Fanaticism to Individuals in Spite of Error
54] Question: Some people, may Allaah guide them, sanctify certain
individuals and fanatically cling to their views. What is your advice
to them?
Answer: It is obligatory to follow the truth whoever it is with, and
not to follow individuals that oppose the truth.
Imaam Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: I am amazed by a
people who know the chain of narration (of a hadeeth) and its
authenticity, yet they go by the opinion of Sufyaan.
And Allaah, the Most high, says: So let those who oppose his Command
(i.e. Sunnah) be warned, lest some fitnah (trial) should befall them
or a painful punishment be inflicted on them. [Surah An-Noor: 63]
Ibn Abbaas (radyAllaahu anhu) said: It is imminent that rocks will
descend upon you from the heavens I say Allah said and you say Abu
Bakr and Umar said.
So if this warning and threat is with regard to following the most
virtuous of people after the prophets without proof, then how much
more so for following one who is neither here nor there (i.e. a
nobody), such as those who are not known to have knowledge or virtue
but yet are proficient in rambling speech?
Shaikh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan
[Al-Ajwibah Al-Mufeedah: pg. 108
(60) Question: What is the ruling on someone who loves a scholar or a
caller and says: I love him very much, I don’t want to hear about
anyone refuting him and I will take his words even if they are in
opposition to the proof because this Shaikh is more aware of the proof
than we are.
Answer: This is ta’asub (fanaticism), which is detested and condemned,
and it is not permissible.
We love the scholars, all praise be to Allaah, and we love the callers
to the way of Allaah. However, if one of them errs in an issue, then
we clarify the truth with regard to this issue, with the evidence. And
this does not detract from the love or status held for the one being
refuted.
Imaam Maalik, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: There is none of us,
except that he can refute or be refuted, except for the one buried in
this gravemeaning Allaah’s Messenger.
So when we refute one of the scholars or one of the noble
personalities, this does not mean that we have a hatred for him or
that we are belittling him. Rather, we are clarifying what is correct.
This is why when one of the scholars saw that one of his colleagues
erred, he said: So and so is our beloved friend, however the truth is
more beloved to us than him. This is the correct way.
And do not understand from the refutation of a scholar in an issue he
erred in to mean that it is a belittling of him or hatred for him. On
the contrary, the scholars have not ceased to refute one other
(throughout history), but in spite of that, they are brothers holding
love for one another.
It is not permissible for us to accept entirely everything an
individual says whether he is correct or wrong because this is
ta’assub (blind fanaticism).
The (only) one whom we can take all of his sayings and not leave off
any of them is Allaah’s Messenger, because he is the conveyer from his
Lord and he does not speak from his own desire. As for those other
than him, then they can err at times and be correct at times. Even if
they are from the most virtuous of people and they are Mujtahids (i.e.
scholars), they can err at times and be correct at times.
There is no one that is protected from error except Allaah’s Messenger.
We must know this. Furthermore, we do not conceal the error out of our
love for such and such individual. Rather it is upon us to expose and
clarify the error. The Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:
The Religion is Sincerity. We said: To who? He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) said: To Allaah, to His Book, to His Messenger, the Muslim
leaders and their common folk.
Clarifying the error falls under Sincerity to everyone. But as for
concealing the error, then this is in opposition to the Sincerity.
Shaikh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan
[Al-Ajwibah Al-Mufeedah: pg. 120-122]
[To read this text in Spanish language, click here]
