A Game for Fools pt 1

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    This treatise, written on the 24th

    of Rajab, corresponding with Sunday, June 26, 2011, will be an

    attempt to clarify some of the foolishness that is circulating on the web, particularly on the

    Facebook social site concerning me, Faheem SonofSaul Lea (my Facebook username) and to

    silence the cackle and the jabber of those who consistently have something to say. In that

    attempt to do so, I will try to be as cordial and polite as possible, and in tune with the book of

    Allaah:

    [Moses] said, "My Lord, expand for me my breast [with assurance] And ease for me my task.

    And untie the knot from my tongue. That they may understand my speech. Quraan 20:25-

    28

    Here the dialogue that has been presented as evidence:

    Abdul Qaadir Ibn IngraM

    Break up to make ups

    I know this doesnt mean much to most of if not all of you are being deleted as a friend because

    of your affiliation with Faheem Son of Saul: Julian A Holmes, Masjid Al-furqaan Ac,Nafis Ejaazi

    Zahir,Nasir Christopher Davis Sheriff,...

    Yesterday at 10:17am LikeUnlike Share2 people like this.

    Jeyone Muhammad Did you approach him to discuss the issues ?

    Yesterday at 10:37am LikeUnlikeJeyone Muhammad Are you saying he criticizes Muhammad

    Ibn Abdul-Wahaab the person or the masjid ?20 hours ago LikeUnlikeAbdul Qaadir Ibn Ingram you dont have to take my word for it you can

    look on the masjid facebook page

    20 hours ago LikeUnlike

    Abdul Qaadir Ibn Ingram

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Masjid-Quba-School-Camden-NJ/145749682137485see for

    http://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/pages/Masjid-Quba-School-Camden-NJ/145749682137485http://www.facebook.com/pages/Masjid-Quba-School-Camden-NJ/145749682137485http://www.facebook.com/pages/Masjid-Quba-School-Camden-NJ/145749682137485http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/ndzahir
  • 8/6/2019 A Game for Fools pt 1

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    yourself, you friend a man who has open hatred for who you are then you a nicer brother than I

    thought.

    19 hours ago LikeUnlike

    Jeyone Muhammad I clicked the link but can't see it from my phone.19 hours ago LikeUnlike

    Juraij Ibn the aqeedah of al walaa wa baraa

    18 hours ago LikeUnlike

    James Askia Reed HAMDULILLAH!... Moreover, he has NO references for the cause he's never

    sat with/and or under no one having knowledge, but yet Masajid At' Taqwa allowed him to give

    religious talk (Khutbah) there last week... As well as those from 15th & Ch...ristian and the likes

    who are upon Misguidance; May Allah keep us from the likes of these ppl, and may He (Allah)

    guide the like of these ppl back to the correct Aqeedah and Beliefs, Ameen Ya Rabb...

    See More

    14 hours ago LikeUnlike 1 person

    Loading...

    Abdul Qaadir Ibn Ingram Ameen. There is a direct movement towards desalafiying (if there is

    such a word ) of the Muslims and just calling ones self Muslim how ever in our day and time

    how does one do so with out implying that he is every thing else under the title... Muslim?

    Besides the aim here by Faheem (from what I gather) is seeking leadership away that time any

    one who would have came down to Quba School a d could recite some basic Quran and

    hadeeth would have been imaam as many people were asked. Most of whom were asked

    refused because as for myself I knew there was and will never be a platform there for lure

    Quran and sunnah just a place where they have toleranceslaam, there is more of a ikhwani

    tendency where all of us are Muslim no matter what you're belief is ( this also falls under what

    was post in the page for that masjid in the note regarding a innovator, besides he only pointed

    to the aqeedah (wording as though one can separate the imaam from ittabah ) which has been

    made clear by the statement of the messenger of Allah... " " so the following of the messenger of Allah and his sunnah has to be be accepted or itwill be rejected.

    See More

    As indicated on the last line of this jargon, which is hardly legible to the literary eye-which in

    itself renders it unworthy of attention- the See More means that there was more conversation

    after this, but that has not been produced here. Let us identify the characters in this story:

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    Abdul Qaadir ibn Ingram, Juraij Ibn (if I am not mistaken, is a brother named Fayyad from

    Atlantic City), and James Askia Reed. Names of other characters may be revealed in this

    treatise, and it will be only because of necessity for clarifying what has been leveled against me,

    and not for any exposition. So inshaallaah we will begin.

    To start, Abdul Qaadir Ingram (or AQ, as we know him, and what I will use to identify him in this

    treatise) is a brother whom Ive known for a long time, since 1994. I will address our

    relationship, either throughout this treatise as it seems fit, or in the end as a summary. The

    other two are totally irrelevant, but I will mention Brother Askia just to show the treachery,

    betrayal, and minor hypocrisy that is evident in this mentality, which somehow people find a

    way to attribute to the dawah of Islaam. AQ has threatened brothers with deletion of them as

    his friends on Facebook, and the reason he gives is because of their affiliation with me. He

    mentions some names here:

    Julian A Holmes, Masjid Al-furqaan Ac,Nafis Ejaazi Zahir,Nasir Christopher Davis Sheriff,...

    So to clarify this first point, which really means NOTHING at all, and as AQsaid, it doesnt mean

    much, besides Julian A. Holmes (Jamil), whom Ive known since middle school, before Islaam, I

    do not know any of these other brothers personally. As everyone knows the etiquettes of

    Facebook, there are people who are your friends that you have NO affiliation with at all, and

    with respect to Brothers Nasir and Nafis, I have met Nasir on one or two occasions, and I only

    know Nafis through Facebook. So besides us being the same members of a private group, as

    well as being friends on Facebook, we dont have any other affiliation except Islaam, and that is

    what makes us brothers for Allaah, which is sacred and valuable, and not something that I

    would be willing to disassociate with for trivialities. The ellipsis at the end of those names

    above indicates that there are more names that were marked for deletion, and one of those

    names, our brother Jeyone Muhammad, is the means by which I even got wind of this situation,

    and may Allaah bless him and multiply his good deeds. I was unable to read it on his page,

    because AQ, who seems to be on a relentless campaign of rendering me friendless on

    Facebook, was once my friend as well (in the real as well as the virtual world, or so I thought),

    and I would imagine that his quest began when he deleted me. So for the brothers who feel

    some type of way about this threatening, know and rest assured that it has no bearing

    whatsoever on ANYTHING concerning your deen, you will be able to function afterwards!

    Jeyone asked AQ if he had approached me to discuss the issues, notice that he didnt say that

    he did. The reason being is that he, along with others, know they cant approach me, because

    they know that I am very outspoken, and I am able to express myself fairly well, and it will take

    more than scare tactics, slogans, misplaced evidences, and rallying cries to approach me, and

    http://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/ndzahirhttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000694380493http://www.facebook.com/ndzahir
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    that is due to the history that we have, that has a slightly different version than the one being

    presented here, and I will present some of that as well.

    AQ then proceeds to post the link to the Facebook page of our masjid, Masjid Quba SchoolCamden NJ, and from the dialogue presented above, it is to show that I have open hatred for

    people. Guessing from the dialogue above concerning Jeyones question about asking if I had

    criticized Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, the man or the masjid, it is being circulated that I

    have done one or the other, but in reality I have done either.

    It is true, if you at the Facebook page of our masjid, you may come across some information

    concerning Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, but it is neither hatred nor criticism on my behalf.

    However, you will find alternative information that is a little different from what we have beengiven concerning Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, and any objective seeker of truth-and that

    should be all of us as Muslims, whether it is for us or against us-cannot fail to realize what has

    happened concerning the history of the establishment of Saudi Arabia, if we are not victims of

    bigoted partisanship. This is well documented, and unfortunately, it does not go with what

    some of us have been told, and the criticisms have come from both scholars and historians

    alike. The page is free and open for anyone to view, and that history is available for anyone who

    wishes to research it on their own, which is highly encouraged. One of the immense blessings

    that comes about when you are excommunicated from Salafiyyah is that when one door is

    closed, another one opens up. So for me, having been vilified, maligned, and pseudo-boycottedover the years, it has led me to a journey that has turned up all kinds of jewels, and it is quite

    different from the selective knowledge that has been propagated. This is my position, and I

    stand by it, and whether I am accepted or rejected, befriended or (Facebook) deleted, I find

    comfort in the Book of Allaah, and I hope that He includes me in this description:

    Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love

    Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they

    strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a criticQuraan 5:54

    Now I will continue to address this dialogue in chronological order, but I will skip over the

    statement of Juraij Ibn, because just like a lot of hot air from some of these people with robotic

    like tendencies, who are only capable of parroting and mimicking, it is totally irrelevant!

    Besides, if it isnt the brother from Atlantic City that I mentioned earlier (who I know as Fayyad),

    then I dont even know who it is! So that brings us to James Askia Reed. My affiliation with this

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    brother is minimal as well; I met him during the time I was a hot dog vendor, or as an assistant

    to a very dear brother of mine, Hamin Hamilton. I didnt know what to make of him initially, as I

    only took him at face value as being a Muslim, and because of the sanctity that comes with

    that, I only treated him accordingly. However, I would later find out that he, along with many

    others who come from this mentality, had given himself to (suspicion) under theguise of unsubstantiated warnings against me, and instead of weighing things out for himself(because he had already met me, and more than likely he saw or felt NONE of what he was

    told), he listened to it. Perhaps it would have been better if he had paid attention to what the

    Prophet has said: Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The

    Messenger of Allah said, "Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst

    of false tales.''[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Even for arguments sake if Askia had been given

    something that would warrant him to be weary of me, that is not how you initiate Muslims with

    other Muslims, by warning against them, or creating doubts about them for no real reason.

    Another hadith: Ibn Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah said, "None of my Companions should convey to me anything regardinganother because I desire to meet everyone of you with a clean heart.''[Abu Dawud and At-

    Tirmidhi].

    Askia would relate to me later that he didnt pay attention to what was being said, but the

    influence and mind control that is exerted over some people is truly fascinating, as you can see

    with Askias speech. However, as he would portray, he is wishy-washy, because he was my

    friend as well on Facebook (and he deleted me as well), I inboxed him as well and asked him if I

    did something to him, and he said to me that, and I quote, he allowed people to occupy space

    in his brain! Mind you, this is after he had come to our community for assistance, and we

    obliged him just based on him being a Muslim, and trying to fulfill our duty to Allaah by

    assisting Muslims. I am sure he appreciated it, but for some reason, he was still influenced by

    whatever he was being told, and that influence made him align himself with that mentality, all

    the while befriending us, however deviant we were, after Allaah facilitated it for us to help

    him get on his feet. If he can be truthful, he can admit that he saw nothing, NOTHING strange

    or against the Sunnah at our masjid, as he lived there for some time. He also expressed

    disappointment when he was at the Salafi masjid, and here I mean Masjid Muhammad ibn

    Abdul Wahhab, because as much as he patronized them, they didnt really oblige him, as it is

    customary for them to do if they dont know you; being a Muslim is not enough! So when he

    got himself together, he went back into his mode of avoiding us, and the only people that do

    that, in my experience, are the ones who are being told that. Not too long ago, he did visit us,

    and told us how much he loves us and he appreciated what he did for us, but it wasnt enough

    for him to avoid his brain being occupied, because of what he mentions. Its funny how he can

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    have courage to say things about me, in particular about me not ever sitting under anyone, but

    he doesnt have enough sense to have control of his own mind! So lets deal with his comment:

    Moreover, he has NO references for the cause he's never sat with/and or under no one having

    knowledge, but yet Masajid At' Taqwa allowed him to give religious talk (Khutbah) there last

    week... As well as those from 15th & Ch...ristian and the likes who are upon Misguidance; May

    Allah keep us from the likes of these ppl, and may He (Allah) guide the like of these ppl back to

    the correct Aqeedah and Beliefs, Ameen Ya Rabb...

    As for the brainless one mentioning that I have never sat with/and or under no one, I assume

    that he means that I never went overseas to study. This is absolutely true, but that doesnt

    mean that I havent sought knowledge, which according to the hadith of the Prophet

    "Seeking knowledge is compulsory (fard) on every Muslim."[Ahmad] As far asteachers, then I learned to recite the Quraan while I was incarcerated, under prisoners, and I

    was assisted with enhancing that upon my release through my teacher and elder, Shaykh AliSubhan (may Allaah preserve him). Who is he you say? Well, as he will tell you himself, he is a

    lowly servant of Allaah, but he has been at the service of the Muslims in our area for close to 50

    years, and still teaching when he can, and not only did I learn to sharpen my recitation under

    him, as well as my Arabic writing, I have learned from him many valuable life lessons, and

    among them was to be committed to the Muslims, and that is my ONLY claim to fame, so to

    speak, and Allaah has facilitated for me, along with other Muslims in our locale, to have a track

    record of doing such. My other teacher and beloved friend, Mujahid Abdus Salaam, who was

    my Imam while I was incarcerated (some know him as Imam Salaam of Yardville), and has

    remained my Imam, as well as a friend, counselor and advisor for close to 20 years now (mayAllaah preserve him). He has helped me tremendously with the Arabic language (the little I have

    been able to pick up), as well as showing me remarkable etiquettes and having dignity, honor,

    and respect, which has helped as an alternative to the harshness and crude manners exhibited

    by others. Some of the people who are preoccupied with disparaging others will say now that

    these two noble brothers are deviants-and they do it in the same manner, talking about them

    behind their backs, while showing them a face of falsehood and false smiles, which in some

    twisted way, they try to tie that behavior in with the correct manhaj. Their helping me along

    has even put me in a good light with the most staunchest of my(fans) critics, because even at

    one time, they accepted me as their Imam, when I had even less knowledge, or when I knewless, because I dont have any knowledge, they prayed behind me.

    As far as khutbahs go, I may not have the knowledge of a student of knowledge, but I can

    deliver an effective khutbah, and that is really my limit. I put a lot of time, energy, and research

    into making sure that they are effective, and I ask Allaah to accept them, and forgive me for any

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    mistakes that are contained in them. As far as qualifications for giving a khutbah, some have

    said that you have to be a student of knowledge (and that has different connotations,

    depending what group you are in), but as long as one meets the requirements of the khutbah,

    then there are various fiqh issues concerning it, but the major components are: to give the talk

    before salaat, to praise Allaah, as well as exhort the people with the Quraan, the Sunnah,examples of the Salaf, as well as knowing the needs and the situations of the audience and

    knowing their level, to sit between the first and second part, and other issues that are beyond

    the scope of this presentation. Anyone who knows me knows that I meet those requirements,

    even Askia himself, as he has witnessed me giving a khutbah, and if he or anybody else can

    produce something that shows that I went against any established principles concerning

    delivering a khutbah, then let them produce it! If need be, I can produce examples of my

    khutbahs, and they may not be the best that youve heard, but because of the effort I put into

    them, with Allaahs help, I know you wont be disappointed! So getting back to Askia, if he had

    stopped letting people occupy space in his brain, he could have asked me about any issues that

    he had a question about. I am not sure what he means about 15th

    & Christian, or The United

    Muslim Masjid as it is known, because I have never delivered a khutbah there, but if they were

    to invite me, I would most surely oblige! It is also amazing that the one who has allowed his

    brain to be taken away to question my credentials, but has not built any for himself, which I

    would think should be more of a concern. As for the parroting that he is doing by accusing

    others of misguidance (we have already established that he doesnt think for himself, a

    common trait of a LOT of these brothers), then he as well as anyone else should be careful of

    this, because this is serious to accuse others of being misguided, especially if the only reason

    you do it is because they are outside of your circle. And for further clarification, and without

    being afraid of being criticized or deleted, I dont subscribe to this false principle that is being

    promoted that no one else has scholarship except the few scholars, students, duaat, and

    personalities that are promoted. There was another thread that Askia and I had a debate on,

    and he said himself that there are NO others scholars in the world besides Saudi Arabia! I will

    not elaborate on that one, as the absurdity of it speaks for itself. I respect other scholarships,

    and it was because of breaking that shackle from my own mind, at once being partially

    influenced by the same thing that has engulfed Askia, but able to maintain my own thinking,

    that I was able to see different, and I thank Allaah for that. And in ending the part concerning

    Askia, I pray that one day that he will be able to do the same, and not be swayed so easily, and

    let people control his thinking. Askia, if you get a chance to read this, may Allaah restore your

    senses and give you the ability to stand on your own and not be scared!

    Now we will address the second part of this rubbish, and we will try to make sense of it,

    because anyone who has an education beyond the 8th

    grade will recognize how incoherent this

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    2nd

    passage is, even though it is written in what is apparently English! Here we have AQ making

    a number of assumptions, specualations, accusations, and we have already mentioned the

    grammatical blunders that contains, but inshaallaah we hope gain some understanding from it.

    AQ says:

    There is a direct movement towards desalafiying (if there is such a word ) of the Muslims and

    just calling ones self Muslim how ever in our day and time how does one do so with out

    implying that he is every thing else under the title... Muslim?

    I am not sure what he means about a direct movement of desalafiying (and there is no such

    word) of the Muslims, but what I think he means, and Allaah knows bests, is that he is of the

    understanding that in order for one to be considered a proper Muslim, or to clarify that they

    are upon the right way, in these days in times they should call themselves Salafi, and if he/she

    doesnt, it somehow implies that he is everything else under the title of Muslim, as AQ has

    stated above. Lets address this issue from a number of angles. Firstly, the Book of Allaah is

    supposed to suffice us, and Allaah the Almighty says:

    And is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the Book which is recited to them?

    Indeed in that is a mercy and reminder for a people who believe.Quraan 29:51

    Allaah, Who is All Wise, and All Aware, surely knew what to reveal in His Book, and He tells us

    that he named us Muslims.

    Allah named you "Muslims" before [in former scriptures] and in this [revelation] that the

    Messenger may be a witness over you and you may be witnesses over the peopleQuraan

    22:78

    There is NO ayat in His Book that names us anything else other than Muslims (other than

    classifying us as Mumin or Muhsin). If there was a title that was better than that, then surely

    Allaah would have chosen it, because the best speech is the Book of Allaah. So how people

    come up with the understanding that you have to identify yourself as Salafi for distinction is not

    mentioned in the Quraan, or the hadith, nor from the first three generations (as Salafus Saalih),

    nor from any ijmaa (concensus) of any of the many and great scholars who came after the time

    of the Salaf. This understanding does come from somewhere though, and for the sake of

    fairness, we will present it here. This is taken from Salafitalk, the premiere source for guidance:

    Allaah Has Named us "Muslims," So Why call ourselves "Salafi"?

    This doubt was very beautifully answered by Imaam al-Albaanee (rahimahullaah) in

    his discussion with someone on this subject, recorded on the cassette entitled "I am

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    Salafi." Here is a presentation of the vital parts of it:

    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "When it is said to you, 'What is your madhhab', what is your

    reply?"

    Questioner: "A Muslim."

    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "This is not sufficient!"

    Questioner: "Allaah has named us Muslims" and he recited the saying of Allaah

    Most High, "He is the one who has called you Muslims beforehand." (al-Hajj

    22:78)

    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "This would be a correct answer if we were in the very first

    times (of Islaam) before the sects had appeared and spread. But if we were to ask,

    now, any Muslim from any of these sects with which we differ on account of

    'aqeedah, his answer would not be any different to this word. All of them - the

    Shi'ite Rafidi, the Khaariji, the Nusayri Alawi - would say, "I am a Muslim." Hence,

    this is not sufficient in these days."

    Questioner: "In that case I say, I am a Muslim upon the Book and the Sunnah."

    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "This is not sufficient either."

    Questioner: "Why?"

    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "Do you find any of those whom we have just mentioned by

    way of example saying, 'I am a Muslim who is not upon the Book and the Sunnah?"

    Who is the one who says, 'I am not upon the Book and the Sunnah?'"

    [At this point, the Shaikh began explaining in detail the importance of being upon

    the Book and the Sunnahwith the understanding of the Salaf us-Saalih

    (righteous predecessors).]

    Questioner: "In that case, I am a Muslim upon the Book and the Sunnah with the

    understanding of the Salaf us-Saalih."

    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "When a person asks you about your madhhab, is this what

    you will say to him?"

    Questioner: "Yes".

    http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9711&sortby=aschttp://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9711&sortby=aschttp://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9711&sortby=aschttp://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9711&sortby=aschttp://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9711&sortby=aschttp://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9711&sortby=asc
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    Shaikh al-Albaanee: "What is your view that we shorten this phrase in the

    language, since the best words are those that are few but indicate the desired

    intent, so we say, 'Salafi'?" End of quotation of transcript.

    http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9696

    Yes, perhaps a great explanation from Shaykh Al-Albaani, but this is his ijtihaad, and as far as I

    know, there was no one who preceded him in that, and if so, this is not a majority view. So we

    ask here: what takes precedence, the Book of Allaah, or the ijtihaad of one latter day scholar? It

    should also be noted from the dialogue above that Shaykh Al-Albaani said that to just call

    yourself a Muslim would be sufficient if we were in the very first time of Islaam before the sects

    appeared. However, during the time of the Salaf us Saalih is when the sects began to appear,

    and that is when they were their strongest. For example, the Mutazilah were at their strongest

    during the time of Imam Ahmad (d 241H), and by the time of Imam Ghazzali (d 505AH), theywere basically wiped out. So their power and influence started early and ended relatively early.

    So another question that we pose: How is it that even during the time of the Salaf, none of

    those great Imams saw it necessary to distinguish themselves with a title? What we find them

    doing is working hard to establish the true beliefs of Islaam, to make the beliefs distinct,

    because that is what makes the distinction, and that distinction is between the Muslims and the

    disbelievers, and between the Muslims and the sects who have went astray. It does not apply

    to Muslims who have already made the distinction with their belief with the shahaadah ( !), and there is nothing evident with them that contradicts that

    If there was any other distinction for the Muslim, it would have been included in theshahaadah, and it has not been related anywhere that there is some type of distinct shahaadah

    to show that one is a true Muslim. Somehow, AQ is under the impression that if you are just a

    Muslim, it is implied that you are under everything else with just the title Muslim. Let us pose

    another question here: Since when did Islaam mean or imply ANY other thing besides what

    Allaah has explained in the Quraan, and the Prophet made clear in his

    Sunnah, or that Muslim meant anything else than one who submits to Islaam? Any other thing

    that was implied was already refuted by our scholars, and that is how we come to know of the

    falsehood of sects who claim Islamic doctrine.

    Granted, there are plenty of different interpretations and understandings among the Muslims

    today, and whether they are correct or incorrect, they are still Muslims! The problem with using

    the title Salafi, at least nowadays, is that (some) people use it in a manner to distinguish

    themselves from other Muslims, and by doing so, imply that other Muslims are not upon the

    correct way. It should be noted that incorrect beliefs that may come from incorrect

    understandings is what makes ones Islaam incorrect, and not the different understandings

    http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9696http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9696http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=9&Topic=9696
  • 8/6/2019 A Game for Fools pt 1

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    themselves that are based on the sources (unless of course, they are incorrect). Here we have

    in our rich legacy of Islaam many different explanations of the Quraan, many interpretations of

    the hadith, we have between the four madhaahib over 200 points of differing between them

    concerning the salaat, and yet you dont find any of these great and noble scholars using a title

    to distinguish themselves from the Muslims, but only titles to indicate what methodology offiqh they followed (Hanafi, Maliki, Shaafii, and Hanbali). And this also shows that the Salaf had

    different understandings, but in general it was the same, and although they had differences,

    both major and minor, none of them felt it sufficient to distinguish themselves from other

    Muslims with a title. Moreover, the people who are adamant about claiming themselves to be

    Salafi have even been warned by other scholars about using that title as a form of tazkiyyah,

    and for the most part, that is what people do. However, the claim is made that using the title

    Salafi is to denote connection to the Righteous Predecessor (as Salafus Saalih). It should again

    be noted: connection to the Salaf is through the isnad, not through the title! If the people who

    are so determined to use the title, then get an isnad, go to the people who have that

    connection back to that time. The only people who have that isnad is the adherents to the four

    Sunni schools, to be truthful. So if we wish to shorten the speech to understand what we

    follow, to connect ourselves to the Salaf, then it would be more appropriate to call oneself

    Hanafi, Maliki, Shaafii, or Hanbali, because the people who follow those schools-and we dont

    mean the people who follow them haphazardly or fanatically, but academically-have authentic

    chains that go back to that blessed time period. So I will leave this section with another

    question: Why is it that NONE of the people who came after the time of the Salaf, the great

    number of them, which included many illustrious scholars, some of the greatest ones of this

    ummah, did not see the need to call themselves Salafi, or rename Islaam with Salafiyyah?

    End of part 1