Win the hearts and attack them when they're the least expecting (Part 2/2)

بـسـم الله والحـمـد لله والـصلاة والـسـلام عــلى رسـول الله، وبـعـد

...Either through direct preaching or through entertainment. 

Part #2 (Entertainment) 

Entertainment in the name of Islaam is another sickness plaguing the Muslim Ummah.

The first Aayah and Command that was revealed was to READ, but many amongst us don't want to read. There are many educated ignorant amongst us; educated in the terms of worldly knowledge, but ignorant when it comes to religious knowledge. As Allaah تعالى says: 

Win the hearts and attack them when they're the least expecting (Part 1/2)

بـسـم الله والحـمـد لله والـصلاة والـسـلام عــلى رسـول الله، وبـعـد

...Either through direct preaching or through entertainment.

 Part #1 (Direct preaching)

 We have learned from our scholars and the Salaf that if an innovator would come directly with his Bid`ah (religious innovation), people would run away from him. So, they disguise themselves as pious, well-wishers, sincere advisors etc. And the first one to play this role was Iblees himself: 

Do not respect the Baatil opinions

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

Shaikh Saaleh al-Fawzaan حفظه الله said:

❝The statement of those who say: “Have respect for the views and the speech (of others)” - this statement of theirs is falsehood. Nothing is to be respected except the TRUTH. As for the falsehood, then it is never to be respected or honored. Rather, falsehood is to be refuted, and eliminated, and people are to be warned against it, otherwise, it will be the cause of destruction for the Ummah if everyone were upon error.❞

الإجابات الفاصلة ص. 43

Correct the error or remain silent?

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

What we are supposed to do:

❝ Take the good and CORRECT the bad❞

- a principle which is based on the Qur’aan AND the Sunnah; a principle for which Allaah تعالى revealed the Books and sent His Messengers عليهم الصلاة والسلام. Rather, it is a principle on which depends our salvation as Allaah تعالى mentioned in Surah al-`Asr.

But what they want us to do:

❝ Take the good and leave* the bad❞

- a principle for which there is no evidence in the Qur’aan OR the Sunnah, unless one twists the Aayaat and Ahaadeeth to support his desires (like how they misquote the Hadeeth of Abu Hurairah and his encounter with the Shaitaan).

* By “leaving”, these people mean: “to remain silent” when one sees an error or an evil.

"Drinking water out of a dirty cup"

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

An example of when the people give importance to the matters of the Dunya over the matters of the `Aakhirah:

When someone says:

“Take what is good and leave the evil” in a person,

It actually means:

“You can drink water out of a dirty cup.”

Oh, so all of a sudden we don’t want to drink water from a cup having some filth in it, but we can take `Aqeedah from a person who is himself confused or not clear in his `Aqeedah and Manhaj?

We are afraid of what will harm the body but not of what will harm the soul!

Moreover, how do we expect our brothers and sisters to differentiate between right and wrong, when they have just started learning their Deen? Even SOME of those who have read major books of `Aqeedah sometimes get confused about an issue, so how about those who have just started, when they have not even read the basic books like Kitaab al-Tawheed, Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and others? Do we want them to have a shaky foundation and confused `Aqeedah?

Note: as for the Hadeeth about Aayat al-Kursi, that whoever recites it before going to sleep, then an Angel will come for his protection; we do not take it because Shaitaan said so. Rather, we only accept it because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم affirmed it.

﴿قُلْ هَـٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ۖ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾

{Say (O Muhammad): “This is my way; I invite unto Allaah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allaah i.e. to the Oneness of Allaah - Islaamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge. And Glorified and Exalted be Allaah (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am not of the Mushrikoon.”} [Surah Yusuf (12): 108]

Mixing truth with falsehood?!

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

When a person plans to buy a new car, he usually does a survey, looks at other people’s review, before deciding which car to buy. When he pays the price, he makes sure that he receives his money’s worth, he won’t settle for anything less. He wouldn’t accept a new car with scratch marks or some dent on it, nor would he accept a car with damaged upholstery.

Similarly, one wouldn’t want to pay money to buy rotten groceries or meat or other stuffs. Rather, one would not even compromise to have a mixed bag of groceries – the good vegetables mixed with the rotten ones.

Removing the Doubts: Did Abu Hurairah take knowledge from Shaitaan?

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

To attain their goal, some people leave out the obvious facts and chase that which is untrue or not entirely clear. This is also true in the case of those who say: “Take the good and leave the bad”, and in support of their claim, allege that Abu Hurairah took knowledge from Shaitaan. This principle has already been tackled and refuted by the scholars ^[1]; the purpose now is to analyze their evidence which they bring to support their principle.

Importance of refuting the mistakes:

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

If a teacher at the school teaches your child:

1+1=11

2+2=22

Would you still say: let’s take the good from him/her and leave the error?

or would you say: let’s wait till the principal takes some action?

No one would wait! Why? Because the education of the child – from the fundamentals of this Dunya - is at risk. No parent would keep silent once they knew the errors of the teacher. Some would even go as far as to have the teacher removed from the school.

But when the fundamentals of the Aakhirah (from the matters of the Deen and `Aqeedah (Creed)) are concerned, some of the people maintain double standards. They say: take the good and ignore the error.

REFUTING INDIVIDUALS IS FOR THE SCHOLARS TO TAKE CARE OF, BUT CORRECTING THE MISTAKE IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL – THOSE WHO CAN IDENTIFY THE TRUTH FROM FALSEHOOD.

*Correcting mistakes is from enjoining good and forbidding evil:

{And when you see those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses by mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to another topic. And if Shaitaan causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not you in the company of those people who are the Zalimoon (wrong-doers). Those who fear Allah, keep their duty to Him and avoid evil are not responsible for them in any case, but (the Believer’s duty) is to remind them, that they may avoid that.} [Surah al-An`aam (6): 68-69]

*Remaining silent is enjoining evil and preventing good. Rather, remaining silent is like participating in that error:

{And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Quran) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them…} [Surah al-Nisaa’ (4): 140]