12 Prominent Signs & Indicators of Criticism on Islamic Rulings
Translated By: Mrs. Shehla Zubairi
Introduction
At the end of each academic year, a counseling and guidance session is organized for the students of Dura e Hadith (Final year) at Alma mater Jamia Uloom Islamia Allama Banuri Town, Karachi.
In this session, teachers share their experiences and advice related to various sciences, arts, and important subjects for the benefit of the students. The subject of Tajweed and recitation is entrusted to Hazrat Maulana Dr. Qari Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. This year in Sha’ban ul Mu’azzam 1439 AH on the last day of his lesson, Hazrat Qari Sahib gave invaluable advice and guidance to his students.
When a student of religious sciences enters practical life he comes into contact with many neo-modernists on different occasions, who mostly disguised their course of action against Islamic teachings. It is sometimes difficult for a student to understand this so-called scientific attack immediately. Scholars have always pointed out these tribulations of different ages. The book of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, “Al-Intibahat Al-Mufidah An-Al-Ishtibahat Al-Jadeedah” (Useful Warnings on Modern Doubts or Answer to Modernism) is well known in this regard.
Qari Saab also, in the light of his vast literary knowledge, experience and observation, mentioned a few tactics and methods of these modernists as pointers, with the premise that if ever a student faces a similar situation in life, he will handle it easily in the light of these pointers.
These pointers are expressed concisely and require clarification and detail, much can be written with examples in the description of each pointer. This is a small effort by the writer to explain these topics in a little detail, so it will be easy for everyone to use them.
The following are the twelve signs of a negative and critical mindset regarding Islam:
1. Unawareness of the knowledge of Qur’an and Sunnah
In order to learn, comprehend, and deduce the issues of religion and sharia from the Qur’an and Sunnah correctly, it is indispensable to have command and mastery of around eighteen different sciences of the Arabic language. Some of these sciences are:
Knowledge of the principles of religion, knowledge of causes of Revelation, knowledge of the theory of abrogation, the science of recitation, the science of hadith, the science of the principles of hadith, the science of jurisprudence, the science of the principles of jurisprudence, the science of rhetoric (meanings, statements, innovations), the science of grammar, the science of lexicography, etc.
These basic and important sciences are always unknown to these mislead people. They consider the scriptures of few Urdu books as an abundant source of general knowledge and start targeting Islam and combating against the Qur’an and Sunnah. This is a clear example of delusion, such people themselves go astray and also mislead their naive Muslims followers.
2. Rejecting the different methods of recitation of the Holy Qur’an by calling it fitnah
It should be noted that in order to facilitate the recitation, Allah Almighty revealed the Holy Qur’an in several dialects. However, this difference in the recitation does not change the overall meaning of the verses, but the difference is only in the methods of recitation and dialect. This makes the Quran recitation easier for the people, and these different modes of recitation do not affect the authenticity of the Holy Qur’an and its absolute safety. Somehow few misled elements also deny these different recitations. While there is a consensus amongst scholars that the number of recitations of the Holy Qur’an that have reached us continuously is all correct, and the recitation of the Holy Qur’an can be done according to each of them, but the misled elements rejects different recitations by calling it an Aj’mi fitnah.
3. Sunnah and Hadith
Rejection of Sunnah and Hadith by wrong and erroneous interpretations or declaring Sunnah and Hadith against reasoning and nature, or relating Sunnah and Hadith with history and with the culture of Arabic society especially the deniers of Hadith, or making history more than Hadith. Giving importance and priority, or relying solely on Arabic literature and vocabulary to argue from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
4. Rejecting and not accepting authentic Hadiths on basis of personal opinion and judgment
It also includes not distinguishing between the da’if and mawdu hadith i.e declaring the da’if hadith as false, fabricated, and similar to mawdu, while in fact, the da’if is one of the terminologies of the study of principles of hadith. People who are proficient in Urdu have assumed that da’if means weak and fabricated because this is the meaning which commonly used in Urdu.
Actually, this is completely contrary to the truth and only due to the ignorance about the whole science of the study of Hadith. Although according to the majority of scholars and Muhadditheen, a weak hadith can be justified with the required conditions. It is applicable to the narrators in the following submissive branches of religion or virtues of deeds, however, the mawdu i.e. false and fabricated narration is not applicable in any case. Keeping in mind the difference in the use of Urdu language while applying or denying the correct and weak is also very important. In the Urdu language, everything that is credible in the eyes of the intellectuals is considered true without any objection, even if, according to the terminology of Muhadditheen it cannot be considered true even on the lightest standard. On the contrary something not being correct means unreliable in Urdu, but in the terminology of the Hadith, there are special conditions for judging the authenticity of narrations. Therefore ahadith have different levels and statuses which were given to them according to the chain of narrators and then there are different degrees within it, such as the degree of Sahi the degree of Hasan which have many levels also then comes the status of da’if, and it also has different levels because of which da’if hadith is sometimes considered acceptable. In this regard, according to the terminology of the Muhadditheen, see this ruling on a hadith If it is not right, then it would be wrong to consider it rejected or false. On the contrary, the fact that it is not correct in Urdu idiom will mean that it is unreliable, rejected, and false. People who are unfamiliar with the terminology of the narrators may always find it erroneous here that these traditions are all amorphous and absurd, but some well-educated and intelligent people may also fall prey to this error and they too may face negligence on this point. It may be that denying the authenticity of a hadith by a Muhaddith does not mean denying the authenticity of a hadith in Urdu idiom.
The principle of hadith also states that imposing a hadith on a hadith to be weak does not prove that the hadith is absolutely weak, but sometimes the ruling is based only on the evidence that is in front of the hadith at that time. Therefore, it is possible that the same hadith may be called da’if in terms of one isnaad and it may be strong in terms of other isnaads. Externally, it has been proved by authentic evidence. Here, an unfamiliar person is surprised, but the master of art understands that this command of the Imam is based only on this special evidences.
5. Enmity of predecessors
That is, not only create skepticism about the Companions, the followers of the companions the followers of the followers, and the leading scholars and their understanding of Islam but also condemn & deprecate these great personalities from time to time. The initial step in this practice is to be suspicious with Salaf-e-Saliheen and the extreme step is contempt of the Salaf-e-Saliheen. They consider these people insincere with Islam and blamed them for their current circumstances and events. This sad and disappointing attitude is in fact an example of the hadith which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned in the signs of the nearness of the Hour: “ The people of this ummah will condemn their predecessors in Islam .”In another hadith, such people are called“ Ruwaidah ”. The Companions asked, “What is the meaning of ‘Ruwidah’?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The incompetent and despicable man who criticizes &comments on the consensus of Ulema regarding important matters.
6. Following the footsteps of enemies of Islam and Orientalists instead of predecessors (Salaf-e-Saliheen)
That is, to weigh every commandment of the religion and the Shari’ah only on the basis of one’s own deficient sagacity, or to look at it with the intention to object and doubt, To blemish the spirit of Qur’an, Sunnah, and life history of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Refusal of clear truth, Making a place for misunderstandings, Spreading misconceptions about the religion of Islam and the life history of the Prophet(peace be upon him), Writing down on any subject with preconceived opinion and then try to prove it with the weakest narrative and derive wrong arguments and reasoning from it, To use conspiracy and slander, To carry out scientific ideological propaganda against Islam and Muslims in the name of research
7. Individualism and detachment from society
While interpreting Islam,( that is Qur’an and Sunnah) rejecting the consensus of the majority of the ummah, rather making individual preferences and differences as the basis of thought and action, despite the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: Hold fast to the congregation. ”And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“ that my ummah will never follow misled. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that follow the great majority (community), whoever (alone) took a different path, he will wake up in hell. ”It is clear from these sayings of the Holy Prophet (saws) that Safety from going astray is only in following the majority of the community.
8. Innovation and initiation
Those Matters whose origin is not proven by the Shari’ah, ie, No proof in the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet, and during the blessed time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) Besides the presence of its motive and reason it is not proved verbally, practically not mentioned slightly or clearly, Should not have existed in the time of the Companions, the followers of the companions and the followers of the followers nor should its precedent be found in these three times, and not proven from the sources of Shari’ah (Qur’an, Sunnah, consensus, analogy). If taken as a work of religion or abandoned, no matter who invented it, in other words changing the aims and objectives of the Shari’ah so making purposeful purposeless and purposeless purposeful.
The purpose of the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is: “Whoever invents something in our religion that does not contain it, is accursed”.
As if the spread of atheism in the name of religion has permeated our society, it needs to be reprimanded.
9. “I am right and everyone else is wrong”
Declaring Salaf-e-Saliheen’s (ie.the Companions, the followers of the Companions, the followers of the followers, and the forerunners of the majority of the scholars) understanding of Islam totally wrong. As if these high-ranking people from the early era of Islam and their successors could not understand the religion properly, and considering their own self assumed misconception and misunderstanding to be right and true and believing that it is according to the Qur’an and Hadith, that is, their distorted &, erroneous opinion and aspirations are Qur’an and Hadith, thus creating division, sectarianism, and separatism in the community. Certainly, there is no doubt that Quran and Sunnah are fundamental in religion, but we cannot completely ignore the Companions, the followers and their followers, and the Imams, the jurists of Islam, and the narrators. However, we need their guidance to know the true meanings of the Qur’an and Sunnah. The true form of religion is the way the Companions, the followers, the Imams of the religion, and the Islamic jurists(the majority of the Ummah), have understood and practiced. Their guidance is the key to acquire real and actual Deen. On the contrary, interpretation Qur’an using our limited intellect and pointless opinions will not be true Islam. If we trusted the means by which th words of the Qur’an have reached us and we believed that Allah himself protected them then we have to trust the same means, for the meanings of the words of the Qur’an. Unlike our predecessors, if we’ll try to understand religion with the help of our own limited intellect, it will become a farce.
10. Mischief mongering
From time to time spreading various scientific, ideological, and intellectual controversies in the name of new research and contemporary requirements without knowing the principles of religion or Islamic research, resulting in nothing but only a useless debate or discussion. Electronic media and social media are clear examples of this. The simplest and most popular method of this mischief mongering is “Khalif-e-Ta’rif” ie, apposing agreed and accepted religious matters or the forefathers and the forerunners just to become famous.
11. Distorting the facts
Distorting and misrepresenting actual facts on the basis of mere rational and nonsensical speculations. Changing unreal matters into real, and making real looks unreal, which results in promoting fabrication, affectation, and self-construction, among other defects. This happens usually due to the worldly love and desires, as Hazrat Allama Syed Muhammad Yusuf Banuri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“When the love of the world prevails, common and usual means are adopted for its attainment, whether halal or haraam and when this condition further develops, then nothing comes in the way of its attainment. Immorality, Cruelty, and injustice all come in nature and gradually distorted it. This nature’s distortion reversed reality & facts. Right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right, truth turns into false and false into truth.
The words of the Allah Almighty come true: That is, “The eyes of the head are not blind, the eyes of the heart become blind.” Therefore, it is stated in the Hadith of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) “that the love of the world is the root of every sin.
12. Display of self conceit, egotism selfishness and arrogance
To express a self-created fancied opinion in an ultimate and definite way as if this is the only truth that is totally based on whatever they have understood and written. Similarly, elevate one’s false and erroneous opinion over the consensus of the majority of scholars and on the other hand try to degrade the ijma -e- ummah. While denying a consensus they claimed that from the beginning till present, or after a detailed study of the Qur’an and sunnah or by anyone from the forerunners to the later ones, it’s not written and found anywhere. As though the vast treasure of knowledge and scientific research accumulated by the scholars of the Ummah in fourteen hundred years is meaningless and easily rejected by them.
May Allah protect the entire Ummah from these tribulations and from troublemakers. Ameen.
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