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Amma-ba’d

Explanation of Allaah’s Statement:
“And they will never cease to differ except upon whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy”

The following is a highly beneficial excerpt from a lesson that student Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Waahid (hafidhahullaah Ta’aala) gave during his recent trip to America:

[Listen to mp3 lecture @ AbuKhadeejah – Final Night : Mercy Upon The Salafis and Love between them]

…So Ahlus-Sunnah’s Qawaa`id (principles) and Usool (fundamentals) follow on from the Kitab (Qur`an) and the Sunnah. Ahlul-Bid’ah – the reverse.[1] They invent and then they try to establish proofs from the Kitab and the Sunnah.[2] And this is where (and how) splitting and differing occurs. Of course, it’s going to lead to it, because everyone starts doing that. Then everyone will come with their own religion. And the Deen of Allaah, Subhanahu wa Ta’aala, is one.

So this is what we are upon. So if one returns back to the Kitab and the Sunnah, and the sayings of the Sahaaba (radiallaahu ‘anhum), then you will find that Allaah and His Messenger (salallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) forbade splitting.

Allaah, Subhanahu wa Ta’aala, stated:

وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلاَّ مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ

…But they will not cease to differ (disagree) – Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy…
(Hud, ayat 118 and 119)

So Allaah mentions in this ayah two groups of people: (a) those who differ; and (b) those who are free from differing. Because Allaah said:

وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ

But they will not cease to differ (disagree) : So there are the Mukhtalifeen, who will never cease to differ, those people who fall into this Ikhtilaaf, those who will never cease to differ.

إِلاَّ مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ

Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy : So this is the other group.

The great scholar ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdil-’Azeez (d. 102 H, rahimahullaah Ta’aala), the Mujjadid (The Reviver) and King[3], said:

“Allaah created the people of His mercy in order that they do not differ.”

And Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm Al-Anduloosi (rahimahullaah Ta’aala), from the great Imams of Spain, said:

“So Allaah, Subhanahu wa Ta’aala, excluded those upon whom He bestowed His mercy from being those who differ. And He has (protected) those under His mercy from being those who differ.”

So those who are deserving of the mercy of Allaah, do they differ? [No,] they don’t differ.

Likewise, Imam Ash-Shatibee (rahimahullaah Ta’aala) mentioned in his book Al-I’tisaam:

“This ayah necessitates that the people of ikhtilaff mentioned are distinct from those whom Allaah has bestowed His mercy, due to the statement of Allaah:

وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلاَّ مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ

…But they will not cease to differ (disagree) – Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy… (Hud, ayat 118 and 119)

This ayah shows that the people are of two types:

(a) Ahlul-Ikhtilaf (the people of differing); and
(b) those whom have been bestowed by Allaah’s mercy.

And what is apparent from this categorization is that the people of mercy are not from the people of differing.”

So the Ummah is of two types: (a) Ahlul-Ikhtilaaf (those who differ), and therefore they are devoid of Allaah’s mercy; and (b) Ahlur-Rahma (the people of the mercy of Allaah), those who do not differ.

Ibnu Wahhab (rahimahullah Ta’aala) said: “I heard (Imam) Malik saying:

‘Those whom Allaah shows His mercy to, they do not differ.’”

They do not differ. This is why Ahlus-Sunnati wal-Jama’ah put so much emphasis upon the fact that we do not differ – we are united. Our ‘aqeedah is one, our Messenger (salallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is one, the Sunnah is one. The Manhaj is one. The way of the sahaaba is one. Do we not keep re-iterating this?

Why? Because we want the people to know: Ahlus-Sunnah are united, Ahlus-Sunnah are Ahlur-Rahma, and we are not from those who are Mukhtalifeen (those who differ). We do not like to be from those who differ.

Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah Ta’aala) said: “Allaah said:

وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ إِلاَّ مَنْ رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذَلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ

…But they will not cease to differ (disagree) – Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy. And for that did He create them… (Hud, ayat 118 and 119)

So Allaah has informed us that the people of mercy do not differ. And the people of mercy follow the followers of the Prophets in their speech and action, and they are the people of the Qur`an and Hadeeth from this Ummah. And whoever differs from them in anything, then he distances himself, and he leaves the mercy of Allaah to the extent that he differs from them.”

So after mentioning that Allaah has divided the people into two types: (a) the people who differ; and (b) the people of mercy (Ahlus-Sunnah, Ahlul-Hadeeth, Ahlul Qur`an wal-Hadeeth), then Ibn Taymiyyah said: whomsoever differs with them. He didn’t say, ‘whomsoever differs with it.’ Ibnu Taymeeyah didn’t say that. He said: whoever differs with them. With who? With them. With Ahlul-Hadeeth, Ahlul Qur`an wal-Hadeeth, Ahlus-Sunnati wal-Jama’ah.

Whoever differs with them – in anything – he leaves the mercy of Allaah to the extent that he differs with them. So the more you differ with Ahlus-Sunnah, Ahlul-Hadeeth, the Salafiyeen, the more you leave the mercy of Allaah.

That’s an amazing Fahm (understanding) of Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah.

And whoever opposes (Ahlus-Sunnah, the Salafees) in the affair of ‘Aqeedah, if they oppose them in the affair of Manhaj, if they oppose them in their following of the Sahaaba, the more they oppose them, the more (they are distanced) Read more…