Chapter 33 of 985 min read

7. The massive conversion of the non-Arabs

٧. الاعتناق الواسع للإسلام من غير العرب

At first, the majority of the Muslims were Arabs. Now non-Arabs began converting to Islam. Within a short period, the non-Arabs become the majority and produced many scholars. The Umayyads wanted to keep power within the tribe of Quraish (i.e in the hands of the Arabs) because of the hadith of RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam in which he says that leadership should remain in the hands of the Quraish. Therefore, the political power was not shared and this created divisions and ultimately led to the collapse of the Umayyads. The Abbasids, used the non-Arabs to help them gain power and overthrow the Umayyads. There were many Muslim scholars of non-Arab descent at this time and they were the majority who served the deen after the time of RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam and the Sahabah. The issue is not about being Arab but about being righteous, knowledgeable and serving the deen. Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 44

The First Two Sects in the History of Islam (Their effect on Fiqh) 1. al-Khawarij (The Kharijites) This was the first sect to appear and it appeared during the fitnah at Siffin after the army of Mu’awiyah raised their musaahaf and called for peace. After that, the Khawarij isolated themselves and started to fight to propagate their ideology and ‘spread peace’. Today, the Khawarij is more of an ideology than an actual group or political party. 2. ash-Shi’a (The Shiites) They are named after the Arabic word for supporters. They originally started out as a group of emotional supporters of ‘Ali. Since ‘Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), the Shi’a considered him to be only legitimate khalifah. Eventually they adopted some extreme views from the Persians and began developing their own ideology which gradually shifted away from mainstream Islam. They are an emotional sect. They are still very emotional about ‘Ali and Hussain since they feel that they are responsible for the murders of ‘Ali and Hussain. ‘Ali punished them by using fire and ironically they were happy with ‘Ali’s punishment since they considered him to be partly divine. However, ‘Ali should not have done that because RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam said that no one should punish by the fire except the Lord of the fire. The ‘Aqeedah and Fiqh(Part 1) Are Fiqh and ‘Aqeedah associated? • The first investigation of ‘aqeedah aroused from the fuqaha’ of hadith. When they received a hadith they would question the hadith: where did you get it from? Who did you get it from? They would not take their Fiqh from people with corrupt ‘aqeedah. At that time, there were many fabricated ahadeeth, so they had to sift through the ahadeeth. • Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama’ah were the mainstream. Everyone considered the Khawarij and Shi’a to be deviations from mainstream Islam. Each of these groups started to develop their own Fiqh and understanding. • The Shi’a developed the concept of divine leadership. They believe in al-Imaamah and that the descendants of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) are infallible. Most of the Fiqh of the Ithna Ashariah come from Jafaar as-Saadiq, one their twelve infallible imams. Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah consider the imams of the Shi’a to be scholars. The Shi’a believe in Taqeeyah—a form of deceit in order to hide their true beliefs and prevent themselves from being persecuted. They also developed many fabricated ahadeeth because of their emotions, for example they believe that when the donkey of RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam heard of The Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) death, he became depressed so he bit on the rope that was tying him to a tree until he freed himself, then he went to a river and drowned himself (i.e committed suicide). • The Shi’a use Al-Kaafi by Al Kulayni. This is like Bukhari to the Shi’a. They do not accept many of the hadith of the Prophet because they claimed that many of the Sahabah were kuffar. They have disregarded the Sunnah and thus eliminated one source of Fiqh because they claim that there is no need for the Sunnah when there are infallible imams. Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 45

• The khawarij use Qur’an and Sunnah but they interpret them differently. • The Fiqh of Ahl as-Sunnah prevailed and remained intact because it was the strongest group (i.e the ideology of the Shi’a and Khawarij were weak). Faqeeh Says… Did you know that the Messenger of Allah said, “The Jews were divided among themselves into seventy one or seventy two sects, and the Christians were divided amongst themselves into seventy one or seventy two sects. And my Ummah will be divided among itself into seventy three sects.” [Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, and Ahmad among several others] However not all the sects that appeared in the history of Islam left a significant legacy in areas of Fiqh except for a few like Shi’aa and Khawarij. Age of the Primary Madhahib The Seeds of Differences Ahl as-Sunnah had the same ideological beliefs; however differences started to appear in the methodology of approaching the Qur’an and Sunnah. Thus, there were juristic differences which eventually led to the emergence of two primary madhahib. The First Madhab: Hijazi School (Ahl al-Hijaz) Madhab of Alh al-hadith They were also called Ahl al-hadith due to their extensive use of hadith.

Chapter 33 of 985 min read

7. The massive conversion of the non-Arabs

٧. الاعتناق الواسع للإسلام من غير العرب

At first, the majority of the Muslims were Arabs. Now non-Arabs began converting to Islam. Within a short period, the non-Arabs become the majority and produced many scholars. The Umayyads wanted to keep power within the tribe of Quraish (i.e in the hands of the Arabs) because of the hadith of RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam in which he says that leadership should remain in the hands of the Quraish. Therefore, the political power was not shared and this created divisions and ultimately led to the collapse of the Umayyads. The Abbasids, used the non-Arabs to help them gain power and overthrow the Umayyads. There were many Muslim scholars of non-Arab descent at this time and they were the majority who served the deen after the time of RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam and the Sahabah. The issue is not about being Arab but about being righteous, knowledgeable and serving the deen. Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 44

The First Two Sects in the History of Islam (Their effect on Fiqh) 1. al-Khawarij (The Kharijites) This was the first sect to appear and it appeared during the fitnah at Siffin after the army of Mu’awiyah raised their musaahaf and called for peace. After that, the Khawarij isolated themselves and started to fight to propagate their ideology and ‘spread peace’. Today, the Khawarij is more of an ideology than an actual group or political party. 2. ash-Shi’a (The Shiites) They are named after the Arabic word for supporters. They originally started out as a group of emotional supporters of ‘Ali. Since ‘Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), the Shi’a considered him to be only legitimate khalifah. Eventually they adopted some extreme views from the Persians and began developing their own ideology which gradually shifted away from mainstream Islam. They are an emotional sect. They are still very emotional about ‘Ali and Hussain since they feel that they are responsible for the murders of ‘Ali and Hussain. ‘Ali punished them by using fire and ironically they were happy with ‘Ali’s punishment since they considered him to be partly divine. However, ‘Ali should not have done that because RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam said that no one should punish by the fire except the Lord of the fire. The ‘Aqeedah and Fiqh(Part 1) Are Fiqh and ‘Aqeedah associated? • The first investigation of ‘aqeedah aroused from the fuqaha’ of hadith. When they received a hadith they would question the hadith: where did you get it from? Who did you get it from? They would not take their Fiqh from people with corrupt ‘aqeedah. At that time, there were many fabricated ahadeeth, so they had to sift through the ahadeeth. • Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama’ah were the mainstream. Everyone considered the Khawarij and Shi’a to be deviations from mainstream Islam. Each of these groups started to develop their own Fiqh and understanding. • The Shi’a developed the concept of divine leadership. They believe in al-Imaamah and that the descendants of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) are infallible. Most of the Fiqh of the Ithna Ashariah come from Jafaar as-Saadiq, one their twelve infallible imams. Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah consider the imams of the Shi’a to be scholars. The Shi’a believe in Taqeeyah—a form of deceit in order to hide their true beliefs and prevent themselves from being persecuted. They also developed many fabricated ahadeeth because of their emotions, for example they believe that when the donkey of RasulAllah sal Allahu alayhi wa Sallam heard of The Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) death, he became depressed so he bit on the rope that was tying him to a tree until he freed himself, then he went to a river and drowned himself (i.e committed suicide). • The Shi’a use Al-Kaafi by Al Kulayni. This is like Bukhari to the Shi’a. They do not accept many of the hadith of the Prophet because they claimed that many of the Sahabah were kuffar. They have disregarded the Sunnah and thus eliminated one source of Fiqh because they claim that there is no need for the Sunnah when there are infallible imams. Qabeelat Tayybah TCE Notes Revolution 45

• The khawarij use Qur’an and Sunnah but they interpret them differently. • The Fiqh of Ahl as-Sunnah prevailed and remained intact because it was the strongest group (i.e the ideology of the Shi’a and Khawarij were weak). Faqeeh Says… Did you know that the Messenger of Allah said, “The Jews were divided among themselves into seventy one or seventy two sects, and the Christians were divided amongst themselves into seventy one or seventy two sects. And my Ummah will be divided among itself into seventy three sects.” [Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, and Ahmad among several others] However not all the sects that appeared in the history of Islam left a significant legacy in areas of Fiqh except for a few like Shi’aa and Khawarij. Age of the Primary Madhahib The Seeds of Differences Ahl as-Sunnah had the same ideological beliefs; however differences started to appear in the methodology of approaching the Qur’an and Sunnah. Thus, there were juristic differences which eventually led to the emergence of two primary madhahib. The First Madhab: Hijazi School (Ahl al-Hijaz) Madhab of Alh al-hadith They were also called Ahl al-hadith due to their extensive use of hadith.