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Are Those Salaf Who Declare Kuffr on Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf, Khawaarij ?

“I bear witness that he (al-Hajjaj) is a believer in Taaghoot and a disbeliever in Allah”

This amazing statement was uttered by ash-Sha’bee, the pious member of the Salaf generation.

One of the big issues of contention in contemporary da’wah is that of the leaders of the Muslim lands who rule by other than what Allah has revealed. The issue of debate is whether their partial or total abandonment of the shari’ah is a transgression that leads to the perpetrator exiting the folds of Islam. Those opposing this viewpoint, view the sin as a major sin, but not disbelief, unless accompanied by verbal istihlaal (i.e. the person declares the sin he is committing as halal). This school of thought labels those who view the substituters of shari’ah as kufaar, as khawaarij. This word is used as a form of verbal terrorism against those adopting that the leaders are kufaar. By using the word khawaarij regarding this opinion, then fear is instilled into the people approaching this subject, for fear of falling into the errors of the khawaarij (who rebelled against Ali radi Allah ‘anh).

The intention behind this article, is not to give all the evidences regarding this subject, because volumes are required for this, but what is intended is to bring attention to some statements of some key, significant early Muslims regarding the transgressions of their leader. If the context of these statements is understood then the playing field can be equalised and the opinion of the kufr of shari’ah subsituters can be respected as valid and maybe if the person is honest with themselves it will be realised that this is the stronger of the two positions.

Some of the kibaar as-salaf declared takfeer on those whose sins pale into insignificance with comparison to transgressions of today’s leaders. The leaders ruling in the Muslim lands have declared open enmity against Allah and the religion of al-Islam, allowing the enemies of Islam and awliyaa` ashshaytaan (allies of Satan) to establish embassies (spying centres) and military bases (in all the Arabian Gulf countries to bomb our Muslim brothers and sisters; the vogue these days is Iraq) in our lands.

Allahu al-musta’an (it is indeed in Allah that we seek refuge and assistance). This is how low the Muslims are today. The existence of enemies to Islam is reality and part of the fact there are two groups: Hizbullah (the party of Allah) and Hizb ash-shaytan (the party of satan) and the sira’ bayn al-haqq walbaatil (conflict between truth and falsehood, light and darkness) and is continuous till the Day of Judgement. But today our leaders invite the kufaar into our lands, to inflict humiliation upon Muslims.

The leaders have partially (this is being very kind in judgement) and in nearly all cases completely substituted Allah (swt) laws replacing it with the laws of the kaafir west (Britain, France and America), taken the kufaar as awliyaa` (allies) over the Muslims and against the Muslims, imprisoned the people of tawheed for no other crime than laa ilaha illa Allah and the wish to see Allah’s laws of mercy and His shari’ah implemented in the land, interest has been legislated (tashree’) and implemented and is protected by all the constitutions; and sin, alcohol, fornication, music…is all permitted (i.e. made halal) by the constitutions and protected and spread to misguide the people from the true path of tawheed.

This is but a brief CV of our dear respected leaders. Now we go back to the point that some of the salaf called al-Hajjaj a kaafir. Where they called khawaarij by their contemporaries? Those who brandish this title of khawaarij against the Muslims today from Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama’ah (because of their belief that today’s leaders are kufaar), must, if they are consistent bestow this title upon the established, pious members of the salaf, whom we will unveil below.

Imaam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shayba said: “We were informed by Qubaysa on the authority of Sufyan, on the authority of Ma’mar on the authority of Ibn Tawoos, on the authority of his father (Tawoos), who said: ‘The state of affairs of our brothers in Iraq is strange: They call al-Hajjaj a believer’”

Isnad: Weak. The reason for the weakness is Qubaysa, who alone is trustworthy, but when narrating from Sufyan he has been declared weak. Ibn Abi Khaythama narrated on the authority of Ibn Ma’een, ‘Qubaysa is reliable narrating from Sufyan, because he heard hadeeth from Sufyan when he was young.’

Tawoos’ takfeer of al-Hajjaj however is very famous in the books of Islamic history. Refer to Tahtheeb at-Tahtheeb, vol. 1/363.

Imaam Ibn Abi Shayba said: Abu Bakr bin Ayash narrated to us on the authority of al Ajlah on the authority of ash-Sha’bee who said “I bear witness that he is a believer in taghoot and a disbeliever in Allah (referring to al-Hajjaj)” Isnad: Good (hasan).

Imaam Ibn Abi Shayba said: Wakee’ narrated to us (hadathana) on the authority of Sufyan on the authority of Ibraheem who said: “It is enough (misguidance) for him who doubts al-Hajjaj’s condition, may Allah bark (i.e. destroy) him.” Isnad: Saheeh.

Al-Haafith Ibn Katheer (rahimahullah) said: “Abu Bakr bin Khaythama said: Abu Thafr Ja’far bin Sulayman narrated on the authority of Bistam bin Muslim, on the authority of Qatadah who said: ‘It was said to Sa’eed bin Jubayr: ‘You rebelled (kharajta) against al-Hajjaj.’ He replied (i.e. Sa’eed): ‘By Allah I did not rebel against him until he disbelieved (hatta kaffar)’”

Yahya bin ‘Eesaa ar-Ramlee narrated on the authority of al-A’mash who said: “The people disputed over the affair of al-Hajjaj so they asked Mujahid (the Imaam of Tafseer) and he replied: Do you ask me about the kaafir Shaykh (referring to al-Hajjaj)?”

So we have read the statements of Tawoos, ash-Sha’bee, Ibraheem an-Nakh’ee, Sa’eed bin Jubayr and Mujahid and these are from the akabir as-salaf (senior members of the Salaf generation of that time).

And ponder over the position of Sa’eed bin Jubayr and his sayings and he is an honourable and respected tabi’ee (generation following the companions), and an Imam who was an examp-le for us, and the vengeful mujahid (for Allah and His deen) and we will understand why he was so harsh in refuting and speaking out against the murji`a; he said of them: “The murji`a are the Jews of the qibla” . Ponder and contemplate over this, and only the blind fail to see and understand the striking similarities between our time and theirs.

Oh you Muslims who are defenders of the tawagheet and their thrones, you must know you are blackening the memory of the salaf you claim to follow. You blacken the names of these people, who were people of kalimat al-haqq (word of truth), and those who took their understanding directly from the companions of our beloved Prophet of Allah (saws).

Did any of the contemporaries if Tawoos, ash-Sha’bee, Ibraheem an-Nakh’ee, Sa’eed bin Jubayr and Mujahid refer to them as khawarij because they believed and publicly called al-Hajjaj a kaafir? The answer is of course - NO!

You may at this point be stuck for an answer and confused because this information is new to you, and because the weight and power of the names quoted means that their statements cannot be ignored and dismissed. The scholars you have elevated and virtually declared free from fault and infallible, have not told you these athar and told you rather that those calling the leaders today kaafir are khawarij and fanatical extremists. So what do you do now?

Will your hizbiya (partisanship) and ta’assub (blind following) to your contemporary scholars who make mistakes (both big and large because they are from the sons of Adam just like me and you), and your diseased irjaa` (remember Ibn Jubayr’s statement: the Murji`a are the Jews of the qibla) get in the way of accepting the clear truth? Or maybe you will think of submitting to the truth, insha`Allah.

And I advise you my brothers and sisters, that if it even crosses your mind to call the salaf we have quoted as khawarij then by Allah you have taken the path of misguidance and the way of the Shaytan.

The objective of what has been narrated so far is not the tarjeeh (weighing up of evidence) of whether or not al-Hajjaj was a kaafir or not because we acknowledged that not all the salaf held this opinion. This article is not intended to incite a barrage of counter refutations with quotes from al-Hassan al-Basri and so forth, because we agree that not all the salaf had the opinion being quoted.

We have always stated that the statements of men are not evidences in their own right, but we need to quote directly from the Qur`an and Sunnah.

These statements establish that the opinion of kufr of today’s leaders advocated extensively today and the hot issue of debate and dispute between the contemporary du’aat, was mirrored in the early generations and the lifetimes of the salaf. We dream today of a leader like al-Hajjaj because today’s leaders have gone to far greater excesses and errors. We must understand the reality of that time, and realise that the spiral of evil, haram and kufr has multiplied significantly and the errors of al-Hajjaj pale into insignificance in comparison to the transgressions of today’s leaders.

What is established is the absence of ijma’ of this generation on the issue, with sever of the kibar assalaf holding the opinion of the kufr of al-Hajjaj.

The point if the shari’ah remained upheld, and importantly had not been substituted, erased and replaced by the laws of the kuffar, nor had a kufr constitution (dustoor) been written and made binding upon the people, he was waging jihad in the path of Allah against the kuffar and showing bara`a (enemity for the sake of Allah) towards the enemies of this religion. But his transgression and oppression against his flock and the sahabah, and against the shari’ah led to some very prominent salaf calling him a kaafir.

If the salaf had seen today’s bunch of rulers and their transgressions against the shari’ah and their kufr bawah (open and clear disbelief), then surely, I believe they would have had ijma’ on the takfeer of the leaders of the Muslim lands, who have just to name one of their open and apparent kufrs institutionalised and legislated (tashree’) for riba (interest) banks, placing laws in their constitution (a constitution declares halal and haram, i.e. permissible and impermissible) to protect these institutions and punish those opposing these banks, and thus they must be warned about a war from Allah and His Messenger, as Allah (swt) says in the Quran: “Oh you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains of your demand of usury, if you are indeed believers. If you do not, take notice of war from Allah and His messenger”

My brothers open your mind to the truth and beware of the statements of those scholars sat at the gates of the leaders who have fallen into fitnah.

The Prophet (saws) said in an authentic narration from the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad: “Whoever lives in the desert becomes rough; whoso follows the game becomes careless; and whoso comes to the doors of the rulers falls into fitnah (trouble); and a slave does not come nearer to the ruler, except that he becomes farther from Allah.”

So my brothers, allow your hearts and minds to be moistened with the truth and you will realise that you must be very wary of calling your opponents khawarij, because by so doing you must therefore call Sa’eed bin Jubayr, a khaarijee. This is obviously incorrect and great error.

Acknowledge that your opponents are not people of desires and they are following evidence and the way of the salaf. And if you were to be sincere to the truth then you would have come to the conclusion that today’s leaders have transgressed and violated the shari’ah significantly more than al-Hajjaj ever did and therefore their takfeer is more necessary than that of al-Hajjaj.

And listen to what Imaam Abu Bakr bin ‘Ayash said: “Ahl as-Sunnah die and memories of them are given life to, and Ahl al-Bid’a die and memories of them die with them; because Ahl as-Sunnah revive that the Prophet (saws) came with and so they have a portion of Allah’s saying: ‘And have We not raised high your fame’ and Ahl al-Bid’a made it hard to revive what the Prophet (saws) came with so they had a portion of His saying: ‘For he who hates you (O Muhammed) he will be cut off (from posterity and everything good in this world and the hereafter)’ .

And my brother be aware that you must stay on the path of truth and defend this path, even if the followers of this path are few, and those opposing or fighting this path are many. And remember the word of Ibn Mas’ood “the jama’ah (body of Muslims) is what agrees with the truth, even if you are alone.”

And also you must remember that the truth is not known through numbers or through the names of men, but it is the men whose reality if unveiled by the truth.

And remember the description of the Prophet (saws) of the group that will uphold the orders of Allah until the day of judgement: Imaam ash-Shawkanee said: “Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated the hadeeth of Mugheera bin Shu’ba who said that the Prophet (saws) said: “There will remain within my ummah a ta`ifa (a group) apparent until Allah’s order comes and they are still apparent.

“It was then narrated the nature of this issue that they would hold onto and would be apparent on which would differentiate them from those around them: Muslim narrates the hadeeth of ‘Uqba marfoo’an: “There will remain a tai`fa in my ummah fighting upon Allah’s orders, violating their enemy, they will not be influenced or affected by those who oppose them until the hour (i.e. day of Judgment) comes and they are in this state.”

I leave you with these words: al-Hajjaj took from the rights of the people, but today’s rulers take from the rights of Allah.

Oh Allah, Lord of Jibr`aeel, Mika`eel and Israfeel, the Originator of the Heavens and the Earth. It is You who judges between Your slaves in their disputes. Guide me with your permission to that of the haqq, they we have disagreed upon. It is indeed You who guides whom you wish to the sirat al-Mustaqeem.

----------References----------

1) Kitab al-Imaan, edited by al-Albaani, no. 95, pg 39.

2) Tahtheeb at-Tahtheeb for Ibn Hajr 1/363.

3) Kitaab al-Imaan, no. 97, pg 39.

4) Al-Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah 9/142.

5) Ibid, 9/143.

6) Ibn Battah, al-Ibaanah al-Kubra, pg 168; also refer to Thaahirat al-Irjaa` 2/378.

7) Surat al-Baqarah, ayah 278-279.

8) Musnad Ahmad 2/371, also in Silsilah Saheehah no 1272, 3/267.

9) Surat ash-Sharh, ayah 4.

10) Surat al-Kawthat, ayah 3.

11) Irshad al-Fuhool pg 142-143.

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Barakallah feekum,

Wassalamu ‘alaykum wa rahamatullah.

“I bear witness that he (al-Hajjaj) is a believer in Taaghoot and a disbeliever in Allah”

From muwahhideen.com