Ibn Taymiyya (r)

[Habib1968]

Salam alaikoum ,


from sheikh ibn taymiyya (r) :



The scholars of Islam cannot be labeled as unbelievers, despite what mistakes they might fall into in their approach or point of view. To authorise ignorant people to label Muslim scholars unbelievers is one of the biggest sins.

Sunnis agree that the scholars of Islam may not be labelled kafir no matter what mistake they make. You may take what you like from what they said and you may leave what you don't like. Wahatever you neglect from their discourse and guidance cannot be the basis for labelling them as kafirs and they will not be considered sinners in Allah's sight for a mistake they did without a bad intention because Allah said: "Our Lord! Do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake" (2:285)

And Muslim scholars agreed that no one has the right to label as kafir anyone form the scholars of Islam, even if they are in dissent concerning the infallibility of the prophets.

And if we are going to begin labeling the scholars of Islam as kafir scholars of Islam for their point of view, we are then going to declare as unbelievers many of the Shafii school, of the Maliki school, of the Hanafi school, of the Ashari school, of the people of Hadith, of the people of tafsir, and of the sufi school, all of which, by the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims, are not unbelievers!"

[Ibn Taymiyya, Majmua Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya (35:99)]


Wa salam

[IbnShafiq]

Interesting

Jazak Allah khair for sharing.

[AbuQuteiba As-Salafee]

Jazaak Allahu khayran, for the reference. I'd like to go over what he said, in Arabic. Wassalamu 'alaikum.

[Paradise One]

Asalamu Alaikum,

JazakAllah Khair for the post. Alhamdulilah, he makes an excellent point.

However, what is meant when Shaykh Taymiyya refers to "the sufi school" ?

and how can you differentiate between a Shafii, a Ashari, and a Sufi when they each concern a different aspect of Islam (fiqh, aqeeda, and tasawwuf) ?

[woeuntothee]

I don't think he was intending to list mutually exclusive groups.

[Paradise One]

Right, I suppose im just not used to hearing "the sufi school" from a non-'salafi'.

:P

masalam. with respect.
-paradise1

[Habib1968]

Salam alaikoum ;

Asalamu Alaikum,

JazakAllah Khair for the post. Alhamdulilah, he makes an excellent point.

However, what is meant when Shaykh Taymiyya refers to "the sufi school" ?

This article may awnser your question insha'Allah ... :

http://www.abc.se/~m9783/n/itaysf_e.html


Wa salam

[Husain]

from sheikh ibn taymiyya (r) :

The scholars of Islam cannot be labeled as unbelievers, despite what mistakes they might fall into in their approach or point of view. To authorise ignorant people to label Muslim scholars unbelievers is one of the biggest sins.

Sunnis agree that the scholars of Islam may not be labelled kafir no matter what mistake they make. You may take what you like from what they said and you may leave what you don't like. Wahatever you neglect from their discourse and guidance cannot be the basis for labelling them as kafirs and they will not be considered sinners in Allah's sight for a mistake they did without a bad intention because Allah said: "Our Lord! Do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake" (2:285)

And Muslim scholars agreed that no one has the right to label as kafir anyone form the scholars of Islam, even if they are in dissent concerning the infallibility of the prophets.

And if we are going to begin labeling the scholars of Islam as kafir scholars of Islam for their point of view, we are then going to declare as unbelievers many of the Shafii school, of the Maliki school, of the Hanafi school, of the Ashari school, of the people of Hadith, of the people of tafsir, and of the sufi school, all of which, by the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims, are not unbelievers!"

[Ibn Taymiyya, Majmua Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya (35:99)]

Wa salam

Who translated this?

It contains a number of serious errors in translation.

Here are a few:

"The scholars of Islam cannot be labeled as unbelievers, despite what mistakes they might fall into in their approach or point of view."

Should be :"The scholars of Islam cannot be labeled as unbelievers, solely on account of a mistake he made in his speech."

"Sunnis agree that the scholars of Islam may not be labelled kafir no matter what mistake they make."

Should be: "Sunnis agree that the scholars of Islam may not be labelled kafir solely on account of a mistake they made".

"You may take what you like from what they said and you may leave what you don't like."

Should be: "Instead every person is such tht some statements of his are accepted and others are rejected, except Nabi "

"And Muslim scholars agreed that no one has the right to label as kafir anyone from the scholars of Islam, even if they are in dissent concerning the infallibility of the prophets."

Should be:"And Muslim scholars agreed that no one has the right to label as kafir anyone from the scholars of Islam who disagree concerning infallibility of the prophets and who say that they could commit minor sins and errors."

"And if we are going to begin labeling the scholars of Islam as kafir scholars of Islam for their point of view, we are then going to declare as unbelievers many of the Shafii school, of the Maliki school, of the Hanafi school, of the Ashari school, of the people of Hadith, of the people of tafsir, and of the sufi school, all of which, by the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims, are not unbelievers!"

Should be:""And if we are going to begin labeling the scholars of Islam as kafir scholars of Islam for this point of view, we are then going to declare as unbelievers many of the Shafii school, of the Maliki school, of the Hanafi school, of the Ashari school, of the people of Hadith, of the people of tafsir, and of the sufi school, all of which, by the consensus of the scholars of the Muslims, are not unbelievers, rather the A'immah of these groups hold this belief. "

Shaikh Ibn Taymiyyah is talking about Takfir of Ulama based solely on a single error, not that takfir cannot be made at all of a person regardless of the number of errors he makes.

The rest of his statements are not general sweeping ones as made out to be in the translation, but rather refer expressly to the issue of infallibility of the Ambiya عليهم السلام

Here is the arabic text. You will notice that the translation left out portions which would have exposed the fact that the statements were not general.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best

بَابٌ حُكْمُ الْمُرْتَدِّ سُئِلَ شَيْخُ الْإِسْلَامِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ رَجُلَيْنِ تَكَلَّمَا فِي " مَسْأَلَةِ التَّأْبِيرِ " فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا : مَنْ نَقَصَ الرَّسُولَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَوْ تَكَلَّمَ بِمَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى نَقْصِ الرَّسُولِ كَفَرَ ؛ لَكِنَّ تَكْفِيرَ الْمُطْلَقِ لَا يَسْتَلْزِمُ تَكْفِيرَ الْمُعَيَّنِ ؛ فَإِنَّ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ قَدْ يَتَكَلَّمُ فِي مَسْأَلَةٍ بِاجْتِهَادِهِ فَيُخْطِئُ فِيهَا فَلَا يُكَفَّرُ ؛ وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ يُكَفَّرُ مَنْ قَالَ ذَلِكَ الْقَوْلَ إذَا قَامَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْمُكَفِّرَةُ ، وَلَوْ كَفَّرْنَا كُلّ عَالِمٍ بِمِثْلِ ذَلِكَ لَزِمَنَا أَنْ نُكَفِّرَ فُلَانًا - وَسَمَّى بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ الْمَشْهُورِينَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَسْتَحِقُّونَ التَّكْفِيرَ وَهُوَ الْغَزَالِيُّ - فَإِنَّهُ ذَكَرَ فِي بَعْضِ كُتُبِهِ تَخْطِئَةَ الرَّسُولِ فِي مَسْأَلَةِ تَأْبِيرِ النَّخْلِ : فَهَلْ يَكُونُ هَذَا تَنْقِيصًا بِالرَّسُولِ بِوَجْهِ مِنْ الْوُجُوهِ ؟ وَهَلْ عَلَيْهِ فِي تَنْزِيهِ الْعُلَمَاءِ مِنْ الْكُفْرِ إذَا قَالُوا مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ تَعْزِيرٌ ، أَمْ لَا ؟ وَإِذَا نُقِلَ ذَلِكَ وَتَعَذَّرَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْحَالِ نَفْسُ الْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَقَلَهُ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ مَعْرُوفٌ بِالصِّدْقِ : فَهَلْ عَلَيْهِ فِي ذَلِكَ تَعْزِيرٌ أَمْ لَا ؟ وَسَوَاءٌ أَصَابَ فِي النَّقْلِ عَنْ الْعَالِمِ أَمْ أَخْطَأَ ؟ وَهَلْ يَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ تَنْقِيصٌ بِالرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَمَنْ اعْتَدَى عَلَى مِثْلِ هَذَا ، أَوْ نَسَبَهُ إلَى تَنْقِيصٍ بِالرَّسُولِ ، أَوْ الْعُلَمَاءِ ، وَطَلَبَ عُقُوبَتَهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ : فَمَا يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِ ؟ أَفْتُونَا مَأْجُورِينَ .
الْجَوَابُ
فَأَجَابَ : الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ . لَيْسَ فِي هَذَا الْكَلَامِ تَنَقُّصٌ بِالرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِوَجْهِ مِنْ الْوُجُوهِ بِاتِّفَاقِ عُلَمَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ، وَلَا فِيهِ تَنَقُّصٌ لِعُلَمَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ؛ بَلْ مَضْمُونُ هَذَا الْكَلَامِ تَعْظِيمُ الرَّسُولِ وَتَوْقِيرُهُ ، وَأَنَّهُ لَا يُتَكَلَّمُ فِي حَقِّهِ بِكَلَامِ فِيهِ نَقْصٌ ، بَلْ قَدْ أَطْلَقَ الْقَائِلُ تَكْفِيرَ مَنْ نَقَّصَ الرَّسُولَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَوْ تَكَلَّمَ بِمَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى نَقْصِهِ ، وَهَذَا مُبَالَغَةً فِي تَعْظِيمِهِ ؛ وَوُجُوبِ الِاحْتِرَازِ مِنْ الْكَلَامِ الَّذِي فِيهِ دَلَالَةٌ عَلَى نَقْصِهِ . ثُمَّ هُوَ مَعَ هَذَا بَيَّنَ أَنَّ عُلَمَاءَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِينَ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِاجْتِهَادِهِمْ لَا يَجُوزُ تَكْفِيرُ أَحَدِهِمْ بِمُجَرَّدِ خَطَأٍ أَخْطَأَهُ فِي كَلَامِهِ ، وَهَذَا كَلَامٌ حَسَنٌ تَجِبُ مُوَافَقَتُهُ عَلَيْهِ ؛ فَإِنَّ تَسْلِيطَ الْجُهَّالِ عَلَى تَكْفِيرِ عُلَمَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْمُنْكَرَاتِ ؛ وَإِنَّمَا أَصْلُ هَذَا مِنْ الْخَوَارِجِ وَالرَّوَافِضِ الَّذِينَ يُكَفِّرُونَ أَئِمَّةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ؛ لِمَا يَعْتَقِدُونَ أَنَّهُمْ أَخْطَئُوا فِيهِ مِنْ الدِّينِ . وَقَدْ اتَّفَقَ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ عَلَى أَنَّ عُلَمَاءَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ لَا يَجُوزُ تَكْفِيرُهُمْ بِمُجَرَّدِ الْخَطَأِ الْمَحْضِ ؛ بَلْ كُلُّ أَحَدٍ يُؤْخَذُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ وَيُتْرَكُ إلَّا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَيْسَ كُلُّ مَنْ يُتْرَكُ بَعْضُ كَلَامِهِ لِخَطَأِ أَخَطَأَهُ يُكَفَّرُ ولا يُفَسَّقُ ؛ بل ولا يَأْثَمُ ؛ فإن الله تعالى قال في دُعَاءِ المؤمنين : { رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا } وفي الصَّحِيحِ عن النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ { أن اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَالَ قَدْ فَعَلْت } وَاتَّفَقَ عُلَمَاءُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يُكَفَّرُ أَحَدٌ مِنْ عُلَمَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ الْمُنَازِعِينَ فِي عِصْمَةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ ، وَاَلَّذِينَ قَالُوا : إنَّهُ يَجُوزُ عَلَيْهِمْ الصَّغَائِرُ وَالْخَطَأُ وَلَا يُقَرُّونَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ لَمْ يُكَفَّرْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ بِاتِّفَاقِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ؛ فَإِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ يَقُولُونَ : إنَّهُمْ مَعْصُومُونَ مِنْ الْإِقْرَارِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ، وَلَوْ كَفَرَ هَؤُلَاءِ لَزِمَ تَكْفِيرُ كَثِيرٍ مِنْ الشَّافِعِيَّةِ ، وَالْمَالِكِيَّةِ ، وَالْحَنَفِيَّةِ ، وَالْحَنْبَلِيَّةِ ، وَالْأَشْعَرِيَّةِ ، وَأَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ ، وَالتَّفْسِيرِ ، وَالصُّوفِيَّةِ : الَّذِينَ لَيْسُوا كُفَّارًا بِاتِّفَاقِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ؛ بَلْ أَئِمَّةُ هَؤُلَاءِ يَقُولُونَ بِذَلِك . فَاَلَّذِي حَكَاهُ عَنْ الشَّيْخِ أَبِي حَامِدٍ الْغَزَالِيِّ قَدْ قَالَ مِثْلَهُ أَئِمَّةُ أَصْحَابِ الشَّافِعِيِّ أَصْحَابُ الْوُجُوهِ الَّذِينَ هُمْ أَعْظَمُ فِي مَذْهَبِ الشَّافِعِيِّ مِنْ أَبِي حَامِدٍ ، كَمَا قَالَ الشَّيْخُ أَبُو حَامِدٍ الإسفراييني ، الَّذِي هُوَ إمَامُ الْمَذْهَبِ بَعْدَ الشَّافِعِيِّ ، وَابْنُ سُرَيْجٍ فِي تَعْلِيقِهِ : وَذَلِك أَنَّ عِنْدَنَا أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَجُوزُ عَلَيْهِ الْخَطَأُ كَمَا يَجُوزُ عَلَيْنَا وَلَكِنَّ الْفَرَقَ بَيْنَنَا أَنَّا نَقِرُّ عَلَى الْخَطَأِ وَالنَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا يَقِرُّ عَلَيْهِ ، وَإِنَّمَا يَسْهُو لِيَسُنَّ

[Habib1968]

Salam alaikoum ,

I am very happy that you post that brother Soofi_saheeb , masha'Allah ;

I decided to post this fatwa because there is a reference ; it strange , this morning I didn't have a good feeling about this post ; your post is somehow an awnser .

I took my post from this blog :

http://asunnifaqir.blogspot.com/2006...ng-muslim.html


Jazakallah khayran for the correction ,


Wa salam

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Asslamo Allaikum,

Right before flying out I found a very interesting piece in "Darse-Tirmidhi" of Mufti Taqi Usmani on Tafweedh and Aqeedah of Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (RA), very interesting read & I will Insha'Allah scan and upload when I get back...

Summary is that there is a slight difference in Aqeedah of Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (RA) & Salaf BUT he CANNOT be labelled as Mujassim (or anything else of that nature).