Lesson 4 on the explanation of Usool us-Sittah (The Six Principles) is now available. You can listen to or download it here:

Lesson 4.mp3

The Second Foundation

Allāh commanded with unity in the religion and prohibited from separation therein. Allāh explained this with a sufficient explanation such that the common people can understand it. And He forbade us from being like those before us who split and differed among themselves and were destroyed thereby. He mentioned that He commanded the Muslims to be united in religion, and forbade them from becoming separated therein. The [matter] is further increased in clarity through what has been reported in the Sunnah of amazing affairs pertaining to that. Then the matter became [overturned] such that separation in the foundations and subsidiary branches of the religion was turned into knowledge and understanding of the religion, and [the affair became such that] unity in the religion was not spoken of except by one deemed a heretic or insane.

The text of Usool us-Sittah can be found here: The Six Principles (Arabic and English).pdf

Points or topics discussed in the lesson:

A historical look at the sects which appeared that split the Muslim Ummah and caused division:

FIRST CENTURY

1. Khawaarij

• Had little understanding of the Deen and were overtaken by Hawaa and Jahl.
• Revolted against Uthmaan and Ali (radiAllaahu anhum).
• Were displeased with the rulers and how they distribute wealth.
• Had false doctrines in relation to takfir and the rulers.
• Thought they were establishing justice.
• Created chaos and turmoil just like ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Shabbab and Boko Haram in our times.

2. Raafidah

• Opposed Sahabah, expelling them from Islam except for about three or so.
• Reviled the wives of the Prophet.
• Believed the Qur’aan is not complete.
• Believed Prophethood should have come to Ali.

3. Qadariyyah

• Deny Allah knows things before they take place.
• Deny Allah creates actions for His servants.
• Described as the Majoos (Magians) of this Ummah. Majoos are from Persia who believe in a God of good and a God of evil.
• Majoos appeared during the time of Ibn Umar (radiAllaahu anhu).
• The Shiah are the Qadariyyah of today, and groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda and their likes are Khawaarij. These ideas never disappeared from the Ummah.

4. Murji’ah

• Erred in relation to whether actions are from Eemaan.
• Their misguidance and innovation was a result of trying to counter-react the belief of the Khawaarij. They thought how can a Muslim leave faith through actions, so faith must be in the heart.
• Eemaan (faith) is also actions of the hearts such as fear of Allah, hope in Allah, reliance upon Allah, etc.
• Examples of Eemaan of speech include the Shahadah, Dhikr and Istighfaar.
• Eemaan is belief in the heart, speech of the tongue and actions of the limb. Eemaan can also increase and decrease. This is the correct belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.

These four are the Usool (foundations) of the sects that led to the splitting of the Muslim Ummah. These innovations also occurred among the Jews (who for example rebelled against the rulers) and the Christians (who held the belief of the Qadariyyah).

SECOND CENTURY AND ONWARDS

From the second century and onwards a number of orientations appeared:

5. Ilm ul-Kalaam

• Spoke about Allah’s Names, Attributes and Actions using philosophy and reason, speculative speech.
• Jahmiyyah – came about due to Jahm ibn Safwan and Ja’d ibn Dirham regularly debating with non-Muslims (like some people today). This was at the beginning of the second century.
• Affected by the philosophy of the Greeks like Aristotle and Plato.
• These philosophies used to talk about prime mover or first cause, and used negative language e.g. God is NOT…
• Men were using their intellects and trying to figure out what is perfection for Allah.
• This poison had already affected the Jews and Christians.
• They saw texts in the Qur’an and Sunnah e.g. Allah descends, is above the Throne, etc, and began to give new explanations of these texts, metaphorical ones.
• Other sects/groups include; Mu’tazilah, Kullabiyyah, Karramiyyah, Asharis, Maturidis. These are collectively known as Ilm-ul Kalaam.

6. Tasawwuf (Sufism)

• Began as an exaggeration in piety, keeping away from the world (renouncing it).
• Would involve living in poverty, locking oneself up, just worshipping all night.
• This exaggeration in worship grew and grew until it became an innovation.
• Tawassuf is related to spirituality, how to come closer to Allah and avoid lusts.
• Took ideas from the Buddhists. Many Sufis came from Balkh which was a centre of Buddhism who were into meditation.
• Concerned with cleansing the soul. They innovated in worship such as in Dhikr. This grew until evil ideas entered into it like beliefs of Kufr.

7. Falsafah (Philosophy)

• Books of Greek philosophy and logic were translated into Arabic at the end of the second century and beginning of the third century.
• This was the starting point of many of the Islamic sciences (like Tafsir, Fiqh and Aqidah) being corrupted.
• Al-Ghazali brought logic (muntaq) into Islamic sciences. Mu’tazilah played a big role in this.

8. Baatiniyyah

• A secretive movement with origins in Shi’ism that is concerned with inward, hidden, secret forms of knowledge.
• Believe Qur’an has an apparent meaning and a hidden meaning. They say the true meaning is with Ali.
• Believe every verse has many hidden meanings.
• Some Jews say there’s a hidden code in the Torah likewise with the Christians and their scripture.
• Islam is open and apparent, there’s no secret orders. Islam teaches the truth, no one has special knowledge.

9. Ra’i

• Using opinion when speaking about the Religion especially verdicts/rulings. This is a form of deviation.
• People used to give opinion a greater value than ahadith. This led to opposing the Sunnah of the Messenger. Find this among the Hanafis and others who believe in rigidity, holding on to their madhab e.g. Shafi’is who hold touching a woman invalidates the wudhu and aren’t willing to let go of this, sticking to their school of thought.

Just pause and reflect and you’ll see what is wrong with the Muslim Ummah.