Knowledge is what Allaah said, at the first level, then what the Messenger of Allaah said, at the second level, then what the Companion said, at the third level. The words of ibn Al-Qayyim remind us of a reality that is extremely important, and which is often neglected by a large majority of Callers who are spread throughout the lands today ill the name of calling to Islaam. What is this reality? What is well known to all of these callers is that Islaam consists of: The Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of Allaah's Messenger, (sallaallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). This is the truth and there is no doubt about it, however it is deficient. And this deficiency was noted by Ibn Al-Qayyim in his lines of poetry:
"Knowledge is: (what) Allaah said, (what) His Messenger said, (and what) the Companions said ..."
Nowadays, it is very rare that we hear someone mention the Companions when mentioning the Qur'aan and the Sunnah. And as we all know, they are at the head of the Salaaf As-Saalih (pious predecessors), of whom the Prophet (sallaallaahu'alayhiwa sallam) spoke of in his saying, which has been reported by many Companions:
"The best of mankind is my generation..."
And do not say what many of the callers nowadays say: "The best of generations." This phrase "the best of generations" has no source in the Sunnah. The authentic Sunnah, which is stated in the two Saheeh collections (of Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)
and other hadeeth references all report the hadeeth with the wording:
"The best of mankind is my generation, then those that come after them, then those that come after them."
Imaam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (RAH) has connected these Companions - who are at the head of the three generations that have received testimony for their excellence - to the Book and the Sunnah. So was this connection that he made an opinion of his or a scholarly deduction and conclusion, which are all prone to error? The answer is no, rather it is based on the Book of Allaah and the hadeeth of Allaah's Messenger (sallaallaahu'alayhi wa sallam). As for the Qur'aan, then there is the saying of Allaah:
"And whoever opposes the Messenger after the guidance has been made clear to him, and he follows a way other than the way of the believers, We will turn him to what He has chosen and land him in Hell - what an evil destination." (Q4[an-Nisaa]:115)
"And he follows a way other than the way of the believers" - Our Lord did not stop short in this ayah,and if He would have the ayah would still be correct and true. He did not say:
"And whoever opposes the Messenger after the guidance has been made clear to him, We will turn him to what He has chosen and land him in Hell- what an evil destination."
Instead due to His infinite wisdom, He included:'' And he follows a way other than the Will of the believers" - and this is what we are focusing on explaining now.
I hope that this ayah becomes firmly grounded in your minds and in your hearts, and I hope that you don't forget it, because it is the truth. And through it, you will be saved from deviating by drifting away to the right or to the left and you will be saved – even in one aspect or some issue - from falling into one of the sects that are not saved, or one of the deviant sects. This is because the Prophet (sallaallaahu 'alayhiwa sallam) said, in the well-known hadeeth, which I will abridge in order to get the part relevant to our discussion:
"And my ummah will divide into seventy-three sects - all of them will be in the Hell fire except one". They said: "Which one is it o Messenger of Allaah? "He said: "It is the Jamaa'ah."
Follow the way of the Companions: The Jamaa'ah here is the "Way of the Believers." So if a person who "opposes the Messenger" and who" follows a way other than the Way of the believers" is threatened with the Hellfire, then the opposite is also correct, so whoever does follow the "way of the believers", then he is promised Paradise! Then when the Prophet (sallaallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) responded to the question about which group was the saved sect, he said: "The Jamaa'ah." Then there is stated in another narration of this hadeeth, what adds more clarification and explanation to it. The Prophet, (sallaallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: "It is that which I and my Companions are upon."
So "My Companions" is what is meant by the "Way of the Believers." So when ibn Al-Qayyim mentioned the Companions, he took that understanding from the ayah we just stated and this hadeeth. And there is also the well-known hadeeth of Al-'Irbaad Ibn Saariyah (RA) in which the Prophet (sallaallaahu'alayhi wa sallam) said:
"So stick to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided Khaleefahs after me."
So here we find the same example as the previous hadeeth and also the previous ayah. The Messenger (sallaallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) did not say "Stick to my Sunnah" only, but rather he connected to his sunnah, the sunnah of the rightly guided Khaleefahs.
So here we say, especially in these times in which we find conflicting views, and ideologies and Madhaahib (schools of thought), such that many of the Muslim youth have begun to live in confusion not knowing which group to ascribe themselves to. So here we have been given the answer from the ayah and the two hadeeth we just mentioned. [The answer is:]Follow the way of the Believers!
The way of those believers from present times? The answer is no, we mean the Believers from the past -the first era, the era of the Companions - the Salaaf As-Saalih (pious predecessors).These are the people whom we should take as our example and as the ones whom we follow. And there is absolutely no one equal to them on the face of the earth!
ISLAAM IS BASED ON THREE PILLARS: Therefore, Our Call is based on three pillars - on the(I) Qur'aan, the (2) Sunnah and (3) Following theSalaaf As-Saalih (pious predecessors). So whoever claims that he follows the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and that he doesn't follow the Salaaf As-Saalih, and he expresses in both words and actions: "They (i.e. the Companions) are men and we are also men" [i.e. equal], then this person is in deviance and misguidance. Why - because he did not accept these texts, which we related just now. Did he follow the way of the Believers"? No. Did he follow the Companions of Allaah's Messenger (sallaallaahu'alayhi wa sallam)? No. What did he follow? He followed his desire, and he followed his intellect. Is one's intellect infallible and free from error? The answer is no. So then, he is upon clear misguidance.
So everyone claims to follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, and how often have we heard this kind of talk from the youth who are in a state of confusion, when they say: "Yaa akhee [oh my brother], these people claim to follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah and those people claim to follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah." So what is the clear and decisive distinction? It is the Qur'aan and the Sunnah and the Methodology of the Salaaf As-Saalih. So whoever follows the Qur'aan and the Sunnah without following the Salaaf As-Saalih, he in fact has not followed the Qur'aan and the Sunnah, rather he has only followed his intellect, if not his desire.
I will present some examples to clarify this issue -rather this important point, which is (following) the methodology of the Salaaf As-Saalih. There is a statement reported from Al-Farooq, 'Umar Ibn Khattaab, (RA) in which he says: "If the people of innovation and desires debate you with the Qur'aan, then debate them with the Sunnah..." What led 'Umar to make such a statement? It was due to Allaah's saying, in which He is speaking to the Prophet (sallaallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam):
"And We revealed the Dhikr (reminder, Sunnah) so that you (o Muhammad) may give an Explanation to the people of what was (already) revealed to them.” (Q16[an-Nahl]:44)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited