[Olphander]

The following is a part of the extract from Reliance of a Traveller, on the Delusions of the Islamic Scholar:

THEOLOGICAL POLEMICISTS

Among them are those who busy themselves with theological polemics against heretical beliefs, and refuting the unorthodox. Scholars engaged in this are of two types, those in the wrong and those in the right, the former advocating something other than the sunna, the latter advocating the sunna. Both are deluded.

The misguidedness of those in the wrong is obvious (since they have left the Quran and sunna which are divinely protected).

As for those in the right, their delusion is in believing that arguing is the most important activity and greatest spiritual work in the religion of Allah Most High. They maintain that one's religion is not complete until one has made lengthy investigations into one's beliefs, and that someone who simply believes in Allah and His messenger without preparing a case for it is deficient in faith. Because of this mistaken presumption, they spend their lives learning how to dispute, conducting in-depth studies of statements of theological controversies until their spiritual insight eventually goes blind.

They do not pause to consider that the early Muslims, whom the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) testified were the very best of mankind, and who lived to see many a reprehensible innovation (bid'a) and deviant belief, did not expose themselves and their religion to quarrel and disputation, or busy themselves therein at the expense of their hearts and works. They did not talk about it at all, except under necessity to refute misguidance. And if they saw someone persisting in blameworthy innovation, they had nothing more to do with him, without further debate or argument.

The hadith has reached us, "No people went astray after having been guided save that they were afflicted with arguing."



The above is for the scholars, so what would be our level of error when we laymen engage in such polemics??
May Allah protect us. ameen.

[Olphander]

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...s-matter/page2


Imam Ghazzali in his Ihya Uloom uddeen


" it is the duty of people after accepting Iman and Islam to engage themselves in worship and carry on their livelihood..and leave the ilmi masail at the hands of Ulema.. for a commoner to argue in these matters is more harmful and dangerous than Zina and stealing..since a person who is not well versed in deeni uloom and continues to argue in the masail of Allah and his deen.. it is very much possible that he forms an opinion thats is Kufr and he may not even be aware that what he thinks is kufr.. this is similar to a person who doesnt know swimming and jumps into the ocean."

[vicgirl]

Assalam alikum wa rahmat Allah,

Excellent warrning jazak allah khair brother.especially our generation being product of education that is logical and literal are more prone to seek truth with mind and argumentation. Naudubillah

[textarchive]

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...s-matter/page2


Imam Ghazzali in his Ihya Uloom uddeen


" it is the duty of people after accepting Iman and Islam to engage themselves in worship and carry on their livelihood..and leave the ilmi masail at the hands of Ulema.. for a commoner to argue in these matters is more harmful and dangerous than Zina and stealing..since a person who is not well versed in deeni uloom and continues to argue in the masail of Allah and his deen.. it is very much possible that he forms an opinion thats is Kufr and he may not even be aware that what he thinks is kufr.. this is similar to a person who doesnt know swimming and jumps into the ocean."

u shuld b a hanafi

[Olphander]

The full article:


بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ

s2.0 THE DELUSIONS OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARS

THOSE REMISS IN OUTWARD CONDUCT

s2.1 As for religious scholars, some master the legal and rational sciences but neglect to examine their outward habits and practices, not keeping their external self from sin or making it faithful in obedience. They are deluded by their learning and feel sure they rate high with Allah. If they were to look with the eye of insight, they would see that the whole point of knowing about religious practice is to apply it. Without works, it is useless.

Allah Most High says,
"He who purifies it [the soul] has succeeded" (Quran 91:9),
not, "He who knows how to purify it has succeeded."

If the Devil reminds such a person of the virtues of learned people, let the person for his part remember what has reached us about corrupt scholars, such as Allah's saying,
" ... like a donkey laden with books" (Quran 62:5).

THOSE WHO NEGLECT THEIR INWARD FAULTS

s2.2 Others master religious learning and its outward performance, but do not examine their hearts to eliminate the blameworthy traits therein such as pride, envy, ostentation, and seeking exaltation or fame. These have made their exterior seemly while neglecting their interior, forgetting the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), "Allah does not look at your appearance or property, but only at your hearts and works."

Such people apply themselves to works but do not apply themselves to hearts, though the heart is the real foundation, since no one is saved "except he who comes to Allah with a pure heart" (Quran 26:89).

They resemble someone who sows grain that comes up with weeds choking it out, but when ordered to weed it, merely trims away the weeds' twigs and stems, neglecting the roots, which take stronger hold.

Another segment of scholars know that these inner qualities are condemnable, but out of self satisfaction feel they are above them, and that they are too good as far as Allah is concerned for Him to afflict them with such traits, that only common people have them and not people at their own level of learning. When symptoms of arrogance or avidness for leadership appear in such people, one of them may say, "This is not arrogance, but only seeking to exalt Islam, display the nobility of religious learning, and to spite those given to reprehensible innovations. Were I to wear clothes less fine or sit with a lower class of people, the enemies of religion would smirk, and gloat at my humiliation, which amounts to humiliating Islam." And he forgets about delusion, and that it is Satan who has seduced him with this, which is plain from the fact that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and his Companions were humble in manner and preferred the way of poverty and lowliness.

Still other scholars have acquired religious knowledge, purified their exterior actions, making them seemly with obedience, and examined their hearts, purifying them of ostentation, envy, pride, and the like, and yet there remain snares of the Devil and tricks of the ego hidden in the recesses of their hearts which they have failed to notice and thus neglected. You might see one of them spending the night and day in learning various religious sciences, organizing them, and polishing up their terminology, such a person thinking his motive is the desire to manifest the religion of Allah Most High, while the real motive might be to make a name for himself and enhance his prestige. Perhaps too, his published work is not entirely free of self-praise, whether overtly, by wide, sweeping claims, or covertly, by attacks on others, to show by attacking them that he is better than. they are and more knowledgeable. Such kinds of behavior and similar ones are hidden faults which few discern but the wisest and strongest. Those as weak as we are have little hope of doing so, but at least a person should be aware of his own defects and wish they were corrected. There is hope for someone whose good acts make him happy and wicked ones make him sad, unlike someone who applauds himself and thinks himself the best of men.

s2.3 The above are the delusions of those who master important branches of Sacred Knowledge. How then for those who content themselves with studying fields not essential to them, neglecting the important ones?

THEOLOGICAL POLEMICISTS
s2.4 Among them are those who busy themselves with theological polemics against heretical beliefs, and refuting the unorthodox. Scholars engaged in this are of two types, those in the wrong and those in the right, the former advocating something other than the sunna, the latter advocating the sunna. Both are deluded. The misguidedness of those in the wrong is obvious (A: since they have left the Quran and sunna which are divinely protected). As for those in the right, their delusion is in believing that arguing is the most important activity and greatest spiritual work in the religion of Allah Most High. They maintain that one's religion is not complete until one has made lengthy investigations into one's beliefs, and that someone who simply believes in Allah and His messenger without preparing a case for it is deficient in faith. Because of this mistaken presumption, they spend their lives learning how to dispute, conducting in-depth studies of statements of theological controversies until their spiritual insight eventually goes blind. They do not pause to consider that the early Muslims, whom the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) testified were the very best of mankind, and who lived to see many a reprehensible innovation (bid'a) and deviant belief, did not expose themselves and their religion to quarrel and disputation, or busy themselves therein at the expense of their hearts and works. They did not talk about it at all, except under necessity to refute misguidance. And if they saw someone persisting in blameworthy innovation, they had nothing more to do with him, without further debate or argument.

The hadith has reached us, "No people went astray after having been guided save that they were afflicted with arguing."


SERMONIZERS
82.5 Others spend their time in homilies to people, the highest class of whom speak about traits of the self and qualities of the heart such as fear, hope, patience, gratitude, reliance on Allah, abstinence, certainty, and sincerity; thinking that by merely speaking of them, even if they do not have them, they acquire them. Such people call to Allah while they themselves flee from Him. They are among the most deluded. And some of them turn from the proper way of exhorting others to relating baseless tales, adding words that are neither acceptable to Sacred Law nor to human intelligence, in an attempt to say something novel.

LEARNING HADITH FOR THE SAKE OF MAKING A REPUTATION
s2.6 Others spend their time in listening to hadiths, gathering variants and rare chains of transmission or chains remarkable for having come through but few transmitters of advanced years. The concern of one of them is to go from city to city, seeing sheikhs in order to drop names, saying, "I relate from So-and-so," "I've met So and- so," or "I know chains of transmission no one else does."

ARABISTS
s2.7 Others devote their time to advanced studies in Arabic grammar, lexicography, and poetry, claiming they are the scholars of the Islamic Community, dissipating their lives in subtleties of grammar and diction. If they stopped to think, they would realize that someone who wastes his lifetime in the knowledge of the language of the Arabs is like someone who wastes it in knowledge of the language of the Turks. Arabic is only distinguished above the latter in that the Sacred Law has come in it. As for lexicology, there are only two areas in which it is necessary for one to gain an understanding of rare words: those of the Quran, and those of the hadith. As for grammar, one but needs enough to use the language properly.

s2.8 The really fortunate person is he who takes of each thing the amount that is critical to him and then goes on to apply it, putting his effort behind it and purifying it of imperfection. And this is the real aim.


[RELIANCE OF THE TRAVELLER]

[sigrekatonov]

[QUOTE]

.since a person who is not well versed in deeni uloom and continues to argue in the masail of Allah and his deen.. [B]it is very much possible that he forms an opinion thats is Kufr[/B} and he may not even be aware that what he thinks is kufr.. this is similar to a person who doesnt know swimming and jumps into the ocean."

The question is what type of kufr, something that takes one out of Islam or not? And if some belief takes one out of Islam unknowingly will they be held accountable by Allah ?

Remember the hadith where a man out of fear of Allah asked his children to burn his body after death and to scatter his ashes in different parts of the earth, hoping that Allah would not be able to bring him back to life, yet when Allah brought him back to life...his wrong beliefs were forgiven because of his fear of Allah .

[IdomeoreTew]

u shuld b a hanafi

why is that?