Can you give me a brief idea about the beliefs of the Druze? What is the Islamic ruling concerning them?.
The Druze originated as a secret sect among the esoteric
(baatini) groups that appear outwardly to be Muslim and who sometimes
pretend to be religious, ascetic and pious. They make an outward show of
false pride in religion, pretending to be various kinds of Shi’ahs, Sufis
and lovers of Ahl al-Bayt (the family of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)). They claim to carry the banner of peace
and reconciliation amongst people, and they talk about uniting people in
order to deceive them and lead them astray from their religion. When the
opportunity arises, when they become stronger and find supporters among the
ruling classes, they show their true colours and proclaim their real beliefs
and aims, and they start to promote evil and corruption, and try to destroy
religious teachings, sound beliefs and morals.
This is clear to anyone who studies their history and follows
their progress from the day the Jew ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Saba’ lay the
foundations and planted the seed, a legacy which has been handed down from
one generation to another, as they have tried hard to implement these
principles, and this has continued until the present day.
Although the Druze are one of these esoteric groups, they
have their own characteristics as regards their origins and the time when
they emerged, and the circumstances which helped them to become established.
We will mention some brief details concerning that and the rulings of the
scholars concerning them.
1 – The Druze are named after Durzi, whose full name was Abu
‘Abd-Allaah Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Durzi. His name is also given as
‘Abd-Allaah al-Durzi and Durzi ibn Muhammad. It was said that Muhammad ibn
Ismaa’eel al-Durzi was Tashtakeen or Hashtakeen al-Durzi. It was also said
that they are named after Tayrooz, a city in Persia. Al-Zubaydi narrated
that the correct form of the name is Darzi, based on the phrase “awlaad
darzah” meaning those who are base and vile.
2 – Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Durzi appeared at the time of
al-Haakim bi Amrihi, Abu ‘Ali al-Mansoor ibn al-‘Azeez, one of the ‘Ubaydi
kings (known in the west as Fatimids) who ruled Egypt for nearly two hundred
years and who falsely claimed to be descended from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) though Faatimah (may Allaah be pleased
with her).
Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Durzi was originally a follower of
the esoteric Ismaili sect who claim to be the followers of Muhammad ibn
Isma’eel ibn Ja’far al-Saadiq. Then he left this group and contacted the
‘Ubaydi al-Haakim, approving of his claim to divinity, and he called the
people to worship him alone. He claimed that God had become incarnate in
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, and that the soul of ‘Ali has migrated to his sons one
after another, until it reached al-Haakim. Al-Haakim gave him authority in
Egypt so that the people would obey him in his call. When his true
intentions became clear, the Muslims in Egypt rebelled against him and
killed some of his supporters. When they wanted to kill him, he escaped and
fled to al-Haakim, who gave him some money and told him to go to Syria to
spread his call there. So he went there and stopped in Waadi Taym-Allaah ibn
Tha’labah, to the west of Damascus, where he called them to deify al-Haakim
and spread the principles of the Druze among them, and distributed money to
them, and they responded to his call.
Another man also spread the call of the deification of
al-Haakim, a Persian man whose name was Hamzah ibn ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Haakimi
al-Durzi, one of the leading baatinis. He had contacted the leaders of the
secret call of al-Haakim’s party, and he called for his deification in
secret until he became one of their main leaders. Then he proclaimed that
openly and claimed that he was the messenger of al-Haakim, and al-Haakim
supported him in that. When al-Haakim died and was succeeded by his son who
was known as Al-Zaahir li I’zaaz Deen Allaah (the supporter of the religion
of Allaah), and he disavowed himself of his father’s claim to divinity, this
call was chased out of Egypt. Hamzah fled to Syria and was followed by some
of those who had responded to his call. Most of them settled in the region
that later came to be known as Jebel el Druze in Syria.
Their principles are as follows:
(a)
Incarnation. They believe that
Allaah was incarnated in ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him), then in his
sons after him, one after another, until He was incarnated in the Faatimid
al-Haakim Abu ‘Ali al-Mansoor ibn al-‘Azeez. They believe that al-Haakim
will return and that he disappears and reappears.
(b)
Dissimulation (taqiyah) – i.e.,
hypocrisy and concealment. They do not tell anyone their real beliefs except
those who are of their number. Indeed they do not disclose their secrets to
anyone except those whom they trust from among their own group.
(c)
Infallibility of their imams.
They think that their imams are infallible and protected from sin. Indeed,
they deified them and worshipped them instead of Allaah, as they did with
al-Haakim.
(d)
Esotericism (baatiniyyah). They
claim that the texts of sharee’ah have an esoteric or secret meaning other
than the apparent meaning. They based their heresy concerning the texts on
this, and distorted the meanings of the reports, commands and prohibitions.
With regard to their heresy concerning the reports, they deny
the perfect attributes of Allaah and they deny the Day of Resurrection with
its reckoning and recompense of Paradise and Hell. They replaced that with
something that they call the transmigration of souls, the belief that the
soul of a person or animal moves, when he or it dies, to the body of another
person or animal when he or it is born, to dwell therein being either
blessed or tormented. They believe that the universe is eternal and is no
more than wombs giving birth and the earth swallowing the bodies of the
deceased (i.e., a never-ending cycle of birth and death). They do not
believe in the angels or the message of the Prophets, and they follow the
philosophers who followed their own whims and desires and the principles and
theories of Aristotle.
With regard to their heresy concerning the texts which
stipulate commands and prohibitions, they distort them. They say that salaah
(prayer) really means knowledge of their secrets, not the five daily
prayers; siyaam (fasting) means concealing their secrets, not refraining
from things that break the fast from dawn until sunset; and that Hajj
(pilgrimage) means visiting the shaykhs whom they venerate. They regard
immoral actions, both outward and inward, as permissible, and they allow
marriage to daughters and mothers, and other kinds of tinkering with the
texts and denying things that are clearly known to be the laws of Allaah
that He has enjoined upon His slaves. Hence Abu Haamid al-Ghazaali and
others said concerning them: outwardly their madhhab is Raafidi (Shi’ism)
but inwardly it is pure kufr.
(e)
Hypocrisy and deceit in their
call. They make an outward display of being Shi’ah and of loving Ahl al-Bayt
(the Prophet’s household) to those whom they call. When they respond to
them, they call them to Shi’ism and openly criticize the Sahaabah and
slander them. If they accept that then they disclose to them the alleged
faults of ‘Ali and slander him. If they accept that, then they go on to
slander the Prophets and say that they have secrets that go against the
message to which they called their nations; they say that they were smart
and devised new laws for their nations for them to achieve worldly
interests, and so on.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah was asked about how the Druze
and Nusairis should be judged. He replied:
These Druze and Nusairis are kaafirs, according to the
consensus of the Muslims. It is not permissible to eat the meat they
slaughter, or to marry their womenfolk. They do not agree to pay the jizyah,
so they are apostates from the religion of Islam and are not Muslims, nor
are they Jews or Christians. They do not agree that the five daily prayers
are obligatory, or that fasting Ramadaan is obligatory, or that Hajj is
obligatory. They do not regard as haraam that which Allaah and His Messenger
have forbidden of dead meat or wine, etc. Even if they pronounce the
Shahaadatayn, with these beliefs they are kaafirs according to the consensus
of the Muslims. As for the Nusairis, they are the followers of Abu Shu’ayb
Muhammad ibn Naseer, who was one of the extremists who say that ‘Ali is a
god, and they recite these words:
“I bear witness that there is no god except Haidar [i.e.,
‘Ali],
and no screen covering him except Muhammad, the honest and
trustworthy one,
and there is no way to him except through Salmaan the
all-powerful.”
Haidar is a title given to ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be
pleased with him).
With regard to the Druze, the followers of Hashtakeen
al-Durzi, who was one of the freed slaves of al-Haakim whom he sent to the
people of Wadi Taym-Allaah ibn Tha’labah and he called them to believe in
the divinity of al-Haakim and they call him “the creator, the all-knowing”,
and swear by him, they are among the Ismailis who believe that Muhammad ibn
Isma’eel abrogated the law of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah. They are worse
kaafirs than many other extremist groups. They believe that this universe
has no creator and they deny the resurrection and the duties and
prohibitions of Islam. They are among the esoteric Qarmatians
(al-Qaraamitah) who are worse kaafirs than the Jews, Christians and mushrik
Arabs. Basically they follow the philosophy of Aristotle and his ilk, or the
Magians. Their ideas are a mixture of Magian philosophy but they make an
outward, hypocritical display of being Shi’ah. And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh al-Islam also said, refuting the ideas of some sects
of Druze:
The fact that these groups are kaafirs is something
concerning which there is no dispute among the Muslims. Rather whoever
doubts that they are kaafirs is a kaafir like them. They do not have a
status like that of the People of the Book or of the mushrikeen, rather they
are misguided kaafirs and it is not permissible to eat their food, their
women may be taken captive and their wealth may be confiscated. They are
heretics and apostates whose repentance cannot be accepted, rather they
should be killed wherever they are found, and they may be cursed because of
what they are. It is not permissible to employ them as guards and
gatekeepers. Their scholars and leaders must be killed, lest they lead
others astray. It is haraam to sleep with them in their houses or to be
friends with them, or to walk with them or to attend their funerals, if
their death is announced. It is haraam for the Muslim authorities to neglect
to carry out the hadd punishment that Allaah has enjoined by whatever means
they see fit. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek and in Whom we put
our trust.
From the fatwas of the Standing Committee for Academic
Research and Issuing Fatwas.
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