PeaceCharity
08-04-02, 08:22 AM
Going to Extremes
by Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah
From "Al-Waabil al-Sayib", p. 19
Quoted in Dr Umar al-Ashqar's "The World of the Jinn and Devils"
© 1998 al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations
Allah never orders anything except that Satan takes two
contradictory stances towards it: either shortcoming and negligence
or overzealousness and exaggeration. It does not matter [to him] by
which of these two mistakes he becomes victorious over the slave. He
comes to the heart of the slave and examines it. If he finds in it
listlessness and looking for loopholes, he deals with him from that
vantage. He impedes him and makes him sit. He strikes him with
laziness, listlessness and lethargy. He opens for him the door to
reinterpretations (ta'weel), hopes and so forth until the slave may
not fulfill anything of what he is commanded.
If he finds in the slave's heart alertness, seriousness, desire to
work and potential, Satan despairs from attacking him through the
above means. Instead, he orders him to strive even harder. He
convinces him that what he is doing is not sufficient for him. His
ambition is to be greater than that. He must work more than the
other workers. He should not sleep when they sleep. He should not
break his fast when they break their fasts. He should not rest when
they rest. If one of them washes his hands and face three times, he
should wash them seven times. If one makes wudhu for prayer, he must
make ghusl. [He orders him to] similar acts of exaggeration and
extremism. He makes him go to extremes and beyond the limits. He
makes him stray from the straight path in the same way that he makes
the first person [described above] fall short of the straight path
and not approach it. Satan's intention for both is to keep them from
the straight path: the first by making him not come close or near to
it and the second by making him pass it and go beyond it. Many of
creation are misled by these two strategies. There is no escape from
them except deep knowledge, faith and the strength to fight Satan
and stay along the middle path.
Be in agreement and not in dispute
When we look at the tree of da'wah, with its firm roots and tall
branches, we will see how far its shade spreads day after day, and
how it bears ripe fruits all the time, but there are storms coming
one after another to uproot it, and there are diseases which
threaten its growth and progress. But Allaah insists that His light
should shine perfectly even though the disbelievers hate that. Among
these diseases and storms is the problem of intense disagreements
among the daa'iyahs.
These destructive differences lead to two dangerous things:
1 - Malicious joy directed against the daa'iyahs and their da'wah.
Hating one another and insulting one another lead people to look
down on them. Those who plot against the da'wah find opportunities
to cause harm to the daa'iyahs and rejoice maliciously at their
misfortune. Moosa said to Haaroon, when he seized him by the (hair
of his) head:
"so make not the enemies rejoice over me" [al-A'raaf 7:150
interpretation of the meaning]
2 - Putting people off the message and the daa'iyahs, because they
are not united and because they do not pay attention to the
etiquette of disagreement. For this reason the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Abu Moosa al-
Ash'ari and Mu'aadh (may Allaah be pleased with them both), when he
sent them as daa'iyahs to Yemen: "Be in agreement and not in
dispute." (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3/142). When it was said to Ibn
Mas'ood, "You criticized `Uthmaan then you prayed four rak'ahs," he
said, "Disagreement is an evil." (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1/394)
There are numerous reasons for disagreements and discord among the
daa'iyahs, the most important of which include:
1- Calling people to follow oneself or a group. Da'wah should
be to call purely for the Qur'aan and Sunnah. If a daa'iyah calls
people to follow him, it should be (like Ibraaheem's call)
"O my father! Verily, there has come to me of the knowledge that
which came not unto you. So follow me, I will guide you to the
Straight Path" [Maryam 19:43 - interpretation of the meaning]
Its purpose should be to guide people to the truth: "So follow me, I
will guide you to the Straight Path" [Maryam 19:43 - interpretation
of the meaning]
"Follow me, I will guide you to the way of right conduct"[Ghaafir
40:38]
The daa'iyah should avoid calling people to follow him (as a
personality) or his way or his group. This is what al- Qaasimi
referred to when he said: "No group found a way to make people
follow them except by exaggerating about themselves, by means of
undermining others or causing trouble for them whenever the
opportunity arose or circumstances permitted it, whether that was by
the sword or by the tongue." (Kitaab al-Jarh wa'l-Ta'deel by Jamaal
al-Deen al-Qaasimi).
2 - Undermining others and treating them badly. Being unfair to
other daa'iyahs is one of the main causes of disagreement and
division. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said concerning this
matter: "Because one of the groups does not acknowledge what the
other has of the truth and does not speak fairly of them. Instead,
it exaggerates about what it has of the truth and attributes false
things to the other, and the other group does likewise. Hence Allaah
described unfairness as the root of differences." (Iqtidaa' al-
Siraat al-Mustaqeem, p.40)
The daa'iyah should look at how far ahead of him his brothers are in
goodness and virtue, and make that a reason to treat them with good
manners and be polite if he notices mistakes and shortcomings on
their part. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said concerning Moosa
(peace be upon him), when he threw down the Tablets and pulled his
brother's beard, and poked out the eye of the Angel of Death: "His
Lord did not rebuke him, for he had achieved great things and stood
up against the greatest enemy of Allaah, and he had to deal with the
Children of Israel. But Dhu'l-Noon (Yoonus) did not achieve what
Moosa achieved, so Allaah imprisoned him in the belly of the fish
when he gotangry with his people. And indeed Allaah has set a
measure for all things [cf. Al-Talaaq 65:3]." (Madaarij al-Saalikeen
by Ibn al-Qayyim, 2/456)
3 - Sectarianism. The danger does not usually reside in the mere
fact that there are different groups, but in partisan attitudes
towards this or that effort, so that it becomes the matter of
loyalty and enmity, love and hate. Shaykh al- Islam Ibn Taymiyah
said: "If a man studies the way of some believing people, such as
the followers of the imaams and shaykhs, he has no right to make his
leader and companions the standard (by which he measures others), so
that he takes as friends those who agree with them and takes as
enemies those who differ from them." (al-Fataawa, 20/8; see also
20/124, 3/347)
He also said: "A person does not need to attach himself to a
specific shaykh; everyone from whom he can learn something about his
religion is his shaykh with regard to that matter. No one should
attach himself to a shaykh and take his followers as friends and
others as enemies. He should take as a friend everyone who is a
believer and who he knows to have taqwa, among all the shaykhs and
others." (al-Fataawa, 12/512; see also 12/514)
4 - Hasad (envy). The disease of hasad has created a great deal of
hatred between different groups and daa'iyahs. The following story
illustrates this point. Imaam al-Dhahabi said: Imaam al-Barbahaari
had a large number of followers. He passed by the west side and
sneezed, so his companions said `Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah have
mercy on you).' They made so much noise that the khaleefah heard it
and was told of what had happened, and he thought it was too much.
Then the people of bid'ah kept on stirring up hatred in the heart of
the khaleefah until it was declared in Baghdaad, No two followers of
al-Barbahaari may gather together. Then he disappeared. (See al-
Siyar, 15/92)
al-Bayaan magazine, issue no. 153, p. 139
by Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah
From "Al-Waabil al-Sayib", p. 19
Quoted in Dr Umar al-Ashqar's "The World of the Jinn and Devils"
© 1998 al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations
Allah never orders anything except that Satan takes two
contradictory stances towards it: either shortcoming and negligence
or overzealousness and exaggeration. It does not matter [to him] by
which of these two mistakes he becomes victorious over the slave. He
comes to the heart of the slave and examines it. If he finds in it
listlessness and looking for loopholes, he deals with him from that
vantage. He impedes him and makes him sit. He strikes him with
laziness, listlessness and lethargy. He opens for him the door to
reinterpretations (ta'weel), hopes and so forth until the slave may
not fulfill anything of what he is commanded.
If he finds in the slave's heart alertness, seriousness, desire to
work and potential, Satan despairs from attacking him through the
above means. Instead, he orders him to strive even harder. He
convinces him that what he is doing is not sufficient for him. His
ambition is to be greater than that. He must work more than the
other workers. He should not sleep when they sleep. He should not
break his fast when they break their fasts. He should not rest when
they rest. If one of them washes his hands and face three times, he
should wash them seven times. If one makes wudhu for prayer, he must
make ghusl. [He orders him to] similar acts of exaggeration and
extremism. He makes him go to extremes and beyond the limits. He
makes him stray from the straight path in the same way that he makes
the first person [described above] fall short of the straight path
and not approach it. Satan's intention for both is to keep them from
the straight path: the first by making him not come close or near to
it and the second by making him pass it and go beyond it. Many of
creation are misled by these two strategies. There is no escape from
them except deep knowledge, faith and the strength to fight Satan
and stay along the middle path.
Be in agreement and not in dispute
When we look at the tree of da'wah, with its firm roots and tall
branches, we will see how far its shade spreads day after day, and
how it bears ripe fruits all the time, but there are storms coming
one after another to uproot it, and there are diseases which
threaten its growth and progress. But Allaah insists that His light
should shine perfectly even though the disbelievers hate that. Among
these diseases and storms is the problem of intense disagreements
among the daa'iyahs.
These destructive differences lead to two dangerous things:
1 - Malicious joy directed against the daa'iyahs and their da'wah.
Hating one another and insulting one another lead people to look
down on them. Those who plot against the da'wah find opportunities
to cause harm to the daa'iyahs and rejoice maliciously at their
misfortune. Moosa said to Haaroon, when he seized him by the (hair
of his) head:
"so make not the enemies rejoice over me" [al-A'raaf 7:150
interpretation of the meaning]
2 - Putting people off the message and the daa'iyahs, because they
are not united and because they do not pay attention to the
etiquette of disagreement. For this reason the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Abu Moosa al-
Ash'ari and Mu'aadh (may Allaah be pleased with them both), when he
sent them as daa'iyahs to Yemen: "Be in agreement and not in
dispute." (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3/142). When it was said to Ibn
Mas'ood, "You criticized `Uthmaan then you prayed four rak'ahs," he
said, "Disagreement is an evil." (Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1/394)
There are numerous reasons for disagreements and discord among the
daa'iyahs, the most important of which include:
1- Calling people to follow oneself or a group. Da'wah should
be to call purely for the Qur'aan and Sunnah. If a daa'iyah calls
people to follow him, it should be (like Ibraaheem's call)
"O my father! Verily, there has come to me of the knowledge that
which came not unto you. So follow me, I will guide you to the
Straight Path" [Maryam 19:43 - interpretation of the meaning]
Its purpose should be to guide people to the truth: "So follow me, I
will guide you to the Straight Path" [Maryam 19:43 - interpretation
of the meaning]
"Follow me, I will guide you to the way of right conduct"[Ghaafir
40:38]
The daa'iyah should avoid calling people to follow him (as a
personality) or his way or his group. This is what al- Qaasimi
referred to when he said: "No group found a way to make people
follow them except by exaggerating about themselves, by means of
undermining others or causing trouble for them whenever the
opportunity arose or circumstances permitted it, whether that was by
the sword or by the tongue." (Kitaab al-Jarh wa'l-Ta'deel by Jamaal
al-Deen al-Qaasimi).
2 - Undermining others and treating them badly. Being unfair to
other daa'iyahs is one of the main causes of disagreement and
division. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said concerning this
matter: "Because one of the groups does not acknowledge what the
other has of the truth and does not speak fairly of them. Instead,
it exaggerates about what it has of the truth and attributes false
things to the other, and the other group does likewise. Hence Allaah
described unfairness as the root of differences." (Iqtidaa' al-
Siraat al-Mustaqeem, p.40)
The daa'iyah should look at how far ahead of him his brothers are in
goodness and virtue, and make that a reason to treat them with good
manners and be polite if he notices mistakes and shortcomings on
their part. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said concerning Moosa
(peace be upon him), when he threw down the Tablets and pulled his
brother's beard, and poked out the eye of the Angel of Death: "His
Lord did not rebuke him, for he had achieved great things and stood
up against the greatest enemy of Allaah, and he had to deal with the
Children of Israel. But Dhu'l-Noon (Yoonus) did not achieve what
Moosa achieved, so Allaah imprisoned him in the belly of the fish
when he gotangry with his people. And indeed Allaah has set a
measure for all things [cf. Al-Talaaq 65:3]." (Madaarij al-Saalikeen
by Ibn al-Qayyim, 2/456)
3 - Sectarianism. The danger does not usually reside in the mere
fact that there are different groups, but in partisan attitudes
towards this or that effort, so that it becomes the matter of
loyalty and enmity, love and hate. Shaykh al- Islam Ibn Taymiyah
said: "If a man studies the way of some believing people, such as
the followers of the imaams and shaykhs, he has no right to make his
leader and companions the standard (by which he measures others), so
that he takes as friends those who agree with them and takes as
enemies those who differ from them." (al-Fataawa, 20/8; see also
20/124, 3/347)
He also said: "A person does not need to attach himself to a
specific shaykh; everyone from whom he can learn something about his
religion is his shaykh with regard to that matter. No one should
attach himself to a shaykh and take his followers as friends and
others as enemies. He should take as a friend everyone who is a
believer and who he knows to have taqwa, among all the shaykhs and
others." (al-Fataawa, 12/512; see also 12/514)
4 - Hasad (envy). The disease of hasad has created a great deal of
hatred between different groups and daa'iyahs. The following story
illustrates this point. Imaam al-Dhahabi said: Imaam al-Barbahaari
had a large number of followers. He passed by the west side and
sneezed, so his companions said `Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah have
mercy on you).' They made so much noise that the khaleefah heard it
and was told of what had happened, and he thought it was too much.
Then the people of bid'ah kept on stirring up hatred in the heart of
the khaleefah until it was declared in Baghdaad, No two followers of
al-Barbahaari may gather together. Then he disappeared. (See al-
Siyar, 15/92)
al-Bayaan magazine, issue no. 153, p. 139