Advice to the Youth Inviting to Allah: Refuting the People of Innovation and How to Seek Knowledge

Question :

All praise belongs to Allâh alone, and may his peace and blessing be on His last Prophet ﷺ.

First, we live in a small village, where we live in discord as a result of innovated matters that are not from the religion. Please advise us on what to do, so that we can correctly apply the principles of Islam and so that we can refute those who have introduced the innovations. Please suggest some books, that discuss these issues, for us to read.

Second, we are young Muslims, who despite being con- tinually scorned by our parents, have tried to apply Islam to the best of our ability. Our parents try to steer us in the direction of worldliness and materialism, while we seek the direction of following the precepts of our religion. They deny us spending money because they know that we will use it to buy good books or that we will use it to fight their innovations. Please send us a list of books that will teach us how to correctly worship Allah Almighty. Is it true that there are Hadith that are fabricated or weak? If so, how do we know what is authentic from what is weak.

Third, in our community there are people from many different Tariqahs such as the Shathliyyah, the Ahmidiyah, the Sa'diyah, the Burhaniyah, and others. How do we refute these groups? Please suggest some useful books that will help us.

Fourth, The Imams from each school differ with those of the others. The result of this is that they always dispute among one another and sometimes some people will not come for prayer because an Imam from an opposing group is leading it. What should we do? Should we follow one school of thought? How do we bring harmony between the different schools?

Fifth, some people have the temerity to interpret the Qur'an according to their whims and desires. For example, some will falsely interpret the following Verse:
"Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides."They interpret this Verse to mean dancing and chanting invocations, invocations that contain words of no meaning. Then the leader of this ritual will repeat the phrase 'Allah Hayy' (Allâh is alive).

In our community, some people advocate birth control and music, for example. Please advise us about our religion and about how we can understand it correctly. Also, please refute the innovators those who corrupt our religion.

Answer:

First, you didn't mention what the particular innovations that you want a response to, so we can not mention the refutation of them. Nevertheless, we want to point out to you an important principle. The rule is that matters of worship are not allowed unless there is Shari'ah proof that supports that act. So one can not say that a given act of worship is permitted in its basis, its number, or how it is performed, except with a Shari'ah proof.

Whoever initiates something in Allah's religion that He did not legislate, then there is no basis for his act, and it will be rejected.

The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever does a deed that is not in accordance with our matter, then it is rejected. "

In another narration he said:
"Whoever introduces into this matter of ours what is not of it, then it is rejected."

Second, we advise you to recite Allâh's Book, to reflect on its meanings, to apply its precepts, and to call to those precepts. Also, read as much Sunnah as is required from Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and from the other books of the Sunnah. Then ask the people of knowledge about issues that you are confused about.

Third, the Tariqah of the Shathliyyah, the Ahmadiyah, the Sa'diyah, the Burhaniyah, and their like are all deviant sects; a Muslim is not allowed to follow any one of them. Rather the Muslim is obligated to follow the way of the Prophet, of his Khalifahs, of his Companions, and of those after them who followed the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"There will always remain a group of my nation that will remain upon the truth; they will be victorious; those who abandon them will not hurt them nor will those who go against them, until Allah's Decree comes.

He ﷺ also said:
"The best people are my generation, followed by the next generation, followed by the generation after that."

In another Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"The Jews divided into seventy-one sects; the Christians divided into seventy-two sects; this nation will divide into seventy-three sects every one of them is in the fire except for one. "

The Companions asked, "Which one, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ." He ﷺ said:
"(The one that) is upon what I and my Companions are upon today."

To refute these groups, one must know the details of their beliefs, their innovations, and their arguments, and confront them with the Book and Sunnah.

To help you do this, you might refer to the book As-Sunan wal- Mubtada'at or Masra' At-Tasawuf by 'Abdur-Rahman Al-Wakil. Other books that might help include the following: Al-'Itisam by Ash-Shatibi, Al-Ibda' Fi Madhar Al-Ibtida' by Shaykh 'Ali Mahfuz, and Ighathatul-Lahfan by Ibn Al-Qayyim.

Fourth, there are number of reasons why there are differences of opinion among the Imams of the four Mathhabs. One of them might deem a Hadith to be authentic while the other doesn't because the Hadith may have reached only one of them; there are a number of other reasons for differences of opinions.

The Muslim should think well of each of the four Imams, for each of them was a skilled jurist, and each of them sought the truth according to his understanding. If one of them was correct in an issue, he will have two rewards (one for striving for the truth and one for realizing it); if he was wrong, he will have one reward.

As for Taqlid (blind following) regarding these four Imams; if one is able to arrive at the truth then he is obligated to follow whatever the proofs dictate. However, if he is not able to do so, then he should follow the scholar that he trusts most. These differences in matters of jurisprudence must not prevent people of one school from praying behind one from another school. Indeed, they are required to pray one behind the other. The Companions differed among themselves in certain issues of jurisprudence, but they still prayed behind one another, and the same can be said of the Tabi'in (the generation that followed the Companions) and those who faithfully followed them.

Fifth, the correct way of interpreting the Qur'an is by the Qur'an, the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger, and the opinions of the Companions and of the Tabi'in. All of this in accordance with kriowledge of the language and the intent of the Shari'ah. Regarding the interpretation you mentioned of Allah's Saying:
"Those who remember Allâh (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides."

that some people interpret it to refer to singing and other utterances, and chanting unintelligible words, swaying right and left while saying Allahu Hayy as mentioned in the question: This is a false interpretation that has no foundation whatsoever. To know the true meanings of this Verse, we advise you to refer the Tafsir of Ibn Jarir (At-Tabari), the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, the Tafsir of Al-Baghawi, and others that are similar. Thus, by reading the discussions of the dependable people of Tafsir, you will become familiar with the truth concerning this and the like. Indeed with Allah is the facilitation to do what is right, and may He grant peace and blessings on Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.