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To paraphrase an aphorism coined by a 20th century philosopher, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them until they learn them.
The earliest strain of extremism in Islamic history emerged in the late 7th century with the Kharijites, a sect that scholars have said will continue until the end of the Ummah’s time. In other words, as long as there are Muslims, the pathology of extreme sectarianism and anathematization of fellow Muslims will persist in segments of the community.
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Wahab b. Munabbih was a Yemeni scholar and transmitter of hadith. He is sometimes described in the biographical literature as a Jewish convert to Islam due to his vast knowledge of the Torah and Talmudic stories, but other scholars mention that he was actually of mixed descent, his father being a Persian aristocrat and his mother a Himyarite Yemeni, though not Jewish. In any case, he was born during the Caliph ‘Uthman’s reign, in year 34 after Hijrah.
Wahab b. Munabbih was a student of several notable companions, including Ibn ‘Abbas and Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah, from whom he narrates one of the earliest hadith collections.
The vast majority of hadith scholars considered Wahab b. Munabbih a sound narrator: both imams al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate his transmissions. Imam al-Nasa’i, who has some of the strictest requisites for narrating hadith, considers him absolutely reliable.
Ibn Hajar said that Wahab b. Munabbih was “trustworthy” (thiqah). Unfortunately of late, he has come under attack from some modern redactors of Islam because he narrated what are known as Isra'iliyat or Jewish stories, and they accuse him of introducing unsound Jewish traditions into Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir).
These attacks are in spite of the Prophet’s permission to “Relate the stories of the people of the Bible, but neither assert nor negate their veracity.” (It is permitted to use our own sources to assert or negate them; scholars negate them if they clearly contradict our sources, especially those narrations that put prophets in a bad light, such as the story of Bathsheba and Uriah with David, or that of Noah and his daughters).
The following story illustrates the dangers of sectarian pathology in the social body of Islam and why it is imperative that scholars and advanced students of knowledge warn simple believers, especially those among the youth who may fall prey to such seductively simplistic yet ultimately destructive distortions of Islam.
Imam al-Dhahabi relates the following in his section on Wahab b. Munabbih in his work, Biographies of Noble Notables (Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’):
Dawud ibn Qays narrates the following story about Wahab b. Munabbih:
I had a friend who was called Abu Shamir Dhu
Khawlan. I departed from Sana’a to visit him in his village. As I approached
his village, I stumbled upon a letter addressed to Abu Shamir. Upon my arrival,
I found him disconsolate and depressed. When I inquired as to why, he
explained, “A postman from Sana’a came to deliver a letter from some friends I
have there but confessed that he had lost it.”
“No worries, I found it!” I said.
He cried, “Praise be to Allah!” He then opened its
seal and read it silently.
“Why don't you read it to me?” I asked.
He replied, “I consider you a little too young.”
So I asked him, “What is in it?”
He said, “The
striking of necks!”
I then said, “Maybe some people from among the Haruris [Kharijites] have written it.” 1
Nonplussed, he asked, “How did you know that?”
“Because my friends and I sit with Wahab b.
Munabbih,” I replied, “and he always says to us, ‘Beware all of you young and inexperienced ones from these extremists: don't you let them pull you into their deviant views. Indeed, they are an evil that has afflicted this Ummah.’”
At this point, Dhu Khawlan tossed the letter to me, and I read the following in
it:
“Peace be upon you. We praise Allah to you and
counsel you to piety. Verily, the religion of Allah is discrimination and
guidance. Surely this religion is obedience to Allah and disobedience to
whoever disobeys the way of His Prophet, Allah’s peace and blessings upon him.
When our letter arrives, ponder deeply, in sha Allah, whom you fulfill your
zakat obligation through. By doing so, you will earn a close place with Allah
and the protection of His allies” [i.e. the Kharijites].
I then said to him, “I prohibit you from associating with them.”
To this, he replied, “Tell
me why I should follow your opinion and abandon one from those older than you.”
I then suggested to him, “How about if I take you
for an audience with Wahab so that you can hear his counsel?”
He agreed, so we set out for Sana’a, and I took
him to Wahab b. Munabbih.
At that time, Mas’ud
b. ‘Auf was the governor of Yemen
I said, “He has a problem that needs addressing.”
The group stood up, and Wahab said, “What is your
need, Dhu Khawlan?” 2
On hearing his name [from one he had never met],
he was rendered mute from fright. Wahab turned to me and said, “Speak on his
behalf.”
I said, “He is a man of Qur’an and virtue, as far
as I know, but Allah knows his inner state. He told me that some Kharijites had appealed to him and said that his
poor-tax paid to the rulers was invalid because they do not distribute it to
its rightful recipients. They said to him it was valid only if paid to them.
Given that, I thought it appropriate to bring him to you, O Abu ‘Abd Allah
Wahab b. Munabbih, knowing that your words would have more of a healing effect
on him than mine.”
At this, Wahab said to Dhu Khawlan,
Is it your
wont to become an extremist at this late age of yours, Dhu Khawlan? Do
you want to testify that those better than you are astray? Tell me, what will
you say to Allah tomorrow when He has you stand on the Day of Judgment with
those you have condemned as disbelievers? Allah testifies to their belief, and
yet you claim they are disbelievers! Allah declares they are guided, and yet
you claim they are astray! Where will you end up if your opinion contradicts
Allah’s decree and your testimony belies His testimony? Tell me, Dhu Khawlan, what are these extremists saying to you?
Now able to speak, Dhu Khawlan said to Wahab, “They demand that I give charity only to those who follow
their opinion and that I should ask forgiveness for them alone.”
Wahab responded:
Yes, what you say is correct: this is their
calamitous, deceitful sedition. As for their claim about charity, it reached me
that the Prophet, Allah’s peace and blessings upon him, said that a woman from Yemen
Is a
human being who is free of idolatry and worships Allah declaring His oneness
closer to Allah or is that cat? Isn’t this person who worships Allah free of idolatry more worthy to be
relieved of his hunger than that cat?
Allah says, “They give food out of love of Allah to
the destitute, the orphan, and the prisoner.” As for their saying that none should seek forgiveness for others except
for those who are like him, are they better or the angels? About the angels,
Allah says, “They
ask forgiveness for whoever is in the earth.” By Allah, the angels
are doing only what Allah commanded them to do, as He tells us, “They don't do anything
before they hear the word from Allah, and they do what they are told to do.”
It has been made clear in the verse, “They ask forgiveness for those who believe.”
Dhu
Khawlan, I saw the
beginning of Islam. By Allah, this group of Kharijites and
all others like them did not appear except that Allah scattered them due to the evil of their states. And none of them puts
forward their opinions except that eventually Allah destroys him. Had Allah
allowed their views to spread and flourish, corruption would fill the earth,
and you would see no security on the roads or even for those on the Hajj, and
this religion of Islam would become an ignorant and zealous affair (jahiliyyah).
And then every group will declare their
caliphate, each one fighting the other. Every group of ten thousand will fight all the others, each group
accusing the others of disbelief, until the believer is afraid for his
life, his religion, his blood, and his wealth and doesn't know who to be with.
Allah says, “Had not some protected others, the whole earth would be corrupt,” and “We will give victory to Our messengers and those who believe.” If they were true believers, they would be given victory, as Allah says, “Our soldiers will have victory.”
Allah says, “Had not some protected others, the whole earth would be corrupt,” and “We will give victory to Our messengers and those who believe.” If they were true believers, they would be given victory, as Allah says, “Our soldiers will have victory.”
Dhu
Khawlan, does not Noah’s response to
the idolaters of his time suffice you in responding to these extreme Muslims today?
The idolaters challenged him about the believers following him, saying, “Should we believe like these lowly outcasts believe?” [Noah merely responded, “And what knowledge have I of what they did? Their reckoning is only with Allah, and I am not going to drive away the believers. I am but a plain warner.”] 3
The idolaters challenged him about the believers following him, saying, “Should we believe like these lowly outcasts believe?” [Noah merely responded, “And what knowledge have I of what they did? Their reckoning is only with Allah, and I am not going to drive away the believers. I am but a plain warner.”] 3
Dhu
Khawlan then said, “What do you tell me
I should do?”
Wahab
replied, “Give your zakat to those who Allah has put over us. Dominion is
Allah’s alone. It is in His hand, and He gives it to whomever He pleases. If
you give it to whoever is in charge, you are absolved of your obligation. If
anything remains, give it to your next of kin, those in your employ, your
neighbors, and your guests.”
At this point, Dhu Khawlan declared, “Bear witness all of you that I no longer
follow the deviant opinions of the extremists!” 4
It is worth pondering the
lesson of this story from the early years of Islamic history,
given that history does indeed repeat
itself, and once again we are faced with a strain of extremism first embodied
by the Kharijites. Wahab b. Munabbih’s remarkable concluding statement should be a reminder to many modern Muslims, especially the extremists, who have lost sight of this truth: “Dominion is Allah’s alone. It is in His Hand, and He gives it to whomever He pleases.”
When Muslims prove themselves worthy of being caretakers of power through moral rectitude, Allah will restore once again our glory, but as long as we are in the inglorious condition that we find ourselves in, the destructive and corrupting danger of power is best kept from us. Many of the Prophets in the Qur’an were oppressed, but they were always exemplary in their response to oppression.
Imam al-Ghazali, who witnessed the collapse of the Seljuk state and the advent of civil strife during that period after the assassination of Malikshah, knew that states collapse but that the righteous man, if purified and protected, does not collapse. Politics invariably fails us, but piety never fails us. “And whoever is pious, Allah will prepare for him a way out and provide for him from where he least expects.”
Imam al-Ghazali then set out to record a roadmap for the traveller who lives in this world of instability and uncertainty. That roadmap is always available – in times of light and in times of darkness. It begins with knowledge and ends with death.
1.
The Haruris were Kharijites from Harura’ near Kufa
in Iraq
2. Wahab
knew the man’s name without previously knowing him or being told his name,
which frightened the man leaving him unable to speak. This is known as kashf and
can occur among the deeply righteous whereby they know something that is not
possible for them to know by ordinary means. Usually the righteous hide this
gift, but sometimes it is necessary for them to reveal it, as it can help their
words to penetrate the heart of the one they are trying to guide. I have
witnessed this many times with my own teachers, so it does not strike me as
contrived, which is generally how orientalists, unfamiliar with this phenomenon,
view such narrations. Kashf can also occur without the one at whose hands it
occurs being aware of it, but the one hearing it will know clearly that Allah
inspired that person. This is due to the veil that many of the righteous have
concerning their own state with Allah.
3. Wahab
knew this man was a man of Qur’an, so he quoted only the first part of the
story. The verses are in the chapter entitled “The Poets.” The disbelievers
challenged Noah, peace be upon him, concerning those who followed him, saying they
were lowly and insignificant people, so why should they, in their stature,
follow along with these lowly ones? Noah’s reply is what Wahab is telling this
man to follow – that it is not our business to judge people who follow or claim
to follow prophets. Allah will judge them. In judging them ourselves, we will
end up driving away true believers, which is exactly what the Kharijites and
their ilk among fanatical and sectarian Muslims do to other Muslims: they drive
them out of Islam.
4. Siyar
A’lam al-Nubala’, Volume 4, 554-557.
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source
(Edited by ADHM)
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The Crisis of ISIS: A Prophetic Prediction
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(Edited by ADHM)
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The Crisis of ISIS: A Prophetic Prediction
Full Video: Here
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Ibn Asakir reported: Wahb ibn Munabbih said, “I knew the early period of Islam. By
Allah, the Kharijites never had a group except
that Allah caused it to split due to their evil
condition.
Never did one of them
proclaim his opinion except that Allah caused his neck to be struck.
Never did the Muslim nation
unite upon a man from the Kharijites.
If Allah had allowed the
opinion of the Kharijites to take root, the earth would have been corrupted,
the roadways would have been cut off, the Hajj pilgrimage to the sacred house
of Allah would have been cut off, and the affair of Islam would have returned
to ignorance until the people would seek refuge in the mountains as they had
done in the time of ignorance.
If there were to arise
among them ten or twenty men, there would not be a man among them except that
he would claim the Caliphate for himself.
With each
man among them would be ten thousand others, all of them fighting each other
and charging each other with unbelief until even the believer would fear for
himself, his religion, his life, his family, his wealth, and he would not know
where to travel or with whom he should be.” Source: [Ta’reekh Dimshaq, 69290]
عن ابن عساكر قال وهب بن منبه
أني قد أدركت صدر الإسلام فوالله ما كانت للخوارج جماعة قط إلا فرقها اللَّه على
شر حالاتهم وما أظهر أحد منهم رأيه قط إلا ضرب اللَّه عنقه وما اجتمعت الأمة على
رجل قط من الخوارج ولو أمكن اللَّه الخوارج من رأيهم لفسدت الأرض وقطعت السبل وقطع
الحج من بيت اللَّه الحرام وإذا لعاد أمر الإسلام جاهلية حتى يعود الناس يستغيثون
برءوس الجبال كما كانوا في الجاهلية وإذا لقام أكثر من عشرة أو عشرين رجلا ليس
منهم رجل إلا وهو يدعو إلى نفسه بالخلافة ومع كل رجل منهم أكثر من عشرة آلاف يقاتل
بعضهم بعضا ويشهد بعضهم على بعض بالكفر حتى يصبح الرجل المؤمن خائفا على نفسه
ودينه ودمه وأهله وماله لا يدري أين يسلك أو مع من يكون
69290 تاريخ دمشق لابن عساكر
حرف الواو ذكر من اسمه وهب
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Abdullah ibn Amr reported: I heard the Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “Verily,
the majority of hypocrites in my nation are among its reciters.”
Source:
Musnad Ahmad 27909- Grade: Hasan (fair) according to Al-Haythami
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ
عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِي قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ إِنَّ أَكْثَرَ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
27909 مسند أحمد مُسْنَدُ
الْمُكْثِرِينَ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ إن أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
المحدث الهيثمي خلاصة حكم
المحدث أحد أسانيد أحمد ثقات أثبات
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Hazrat Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله تعالیٰ عنه narrates The Holy Prophet صلى الله تعالیٰ عليه وآله و سلم said: "People will appear who recite
the Quran but it will not go beyond their throats. Every time a faction emerges
it will be cut off (Killed) I heard the Beloved Prophet صلى الله تعالیٰ عليه وآله و سلم say this more than ten times until he said
"Dajjal will appear in their midst
Sunan ibn
Majah, Kitab ul Fitn, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Fil Musnad and others
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Adi’ Al-Kindi reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, say, “Verily, Allah the Exalted will not
punish a community for the sins of a few unless they see evil appear among themselves
and they are able to condemn it but they do not. If they do
that, then Allah will punish the community along with the sinners.”
Source:
Musnad Ahmad 17627
عن عدي الكندي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ
اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ
وَجَلَّ لَا يُعَذِّبُ الْعَامَّةَ بِعَمَلِ الْخَاصَّةِ حَتَّى يَرَوْا
الْمُنْكَرَ بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ وَهُمْ قَادِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْ يُنْكِرُوهُ فَلَا
يُنْكِرُوهُ فَإِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ عَذَّبَ اللَّهُ الْخَاصَّةَ وَالْعَامَّةَ
17627 مسند أحمد مُسْنَدُ
الشَّامِيِّينَ إن الله عز وجل لا يعذب العامة بعمل الخاصة حتى يروا المنكر بين
ظهرانيهم وهم قادرون على أن ينكروه فلا ينكروه
المحدث ابن حجر العسقلاني خلاصة
حكم المحدث إسناده حسن وله شاهد
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Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“There will come a people from the east who recite the Quran but it
does not go beyond their throats. They will go out of the religion just as an
arrow pierces its target and they will not return to it just as the arrow does
not return to the bow.” It was said, “What will be their sign?” The Prophet
said, “Their sign is shaving.” Or he said, “It is shearing.”
Sahih
Bukhari
عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ
الْخُدْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ يَخْرُجُ نَاسٌ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَشْرِقِ وَيَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ
لَا يُجَاوِزُ تَرَاقِيَهُمْ يَمْرُقُونَ مِنْ الدِّينِ كَمَا يَمْرُقُ السَّهْمُ
مِنْ الرَّمِيَّةِ ثُمَّ لَا يَعُودُونَ فِيهِ حَتَّى يَعُودَ السَّهْمُ إِلَى
فُوقِهِ قِيلَ مَا سِيمَاهُمْ قَالَ سِيمَاهُمْ التَّحْلِيقُ أَوْ قَالَ
التَّسْبِيدُ
7123 صحيح البخاري كِتَاب
التَّوْحِيدِ تلك الكلمة من الحق يخطفها الجني فيقرقرها في أذن وليه
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Hudhaifa
reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, I fear for you that a man will recite the Quran
until his delight is seen and he takes Islam as a cloak. Then, he
changes to whatever Allah wills for him, such that it is stripped from him
and he throws it behind his back, assaulting his neighbor with the sword and
accusing him of idolatry.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, which one is
closer to idolatry? The accused or the accuser?” The Prophet said, “Rather it is the accuser.” Source: Sahih Ibn Hibban
81
عن حذيفة قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ
اللَّهِ صَلَّى الِلَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ مَا أَتَخَوَّفُ
عَلَيْكُمْ رَجُلٌ قَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ حَتَّى رُئِيَتْ بَهْجَتُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَكَانَ
رِدْئًا لِلإِسْلامِ غَيَّرَهُ إِلَى مَا شَاءَ الِلَّهِ فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهُ
وَنَبَذَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ وَسَعَى عَلَى جَارِهِ بِالسَّيْفِ وَرَمَاهُ
بِالشِّرْكِ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَيُّهُمَا أَوْلَى
بِالشِّرْكِ الْمَرْمِيُّ أَمِ الرَّامِي قَالَ بَلِ الرَّامِي
81 صحيح ابن حبان كتاب العلم
باب الزجر عن كتبة المرء السنن
المحدث ابن كثير خلاصة حكم
المحدث إسناده جيد
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.jpg)
Aisha (RA) reported: A man came to the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, “O Messenger of Allah, by Allah I love you more than myself. I love you
more than my family and wealth. You are more beloved to me than my children. I
would be in my house and I would remember you until I cannot be patient until I
meet you. When I remember my death and your death, I know you will enter
Paradise with the status of the prophets, but if I enter Paradise
I am afraid I will not see you.” The Prophet did not answer him until
Gabriel, peace be upon him, was sent with the verse, “Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they will be with those whom
Allah has blessed among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the
righteous.” (4:69)
Source: Mu’jam As-Sagheer 51
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ جَاءَ
رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ
اللَّهِ وَاللَّهِ إِنَّكَ لَأَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ نَفْسِي وَإِنَّكَ لَأَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ
مِنْ أَهْلِي وَمَالِي وَأَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ وَلَدِي وَإِنِّي لَأَكُونُ فِي
الْبَيْتِ فَأَذْكُرُكَ فَمَا أَصْبِرُ حَتَّى آتِيَكَ فَأَنْظُرَ إِلَيْكَ
وَإِذَا ذَكَرْتُ مَوْتِي وَمَوْتَكَ عَرَفْتُ أَنَّكَ إِذَا دَخَلْتَ الْجَنَّةَ
رُفِعَتْ مَعَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَإِنِّي إِذَا دَخَلْتُ الْجَنَّةَ خَشِيتُ أَنْ لَا
أَرَاكَ فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ عَلَيْهِ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
شَيْئًا حَتَّى نَزَلَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِهَذِهِ
الْآيَةِ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ
أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ
وَالصَّالِحِينَ
51 المعجم الصغير للطبراني باب
الألف من اسمه أحمد
المحدث أحمد شاكر خلاصة حكم
المحدث صحيح لغيره
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