DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT – ITS METHOD IS NOT SUNNAH – FALSE APPROPRIATION OF AAYAAT AND AHAADITH

The Majlis P.O. Box 3393 Port Elizabeth 6056, South Africa DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 2 MUFTI TAQI’S BASELESS DEFENCE QUESTION Many Ulama have criticized the Tabligh Jamaat for equating their Tablighi journeys to Jihaad. They maintain that the specific rewards mentioned in the Ahaadith for Jihaad apply also to the Tabligh Jamaat activities. All the Qur‟aanic verses pertaining to Jihaad are referred to Tabligh Jamaat journeys and efforts. Is this correct? In their support they present the following argument of Mufti Taqi Saheb: “Ibn Rifaa-ah said: I met Abu Abas (Rahiyallahu anhu) whilst I was proceeding to Jumuah. He said: „I heard Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) saying: „Allah has made haraam the Fire for him whose feet have become dusty in the path of Allah (fi sabeelillah).” Some people criticize the Tabligh Jamaat people saying that they apply the Aayaat of Jihad to their Tablighi journeys. Their criticism is not proper. Abaayah Ibn Rifaa-ah was not going for Jihad or Qitaal. He was going to perform Jumuah Namaaz. However, the Sahaabi Hadhrat Abu Abas (Radhiyallahu anhu) is here describing going to Jumuah Namaaz as „Fi Sabeelillah‟. Every effort which is for raising the word of Allah is in the category of Jihad whether it is by way of Jihad or by physical effort. Qitaal (fighting) is not necessary. The objective is I‟laa Kalimatullah (Raising the Word of Allah). If there is qitaal but the objective is not I‟laa Kalimatullah, then it will not be Jihad. DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 3 However, even if there is no qitaal but the objective is I‟laa Kalimatullah, then it will also be Jihad although there will be a difference in terms of Ibaaratun Nass and Dalaalatun Nass. There was journey in Tabuk, but no qitaal. Was this then not Fi Sabeelillah? I am giving material to the people of Tabligh … From this Hadith it is known that going for Jumuah is also included in Fi Sabeelillah.” (End of Mufti Taqi‟s material) („Material‟-mawaad - in the context means ways to combat those who are criticizing the Tablighis. Mufti Taqi is coaching the Tablighis in the art of countering the criticism of the Ulama –The Majlis) DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 4 ANSWER Fisabeelillah The response of Mufti Taqi Sahib is misleading. The issue of contention is not the term „Fi sabeelillah‟ (In the Path of Allah). No one denies the fact that every Deeni service is ‘Fisabeelillah‟. However, the Tabligh Jamaat conveys the impression that the Jihaad missions of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Sahaabah were just like Tablighi Jamaat journeys. Employing deception, the Tablighis, primarily their elders, are at pains to convey the idea that their own tablighi journeys and efforts are the tabligh methodology of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Sahaabah. Hence, the Tablighis make the preposterous claim that the specific Mansoos significances and amounts of thawaab (reward) mentioned in the Ahaadith for Jihaad are applicable to their tablighi outings and campings. All ignorant ones joining the Jamaat believe that the methodology of the Tabligh Jamaat is the precise Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and that divergence from it is haraam. The popular belief of Tablighis is that Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had made ‘tashkeel‟ in the manner the Tablighis are currently doing. Thus, they will try to prove the ‘sunniyat‟ of their methodology with Aayaat and Ahaadith pertaining to only Jihaad/Qitaal Fisabeelillah. DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 5 The issue of contention is not the term Fisabeelillah. No one disputes valid Deeni service being Fisabeelillah. Every act of the Deen is in the Path of Allah Ta’ala to gain His Pleasure. The Student leaving home to attend Madrasah is Fisabeelillah. The one proceeding to the Musjid for the daily Salaat is Fisabeelillah. The one proceeding for Hajj is Fisabeelillah. The person proceeding to visit the sick is Fisabeelillah. The sincere Ustaadh (not the mercenary type) teaching at a Madrasah is Fisabeelillah. The Waaiz (one who delivers bayaans) is Fisabeelillah. In brief, all services rendered with sincerity for the Deen are Fisabeelillah. No one disputes the fact of sincere Deeni service being Fisabeelillah. What is disputed is the capital LIE of the Tablighi Jamaat. The LIE that the specific ‘million’ or ‘billion’ amount of thawaab mentioned in the Hadith for a specic act or for Jihaad applies to Tablighi journeys. If the tablighi activity is executed with sincerity, it will come within the scope of Fisabeelillah. But to equate it with exactitude with Jihaad and Qitaal Fisabeelillah, is a monstrous falsity - a lie fabricated by Tablighis for the promotion of their particular methodology. A baseless daleel The Hadith cited by Mufti Taqi in support of the Tablighis does not bolster the Tablighi case because no one denies Deeni service being Fisabeelillah. The subject of contention is the claim of the Mansoos thawaab of Jihaad DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 6 extending to Tablighi activities by means of baseless extrapolation. It would suffice for them to say that there is considerable reward for ‘going out in the Path of Allah’ Tabligh style. But to claim that the specific Thawaab mentioned in the Ahaadith for Jihaad/Qitaal applies also to tablighi excursions is tantamount to Tahreef (Haraam interpolation and misinterpretation). Mufti Taqi with his lopsided ‘daleels’ may bamboozle juhala, but will not succeed to convince men of understanding of the error and deviation of the Tabligh Jamaat which is peddling its specific methodology on the false premises of it being the exact Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Their false claim The pivot of the contention is not the applicability of the term Fisabeelillah to any Deeni activity. Rather, the basis of the argument is the false claim of the Tablighis – their claim that the Jihaad/Qitaal missions of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Sahaabah were tablighi jamaat excursions of the type now in vogue or originated by the Tabligh Jamaat. Thus, while the Tablighis frown on Jihaad and deny the Fardhiyat of Jihaad, they assert the hallucinatory ‘fardhiyat’ of their specific tablighi activities. It is their ta‟leem that those who do not participate in their tablighi activities are doomed for Jahannam. They claim that the Tabligh Jamaat is the ‘Ship’ of Hadhrat Nooh DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 7 (Alayhis salaam). The logical quotient of this kufr falsehood is eternal damnation in Jahannam for all those who are not onboard this imaginary ‘ship of salvation’ which is being equated to the Ship of Nabi Nooh (Alayhis salaam). No one has averred that minus Qitaal a Deeni service is not Fisabeelillah. Mufti Taqi abortively attempts to convey the impression that those who are criticizing the Tablighi Jamaat are of the belief that sincere Deeni service without Qitaal is not Fisabeelillah. But this attempt is akin to chicanery. Tabook The episode of Tabook is a further example of deception fabricated to convey the idea that the Expedition of Tabook was a Tablighi type group. The Expedition of Tabook was a military act. It was Jihaad for Qitaal against the Nasaara. However, when Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) reached the battlefield with his army, the kuffaar fled and scattered. That Qitaal did not take place as a result of the flight of the enemy which was not by the design of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam). It was purely the Fadhl of Allah Ta’ala. He had instilled overwhelming fear in the hearts of the kuffaar, such fear which compelled the Roman emperor as well as the other enemy forces to flee. Tabook was not a Tablighi Jamaat ‘tashkeeli’group. It was a properly constituted Army to wage Jihaad by means of DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 8 Qitaal. After the Nasaara had fled without giving battle, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) remained for some time with his army. Tawhid or Jizyah or the Sword During this time, there was no tablighi style tashkeel. Kings and chieftains of surrounding territories came forward, submitted and accepted to pay the annual Jizyah for their safety. The Da’wat of our Nabi (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was crisp: Tawhid, Jizyah or the Sword. Peace with the kuffaar was based on only one of these fundamental Imaani Demands. But for Arabs it was only Tawhid or the Sword. Thus, Tabook was not a Tabligh Jamaat excursion of comfort, camping and feasting. The Fiqhi Usool (Principles) Mufti Taqi descends from the sublime to the ridiculous by introducing in this discussion the Fiqhi Usool of Ibaaratun Nass and Dalaalatun Nass. Indeed this introduction is a superfluity at the minimum. In fact citing these principles in the context is incorrect. The term Fisabeelillah has a literal meaning as well as a technical Fiqhi meaning. Its literal meaning is simply In the Path of Allah. Hence, every act/method devised to promote Tawhid and the Shariah stemming from it, is Fisabeelillah in the literal sense. Any method introduced or devised to promote the Shariah - a method which did not exist during the era of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) – will be Mubah (permissible) provided that the DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 9 method is not in conflict with any tenet of the Shariah. Thus, a method such as these evil radio stations, is Fi sabeelish shaitaan (in the path of Shaitaan). Such new methods could also be termed Bid‟ah Hasanah (Beautiful Innovation) as long as there is no conflict with the Shariah in any way whatsoever. On the basis of the Fiqhi Principles stated by Mufti Taqi, permissibility will be confirmed for such Mubah methods. But for him to introduce these Usool in the context of our discussion is superfluous because there is no dispute in the permissibility of the methodology of the Tabligh Jamaat. That is, if the methodology is not muddied and corrupted with ghulu‟ and unlawful acts and concepts. On the basis of the stupid „mawaad‟ (material or silly weapons) provided to the Tablighi Jamaat by Mufti Taqi, the Tablighis are moronically employing the Fiqhi principles for the extension of Mansoos Thawaab to their innovated methodology. But the Fiqhi principles may not be utilized for the extension of Mansoos Thawaab specified for a specific act of Ibaadat. Such Thawaab may not be extended to an innovated practice. Thus, it is downright stupid and not permissible to transfer the Thawaab narrated for a specific act to an act, deed or practice innovated regardless of its perceived benefit. Since the pure method, uncontaminated with ghulu‟ is not rejected and since it is accepted that it is Fisabeelillah, Mufti Taqi’s citation of these principles is superfluous (laghw). The dispute does not pertain to the Mubah DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 10 method. The ghulu and lies fabricated by the Tabligh Jamaat to promote its methodology are denounced. The Fiqhi meaning of Fisabeelillah The technical meaning of Fisabeelillah is Jihaad/Qitaal. While the struggle against the nafs is also termed Jihaad, it is not Jihaad in the technical meaning which means only Qitaal Fisabeelillah. The lie of the Tabligh Jamaat is the despicable attempt of shoving their originally Mubah methodology into the technical domain of Fiqh. They are implying with their ghulu‟ that their innovated method has the technical connotation, and that all the Qur’aanic Aayaat and Ahaadith pertaining to the technical meaning apply to their Tablighi excursions. Thus, they transfer the Mansoos Thawaab which is stated specifically for Jihaad of the Qitaal kind to their tablighi picnics. Nowadays, their outings have literally become picnics. They have abandoned the original principles of the Jamaat. Denying Jihaad Mufti Taqi has cited the Fiqhi principles to prove that the term Fisabeelillah also applies to the Tablighi excursions. But this is not the dispute. The contention relates to their claim that the military expeditions of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Sahaabah were Tablighi Jamaat tashkeeli groups. Their denial of actual Jihaad/Qitaal is veiled and disguised. In this regard, Hadhrat Maulana Faidhul Baari, the Khateeb of Jaami Musjid Sanhari, narrated: DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 11 “One Tablighi came to me and said: „Maulana, was there Jihaad during the Makki period?‟ I said: „What is your motive?‟ He then reiterated the same statement. I then said: „Do you mean that you do not believe in Jihaad because the hukm for Jihaad did not come during the Makki era?‟ He then stated with vehemence: „We do not believe in a hukm which did not come during the Makki era.‟ Then I proclaimed in the Musjid with greater vehemence: „If anyone desires to see a kaafir, he should look at this man. He had, in my presence blurted out a word of kufr.‟ Thereafter, his son came to me and said: „Forgive my father. He had erred.‟ I said to him: „I am not a God to forgive. Your father should renew his Kalimah and also renew his Nikah.” Indeed the claim that all the Ahkaam of the Qur’aan revealed during the Madani era are rejected, is mind boggling. Another sample of Tablighi kufr is the denial of the Jihaad objective stated in the following Aayat of the Qur’aan Majeed: “Proceed (go forth) light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the Path of Allah. This is best for you, if indeed you know.” (At-Taubah, Aayat 41) DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 12 This Aaayat was revealed on the occasion of Tabook. Muslims were urged to participate in Jihaad Fisabeelillah regardless of adverse circumstances of difficulty and poverty, etc. However, at a Tablighi ijtima, one moron fellow delivering the bayaan made the kufr claim that this aayat was NOT revealed for encouraging participation in Jihaad of the Qitaal kind. The jaahil further claimed that it was a Tablighi Jamaat kind of tashkeel. The moron needs to be whipped. Tablighi so-called elders should not seek to mitigate the kufr uttered by the moron by brushing it aside with the comment that he was ignorant. All Tablighis are ignorant, including their so-called elders. This type of kufr emanates from the highest echelons of the Jamaat. Morons on the lower strata are encouraged to blurt out kufr on the basis of the ta’leem their elders disgorge. Then later they proffer the subterfuge of ‘ignorance’ when confronted by the Ulama. It is difficult to understand how an Aalim of Mufti Taqi’s calibre failed to understand the context of the dispute which innumerable Ulama have with the Tablighi Jamaat. His total vindication of the Tablighi Jamaat is akin to his vindication of halaalizing pictography under guise of the ‘digital’ phantom. Summary The summary of the dispute and discussion is: DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 13 The Tabligh Jamaat claims that its excursions are in exactitude like the Jihaadi Expeditions of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam), hence they are at pains to paint the Jihaad of Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) with their Tablighi colours. (2) They claim that the technical meaning of Fisabeelillah (Jihaad/Qitaal) applies to their Tablighi excursions. They imply denial of Qitaal Fisabeelillah. In fact, they exhibit an aversion for Jihaad. Minus all the ghulu‟ and bid‟ah their methodology is Mubah (permissible). With the ghulu’ and bid’ah their methodology is Haraam. A Sister from Pakistan writes: “In a bayaan of a very senior of the Tablighi Jamaat, it is written: Translation: When Rasul-e-Kareem (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) would dispatch the army, he who impart three issues: First – Present to them the Kalimah. If they recite the Kalimah, then their lives and wealth are just as are the lives and wealth of all Muslims. If they refuse to recite the Kalimah, then to do not wage war against them. But make peace with them.” DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 14 This is explicit kufr and a dastardly lie attributed to Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam). If the kuffar refuse to accept Islam, the next option is for them to hand over the land to Muslims and pay Jizyah. If this option is refused, then it is only Jihaad with the Sword. Mufti Taqi’s own summary Although Mufti Taqi has bestowed some silly „mawaad‟ to the Tablighis to counter the criticism of the Ulama, the brazen deviation of the Tablighis constrained him to aver: Mufti Taqi once said (recording available online): “Beware of ghulu‟, ifraat and tafreed (i.e. baseless extremism) for it will cut you (Tabligh Jamaat) off from the Muslim Ummah, and transform you into a separate sect (firqah). This ghulu is taking you towards destruction. This mentality will incinerate this work. For the sake of Allah understand this well that if someone reasons with you with sincerity then do not understand him to be your enemy and opponent. These acts (of ghulu‟) will one day convert you into a sect. It will sever you from the Muslim Ummah. The following is mentioned in a fatwa from DarulUloomDeoband: DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 15 “Seeing many such acts, not only Mufti Saeed Palanpuri, but many Ulama and Buzrugaan-e-Deen, we have heard from them that this Tablighi Jamaat is on the path of becoming a new sect. It is abandoning the methods of the Qur‟aan and Hadith and adopting its own methodology and a new deen.” ASSESSMENT OF THE ULAMA Moulana Rashid Iqbal Fayrozabaadi Saheb mentioned in an Ijlaas of 'Ulama-e-Deoband in Partaabgarh: “The name, Tablighi Jamaat, is very beloved, but it has become a snake in the sleeve. It is a greater danger than the other baatil sects. It has become a looter of Imaan.” Mufti 'Abdul Quddoos Rumi Saheb (Rahimahul laahuTa'ala) used to be the former Grand Mufti of Agra and was a mureed of Hadhrat Thaanvi. His son (Mufti Majdul Quddoos Khubaib Rumi Saheb – Khalifah of Moulana Maseehullaah Saheb) is the current Grand Mufti of Agra, the Mufti of Mazaahirul Uloom (Waqf), and holds/used to hold the Sadr Mudarris position too. Mufti 'Abdul Quddoos Rumi Saheb (Rahimahul laahuTa'ala) mentions in his kitaab 'Murawwajah Tablighi Jamaa'at Kay Baaray Main Shar'i Fatwa' Page 9: “Now the Tabligh Jamaat has abandoned the path of Tabligh and is following the path of a new sect.” DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 16 Elsewhere, in the same kitaab, he also mentions that he had met Moulana Ilyaas (Rahimahul laahuTa'ala) and that he was a maghloobul haal person, who genuinely wanted good for everyone else and wanted them to have the same fikr he had. However, Mufti 'Abdul Quddoos Rumi also mentions that it was wrong for Moulana Ilyaas and for others to consider their own way of Tableegh to be the most important and only way of Tableegh and to 'force' others to follow that way. THE DEVIATION OF THE TABLIGH JAMAAT AND THE ERROR OF THE MUFTIS By Maulana Osman Sulaiman (Mauritius) Your kitaab, Sabeelul Munkaraat Fee Jamaa‟aatit Takash-shufaat, has been received. Jazaakumullahu khair. May Allah Ta’ala grant your barkat in your Ilm and Amal. There is a critical need to purge the fitnah and fasad (mischief and corruption) which has set into the arteries of the ulama of Deoband academically and practically in these times. Today the fault underlying the turbulence and corruption, particularly in the Tabligh Jamaat, lies at the doorsteps of those Darul Iftas which have issued fatwas of permissibility and scope through unwarranted misinterpretations. People ask about the customary Tabligh Jamaat methods and the answers given pertain to DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 17 Tabligh per se. Thawaab in the billions is allocated to this customary style of Tabligh. This work of theirs is counted as Jihaad and the Shar’i Jihaad’s thawaab is allocated to them. This is wanton Tahreef (distortion of the Shariah). Who has come to them in a ‘dream’ and granted them this ‘blessing’!? Mind you, most decisions are made on the authority of dreams. The consequence of this is that we see them today waging Jihaad against themselves for the booty. Just look at Fataawa Mahmoodiyyah. A person asks about Maulana Iyaas sahib being an Ilhaami Nabi. The manner of the response leaves much to be desired. This is the same problem with the current Urdu Fatwas. Mostly they quote Fataawa Mahmoodiyyah. They don’t look at the prevailing circumstances. The perception of the public has changed. From the roots till the present day the jaahil ordinary workers are used as scapegoats. Don’t they (these muftis) see that the lay-jamaati has received these things from those in authority? Hence the whole world’s field jamaati workers are embroiled in the same error. This proves that the rusted metal is coming from the same mine. For this reason we find the same fault in all the Jamaat ranks. The ulama again have retreated to a fortress of silence instead of openly expressing to them the Hukm of the Shariah. They have latched on to the diplomacy of ‘benefit’. Don’t the ulama understand that as long as a DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 18 benefit is within the confines of the Shariah it is acceptable; otherwise such ‘benefit’ is useless. For the sake of a few corrections in practical deeds, corruption in Aqaaid is condoned. This mubaah (permissible) venture (that is the methodology of the Tabligh Jamaat) is inflated to the level of fardh and waajib. It is treated like a fardh or waajib act. This renders it a bid‟at. The means has been taken as the objective. It is for this reason that the Fadhaail (Virtues) of Jihaad are fraudulently usurped and exploited for this work. But the ulama are dumb silent. This is because we have in our institutions a fifth column; the liberal-minded mufti. Answers to questions are given liberally; irrespective of it being in conflict with one’s Math-hab. Fatwas of jawaaz are painstakingly dug up and painted with the colours of umoom balwa and haajat. (End of the Maulana‟s critique) Undoubtedly, the Tabligh Jamaat has fallen into Imaani chaos and is set on the path of deviation. Whilst there are two mutually hostile factions with daggers at each other’s throats, both sects of the Tabligh Jamaat are set on the very same path of deviation and bid’ah. It is correct, as the Maulana avers, that the rot of bid’ah stems from the very top rung of the Jamaat. In their effort to baselessly and cunningly vindicate the Jamaat, their elders resort to the Shiah gimmick of Taqiyah whereby DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 19 they seek to assuage the sincere critics. They say that the errors and acts of bid’ah and deviation are the commission of the ignorant recruits. This claim is palpably false and devious. The jaahil recruits at the bottom are merely echoing what is dinned into their ears by their elders. The elders are guilty of the bid’ah and deviation. We have warned the Jamaat, many a time, that the time will come to outlaw the Jamaat and to proclaim it as a Firqah Baatil – a false and deviated sect within the scope of the 72 deviate sects predicted by Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam). If the elders do not rectify and root out the poisonous weeds within the fabric of their Jamaat, the excommunication of the Tabligh Jamaat will become a stark inevitable reality. The elders of the Tabligh Jamaat in our context no longer refer to the deviates in Raiwand and Nizaamuddin. It refers to those who are in charge of the Tabligh Jamaat in the different countries regardless of whatever faction. These elders in the various countries, should forget about Raiwand and Nizaamuddin. They should focus on saving the Jamaat from total destruction. Those at the helm in Raiwand and Nizaamuddin are fat cats. Their objective is the dunya, not the Deen. These Fat Cats squander satanically millions of dollars on a regular basis organizing merrymaking ijtima functions to eat and excrete whilst millions of Muslims are languishing in abject suffering, misery and jahaalat all over the world. Many Muslims who are not even associated with the DECEPTION OF THE TABLIGHI JAMAAT 20 Tabligh Jamaat undertake costly journeys to attend the ijtimas in Raiwand and Nizaamuddin, not for genuine Deeni objectives, but for nafsaani gratification. They merely plunge into self-deception by providing a semblance of ‘deeni’ cover for their merrymaking holidays They must wake up before it is too late! In conclusion it should be understood that both factions of the Tabligh Jamaat subscribe to the same ghulu and bid‟ah which the Ulama are condemning. Both factions have lost the Path –Siraatul Mustaqeem.