Characteristics of the saved group

 

What are the most prominent characteristics of the saved group? If a person is lacking in any of these characteristics does that mean that he is not one of the saved group?

Praise be to Allaah. 

The most prominent characteristic of
the saved group is adherence to the way of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in ‘aqeedah (belief), ‘ibaadah
(worship), manners and attitude, and dealings with others. The saved
group has distinct characteristics in these four areas.  

In matters of ‘aqeedah you will find
that they adhere to that which is indicated by the Book of Allaah and
the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), i.e., absolute Oneness (Tawheed)
of the Divinity and Lordship of Allaah, and of His Names and Attributes.

In matters of worship, you will find
that this group is distinguished by its total adherence to and application
of that which the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do with regard to different
kinds of acts of worship, how they are done, to what extent, where and
when, and for what reasons. You will not find them introducing innovations
into the religion of Allaah, rather they show the utmost respect towards
Allaah and His Messenger, so they do not put themselves forward before
Allaah and His Messenger (cf. al-Hujuraat 49:1) by suggesting
any innovated act of worship for which He has not granted permission.

In matters of manners and attitude, you
will also find that they differ from others by virtue of their good
attitudes such as wishing the Muslims well, being content, having a
cheerful countenance, speaking well, being generous, being courageous,
and other noble and good characteristics. 

In matters of dealings with others, you will find that
they deal with others in an open and sincere manner.  They are
the ones to whom the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) referred when he said: “The two
parties (to a transaction) have the choice (of proceeding with the transaction
or cancelling it) until they separate. If they are sincere and open,
their transaction will be blessed for them, and if they are lying or
deceitful, the blessing will be lost.”  

If a person is lacking in any of these characteristics,
then does not mean that he is not one of the saved group, but for all,
there will be degrees according to that which they did (cf. al-Ahqaaf
46:19). Falling short in matters of Tawheed may put a person outside
the saved group, such as lacking in ikhlaas (sincerity or purity
of intention). The same applies to bid’ah, as a person may do acts of
bid’ah which put him outside the saved group.  

In matters of morals and dealings with others,
defects in such matters do not put a person outside this group, although
they may reduce him in status.  

We
need to look in more detail at the matter of attitude and manners. One
of the most important matters of attitude and manners is unity and uniting
upon the truth. This is what Allaah urges us to do in the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning):

“He (Allaah) has ordained for you the same religion
(Islamic Monotheism) which He ordained for Nooh (Noah), and that which
We have revealed to you (O Muhammad),
and that which We ordained for Ibraaheem (Abraham), Moosa (Moses) and
‘Eesa (Jesus) saying you should establish religion (i.e. to do what
it orders you to do practically) and make no divisions in it (religion)
(i.e. various sects in religion)” [al-Shoora 42:13]  

Allaah tells us that those who divide their religion
and break up into sects, Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has nothing to do with them.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):  

“Verily, those who divide their religion and break
up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammad) have
no concern in them in the least” [al-An’aam 6:159]  

Unity and harmony are among the most
prominent characteristics of the saved sect – Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah.
If any dispute arises among them, stemming from ijtihaad in matters
where ijtihaad is permitted – they do not bear ill-will, enmity or grudges
against one another. Rather they regard one another as brothers even
though these differences arise between them. One of them will pray behind
another even if he thinks that he does not have wudoo’ whilst the imaam
thinks that he does have wudoo’. For example, one of them may pray behind
another who has eaten camel meat, and this imaam thinks that this does
not break wudoo’ whereas the person praying behind him thinks that it
does break wudoo’. So he believes that his prayer behind this imaam
is valid, but if he himself were to pray in that state on his own he
would think that his prayer is not valid. All this is because they believe
that differences which arise from ijtihaad in cases where ijtihaad is
allowed, are not really differences, because each of them has followed
evidence (daleel) as he is obliged to do, and which should not be ignored.
So they believe that if their brother differs from them with regard
to some action because he is following the evidence (daleel), then in
effect he is agreeing with them, because they advocate following the
evidence wherever it is. So although he differs from them, he is still
following evidence from the Book of Allaah or the Sunnah of the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). The scholars are not unaware of the differences
of this nature that arose among the Sahaabah even during the time of
the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), but he did not rebuke them. When he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from the campaign
of al-Ahzaab, and Jibreel came to him and told him to go out to Bani
Qurayzah, who had broken the treaty, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told his companions, “None
of you should pray ‘Asr until he reaches Bani Qurayzah.” They set out
from Madeenah to Bani Qurayzah, and they were worried about missing
the ‘Asr prayer. Some of them delayed the ‘Asr prayer until they reached
Bani Qurayzah, and they prayed it after the time for the prayer had
passed, because the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had said, “None of you should pray
‘Asr until he reaches Bani Qurayzah.” Others prayed ‘Asr on time, saying
that all the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had meant was that they should hasten
to go out (to Bani Qurayzah); he did not mean that they should delay
the prayer. These are the ones who were correct, but the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not rebuke either of
the two groups, and neither expressed enmity towards the other. The
Muslims who claim to follow the Sunnah should be one ummah and
not divide into groups, fighting one another verbally and arguing and
hating one another for a matter in which it is allowed to have different
opinions. There is no need to mention every group by name; the smart
person will understand what I mean. 

I think that Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah
should unite even though they differ in the ways in which they understand
those texts which may be interpreted in different ways. That is a matter
in which there is room for differences, may Allaah be praised. What
matters is harmony and unity. No doubt the enemies of Islam want the
Muslims to be divided, whether they are enemies who express their enmity
openly or they are enemies who make an outward display of friendliness
towards Muslims and Islam, but that is not real. We must be distinguished
by this characteristic which is the characteristic of the saved group,
i.e., being united.