WE ARE NOT TAKFEEREES

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

I think those who conclude that by explaining evils of hizbiyyah (unhealthy partisanship) we are saying hizbiyyoon (partisans) are kuffar should fear Allaah. We are not takefeerees. If an Ahmadiyyah and a fair Sufi masjid are the only options for me, I will prefer that Sufi mosque. But this doesn't make me a Sufi or stop me from exposing the evils of sufism so that the ignorant and unsuspecting Muslims wouldn't be carried away or decieved and perhaps, those who love the truth among them could embrace it. I can pray behind a Sufi that I reasonably believe his sufiyyah has not taken him out of Islaam based on available proofs. 

However, I will not do da'wah along with a sufi because it will send wrong signal to ignorant people. Some people might say if Sufi part is not good, how will so and so do da'wah with them? This is not a matter of hatred. It is based on our love for a lot  of people to be guided through us. We desire to benefit from the Hadith  of 'Ali رضي الله عنه when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told him:

فو اللَّهِ لأنْ يهْدِيَ اللَّه بِكَ رجُلًا واحِدًا خَيْرٌ لكَ من حُمْرِ النَّعم

For by Allah, even if a single person is guided by Allah through you, it is better for you than the nice red camels.” (Sahih Bukhari: 4210)

After all, many of us were like them before Allaah guided us to Sunnah and we seek His continous guidance upon Sunnah and the way of  the salaf. We pray Allaah not  to return us back to the dark days of Sufi path that He had saved us from some years ago through the back door. 

But it is usual for an ignorant person or someone who is arrogant and not wanting to take advice to count admonition as a form of hatred because of either lack of knowledge or sincerity respectively. This is quite different from sitting with a Sufi on a matter that affect the generality of the Muslim Ummah or Community or humanitarian service. And alhamdulillaah, we have exhibited this severally online and offline. This is not to be seen as sum'ah (revelation of one's good deeds to people). It is an example for us to understand this point clearly.

It should be noted that we do not consider a deviant sect as a whole as a group of kuffar. Their kufr depends on the magnitude of their bid'ah. As we read from Sheikh Fawzaan حفظه الله in his explanation of Sharh us Sunnah, the Hadith of 73 sects doesn't mean that all the deviant sects have become kuffar. No! The degree of bid'ah of individuals within those sects is what determines whether or not a person has left Islaam. For instance, to worship the grave as some sufism do is a bid'ah that  leads to outright kufr. But if a person engaged in nawaafil that lack basis in the  Sunnah, that kind of bid'ah is not mukaffirah. It's perpetrator could only be a faasiq and has not fallen into kufr that takes him out of Islaam. 

So, members of deviant sects are still part of the Muslim community and we still have the obligation to deal with them in ways that the foundations of the religion would not be compromised and at the same time the doors of guidance wouldn't be shut completely at them. This is where the issue of methodology of preaching comes in. Those who want to champion the cause of Sunnah (salafiyyah) in any given society must tread with caution and exhibit high standards of manner and  character. If they invite us to their programmes and we know that we would have the opportunity to tell them the truth, we can honor their invitation. But if no good purpose would be served in sitting with them at a particular moment, we should refrain from sitting with them to avoid the wrath of Allaah. In fact, there is no reasonable person upon pure Sunnah that would sit comfortably with people of bid'ah in the course of their bid'ah if he will not be able to correct them. 

The hizbeez are very strategic. What they do on many occasions is to invite some salafi scholars to their gatherings to pull crowd and give them topics that are not relevant to 'aqeedah so that they can just talk on areas we  all agree upon and they will not have the opportunity to address their 'aqeedah issues. But despite this, a wise salafi scholar should use the opportunity to advise them and call their attention to their errors so that they can change, even if they will not call him ever again. In most cases, anyone who tell them bitter truth don't usually get invited ever again. So, if hizbeez keep inviting you to their gatherings on yearly basis, try to watch closely. It could be that you have not been addressing them on 'aqeedah issues. I know someone who often invite some salafi scholars for Islaamic interviews on TV. He will never ask them 'aqeedah questions because he knows what that could cause. Even if a salafi scholar tries to clarify 'aqeedah points on the topic of discussion, he knows how to distract him from it. 

Notwithstanding, the scholars have not made blanket takfeer of any of the deviant sect. Abu Naasir حفظه الله also mentioned this in his explanation of the Creed of the Khawaarij in one of his audios on Usul us Sunnah. Even the Shia's, there are Muslims among them that their bid'ah do not take them out of Islaam. Those who are mixing these points together deliberately or inadvertently are not helping the situation of the Ummah.

May Allaah guide us aright.