Path of the Sahabah

messages of the Qur'an. We're coming to that point again later on, but I want to cover some other, let's just call them ground rules first.

The Prophet's Guidance for Times of Many Differences

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says, he knows that there are going to be changes. And he says

(Abu Dawud hadith 4607, Tirmidhi hadith 2676)

"Whoever of you lives long after me, he will see many differences." We know and we live in this world with many differences. So this hadith is for these kinds of times.

When you're alive at a time of many differences. So what are you supposed to do when there are many differences? Do you think your Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would pass away without telling us this kind of information? He gave us the guidelines. So those of you who will live long enough will start to see many differences.

And then he gives you the way to be safe when there are so many differences. And that is,

"And so follow closely. My sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided Khulafa after me."

"Hold fast onto it and bite down hard on it with the molars, the back part of the teeth, not the front. You can't hold that hard with here. Back there, hold onto it hard."

This is a good grip back here. This is the advice of when you live in a world and a time when there are so many differences. This is the world that we're in right now.

So you would imagine that one easy way to make sure everything is okay, is to adhere upon what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his companions were upon.

The Litmus Test

And sometimes you see some strange practices, people doing all kinds of weird things or dances, and you think, okay, how about I just apply this simple test. Do you think they brought the drums out at the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and people danced for two hours and said, well, this is worshipping Allah (عز وجل)

But today, no, no, later. Later, please. Today, you have all these kinds of things now, and oh, a million and one different explanations or no, but different excuses.

How about we follow the litmus test our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave us? There will be many differences. So you can give me your arguments until tomorrow, and everybody has an argument for everything. And just a few days ago I met a young man, and he had an argument for everything.

And that's how it is. The guy who smokes, he has an argument as to why you can smoke. The guy who does this kind of haram, he has an argument for it as well.

The one who follows a shaykh who said something that's really, really, beyond Islamic belief, he has also an argument for that. Everyone has an argument for something. Okay, put all your arguments aside.

Let's just go to what our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, how we're supposed to follow, what are we supposed to be upon, and that is the deen that he and his companions were upon. And that is obviously something that's going to be preserved. Right? If this deen and the understanding of the companions is going to be lost, why would he tell you come back to it? Obviously this is something you can always come back to.

The Continuous Group Upon Truth

And that's why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said

(Bukhari hadith 71, Muslim hadith )1037

"And a group from my ummah will continue to be upon the truth." (لا تزال) That means we have one steady stream like this. Just listen carefully, okay? Don't wanna argue, listen first.

We have one steady stream. What does it mean (لا تزال)? That means it's not a new group that will rise in the year 1992. It's not a group that showed up in the 14th year after the hijrah.

(لا تزال) No, is continuous from the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) until now. A group will remain upon the truth. Which means until today you can trace Islam to its original teachings, unadulterated, how the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught the companions, how they understood it, how they did it.

The Path of the Believers

Now, okay, I hope these points are clear. Yeah, let's see. Then what happens? We see that the believers have a way. The believers they have a way, right? There's a path and a way of the believers as well. People confuse this with issues of disagreement in fiqh. Fiqh issues, fiqh was supposed to be different and flexible.

People now, they are very strict when it comes to fiqh and madhahib, and very relaxed when it comes to aqeedah. Even though aqeedah, I think we can all agree, is more serious than fiqh. Aqeedah from the word like aqada, when you tie something, a knot.

When you tie a knot in a rope, as hard as you pull this rope, the knot will always be there. As hard as you pull it, it actually will be tighter. So something that's firm.

That's why Islam is strict when it comes to issues of belief. It's not a strict religion. It's very strict when it comes to issues of belief, but it's very relaxed when it comes to issues of fiqh.

Flexibility in Fiqh vs. Firmness in Aqeedah

We can disagree on fiqh. You can say, I'm not sure when I come up from ruku, should my hands go down here, or should they come up here. I'm really not sure about that, I have doubt about this issue.

So sometimes I do this, sometimes I do that. Is that okay? That's okay. I'm not sure how to move my finger. Up and down, round and round. Little bit, slowly. I see everything.

So, you're insisting, huh? Later, later. So which one can I do? It's okay, it's okay. We'll give it a chance later. Everyone with me? Everyone? Yeah? So which one can I do then? It's okay, you can have doubt. But can someone say, I'm not sure is Allah one or more than one. Is that acceptable? Not acceptable at all.

I'm not sure if Musa a.s. is one of the prophets or not. Not acceptable at all. So Islam is strict when it comes to issues of belief, and it's relaxed when it comes to issues of fiqh, and dealings, and business, and different opinions, and here and there.

And as long as you have knowledge, and there is knowledge involved, the differences will have a flavor of rahmah in them. And the minute you don't have knowledge in the discussion, it becomes a fight, and an issue, and a reason to divorce, and to not give you my daughter because you're from this group, and you understand the salah that way. We've made things very, very complicated.

Wrong Priorities

Today, if you tell someone about a difference in fiqh, they take it seriously. They tell him, but this person also believes this and that about Allah. Yeah, well, you know, these differences exist in Islam.

Very relaxed with aqeedah. Tell them a problem that is very problematic or even kufri, and they'll tell you, well, these are differences. No, man, I just know, and it's okay.

We're all brothers in the end, but you're willing to fight over this, fist fight over fiqh issues. Like I told you about, I always tell this story about a fist fight that broke out in a masjid. This is a true story.

The Masjid Fight Story

Fist fight broke out in a masjid in America. So, uncles punching each other, jumping off the minbar onto each other. Yeah? And then someone called the police to come and break up the fight.

So, the police came to break up this fight. In most masjids, you've got the minbar and the prayer area. It's kind of far from the door.

So, the police entered the masjid to break up this fight. And of course, they walked in with their shoes. Right? They entered with their shoes.

As when they entered, these uncles stopped in mid-fight. Mid-fight. Yeah? So, while they're punching someone like this, he saw the police.

And suddenly, all of them stopped fighting in one split second. And now, they all united for the sake of, you know, against the kuffar and everything. And they started all yelling at the police.

Get out! You have your shoes on! Out! Get out! And you can imagine the poor officers like, this was the strangest fight they've ever seen in their life. They stopped immediately. Now, everyone's angry with us.

So, like, so strict about the shoe issue. Very relaxed about this other issue. One time, I was actually asked to give a jumu'ah khutbah at this masjid.

The Green Carpet Guardian

Where they brought, they're bringing, this guy, like, super deviant. Like, just another level. Okay? Someone who says that, 96% of them, he comes on television.

Okay? An American television. And he says, 96% of the masajid in America are terrorist masajid. Yeah? And he says, all kinds of other things, just against the aqidah of Ahlul Sunnah wal Jama'ah.

And they're inviting him to give a talk at this masjid. And they don't see any problem with, let him say this nonsense to all the believing men and women. But as I was coming in to give a jumu'ah khutbah, they have a guy, his job is to guard the green carpet.

So, you have your shoes here, and then you have to take off your shoes, then you step on the green carpet, then you put your shoes on the... And this man is like a police officer. Like, very serious issue. So, like, coming in, he's like, the green carpet, take off your shoes.

And like, not even a nice way, and it's like, you can say this nicely, you can tell me, hey, you know, don't step on the green carpet. But this guy is just sitting like this, the green carpet. Don't step on the green carpet with your shoes.

But this guy is gonna come and tell the believing women and men, the craziest things when it comes to aqidah. But that's okay. But don't you dare step on the green carpet.

As long as we're clear on that. As long as we're clear on that issue, yeah?

The Quranic Evidence for the Path of Believers

So, Imam al-Shafi'i, rahimahullah, I knew guys were Shafi'is, right? Yeah? Nothing wrong with that. What's the problem? You guys are laughing.

Imam al-Shafi'i said, I was going through the Qur'an in my mind, looking for verses, okay, I was going through the Qur'an in my head, looking for a verse to prove consensus, meaning that the Muslims can agree on something. So he says, I found the verse. I was going through from the beginning.

"Parts ways with the Prophet guidance has been made clear to them. And he takes a path other than the path of the believers. So we'll put him on the path that he chose. And basically, And he'll end up in the hellfire. And what a horrible end that is."

You see what's happening? So he said that, I found this verse. Because the verse says, Whoever parts ways from the Prophet, After guidance has been made clear to him. And he seeks a path other than that of the believers.

What does the verse show you? That the believers have a path. The believers have a way. And you should be aware of stepping away from the way of the believers.

And stepping away and disagreeing with Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. The main body of Muslims starting from the companions. Simple equation.

The Scholar vs. All Scholars

Actually there was an imam that we know. And he would tell you, You ask him a question. All the scholars of Islam said, It's haram. But I say it's halal. Okay. Before I even ask you about your evidence.

Let's just make a simple equation here. Who do you think is wrong? All the scholars of Islam say it's haram. And I say it's halal.

Who do you think is wrong? Huh? I mean, okay. So let's put all the scholars of Islam on one side of the balance. Starting from the phenomenal companions and the knowledgeable companions.

And then the incredible scholars from the Tabi'een. Put Tawus and put Nafi al-Daylami. And just put, load it.

And then put the four imams. Abu Hanifa, Malik al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad. And put Ibn Sa'ad and Ibrahim al-Nakh'i and Amir al-Shaabi.

Just put names and names and names and names and names. That's all one side of the balance. Now take this guy from our century on one side of the balance here.

Who do you think is wrong? Could it be possible that for 1400 years, the most knowledgeable and righteous people of the ummah got it wrong. And then one guy today got it right? Is that possible? That goes against the guidelines the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) gave us of the way of the believers being right. Of the ummah making ijma' upon what is truth.

Yeah? So, there's no disputing these issues. Today one of the fashions is that, people want to debate what are known as musallamat. Musallamat, things that there's no discussion about historically and Islamically.

Questioning the Established (Musallamat)

Hijab. There was no discussion about from amongst scholars, Oh, is hijab part of Islam or not? The prayer is being five. Was there ever discussion about this? Now sometimes you see on these news shows, they'll have a discussion, Oh, hijab, should a woman wear hijab or not? And then they have the audience vote.

Yeah? Yeah, this is for real, I know this. It's a well-known da'i and he has the audience vote. The audience votes on the hijab.

Should we have hijab or should we not have hijab? Oh, now the musallamat, we vote on musallamat. We vote on hijab, we vote on salah. Should we decrease the salawat from five to three, so people can be more productive in the workplace? Vote now.

What kind of nonsense is this? So, we see now that the believers have a way.

The Woman Who Reevaluated Bukhari

There was a woman in America, and she said she's going to reevaluate Sahih al-Bukhari. Okay? Just so we know, first of all, there are no weak ahadith in Sahih al-Bukhari.

The second thing, she didn't speak Arabic. So, she's going to now re-evaluate the translated ahadith of Sahih al-Bukhari. And then they asked her, she said, basically to see, she's going to remove all the weak ahadith from it.

They said, what criterion are you going to use to determine what hadith is sahih, what hadith is da'if? She said, I'm going to look at this hadith from the woman's perspective. And if it disagrees with the woman's perspective, I can't even finish it, wallah. If it disagrees with the woman's perspective, it's weak.

Don't get me started, man. First of all, what is the woman's perspective? I need to understand. The second thing is, who are you to represent all the women? There are women more knowledgeable than you, have more taqwa than you.

They all like vote and made you the one representing with the woman's perspective. So now you're going to take ahadith out of Bukhari. And this door about the question of are there any weak ahadith in Bukhari? The muhaddithin, whose specialty is ahadith, closed this door like 800 years ago.

It's been closed. Now you want to reopen it, and tell me based on the woman's perspective? But these are the kinds of things that you hear all the time now. People questioning things that were not questioned before.

Multiple Paths vs. One Path

And they tell you things like, there's more than one way to Allah Azza wa Jal. So don't force me, like I was telling you that doctor, don't force me upon how you understood Islam. You understand Islam one way, I understand Islam one way.

You find your way to Allah, I find my way to Allah. Your way to Allah through hijab and salah and siyam. My way to Allah is through having a good heart, being kind to the animals and feeding the squirrels, okay, feeding ducks and stuff.

That's my, okay. Why is it then that there's only one path to Allah? There's one path to Allah people, we know that, because everyday at least 17 times a day we say:

Who in here can tell me the plural form of Sirat? No one's gonna put their hand up. Because some linguistics argue there isn't a plural form of Sirat.

Some try to argue that it's Asrita, but they say that's linguistically incorrect. But here's a question, suppose it were Asrita, whoever heard Asrita before? You haven't heard it because, well, we said originally there isn't a plural form of Sirat, but because you never heard it, because we always know that there's one path to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, one. Are we good?

The Prophet's Visual Demonstration

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) then, beyond the fact that we always ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to guide us to that one straight path, and Nabi (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) gave us a visual.

You know this hadith, right? Where the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) drew a long straight line in the sand. He drew a long straight line in the sand, and he said:

"This is Allah's straight path." (Ibn Majah hadith 11, Ahmad hadith 4437) Everyone with me?

Oh, he's opening the file. Oh, he's right clicking now. Open file, open file location. Save as. Everyone's just following what you're doing. Okay, you're with me? We're saying, we're arguing, that there is one straight path to Allah, and Nabi (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) even gave us a visual, drew one straight line in the sand, and he said:

This is Allah's straight path.

The scholars commented about this. They said, this drawing, they said, number one, notice that it's one. Number two, notice that it's long, which means you have to be patient upon it.

And number three, they said, notice that it's straight. This is Allah's straight path. It leads to Allah.

The one that we call everyday, we ask Allah to guide us to it. Then the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) drew lines coming off of that line, and they were short, and curved, and he said, these are other paths. At the head of each path is a shaitan, calling people to the hellfire.

That means, the scholars then commented on these other paths. They said, number one, notice there are many. Number two, notice they're short.

And number three, notice they were all curved. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) didn't draw four lines and say, these are the paths that take you to Allah. It's one.

And when it comes to multiple, more than one, they lead to the hellfire. So there's one path that leads to Allah, multiple paths that lead to the hellfire. Is the drawing clear or not? It couldn't be more clear.

How Deviant Groups Emerge

But if you allow me to add a fourth point to the short lines, if you notice in the drawing, they all came off of the original straight path. Which means, listen to this point, it's very important. Deviant groups, they break off of the mainstream Muslim groups.

A very important point. Deviant groups, break off of mainstream Islamic groups. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) didn't draw the straight path, then a line off of it, then a line off the line.

Did he ever do that in the diagram? He never drew a line off of a line. They all came off of the straight path. Which means, whenever a deviant group arises or emerges, it emerges out of the mainstream Muslims.

And one of the best examples is that, the Khawarij came out of the army of Ali radiallahu anhu. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said in a hadith:

"And that's why in the beginning, the Khawarij were known as Al-Mariqah. Because they emerged, came out." (Bukhari hadith 3344, Muslim hadith 1064)

Even Khawarij, Khuruj, to break away, to break out of, to come out of. So they came out of the army of Ali. So Ali radiallahu anhu, does that mean there's something wrong with his aqeedah, or belief, or something wrong with his group? Because a deviant came out of it? No, that's actually proof that his group is upon this line.

Because from this line, break off other groups. Some people now try to tell you things like, we see that Islamic, a lot of extremist groups, they break off of Ahlus Sunnah wa Jama'ah. They never break off from this group.

They never break off from that group. That's like a good thing for those groups. No.

They never break off from those groups, because those groups aren't the mainstream. The deviations come out of the mainstream. We clear on that point?

The Death of the Author

So, I want to tell you about something like, going back to what this doctor was saying, about, you understand the Qur'an your way, and I understand the Qur'an my way.

There's something that's, it's been going on for a while now in the west, it's called the death of the author. The idea is called the death of the author. Some of you who deal with literature and everything, are familiar with this.

The death of the author is basically saying now, that I am free to understand whatever I want to understand, from this piece of work, this piece of literature, or this poem. I understand it however I want to understand it. The author is dead as far as I'm concerned.

So the author writes a poem, about, I don't know, whatever, appreciating flowers. And when he wrote it, he really meant flowers. But someone will say, no, it's not speaking about flowers.

Flowers here is a symbolism for nasi lamak. Just make up something, right? Then you put your post on the internet. And then the author contacts you, he said, no, actually I didn't mean nasi lamak, I really meant flowers.

I like flowers, I'm a horticulturalist or whatever. And, excuse me, and I meant flowers. So okay, so now with this new idea, you tell him, it doesn't matter what you meant.

What matters is how it spoke to me. See what's happening? And now this is crept into the minds of Muslims now. So they tell you, no, it doesn't matter how you understand the verse, or what the Mufassireen said about the verse, or what Ibn Abbas said about the verse.

What matters is how I understood the verse. That's what it spoke to me. And you're seeing this, I see some of the looks on their faces.

It's kind of nonsense, isn't it? It's nonsense. And it might be applicable to poetry. You know, someone may, I don't know, he got a divorce, he reads a poetry about something else.

And it means something else to him, and he gets that particular comfort from it. Even though that's not what the author meant. So okay, we're gonna let it go.

The Quran as Clear Guidance

But then when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says something in his book, you wanna apply that. Look at how Allah described his book. First of all, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed it:

"in a clear Arabic tongue." (Quran 16:103)

Then the verses of the Quran:

"Ayaat that are clear."

"We revealed to you Ayaat that are clear, that clarify issues." (Quran 2:99) So Allah, in other parts:

Allah says, we revealed in it:

- Allah is talking about his book being clear, the language of the book being clear.

And you're telling me, no, no, as many Muslims exist on earth, each one can understand something different from this book. And everyone can see it in a different way. So then what is Allah saying that's clear then? Then what is the value of the Quran as a book of guidance? If someone reads it and goes, and

if I give you a map like that, I give five brothers the same map, everyone reads the same map, it's supposed to take them to the same place, but everyone goes in a different direction completely.

What would you say about this map? It's good, it's clear, it guides? It doesn't guide. And when you guide, you have a specific location where you're taking everyone. So the Quran being a book of guidance should guide all people to one place.

It's not like, oh, I get it this way, I go this way, you go that way. And that's what Allah meant for all of us. No.

Allah said his book is clear, his ayat is clear, their language is clear, the ayat clarify issues. So it can't be that everyone reads it and everyone gets what they want. And some scholars argued, if that were the case, then, am I going too fast by the way? Okay, good.

Society Cannot Function Without Specific Understanding

Scholars argued, if that were the case, society couldn't function. If everyone could understand the Quran in a different way and everyone's understanding is valid, then, one, what's the value of the Quran? Two, how can you have society? How can you have laws? Because they said, someone will be caught stealing. They take him to the Islamic court and the judge will say, I sentence you to this, this, this and that.

He said, Your Honor, how did you decide on this? Based on the Quran. He said, Your Honor, that's how you understood the verse of the Quran. My understanding was completely different.

The judge is going to say, just take a moment, don't waste my time. So, how are you going to have laws for anything? Not just crimes, but just anything. Inheritance law, you know.

Oh, this is how I understood this verse, you know. One third, I understood one third is like 50% of my... You can't do that. Society wouldn't function.

So, could it be logically that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intended for his book to be understood anyway and still have courtrooms? It wouldn't work. There's no way you can have a courtroom if everyone can understand the law in a different way. That means there's a specific understanding.

The Evidence for Specific Understanding

Here's other evidence, strong evidence, that there's a specific understanding Allah wants you to have. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Ask the people of knowledge if you don't know." (Quran 16:43) The scholars say this verse is proof that there's an intended understanding, not four or five.

And that is, if you could understand the Qur'an anyway you wanted to, why would Allah ask you, ask the people of knowledge? Asking the people of knowledge indicates that there's a specific understanding

that Allah wants you to have. And if you don't have it, go to these people, the scholars, who are the ones who will have it. Why am I going to them if I'm free to understand it my own way? Why did Allah tell me to go to them? Does that make sense? We'll repeat it one more time.

If Allah revealed the Qur'an for every believing man and woman to understand it in any way they wanted to, why would Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala tell you to go to the people of knowledge to get the specific understanding? But people hear things like this and say, but you know there are many differences today. People differ about... What are you talking about? Are you talking about fiqh? Or are you talking about aqeedah issues? Many people think the fiqh differences, those are like the differences that split the ummah. They shouldn't.

Because we said aqeedah is far more important. But we've made fiqh so important that we're willing to split the ummah over fiqh issues. And that's why historically at some point there were four members in Месса.

Yeah? Because there was a jum'ah for the malikis and a jum'ah for this group and a jum'ah for that group. And there were points in Islamic history where if someone came to you and he wanted to marry your daughter and he was a maliki and you're a hanbali, you refused him. You refused him.

Because you know, how can you put your hand like this and we put it like this? But forget questioning him, testing him on belief issues, aqeedah issues. Fiqh became the most important thing. So we can differ.

There can be differences and we can differ about issues of fiqh. But what really unites us is the issues of aqeedah, the issues, the core issues of belief. But people now are arguing that you can understand it anyway or that the Qur'an basically, just again the whole idea of the death of the author thing.

The Quran in Literature Classes

You can understand it anyway you want to. And one subtle way, this is, I took an English literature class one time in the US. And it was a thick class like this.

It's got all kinds of writings in it. And the professor will choose whatever he wants for that semester. We'll discuss it.

In that book, there were verses from the Qur'an. Sometimes half chapters or full chapters from the Qur'an. Do you see the subtle message they're sending out? What is it? Or something else? The Qur'an, parts of the Qur'an in a book of literature.

The Muslims see this and they're so happy. Oh, everyone's gonna read the Qur'an now. The Qur'an is made into the literature books.

The Qur'an isn't literature. It's a very subtle message. People don't catch it a lot.

When you put the Qur'an in a book with parts from Romeo and Juliet and parts from the great Gatsby or Musharraf, whatever books that are famous, then it just says, oh, this is just a piece of literature. It's not a book of God or anything. It's just a piece of literature.

And that's the message that people get now. Anyways, we're stopping at ten. There's like seven or eight minutes left.

Maybe some people want to ask questions. Do we have someone to moderate the Q&A? Yeah? Fantastic. Okay.

So I'll stop here inshaAllah. Jazakumullah khair for your attentive listening. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Question and Answer Session

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Go ahead. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Now, we're going to conduct this Q&A question and answer session. But of course, we'll give priority to the non-Muslim first. Okay? If you are around here, then you can, priority is given to you first.

And of course, we also pass to the sister first, ladies first, right? Right, guys? Yeah, ladies first. I think we only have three or maximum four questions. Okay? And then, it depends on the timing as well, because tomorrow Sheikh will have another event as well.

So we pass, any non-Muslim here? Any not yet Muslim here? Who would like to ask the questions? No? How about sisters? Sisters? No? Brother? Yes? Okay, without fault. Jazakumullah khair, Sheikh. Can I ask two questions or one? One question, one question.

Question 1: Muhkamat and Mutashabihat

Okay. How about, like, you know, there is muhkamat and mutashabihat in the Quran. So, because if we restrict the understanding, then where is the position of ijtihad? So maybe you can elaborate.

Thank you so much. Excellent. Our brother asked a very intelligent question, very good question.

And he's saying that I mean, basically he's citing from the Quran evidence that says that there are some verses that are vague and unclear in meaning. (مُحْكَمَاتٌ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ - 3:7 Quran) Right? And actually the scholars mentioned this issue. So when we're speaking in general terms, right? About how, like, did the companions differ on issues? Absolutely.

Did they differ on fiqh issues? Plenty. And they respected the different fiqh issues they had. Did they differ on some issues of belief? There were a few issues of belief they differed upon.

And some of them, like, would change their opinion when they heard, like, the opinion of Aisha. Like when some companions thought that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw Allah. And then they got clarification from Aisha.

(The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said)

"I saw light. How could I see Allah? It was all light only. I couldn't see beyond that," right? So there were some issues and some differences.

But in general, if you go back to the time of the sahaba and the tabi'een, do you see them as one body upon, more or less, one belief, or do you see them broken up? You see them upon one belief with variations. Now, the verses of the Qur'an, the scholars said, they're broken up also into groups. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did that already.

So, there are certain verses where nobody understands what they're saying. Such as (الم كهيعص طه - ) Nobody knows exactly what they mean. That's one.

Then there's some categories of verses that are so clear, they don't need tafsir, they don't need clarification.

Nobody who understands basic Arabic, hears that verse and thinks more than one maybe. One, it's clear.

Then there's some verses that are vague and they're clarified by other. Other verses will clarify them. Or their understanding isn't with the common folks.

But when you go and ask a mufassir or a scholar, they'll give you what the verse means. So that means, even the Qur'an wasn't meant to be just one type of verses, even though Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala refers to His verses as clear, because in general that is the case. And if you compare the number of verses where nobody knows what they mean, (المكهيعص طه - ) They're a very small number compared to the number of verses.

So in general, yes, it is clear. The Qur'an is clear. And there will be verses here that have an understanding this way and an understanding that way.

When we did Tafsir Surat An-Nur a few months ago in KL, we discussed multiple times how a verse was understood one way and then again it was understood another way. But what was so beautiful the whole time was that they didn't completely clash and contradict each other. They actually supported one another.

If you've ever witnessed a tafsir class where the shaykh goes through the different qiraat and how each one lends different argument, different support to the... It's unbelievable. But how many times do you find a verse where the Mufassireen 180 degree difference? Actually I can't think of any. There might be one, but is that the norm with the Qur'an? So it's a brilliant question.

In general, yes, the ayat are clear. In general, yes, there are differences and there are verses that are vague. But Allahsubhanahu wa ta'ala says,

"As for those who have some disease in their heart. They follow the verses that have vague and unclear issues in them. Why? Because they seek to create fitna and they seek to make ta'weel, give a distorted understanding of the verse." (Quran 3:7)

And this is what happened, I don't have time, but this is what happened with the man, Subeigh al-Iraqi, who used to ask about just the vague verses. He would only ask about the vague verses of the Qur'an.

He would ask the amirs. And so they wrote to Umar, they said, there's a man asking questions we can't answer, what should we do with him? Umar said, send him to me, don't worry. Long story short, Umar had him whipped, whipping maybe, I don't know, if in Islamic history there was whipping like that.

But he saved the man from this nonsense. Because years later Umar had passed on, رضي الله عنه and towards the end of the Khilafah of Uthman, in the 12th year of Uthman's Khilafah, this was a long time later, some people came out, a thousand of them, and they were saying the same arguments he was giving a decade before. So people came to him and said, remember when you were alone and they beat you because don't you have... Now there are a thousand saying what you're saying, why don't you join them? So the narration says, (فَحَكٌ ظَهْرَة - ) "He scratched his back."

He said, the righteous man taught me a lesson. So that's why he didn't go out with him. Anyways, not to make it long-winded, but Allahta'ala a'lam.

Question 2: Educational Background and Advice

Now, please make the questions sharp, straight to the point, no commentary, no mini-lectures, yeah? As- salamu alaykum, Shaykh. Actually I have around 20 questions. So... The best one, the first one is, what is your background of education? Yeah, I need to know, just to clarify.

There's only one question for each. So that I can answer my background of education and we can... Debate will be next time, yeah? Then, just one statement. Maybe you can study on Sufism a little bit, and more on Shafi'i, Allaha'lam.

Well, you're assuming I haven't studied Sufism. I have. And I'm from Sudan originally by default. By default everyone's Sufi. My father's side of the family are all Ismaili Sufis. So you're assuming I don't know anything about them.

And then you said study Sufism and Shafi'ism, as if Shafi'ism is Sufism. They're not one and the same at all. Okay, but why then Shafi'ism? What does that have to do with Sufism? Yeah, when they say Shafi'i, you're doing exactly what we're saying.

You're making, what do you call it? Fiqh? So important. Shafi'i fiqh, Maliki fiqh, Hanafi fiqh, these are understandings of, these are ways, methodologies of understanding. Listen to me.

You don't listen. From the beginning I noticed you weren't listening. Listen, careful to what I'm saying.

Listen, listen to me everyone. Listen. You're in Malaysia and you're Shafi'i.

Shafi'i, Shafi'i madhhab is a way of understanding fiqh. Yes? Maliki madhhab is a way of understanding fiqh. Hanafis, fiqh.

Hanbalis, fiqh. Did these four madhhab disagree in aqeedah issues? They don't. So, ya khay, ahlan wa sahlan, disagree as much as you want on where to put the hands, how to pray, all these things.

There's no difference. So we're in Malaysia, we're not attacking the madhhab of Malaysia or anything. That's a way of understanding fiqh.

Okay? And it should never get to a point where it becomes a big deal. Because aqeedah is the big deal. Fiqh can disagree and you can even be unsure and one year you make it like this and next year you go in circles and the next year you turn it the other way.

That's not a big issue. So, ahlan wa sahlan with Shafi'i fiqh. Yeah, I think the obsession with labeling is maybe a problem.

Like, you know, Shafi'i, Shafi'i, what's the issue? Or Maliki is Maliki. For example, in Sudan people are Maliki and they insist that the Maliki fiqh is the best one. You know why? Because that's the one they were born into.

That's why. You know, to go to Pakistan, Hanafi fiqh. And they're so obsessed with Hanafi fiqh that they try to prove that the Imam was the best one.

That's why they call Imam Abu Hanifa what? Imam-e-A'azam. The best one. Already biased just in that title, right? And then you go somewhere else, Hanbali, Hanbali fiqh.

Yes, of course, Hanbali fiqh. Oh, everyone wants to list who is Hanbali, we have so and so is Hanbali, so and so is Hanbali. Everyone tries to prove their fiqh is the best.

But this is a distraction because these are fiqh issues. So why are you so bent on fiqh? It's just fiqh. Doesn't matter.

We can disagree on it. Actually, I have a better question. Ah, you blew it, man, you blew it.

Question 3: Allah's Location - Aqeedah Issue

There's a brother in the back. Okay. I think after this, brother, anyone has questions? Just one more question after this, brother.

Three, two, one. Okay, this will be the last question, inshallah. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Thank you very much, Sheikh. I just want to ask you one question whether this is considered as aqidah or not. Some people, I'm not quite good in Islam as well, so my statement might be wrong as well.

So I heard some people attribute that Allah is not staying in one place, as if Allah has no place, and some others are saying that Allah is in the same place. So I consider this as an aqidah issue, and people argued quite a lot on this. So how do we reconcile on this matter? Thank you.

Okay, this will be the last question. Okay. So you heard the question, and the question wasn't which one do you believe, the question was how do you reconcile it, right? And something as important as this can't be one where you cannot reconcile, and it can't be one where you cannot find the truth, or Allah didn't make the truth clear, or the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his companions didn't have a specific understanding, it was either this way or that way, you guys with me? Yeah? So let me say one more time, no one was listening.

An issue that is so important has to have an answer for it. It can't be that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala neglected to talk about it, or the companions if you go trace them back, none of them had an issue about it this way or that way. So you can find the truth, and it's the one that has the clear evidence without explanation.

Actually two days ago, I think or yesterday, we were in Trinagonal, and someone was trying to argue again, that oh you know Allah is not on his throne, and he's everywhere and so on and so forth. And every time I gave him a clear evidence of where Allah is, he said, but this means, and I told him, in the end I said something, maybe that woke him up. I said, you're doing exactly what the Christians do with Jesus.

Every time you show him a verse where Jesus said he's a servant, but servant here means, then you show him a verse where Jesus said that we should all worship God, and he never said, and Jesus said, oh but here it means, every evidence that's clear, they're going to explain it away in a different way.

So you tell him, okay six times in the Quran, Allah tells you where he is. Six times Allah tells you he's above his throne.

Oh but you know above the throne, does it really mean the throne? What's the throne? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

"They fear their Lord above them." In the Arabic language, some poetry indicates that above doesn't mean literally above, above it means higher than them in status. So that means I'm going to bring you evidence after evidence after evidence after evidence.

Hadith after hadith. The servant girl point upwards, you're going to tell me, oh it's weak. I mean you're going to use every cheap excuse, you're going to try to kill every argument that I give.

Here's a rule, any time when your position is just to deny what the other person is saying, you're probably at a bad position. Like when every time someone brings you a clear evidence, and you just deny it. Okay? That's not a good position to be in.

So the evidence is... So anyways, the point is to answer your question, how do you reconcile it? It's not difficult to reconcile. It's just through someone putting whatever their bias or whatever their baggage that comes with them aside, and just looking at the evidences. What is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saying to us clearly? And move away from this whole mystical explanation.

There's always a secret behind the explanation. Or somebody says a statement, oh there's a secret behind it. Or someone makes a statement of kufr, yes but there's a secret behind it.

There's always a secret. Is this the religion of secrets? And did Allah reveal this religion to be understood by the masses, or just a few people got the secret? There's a book called, The Secrets of the Secrets. And there's a book, exactly the book called, The Secrets.

And then another one wrote, The Secrets of the Secrets. Like these secrets, who are they for? Was this religion sent to guide the masses, or just to a few guys? Me, you, you, and you over there, we get it. And everyone else, wallahi let them find their own sirat.

Our sirat is special, it has gold on it. Yeah they can laugh, they can laugh at what I was saying. They weren't laughing at their religion, they were laughing at my comment.

Yeah. So anyways, I think that's our time. Jazakumullahu khair.

Closing

Barakallahu feekum. For attentive listening. And thank you for coming again.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.