Insist I am A Salafee

Shaikh Al-Albaanee: “I insist I am Salafee”
[A refutation of the false principle of Aa’id Al-Qarnee]
Author: Imaam Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaanee

Translator: abu maryam

Questioner: One of the students of knowledge in the lands of Najd (Saudi Arabia) said: “Whoever says I am Salafi” or “I am Tableeghi” and so on mentioning other groups, then he must be made to repent. And if he doesn’t repent, then he is to be killed, as a hadd (Islamic punishment).

Shaikh: I don’t think he said this.

Questioner: By Allaah, Shaikh, he said it, and here is a cassette recording, which confirms it.

[Then the questioner plays the tape on which Aa’id Al-Qarnee’s voice can be heard saying the following: “And know, may Allaah preserve you, that it is not permissible for anybody to make it obligatory for someone to follow one of the madhaahib. So whoever says to the people or to one amongst the servants (of Allaah: ‘You are obligated to be a Hanbalee, or Maalikee, or Shaafi’ee or Hanafee’, then he must be made to repent. And if he does not repent he is to be killed. And whoever makes it obligatory for one of the people to be Ikhwanee or Salafee or Tableeghi or Suroori – he makes this an obligation – then he must be made to repent and if he doesn’t do so, he is to be killed. This is because Allaah did not name us anything but Muslims.” Then the tape stops and the Shaikh comments.]

Shaikh: I don’t think a scholar would say this. I don’t think a person of knowledge would say something like this! [People laughing in the background] As for someone who is not a scholar, then it is possible that he can say such a thing or even worse than it.

Questioner: So what is your advice O Shaikh?

Answer: My advice to him is that he understands – what is the meaning of (the word) Salafee? And I say to him now: “Are you absolving yourself from the Salaf??” He will say “No” if he is a person of knowledge. But if he is from one of those who doesn’t know anything, he will say: “I just follow the Qur’aan and Sunnah.”

But how do you understand the Qur’aan and how do you understand the Sunnah? Do you interpret the Qur’aan, by means of the Qur’aan first, then the Sunnah second? What do we call this? This is an error. It is not permissible for us to say: “We interpret the Qur’aan by way of the Qur’aan, then the Sunnah.” Rather, we interpret the Qur’aan by way of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, together. This is since we absolutely cannot manage to understand the Qur’aan without the Sunnah.

This is why I used to mention in some of my books that one of the evidences for rejecting the hadeeth of Mu’aadh Ibn Jabal, in which he said that Allaah’s Messenger (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) – as the hadeeth alleges – that when he sent Mu’aad Ibn Jabal to Yemen he said: “What will you judge by?” Mu’aadh said: “By the Book of Allaah.” So he said: “And if you don’t find it (i.e. an answer in it)?” He said: “Then by the Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger.” So he said: ”And if you don’t find (an answer in) it?” So he said: “I will strive to come up with my own opinion.” So the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “All praise be to Allaah who guided the messenger of Allaah’s Messenger towards that which Allaah’s Messenger loves.”

This is a munkar (rejected) hadeeth. Why? Is it correct, with regard to those who graduated from the school of Muhammad (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), as is commonly said nowadays, to differentiate between the Qur’aan and the Sunnah and to place the Sunnah with respect to the Qur’aan in the same position as the opinion with respect to the Sunnah? When does the scholar refer to his opinion (?) – when he doesn’t find an answer in the Sunnah. When does he refer to the Sunnah (?) – when he can’t find an answer in the Qur’aan. This is not correct. It is obligatory to combine both the Qur’aan and the Sunnah together because they both originate from one source.

But this hadeeth gives the Sunnah a position of being under the Qur’aan, equaling it to the position of the opinion under the Sunnah. When does one exert himself to come up with his own opinion (?) – when he doesn’t find any answer in the Sunnah. When does he refer to the Sunnah (?) – when he doesn’t find any answer in the Qur’aan.

This is wrong. The first one was correct. When does he refer to his own opinion (?) – when he doesn’t find an answer in the Sunnah. When does he refer to the Sunnah (?) – when he doesn’t find an answer in the Qur’aan. This is wrong. Why?

Now we will ask a question concerning the dead animals of the sea. Are they Halaal (lawful) or Haraam (unlawful)? Allaah says: “Forbidden for you are dead animals.” [Surah Al-Maa’idah: 6] So then we have found the answer in the Qur’aan, right? No, but we must continue to look, is there anything in the Sunnah that responds to this ayah and which restricts it? Yes, there is. So therefore the scholar actually has no choice but to combine between the Qur’aan and the Sunnah.

So the matter is as Allaah’s Messenger (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not let any of you sit reclining on his couch, saying: ‘This is the Book of Allaah, so whatever of Halaal we find in it, we declare it to be lawful. And whatever of Haraam we find in it, we declare it to be unlawful (in exclusion of the Sunnah).’ Indeed, I was given the Qur’aan and something similar to it along with it. Indeed, what Allaah’s Messenger has made forbidden is just like what Allaah has made forbidden ”

Therefore, there is no way one can ever divide between the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. So whoever says: “We will interpret the Qur’aan by way of the Qur’aan and then the Sunnah”, this person has come about due to this munkar hadeeth.

Rather, we only interpret the Qur’aan by means of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, together. Furthermore, if we don’t find a tafseer (interpretation) of an ayah in either the Qur’aan or the Sunnah, we turn back to our righteous predecessors (the Salaf As-Saalih), especially the Companions, who were spoken the words of Allaah directly by the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). And also…

In my opinion, the least that can be said (about this person) – and I don’t know the level of his knowledge – the least that can be said is that he is heedless of this fact. And in reality this is a severe negligence on his part, especially since he issued that harsh ruling afterward – that whoever doesn’t repent is to be killed.

So give him the glad tidings that I still insist that I am a Salafee – upon the Book and the Sunnah and upon the methodology of the Salaf as-Saalih. And whoever doesn’t adopt this manhaj (methodology) then there is no difference between him and the Raafidah. And no doubt, so long as he is in the lands of Najd, and there is (no difference) between him and between the Raafidah, this is the same as what Al-Hadaad did.

Questioner: And we are with you O Shaikh!

Shaikh: May Allaah reward you.