Difference Between Sunni and Wahabi
Sunni vs Wahabi
The major difference between Sunni and Wahabi is the beliefs and rituals. Sunnis are in majority and almost 90% percent of Muslims around the world belong to Sunni sect whereas the members of Wahabi movement are located in Saudi Arab. There are a few main and major as well as many secondary differences between the Sunni and Wahabi Muslims which caused these sects to be cut off from each other and emerge independently.
The major difference between them is that Wahabis believe that Prophet Muhammad should be praised only as a human being whereas Sunnis show extra special care and respect towards the Prophet of Islam.
Sunni Muslims celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophet and arrange Meelaad. Meelaad is a form of gathering in which the Sunni Muslims get together and praise the Holy Prophet. The birthdays of Sufi saints are also celebrated with much dedication and enthusiasm. The day of their deaths are commemorated in the form of Urs. Wahabi Muslims do not believe in celebrating and practicing all these events which are very strongly rooted in Islam. Wahabis call these practices of events as unlawful and wrongful innovations. Wahabis also believe that this is as close as to shirk or polytheism and Sunnis follow the ways of infidel Hindus.
Sunni Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is Nur and still present in this world. Whereas Wahabis do not believe in using pious individuals as intermediaries when asking Allah as they consider it shirk or polytheism. Sunnis believe in the saints and mysticism whereas Wahabis do not believe in mysticism, intercession and prostration as well. Sunni Muslims visit the tombs of the saints and perform tawassul for the blessings of Allah whereas it is the greatest sin for a Wahabi.
Sunni Muslims believe in four imams of fiqah or Islamic laws such as Hanfi, Hanbli, Malakii and Shaafeyii whereas Wahabi does not follow an Iman in Fiqh. Wahabi Muslims are a group of fundamentalists and have an orthodox version Islam. Wahabis in Saudi Arab do not allow their females to work side by side with their men and they also are not allowed to drive a car. The women are treated as third rate citizens and they are bound to wear a long abayaa or garment to cover them from head to toe. Sunni Muslims are moderate and believe in the equality of women as suggested by Islam.
There are many differences present in their rituals of praying, marriage ceremonies, dresses etc. Wahabi Muslims have separate mosques and schools. Wahabi Muslims are followers of Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahab in the 18th century in Arabia, and his movement came up against a lot of opposition from the Indians Sunni Muslims. Members of the Wahab movement in Saudi Arabia believe their role as a restorer or reformer to free Islam from negative deviances, heresies, innovations, superstitions and idolatries. Wahabis prefer to eliminate music and listening to songs. They are against watching television and drawings of living things which contain a soul.
Summary
1. Wahabi Muslims are followers of Muhammad ibne Abdul wahab present in the 18th century in Saudi Arabia whereas Sunni Muslims are followers of Prophet Muhammad and his companions.
2. Sunni Muslims believe in intercession and mysticism whereas Wahabis call them as deviants and wrongful innovations in Islam.
3. Sunni Muslims strictly follow one of the four schools of thoughts or madhabs of fiqah or Islamic jurisprudence whereas Wahabis follow their sheikh.
4. Wahabis do not observe annual Sufi festivals, events or the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.
5. Sunni Muslims wear charms and believe in healing powers unlike Wahabi beliefs like visiting tombs or shrines of saints.
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SEXUAL ABUSE WITH CHILD IN JAMIA RASHIDIA GHERBI MOHALLAH MALAKABAD WAH CANTT
SHAME FOR MULLAN MAULVIS MADRISAY THEKADARI NIZAM
JAMIA RASHIDIA MALIKABAD MAIN BACHAY KAY SATH JINSI ZIADTI
Gherbi Mohallah malakabad main qaim madrisa jamia rashidia main bachay kay sath ziadti ki gaui. Kaha jata hay keh kuch din qabal is bachay nay quran hakeem khatam kia awr us ki dastar bandi ki gai. Dastar bandi ky dusray din is kay sath ziadti jamia ky qari tahir nay ziadti ki .badnaseebi say kuch ahbab madrisay main gay to qari sahib us bachay kay sath ziadti ker rahay thay. Qari sahib ko moqia per pakra gia tw us nay shermindgi say mafan mangin lekn un ky walid janab qari zahur sahib ny keha keh un ky bachay qari tahir per ilzam lagaya gia hay. Malkabad ky awan is per preshan hain keh wo apny bachon kw in madrison min sirf un ki abru razi ky luy quran hakeem paranay kay liya bhaijinm. Qair tahir sahib aught din wahan say bhag gauy aur us bachay ko bhi bhaga dia gia is masila ko khamosh karanay kay liy gawahon ko daraya gia aur sath hi un ko lalich bhi dia gia is masallah ko khamosh karany ki bahut bhrpur koshish ki jarhi hay liken nawabad wah cantt malikabad jalala, banyan baluhot, Hassan abad aur wah factory kay girdo w nawah main yeh khaber bahut phel gaui aur logon nay is masala per sochna shoru kier dia gawahon ko khamosh rehnay ki dhamki bhi di gia ali nam kay aik sharef admi nay gawahon ko dhamki bhi di kia in madrison main bachon kay sath ziadti ki terbiat ki jati hay ya yeh keh un ko quran aur ahadix parayi jati hain wo madrsay jo din rat tahafaze madaris kanferences ker rahay hain awr islam ki tablish ker rahay hain aisia malum hota hay keh io sb kuch unhon ny maz apny pit ki aag bharnay kay liy aday banayayu huyan hain unhon nay deen ka libadah orgh rakha hay un ko America aur Saudi Arabia say imdad mil rahi hay takeh mulk min mazhabi intishar phelay. Un logon kw baqada jaded asleha say lais kia ja rahay hay aur unhain jehad per lecture diyay jatay hain aur Pakistan forces kay khilaf kam kerny aur fauj per qabza kernay kay liay aur Pakistan ki hakumat ko apny qabzay main lenay key liy mukammal tarbiat di ja rahi hay. Afghanista main India aur America aur afghan ki maddad say in madaris ko Pakistan aur islam kay khilaf istimal kia jar aha hay . in madars main bachay jw taleem hasil ker rahay hain ziada ter ghareeb hain aur un ko apni mrzi say terbiat di jati oy. Aur un sy jis qadar bhi ziadtian jinsi ziadtian hoti hain aksar khamosh kara di jati hain mulk main aik qanun banaya jauy takeh keh madrisay bachon ky sath jinsi ziadti aur jismani ziadti nah ker sakain allah tallai in mullaown aur din islam kay thekadaron ko hidayat day amen./bad main ahle mohallah nay mil ker is masalay ko thap ker dia. Keh yeh sub kuch ilzam hay
As Salaam Aleikum Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
Please dont dispute, we all are One ummah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad sal lal laahu alayhi wa sallam.
Coming to this article, I am sure its not posted by any sunni or wahabi, its written by some enemy of Islam or a person with insufficent knowledge of the way of life in Islam.
The only guidance for all of us is the last and final revelation Holy Quran and Authentic Hadith of our Prophet Muhammad sal lal laahu alayhi wa sallam.
Read, understand, practice, and convey the guidance to all mankind.
May Allah unite us…Ameen.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH NOOR
Very well written by Noor. Concise but to the point.
Allah Jalla Shanahu bless all of us.
THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN SUNNI AND WAHABIS AT ALL .
The post is not correct. Except Shia sect,We all are Sunni. The post is made and posted by some anti Islamic agent.
Who is to judge that they are authentic???
Clearly the writer of the article is ignorant,biased and very offensive. My 4 year old nephew could have done a better job. Milad?? Can you tell me where it says that the birth of the prophet (s.a.w), should be celebrated in such a fashion where enormous amounts of foods are shovelled down your throats, when that same food could go to a homeless muslim abroad. The prophet(s.a.w) was born around the same time that he died, infact the exact date is not even known. I disagree with all of these “parties” which you call milad and i am entitled to that view, thankyou please
I think you are ignorant and yes you are entitled to your veiw even though its wrong we sunni s give as much as we can to charity on top of celebrating the birthday of the prophet mohammed s.a.w and where does it say you should follow abdul wahab before the sunna of the prophet s.a.w
i think you should go to a sunni scholar and learn about islam then maybe you can comment on what we do and what is right and wrong .
may allah keep you on the right path
Where does it say in the Quraan or sunnah that the prophet or his companions or those who followed them or those who followed the followers that they celebrated the prophets birthday? I think it is you who is ignorant.
there is difference b/w milaad and birth day of holy prophet SAW.we r ignorant of the birthday ritual not milaad.milaad is celebrated by saba ikram not birth day.sory to say only 1% people cmented truth on this web page.very sad
Obviously Saf has been to a Sunni scholar or is at least striving upon Sunnah and you haven’t Mr Zaki, calling someone ignorant who is following the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam and his Companions, May Allah be please with them all, is calling them ignorant also. Watch your words and stop hanging around Shi’ahs or Hindus or Christians or whoever you get these stupid ideas from, they surely do NOT come from Islam.
I agree with you bro,
CC: To other wahabis, check on google who was Osma bin laden . A hero of of wahabism.
am totally agree wth saf and it’s the real truth.thnx
Pls note hujur SAWS himself has celebtared milad by fasting….pls go to You tube,search Mr. Qadri’s bayan on Milad.correct your Iman, dnt follow Wahabis.
All these Wahhbi’s are against the law & ritual. This is a very good article to diffrenciate between Wahhabi & Sunni.
It is not necessary that everything with what we do/don’t should be written in Hadis, this is just an incentive’s
I agree with Saf, the writer appears totally ignorant. I am a Sunni and after reading the above article, I feel that I follow what the so-called ‘Wahabis’ do.
I am quite sure that a large number of sunnis do so too. The differences r minimal. Anyway I feel we have to be Muslims first and last. Rest do what ever u feel is correct and satisfies ur mind.
We have divided the religion into fractions though we all believe the same
This comparison was obviously written by a Barelvi (follower of Imam Raza). They say they are sunnis when in reality they are a mix of Sufi-ism and Shia-ism.The followers are predominantly from the Indian Sub-Continent.
Less than 1% of Muslimsfollow this path. They continuously complicate the religion by adding things to it. Like the Holy Hair???
but i heard wahabis are only 5 percent and shiite are 15 percent and ahle sunnag wal jama are like 70-80 percent . and bareilvis considered themselves ahle sunnah wal jamah.. how can u be sure that this article is written by a bareilvi when all over the world tombs are visited by muslims even MUhammad Sallalahaolaiahewasallam’s tomb is der from last 1400 years……
When Ahmed Raza visited Mecca and Medina for pilgrimage in 1905, he prepared a draft document entitled Al Motamad Al Mustanad (“The Reliable Proofs”) for presentation to the scholars of Mecca and Medina. Ahmed Raza Khan collected opinions of the ulama of the Hejaz and compiled them in an Arabic language compendium with the title, Husam al Harmain (“The Sword of Two Sanctuaries”), a work containing 34 verdicts from 33 ulama (20 Meccan and 13 Medinese). The work concluded that Ghulam Ahmad’s beliefs were blasphemous and tantamount to apostasy … so it clearly means that before wahabism all were bareilvis in mecca and medina … or may be us can say ahles unnah wal jamaah
This is really ignorant of the writer….
As Abdullah said, the writer has mixed-up sunni with goushia. It is goushias who celebrate the birthday of the prophet and believe in other things like our supplictions reach Allah through prophet muhammed (s.a.w) which is wrong.
Differences between sunni and wahabi are minimal but the writer has replaced sunni with goushia. And again it is goushia who don’t follows the four imams. The writer is just downright ignorant. Any proper muslim would know this.
Your final words there are spot on, brother,”The writer is just downright ignorant. Any proper muslim would know this.”
But look and see how many comment and agree that alone proves how ignorant so many are and why Muslims are in the state there are in today… blind following, copying the kuffar, cursing and killing each other, etc. and not finding the truth… the real Muslim finds guidance in Qur’an and Sunnah, no one seems to do that anymore, Allahul musta’an
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Anyone who doesn’t believe in Ghous Paal, sheikh Abdul qadir gilani is not Muslim, look up your religion and the Hadiths where their coming was told. Even katae wahabis believe in then do don’t get it twisted, Islam is about having faith and belief not just what you can prove and then to debate with one another, read your kalima then translate it, what does it say, in that lies your proof if you really need it and for those who don’t know here it is ” there is no god only Allah and Muhammad is his messenger” that is the difference the word IS not was hence meaning the prophet still IS AND HAD NOT JUST DIED LIKE A NORMAL MAN LIKE ALL YOU WAHABIS BELIEVE ASTAGFURULLAH! May Allah give you commentators on here guidance to seek the true Islam.
May Allah have mercy on you ignorant so called Muslim Sufi’s who believe Gilani was special in some way. You twist and turn the words of Allah and his messenger to suite your need.
Also clearly you thinking there is something different about the prophet’s (peace be upon him) death makes you even stupider than you would like to think. Obviously you guys are not reading the sunnah of the rasool nor his explanation and the explanations of his companions of the Quran.
I know for a fact not all Sufis recognize Gilani, as being special even though they dont admit he was one of the worst innovators in Islam.
May Allah guide you and the people like you to the way of the prophet and the salaf.
Ps Wahhabi’s loathe gilani and his lies as all Muslims with any respect for Allah and his messenger do.
Btw. Your “IS” claim is baseless since and a lie for two reasons and may Allah have mercy on your souls when the time comes. Below proves your claim wrong but out of your arrogance and pride and for the sake of not losing an argument (which this is not by the way) you will argue the point and risk paradise and end up in hell by lying against Allah and his messenger and righteous companions even though the truth and proof is given to you from the Quran and sunnah. I am curious how you will twist the following to suite your lies.
Here’s the simple proof against your claims:
Narrated Abu Salama from Ibn Abbas : Abu Bakr came out and ‘Umar , was addressing the people, and Abu Bakr told him to sit down but ‘Umar refused. Abu Bakr again told him to sit down but ‘Umar again refused. Then Abu Bakr recited the Tash-hud (i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle) and the people attended to Abu Bakr and left ‘Umar. Abu Bakr said, “Amma ba’du, whoever amongst you worshipped Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead, but whoever worshipped Allah, Allah is alive and will never die. Allah said: ‘Muhammad is no more than an Apostle and indeed (many) Apostles have passed away before him ..(up to the) grateful.’ ” (3.144) (The narrator added, “By Allah, it was as if the people never knew that Allah had revealed this verse before till Abu Bakr recited it and then whoever heard it, started reciting it “) – Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitab Jana’iz, Hadith No. 333.
Thanks for writing this article. I concur whole-heartedly about the truth of this article. May Allah produce much more sunni writers like the author so that all stupid Wahabis which is by the way a product of British and the Jew be annilihate from the face of the earth.
And may Allah gives His hidayah to those ignorant who are so dumb to understand some basic principles about the things that they say haram or sinful in Islam.
No Muslim who proclaimed the syahadah would ever go to any tomb and pray to it. Only idiots who are so base would thought that Muslims of the ahlussunnah wal jammah are doing that.
May Allah enlighten them with true understanding of the deen and not to become a “wahabi parrot”, only good at parroting what they heard from their false wahabi sheikh and make them as their religion beliefs.
Wa na ‘udzubillah!
only one word can describe you, IDIOT, lol… “Wahabis” are product of Brits and Jews? so are you product of Dutch and Chinese? If you had half a brain, you would see this write is no way near Sunni and probably not even a Muslim. Stop hanging out in Indonesia bars and paying hookers, man, You are truly messed up!
really u r the assistant of intelegence of jews and also a out branded product of americans.hehehe
Typical reply from an idiot, as much as I dislike Americans and Jews, and any other Kafir. I truly hate idiots like u who speak with the words of the shaytan. Grow up you fool!
The differences put up here are simply notorious. These differences are made up by the author. I have not attended a Milad on Prophet (Sm’s) birthday for the last 10 or may be 15 years, it does not make me a Wahabe, or does not gurantee me a sunni. Quran said, there is no sect in Islam. If you are trying to produce this web-page to show these kind of differences, you are surely doing a bad work. You are trying to add fitna in religion. Please delete your webpage. And say your prayers.
Salams Dr.Siddique, finally I see one muslim following the true ways of islam.Jazakumulla khair Dr .
my first comment is that first we r muslims than other believes r desireable.am wahabi but some things nd portfolios which r described by writer r n’t true.we r followers of MUHAMMAD SAW .but we r n’t believe on those rituals which r n’t present in QURAN nd HADITH.
sunni people celebrate urs,khtm,giarwen sharif, nd some other rituals which r n’t describe by SAHABA nd ur PROPHET SAW.
THANx
This article is completely inaccurate regarding who Sunni muslims are. Sunni muslims are those who follow the Quran and Hadith and therefore, majority of Sunni muslims do NOT celebrate the birth of the Prophet (pbuh) as it is not sunnah etc. They also do not believe that the Prophet (puh) is from Nur etc as again as the title ‘Sunni’ suggests it is Quran and Hadith. Sunni’s believe any deviation from these 2 sources is not Islam.
Wahabbis are very extreme. They are similar but the only difference is that they are mposing their viewpoints very forcefully on others and have knows to cause disruption in communitites by attacking shrines etc.
Shrines in Sunni mulims is wrong, but there are a few people who have no education on Islam and practice this as this is how they know this.
Wahhabis are wrong in their actions and then you have the other extreme who are muslims who do not follow Quran and Hadith. True Sunni Muslims, are the ones following the 4 madhabs as mentioned above and none of those schools of though preach any of the acts of the spiritualism as mentioned in this article.
The Wahabi’s do not and will not show the required respect to our beloved Prophet Muhammed(SAW). They have been brain washed into this ridiculous believe that he was a human being like us(may Allah have mercy on their soles). They have no respect for themselves, how will they respect the best of creation. I am a Sunni and will always be one.
Fairoz you are the one who is brain washed. The prophet (pbuh) himself said the he is like the rest of us with the exception that he receives revelation. He also warned us not to over praise as the Christians did with Jesus. But how is that the Wahhabis fault if you choose to ignore these ahadeeth from the prophet. You love to pick and choose to suite your self so that you can be like the Christians and make Muhammad something he is not like the Christians make Jesus something he is not.
The change of saudi govt can only bring harmony in our community. We shoud pray for political change in saudi arabia.
if u say that love is to celebrate birthday of MUHAMMAD SAW than am totally disagree u.
Surah Kahf(18)…Ayaah 110
” Say (O Muhammad): “I am no more than a human being like you; one to whom revelation is made: ‘Your Lord is the One and Only God.’ Hence, whoever looks forward to meet his Lord, let him do righteous works, and let him associate none with the worship of his Lord.”"
here is the proof…..And keep in mind wahabis say that Muhammad(S.A.W) was human as we r relating specie Homo Sapiens……….But his(S.A.W)’s status is very very much high than other human beings……..
Obviously he was a human being !!!!!
Atif-
1. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the Light of Allah, something a believer can say because the Qur’an affirms it in the verse.
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا كُنْتُمْ تُخْفُونَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَعْفُواْ عَن كَثِيرٍ قَدْ جَاءَكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُّبِينٌ
“O people of the Book! There hath come to you our Messenger, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book, and passing over much (that is now unnecessary). There hath come to you from Allah a (new) light and a perspicuous Book (Qur’an 5:15).
this is ahle sunnat you are deviated becouse tele evanglist like yusuf estes, aburaheem green, bilal philpls and deobandis, tableegi jammat, salafies are not ahle sunnat. rather are from newly innovated groups that are deviants so you do not hold vies that were of sahabas go read the comentaries of above verse.
go to egypt, iraq, syria, iran, pakistan, india, afganistan, central asian muslims countries and other african muslims countries you will see they have shrines tombs of awliya allah. also go to madina you will see roza shareef of prophet peace be upon him. you are just brainwased by wahabies.
Salaam
It dosent matter how many shrines there are around the world
R u dumb?
You quote verses of the Quran but don’t take heed of what Prophet PBUH said
He PBUH ordered the Sahabas that no grave should be more than 1 or 2 hand spans wide and no grave shall be made in to shrines
So I just need to understand who the heck you think you are when you ignore such blatant orders and texts (bukhari by the way) and the say you are Ashique e Rasool????
Do you not in anyway see the similarity in your shrines and that of the Hindus, Christians, Jews, Sikhs, monks etc ??? Theirs look the same as yours and vice versa???
Now look to see if you see any similarities in our places of prayer and the religions i mentioned above? No resemblance what so ever !!!!
I gve you an answer to your silly comment about holy shrines all around tue world by quoting you a Sahi Hadith which condones such shrine building on graves now you kindly quote me 1 which says you can???
You r only a Sunni when you follow the Sunnah, how can you be a Sunni when you clearly dismiss a Sunnah you don’t like or don’t want to adhere to
There’s no pick & choose in Islam my friend, you either do as your told or you don’t
Love for Prophet PBUH isn’t about putting up lights and cutting expensive cakes it’s about your Niyat amd integrity
If you follow the Sunnah of Prophet PBUH it is greater than all the actions of spending money and being extravagant to show your love
Anyway as you can see with all the disagreement on this post amd the fact that the Ummah of our Beloved Prophet PBUH are not getting along
1 believes he loves PBUH more while the other has mo love
And people r quite happy to label 1 another as non Muslims
Subhan Allah this is the Ummah for whom our Beloved Prophet cried for day & night and it is he PBUH whose voice will he heard above all others on the day of judgement crying out YA UMMAT YA UMMATI
So I’m calling out to who have posted and to whom may post next, leave it be
For think of this before you decide to post
ARE YOU HAPPY TO ANSWER TO ALLAH AND YOUR PROPHET YOUR INTERCESSOR PBUH ON THE DAY OF KUDGENT THAT INSTEAD OF INCREASING HIS PBUH UMMAH YOU CHOSE INSTEAD TO
DECREASE IT BY CAUSING CONFUSION HATRED AND LABELLING OF 1 ANOTHER AS KAFIR
Wasalaam
Yep, as much as they talk about majority, I guess if a majority of Muslims drink wine too, it becomes halal, ignorance plain and simple, let those who think in majority “monkey see- monkey do “stand before Allah on yawmul qiyamah with such a foolish and filthy heart…
Atif- Saudi Arabia is the only Muslim country where Mawlid is not an official public holiday(google,milad, wikipedia)
only people you say it is bidda is wahabies like zakir naik, bilal philaps, abul raheem green, extra. majority of Muslim countries celebrate birthday of the prophet peace be upon him. also in non Muslim countries movlid is celebrated so cut your crap that shows who is ahle sunnat. and who are majority of Muslims.
Shamas,
What’s sad is your ignorance about Islam. Firstly Saudi Arabia is not the only country which doesn’t have a public holiday on the day of the milaad. Secondly the public holiday has no significance in Islam.
Thirdly and most importantly Islam is not based on what the majority do. It is based on what the prophet taught and what his companions understood it to be and those who followed them and those who followed them for 3 or 4 generations before the milaad was introduced.
Whenever you practice anything in islaam you need to ask yourself did the prophet do this and did his companions and those who followed them practise this and have evidence from the Quran and Sunnah to do this? If your answer is yes then it is beneficial for you and you will be rewarded by Allah. If not then you are sinning and creating lies about the prophet.
The prophet in many authentic ahadeeth told us that he showed us everything we need to know to succeed in this life. In other authentic narrations he says do not over praise me like the Christians did with Jesus. And lastly Allah in the Quran said he completed and perfected the religion and so if the milaad was not a part of that perfection at the time of the prophet then it is part of the imperfection which the people have added to the religion and try to pass it as part of the religion so ignorantly and insist it is right to do this. Even when evidence is given to them from the Quran and Sunnah they deny it and hence deny what the prophet taught and what Allah revealed.
Please learn your religion properly and practice it based on what Allah and His messenger taught and not what the people invent. Blind following is not part of Islam.
brother , they’ll will not and want to understand what truth u’re saying … Your knowledge which is a must for every muslim, are so high for most of them, they’re unable to conceive .Fatawallaa ‘anhum Maa ‘anta bi malum
Dear Ibrahim;
Milad was even celebrated by Hujus SWAS by fasting on Monday, pls go to youtube & search bayans of Mr. Tahirul Qadri on Milad.Pls note that Hujus SWAS was not an ordinary man,he was made on noor, Only Hujur has the status to ‘Maharaj(Meeting)’ with ‘Khuda’. he was the person in whoes love allah has given Namaj, Kuran, Kaba to Ummate Rasul.Even allah has said in Quran shariif I would’nt have made ‘dono jahan’ If Hujur SAWS was not there. Allah himself has declared that he himself is sending ‘durud e Akram’ on Hujur SAWS. How allah can send a durud on ordinary man like you & me.pls tell me one person from this so kind of Wahabi moulanas, on whome allah will send durud. no body in the world is comparable to hujur SWAS,allah has made him that way. I am sunni & proude of it. i am ready to debate with you on this issue any time.Sunnies are from birth of Hujur SWAS, from 1450 years & original form of islam,Wahabis are the sect generated in 18 th century by soudis,followed only by soudis, who are creating the terrirists & beacuse of whome Islam is dishonoured by its enemies. In 9/11 attack 15 out of 19 teririst were wahabi. go to google search is out youself.
the first who celebrated maulid , are the syiah ,not the sunni, it started in (approximately) 350H (Fatimiyah dinasty in Mesir) , go check, u’re calling yourself a sunni, yet u don’t know your sources of reference , u are actually following the syiah , not sunnah. Just because u are the majority, doesn’t me u are the right one. Go check what the ulama writes before 350H, u’ll be suprise except certain of them like ghazali, whose knowledge in hadits is very very weak, yet some called him hujjatul islam…inna rabbaka huwa a’lamu man dhalla ‘an sabilihi wa huwa a’lamu bi manihtadaa …we’ll see . u’ll see , we’ll wait , and u’ll wait!!!!
Doesnt the quran say that Allah(swt) told Muhammad(pbuh) NOT to debate with hypocrites,non believers and slanderers? Any new revert can see this post as a slander to muslims, its so obvious that it need not be rebuked…by rebuking such futile attempts at propaganda, you become dirtied…….You all claim Sunni, yet you all break this basic principle…THE UMMAH should not be so easily provoked by such a childish taunt…
Brother Ismail is so correct.
Thank you, Babby pathan I am encouraged to find you appreciate my point. There is a Ayat in the Quran that says there is no sect in Islam. I did not find it, but please see this:
“He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein.” (Al Quran – 42:13)
Have you (all) seen the recent attempt to insult our Prophet (SM) bu making that movie? I have seen it in the YouTube. After seeing it, I realised that the maker of that movie were so mean, and the way they have shown things are so light, idiotic, that almost it needs to description to say that “it is rubbish”; and one way to respond to that movie making is simply to say nothing. Because it is a total non-sense. But see people have already killed an American diplomat. I do not know if Jehad means that you have to kill an American Diplomat just because someone else made a movie on our holy Prophet (SM). Jehad is – I think – something else. We muslim should not be taunted with silly things.
and dr, u are also correct … bal ‘ajibuu an jaa-a hum mundzrin minhum…they’ll not hear u …. yu’faku ‘anhu man ufik
This is not true. False explaination about what a sunni is. We do not worship the prophet as any more than a man. He is just a man. We only pray to God no one else.
Asalamu aleykum,
i agree with mhjkk, i lean towards wahhabi most the times rather than other maddhabs, and sometimes other maddhabs. honestly, doesnt matter, its all sunni. but sunnis do NOT celebrate bday of the prophet (SAW) AstagfirAllah. i dont have a title but for such information eg the prophet. wahhabi is still sunni, wahhabi is just one of (unfortunately sect within a sect) sects of Sunni. sunni muslims dont believe in intercession, this goes against the very foundation of is Islam…. are you even muslim…???
u’re a muslim and i hope u’re a mukmin . i hope the are lot more people parallel with your saying , but this is an era of fitnah , asmykm wabaarakatu
Salams brother & sisters in islam,please stay away from these kind of blogs were the enemies of islam have laid down a destructive plan of fitna to divide and bring out enemity between muslims.Clearly the author is not aware of this great religion called islam but he very well knows the passionate followers who can easily be deceived by this formula of fitna.
All boils down to giving poison to a sick people, they still take it knowing its harmful… sad but true
I had not been well informed about Islam, but my understanding that we have 4 imams under the Sunni banner. The wahabi are Sunni but follow imam Hanbali.
I thinks it’s about time Muslims start learning about what they have been taught, because we all grow up believing what has been handed down to us by our parents and forefathers.
I follow the Quran only and consider that I can call myself MUSLIM, those follow imams, hadiths or anything else should identify themself with what they practice.
Sunni- Hanafi
Sunni- Shafi
Sunni- Hanbali
Sunni- Maliki
Or
Shia – Ismaili
Shia – Jafri
Belief out of ignorance is belief not worth having, please go and learn you relgion.
That’s the problem barely anyone wants to learn the religion. But let me correct you, firstly there is no such thing as “wahhabi” and those who label people as such are just plain ignorant, secondly they dont only follow the Hanbali school, one well-known scholar of our times Shaikh al-Albani, Rahimahullah, was indeed of the Hanafi school. there are always differences of opinions and ruling within any of the schools. The point is, as the same “wahhabis” try to point out is not to blindfollow.
This is clearly a place of Fitna, and therefore I am leaving this place.
Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters – please go elsewhere where you can spend your time more meaningfully in learning.
Was salam
Good bit of advice, but if Muslims barely follow Sunnah (or the Qur’an) anyway, I’m sure they won’t take advice from anyone sensible not even from Scholars. “Muslims” are the greatest threat to Islam, no doubt!
Hudhaifa i.e. Ibn al Yaman (ra) said that the Prophet (saw) said: Verily, I fear about a man from you who will read the Qur’an so much that his face will become enlightened and he will come to personify Islam. This will continue until Allah desires. Then these things will be taken away from him when he will disregard them by putting them all behind his back and will attack his neighbor with the sword accusing him of Shirk. The Prophet was asked – which of the two will be deserving of such an accusation? – The attacker or the attacked? The Prophet replied – the attacker (the one accusing the other of Shirk)
►Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, Volume No. 1, Page No. 282,
►Bukhari in his Tarikh ul Kabir, Volume No. 4, Page No. 301,
►Haythami in Majma Az Zawaid, where he declared its chain to be “Hassan”, Imam Ibn Kathir declared the Chain as “Jayyid (strong)” in his Tafsir al Quran al Azim, Volume No. 2, Page No. 266]
And when it is said to them, “Come, the Messenger of Allah will pray for your forgiveness”, they turn aside their heads, and thou wouldst see them turning away their faces in arrogance. 63:06 Chapter munafiqun
the hadith about grave you quoted and conclusions you drew from it shows your ignorance. also why it does not show any thing, it does show consensus of Muslims not what you wahabies claim is consensus. go listen to wahabies they say their is no proofe and it is bidda that is consensus of umma. according to wahabies the muhammad ibne abdul wahab’s word is law of islam. the language you people useing are fitna he started. go read the hadith and ayat of quran kareem and say Allah and his prophet is committing shirk.
Verse u gave is clearly for munafiqs of that time……..
There was also for dua…..that if they turned to Muhammad(S.A.W)….thn He(S.A.W) did dua……..
See brother dua is not wrong….i can make dua for u ….u can make for me………But u cant ask unto Muhammad(S.A.W) for anything…….
bcoz ALLAh says in Surah 7….Ayaah 194″ Those whom you invoke other than Allah are creatures like you. So invoke them. and see if they answer your call, if what you claim is true.”
other than ALLAH means everybody besides ALLAH
Yr ALLAH is ready to listen u then y r u going far away…….
Surah 02….Ayaah 186
“And if My servants ask you, O Prophet. concerning Me, tell them that I am quite near to them. I hear and answer the prayer of the suppliant, when he calls to Me. So let them respond to My call and believe in Me. Convey this to them, O Prophet; perhaps they may be guided aright.”
Now if u will not make direct dua then its mean u dnt believe in this verse……
Surah 39….Ayaah 38
” If you ask them: “Who created the heavens and the earth?” they will surely answer: “Allah.” Tell them: “What do you think, then, of the deities whom you call upon instead of Allah? If Allah should will that an affliction befall me, will those deities remove the harm inflicted by Him? Or if Allah should will that I receive (His) Mercy, will they be able to withhold His Mercy from me?” Say: “Allah is sufficient for me; those who have to put their trust, let them put their trust in Him.”
Surah 39….Ayah 43
“Or have they taken others instead of Allah as intercessors? Say: “Will they intercede though they may have no power and though they may not even understand?””
Ayah 44
“Say: “All intercession lies with Allah. His is the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And to Him will all of you be sent back.””
Please ponder on Quran and sunnah………then we will b real muslims….
May ALLAH give us Hidaya……
Wasalaam
U gave wrong reference………. Surah 63….Ayah 05……………….that is not 06
there is no sunni and Wahabi in Islam. Islam is a deen for humanity and teachs us that Allah is one and the only to worship. these are two sects in Islam Wahabi and Suni. plz remember the verses of Quran that be holded the rope of Allah and do not be the part of divisions. these sects will definitely leads you to the hell. …..well i will only comment that follow the quran….thats itemember there is not any reference more strong than the Quran. my advise to follow only quran if you are in doubt because most of the times it is noticed that people quote false Hadeeth to prove themselvs right. and remember those who quote false hadeeth and link any thing with propher Mohammad (PBUH) will sure stay in Hell Inshallah. plz be muslim who beleive on Allah. Allah is the one to whom we should worship!
remember these dargah or mazar or walli or what ever who is creation of Allah can never give you anything as they are also seeking from Allah so why not we directly ask from Allah rather then the creations of Allah
Of course there is a such thing as Sunni and Wahhabi. The Sunnis have writtens thousands of books pertaining to their creed and methodology. As for the Wahhabis, it is a mvement that began 250 years ago by a man named Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab. All one needs to do is look into the books of Islamic history on this topic. Also, there is more info here:
http://facetofloor.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/addendum-why-we-warn/
First you be sure about what you are saying and get your facts right. Four or Five Schools??
There are many schools teaching and guiding you to the straight path of Islam. Which you will never accept as Allah (Subhana wa Ta’ala) has mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, Surat Al-Baqarah that “they will not follow what is right. Instead, they will ignore the truth and follow what their fore fathers followed. And Allah (Subhana wa Ta’ala) has sealed their hearts so that they remain ignorant.”
Open your eyes, read the Sahih Hadith and imply immediately unto your life and, Read and understand “The holy qur’an”.
InshAllah, may all the muslims on this planet be guided and forgiven by the Almighty, Allah (Subhana wa Ta’ala) .
Dear muslim siblings its very unfair that we are fighting over trifles.we should have unity.so that non muslims shouldnot overcome us. I feel ashamed of the time when a non muslim will see these so much differences of views in between the muslims n will think are these really muslims the believers of one and only almighty Allah n followers of Muhammad (pbuh).we should just obey Allah n Follow the sunnah of Prophet .dont let the non muslims laugh over us for we r one.
actually the so-called “wahabi” is the sunni , but the self-claimed sunnia are not sunni because they’re not following the teachings in the sunnah and most of them nowdays are so so weak in sunnah knowledge , this includes their scholars. But the wahabi-framed term , are the people who actually have more reliable scholars in sunnah, they really learnt which are authentic and weak of the narrations of the sunnah. Your article is very confusing, written by someone who don’t have little knowledge about it!!!
1) Sunni love Mohammed whereas Wahabi love Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Najdi.
2) Sunni love Imam Hussain (Son of Mohammed`s daughter) whereas Wahabi love Yazid, a killer of Hazrat Imam Hussain.
3) Sunni love slogan of “Ya Rasoolullah” where as Wahabi hate it.
4) Sunni love Sufi whereas Wahabi hate them.
5) Sunni are Peaceful whereas Wahabi are Terrorist i-e Al Qaeda & Taliban and etc.
6) Sunni were created by Prophet Mohammed whereas Wahabi were created by U.K with the help of Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab Najdi to destroy Sunni Turk Ottoman Empire.
I am a sunni muslim. i dont have much knowledge, but i think wahabis aka wobblers are on the wrong path mainly because they believe that prophet Muhammad (S) was a normal person… I mean how can someone who is the beloved of Allah, someone who is made from the Noor of Allah be normal and plus the heavens and this world were all created for the beloved of Allah.
Secondly, wahabis believe that hazoor pak (S) has passed away… asthaqfirullah hazoor pak (S) is still alive its just that we cant see the beloved of allah.
Thirdly you wobblers read namaz in a weird way especially when you flick the shahadath finger like a hundred times and raise your hands when ever the imam says allah hu akbar. :/ and another thing i dislike is when they criticise sunnis for celebrating hazoor pak (S) birthday i mean you ignorant people we only remember the prophet (S) by reciting darood sharif, reciting naats and talking about the prophet (S) life time its not like were dancing, playing birthday games and partying.
Read more: Difference Between Sunni and Wahabi | Difference Between | Sunni vs Wahabi http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-sunni-and-wahabi/#ixzz2ENpFOp00
Bismillah was-salaatu was salaamu ‘alaa ashraf wa khatemul anbiyaah wa ‘alaa aalihee was sahbihee ajma’een
It really pains me to see such Muslims as your self speaking nonsense and out of ignorance, with such arrogance and defiance, which is a clear sign of the day of judgment as was mentioned by the prophet.
Clearly you don’t have much knowledge and when you start of your statement by telling the people you don’t have much knowledge then finish off by claim that the so called wahaabis are ignorant how can you be expected to be taken seriously. May Allah guide you and those like you.
Islam is the religion of knowledge. The first aayah of the Qur’aan to be revealed enjoined reading which is the key to knowledge. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists).
He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood).
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.
Who has taught (the writing) by the pen.
He has taught man that which he knew not” (al-‘Alaq 96:1-5)
“And follow not (O man, i.e., say not, or do not, or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allah)” (al-Israa’ 17:36)
So those who take what people like you speak and yourself will be question by Allah about this on the Day of Judgment.
Islam calls us to seek knowledge. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made seeking knowledge an obligation upon every Muslim, and he explained that the superiority of the one who has knowledge over the one who merely worships is like the superiority of the moon over every other heavenly body. He said that the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets and that the Prophets did not leave behind dinars and dirhams (i.e., money), rather their inheritance was knowledge, so whoever acquires it has gained a great share. And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that seeking knowledge is a way to Paradise. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allaah will make a path to Paradise easy for him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-‘Ilm, 10)
If the scholar spreads his knowledge among the people, he will have a reward like that of those who follow him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever calls people to right guidance will have a reward like that of those who follow him, without it detracting from their reward in the slightest, and whoever calls people to misguidance will have a burden of sin like that of those who follow him, without it detracting from their burden in the slightest.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2674)
DO YOU WANT TO BE OF THOSE CALLING TO MISGUIDANCE?
So in answer to you claims above:
The so called wahaabis don’t call themselves wahaabi. The deviant groups who dislike the truth have chosen this name for them out of their ignorance not realising that they have taken Allah’s name Al-Wahaab and made it into something derogatory may Allah have mercy on you and them.
Yes not all those whom the ignorant call wahaabi’s are on the correct path but a good majority of them are. They stick to the sunnah and the quran most likely better than yourself, those you follow as clearly you don’t follow the messenger of Allah ( p ) or even myself. They have a jelousy and a love for the prophet more than you and your group do.
They don’t claim that the prophet (p) was a normal person. Allah in the Quran and the prophet himself claimed this.
We granted not to any man before you permanent life [here]; if then you should die would they live forever? Every soul shall have a taste of death; and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To Us must you return.” (Q21.34-35)
“if Allah (SWT) willed, He could seal up your heart” (42.24), which means that He (SWT) could even seal the heart of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW). So how could He (SAW) be more than a human being when he is warned by Allah (SWT) of the punishment that is applied to normal human beings?
“Say (O Muhammad): I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God ___ i.e. Allaah)”(al-Kahf 18:110)
“And We did not create them (the Messengers, with) bodies that ate not food, nor were they immortals” (al-Anbiya’ 21:8)
“Their Messengers said to them: We are no more than human beings like you” (Ibraaheem 14:11)
In the most authentic book after the Quran: It was narrated by Umm Salama (R.A) (Wife of Prophet SAW) that Allah’s Apostle heard some people quarreling at the door of his dwelling. He came out and said, “I am only a human being, and opponents come to me [to settle their problems]. Maybe someone amongst you can present his case more eloquently than the other, whereby I may consider him true and give a verdict in his favor. So, if I give the right of a Muslim to another by mistake, then it is really a portion of the Fire [of Hell], and he has the option to take it or give it up [before the Day of Resurrection]“. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, No. 638) See also hadiths 9.97, 1.799, 9.292 of Sahih Al–Bukhari.
The Holy Prophet (SAW) was a human being.
He (SAW) only knew what Allah (SWT) had told him, (i.e.) He (SAW) had no knowledge about the future or what is hidden.
It was narrated by ‘Abdullah that the Prophet prayed (and the sub narrator Ibrahim said, “I do not know whether he prayed more or less than usual”), and when he had finished the prayers he was asked: “O Allah’s Apostle! Has there been any change in the prayers?” He said, “what is it?’ The people said, “You have prayed so much and so much.” So the Prophet bent his legs, faced the Qibla and performed two prostrations (of Sahu [forgetfulness]) and finished his prayers with Taslim (by turning his face to right and left saying: ‘As-Salamu’Alaikum-Warahmat-ullah’). When he turned his face to us he said, “If there had been anything changed in the prayer, surely I would have informed you, but I am a human being like you and liable to forget like you. So if I forget remind me and if anyone of you is doubtful about his prayer, he should follow what he thinks to be correct and complete his prayer accordingly and finish it and do two prostrations (of Sahu).” (Sahih Al–Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, No. 394)
It is not permissible to overstep the mark with regard to what the Qur’aan states about the message and humanity of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). For example, it is not permissible to describe him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as being noor (light) or as casting no shadow, or to say that he was created from light for he never said this nor did Allah. Rather this is a kind of exaggeration which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade when he said: “Do not exaggerate about me as was exaggerated about ‘Eesa (Jesus) ibn Maryam. Say: the slave of Allaah and His Messenger.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6830.
Moreover it is proven that the angels are the ones who were created from light, not any of the sons of Adam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The angels were created from light, and Iblees was created from smokeless fire, and Adam (peace be upon him) was created from what has been described to you.” Narrated by Muslim, 2996.
The hadeeths which people use to claim that the prophet was created from light are fabricated ahadeeth.
The heavens and earth were not created for the sake of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They were created for the reason mentioned by Allaah in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “It is Allaah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e., seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allaah has power over all things, and that Allaah surrounds (comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge.” (al-Talaaq 65:12)
The hadith regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth for the prophets sake are all fabricated and have been proven so due to the chains of narration, and evidence in the Quran and sunnah contrary to those hadiths
The death of the prophet ( p ). I can’t believe people even still say this. Do people actually read the Quran or the ahadeeth or athaar (sayings of the sahaabah ( r )).
“Verily, you (O Muhammad) will die, and verily, they (too) will die” (al-Zumar 39:30)
“And We granted not to any human being immortality before you (O Muhammad); then if you die, would they live forever?” (al-Anbiyaa’ 21:34)
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died and was buried in his grave, hence al-Siddeeq Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad has died, but whoever used to worship Allaah, Allaah is alive and will never die.”
The fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was a witness, a bringer of glad tidings and a warner, and that he will be a witness on the Day of Resurrection, does not mean that he is present among all nations, or that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will remain alive until the Day of Resurrection, or that he sees and witnesses whilst he is in his grave. Witnessing does not only mean seeing. Rather he will testify against the nations by means of what Allaah tells him, for he does not know the unseen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… and If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (Unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth…” (al-A’raaf 7:188)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) does not have the ability to be present in numerous places; he is in only one place, which is his grave, and this is according to the consensus of the Muslims.
Flicking the finger during tashahud, This has nothing to do with the so called wahaabi’s. This is a fiqh issue that many groups have differed about based on the evidences they had:
The Hanafis say that the finger should be raised when saying “Laa (no)” in the phrase “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah)” and it should be lowered when saying, “ill-Allaah (except Allaah).”
The Shaafa’is say that it should be raised when saying “ill-Allaah.”
The Maalikis say that it should be moved right and left until one finishes the prayer.
The Hanbalis say that one should point with the finger when saying the name of Allaah, without moving it.
THERE IS NO BASIS IN THE SUNNAH FOR ANY OF THESE AND THE CLOSEST ONE IS THE HANBALI VIEW
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr said: When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sat during the prayer, he would place his left foot between his thigh and calf, and tuck his right foot underneath him, and place his left hand on his left knee, and place his right hand on his right thigh, and point with his finger. Narrated by Muslim, 579
In al-Nasaa’i (1270) and Abu Dawood (989) it says: “He used to point with his finger when making du’aa’ but he did not move it.”
It was narrated that Waa’il ibn Hajar said: I said: I will certainly watch how the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prays. So I watched him and he stood up and said takbeer (“Allaahu akbar”), and raised his hands until they were level with his ears. Then he placed his right hand on his left hand, wrist and lower forearm. When he wanted to bow, he raised his hands likewise, and put his hands on his knees, and when he raised his head he raised his hands likewise. Then he prostrated and put his hands level with his ears, then he sat with his left foot tucked underneath him and put his left hand on his left thigh and knee, and he put the edge of his right elbow on his right thigh. Then he held two of his fingers and made a circle, then he raised his forefinger and moved it, making du’aa’ with it. Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 889; classed as saheeh by Ibn Khuzaymah, 1/354; Ibn Maajah, 5/170; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 367.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen quoted this hadeeth – “moving it, making du’aa’ with it” – as evidence that moving the forefinger during the tashahhud should be done with every phrase of the du’aa’. He said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’:
The Sunnah indicates that he should point with it when making du’aa’, because the wording of the hadeeth is “moving it, making du’aa’ with it”. So every time you make du’aa’, move your finger thus indicating the exalted nature of the One to Whom you are addressing your du’aa’s. So we say:
“Al-salaamu ‘alayka ayyuha’l-Nabiyyu (peace be upon you, O Prophet)” – you should point your finger because this salaam is a kind of du’aa’. “Al-salaamu ‘alayna (peace be upon us)” – you should point your finger. “Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad (O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad)” – you should point your finger. “Allaahumma baarik ‘ala Muhammad) O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad)” – you should point your finger. ‘A’oodhu Billaahi min ‘adhaab jahannam (I seek refuge with Allaah from the torment of Hell)” – you should point your finger. “Wa min ‘adhaab al-qabr (and from the torment of the grave)” – you should point your finger. “Wa min fitnat il-mahya wa’l-mamaat (and from the trials of life and death)” – you should point your finger. “Wa min fitnat il-maseeh il-dajjaal (and from the tribulation of the Dajjaal) – you should point your finger. Every time you make du’aa’ you should point your finger, indicating the greatness of the One to Whom you are making du’aa’. This is closer to the Sunnah.
It is Sunnah when pointing to look at your finger. Al-Nawawi said: The Sunnah is not to let your gaze go beyond the pointing finger. There is a saheeh hadeeth concerning this in Sunan Abi Dawood. You should point in the direction of the qiblah and intend when pointing to affirm the Oneness of Allaah and exclusive devotion to Him. Sharh Muslim, 5/81
It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar that he saw a man moving pebbles with his hand whilst he was praying. When he finished, ‘Abd-Allaah said to him: “Do not move pebbles whilst you are praying, for that comes from the Shaytaan. Rather do what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do. He put his right hand on his thigh and pointed with the finger that is next to the thumb towards the qiblah, and he fixed his gaze on it.” Then he said: “This is what I saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) doing.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 1160; Ibn Khuzaymah, 1/355; Ibn Hibbaan, 5/273. classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i.
The hadiths regarding the raising the hands in prayer are mutawaatir (meaning that their are so many narrations by so many people that it cannot be doubtful).
Imaam al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote a separate book on this issue which he called Juz’ fi Raf’ al-Yadayn (Section on Raising the Hands), in which he proved that the hands should be raised at these two points on the prayer, and he strongly denounced those who go against that. He narrated that al-Hasan said: “The Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to raise their hands during prayer when they bowed and when they stood up (from bowing).” Al-Bukhaari said, “Al-Hasan did not exclude any of the Sahaabah from that, and it was not proven that any one among the Sahaabah did not raise his hands.” See al-Majmoo’ by al-Nawawi, 3/399-406.
The hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood (749) from al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib, which says that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to raise his hands almost to his ears when he started to pray, then he did not repeat (this action) was narrated by Abu Dawood (748) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “Shall I not lead you in prayer as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did?” Then he prayed and he only raised his hands once. See Nasb al-Raayah by al-Zayla’i, 1/393-407. But these ahaadeeth were classed as da’eef (weak) by the imams of hadeeth. The hadeeth of al-Baraa’ was classed as da’eef by Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah, al-Shaafa’i, al-Humaydi the shaykh of al-Bukhaari, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma’een, al-Daarimi, al-Bukhaari, and others. The hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood was classed as da’eef by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhaari, al-Bayhaqi, al-Daaraqutni and others. Similarly, the reports which were narrated from some of the Sahaabah about not raising the hands are all da’eef. We have quoted above the words of al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him): “…it was not proven that any one among the Sahaabah did not raise his hands.” See Talkhees al-Habeer by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar, 1/221-223. Once it is proven that these ahaadeeth and reports which say that the hands should not be raised are weak, then the ahaadeeth which say that the hands should be raised remain strong with no opposing reports. Hence the believer should not fail to raise his hands at the points in prayer described in the Sunnah. He should strive to make his prayer like the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said, “Pray as you have seen me praying.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 631). Hence ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni, the shaykh of al-Bukhaari, said: “It is the duty of the Muslims to raise their hands when they bow in rukoo’ and when they stand up from rukoo’.” Al-Bukhaari said: “ ‘Ali was the most knowledgeable of the people of his time.”
Once the Sunnah has been explained clearly, no one has the right to ignore it, following whoever among the scholars said that. Imaam al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The scholars are agreed that if the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becomes clear to a person, it is not permissible for him to ignore it in favour of the opinion of anyone.” Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 2/335.
There is also a fourth place where it is mustahabb to raise the hands during prayer; that is when standing up after the first Tashahhud for the third rak’ah but I think the proof has gotten to long as it is.
Celebrating the Mawlid is haraam and there is no doubt in this. There is absolutely nothing in the quran or sunnah regarding it and neither did anyone in the first 3 centuries who followed the prophet ( p ) celebrate it.
As mentioned above he ( p ) told us not to over exaggerate praising him as the christians did with Jesus.
The ones who loved him most his companions never celebrated his nor anyone else’ birth yet that was a common practice for the non believers at the time.
Did any of the imaams – Abu Haneefah, Maalik, al-Shaafi’i, Ahmad, al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn Seereen – do this or command others to do it or say that it was good? By Allaah, no! It was not even mentioned during the first and best three centuries. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in a saheeh hadeeth: “The best of mankind are my generation (or my century), then those who come after them, then those who come after them. Then there will come a people who will not care if their testimony comes before their oath or vice versa (i.e., they will not take such matter seriously).” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Muslim and al-Tirmidhi). The celebration of the Prophet’s birthday appeared many centuries later, when many of the features of true religion had vanished and bid’ah had become widespread.
Thus this celebration became a sign of one’s love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? But can it be possible that the Sahaabah, the imaams and the people of the best three centuries were unaware of it, and it was only those who came later who were aware of its importance?! What the Qur’aan tells us is that love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is demonstrated by following the guidance he brought. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say (O Muhammad): ‘If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Say: ‘Obey Allaah and the Messenger.’ But if they turn away, then Allaah does not like the disbelievers.” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:31-32]
The first aayah explains that love is just a claim, but the proof of sincerity is following what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) brought. The second aayah reaffirms the importance and necessity of obeying Allaah and His Messenger. Hence Allaah ended the aayah with a very stern warning in which those who refuse to obey are described as kaafirs, and Allah does not love the disbelievers. We ask Allaah to keep us safe from that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us of the danger of not obeying him, and the danger of adding to what he brought. The celebration of Mawlid or his birthday is indeed an addition to what he brought – as all the scholars agree (except those who are corrupt). He said: “The best of speech is the Book of Allaah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The most evil of things are those which are newly-invented (in religion), and every innovation is a going astray.” (Reported by Muslim and al-Nisaa’i).
If you claim it is not an act of worship and just a remembrance then their is clearly no basis for it in the religion. If you claim that the prophet will bless you or that the prophet will get benefit from it or that you get benefit or however many different claims there are regarding it then clearly you have lost your way are in need of serious help.
We ask Allaah to protect us from bid’ah and to bless us by helping us to follow. Allaah knows best. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Was-salaamu alaakum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatoh
First I am Muslim and secondly I am Sunni Muslim and then I am a Hanafi Sunni Muslim .When Nabi Kareem Sallella hi alaihe Wa Sallam passed away we were all Muslims .Since then different situation arose and we had naturally had multiple contradictory solutions for those .Some went right some left. As time passed continued to have different views .It
Is to be noted that all these factions looked for solutions as Muslims no one went to other religion. For example before Muawiah there were no Shiha or Sunni .
Whatever faction we belong to we are all Muslims .Why do we have to kill whoever does not think like us .what is going on ,now more Muslims are being killed by other Muslims then anyone else .
We believe in life after death and in the Day of judgement and so let Allah be the judge of who was right and who was wrong .
Let us practice more tolerance that is the only way out.
Peace be up on everybody .
Kazi Hossain ,New York
this guy clearly does not no wth hes talking about. End of story.
Dear Readers,
Wahhabism is out of Islam are non-Muslims because they believes almighty Allah has head etc. This is something outside the Islam. Please do understand that only Sunnis are Muslims and Wahhabees are non-Muslims. Do not consider Wahhabees as Muslims please. It is a separate independant religion.
I have not up to now heard that a muslim says ! I am a wahabi” This is a cotation that is put on somebody who disagrees witb the views of the other person.If a muslim accepts sahada who are we to say that one is not a muslim.Why you judge people?Allah is the only judge to say that.Be aware that you will have to account to Allah one day.Let us all accept sahada, pray to Allah,give zakat,keep ramadan,perform haj,read Quran,and seek takwa,and stop killing others,improve our life to please Allah ONLY and stop criticising our own brothers in Islam.Let us unite and be united.Look around the world our umma is in a pathetic state because of our own weakness.From east to west,from north to south muslim is fighting and killing each other.Brother in islam we are not perfect,let us remember our beloved nabi Mohammad (saw) last and farewell speech.He asked us to be fair and refer to the 2 golden books Quran and hadith…Let us revert to islam and stop this division and bickering.Let us look in the Quran and try to see what Allah wants from us.Practice Islam practice practice practice.Its between you and Allah.let us give our life to Allah zikr and not argue on petty thing like wahabi,sunni,and god knows what next.Its time to read Quran and perform namaz(salah).have to go.I hope that you got the message.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Let me draw the kind attention of those who believe in Islam. Those who believe in Islam are called Muslims. But, what is Islam and what does it mean to say to “live like a Muslim”?
Islam is the religion of Allah which He bestowed upon the humanity through His Prophets. The chain of Prophet Hood was ended with Prophet Muhammad (S). The Principles of Islam are the Quran of Allah and its practical examples what is otherwise called ” Sunnathul Rasool”. Prophet (S) did not add anything to Islam what was not revealed to Him through the verses of the Quran and by other means. Prophet (S) did not delete anything from the Quran as well. Islam was already completed by the declaration of Allah إني أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الأسلام ديناً. Now, let me ask ? Who are those who really follow these two principles- Quran and Sunnathul Rasool? No, sunny can say that they are following Quran and Sunnah. I can darely say, these two principles are unquestionably accepted and followed by Wahabis. This is the reason why all Wahabis or the followers of Salafi are united through out the world. Even though they are minority when comparing with different types of Sunnis , they have unity . This unity is a reward from Allah. Allah said in His Quran”واعتصموا بحبل الله جميعاً ولا تفرقوا . “You hold the rope of Allah together and do not split ” The rope here means “Quran or Tauheed”. Both are the same. Now, turn to the side of Sunnis? There are tens of hundreds of groups among sunnis. There will be dozens of groups among them. Shafi Sunni, Maliki Sunni, Hanbali Sunnis and the like. Shafi Sunnis are found in dozens of groups. If you study Indian Sunnis you will find sunnis are in different kinds within different states of India. They do not have any unity among them. This is the same situation all over the world. The main reason for this disunity and disintegration is that they are not following Quran and Sunnathul Rasool. They do not consider Quran as a revelent proof. They follow their Mullas who live for the sake of money and worldly gains. If they unquestionably accept the Quran, then they will unqustionably approve the strong Hadith of the Prophet (S). If they approve the Quran, no superstitious beliefs will be seen among the Sunnis. All such superstitious beliefs and deeds happened due to their non acceptance of Tauheed or the Belief in Islamic Monotheism. There are hundreds of verses in the Quran explaining what is Tauheed and its opposit theory what is called Shirk. Allah says that He will forgive any sin, if he Wills, except Shirk. Associating partners with Allah in His Sovereingty or Lordship, or in His Worship and in His Attributes. Our poor sunnis are offering their rituals to the holy dead men and martyrs. This is against the Message of Quran and the Traditions of the Prophet. So, if any calls by himself that he is sunni, Allah will not accept that title. Allah accepts the deeds of His servants only if their Faith is free from all sorts of polytheism or Shirk. No wahabis do shirk and Bidaa what is called innovation. So, my dear sunnis, you first of all subject to your beliefs and acts according to the principle of Quran and Hadith. Let me say about the titles ” Sunnis and Wahabis”. These titles are not given by Allah or His Prophet. There is Ahlu Sunna wal Jamath. This means the followers of Quran and Sunnah. So, the real Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamath is the followers of Salafi. The biggest Scholars of Islam are living in Saudi Arabia. They deeply immersed in the Quran and Hadith.
Probably you have understood Islam but it is a matter of great sorrow that you have understood in the most wrong way. with out being bias please try to understand Islam…….
The facts written in this articles are 100% true, i am even surprised, how writer has clearly differentiated in both sect in such a short article. I congratulate him for such a great article. Definitely writer done a case study in depth which is really appreciable.
Please brother Shakeel what are you trying to do.Let unite the umma.Do not take side,We are on the same side of Quran and hadith.Let us teach Quran /hadith and be a practical muslim as our beloved Prophet taught.We are muslim only.Let us have peace and harmony for once in our life.Islam is falling apart because of this fitna we are creating.Look around muslim are killing each other and if this not enough the media is adding fuel to fire.Don’t make thing worse for muslim Please please. “Salle a la nani “
Dear Abdul,
with due respect to you, pls go on internet, read news papers,books & any other sources available to you , study well. i am not the person who is spreading the hatred. In Sunni-sufi people violence is strictly prohibited. You give me a single example where a wahabi mosque or wahabi persons are killed by sunnis in even retaliation, when Dagrah are attacked by wahabis as done in Pakistan/libya. it Soudi sponsored Wahabi sect who is a generation of yazid . a black spot on Islam & because of whom image of Islam is damaged in last 100/150 years. Islam is from last 1450 years, before wahabis there were not a single act of terrorism in the worlds in the name of Islam. I am ready to debate with anybody on this & right path of islam.
dear brother don’t abuse any this article share by a madharjat kaum not by mulim
Dear Readers,
We are all muslim; We all believe in Allah, Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon him as last Messenger .
stupid wahabis…..do you know that your sheikh ibn taimiya support milad?….
Check his book IQTIDA’U SIRADAL MUSTAQEEM
2NDLY in the quran Allah says in suratu yunus.
QUL BI FADLILLAHI WABI RAHMATIHI FAL YAFRAHU HUWA KHAIRUN MINMA YAJMA’UN
so,,ask said we should celebrate any blessing……is’t prophet muhammad SAW a blessing to us?…..
Stupid wahaby dey dnt think befor doin anythin
mtswwwwwwww
Firstly I am not a Wahabi and there is no such thing. This is a name which people like the sufi’s give those who follow the correct teachings of Islam so as to scare the masses into not knowing the truth and the gullible like yourself believe it. I have seen so many people who have not studied in Saudi or followed the same teachers or teachings of the so called wahabi scholars but just want to stick to the Quran and the Sunnah and not do anything which none of the righteous Muslims have done from the time of the Prophet to now being labeled wahabi. How ignorant can some people be. Really. A man says I am sticking to the Quran and Sunnah and you call him wahabi.
Shame on the deviant sufi’s taking one of Allah’s beautiful names and making it mean a bad thing.
You must be a sufi or at least one from those who have deviated. Sufi’s do everything the prophet (p) didn’t do and forbid and think it is ok. Through this they deny that Allah (swt) has completed the religion as he has told us in the Quran and deny that the prophet has conveyed the message completely as he (p) said to us in the final sermon of the farewell Hajj.
Open your eyes and stop being ignorant. Ibn Taymiyyah was a man and he made mistakes. We don’t denounce him for those mistakes but we take the 99% of good he gave us. Just like all the scholars before or after him. He is not specifically a wahabi imam as you claim indirectly by your statement. There were no so called wahabi’s at his time.
This goes further in showing your ignorance.
Lastly you take a book and twist the meanings of it to suit your needs. This is a common practice of the sufi’s.
He actually denounced it as did many other shaykhs.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, in Iqtidaa’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem; Imaam al-Shaatibi in al-‘I’tisaam; Ibn al-Haaj in al-Madkhil; Shaykh Taaj al-Deen ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar al-Lakhami who wrote an entire book denouncing it; Shaykh Muhammad Basheer al-Sahsawaani al-Hindi in his book Siyaanah al-Insaan; al-Sayyid Muhammad Rasheed Ridaa wrote a separate essay on this topic; Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal al-Shaykh wrote a separate essay on it; Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz; and others who are still writing and denouncing this bid’ah every year in the pages of newspapers and magazines, at the time when this bid’ah is being done.
Below are the excerpts from his book which are so commonly misquoted I have included the arabic just in case you feel like I am making this up you can go get a copy of this book and get someone who knows how to read arabic to confirm this for you because clearly you don’t read arabic, you just post things without verification. These actions are the actions of the hypocrites and those who are like that of sheep following blindly. May Allah guide you and those who are like you and me and all the Muslims.
In reading the various seasonal polemics these days on the Mawlid, I have come across those who, of all people, quote Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taimiyyah as a supporter of the Mawlid. They even provide two quotes three pages apart from one of his books, separated conveniently by an ellipses […]. I thought to explore this topic further in a reply which turned into such a beautiful reading that I thought I would share it with you so that maybe more justice could be done to his wise and beautiful words inshā’Allāh.
Before exploring his words, let us begin with a few important points. The title of the book that was quoted itself says a lot about Ibn Taimiyyah’s position – Iqtidaa’ al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem li Mukhaalafat ashaab al-Jaheem (Following the Straight Path in Differentiating from the Companions of the Hell-Fire). Thus, his book was primarily focused on encouraging Muslims to avoid imitating the ways of the disbelievers. In fact, the very chapter from which the quotes are taken is entitled, “The Chapter on Innovated Festivals of a Seasonal Nature”. In the early part of this chapter he provides us with a very important principle:
إذ الأعياد شريعة من الشرائع ، فيجب فيها الاتباع ، لا الابتداع
“Festivals are acts of a religious nature derived from the Shari’ah, and as such we must have a precedent to follow and not to innovate.”
Moving on to the section that is often only partially quoted, let us now translate it more fully and take some time to discover what else was mentioned in the three pages skipped over by the ellipses […]:
وكذلك ما يحدثه بعض الناس ، إما مضاهاة للنصارى في ميلاد عيسى عليه السلام ، وإما محبة للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وتعظيمًا . والله قد يثيبهم على هذه المحبة والاجتهاد ، لا على البدع- من اتخاذ مولد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عيدًا . مع اختلاف الناس في مولده . فإن هذا لم يفعله السلف ، مع قيام المقتضي له وعدم المانع منه لو كان خيرًا . ولو كان هذا خيرًا محضا ، أو راجحًا لكان السلف رضي الله عنهم أحق به منا ، فإنهم كانوا أشد محبة لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وتعظيمًا له منا ، وهم على الخير أحرص .
“And so is the case with what some people have innovated, either in imitation of the Christians who celebrate the birthday of Jesus (as) or out of love for the Prophet (saas) and in order to exalt him. And it may be that Allāh may reward them for this love and for the ijtihaad they made, but not for the innovation of taking the birthday of the Prophet (saas) as a festival; despite the differences regarding his actual birthday. For indeed, this was an act never performed by the earlier generations … had it been good in essence or correct Islamically, then those earlier generations (may Allāh be pleased with them) would have more right to such a deed than us, for they had greater love for the Messenger (saas) and exalted him more than we do, and they were more concerned and ardent with performing good deeds than us.”
وإنما كمال محبته وتعظيمه في متابعته وطاعته واتباع أمره ، وإحياء سنته باطنًا وظاهرًا ، ونشر ما بعث به ، والجهاد على ذلك بالقلب واليد واللسان . فإن هذه طريقة السابقين الأولين ، من المهاجرين والأنصار ، والذين اتبعوهم بإحسان . وأكثر هؤلاء الذين تجدهم حراصًا على أمثال هذه البدع ، مع ما لهم من حسن القصد ، والاجتهاد الذين يرجى لهم بهما المثوبة ، تجدهم فاترين في أمر الرسول
“And loving him and exalting him (saas) in truth is through following him, obeying him and adhering to his instructions; by reviving his Sunnah both outwardly and inwardly; by spreading the guidance with which he was sent; and by striving upon all of that with our hearts, hands and tongues. Indeed, this was the way of the foremost among the earlier generations from the Muhajireen and Ansaar and those who followed them with excellence. Whereas the majority of those whom you find enthusiastic to implement such innovations as what we have discussed – despite what they may have of good intentions and ijtihaad, and it is hoped that Allāh will reward them for these two (intention and ijtihaad) – yet you generally find them weak and apathetic in regards to adhering to the instructions of the Messenger (saas) …”
وإنما هم بمنزلة من يحلي المصحف ولا يقرأ فيه ، أو يقرأ فيه ولا يتبعه وبمنزلة من يزخرف المسجد ، ولا يصلي فيه ، أو يصلي فيه قليلًا
“Instead, they are like the one who opens the Qurʾān but doesn’t read from it, or if he reads from it, he doesn’t implement it; or like the one who decorates the masjid but doesn’t pray in it, or prays in it rarely …”
تدعو الناس إلى السنة بحسب الإمكان فإذا رأيت من يعمل هذا ولا يتركه إلا إلى شر منه ، فلا تدعو إلى ترك منكر بفعل ما هو أنكر منه … ولكن إذا كان في البدعة من الخير ، فعوض عنه من الخير المشروع بحسب الإمكان ، إذ النفوس لا تترك شيئًا إلا بشيء
He then continues by encouraging the reader with two manners in regards to dealing with such innovations, the second of them being:
“to call people to adhere to the Sunnah as best as possible. Hence, if you see someone upon such an innovation (Mawlid), and you suspect that if he leaves it then he will do something worse, then do not forbid an evil that results in a greater evil … but instead, if in any given innovation there is some good, then you should compensate for the evil within it with any legislated good that you can; for indeed the hearts don’t typically abandon something unless it is for something else.”
In case you are trying to make sense of these concepts, an example from Ibn Taimiyyah’s life itself may clarify it greatly inshā’Allāh. It has been narrated that once Ibn Taimiyyah was walking with his students when they came across some drunken Mongol soldiers. In his time, the Mongolians had invaded the Muslim lands, including Iraq where he was born, and they had decimated these lands with a degree of killing heretofore never seen. From the mercy of Allāh though, these invaders came to accept Islam even though this didn’t result in the absolute cessation of their hostilities and atrocities, but it did protect the Muslims to a greater degree alḥamdulillāh. In any case, Ibn Taimiyyah refrained from censuring these Muslim soldiers and his students asked him why he didn’t forbid the soldiers from the evil (drinking alcohol) that they were openly doing. He answered them with great wisdom by saying that when they are sober they kill Muslims, and this is a far greater evil then their drinking (lesser of two evils).
So, in summary what may seem like Ibn Taimiyyah validating or permitting the celebration of the Mawlid is in theory no different than this example. While there are some observant Muslims who do participate in these celebrations, there is also a large group of people as he observed above, who take this as another excuse for another party. It is well known in many Muslim societies what happens at Mawlids from mixing of the sexes, tabarruj (women coming out displaying their beauty), people neglecting their prayers or partying so late that they sleep through fajr, etc. Again, this is not to say that this is only what happens, but it happens often enough unfortunately.
As regards those who are observant and keen to follow the Sunnah, such people should be presented with the evidences and encouraged to repent – and it should suffice most observant Muslims that celebrating the Mawlid was never a deed that was practiced among the early generations (nor was the concept of celebrating a birthday even to be found among them) and that there is no report in the Qurʾān, hadith or statements of the Companions on this matter whatsoever. As for the less observant group, one has to use wisdom. Is it possible to try to influence these gatherings so as to reduce the mixing and tabarruj and to increase the focus on learning the life of the Prophet (saas) and his Sunnah? What good exists in any particular Mawlid celebration that we can try to build upon so as to diminish the impact of the evil that exists in it? This is the wisdom with which Ibn Taimiyyah approached this matter.
As for the remainder of the text, for completion it will be translated here as well inshā’Allāh so that one can continue to appreciate Ibn Taimiyyah’s very fair minded approach to the whole issue and to remind those who would censure others to remember their own shortcomings:
وكثير من المنكرين لبدع العبادات والعادات تجدهم مقصرين في فعل السنن من ذلك ، أو الأمر به . ولعل حال كثير منهم يكون أسوأ من حال من يأتي بتلك العبادات المشتملة على نوع من الكراهة . بل الدين هو الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر ، ولا قوام لأحدهما إلا بصاحبه ، فلا ينهى عن منكر إلا ويؤمر بمعروف يغني عنه كما يؤمر بعبادة الله سبحانه ، وينهى عن عبادة ما سواه
“And many of those who censure others in regards to innovations either in worship or traditions, you find them deficient in practicing some acts from the Sunnah in these two categories or in encouraging others to do them. And indeed it may even be that their condition is worse than some of those who are practicing these innovations that are tainted with some degree of dislike (makruh). For the religion is to command good and to forbid evil and neither of these two takes precedence over the other. So one should not forbid an evil without commanding a good to take its place in the same way that we call people to the worship of Allāh alone after having forbid them from worshipping others beside Him.”
To briefly comment on this beautiful point, we are reminded of the statement of Ibn ‘Abbaas wherein he said,
عن ابن عباس قال ما أتى على الناس عام إلا أحدثوا فيه بدعة وأماتوا فيه سنة حتى تحيا البدع وتموت السنن
“Never will a year come to pass except that its people will invent in it an innovation and kill thereby a Sunnah until the innovation is established and the Sunnah dies off.”
It is not enough to simply forbid someone from a deed, but we should help them to replace what they were upon of innovation or disobedience with something from the Qurʾān and Sunnah thereby reviving the practice of the Prophet (saas) and killing off the evils. Also, we must remember that humility is a great part of righteousness and this entails the assumption that the one to whom we are speaking is better than us. Even though they may have erred and been swept up by a certain innovation or temptation from the evils of the world, it may be that they are more sincere than us and practice more of the Sunnah elsewhere than us. This is why Ibn Taimiyyah humbly hoped that Allāh would reward them, for who knows what innovations we may unknowingly be practicing or even worse, if we have some hidden shirk within our hearts. This was among the reasons the Prophet (saas) used to encourage us with the following du‘ā’ which he taught to Abu Bakr (ra):
الشرك فيكم أخفى من دبيب النمل وسأدلك على شيء إذا فعلته أذهب عنك صغار الشرك وكباره تقول اللهم إني أعوذ بك أن أشرك بك وأنا أعلم وأستغفرك لما لا أعلم – تقولها ثلاث مرات
“The Shirk among you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant, but I shall guide you to that which if you do it, will protect you from both minor shirk and the greater type as well; to say three times:
Allahumma innee a’uthu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a’lam wa-astaghfiruka limaa laa a’lam
“O Allāh, I seek refuge in You from that I ascribe partners to You knowingly and I seek forgiveness from You for those things which I do not know.” (Sahih – Albaani, Sahih al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer; similar narration in Bukhāri’s Adab al-Mufrad)
Back to the translation though:
فتعظيم المولد ، واتخاذه موسمًا ، قد يفعله بعض الناس ، ويكون له فيه أجر عظيم لحسن قصده ، وتعظيمه لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، كما قدمته لك أنه يحسن من بعض الناس … ولهذا قيل للإمام أحمد عن بعض الأمراء : إنه أنفق على مصحف ألف دينار ، أو نحو ذلك فقال : دعهم ، فهذا أفضل ما أنفقوا فيه الذهب ، أو كما قال . مع أن مذهبه أن زخرفة المصاحف مكروهة . … إنما قصده أن هذا العمل فيه مصلحة ، وفيه أيضًا مفسدة كره لأجلها . فهؤلاء إن لم يفعلوا هذا ، وإلا اعتاضوا بفساد لا صلاح فيه ، مثل أن ينفقها في كتاب من كتب الفجور
“So to magnify the birthday of the Prophet (saas) and to take it as a seasonal celebration, as some people might do and it might be that they are rewarded greatly for their good intentions and for their exalting of the Messenger of Allāh (saas), for as I have previously mentioned that some among them do so in a good way … and in this regards it has been reported that imām Ahmad once said about one of the Muslim rulers that had reportedly spent one thousand dinaars or so for a (decorated) copy of the Qur’an, “Leave him be, for that is the best thing which gold can be spent upon”. But it is well known that the math-hab of imām Ahmad looks upon the decoration of the Qur’an as something disliked (makruh). Yet what the imām meant by his statement was that this act had some goodness in it and also some defect that we dislike. For if they were prevented from doing this act it may be that they will then turn to another deed which has no goodness in it whatsoever but is instead evil in its entirety like buying immoral books and so forth …”
In conclusion, there is no doubt that the Mawlid celebrations of our era have evolved to some degree from the time of Ibn Taimiyyah, but his principles hold true and we must approach each group, and indeed each innovation we may come across, in a way that is filled with wisdom and the sincere desire to help our Muslim brothers and sisters – whom we are commanded to love, prefer and respect – to achieve that which is over-all better for them as regards their relationship with Allāh while at the same time remembering that we may be speaking to those who despite their error may indeed be better than us and more beloved to Allāh, and Allāh knows best.