A Flash through the Formation of the Sects

[AbuZayd]

A Flash through the Formation of the Sects

By Sheikh Muhammad Zaahid Al-Kautharee

Translated by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali


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Once the Prophet – may Allah bless and grant him peace – transferred to the Everlasting Abode, those who apostatized during the time of As-Siddeeq did so, and those hypocrites amongst them enticingly advocating the separation between worldly affairs and those of religion appeared, and then they refrained from paying Zakat. So the Companions considered them to be apostates since this distinction is a negation of the Book of Allah of which falsehood cannot come to it from before or behind it. So they fought against them until the situation had become calm.

And the second Khaleefah – may Allah be pleased with him - wasn’t any less vigilant against the seducers. He used to banish those who strove to confuse the general masses with puzzling questions without exposing a single difficulty. And the Islamic conquests flowed over a large expanse while people entered into the Religion of Allah in groves; the different men and denominations adopted it (as a way of life), and country after country complied with its guidance.

And when the (different) conflicts occurred during the caliphate of ‘Uthman – may Allah be pleased with him – the enemies of the religion who had gone unnoticed sought to lessen his value amongst the Muslims. So they rushed to spread slander between them and to stir up their thoughts with what was possible to circulate amongst them due to the purity of their hearts and their remoteness from knowing the means of falsification employed by the seducers who didn’t openly display anything that infringed upon the religion. They roamed through the land with this aim paving the way to the termination of this religion by scattering the seeds of ruin. And what ‘Abdullah ibn Saba’ did during that period is well known.

And after the Arbitral Decision (At-Taħkeem) during the encounter at Şiffeen , the Ķhawaarij dispersed from around Ali – may Allah ennoble his face, and took to excess until they begun to ascribe disbelief to the person who commits the major sin.

And once Ali passed away a people remained partisan in his favor and his family, so they were named ‘The Shee’ah’ (i.e. The Party). The heretics from the Rawaafid had found in their midst fertile ground to plant their seeds every time the mistreatment of Ahlul-Bait by Banoo Umaiyah and others repeated itself.
And when Al-Hasan, The Grandson (of the Prophet), yielded the caliphate to Mu’aawiyah , a group withdrew from the two (opposing) factions and clung to their masaajid busying themselves with knowledge and devotion. Before that they were with Ali wherever he was. And they are the roots of the Mu’tazilah.

It is said that the first to withdraw (that is, to adopt the Mu’tazilee traits) was Aboo Haashim ‘Abdullah and Al-Hasan, the sons of Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafeeyah. Then the second (of the two of them) started rebutting the Khawaarij regarding the matter of ‘Eemaan’ (Faith). He would say, “Eemaan is word and creed without action.” So he and his group were named Murji-ah (i.e. Those who Defer), since they delay/defer action from faith (eemaan). And from them a group appeared that used to say, “A sin has no harm with faith (eeman) {i.e. as long as you have faith}.” And they are the Deferrers of heresy (Murji-atul-bid’ah).

And a number of the Jewish rabbinical scholars (al-ahbaar), Christian priests (ar-ruhbaan), and Zoroastrian priests (muwaabadhatul-Majoos) professed Islam during the time of the Rightly Guided (Khulafaa), and then they began after them (i.e. after their demise) to spread the fairy-tales they had amidst those Bedouin story tellers and their simple-minded freed slaves amongst whom they were circulated who weren’t polished by knowledge.

They took them from them with haste and related them to others with pure intentions while believing in all of the ascriptions of a body (at-tajseem) and likeness (at-tashbeeh) that their reports contained with respect to Allah, and while taking solace in the creed they were upon during their time of ignorance. And at times they’d falsely attribute them to the Messenger – may Allah bless and grant him peace, or mistakenly. Then tashbeeh (that is, drawing likenesses between Allah and the creation) began to creep into the creed of the different groups and to spread the way that indecency (faahishah) spreads.

And Banoo Umayyah were not alike in vigilance to the Rightly Guided (Khulafaa) regarding the creed of the Muslims unless it infringed upon their rule. So the first to be deceived by them were the Shee’ah. But how quick they were to turn back from that due to the Mu’tazilah’s debate with them. However, it didn’t last with them as it lasted between the Hashaweeyah narrators while Basrah was the Metropolis of opinions and sects.

And, there, Ma’bad ibn Khaalid Al-Juhanee had heard one using the divine decree as a justification for sin. So he carried out the refutation of it while negating the divine decree as being a depriver of choice in relationship to the actions of servants. He was aiming to defend the legitimacy of religious burdens, but his explanation was unclear, so he said, “There is no predetermination and the matter is a future commencement (of things).”

And once that reached Ibn ‘Umar he declared his innocence from him. Then Ma’bad’s group was named ‘Qadareeyah. ’ And his school lasted amongst the unfortunate transmitters of Basrah for centuries. Rather, it evolved amongst a faction of them to the extent that they assigned to the Creator what the Thanaweeyah ascribe to light and to the creation what they ascribe to darkness.

And Ghailaan ibn Muslim Ad-Dimashqee, used spread the opinion of Ma’bad in Damascus. So ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil-‘Azeez sought him, forbade him from that, and removed his doubt. So he stopped, and then said, “O Commander of the Faithful! I came to you straying, and you guided me. And (I was) blind, and you gave me sight. And (I was) ignorant, and you taught me. By Allah! I will not speak of any part of this matter ever again!”

And once the opinion of Ma’bad began to spread, Jahm ibn Safwaan began a rebuttal of it in Khuraasaan, and then he fell into fatalism (al-jabr). So the school of the Fatalists (Al-Jabareeyah) issued from him.

And Hasan Al-Basaree was amongst the most brilliant of the Successors (Taabi’een), and of those who persisted for years disseminating knowledge in Basrah while the noblest people of knowledge would attend his assembly. One day some poorly trained narrators attended his assembly. When they made some problematic statements he said, “Move these over to the hashaa of the assembly.” That is, “the side of it.” So they were named the ‘Hashaweeyah.’ And from them came the different divisions of the Mujassimah and the Mushabbihah.

And after Waasil ibn ‘Ataa learned ‘Itizaal (withdrawal) from the
aforementioned Aboo Haashim he would attend the assembly of Hasan. So when the issue of Eemaan (faith) was mentioned in the assembly, Waasil made haste to say that “the non-believer openly professing disbelief and the compliant believer unanimously are referred to respectively as being a non-believer and a believer; while the one who commits a major sin - since applying one of the two titles to them is a point of discrepancy – we refuse to apply this (name) and that (name) to him. So we say that he is a shameless sinner (faasiq) in accordance with what they agreed upon and in flight to what they differed about.”

So it’s as if he sought to take a middle course between the two opposing views and to make the two factions incline towards his view. However, it is in agreement with the Khawaarij in meaning, because he holds the view that the one who commits a major sin will spend eternity in the The Fire. So Hasan wasn’t pleased with his statement, and Waasil was removed from the assembly.

So he began to spread the school of ‘Itizaal and the Five Principles along with his two disciples, ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubaid and Bishr ibn Sa’eed. And from them, Bishr ibn Al-Mu’tamir and Abool-Hudhail learned. And from the latter, Aboo Bakr ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Keesaan Al-Asamm, Ibraaheem An-Nazzaam, Hishaam Al-Footee, and ‘Ali ibn Muhammad Ash-Shahhaam learned.

And from An-Nazzaam, Al-Jaahiz and Ibn Abee Duaad (and he didn’t meet Waasil as was thought) learned. And from the former, Withdrawal (Al-‘itizaal) spread in Baghdaad whereas Aboo Moosaa ibn Sabeeh learned from him, and from him Ja’far ibn Harb ibn Mubashshir, and from them Muhammad ibn ‘Abdillah Al-Iskaafee learned.

And from Ash-Shahhaam, Al-Jubbaaee learned. And from him, his son, Aboo Haashim learned. And ‘Abbaad ibn Sulaimaan learned from Al-Footee. So these were the steersmen of Withdrawal in Basrah and Baghdaad.

And the first one known to speak of ‘the createdness of the Qur’an’ was Al-Ja’d bin Dirham in Damascus. And Jahm took that statement from Al-Ja’d, and added it to his heresies that he spread. And from their sum total is the negation of everlastingness (nafyul-khulood) .

And once Al-Haarith ibn Suraij stood up against the Umaiyids calling to the Book and the Sunnah he was supported by Jahm, while Muqaatil ibn Sulaimaan was propagating his school of tajseem (that is, the statement that Allah is a body) there. So Jahm commenced to refute him and negate what Muqaatil was affirming, but he went too far in negating until he said, “Verily, Allah is not described by what the servants are described by.” And he didn’t make a distinction between sharing in name and sharing in meaning.

The prohibited thing is the second, not the first, with the condition of it being mentioned in the law, because ‘knowledge’ for example, is something that both the Creator and the creation have been mentioned as being described as having, despite the fact that it isn’t shared between them in meaning. That’s because Allah’s knowledge is ever-present (hudooree). And the creation’s knowledge is acquired (husoolee). And likewise are the rest of the attributes.

And views have been ascribed to Jahm while he has no sect that was associated with him after him. And the association of most of those ascribed to him is under the category of ‘insulting with nicknames’ with the aim of scaring (people) away due to the ill repute of the man amongst (the different) sects. And his views were (merely) distributed amongst them after a thorough examination of them according to their particular vantage points, not according to what Jahm opined, which is the case of every of opinion that spreads amongst people.

So once a bit of laxity started to befall the (military) conquests, people found more leisure for preoccupation with those (different) views scattered about, and the passion to become absorbed in them overwhelmed their thoughts.

So the likes of Ibn Al-Muqaffa’, Hammaad ‘Ajrad, Yahyaa ibn Ziyaad, Mutee’ ibn Iyaas, and ‘Abdul-Kareem ibn Abeel-‘Aujaa started a continued striving to spread atheism amongst the Muslims, and to translate the books of the Atheists and the Persian Dualists until their matter got out of control.

Then Al-Mahdee ordered the scholars of polemics from the Theologians (al-mutakallimoon) to compose the books related to ‘The rebuttal of the Atheists.’ So they established the proofs, removed the doubts, clarified the truth, and did a service to the religion.

And the ones who carried the burdens of those defenses were a group of the Mu’tazilah. So (now) they had become encircled by two enemies: an occupying enemy from outside the nation with views and a philosophy upon which he was trained from an ancient time, and a cruel enemy from inside the nation that the majority were on the verge of joining due to his asceticism while he was far from (grasping) matters of logic.

The distortions of those who mislead from the Jews and the Dualists were circulated over him. The extent of his work was the assault of the Theoreticians (Ahlun-Nazar) while not making a distinction between the enemy and the close friend. And if rule were given to him, he couldn’t defend (the nation) a single hour of a day.

For this reason, these theoreticians were preoccupied by the former and they fell back from the latter until they completed the refutation of the crypto-infidels (zanaadiqah), exposed their distortions, and then demolished the argument of the Hashaweeyah and revealed the feeblemindedness of their views. And mental illnesses, a number of which cannot be held lightly, clung to the psyches of these theoreticians that were passed on to them from their debaters.

On the other hand, most of the Jurists (fuqahaa) and bearers of the Sunnah (hamalatus-Sunnah) – for the length of these battles – refused to indulge in these matters, while proceeding upon what the Sahaabah and the virtuous Taabi’een were upon of being restricted to what was confirmed by necessity to be from the religion, in addition to the fact that the disputants of the religion had weapons which could only be encountered with the like of their teeth.

They ran with the Muslims on the road of gradualness in the phases of antagonism while the overwhelming majority was in obliviousness to that. And they walked with them to a phase – if the matter and its business had been left alone – their difficulties would’ve almost penetrated to the hearts of the community of Muslims, and then the situation would have been engulfed.

So in the like of these circumstances Al-Ma-moon started to rule, and he began to side with the Mu’tazilah and bring them close until he coerced the people to make the utterance about ‘the createdness of the Qur’an’ (khalqul-Qur’an) and the exoneration (of Allah from the likeness to creation) in accordance with what his mind and the mind of those who mixed with him inspired. Thus, the trial lasted the length of the caliphates of both Al-Mu’tasim and Al-Waathiq. And the latter added the matter of ‘negating the seeing’ (of Allah) .

So the opponents of the Mu’tazilah met adversities that continued until Al-Mutawakkil lifted the trial during which Imam Ahmad showed a kind of firmness that raised his esteem. And Al-Mutawakkil did nothing to earn praise other than removing the trial and preventing the people from debating about the (divergent) opinions and views, while he was a Naasibee who hated ‘Ali – may Allah ennoble his face. And he did a number of deeds that one wouldn’t think of.

Then the reaction started to take its natural course of elevation in favor of the Hashaweeyah and the Nawaasib and the suppression of the Theoreticians and the Mu’tazilah, while Ahlus-Sunnah from the Fuqahaa and the Muhadditheen were continuing work in the sciences without a scar or noise.

The Hashaweeyah were operating in accordance with their recklessness and blindness, while seeking the following of hooligans and riffraff, and concocting about Allah what neither the law nor the mind allows, such as the ascription of motion to Him, translocation, limitation, direction, sitting, sitting (others beside Him on His throne), lying down (to rest), establishment, and the like of what they received with (full) acceptance from the swindlers (dajaajilah) of those who dupe amongst the Dualists and the People of the Book, and also from what they inherited from nations that have passed away.

Then they’d publish books that they filled with attacks on others, while piercing the veil of awesomeness in declaring unbelief, hiding behind the burqah of the Sunnah, and boasting of the Salaf. They exploit the obscure statements transmitted from the Salaf that possess no proof in them.

Yes! They have a Salaf, but from other than this Ummah. And they are upon a Sunnah, but upon the one who initiated it are the burdens (of all) until the Day of Resurrection, while this isn’t the place to cover their infamies in detail.

The Mu’tazilah were winning over the minds of the thinkers amongst the scholars and striving to retrieve their domination over the Ummah, all the while the Atheists and the Karmathians sunk deep into corruption and occupied the lands whereas there didn’t remain at the bays for defending the religion anyone on post with any cogent arguments that could efface their sleight of hand due to the preoccupation of themselves with newly faced circumstances.

Then in the like of these difficult circumstances Imam Abool-Hasan Al-Ash’aree – may Allah be pleased with him - launched an attack on the various forms of scourge that had befallen the Muslims, and he stood up to aid the Sunnah and to suppress innovation (Bid’ah).

So he stove first to reconcile between the two (opposing) factions by returning them - away from their extremism - back to the just median by saying to the first of them, “You are upon truth if you mean by ‘the createdness of the Quran’ the expression (lafz), the recitation (tilaawah), and the script (rasm).”

And to the others he said, “You are correct if what you mean, by ‘uncreated’ (qadeem), the attribute that is ever-present with the essence of The Originator (Al-Baaree) that doesn’t become separated from Him as ‘Abdullah ibn Al-Mubaarak says” – meaning, The Speech of the Self (Al-Kalaam An-Nafsee). “And you have no basis for denying the createdness of the utterance of the speaker (lafzul-Laafiz) and the recitation of the one who recites (tilaawatut-taalee), just as the first group doesn’t have the right to negate the attribute ever-present with Him – exalted is He – without utterance or sound.”

And he also said to the first group, “To negate juxtaposition (al-muhaadhaah) and form (as-soorah) is proper, although you must acknowledge the (Divine) manifestation without (asking) how.”

And he said to the latter group, “Beware to ascribe form and juxtaposition (to Allah) and anything that indicates createdness, while you are correct if you limit yourselves to confirming the seeing (of Allah) for believers in the Hereafter without (asking) how.”

And thus he continued until Allah gave him success in bringing together the word of the Muslims, uniting their ranks, suppressing the obstinate ones, and breaking their extremism. And questions from the different regions of the world were brought to him, and he responded to them.

As a result, his mention covered the horizons and filled the world by his writings and the writings of his disciples regarding the Sunnah and the refutation of the various groups of heretics, atheists, and the People of the Book.

His disciples scattered about in the lands of ‘Iraq, Khuraasaan, Shaam, and the lands of the Maghrib, and he went his way. And shortly after his demise the Mu’tazilah retrieved some of their strength during the era of Banoo Bawaih. However, Imam Naasirus-Sunnah Aboo Bakr ibnul-Baaqillaanee stood up in their face and subdued them with his proofs. As a result, the people of the Earth to the most distant lands of Africa professed adherence to the Sunnah according to the Ash’aree methodology.

And Ibnul-Baqillaanee dispatched - with a group of his disciples that he dispatched to the different lands – Aboo ‘Abdillah Al-Husain ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Haatim Al-Azdee to Shaam, then to Qairawaan and the lands of the Maghrib. Then the people of knowledge of the Imams of the Maghaaribah complied with him, and the school (madhhab) spread to Siqqilleeyah and Andalus. And Ibn Abee Zaid, Aboo ‘Imraan Al-Faasee, Abool-Hasan Al-Qaabisee, Abool-Waleed ibnul-Baajee, Aboo Bakr ibnul-‘Arabee, and their students had a helping hand in that.

The narrator of Al-Jaami’ As-Saheeh, Al-Haafiz Aboo Dharr Al-Harawee, spread the madhhab in the Hijaz. And those scholars from the different horizons who traveled to him learned it from him.

And before that, in Shaam, it spread by means of the disciple of Al-Ash’aree, Abool-Hasan ‘Abdul-‘Azeez At-Tabaree, the narrator of The Tafseer of Ibn Jareer on the authority of its composer.

And the people of Shaam would bring the most distinguished Imams from the Ash’aree school time after time, like Imam Qutub Ad-Deen An-Neesaabooree. Noor Ad-Deen Ash-Shaheed brought him upon the request of the scholars.

And a group of the Hanbalee Muqaadisah who inherited some of the views of Ibn Karraam - who nested in Quds, laid eggs, and left some of his disciples behind as ascetics to have those after them to inherit them (again) – migrated from there once the Christians occupied it. So they carried the heresies of tashbeeh to Shaam. And some of those heresies were in it since the time of ‘Abdul-Waahid Ash-Shairaazee, the disciple of Aboo Ya’laa.

[AbuZayd]

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And the Sultan, Salaahud-Deen Al-Ayyoobee, would tend to their thoughts since they were scrupulous emigrants, while he would feign to take notice of their creed. And he didn’t compel people to adopt the Ash’aree school as was thought. Rather (and on the contrary), the exhorter, Ibn Najeeyah, the famous Hanbalee, was shown favor with him.

And his harsh rudeness with Imam Ash-Shihaab At-Toosee, the one who stood up in aid of Al-Ash’aree in Egypt runs in view and earshot of him, but no mention is made of that. Rather, his family nearly yielded to them in creed, if it had not been for the stance of Imam ‘Izzud-Deen ibn ‘Abdis-Salaam - regarding this matter - the stance of a scholar carrying out his duty. As a result, their voices became insignificant and they gathered together in their homes and restricted themselves to the narrations.

So it appears from all of that that the spread of the Ash’aree School was a result of the authority of knowledge, not by the might of the Sultans. And what occurred in Baghdad and elsewhere regarding a little harshness against the Hashaweeyah from time to time, it was merely due to their breach of security and their creation of disturbances.

The whole while the Fuqahaa of the Madhaahib were protracting ‘Al-Ash’aree’ to their respective schools, and stating his biography in their biographical compendiums (Tabaqaat). And the Hanbalees were most worthy of that; since Al-Ash’aree clearly states during his debates with them that he was on the madhhab of Ahmad. However, they didn’t state his biography in their Tabaqaat, and they don’t consider him to be one of them. Rather, the Hashaweeyah amongst them loathe him more than they hate the Mu’tazilah.

So all of the Maalikees, three quarters of the Shaafi’ees, one third of the Hanafees, and a portion of the Hanbalees have been upon this approach towards theology (tareeqah minal-kalaam), since the time of Al-Baaqillaanee, while two thirds of the Hanafees were upon the Maatureedee approach in the homes of what is beyond the river, the lands of Turkey, Afghanistan, India, China, and all that follows it, except for those of them who inclined towards ‘Withdrawal’ (al-‘itizaal), like some of the Shaafi’ees.

And one of the distinguishing characteristics of the madhhab of the scholar of Medinah is that it negates the filth of heresies from the adherents of his madhhab. So you do not find amongst the Maalikees the heresies of ‘itizaal and tashbeeh. And part of what produced that – according to what I reckon – is Maalik’s prohibition against relating the reports of attributes, just as Ahmad used to forbid the narration of the hadeeths mentioning ‘rebellion against the oppressive governors.’ So it helped him in keeping the khulafaa of Baghdad away from the Hanbalees whatever they did. Rather, it helped in bringing them close. Yes! There is a type of extremism in the area of Sufism amongst some Maalikees since the time of Ibn Taumart.

And some of the Hanbalees are upon the path of the Salaf regarding tafweed (i.e. consigning the knowledge of the mutashaabihaat to Allah), and abandoning indulging (in them), while others of them yielded to the Mu’tazilah. But most of them over the succession of centuries have been Hashaweeyah upon the Saalimee and Karraamee approaches until Az-Zaahir placed supreme justice (qadaa al-qudaat) in Yabris to the four schools for the first time.

Then they made contact with the scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah conversing with them about knowledge. As a result, their heretical ills began to go away, and almost not a single Hashawee would have remained if it had not been for the colony of Harraan after the misfortune of Baghdad lied down their saddles in Shaam.

A man appeared amongst them who had a wholesome development in learning (at-talab), in addition to intelligence, memory, character (samt), and the ability to attract the trustworthy sheikhs of learning to his self and their praise of him. He was an exhorter with a fluid tongue, when all the while he was running according to a plan devised to place the Hashawee madhhab under the cover of the madhhab of the Salaf in place of Ahlus-Sunnah .

He wasn’t aware that the madhhab of Ahlus-Sunnah - the Ashaa’irah and the Maatureedeeyah - had reached a level of strength in scientific examination over the succession of centuries by the hands of the prodigal personalities of theory and jurisprudence regarding religion the likes of who this Hashawee wouldn’t even be counted amongst the least of their pupils whereas that if the like of him attempted to collide with them, he would only fall on the top of his head, hit the ground and then be ruined.

And since he didn’t have a Sheikh directing him in the theoretical sciences, as a result, his knowledge didn’t rest upon anything reliable, and it became confused and very contradictory. His (mental) gifts were distributed amongst troublesome heretical tendencies. Then it led to what he did. And his temptations disappeared as a result of the refutation of the scholars.

And it is evident that scholarship had no place in the formation of the Khawaarij and the Mu’tazilah. Rather, political apathy gave birth to them, and then the disputants of the religion amongst the Zanaadiqah infiltrated them. Then both of them evolved over scandalous phases while their original course was toward opposing the standing government.

On the other hand, the Murjiah were a result of a form of scholastic discussion. Their course was toward counteracting the Khawaarij in creed, and then views that were far from the religion and scholarship branched out from them that produced laxness in (religious) practice.

And the Jabreeyah, the callers to immobility and the herald of ruin, resulted from an unscientific discussion. Their roots (‘ulooq) were from the neighborhood of the Samaneeyah, the Baraahimah, and other sects of licentiousness and obscurity.

The Qadareeyah formed from a scientific discussion. Its course was toward the opposition to laziness and reliance, and considering what it evolved to while being influenced by the views of the Dualists.

The Hashaweeyah, ignorance and stagnation made them fall into adopting pre-Islamic views that they inherited from sects they belonged to prior to Islam. And the distortions of the Dualists, the People of the Book, and the Sabians were circulated among them.

They possess asceticism by which they dupe the masses, and ignorant remarks that no sane person could imagine. They are stern in disposition, harsh and rude. They await opportunities to created disturbances, while no view of theirs appears unless it is a time of weakness for Islam. And the matter of unbelief gets out of hand whenever their view is manifested, likewise, in all phases of history. Their opposition is directed against logic, the theoretical sciences, and every existing sect.

And the Mu’tazilah are the opposite of the Hashaweeyah in a straight line. Scientific study produced them. The gluttony of their minds steered them to attempt to reach the farthest limit of every thing. And their original hostility was directed against stagnation, and their plan was to repel the views entering Islam from the outside with cogent proofs and hushing rational evidences.

And they have noble positions with reference to the Islamic defense against the existentialist materialists (Dahreeyeen), the deniers of prophecy, the Dualists, the Christians, the Jews, the Sabians, and the different factions of Agnostics (Al-Malaahidah).

And you see Adh-Dhahabee mentioning a biographical sketch about Al-Jaahiz in Siyar An-Nubalaa when he mentions his book about Prophecy, just as we haven’t seen any book that comes close to ‘Tathbeetu Dalaail An-Nuboowah’ of Al-Qaadee ‘Abdul-Jabbaar in argumentative strength and good wording regarding the repulsion of the doubts of those who disseminate doubt.

And the complete abandonment of their books isn’t good to do. For how many are the benefits that still exist in their worn out garments that haven’t been stricken with calamity despite time’s returning charge over them! And how much did Al-Ustaadh Al-Imam find in them what by which he could repel the disputants of the time, while he did not shrink back from taking from them without diminishing their right; except that due to the greatness of their preoccupation with debating the disputants a number of views were transmitted to their minds by which they went far from correctness and became immersed in heresies of which the disciples refuted!

Al-Khattaabee, the author of ‘Ma’aalimus-Sunnah,’ said, “The Mu’tazilah were in the first stage upon the opposite of these fancies. But some of them innovated them during the latter stage.”

And the Ash’arees are those who are balanced justly between the Mu’tazilah and the Hashaweeyah. They didn’t go far away from transmitted knowledge as the Mu’tazilah did, or from logic as was the custom of the Hashaweeyah.

They inherited the best of those who preceded them, abandoned the falsehood of every sect, preserved what the Prophet – may Allah bless and grant him peace, and his companions were upon, and filled the world with knowledge.

And there are found in their midst those who are ascribed to Sufism due to the support of some of the Soofee Imams of the Sunnah according to the Ash’aree approach since the fifth century. And there doesn’t exist one who equals Ash’aree with respect to the enormous work that he carried out. Despite that, his views aren’t free from some of what can be taken into account – like a type of remoteness from logic at one time and from transmitted information another time - by the one who looks at his words regarding a number of theoretical issues, such as his view concerning (the mind’s determination of what is) good and bad (at-tahseen wat-taqbeeh), the designation of purposeful reason (to Allah’s actions) {at-ta’leel}, what (authoritativeness) transmitted knowledge produces (strength-wise) , and the like of that. That’s because whoever has disputed at length with the Mu’tazilah and the Hashaweeyah like he did, inevitably something of this sort will occur in his speech.

However, the like of that didn’t happen to his contemporary, The Imam of Guidance, Aboo Mansoor Al-Maatureedee, the Sheikh of the Sunnah from what is beyond the river (maa waraa an-nahr), due to the Sunnah’s complete victory there over the (different) kinds of heretics whereas their mischievous ways didn’t appear in his presence. As a result, he was able to pursue complete balance in his views. So he gave transmitted information its right and logic its (proper) ruling.

And the Maatureedeeyah are the middle path between the Ash’arees and the Mu’tazilah, and very seldom is a Mutasawwif found amongst them. So Al-Ash’aree and Al-Maatureedee are the Imams of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah in eastern regions of the earth and its western regions.


The have countless books. And the difference of opinions found between these two Imams is under the category of ‘expressional differences.’ A number of books have been written about that, and Al-Bayyaadee did well in summarizing them in ‘Ishaaraatul-Muraadi fee ‘Ibaaraatil-Imaami.’ Az-Zabeedee transmitted its text in Sharhul-Ihyaa along with numerous typographical errors.

And this Al-Bayyaadee is a master of ‘Ilm al-Kalaam even though he was a latecomer whereas Al-Muqbilee, the author of Al-‘Ilm Ash-Shaamikh, despite his unruliness and difficulty in complying with the scholars, was very occupied with the Ishaaraat of Al-Bayyaadee while acknowledging the wideness in scope of his research.

Here we have only covered the roots of the sects from the people of innovations, while they have sub-sects that branch out from them according to the intermixing of opinions and newness in fancies that happen to them. And they will not reach a specific number until the end of human history. And there is a well-known difference amongst scholars regarding the number that has been transmitted.

The scholars in every stage have been expounding upon what was new up until their time with respect to the proponents of the cult-like sects as well as refuting the falsehood of their opinions. And the views of those factions are laid out in ‘Maqaalaatul-Islaameeyeen’ of Al-Ash’aree, ‘Al-Maqaalaat’ of Aboo Mansoor Al-Maatureedee, ‘Raddu Ahlil-Ahwaai wal-Bida’ of Abool-Husain At-Taraaifee, ‘Al-Milal wan-Nihal’ of Abool-Muzaffar Al-Isfaraayeenee, and others of which haven’t been encompassed.

And many times views are attributed to sects that aren’t found in their books to either give birth to them (tauleedan), resulting from what their view necessitates (ilzaaman), or due to being transmitted from the books of those who are unreliable amongst the rivals like what happened to ‘Abdul-Qaahir Al-Baghdaadee in ‘Al-Farq bainal-Firaq’ and ‘Al-Milal wan-Nihal’, and like what Ibn Hazm does in ‘Al-Fasl’.

What also falls under this category is the reliance upon the like of Aboo ‘Eesaa Muhammad ibn Haaroon Al-Warraaq, Aboo Muhammad Al-Hasan ibn Moosaa An-Naubakhtee, the author of ‘Al-Aaraa wad-Diyaanaat’, Muhammad ibn Ishaaq, the author of ‘Al-Fihrist’, and the books of the Hashaweeyah. Verily, they are full of forgeries.

So the researcher’s case is to be careful about ascribing a statement to someone until he finds it in a book of his that is widely known to be from him. And Ar-Raazee alerted to some of what has preceded during the mention of the book of Ash-Shahrastaanee, even though we are not involved in comparing between the books about the denominations and cult-like sects.

And in the comments of the early theologians are things that those who carry out the defense of the religion in every age must take direction from. And what is clear is that the ways of defending the creedal points of Islam and the means of protecting them from the penetration of corruption to the morals and legal judgments are of what is renewed in every age according to the newness of the approaches of the opponents. And they in themselves are firmly established according to what the sacred law has set limits to. Their realities do not change.

So it is obligatory upon the Muslims in all phases of their existence to have a group of them dedicate itself to examining the kinds of views prevailing amongst the various factions of people, the sciences broadcasted amongst them, and to examine what might possibly bring harm to the Muslims, especially in the area of creed, which remains the source of every good as long as it is deeply rooted and firm. On the other hand, it becomes the source of every corruption if it becomes frivolous and weak.

So they are to study these views and sciences the same way that their proponents study them or a more thorough study than them in order to find in them what can be used to repel the doubts that the enemies of the religion incite but with contemporary means so that when one of them seeks to make a notch on one of its arrows in the direction of the Islamic teachings – whether it is creed, jurisprudence, or ethical behavior – they can send them back to his throat while relying upon the realities of these sciences and its experiments, and depending upon the presentation of theories that overshadow the theories of those who cast doubt while the Islamic way of life is exonerated above colliding with the realities of the sciences. And they’ll erect - without the penetration of their confusions - a protective and fortifying fence just as they’ll mobilize the Party of Allah according to systems that the age requires with neither forbearance (hawadat) nor slowness (tawan). And they’ll record what they extracted - from those sciences the modes of defense - into special books with a style that clings to the mind and that the general masses find easy so that they could be a perfect barrier against the plagues of doubts for all times.

And if they don’t do that, it will be easy for the enemies to find a path to fertile pastures between the Muslims in which the seeds of their confusions can grow in such a way that remove their chaotic roots. Rather, the venoms of unbelief will run inside empty hearts that they gain mastery over. Then the tillage and progeny will suffer ruin. May Allah protect us from the evil of that and awaken us from our sleep.