ROLE OF SCHOLARS IN CLARIFYING ERRORS AND MISGUIDANCE

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori 

6th July 2017

Clarification of mistakes in the 'aqeedah and works of innovators is a must in order to protect the Deen and warn students of knowledge against their deviations, no matter how small. 

In Sharh Sunnah, Imam al-Barbahaaree رحمه الله stressed the importance of stating the errors of innovators, so that people would not be deceived by their eloquence, golden pen, followership, and charisma. 

On this, Sheikh Fawzaan حفظه الله said keeping silent on a clear misguidance in a particular individual who people rely on for knowledge of the Deen, is like hiding the truth and this contravene the provision of the Qur'ān where Allāh says:

اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَكْتُمُوْنَ مَاۤ اَنْزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنٰتِ وَا لْهُدٰى مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنّٰهُ لِلنَّا سِ فِى الْكِتٰبِ ۙ اُولٰٓئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللّٰهُ وَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللّٰعِنُوْنَ 

Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture - those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse, QS. Al-Baqara: Verse 159)

A lot of people know the truth about the aqeedah of certain individuals, yet they hide it leaving people to go atray. Those individuals are more precious to them than guiding people to the truth about them. The curse of Allah is on them as explicit in the relevant verse of the Qur'an. May Allah save us from this.

From the foregoing, it is upon scholars and qualified students of knowledge to tell the stories of innovators and warn Muslims from falling into their errors and mistakes with wisdom and kind admonitions. But unfortunately, in our present time, when misguidance is being exposed, people come up with different kinds of untenable excuses like: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, respect of individual opinion and so on. 

Sheikh Rabee' ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee حفظه الله mentioned the mistakes and deviations of Sayyid Qutb رحمه الله in his Sharh of Usul as-Sunnah. He warned students of knowledge against his areas of errors for them not to be deceived or carried away by his powerful pen, intelligence and struggle. At the end of his explanation on "الإيمان بالميزان يوم القيامة" (Belief in Scale of Measurement on the Day of Resurrection) on pg 32 of the book, the Sheikh after citing several verses of the Qur'an to establish the sanctity of the belief in the meezan in the Deen, said and I quote:

"ومع أسف سيد قطب - والله - ينكر الميزان, ينكر رئية الله, وسار مع الجهمية ومع المعتزلة في كثير من العقائد, -والله- هذا حاصل, ونحن نقول هذا لئلا يخدع ناس بكتب هذا الرجل...."

(the interpretation of this to the best of my ability is) "And with regret Sayyid Qutb -by Allah-denied Scale of Measurement, denied Seeing of Allah (on the Day of Judgement), and pitched tent with the Jahmiyyah and with the Mu'tazilah in many aspects of belief, -by Allah- this occured. And we are saying this for people not to be deceived by the books of this man"

May Allah guide us aright.