The Obligation of Adhering to the Congregation - Sheikh Salih al-Usaymi

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah ﷻ be upon you.

All praise is due to Allah ﷻ, Lord of the worlds.

Lord of the heavens and earth, Lord of the Great Throne.

I bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah ﷻ alone,

without partner, worshipped in truth.

And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, conveying truthfully.

O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.

O Allah, bestow grace upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You bestowed grace upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.

As for what follows: this is the second session in the explanation of the book "Al-Da'i ila Khayr al-Masa'i"

by its author, Salih ibn Abdullah ibn Hamad al-'Usaymi,

and our explanation has reached his statement: "Chapter"

"Know that Allah ﷻ has commanded adherence to the congregation."

Yes. Section: And know that Allah ﷻ...

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah.

Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

and upon his family and all his companions (RA).

Section: And know that Allah ﷻ commanded adhering to the congregation

and forbade division, as He, the Exalted, said:

“And hold firmly to the rope of Allāh all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allāh upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allāh make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.” (Quran 3:103)

Because division is from the religion of the polytheists,

and unity is from the religion of the Muslims, as He said:

“[Adhere to it], turning in repentance to Him, and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be of those who associate others with Allāh”

“[Or] of those who have divided their religion and become sects, every faction rejoicing in what it has.” (Quran 30:31-32)

And indeed, Allah ﷻ has threatened whoever follows other than the way of the believers, in His saying:

“And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell,

and evil it is as a destination.” (Quran 4:115)

And the good of this world and the Hereafter is in sticking to the congregation.

For, on the authority of Umar (RA), he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Adhere to the congregation and beware of division, for Satan is with the one,”

“and he is further away from two.”

"Whoever desires the best part of Paradise, let him stick to the congregation."

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is Hasan Sahih Gharib, and authenticated by Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim.

Is "Buhbuhah" with a Fathah on the Ba? Do you have it with a Fathah on the Ba? "Bahbahah" or "Buhbuhah"?

[Speaker 2] With a Kasrah.

No, with a Kasrah? Our brothers say no — is it with a Dammah or not?

"Buhbuhah" (the middle) of Paradise. Yes.

And on the authority of Zayd ibn Thabit...

[Speaker 2] And on the authority of Zayd ibn Thabit (RA), who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

'There are three traits because of which the heart of a Muslim will never harbor malice:

sincerity of action for Allah ﷻ, offering sincere advice to those in authority, and sticking to the congregation,

for indeed, their supplication encompasses them from behind.'"

Narrated by Ibn Majah and Ahmad, and the wording is his, and authenticated by Ibn Hibban.

Al-Tirmidhi said: "The interpretation of the Jama'ah according to the scholars is the people of Fiqh, knowledge, and Hadith."

"And whoever separates from the Jama'ah and dies, his death is that of Jahiliyyah."

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RA),

from the Prophet ﷺ, that he said:

"Whoever rebels against obedience and separates from the Jama'ah, then dies, dies a death of Jahiliyyah.

And whoever fights under a banner of blind partisanship,

and whoever fights under a banner of blind partisanship,

getting angry for tribalism, calling to tribalism, or supporting tribalism,

and is killed, his death is that of Jahiliyyah.

And whoever rebels against my Ummah..."

...then he is killed.

Then he is killed.

Do you have: 'killed' or 'then he is killed'? — 'Then he is killed.' Yes.

his death is that of Jahiliyyah.

'And whoever rebels against my Ummah, striking its righteous and its wicked,

not sparing its believers, nor fulfilling his covenant with me — he is not of me, and I am not of him.'

Narrated by Muslim.

And we were commanded to adhere to the congregation due to the praiseworthy outcome of adhering to it,

even if a servant loses what he loves in it,

and the evil outcome of division, even if it seems pleasant.

Abu Mas'ud (RA) said: "Adhere to this obedience and the congregation,

for it is the rope of Allah ﷻ which He commanded,

and what you dislike in the congregation is better than what you love in division."

Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah and authenticated by al-Hakim.

And Ibn 'Abbas (RA) said:

"Chewing salt in the congregation is more beloved to me than eating faludhaj in division."

Narrated by Abu Nu'aym al-Asbahani in Hilyat al-Awliya.

The author, may Allah grant him success, mentioned another chapter

of his book, in which he calls to another of the best endeavors,

which is that Allah commanded us to adhere to the congregation and forbade us from

division, and He said:

“And hold firmly to the rope of Allāh all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allāh upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allāh make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.” (Quran 3:103)

And he reasoned it by saying, "Because

division is from the religion of the polytheists,

and unity is from the religion of the Muslims."

For Allah ﷻ said, describing the polytheists:

“[Adhere to it], turning in repentance to Him, and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be of those who associate others with Allāh”

“[Or] of those who have divided their religion and become sects, every faction rejoicing in what it has.” (Quran 30:31-32)

So among the characteristics of the people of Jahiliyyah is division,

and among the characteristics of the people of Islam is unity.

Then he said, "And Allah ﷻ has threatened whoever follows other than the way of the believers" in His saying:

“And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.” (Quran 4:115)

So whoever deviates from the path of the believers

by leaving their congregation and rebelling against it,

has indeed been threatened with this severe warning mentioned in the verse

regarding his evil end, and that Allah ﷻ will leave him to what he has chosen

and make him bear what he has undertaken.

Then, when he returns to Him in the Hereafter, Hellfire will be his recompense.

Then he said, 'And the good of this world and the Hereafter

lies in adhering to the congregation,'

meaning that whatever good creation attains in this world and the Hereafter

is dependent on adhering to the congregation.

Thus, among the means of seeking good in the immediate and the future

is adhering to the congregation of Muslims.

As for the good that a servant attains

in this world by adhering to the congregation

This is what is mentioned in the hadith of Ibn Umar (RA) that follows,

in which he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

"Adhere to the congregation, and beware of division,

for Satan is with the single person, and he is further away from two."

That is, among what a person gains by adhering to the congregation

in this world is closeness to goodness and its people,

for when he is far from Satan, Satan's call to him weakens.

But if he gets close to Satan by leaving the congregation, Satan gains power over him.

And whoever Satan gains power over, he leads him to destruction in this world and the Hereafter.

Just as the one over whom Satan's power is weakened

is close to goodness, so his share of it increases in this world and the Hereafter.

And in the Hereafter, he will attain what is mentioned in the rest of the hadith: the middle of Paradise,

meaning its spaciousness, its best parts, and its most honorable places,

and that the servant is granted the best and middle of Paradise by adhering to the congregation.

Then he mentioned another hadith that contains some of the goodness

that a servant attains in this world if he adheres to the congregation,

which is mentioned in the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit (RA), who said:

"I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

Three traits — because of which the heart of a Muslim will never harbor malice.

And the meaning of his saying, "will not harbor rancor," is that no rancor remains in his heart.

For when a servant's heart is free of rancor—which is the resentment he finds within himself—

his heart finds peace, his soul becomes tranquil, and this brings him a good life in this world.

For the beginning of a good life in this world is the tranquility of the heart.

So if the servant's heart is tranquil, his affairs become upright and his life becomes pleasant.

Among the things by which tranquility of the heart is attained—by

expelling rancor and purifying it from hidden defects...

...and corrupting diseases—is that the servant adheres to the main body of Muslims.

This is one of the traits mentioned in this Hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit (RA).

Then he mentioned the explanation of Al-Tirmidhi (RH) of "the main body" (al-jama'ah),

quoting the scholars

in his Jami', saying:

The explanation of al-jama'ah according to the scholars is that they are the people of fiqh, knowledge, and Hadith."

meaning, those who are followed in religion.

The basis of the Jama'ah is the leaders of the people to whom they refer.

The basis of the Jama'ah is the leaders of the people to whom they refer.

And the foremost of these are the people of knowledge.

For the leaders of the people are sometimes from the people of knowledge,

and sometimes they are from the people of leadership among them,

and sometimes they are from the people of forbearance and intellect.

These are the ones to whom the term 'Jama'ah' applies, which the servant must adhere to.

This Jama'ah is sometimes accompanied by the Imamah, and sometimes it is not.

For the Jama'ah is one thing, and the Imamah is another.

The Jama'ah are the leaders of the people — those of authority and resolution — and their foremost are the people of knowledge.

As for the Imamah, it is the existence of the authority of an appointed ruler over them.

And it may be separate from the Jama'ah, or it may not be separate from it.

So sometimes there exists a complete Jama'ah — one that is led by a ruler (wali al-amr) —

and that is a Jama'ah with an Imamah.

And it sometimes happens in times of trials that a Jama'ah exists but there is no Imamah,

due to a disruption in the system of governance over them, yet the group remains.

So the Jama'ah we are commanded to adhere to are the leaders whom the people follow.

And the head of emulation in the Muslim community is tied to knowledge,

because knowledge guides to the religion brought by the Prophet ﷺ,

and everything else follows it.

The default is that people of leadership, forbearance, intellect, wisdom, management, and trade...

...among the people follow what their scholars are upon.

Then he said, "And whoever leaves the group and dies, dies a death of Jahiliyyah,"

meaning his death resembles the state of death of the people of Jahiliyyah.

For the people of Jahiliyyah disdained gathering

and saw it as weakness and feebleness.

And among their common characteristics

was constant dispute, division, and lack of unity.

Whoever leaves the Jama'ah dies like

a person of Jahiliyyah who dies without adhering to a Jama'ah.

And his saying in the hadith, "Whoever leaves obedience,"

meaning, from the Imamah,

meaning, from the Imamah by listening and obeying, thus abandoning obedience to the ruler.

He said: "And splits from the Jama'ah," meaning he leaves the Jama'ah of the Muslims and does not adhere to them.

For if he dies in that state, he dies a death of Jahiliyyah.

Attributing this death to Jahiliyyah is intended to vilify it,

as it is an ugly death.

And whatever is attributed to Jahiliyyah of statements, actions, or beliefs is forbidden.

Then he said: "And we were commanded to adhere to the Jama'ah due to the praiseworthy consequence of adhering to it,

even if a servant loses what he loves in it, and the evil consequence of division even if he attains it."

So the servant is commanded to adhere to the Jama'ah, even if he loses some of the things he loves,

for the loss of this beloved thing is insignificant

if the jama'ah is lost, even if that desired thing is attained.

For if it were assumed that someone seeks to attain something he sees as his right,

but it cannot be achieved while maintaining the jama'ah, yet it would be realized if it is disrupted,

then his deprivation of it, while the unity of the Muslim community remains intact,

protecting their integrity and cohesion, is better for him and for the people in general

than attaining what he desires in a state of division.

For if a servant attains what he desires in a state of division, he will not rejoice in it.

He is like a person who seeks something, but then if he is afflicted by illness, weakness, or poverty,

or becomes unable to benefit from what he sought,

he will not find pleasure in this desired thing that he wanted.

Then he mentioned the saying of Ibn Mas'ud (RA): "Adhere to this obedience and the jama'ah,

for it is the rope of Allah which He has commanded,

and indeed, what you dislike in the jama'ah is better than what you love in division."

Meaning, because adhering to the congregation despite losing what one loves...

...is a more perfect state than one in which a person attains what he loves but loses the congregation.

Then he mentioned the saying of Ibn Abbas (RA): "Chewing salt..."

meaning, that which the one chewing it finds a repulsive taste when eating it,

while being in the congregation—meaning, adhering to the congregation—is better and more beloved to him than eating faludhaj,

which is a type of sweet made from flour, ghee, and honey.

For if a person attains what is sweet to him in a time of division, and finds its sweetness in his heart,

like finding the sweetness of faludhaj on his tongue when eating it, and finding its sweetness in his mouth,

then the opposite state, which is disliked, like the state of one eating salt while adhering to the congregation,

is better than this state in which a person finds...

...what he enjoys, but loses the congregation.

Yes.