Ahlul Hadith & Ahlut-Taqlid – Shaikh Salah ud din Yusuf

Compiled, Translated and Annotated

Abu Hibbaan & Abu Khuzaimah Ansaari

These discourses were written approx during the years 1973 and 1974 with regards to answering some of the false allegations and accusations levied at Ahlus Sunnah Wal-Jama’ah, The Ahlul Hadith and or Salafis. What is interesting to note is that the likes of these scholars were defending the Salafi Manhaj against Ahlul Bidah and Ahlul Ahwaa over 25 years ago which by any mean should indicate the love and care for this sacred Manhaj, also with regards to this modern understanding of taqlid.

The Ahlul Hadith Are Not a Sect

Firstly the Ahlul Hadith are not a sect and to refer to them as a sect in the common understanding is incorrect because a sect is traditionally known and understood to be a group that adheres and obeys an individual or an ideology. So in this case it cannot be applied to a group of people who abandon and leave all other beliefs and attach themselves to the way of Muhammad (Sallalahu Alayhee Wasallam) and consider him to be the one who is to be obeyed and followed. Their call is purely the Quran and Hadith whose central individual is the Messenger of Allah (Sallalahu Alayhee Wasallam) whose obedience Allah has ordained is his obedience and his disobedience is Allahs disobedience.

So in this regard this group of people are an ideology or callers to a belief that aims to bring the Muslims closer to the pure ideology and closing the gap of distancing from this way. So they aim to call the Muslims who have developed a way or path in following and obeying the opinions of people of personalities and individual thinking back to the Quran and Hadith, therefore calling such a group of people a sect is far from the truth and reality.

Secondly

You will find such people generally praising the Ahlul Hadith and yet at the same time censuring their ideology. This in reality is having an inner enmity and animosity for the Ahlul Hadith, their way and their call. Such people will raise allegations which in essence are baseless or adopted based on bigotry and staunchness.

Thirdly

You will find people who have enmity for the Salafis that they will raise an issue and blame and attribute the whole of Salafiyyah and the Ahlul Hadith with it, knowing very well this is incorrect and exaggeration. They begin to publicize and promote internal difference on issues there are differences are on and blow this way out of proportion in order to show disunity and fighting whereas in reality this is not the case.

The Allegation That Every Sect or Group Does Shirk or Has Innovations Except the Ahlul Hadith

Those who have animosity and enmity for the Salafi Manhaj and the way of the Ahlul Hadith have been levying such accusations from times before and therefore this not something new or amazing. The issue is that we have great difficulty in rebuking this point as it is true however not from the angle of being proud or arrogant but by the way of being extremely sad and upset with regards to the affair of the Muslims and how they have strayed from the fundamental and elementary teachings of Islam. How they have deviated from the straight path and adopted other paths based on the opinions and statements of mankind.

The Pathetic Allegation of Ahlul Hadith and The Shi’ah being Synonymous

This is a stupid and ignorant statement and only the likes of the Deobandi and Barailwi Hanafis formulate such statements. Any sane intelligent individual will know such baseless and futile allegations are nothing but evil lies and fallacies. Mixing both ideologies is totally false and clear injustice to the truth and to the normal general Muslims.

The Emergence of Taqlid & Innovations

Innovations and taqlid generally started after the first three righteous generations. Such innovations and the emergence of taqlid  continued so much so that it gathered momentum until the likes of both elements today and the bad effect they had upon the Muslim Ummah by the way of for example disunity and straying from the core beliefs of Islam and its teachings. Today in this age most of the muslims are engrossed in upholding incorrect beliefs and misguided in this manner.