the world - designed to propagate Wahhabi pseudo-Salafi heresy to the unwary English-speaking Muslim students of Islamic knowledge. This ideology is couched within a thoroughly unscrupulous and deviant "commentary", inserted into the book chapters and authored by an unknown or spurious "Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf of Pakistan," "revised and edited by Mahmud Rida Murad" (1:7). Following are some examples of what is contained in this Wahhabi attempt of falsifying the science transmitted by Sunni Ulema.

(a) The work is laced with unabashed eulogy of the arch-innovator Nasir al-Albani, the well-known falsifier of 'ilm al-hadith, the impostor who who uttered evident kufr not only against many ayat and ahadith mutawatur, but even against Surah al-Bayyinah as a whole, since he said - wa na'udhu bi-Llah - "every kafir is mushrik, every mushrik is kafir", while Allah Ta'ala distinguished between kuffar among the ahl al-Kitab, and kuffar among the mushrikun, when He says "Inna-lladhina kafaru min ahli-l-Kitabi wa-l-mushrikin". He also said "there exist some shirk which is forgivable", while Allah Ta'ala says what means "Allah does not forgive associating anything to Him, an forgives apart from this to whomever He wants." Both the sentences when classified as kufriyyah by the consensus of the eminent Shafi'i fuqaha of our time, by Shaykh Isma'il al-Azhari, Shaykh Husayn al-Khalwati, by Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari, Shaykh Muhammad Hafiz al-Tijani, al-Muhaddith al-Ghumari (rahimahum-Ullah) and by al-Muhaddith al-Harari (hafazah-Ullah), who after reading them said: "Unless he does tawbah for saying so, he is prevented to enter the hereafter as a Muslim". This same heretic in 'aqidah, innovator if fiqh and liar in hadith is referred in the "commentary" as "the leading authority in the science of hadith" (1:88). The fact is that the only agreed-upon title Albani has been able to earn from the verifying Ulema of the Umma from East to West, is that of erratic innovator, and a relevant group of them also faught him as a kafir murtaddid, a shaytan of fitnah Najdiyyah and a forerunner of ad-Dajjal.

(b) Declaring that "ours should not be the belief that the dead do hear and reply [to our greeting]" (1:515). The Jumhur says exactly the opposite.

(c) "Prohibition [of kissing] is only effective if the kissing of hands is also involved." (2:721). Note that among the salaf Imam Sufyan al-Thawri called the kissing of the hands of the Ulema a Sunna, and that the majority of the scholars concur on its permissibility.

(d) Saying "unapproved hadith" - an invented classification only meaning "rejected by al-Albani alone" - for the sahîh hadith of the two Jews who kissed the Prophet's - Allah bless and greet him - hands and feet as narrated by al-Tirmidhi (sahîh) and others.

(e) A very extravagant heresy according to which "there is not proof that the Prophet, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, used to kiss". On the contrary, that he used to kiss (Ay'shah, Fatimah and al-Husayn) is sahih authenticated by Imam al-Bukhari, rahimah-Ullah, and that he also used to kiss non-relatives Zayd ibn Haritha is hasan according to Imam at-Tirmidhi.

(f) Declaring "the hadiths about the kissing of hands are weak and deficient from the viewpoint of authenticity," an outright lie. They are sahih, and prove that the Jews kissed both his blessed hand and his blessed feet, and neither he, nor any of the Sahabah opposed them.

(g) Declaring after the hadith stating: "I suffer like two men of you": "This Hadith... throws light on the fact that the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - was merely a human being." (2:737) This discourse is that of the disbelievers mentioned in many places of the Qur'an: {They said: You are but mortals like us} (14:10), {Shall we put faith in two mortals like ourselves?} (23:47), {They said: You are but mortals like unto us} 36:15, {Shall mere mortals guide us?} (64:6). The ijma' of the Shafi'i madhhab is that comparing the Prophet, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, to other human being makes tawbah compulsory, and is kufr is done with the intention of diminishing his exalted rank. Saying "he was a man like other men" is not permissible, without adding "but he was inspired".

(h) Claiming: "We are uncertain that after saying a funeral prayer, the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - and his Companions ever stood around the bier and supplicated for the dead body. It is an innovation and must be abolished"! (2:755) This is flatly contradicted by the sound narrations ordering the Companions to make du`â for the deceased directly after burial. The commentar(s) go on to say: "It looks strange that believers should persist in reciting supplications in their own self-styled way after the funeral prayer, but desist from them during the funeral prayer to which they have relevance. It implies that prayer is not the object of their pursuit, otherwise they would have prayed in accordance with the Sunnah. In fact, they cherish their self-fabricated line of action and seem determined to pursue it." Yet the commentator(s) a few pages later (2:760) state: "The Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - has instructed his followers that after a Muslim's burial, they should keep standing beside his grave for some time and pray for his firmness"!

(i) Omitting (2:760) to translate the words of Imam al-Shafi`i related by al-Nawawi in Chapter 161 ("Supplication for the Deceased after his Burial"): ""It is desirable (yustahabb) that they recite something of the Qur'an at the graveside, and if they recite the entire Qur'an it would be fine." Omitting to translate these words which are in the original text of Riyad al-Salihin is deceit and a grave betrayal of the trust (amâna) of the translation of one the motherbooks of knowledge in Islam. This because the raving belief of Albaniyyun is that "it is innovation to read for the dead more than al-Fatihah alone". The truth is remote from their conjectures: Ma'qil Ibn Yasar, radi Allahu 'anh, narrated that Rasul-Ullah, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: "Read Ya Sin over your dead ones." It is Sahih mashur, mentioned in the collections of the Imams Abu Dawud, Nisa'i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hanbal, al-Hakim and Ibn Hibban. Imam Ibn Hnabal also authenticated another riwayah: "Verily Ya Sin is the heart of the Qur'an, and the one who reads it for Allah and the hereafter will find it is accepted. So read it for your dead ones." And 'Abdullah Ibn 'Omar Ibn al-Khattab, radi Allahu 'anh, narrated that he heard from his father that Rasul-Ullah, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: "When some of you dies, read al-Fatihah over his head and the last two ayat of al-Baqarah over is feet." Narrated by at-Tabarani and authenticated by Imam Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari. Albaniyyun also claim: "Ibn Hajar and al-Albani are Muhaddithun of the same level", and also add - wa na'udhu bi-Llah - "Imam Abu Hanifah was not a muhaddith!"

(j) As if the above were not enough, the "commentary" goes on to state: "The reference made to Imam al-Shafi`i about the recitation of Qur'an beside a Muslim's grave is in disagreement with the Prophet's - Allah bless and greet him - practice... the reference made to Imam al-Shafi`i seems to be of doubtful authenticity"! However, al-Za`farani said: "I asked al-Shafi`i about reciting Qur'an at the graveside and he said: la ba'sa bihi - There is no harm in it." This is narrated by Imam Ahmad's student al-Khallal (d. 311) in his book al-Amr bi al-Ma`ruf (p. 123 #243). Similar fatawa are reported from al-Sha`bi, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahuyah, and are also confirmed, not only by the Ahlu-s-Sunnah, but even by the heretics Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Shawkani - the putative authorities of the Wahhabi movement.

(k) Stating (2:761): "Qur'an reading meant to transmit reward to the dead man's soul is against the Prophetic Sunnah. All such observances are of no use to the dead." This is the exact same position as the Mu'tazilah on the issue, who went so far as to deny the benefit of the Prophet's intercession. It should be noted that the manipulative editors/commentators of Riyad as-Salihin deliberately omit any mention of the Companions' practice, as it is authentically recorded from 'Abdullah Ibn 'Omar, radi Allahu 'anh, that he ordered in his testament the Qur'an be read over his grave after his death, adding "since this is the Sunnah of Rasul-Ullah, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam."

(l) Stating (2:761): "For further detail, one can refer to Shaykh al-Albani's Ahkam al-Jana'iz." This is the book in which this man lists among the innovations of misguidance the fact that the Prophet's Blessed Grave is inside his Mosque in Medina and the fact that it has a dome built over it, and he asks for both of them to be removed, and for Masjidu-n-Nabi to destroyed and rebuilt to make the Blessed Grave exterior to it.

(m) Stating (2:791-792): "If a woman has no husband or Mahram, Hajj is not obligatory on her. Neither can she go for Hajj with a group of women, whether for Hajj or any other purposes.... Under no circumstances a woman may travel alone." This contradicts the fatwa which prevails it the Shafi'i and Hanafi madhhab, as well as the principle that when there is scholarly disagreement over an issue, it becomes automatically impermissible to declare it prohibited.

(n) Rephrasing a hadith (2:810-811) by omitting key words which invalidate their position. In chapter 184 of Riyad al-Salihin titled "Desirability of Assembling for Qur'an-Recitation," al-Nawawi cites the hadith of Muslim whereby the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - said: "No group of people assemble in one of the Houses of Allah, all of them reciting [plural pronoun] the Book of Allah (yatlûna kitâb Allâh) and studying It among themselves except Serenity (al-sakîna) shall descend upon them, etc." The editor/ commentator(s) of Riyad al-Salihin rephrased the hadith thus: "Any group of people that assemble in one of the Houses of Allâh to study the Qur'ân, tranquillity will descend upon them, etc." omitting the key words: "all of them reciting the Book of Allah." Then the same editor/ commentator(s) had the gall to comment: "This Hadith... does not tell us in any way that this group of people recite the Qur'an all at once. This is Bid`ah for this was not the practice of the Messenger of Allah - Allah bless and greet him -." This is tampering compounded with a shameless lie. This misinterpretation and false claim of bid'a is, of course, directed at the Maghribi style of Qur'anic recitation that relies heavily on collective tilâwa in order to strengthen memorization.

(o) The statement (2:848) concerning the Prophet's miracle of seeing behind his back: "It must be borne in mind that a miracle happens with the will of Allah only. It is not at all in the power of the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him -. Had he been capable of working a miracle on his own, he would have shown it at his own pleasure. But no Prophet was ever capable of it, nor was the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - an exception to this rule." In truth this speech comes directly from books such as Isma'il Dehlvi's Taqwyatul Iman concerning which Abu al-Hasan al-Thanvi said: "The words used by Isma'il Dehlvi are, of course, disrespectful and insolent. These words may never be used." (Imdad al-Fatawa 4:115)

(p) The statement (2:861): "The right number of rak'ats in the Tarawih prayers is eight because the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - never offered more than eight rak'ats... It is not in any case twenty rak'ats. Authentic Ahâdith prove this pont abundantly." This is a transgressive innovation (bid'a mufassiqa) as it rejects the command of the Prophet, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, to "obey my Sunnah and the Sunnah my rightly-guided caliphs" and also kufr as it violates the passive Consensus (ijmâ` sukûtî) of the Companions over twenty rak`ats order by Sayyiduna 'Omar, radi Allahu 'anh.

(q) The statement (2:905): "Twenty rak'at Tarawih is not confirmed from any authentic hadith, nor its ascription to 'Omar ( is proved from any muttasil (connected) hadith." This is a blatant lie, as the number of hadith masters who graded as sahîh the connected chains back to 'Omar establishing twenty rak'at tarawih are too numerous to count. They provided the basis on which the Ulema concur in declaring that Consensus formed on the matter among the Companions as stated by al-Qari, al-Zayla'i, al-Haytami, Ibn al-Humam, Ibn Qudama, and a number of other major jurists of the Four Madhhayb.

(r) The heretic statement (2:1025): "In the present age Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani has done a very remarkable work in this field [hadith]. He has separated the weak ahadith found in the four famous volumes of ahadith (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah) from the authentic and prepared separate volumes of authentic and weak ahadith. This work of Albani has made it easy for the ordinary Ulema to identify the weak ahadith. Only a man of Shaykh Albani's caliber can do research on it. The ordinary Ulema and religious scholars of the Muslims are heavily indebted to him for this great work and they should keep it in view before mentioning any hadith. They should mention only the authentic ahadith and refrain from quoting the weak ones [meaning those classified as "authentic" and "weak" by al-Albani himself]. It is wrong to ignore this work on the ground that Shaykh al-Albani is not the last word on the subject.... As Muhaddithun have done a great service to the Muslim Umma by collecting and compiling the ahadith, similarly in the style of Muhaddithun, and in keeping with the principles laid down by them, the research carried out to separate the authentic ahadith from the weak is in fact an effort to complete their mission. In this age, Almighty Allah has bestowed this honor on Shaykh al-Albani", and we seek refuge by Allah, Who majestically transcends what those "commentators" conceive about Him. All this fawning will not hide the facts that al-Albani has been repeatedly warned against his tens of kufriyyat, and exposed as the innovator of this age par excellence and that his splitting of the books of Sunan into Sahih al-Tirmidhi and Da`if al-Tirmidhi and so forth is an unprecedented attack on the Motherbooks of Islam for which, undoubtedly, he shall be brought to account on the Day of Judgment as he was rejected for it by the Ulema of the Umma from East to West.

(s) Another systematic mistranslation for the Chapter-title 338 (2:1294) states: "Prohibition of placing the hands on the sides during Salat" when the Arabic clearly states al-khâsira which means "waist" or "hip" rather than "sides." The same mistranslation is then repeated in the body of the chapter, then a third time in the commentary. This mistranslation is part of the Wahhabi campaign against the Maliki form of sadl consisting in letting the arms hang down by the sides during the standing part of Salat. In some places of North Africa today, such as Marrakech, certain people are paid to declare takfir and tadlil, in the name of the Sunnah, of those who pray with their arms hanging by their sides although it is an established Sunnah, not disapproved in any of the Four Madhhayb, and even declared as the best for fard salawat in the fatwa of Imam Malik.

Truly we belong to Allah and to Him is our return, and there is no power nor might except in Allah the Exalted and Almighty Lord.

All sincere Muslims should consider themselves warned and warn others that this is NOT a Sunni translation of the great classic of Imam al-Nawawi but an innovative, deviant, and inauthentic translation which should never have been allowed. And from Allah comes all success.

2nd Appenix

Question about Re-Forming Classical Texts

As far as Wahhabi tamperings with classical texts goes, how widespread is this heinous crime?
Can you give some serious examples of this?

Answer by Shaykh Ha Mim Nuh Keller

3rd Appendix

Sunni Perceptions of Jihad and Martyrdom

I want to thank the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism for the invitation to speak at this International Conference, in front of this distinguished and highly qualified public.

My main goal is marking a distinction between the traditional Islamic notion of jihad and martyrdom, and the distortion of those values made by radical and heretic movements which promote terrorism, and claim to do so "in the name of Islam".

This distinction is obviously a more general aspect of a basic dualism, and permits us to understand in details the differences between orthodox and traditional Islam -- the religion that was revealed by the Prophet Muhammad and whose main sources are the Qur'an and the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah) -- and the contemporary ideology that is commonly referred in the West as "Islamic fundamentalism".

As a Muslim scholar, I must first of all remark that I cannot agree with this same definition, so common in the contemporary media.  As a matter of fact, I personally never deal with "Islamic fundamentalism" or "Islamic radicalism", but rather with "pseudo-Islamic radicalism".  This depends on the fact that, according to my humble point of view, that contemporary extremism is not one of the legitimate keys of lecture of the Islamic message, but an evident distortion of Islamic values, an attempt to change Islam from a religious tradition into a political, totalitarian ideology.

Some Muslim scholars, like my friend and colleague Prof. Khalid Duran of Temple University of Philadelphia, mark the distinction between the orthodox Islamic doctrine and its political counterfeit by calling "Islam" the former, and "Islamism" the latter.

Prof. Duran writes:

"Whether Islamists like the term fundamentalist or not, their understanding of religion resembles that of fundamentalists in other religions.  This is not to say that Islamists are more religious or more genuinely Islamic than other Muslims.  A common misunderstanding in the West has it that Islamists are the one hundred percenters among Muslims, and that they are the people of tradition.  This is not at all the case. Islamists have a problem with the people of tradition, especially the Sufis (mystics).  Islamism is a late 20th century totalitarianism.  It follows in the wake of Fascism and Communism, picking up from those and seeking to refine their methods of domination.  Islamists mold tradition so as to serve their political ends.  This causes them to clash with traditionalist Muslims who resist this manipulation of religion for power politics.  Islamism is not a reaction of people feeling a loss of religious meaning, but a reaction to a sense of loss in the political sphere; it is a quest for power, an attempt to conquer the state, not to regain independence for religion, least of all individual faith".

"Like most totalitarian ideologies, Islamism is a utopianism.  Islamists seek to dominate by the most advanced technologies; in that sense they are modernists.  But their model for an ideal society takes inspiration from an idealized seventh century Arabia and an a-historical view of religion and human development in general.  It is an anachronistic mode of thinking in conflict with modern concepts of democracy, pluralism and human rights".

A relevant difference between Sunni Islam and Islamism is in the way of understanding the link between religion and politics.

"Few Muslims would deny that political commitment is part of Islamic ethics, but most disagree with the Islamist insistence that there exists a clearly defined 'Islamic system', different from all other political systems.  Islamists refuse to accept a secular state that puts a member of a non-Muslim minority at par with a member of the Muslim majority, and a woman at par with man".

According to the traditional Islamic theology, prophets are sent among human beings to teach them the necessary truths about the nature of Allah, about ethics, about those actions and those omissions which cause prosperity in this world and beatitude in the hereafter.  It can sometimes happen that those Prophets are called to preach in a milieu where a state and a complex social organization does not exist at all, and this causes them to assume a role of political leadership.

This was, for instance, the role of Moses as a leader of the Children of Israel in the exodus from Egypt, or the position of Muhammad as a governor of the State centered in Medina.  Even so, the Sunni belief teaches that this happens per accident, and political leadership is not among the necessary elements of the prophetic mastership.  As a matter of fact, the Noble Qur'an uses different titles to describe the Prophet Muhammad, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, but none of these titles is referred to a political function.

The Glorious Qur'an says that Sayyiduna Muhammad, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam,  was sent as an "Admonisher", as a "Warner", as "someone who calls to Allah", as "a shining light", but it never says that he was send as a political leader or as a head of State.

Pseudo-Islamic radicals, on the contrary, have a completely opposite attitude. According to their point of view, the diffusion of Islam cannot be separated from the creation of a claimed "Islamic State", and the role of Muslim Ulema is immediately confused with the role of the leaders of a political movement or party.

Islamists continuously repeat that "Islam is both religion and government", and this is the basic description of their creed.  What they forget to underline is that those words "Islam is both religion and government" (al-Islam din wa dawlah), are never found in the Noble Qur'an, in the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad,  sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) or in the ancient, authoritative Islamic sources.

As a matter of fact, this slogan was coined by Taqiyyu-d-Din Ibn Taymiyyah al-Harrani, an extravagant intellectual who lived during the thirteen and fourteenth century C.E., and who was condemned to life imprisonment for his numerous heresies.

Those who repeat his slogan "Islam is religion and government" are the same ones who, for instance,  deal with the supposed "liberation of Jerusalem from the hands of the Jews".  Unfortunately from them, the heretic Ibn Taymiyyah, from whom they take their slogan, is the same one who strongly denies any special role of Jerusalem in Islam.  Ibn Taymiyyah openly writes "there is no Muslim holy place in Jerusalem", but his followers claim to fight for the "liberation of Jerusalem" in the name of Ibn Taymiyyah.  This is a clear example of how Islamism is a confused ideology, wherein contradictions are simply passed under silence.

While many Western researchers are inclined to describe Islamism as a form of "resurgence of Islam", Muslim traditional Ulema read its appearance as a symptom of secularization, as a reshaping of their religion as a modern, ideological totalitarianism.  This is especially evident in the Islamist deformation of the role of jihad.  In the original meaning, jihad is not limited to the military field, but generally means "striving hard toward a goal".

According to some sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, sall-Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam,  that are contained in the compilation called Sahih al-Bukhari, "Pilgrimage is the jihad of  women", while "The jihad of someone who has old parents is taking care of them".  The military jihad was not a form of "expansion of the religion by means of the sword", but a form of defense against religious persecution.

The Qur'anic ayah giving permission for military jihad say:

"To those against whom war is made, permission is given [to defend themselves], because they are wronged.  And verily Allah is Most powerful for their aid.  [They are] those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right [for no cause] except that they say, 'Our Lord is Allah'.  Did not Allah check one people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly help those who help His cause, for verily Allah is full of strength, exalted in Might".  [Qur'an, Sura 22:39-40]

As one can see, military jihad is not conceived to expand a certain faith by means of cohercition, but to defend the rights of those who are persecuted because of their religion.  The verses which describe violation of religious freedom as a justification for self-defense are clear in including not only mosques, but also monasteries, churches and synagogues, among the places where Allah's name is frequently mentioned, and among the places that are necessary to protect, even by the recourse to war.

Apart from this, the legitimate form of military jihad is regulated by very strict rules:

1.  It must be waged by a regular army which wages war against another army.  Terrorist acts against civil population are not included in the definition of jihad.  The collection of Prophetic sayings that we have already mentioned, Sahih al-Bukhari, narrates that when the Prophet Muhammad was informed that a certain group of fighters of jihad had killed some women, he raised his hands and prayed by saying, "O Allah, be my witness that my hands are innocent of this crime".

2.  The reaction in self-defense must not be exaggerated.  The typical example of this is the story of Moses, 'alayhi-s-salam, and the Egyptian, as narrated in the Glorious Qur'an.  To defend an Israelite who was being beaten by an Egyptian, Moses, 'alayhi-s-salam killed an Egyptian.  No doubt, the Israelite was a member of the oppressed people, one of those who were persecuted because of their religion and enslaved, while the Egyptian was one of the oppressors.  The event could even been described as a legitimate form of jihad, but the Generous Qur'an does not support this opinion, and condemns Moses' reaction as exaggerated.  Moses himself, 'alayhi-s-salam, asks forgiveness for his excess.

The Noble Qur'an says, "And he [Moses] entered the city at a time when its inhabitants were in a state of heedlessness; and he found therein two men fighting one of his own religion and the other of his enemies.  And he who was of his party sought his help against him who was of his enemies.  So Moses struck the latter with his fist, and thereby caused his death.  Then Moses said, 'This is Satan's doing, he is indeed an enemy, a manifest misleader'.  He said, 'My Lord, I have wronged my soul, so do Thou forgive me'.  So He forgave him; for He is Most Forgiving, ever Merciful".  [Qur'an, Sura 28:15-16]

Moreover, the Glorious Qur'an also says, "And fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not exaggerate.  Verily, Allah does not love those who exaggerate".  [Qur'an, Sura 2:190]

3.  When the former enemy is ready to stop hostilities and is looking for an opportunity for peace, Muslims must stop fighting and accept to look for a peaceful solution.

The Qur'an says, "And make ready for those who fight you whatever you can of armed force and of mounted pickets at the frontier, whereby you may frighten the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you know not, but Allah knows them.  And whatever you spend in the way of Allah, it shall be paid back to you in full, and you shall not be wronged.  But if they incline towards peace, incline thou also towards it, and put thy trust in Allah.  Surely, it is He Who is All-Hearing, All-Knowing".  [Qur'an, Sura 8:60-61]

Martyrdom is in Islam, the praiseworthy condition of the one who offers his life as a witnessing for the Truth.  "Shahid", the word that we translate in English as "martyr", etymologically means "witness", someone whose existence is a living witnessing, even after his death.

About martyrs, the Qur'an says, "Think not of those who have been slain in the cause of Allah, as dead.  Nay, they are alive in the presence of their Lord, and are granted gifts from Him; jubilant because that which Allah has given them of His bounty; and rejoicing for the sake of those who have not yet joined them from behind them, because on them shall come no fear nor shall they grieve.  They rejoice at the favour of Allah and His bounty, and at the fact that Allah suffers not the reward of the believers to be lost".  [Qur'an, Sura 3:169-170]

As about suicide, it is clearly forbidden by Islamic law, even in the case when someone is committing it for a supposed good cause.  The Qur'an says, "And do not kill yourselves, for Allah is indeed merciful to you" [Qur'an, Sura 4:29].

The verse underlines how committing suicide is a direct negation of the Divine mercy.

In another verse it says "...And do not throw yourselves into  destruction with your own hands" [Qur'an, Sura 2:195]

The evil status in the hereafter of those who commit suicide is described in a saying of the Prophet Muhammad that is contained in Sahih Muslim, another authoritative compilation.  It says, "Whoever kills himself with a knife will be in hell forever stabbing himself in the stomach.  Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will drink it eternally in the Hell fire.  And whoever kills himself by falling off a mountain will forever fall in the fire of Hell".

In the face of all these evident proofs, one is spontaneously led to ask himself a question:  how it is possible for some groups which claim to be "Islamic" and to "represent Islam" to advocate both terrorism against civil populations and suicide terrorism?

In my humble opinion, this is just one of the fruits of a heretical tendency, based on the deformation and the falsification of many basic elements of the Islamic belief.  Although those extreme consequences are recent enough, their point of departure must be identified with the beginnings of the Wahhabi heretical movement.  We think that understanding the nature and the theoretical apparatus of Wahhabism is essential to the comprehension of the contemporary Islamist radicalism, and also to the conception of possible countermeasures.

Moreover, in traditional Islam it is clear that military jihad, and all other forms of material jihad, only constitute the external aspect of jihad, while the inner dimension of jihad is the struggle that every Muslim undertakes to purify his soul from mundane desires, from defects, from egotism.  According to a well-known tradition, after coming back from a military expedition, the Prophet Muhammad said, "We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad" [Raja'na min jihad al-asghar ila jihad al-akbar].

Muhammed was asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is the greater jihad?"  He answered, "It is the jihad against one's soul".

This narration has always been quoted by Sunni scholars as a means to explain the inner dimension of jihad, and especially Sufis have quoted it as an antidote against a limited, physical understanding of the nature of jihad.

Wahhabis, on the contrary, completely reject this tradition, in the same way that they deny any deeper understanding of the Islamic doctrine.  The recently disappeared leader of the Wahhabi sect, Nasir ad-Din al-Albani, recurred to all possible captious arguments to prove that this tradition is not authentic, and that the greater jihad simply does not exist.

On the contrary, we think that meditating on its contents can contribute very much to understanding the present situation of those who confuse jihad with terrorism.  Crimes against civil populations can by no means be a legitimate form of jihad, for the simple reason that they are caused by hate, the most irrational of human passions.  Since fighting those anti-human passions is in itself the greater jihad, refuting those who abuse the Islamic belief to legitimate terrorism is also a very important form of the real jihad.

For what concerns the origin on the Wahhabi movement, we must remember that the beginning of the eighteenth century of the common era witnessed the emergence of a movement in the Arabian Peninsula that would shatter the spiritual equilibrium of the Islamic world and lead to an explosion of primitive, violent and anti-intellectual tendencies.

The rallying cry of "returning to origins" was the primal scream of a primitivism that destroyed the life giving variety of Islamic culture. Multiplicity of opinion was replaced with a monolithic and simple-minded dogmatism.

Eighteenth century Arabia was among the most desolate areas of the Ottoman Empire.  Arabia's only claim to fame was the fact that its territory included the two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina.  Ottoman Sultans were satisfied with nominal sovereignty over this region.  Power was effectively in the hand of local emirs and tribal chieftains whose loyalty toward the Sultan was dependent on cash payoffs such as exemption from taxation and a share in government revenues.

The City of Mecca was an autonomous district under the authority of the Sharif, the oldest representative of the Hashemite family.  As a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the Sharif of Mecca was among the first to pledge allegiance when a new Sultan was elected. The Sharif's support was regarded as one of the most important forms of legitimacy for the Ottoman government.

The man who broke the chain of the pluralistic transmission of Islamic teachings was Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, a descendent of the Banu Tamim tribe, who was born in the Uyaynah village (Najd) in 1699 C.E.  His father was a learned Hanbali scholar, and sent him to study Qur'anic exegesis, jurisprudence and mysticism in Mecca, Medina, Baghdad, Basrah and Damascus, as well as in Iran and India.

Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's attitude from the beginning was very polemical, and he took active part in scholarly debates.  At the age of thirty-two, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab returned to Najd and started working as a teacher for Bedouins.  He demonstrated proficiency in academic debates and independence in judgment.

He did not follow the principles of any one of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence.  Rather, he liked to reach his own conclusions and was ready to criticize sages regarded by all Muslim scholars as authoritative.

Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab became convinced that Islamic society was degenerate and in need of reform.  In his opinion, the traditional veneration of Muslim saints was idol-worship.  Those involved in it were apostates from Islam.  In his analysis of alleged "deviations" and "corruptions" he became more and more extremist.  He was finally excommunicated by his former teachers and even by scholars from his own family.

In 1730 C.E. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab met Muhammad Ibn Sa'ud, chief thug of a gang of roving raiders whose "profession" was robbing pilgrims and travelers in the desert of Najd.  As most Bedouins living in Dar'iyyah were completely illiterate, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab had no difficulty in convincing them of his ideas.

Ibn Sa'ud and Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab made a deal whereby the former was proclaimed political leader (emir) and the latter was proclaimed the religious authority (shaykh).  The "Shaykh" declared that he was ready to issue a religious decree (fatwa) whereby non-Wahhabi Muslims were branded "apostates" and "idol-worshippers".

This arrangement gave Ibn Sa'ud the cloak of religious legitimacy he needed to respectably persecute innocent people.  His gang was no longer a mob of traveling thugs and his victims were no longer innocent people. Ibn Sa'ud goons were now "fighters for jihad", authorized to murder "unbelievers", plunder their property and rape their women.  For the first time in the history, jihad was proclaimed against Muslims, and even against the Ottoman State, whose Sultan was considered the heir of the prophet Muhammad and the highest Islamic authority.  This obviously opened the way for many other cases in which the concept of jihad was deformed.

Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab also ordained missionaries (wakil) and sent them to preach his heresy in Mecca.  However, scholars living in the Holy City already understood how dangerous his doctrine was.  Sayyid Ahmad Zayni Dahlan was at that time Chief Mufti of Mecca.  He wrote in his book "Al-Futuhat al-Islamiyyah":

"To deceive scholars in Mecca and Medina, those people sent emissaries to Mecca and Medina, but these missionaries were not able to answer questions asked by Sunni scholars.  It became evident that they were ignorant heretics.  Muftis of the four schools wrote a fatwa that declared them renegades, and this document was distributed throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula.  The emir of Mecca, Sharif Mas'ud ibn Sa'id, ordered the Wahhabis imprisoned.  Some Wahhabis fled to Dar'iyyah and informed their leader of what was happening".

Another scholar of that period, Muhammad Ibn Sulayman Effendi wrote:

"O Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, do not slander Muslims!  I admonish you for Allah's sake!  Does anyone of them say that there is a Creator besides Allah?  If you have anything to argue against Muslims, please, show them authoritative proofs.  It is more correct to call you, a single person, an unbeliever, than to call millions of Muslims unbelievers.  Allah says, 'If anyone contends with the Messenger after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than the one followed by Believers, we shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell, quite an evil refuge!' [Qur'an, Sura 4:114].  This verse points to the results of departing from Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah".

When the order from the emir of Mecca reached the Sultan in Istanbul, he ordered Muhammad 'Ali Pashah, governor of Egypt, to move to Najd and to stop the Wahhabi sedition.  Among the Sunni scholars who refuted Wahhabism one can also mention Sayyid Dawud Ibn Sulayman, Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi, Sun'Allah al-Halabi al-Makki al-Hanafi, Muhammad Ma'sum as-Sarhindi and Muhammad Ibn Sulayman al-Madani ash-Shafi'i.

The latter was the Shafi'i Mufti of Medina, who was asked to write a fatwa against Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab.  This fatwa is quoted in the book "Ashadd al-Jihad" (The stronger jihad) and declares:

"This man is leading the ignoramuses of the present age to a heretical path.  He is trying to extinguish Allah's light, but Allah will not permit His light to be extinguished, in spite of the opposition of polytheists, and will illuminate every place with the light of Ahl as-Sunnah".

Although thousands of Muslims were murdered by Wahhabis, the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah continued to refute them in their books.  An example is what the Mufti of Mecca, Ahmad Zayni ad-Dahlan al-Makki ash-Shafi'i wrote in a work entitled "Fitnah al-Wahhabiyyah" (The Wahhabi Sedition) stating:

"In 1802 C.E. they [the Wahhabis] marched with large armies to the area of at-Tayf.  In Dhu al-Qa'dah of the same year, they laid siege to the area occupied by Muslims, defeated them, and murdered all the people, including men, women, and children.  They also looted the Muslims' belongings and possessions.  Only a few people escaped their barbarism".

"They even stole gifts from the Noble Grave of the Prophet, took all that was there, and engaged in similar acts of profanation".

"In 1786 C.E. they laid siege to Mecca the Blessed and then surrounded it from all directions to tighten their siege.  They blocked the routes to the City and prevented supplies from reaching there.  This caused great hardship to the people of Mecca.  Food became very expensive and then unavailable.  The people resorted to eating dogs".

These events which we have briefly described disfigured the face of the Islamic world.  Mecca and Medina, the two Sanctuaries from which Islam spread to the rest of the world, were no longer centers for the transmission of the Sunni heritage of Islamic teachings.  They became places where certain aspects of worship according the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence were suppressed and replaced by a primitive and literalist cult that was propagated through violence and coercion.

But the drama did not stop there.  Like all other forms of totalitarian ideology, Wahhabism is expansionist by its own nature, and its goal was firstly to take possession of the whole Islamic world, and then to expand its influence beyond those limits.

The establishment of a world center for Wahhabi propaganda (the so-called World Islamic League) in Mecca was the final result of a plan whose goal was to replace orthodox Islam with a puritanical so-called "Salafi school".  Dogmatic uniformity began to suffocate the humane and enlightened Islamic tradition.  The distortion of notions like jihad and martyrdom had a central role in their expansionist ideology.

From the second half of the nineteenth century C.E. and onward, Salafis (as Wahhabis define themselves) targeted as their main opponents to be silenced the University of al-Azhar al-Sharif in Egypt and other traditional centers of Sunni teachings.  Sunnis have always been alert to sectarian trends in theological interpretation.

The main instrument for the "Wahhabisation" of Arab society was an organization called Ikhwan al-Muslimun (the Muslim Brotherhood).  The Brotherhood's founder was Hasan al-Bannah, an elementary school teacher from Ismailiyyah who became one of the leaders of pro-British Masonry (United Lodge of England, Mother of the World) in Egypt.

From a religious point of view, al-Bannah was a "reformer" (but not so advanced in his knowledge of Islamic tradition).  From a political point of view, he was radically anti-Ottoman.  By creating his own sect, his goal was to develop a new ruling class whose ideology would be a form of "modernized" and "westernized" Islam.  Obviously, in the Wahhabi tradition, he used to describe the fight of his followers against their Muslim opponents as jihad.

Since then, leadership within the movement is hereditary.  Only members of certain families can hope to get important positions.  After World War II, Nasser attempted to outlaw the sect, but this drove the Muslim Brotherhood underground.

The Syrian dictator Assad bombed Hama, a Syrian city that was a center of the Brotherhood.  Members of the Brotherhood became more secretive than ever.  They learned to deny any connection to the organization, and even refuse to acknowledge that the Brotherhood exists at all.

From this point of view, there are similarities between their internal power struggles and those of organized crime.  Their leaders are extremely arrogant in imposing their will on legitimate Muslim organizations and communities.

In most cases, these so called militant Islamic fundamentalists are  from a religious point of view lay persons with little background in Islamic studies.  They are appointed as "imams" of important mosques, especially in democratic countries, were there is no "Ministry of Religious Affairs" to check their orientation and where imams having a regular permission to teach (ijazah shar'i) are the exception.

In most Western countries, members of this sect immigrated as University students and began to set up legitimate front organizations in different sectors of society.

The Palestinian Hamas is one of the important Ikhwan-controlled organizations in the Middle East.  Their leaders are not among the original families of founders.  On a worldwide level the leadership is  as before in the hands of Syrian and Egyptian elements.

For a radical militant who is poor, ignorant and fanatic, his life dream is to throw stones, commit acts of terrorism or kill himself and many innocent people as a suicide bomber.

For a militant with a bit more brains, his life dream is to travel abroad as a student and became a full time professional agitator and propagandist.  He will spent his life visiting mosques in the United States, England, France, Germany, Italy, etc., and speak (and it is nothing more than talk) about "jihad for Palestine", "fighting against the Zionist enemy" and other such slogans.

In so doing, the brainier radical will receive a generous, regular salary and money to finance his activities.  He will probably also learn how to collect donations, not only from major donors but also from local followers.

Their doctrine is that "people doing social work can keep the money they collect".  They start collecting money for poor children in Palestine, for refugees in Kosovo, for Bosnia, and after a week their leaders have new luxury items, which obviously are not declared as a private property.

The Egyptian branch controls a charitable institution called "Islamic Relief".  The Palestinian branch is supported by the United Arab Emirates through Human Appeal International.

Ikhwani beliefs were theologically refuted by Sunni scholars of the Ottoman period.  After World War II, King Faysal of Saudi Arabia was in need of allies against secular Nasserianism.  The Egyptian leader of the Brotherhood, Sayyed Qutb, therefore received unexpected financial support from Faysal for their worldwide activities.

From then on, the vast majority of Ikhwans adopted Wahhabi doctrines.   Only an insignificant minority of them are Sunni.  Qutb's heir is today Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian professor who controls the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Qatar.

The fundraising game exploits conflicts between the Egyptian, Syrian and Palestinian branches of the Brotherhood.  As soon as, for example, Saudi Arabia starts increasing its support for one branch, Kuwait and the Emirates finance their internal opponents.  Real local leaders never have official positions inside the dependent organizations.  Their legal representatives are usually employed as figureheads only.

The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim Brotherhood front organization.  It works in the United States as a lobby against radio, television and print media journalists who dare to produce anything about Islam that is at variance with their fundamentalist agenda.  CAIR opposes diversity in Islam:  they are aggressive and closeminded.  Notwithstanding their evident connection to Hamas, they are regarded by the US administration as legitimate representatives of the Muslim American Community.

Another branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the American Muslim Council (AMC), has the monopoly for the appointment and training of Muslim chaplains in the U.S. Army.  While non-fundamentalist Islamic organizations are more or less ignored by the US administration, Muslim American soldiers receive "spiritual assistance" from fundamentalist chaplains.

These are only some of the consequences of the influence of Saudi-American relations.

The leader of the Nazimi-Kabbani cult, the American-Lebanese Hisham Kabbani, recently declared in an open forum with the US State Department:

"We would like to advise our Government, our congressmen that there is something big going on and people do not understand it.  You have many mosques around the United States.  It's not an organized government policy to supervise mosques as it is in Muslim countries".

"In Muslim countries, you cannot open a mosque by yourself.  That's why you see that in Muslim countries you cannot find extremist ideology.  As soon as you find extremist ideology, they kick the extremists out and bring in the traditional Islamic scholars".

"So the most dangerous things are going on in these mosques that have self-appointed leaders throughout the United States.  The extremist ideology makes them very active.  It was by election that these leaders took over the mosques".

"We can say that they took over eighty percent of the mosques in the United States.  There are more than 3,000 mosques in the United States. This means that the ideology of extremism has been spread to eighty percent of the Muslim population, mostly the youth and the new generation".

I cannot acknowledge Mr. Kabbani as an authoritative Muslim scholar.  I share the point of view of those who consider him the founder of a new American syncretistic cult.  Nevertheless, I admit that he is trying to show Westerners the reality behind the deceptive facade.  That over eighty percent of all mosques in the democratic countries are controlled by extremists is a matter of fact, not only in North America, but in most of Western Europe as well.

Local Ikhwani organizations are linked through a single secret world body, and membership in the organization requires an oath of strict secrecy.

Therefore, until recently it was impossible to find anything in writing about the organization's international structure or even its existence.

Since 1928 and throughout seventy years of Ikhwani activity, not a single piece of paper was ever signed or published in the name of "The Muslim Brotherhood".  Since March 13, 1998, the Californian branch has its own web site explaining the nature of the sect as follows:

"Al-Ikhwan has branches in over 70 countries all over the world.  The movement is flexible enough to allow working under the 'Ikhwan' name, under other names, or working according to every country's circumstances".

"However, all Ikhwan groups, in all countries are characterized by the following with respect to their method:

Political Activism:  By putting political programs for 'Islamisizing' government in different countries (after realistic studies), and establishing these programs through the convenient ways which do not conflict with Islam.

Stressing Physical Health:  By forming sports clubs and committing members to regular exercises...

Establishing a Sound Economic Infrastructure:  By supporting and/or sponsoring any Islamic project and facing its "fiqh" problems.   By the way, the only accepted source of money to the Ikhwan is its members' own money".

In the contemporary world, opening a web site and calling its index the "home page of..." is one of the most evident forms of giving publicity to a certain activity.  Even so, the tradition of secrecy and the tendency to deny being a member is so deeply rooted that the Home Page of the Muslim Brotherhood ends with the following:

"Important Disclaimer:  The maintainer of this page is not a member of the Al-Ikhwan party and does not approve or agree with everything they say.  This page is for the soul purpose of answering the questions you always had and never knew who to ask.  This page has no political purpose of any kind and no connection whatsoever to any organization or institution".

In Italy, my country, there are two Ikhwan-controlled organizations:  the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy (UCOII) and the Union of Muslim Students in Italy (USMI).

Although their membership does not exceed one hundred persons, due to a steady flow of foreign funds they are able to control a certain number of mosques in Italy.  In the past few years two of their leaders, 'Omar Tariq and Abu Ja'far, were expelled by a decree of the Minister of the Interior at that time, Nicola Mancino.  Their presence in Italy was considered to be "dangerous for national security and public order".

As a matter of fact, the religious freedom that is granted by the Western system is causing a terrible consequence.  Radical movements, local branches of those same structures which promote terrorism in Middle East, are taking roots in the countries of immigration.  Although they do not represent there more that 10% of the total Muslim population, they are able to control most of mosques in Europe, in the United States and in Canada.

This situation has many causes; first of all, traditional Muslims do not identify the religious identity with the membership in an organized group.  Radicals, on the contrary, are not a spontaneous movement, but a worldwide organized Network; they use thousands different denominations, but the secret Muslim Brotherhood is always the inner circle behind the stage.

From this point of view, the distinction between "moderate" and "extremist" regimes of the Muslim world reveals its inner weakness.

Countries like Sudan, Iran and Afghanistan are easily identified as radical, totalitarian and enemies of the Western world, but their contribution to the international network of pseudo-Islamic fundamentalism is insignificant.

On the contrary, the powerful structure of the Muslim Brotherhood is mainly supported by those countries which are regarded as moderate and "friends of the West", Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Arab Emirates.

Wahhabi fundamentalism is used as a tool for the preservation of the present equilibrium of the Arab world.  The rich Arab countries fear peace between Israel and Egypt, between Israel and Jordan, between Israel and the Palestinian Authority very much.  A pacified Middle East can create serious problems for the autocratic and feudal systems of those regimes.  They know for sure that the diffusion of notions like human and civil rights, democracy and parity of rights between men and women can represent the end of their unlimited power, and this is the reason why they support radicalism as an instrument of de-education and de-culturization.

The more advanced among the Arab countries are aware of this project for the preservation of backwardness.  The governments of Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan are taking measures to limit and to put the activities of the fundamentalist network under control.

Unfortunately, the real risk is that those same groups which are illegal in those countries are going to become the official representatives of Muslims immigrants to the Western governments.  As Hisham Kabbani and Khalid Duran are doing in the United States, our Institute is trying to inform the European governments about the risks they are facing.  While we are risking very much in doing so, it seem that until now our cry of alarm is only the voice of he who cries in the desert.

According to my point of view, the best means to limit the influence of those factions which promote suicide terrorism "in the name of Islam" is countering their influence by supporting the diffusion of the teachings of the exponents of traditional, moderate Islam.  In the same way, non-Muslims must avoid becoming victim of the same confusion by believing that real Islam is the one propagandized by the Wahhabis and by their fundamentalist network.

Dr. Asher Eder, Jewish Co-chairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship of the Root & Branch Association, has recently written an interesting paper entitled, "Peace Is Possible between Ishmael and Israel according to the Qur'an".  I really think this paper is of the maximum importance, and felt honored in writing its Preface.  It helps non-Muslims to understand that the teaching of the Qur'an is something radically different from what is claimed by fundamentalists, and helps Muslims to understand that hate against Israel and against Jews is by no means a part of their religion.

Dr. Eder's paper can be considered a small seed, but we are now realizing how it is giving fruits with the passing of time.

The President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, has recently founded a new Islamic International University in Tashkent.  Among the main goals of this University there is the formation of moderate imams and Muslim religious leaders, especially trained in refuting fundamentalism and in promoting dialogue between Jews, Christian and Muslims. His example was also followed by the Mufti of Russia, Shaykh Gainutdin, who opened the first Islamic University of Russia in Kazan.

This could mean that, for the first time, an anti-fundamentalist Muslim network can at last be created.  If compared to the worldwide influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, its role can be compared to that of David in front of Goliath.  But this cannot lead us to loose all hopes, since, as the Qur'an says, "How oft, by Allah's will, hath a small force vanquished a big one?  Verily, Allah is with those who steadfastly persevere" [Qur'an, Sura 2:249].

Conclusion

Risalah on the Prophetic Dream

by al-Hajj Abu Junayd Muhammad Abdus Salaam

Assalaamu 'alaykum,

In the Riyad us-Saliheen, 1998 Edition published by Darussalam, you will find the following on pages 696-700 in the commentary. Briefly, let me quote the commentators statement regarding the Hadith no. 840.

"Yet, Satan may also appear in a believer's dream under a saintly guise and put him into delusion that he had seen Allah's Messenger (SAW)." and Hadith 844: (This is false) "There are always some so-called 'Ulama,' ambitious of social distinction and fame, who have made tall claims on the basis of their dreams. They are audacious enough to claim that they unceremoniously see the Prophet (SAW) and receive instructions from him." The Prophet (SAW) said: He who lies concerning me will find his seat in Hell.

These are very misleading comments which upon examination show the true intentions of the Wahhabi doctrines. The denial of seeing the Prophet (either in a dream or awake) is also a denial of the established statements made by many well known Sahabah (RA), Tabi'iyn (RA), Taba Tabi'iyn, Awliya (RA) Shuyukh and Salihiyn.

Further as an example, in the Shamaa'il of Imam Tirmidhi (RA), pages 448-458
in both Arabic and English, it states quite clearly:

In a Hadith from Abu-Dawud (RA) that dreams are of three (3) types: 1. angelic, 2. satanic 3. nafsani.

In the first Hadith no. 389 related by 'Abdullah b. Masud (RA), he reports that Allah's Apostle said: "The one that has seen me in one's dream, has really seen me, as the shaytaan cannot imitate my person. The Arabic for the last part of the statement is very important:

"shaytaan cannot imitate my person:" fa-inna alshaytaan laa yatmathal-biy.

In the next Hadith no. 390, Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrates a similar Hadith with the difference of the statement 

"shaytaan cannot impersonate me." The Arabic says: "Laa yatshabbaha-biy."

In Hadith 394 narrated by Abu Qatadah it says: The Apostle of Allah (SAW) said:

"Whomsoever sees me , that is, in a dream, has seen that which is a fact."
In the Arabic the words used are: "Man ra'niy ya'niy fiy alnawm faqad ra'ay al-haqq."

These three Aahadith contain the words:
1. yatmthl (mithal) similitude
2. yatshabbah (shabbah) likeness
3. al-haqq (the truth) fact.

There are many more Traditions which by the way are supported by Quranic passages with tafsiyr dealing with the words "mubashshirat."

The statements of Shaykh Palazzi regarding the Najdis are clear and forthright. Muslims seeking guidance must seek out the proper authorities from among the Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah scholars since the world leaders of Islam have come under the sway of these renegades.

Please note, this is a very exhaustive subject with a lot of material and proof.