MOCKING NEW REVERTS

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

Mocking new reverts on their mistakes is not proper. They should rather be corrected politely. It is not new for people to become Muslims and still have the remnant of kufr in them. That does not mean they have gone back to kufr. Some people enter the fold of Sunnah and still have some traces of bid'ah in them. That does not mean they are back to bid'ah. They are to be corrected and guided with wisdom. 

Even some of those who were far better than us (the companions رضي الله عنهم) fell into similar mistake in their early days of Islām. Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahhab An-najdī رحمه الله mentioned a hadith in his Kitāb Taoheed. The Hadith was narrated by Abu Waqid Al-Laithi. He said when the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم went out to Hunain, he passed by a tree that the idolaters called Dhat Anwat upon which they hung their weapons. They (the Companions رضي الله عنهم who were with him) said:

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ اجْعَلْ لَنَا ذَاتَ أَنْوَاطٍ كَمَا لَهُمْ ذَاتُ أَنْوَاطٍ ‏

O Messenger of Allah! Make a Dhat Anwat for us as they have a Dhat Anwat.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

 سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ هَذَا كَمَا قَالَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى ‏:‏ ‏(‏اجْعَلْ لَنَا إِلَهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ ‏)‏ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَتَرْكَبُنَّ سُنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ ‏ ‏.‏ 

Subhan Allah! This is like what Musa's people said: Make for us a god like their gods. By the One in Whose is my soul! You shall follow the way of those who were before you.[ Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2180]

While new reverts and fresh adherents of Sunnah are encouraged to learn and study Islām to an extent before preaching, we need to be careful in mocking them on their mistakes that we can correct politely. May Allāh guide us aright.