Who are we?
[1]: We believe in Allah and His Names and Attributes, as they were mentioned in the Book of Allah and in the Sunnah of the Messenger of (Allah Sallalahu alaihi wa Sallam), without tahreef(distortion), nor ta‘weel (figurative interpretation), nor tamtheel (making a likeness), nortashbeeh (resemblance), nor ta’teel (denial).
[2]: We love the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (Sallalahu alaihi wa Sallam), and we hate those who speak against them. We believe that to speak ill of them is to speak ill of the Religion, because they are the ones who conveyed it to us. And we love the Family of the Prophet with love that is permitted by the Sharee’ah.
[3]: We love the People of Hadeeth and all of the Salaf of the Ummah from Ahlus-Sunnah.
[4]: We despise ’ilmul-kalaam (knowledge of theological rhetoric), and we view it to be from amongst the greatest reasons for the division in the Ummah.
[5]: We do not accept anything from the books of Fiqh (jurisprudence), nor from the books ofTafsir (explanation of the Qur’an), nor from the ancient stories, nor from the Seerah(biography) of the Prophet, except that which has been confirmed from Allah or from His Messenger. We do not mean that we have rejected them, nor do we claim that we are not in need of them. Rather, we benefit from the discoveries of our Scholars and the jurists and other than them. However, we do not accept a ruling, except with an authentic proof.
[6]: We do not write in our books, nor do we cover in our lessons, nor do we give sermons with anything except the Qur’an, or the authentic and authoritative hadeeth. And we detest what emanates from many books and admonishers in terms of false stories and weak and fabricated Ahadith.
[7]: We do not perform Takfeer (expel one from Islaam) upon any Muslim due to any sin, except Shirk (polytheism) with Allah, or the abandonment of Prayer, or apostasy. We seek refuge in Allah from that.
[8]: We believe that the Qur’an is the Speech of Allah, it is not created.
[9]: We hold that our ‘obligation is to co-operate with the group that traverses the methodology of the Book and the Sunnah, and what the Salaf of the Ummah were upon; in terms of calling to Allah the Glorified, and being sincere in worship of Him, and warning fromShirk, innovations, and disobedience, and to advise all of the groups that oppose this.’ ‘So co-operating upon righteousness and piety (taqwaa) and mutual advising necessitates warning against evil and not co-operating with the wicked.’
[10]: We do not deem it correct to revolt against the Muslim rulers as long as they are Muslims, nor do we feel that revolutions bring about reconciliation. Rather, they corrupt the community.
[11]: We hold that this multiplicity of present day parties is a reason for the division of the Muslims and their weakness. So therefore, we set about ‘freeing the minds from the fetters of blind-following and the darkness of sectarianism and party spirit.’
[12]: We restrict our understanding of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the → Messenger of Allah r to the understanding of the Salaf of the Ummah from the Scholars of hadeeth, not the blind-followers of their individuals. Rather, we take the truth from wherever it comes. And we know that there are those who claim Salafiyyah, yet Salafiyyah is free from them, since they bring to the society what Allâah has prohibited. We believe in ‘cultivating the young generation upon this Islaam, purified from all that we have mentioned, giving to them a correct Islâmic education from the start – without any influence from the disbelieving western education.’
[13]: We believe that politics is a part of the Religion, and those who try to separate the Religion from politics are only attempting to destroy the Religion and to spread chaos.
[14]: We believe that there will be no honor or victory for the Muslims until they return to the Book of Allah and to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
[15]: We oppose those who divide the Religion into trivialities and important issues. And we know that this is a destructive Daw’ah.
[16]: We oppose those who put down the knowledge of the Sunnah, and say that this is not the time for it. Likewise, we oppose those who put down acting upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
[17]: Our Daw’ah and our ’Aqeedah is more beloved to us than our own selves, our wealth and our offspring. So we are not prepared to part with it for gold nor silver. We say this so that no one may have hope in buying out our Daw’ah, nor should he think that it is possible for him to purchase it from us for deenaar or dirham.
[18]: We love the present day Scholars of the Sunnah and hope to benefit from them and regret the passing away of many of them.
[19]: We do not accept a Fatwaa except from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.These are glimpses into our ’Aqeedah and our Daw’ah. So if one has any objection to this, then we are prepared to accept advice if it is truthful, and to refute it if it is erroneous, and to avoid it if it is stubborn rejection. And Allâah knows best.
Endnotes:
[1] This explanation of our call has been summarized from Tarjumah Abee ’Abdur-Rahmaan Muqbil Ibn Haadee al-Waadi’ee (p. 135-142) of Shaykh Muqbil Ibn Haadee with minor additions from other sources.
[2] al-Furqaan magazine (issue no. 14, p. 15)
[3] From Fiqhul-Waaqi’ (p. 49) of Shaykh al-Albaanee
[4] Fiqhul-Waaqi’ (p. 51)
