When Religion is Used to Hate and Despise Others

When Religion is Used to Hate and Despise Others

Allah the Exalted said:

وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ كَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا

Which meanse:

And tell My servants to say that which is best. Satan certainly seeks to sow discord among them. Satan is indeed a sworn enemy to humankind. (Al-Isra'/53)

Do NOT forget your greatest enemies -Yourself and the satan and I will remind your of this verse at the end of this article so continue reading!

Fist of All let me begin by reminding you that religion is easy as stated by Allah's Messenger ﷺ

"‏ إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ، وَلَنْ يُشَادَّ الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ غَلَبَهُ، فَسَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا، وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالْغَدْوَةِ وَالرَّوْحَةِ وَشَىْءٍ مِنَ الدُّلْجَةِ ‏"

It means:

"Indeed, this religion is easy, and no one will overburden himself in religion, except that it will overpower him. So seek what is appropriate, and come as close as you can, and receive the glad tidings (that you will be rewarded), and take it easy; and gain strength by worshiping in the mornings, afternoons, and during the last hours of the nights."

Narrated by Al-Bukhari and others

Allah didn't burden us beyond our ability as stated in The Quran

وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ ۚ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ ۚ

It means:

(And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty) Al-Haj/78.

So always remember these points and don't be mislead.

Moreover the great scholars and Awliya have been loved by people for their humility, manners and devotion to Allah, and you don't see them using religion as a tool to terrorize people, spread doubts, and raise endless conflict in pursuit of establishing the teaching of prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was loved by the companion and even the non-believers testified to his great manners let alone the stories of many Animals from camels, wolfs, pigeon and others whom have longed for him and asked for his assistance.

Hence, the stories I am about to present is Not the true Islam but often people with limited knowledge, inflicted with fanaticism and with very little exposure to the books of the scholars. They may tell you so and so said such and such but they themselves have never opened those book and read the full content, so they are just repeating what they have been told based on trust. This is not intended to make fun of the so called salafies but for seeking understanding. Because when you understand the dilemma a person's mind is stuck in you will be more merciful!

I have always been interested in learning why people think the way they do, and specially when they go into heated debates believing they know when in reality they know very little. I have wondered how something so clear can be manipulated and people would believe otherwise. At the end I came to realize people are very similar regardless of their faith, that is in terms of the way think. And more over you will also realize most people are not good listeners and many have selective hearing and reading, that is they focus on what they like and try to ignore the unfamiliar specially if its shakes their foundation or comfort zone. Also, emotions play a major part in their decision making and at times more than clear logic.

I had once followed the speeches of a previous Wahhabi or salafi as they like to be called. He used to be one of their respected shaikhs until Allah guided him to leave them and got his doctorate from Azhar. I listened to over 30 hrs of his speeches while marveled of how they think and what keeps them on that path. And here are some major points that comes to my mind as I write this also I will have "note" section underneath each point hinting of what they missed.

1) They believe people are lost in a world of innovation and worshiping other than Allah such as the grave worshipers as they like to call them.. and its their duty to defend the religion

Note>If only they new how previous scholars including Hanbalis defined worship and had they a boarder clear understanding of Innovation stated in previous books the would have found the solution but only if they are willing to listen with an open mind!!!

2) They call themselves student of knowledge and after 20 or 30 years of listening to their shaykhs tapes, attending circles of knowledge, many of them are repeating the books written by their recent shaikhs and for the Majority they never get to the core famous books of Sunni mainstream but only settle for what their shaikh teach them.

Note>The safest why to learn religion is from the Major well known books that scholars have praised and Muslims for centuries relied upon. Had they been exposed to traditional teaching focused with proofs to challenge their mistakes their might have been some hope for them but guidance is from Allah.

3) When they begin to learn religion they focus on refutation more than self discipline.

Note> Refutation is need but needs to be balanced and its typically the duty of those with a wider exposure and understanding in religion. If one takes that path without sufficient understanding and self discipline it can damage him/her. I once read in the writing of Imam Al-Hadad that the knowledge of Suluk (self discipline/Sufism) is like food if you take a large amount it will not harm you and the knowledge of Kalam (the creed with its intellectual arguments) is like medicine if you take too much it will kill you. That is your take it a proper dosage if you are laymen. So you take enough dosage to take away a confusion you might have. However it is a communal obligation for some of the Muslim scholars to Master it to defend the religion against false beliefs and philosophy. hence those with good grasp in Islamic knowledge may seek further knowledge in the great books of Al-Amidy , Fakhrudeen, Al-Ghazali, in such areas of studied, but always with caution so you don't develop attributes of Arrogance or insincerity.

Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi said:

واعلم أن المناظرة الموضوعة لقصد المغالبة والمباهاة منبع الأخلاق المذمومة ، ولا يسلم صاحبها من كبرٍ ؛ لاحتقار المقصرين عنه ، وعجبٍ بنفسه لارتفاعه على كثير من نظرائه ، ولا يسلم من الرياء ؛ لأن جمهور مقصود المناظر اليوم علم الناس بغلبته ، وإطلاق ألسنتهم بشكره ومدحه ، فهو يُذهِب عمره في العلوم التي تعين على المناظرة مما لا ينفع في الآخرة ؛ كحسن اللفظ وحفظ النوادر " - مختصر منهاج القاصدين

It Means:

"And know that argumentation with the sole intention of boasting and defeating others is the source of evil manners. And such person is never free from arrogance, for he looks down to those he defeats, and brides himself for being higher than many of his opponents, and he's never safe of insincerity because the majority of debaters today seek people to recognize their wining, and to be thanked and praised. Thus, he will waste much of his life in the sciences that support debating and that which will not benefit in the hereafter..." (Mukhtasar Minhaj Al-Qasidin)

This is a dangerous area if you are not always checking your heart and questioning your purpose, and a result you find those engaged in such path hateful, insulting, very often calling people ignorant, damned, filthy among many other foul languages and yet they present themselves as shaikhs may Allah protect us and all of this is unwise and destructive to the Muslim unity.

Allah the Exalted said to prophet Muhammad:

فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

It means

(So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah . Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]) Ali'Imran/159

For added benefit Imam Alghazali said:

بيان آفات المناظرة وما يتولد منها من مهلكات الأخلاق

اعلم وتحقق أن المناظرة الموضوعة لقصد الغلبة والإفحام وإظهار الفضل والشرف والتشدق عند الناس وقصد المباهاة والمماراة واستمالة وجوه الناس هي منبع جميع الأخلاق المذمومة عند الله المحمودة عند عدو الله إبليس ونسبتها إلى الفواحش الباطنة من الكبر والعجب والحسد والمنافسة وتزكية النفس وحب الجاه وغيرها كنسبة شرب الخمر إلى الفواحش الظاهرة من الزنا والقذف والقتل والسرقة وكما أن الذي خير بين الشرب والفواحش وسائر الفواحش استصغر الشرب فأقدم عليه فدعاه ذلك إلى ارتكاب بقية الفواحش في سكره فكذلك من غلب عليه حب الإفحام والغلبة في المناظرة وطلب الجاه والمباهاة دعاه ذلك إلى إضمار الخبائث كلها في النفس وهيج فيه جميع الأخلاق المذمومة وهذه الأخلاق ستأتي أدلة مذمتها من الأخبار والآيات في ربع المهلكات ولكنا نشير الآن إلى مجامع ما تهيجه المناظرة.

Means"

ON THE EVILS OF DEBATE AND THE CHARACTER DESTROYING INFLUENCES RESULTING THEREFROM

You should know and be sure that debates which are designed for the purpose of overcoming and silencing an opponent as well as for displaying one’s excellence and honor, bragging before men, boasting, and being contradictory, or for the sake of winning popular favor, are the source of all traits which are blameworthy before Allah and praiseworthy before His enemy, the Devil. Its relation to the inner sins of pride, conceit, jealousy, envy, self-justification, love of power, and others is like the relation of drinking to the sins of the flesh such as fornication, foul play, and murder. Just as the person who has been given the opportunity to choose between drinking and the other sins, deemed the former harmless and took to it only to be led by his drunkenness into committing all the other sins, so is he who succumbs to the lures of overcoming and silencing opponents in debate, and falls victim to the urge for power and boasting; these things have led him to conceal all wickedness in his bosom and stirred in him all blameworthy traits. Proofs of the blameworthiness of all these will be discussed in the Quarter on the Destructive Matters in Life although we shall now allude to the major evils which are inspired by debate. Of these we may enumerate the following....”

4)Their fears and religious struggle are founded on arguments stated in the writing of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and Ibn Taymiyah.

Note> That's why its imperative to learn from well known traditional sources recognized and accepted by the masses and keep away from controversial sources.

5) In the 90's they made an effort to push people away from following the four schools (specially the proponent of Al-Albany) and they resulted in becoming Albanis or Binbazis

Note>The four schools existed during the time frame of As-Salaf (which means people of the past) and this is in particular the first three centuries of Islam. So following the four school is following the teaching of the Salaf, but ironically their misguidance caused them to say one thing and do something else..SubhanAllah May Allah guide them and guide us.

6) Their shaikhs will wrong great Muslim scholars thereby causing their student to think higher of them.

Note> Psychologically speaking, when a person who's thirsty for knowledge goes to a teacher and all he's focused is refutation and wronging others including famous scholars of the past you will get three reactions

a) Those seeking guidance will feel burdened by All of this conflicts and will leave and might lose their religious motivation as a consequence or Allah will lead them to someone who will boost their moral

b) Those who will leave Islam and become atheist (or develop other beliefs) and Among the wahhabis you will find the greatest number of those who became atheist/agnostic.

c) The hardcore followers whom will start thinking very highly of their shaiykh specially since he's refuting and correcting great scholars which means in their mind he must be the real deal!!!

that is until they find flaws in hims and some will start to refute him. Thus, because of this you have a greater number that will reject their shaykh and refute him like the old saying what goes around comes around.

However, in classical traditional Islamic circle you find the scholars are not keen upon finding flaws from previous or present scholars and if something seems as such they try to find a proper reasoning and when its clear its an error they will humbly and mannerly state the correction. As a result, when traditional students of knowledge sees these manner exemplified from their teachers they become careful not to rush and learn to think positively.

7) In Egypt they call their mosques Masjid As-Sunnah and the other mosques Masjid Al-Awqaaf, therefore they tell their follower to avoid other Masjids and this way they would not listen to other shaykhs and in their logic they are protecting them from false teachings which also caused them to isolate themselves from the masses.

Note: Isolating the crowds might be seen as a means of protection, but equally can be used to shelled a person from learning the truth and it can server also as a mind control and casting doubts about other (sometime done knowingly and other times out of genuine fear of those they see as misguided)

8) Isolating oneself, casting doubts, and calling many other Muslims disbelieves is exhausting so they comfort their follower by telling them a saying of Prophet Muhammad that says (roughly translated from memory) "religion began strange and it will return strange as it has began and blessed are the stranger and these are the once whom will fix what others have ruined after me." Therefore they view themselves as the strangers as stated in the hadith, and that gives them a comfort and something to hold on in their isolation.

Note> It is true that sinning and ignorance will be, and are, prevalent, but they have taken it to the extreme. Moreover add to this the fact that the majority are not exposed to classical Islamic text and settle for what their current shaikh give them thereby causing them to be trapped in a bubble. Therefore, anything outside of this bubble is a great cause of worry and might cause one lose his faith. May Allah protect us from such predicament and show us that which is good as good and enable us to follow and that which is falsehood as false and enable as to stay away from it.

This gives you a basic illustration of how one's mind can be trapped in a bubble where he/she will argue to guide you but when you want to present your evidence, it's NOT an equal ground and fear will strike and the person will refuse to listen when he/she realizes strong counter arguments. It happened to me several times, in the past, where one of them would present his proof and when I started explaining fear strikes and I was told its a sin to continue talking to the people of innovation (me that is) or to the people of Kalam and one person told me I don't have enough knowledge to speak to you so its a sin to continue talking to you. Mind you, In all of these examples they instigated the talk to make da'wah to me and when they realized they are being challenged, fear strikes.

You see this is what their shaiykh tell them. This will further ensure that they will not work their logic. I am not saying this to make fun of them or anyone else because as I stated at the beginning of this article our collective greatest enemy is ourselves and the the devil. And I pray to Allah to guide us All, but this is to illustrate the psychological factor, and the dilemma. of how your mind can be stuck and how a simple logical dialog is mountainous, how people misunderstand each other, and the fact people are selective listeners. This is why your should be merciful and have pity and learn to talk to people in the manners its easy for them to understand, and before you go on to guide the word start guiding yourself first and exemplify the manners of the prophet and his companion in your daily life.

And finally remember that religion is easy and least intelligent sane person can learn his obligation and can reach high status, paraphrasing what Ibn 'Ataa`ullah Al-Sakandari said in his Al-Hikim. So think good of your lord and pray to him for He hears and don't be overly confused. And don't be negligent of our collectives greatest enemy ..satan

Allah the Exalted said:

وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ كَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا

Which means:

And tell My servants to say that which is best. Satan certainly seeks to sow discord among them. Satan is indeed a sworn enemy to humankind. (Al-Isra'/53)

And Allah knows best.