Holding Fast to Revelation and Rejecting Blameworthy Opinion

Yes.

Section.

And know that the servant is commanded to hold fast to the revelation,

due to the saying of Allah ﷻ:

“So adhere to that which is revealed to you. Indeed, you are on a straight path.” (Quran 43:43)

because the Quran is a clarification for all things,

and a guidance, mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims,

as Allah ﷻ said: “And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification”

“And [mention] the Day when We will resurrect among every nation a witness over them from themselves [i.e., their prophet]. And We will bring you, [O Muḥammad], as a witness over these [i.e., your nation]. And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things and as guidance and mercy and good tidings for the Muslims.”

“Indeed, Allāh orders justice and good conduct and giving [help] to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.” (Quran 16:89-90)

ﷺ

He has left us on a clear path, its night and day are alike,

and he guided his Ummah to the best of what he knew for them,

and warned them against the worst of what he knew for them.

On the authority of Abu al-Darda' al-Ansari (RA),

he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“By Allah, I have left you on a clear path, its night and day are alike.”

Narrated by Ibn Majah, and its chain of transmission is Hasan.

Narrated by Ibn Majah.

Narrated by Ibn Majah, and its chain of transmission is Hasan.

And on the authority of Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas (RA),

that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Indeed, there was no prophet before me except that it was his duty

to guide his Ummah to the best of what he knew for them,”

and warn them of the worst of what he knows for them. Narrated by Muslim.

And he fully explained what people need in their religion,

so they would need nothing beyond his explanation.

On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (RA) that he said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ left us,

and there is no bird that flies with its wings but that we have knowledge of it.”

Narrated by Ibn Hibban, and its chain of transmission is authentic.

So we should not burden ourselves after him with what does not concern us,

for those before us were only destroyed

by their excessive questioning and their opposition to their prophets.

Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) said:

“We have been forbidden from burdening ourselves.” Narrated by al-Bukhari.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RA) that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

“Whatever I have forbidden you, avoid it;

and whatever I have commanded you, do of it what you can;

for those before you were only destroyed

...their excessive questioning and their disagreement with their Prophets."

Agreed upon.

And we do not act in matters of religion based on opinion

that is not supported by a source from the Sharia,

following the advice of Sahl ibn Hunaif (RA),

that he said, "O people, suspect your opinion regarding your religion.

I saw myself on the day of Abu Jandal,

if I could have rejected the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

I would have rejected it."

Agreed upon.

The author, may Allah grant him success,

mentioned another section in which he calls to another of the best endeavors, saying: "And know that the servant

is commanded to hold fast to the revelation,"

which is to cling firmly to it and adhere to it.

He said, due to the statement of Allah ﷻ:

“So adhere to that which is revealed to you. Indeed, you are on a straight path.” (Quran 43:43)

So the verse is an explicit command

to hold fast to the revelation, meaning to strongly cling to it and adhere to it.

Then he explained the reason for this by saying: "Because the Quran is a clarification of all things,"

and it is guidance, mercy, and glad tidings for the Muslims,

As He ﷻ says: 'And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things.'

And 'clarification' means explanation.

So the Quran clarifies in the most complete manner of clarification and explanation

what people need in their religion of immediate and future benefits.

Then he said: 'And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

has left us on a clear path, whose night is like its day,

and he guided his Ummah to the best of what he knew for them,

and warned them against the worst of what he knew for them.'

So what came in the revelation of the Quran and Sunnah contains the clarification of good

for the people, encouraging them towards it, and the clarification of evil

as a warning against it.

Then he mentioned what confirms this,

from what he established, that the Prophet ﷺ

left us on a clear path,

and guided us to the best of what he knew for us,

and warned us against the worst of what he knew for us.

So he mentioned the Hadith of Abu al-Darda' al-Ansari (RA):

"By Allah, I have left you on a clear path, its night and day are alike."

The Hadith was narrated by Ibn Majah, and its chain of transmission is Hasan.

"Al-Bayda'" is an adjective for an omitted noun, estimated by what suits it,

"al-bayda'" is an adjective for an omitted noun, estimated

by what suits it, such as "al-mahajjah" (the path).

And this became famous in the speech of the scholars, that they mention "al-mahajjah al-bayda'"

as an expression of the Sunnah and the religion that the Prophet ﷺ brought from his Lord.

However, the mention of this wording is not established in any of his ﷺ Hadiths.

But the attribute mentioned in his saying "the white"...

...is fitting for this described object, which is the path.

Then he mentioned the Hadith of 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin al-'As (RA) in Sahih Muslim,

in which: "There was no prophet before me except that it was his duty to guide his nation...

...to the best of what he knew for them, and warn them of the worst of what he knew for them."

Then he said: "And he explained what people need with a complete explanation,

so they would dispense with anything else through his explanation."

On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (RA), he said:

"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ left us...

...and there is not a bird that flaps its wings except that we have knowledge of it."

Narrated by Ibn Hibban, and its chain of transmission is authentic.

So there is nothing that creation needs explained, whether in matters of religion or worldly affairs,

except that the Prophet ﷺ explained it to us with a satisfying explanation.

He said: "So do not burden yourselves after him with what does not concern us,"

"for those before us were only destroyed by their excessive questioning and their disagreement with their prophets."

Delving deeply into researching what a servant does not need and being strict about it is part of the forbidden takalluf.

And in Al-Bukhari, from the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA),

he said: "We were forbidden from takalluf."

And such a statement is considered marfu' according to the more correct of the two opinions of the scholars.

Thus, the implied meaning is: "The Prophet ﷺ forbade us from takalluf,"

so among the prohibitions that the Prophet ﷺ forbade them from is takalluf,

which is delving too deeply, being overly strict, and seeking what a servant does not need

and what does not serve his interests.

Then he said ﷺ - in the hadith he mentioned:

"For those before you were only destroyed by their excessive questioning and their disagreement with their prophets."

Agreed upon. Then the author said:

“And we do not act in the matter of religion based on opinion

that is not supported by a source from the Sharia,”

meaning it does not refer back to the rules and objectives of Sharia,

and this is what is called blameworthy opinion.

The origin of opinion is derivation,

the origin of opinion is derivation,

through rational examination.

And it is of two types: one is praiseworthy opinion,

praiseworthy opinion — that which the text can bear and evidence supports.

That which the text can bear and evidence supports.

And the other is blameworthy opinion,

which is that which the text cannot bear nor is supported by evidence,

that which the text cannot bear nor is supported by evidence.

Whatever falls under blameworthy opinion is not to be acted upon in religion.

Whatever falls under blameworthy opinion is not to be acted upon in religion.

He said, following the advice of Sahl ibn Hunayf (RA), that he said:

"O people, suspect your opinion regarding your religion."

Meaning, suspect the blameworthy opinion,

which is that which contradicts what the Prophet ﷺ brought.

So whatever comes to the minds of creation that contradicts

what the Prophet ﷺ brought of the religion,

should be suspected, such that the servant abandons it and pays no attention to it.

He said, "I saw myself on the day of Abu Jandal,

and if I could have rejected the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I would have."

Meaning, "If I had been able to reject the command of the Prophet ﷺ back then, I would have done so."

And the day of Abu Jandal was the day when

Abu Jandal, the son of Suhayl ibn Amr (RA), came.

to the Prophet ﷺ during the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah,

when he was drawing up the treaty with his father, Suhayl ibn 'Amr.

For when the Prophet ﷺ began

to write down the reconciliation agreed between him and the polytheists,

and the leader of the polytheists in that was Suhayl ibn 'Amr,

his son Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl ibn 'Amr came,

fleeing from the polytheists, stumbling in his chains.

The Prophet ﷺ had agreed with Suhayl and those with him

on certain terms, including that whoever came

to the Prophet ﷺ from the polytheists as a Muslim,

the Prophet ﷺ would return him to his people.

When this agreement was reached,

and the scribe began to write the treaty between them, he came.

Abu Jandal [arrived] then, so the Prophet ﷺ requested

of Suhayl, who was Abu Jandal's father, to let him keep him.

But Suhayl said, "This is the first one you must honor the treaty for."

Meaning, this is the first person to fall under the condition we agreed upon:

that if anyone from the polytheists comes to you as a Muslim,

you must return him to us.

When this situation occurred, the Prophet ﷺ returned him to them.

This weighed heavily on the Muslims, that someone should come

fleeing with his religion from the polytheists while in chains,

and then the Prophet ﷺ returns him to them.

At that moment, it occurred to the people

that what the Prophet ﷺ did was not the best course,

and that the right thing was not to return him to them.

But the Prophet ﷺ recognized benefits in that

which the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ did not fully comprehend at the time.

Sahl (RA) benefited from this incident,

in that a servant should doubt his own opinion

if it contradicts the religion.

So one should not abandon anything of the religion,

even if, from the perspective of opinion, one deems a certain view to be good,

for any opinion that contradicts the religion brought by the Prophet ﷺ

has no good in it.

And souls cannot rid themselves of desires

except by purely following the Prophet ﷺ.

For whoever purely follows the Prophet ﷺ,

these desires will find no foothold in his soul.

But as for one whose following of the Prophet ﷺ is weak,

his soul will then make it seem appealing to follow this opinion,

deeming it better than what the Prophet ﷺ brought.

At that point, the servant seeks excuses to reject what the Prophet ﷺ brought,

and interprets it in various ways,

And the servant is not safe from the bane of opposing the Prophet ﷺ,

for the consequence of blameworthy opinion leads to ruin,

even if the servant imagines that he is doing good.

Therefore, Ibn Taymiyyah the grandson and his companion Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned

that no one among the people rebelled

against his ruler who must be obeyed,

except that he fell into a greater evil than what he was fleeing from.

And this is a true testament that whoever relies on blameworthy opinion,

imagining that it would be better for him

than what the Prophet ﷺ brought,

then there is no good in it at that point.

And what the Prophet ﷺ brought

regarding this is patience with unjust leaders,

meaning oppression from rulers and sultans who...

...oppress. If it were to cross someone's mind to rebel against them,

and dispute with them, and repel the evil they are upon—of oppression and committing forbidden acts—thinking it is better for him,

then at that point, he should not pay attention to this passing thought,

and he should adhere to the religion brought by the Prophet ﷺ,

for indeed it has the safest outcome in this world and the Hereafter. Yes.