Episode 10 - Answers to questions and objections about the series Be honored by your Islam

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, dear guests.

Since the series "Be Beloved Through Your Islam" began, many comments have come in stating that this series makes us feel proud of our Islam and removes from our hearts a shame we used to suffer, and praise be to Allah. At the same time, some brothers have raised objections and questions, and this is good that the brothers who follow have criticism and review, and that they do not submit to the poor servant, for everyone is taken from and returned to except our Prophet, peace be upon him.

Main Objections and Questions

The main objections were around six points:

1. The centrality of the Creator.
2. Speaking about congratulating peaceful disbelievers on their joys.
3. Speaking about following their funerals.
4. My statement that the Muslim shows mercy to the disbeliever.
5. My denial of the idea of voting on the rulings of Allah and that they are not up for discussion, as some considered this to be molding Muslims and preventing them from thinking.
6. My denial of the statement "We are disbelievers in their religion and they are disbelievers in our religion."

I would like to discuss these points with you one by one.

Methodology of Content Preparation

First, I want to reassure you, dear ones, that in my episodes, I refer to people of knowledge, for I do not present myself as a scholar who is well-versed in the field of creed or jurisprudence. And since the presentation I offer sometimes has a kind of novelty, and the method of presentation is new, and the application of the verses to reality, I ask the people of knowledge before I present this material to the people, especially since I hope that its benefit will extend long with the permission of Allah, and I do not bear that there are great mistakes in it for which I will bear the burden, if Allah wills. These episodes are calculated word by word, and I constantly consult the people of knowledge in them.

The First Point: The Term Centrality of the Creator

The objection from some brothers was that Allah the Almighty did not describe Himself with this description nor did His Messenger, peace be upon him, describe Him with it.

Know, dear ones, that the chapter of informing about Allah the Almighty is wider than the chapter of names and attributes. You find in the speech of the Salaf that Allah the Almighty is the helper of those who seek refuge, the safety of the fearful, and the connector of those who are cut off, but this does not mean that we name Allah the Almighty "the safety" or "the helper" or "the connector," nor does anyone, for example, take the name Abd al-Aman or Abd al-Ghiyath or Abd al-Wasil.

But the most important point, brothers, in our topic is that the term "centrality of the Creator" is not from the chapter of names and attributes at all, because it is related to the action of the creature, not the description of the Creator. Again, the term "centrality of the Creator" is not from the chapter of names and attributes, because it is related to the action of the creature, not the description of the Creator, meaning the servant centralizes his life around this meaning, not that we describe Allah the Almighty as the center!

And to inform you, I wanted to use the term "centrality of Allah," but two of those whom I consulted from the people of knowledge suggested that I make it "centrality of the Creator" to preserve the specificity of the glorious name, and although I do not see the difference, I stood by the word of the people of knowledge out of respect for their knowledge. So, the term "centrality of the Creator" I mentioned only after the approval of a number of people of knowledge for the permissibility of using it.

The Second Point: Congratulating Peaceful Disbelievers on Their Joys

The second question was raised in the episode "The Hidden Agendas of Muslims" where we say to the peaceful disbeliever: "As long as you are not a warrior, I draw near to Allah by visiting you if you are ill (meaning visiting you if you are ill), accepting your gift and giving you a gift, congratulating you on joys, consoling you in sorrows, accepting your invitation, praying for you for guidance, and following your funeral if you die."

Some brothers asked: Does your statement "congratulating you on joys" include congratulating disbelievers on their religious holidays?

The answer is of course no, therefore I did not say "on holidays" but "on joys." You can also say to him: "May Allah grant you success in what is good for this world and the hereafter," so that your congratulations are not devoid of a supplication that Allah may guide him.

Al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in "Al-Athkar": "Know that it is not permissible to supplicate for him with forgiveness and the like of what is not said for the disbeliever, but it is permissible to supplicate for him with guidance, health of the body, safety, and the like."

And in the authentic hadith: "The Jews would sneeze in the presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him," meaning they would intentionally sneeze, hoping that he would say to them: "May Allah have mercy on you." What would the Prophet, peace be upon him, say to them? He would say to them: "May Allah guide you and rectify your affairs." Permissible words, because it is not permissible to seek forgiveness for a disbeliever.

As for religious holidays, I have clarified repeatedly and in detail the prohibition of congratulating disbelievers on them.

The Third Point: Following Their Funerals

The third question was: "You said, O Eyad, that we say to the non-warrior disbeliever, 'Follow your funeral if you die.' How do we follow your funeral when it may contain religious rituals?" It may contain religious rituals.

I say, dear ones, if it contains religious rituals of shirk, then it is not permissible for the Muslim to witness shirk and remain silent, but rather he should withdraw at that time. As for if it does not contain rituals of shirk, there is a difference of opinion on the matter, on the matter of following the funeral of the non-warrior disbeliever.

Some have permitted it, based on the command of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to Ali to cover Abu Talib. And what was reported from Ibn Abbas that a person whose mother was Christian or Jewish was commanded to do the same. And in the fatwas of the Islam Network, there is a detailed fatwa, we will put the link for you in the comments.

And what was mentioned in it briefly, they said: "Following the funeral of the disbeliever has not been reported with a definitive proof, but the definitive proof has been reported in the prohibition of praying for him and supplicating for him, and it is a matter of consensus."

And those who prohibited following the funeral of the disbeliever argued that it resembles praying for him. And some went to the permissibility of following (meaning following the funeral of the disbeliever) and they argued for that with reports from the righteous predecessors, the companions and the followers, including that a number of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, followed the funeral of Umm al-Harith ibn Abi Rabi'ah, who was Christian.

Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani reported in the Book of Athar: "Abu Hanifa informed us from Hamd from Ibrahim that al-Harith ibn Abi Rabi'ah's mother, who was Christian, died, and a group of the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, followed her funeral." Muhammad said: "We do not see any harm in following her, we do not see any harm in following her, except that he moves aside from the funeral," meaning he is not in the procession of the funeral. He said: "This is the saying of Abu Hanifa." And this report, dear brothers, is with Ibn Abi Shayba and Abd al-Razzaq as in the fatwa also.

However, dear ones, the truth is that in such a case, it is better to avoid controversial matters or at least to clarify that they are controversial. And since the matter is one of considerable difference of opinion among the people of knowledge, I preferred to delete it from the episode. Now if you go back to the episode on YouTube, you will find that I have deleted the phrase "and following your funeral if you die," because as I mentioned to you, it is important to me that this material remains as accurate as possible and that Muslims benefit from it across generations with the permission of Allah the Almighty.

The Fourth Point: The Muslim Shows Mercy to the Disbeliever

The fourth question was an objection, and the disbelievers here, in general, include both those who wage war and those who do not.

We say, esteemed ones, the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah is to gather evidence, not to pit one piece of evidence against another. Allah the Almighty says, describing the believers: "Fierce against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves" [Al-Fath: 29]. It is He, glorified be He, who says: "And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds" [Al-Anbiya: 107], to the worlds, meaning in general.

Do you want more than that? And look at the saying of our Prophet, peace be upon him: "Show mercy to those on the earth," "Show mercy to those on the earth," which are also phrases of generality.

And Allah the Almighty said: "And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you" [Al-Ma'idah: 5], meaning it is permissible for you to marry them, with details in the dispute over marriage and its conditions. However, the point here is that Allah the Almighty has also said: "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy" [Ar-Rum: 21]. Thus, Jewish or Christian women fall under the description of "mates," and it is inconceivable to have a marriage without mercy.

For all of this, the believer shows mercy to all creation. Ibn Taymiyyah said in his response to Al-Bakri: "And the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah and the people of knowledge and faith among them have knowledge and justice until he said: And they show mercy to creation, desiring for them good, guidance, and knowledge. They do not intend harm for them initially. But if they punish them and clarify their mistakes, ignorance, and injustice, their intention is to clarify the truth and show mercy to creation. Their intention is to clarify the truth and show mercy to creation."

This statement applies to the innovator, it applies to the Muslim communities, and it applies to the disbelievers. And if there is a specification regarding this, then the first specification is "fierce against the disbelievers" with the fighting disbelievers. Knowing also that the place of severity does not contradict the place of mercy, for each has its place and condition. And the greatest mercy shown to the disbelievers is inviting them to Islam, out of compassion for them from the misguidance of this world and the punishment of the Hereafter.

So what about "merciful among themselves"? With the believers, [they are] compassionate and merciful. Why was the mercy specified for the believers? Because there is no doubt, esteemed ones, that your mercy for the believer is greater than your mercy for the disbeliever. The believer has a special mercy from us in addition to our general mercy, we Muslims, for all creation, whether they are believers or disbelievers. And to Allah belongs the highest example.

Look at the saying of Allah the Almighty: "And My mercy encompasses all things. So I will decree it for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses" [Al-A'raf: 156]. There is a general mercy for all creation, and a special mercy for the believers.

The Fifth Point: Voting on the Judgments of Allah

Fifthly, in the episode "Your Opinion or the Judgment of Allah?" I mentioned that there are matters in which Allah has given a decisive judgment, and therefore it is never acceptable to put these matters to a vote among Muslims. Some of the brothers said to me that I am warning against discussing Islamic rulings, their wisdom, their evidence, and the doubts that may be raised about them.

And one of the brothers said: "If we adopt the strategy that you mentioned in the video, we will turn the Muslims into chess pieces who do not understand or comprehend, and this will weaken the mind in terms of thinking and convincing others of the religion."

I say to the brothers: Then you have not understood me. Discussing the evidence, responding to doubts, developing critical thinking and intellectual immunity, and contemplating the rulings of Islamic legislation, all of this is what we do through the various series. Some students play the role of the supporter, and others play the role of the opponent to the Islamic ruling, as a form of representation. And my role in managing the discussion and commenting on it is to clarify to each team where the mistakes are that the team representing the rejection of the Islamic ruling has made, either because they see that there is no evidence from the Sharia for it and therefore it is not an Islamic ruling in the first place, or that even if it is from the Sharia, it does not suit the spirit of the age. And the team that defends the Islamic ruling, I clarified to them the flaws in their arguments, and even the defenders, I clarified to them the weakness of some of their arguments. All of this is preparation for the students if they face these doubts in practical life, so that they are able to respond to them and possess intellectual and doctrinal immunity towards them.

So on the contrary, we stimulate thought and do not want Muslims to imitate without awareness, especially when it is likely that they will be exposed to such doubts. And if there were people qualified to manage such discussions, I would encourage the spread of the idea. But the reality is that if the discussion manager is not qualified, it may give a negative result and not show the arguments of truth in these matters.

All of this is completely different from the topic of the episode "Your Opinion or the Judgment of Allah?" In that episode, I was completely condemning the idea of putting the judgments of Allah to a vote among Muslims to accept or reject them. The issue in this case is not education and intellectual fortification, nor contemplation of wisdom, nor comparing evidence to reach the will of Allah. Rather, it is a judgment of people's whims in the Sharia of Allah. And this is a contradiction because it opposes their being Muslims in the first place. This is a contradiction with their Islam. If there is doubt among some Muslims, then we discuss them with evidence and proof. But I do not come to a Muslim and say to him: "What do you think? Do you choose the command of Allah? Or is this matter not correct and we should find the truth elsewhere?"

The Sixth Point: We Are Disbelievers in Their Religion and They Are Disbelievers in Ours

Sixthly, esteemed ones, and finally, in the episode "Muslim Agendas," I said, condemning, or you may find some of them uttering the phrase "We are disbelievers in their religion, and they are disbelievers in ours," meaning that the word "disbelief" does not blame us or blame them as if we are equal. Meaning that the word "disbelief" does not blame us or blame them as if we are equal. Some of the brothers understood that the phrase "We are disbelievers in their religion and they are disbelievers in ours" is wrong in every case, regardless of the context.

We say no, esteemed ones, and for this reason, I specified by saying: "Meaning that the word disbelief does not blame us or blame them as if we are equal." Meaning this is the saying of the denier when used to indicate the relativity of the truth, as if we, as Muslims, lack the evidence for the correctness of our religion just as others do. We are disbelievers in their eyes, and they are disbelievers in our eyes, and no one has evidence, and no one has anything. This statement is false.

While this same phrase may be used in another context, saying: "Do you think, O one who flatter the disbelievers, that they refrain from calling us disbelievers? Rather, we are disbelievers in their false religion just as they are disbelievers in our true religion." And in this case, the meaning is sound and there is no objection to it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I return to say, may Allah reward the brothers well for their scrutiny and not following blindly. This is what we want, to revolve with the truth wherever it is and not to submit to anyone without awareness. And I hope that I have succeeded in clarification. And whatever is correct in it is from Allah, and to Him belongs all praise and favor. And whatever is incorrect is from myself and from Satan, and I seek forgiveness from Allah. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.