Jamaa’at al-Ahbaash (the Habashis)

 

what's the Islamic point of view concerning the new group that appeared in Islam
"AL AHBASH"? what are we supposed to do with them? and would you
please tell me in brief what are the mistakes they have in their Aqeedah?

Praise be to Allaah. 

Praise be to
Allaah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is
no Prophet, and upon his family and companions.

 The
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwaas (al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Iftaa’)
has received questions and requests for information concerning Jamaa’at
al-Ahbaash (the Habashis) and about the person after whom this group is
named, one ‘Abd-Allaah al-Habashi, who is based in Lebanon. This group
conducts activities in various European countries, and in America and
Australia. The Committee therefore examined the books and articles
published by this group, in which their beliefs, thoughts and call are
stated clearly. After examining this material and pondering the matter,
the Committee issued the following statement to the Muslims:

 Firstly:

It was
reported in al-Saheehayn from the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said:

“The best of
people are my generation, then the generation that follows them, then the
generation that follows them.” And there are other versions of this
hadeeth.

 And the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“I advise
you to fear Allaah and to listen and obey, even if a slave is appointed as
your leader. Whoever among you lives after I die will see differences
arise. I urge you to adhere to my Sunnah and the way of my rightly-guided
successors (al-khulafaa’ al-raashidoon); clench your teeth on it (i.e.,
hold fast to it). Beware of newly invented things, for every innovation
(bid’ah) is a going astray.” (Narrated by Ahmad, and Abu Dawood
and al-Tirmidhi, who said, it is a saheeh hasan hadeeth).

 One of
the most important characteristics by which those first generations were
distinguished and by which the achieved a higher level of righteousness
than all other people, was the fact that they referred all their affairs
to the Qur’aan and Sunnah; the Qur’aan and Sunnah were given
precedence over all individual opinions, no matter whose opinion it was;
they understood the texts of the two noble Revelations (i.e., the
Qur’aan and Sunnah) in accordance with the principles of sharee’ah and
the Arabic language; the sharee’ah was adopted in its entirety, and with
regard to every single detail; ambiguous texts were referred to clear
texts. Hence they upheld the sharee’ah and adhered to it, and they held
fast to it. They did not add anything to it or take anything away from it.
How could they add anything to it or take anything away from it when they
were adhering to the divine texts which free from mistakes and errors?

 Secondly:

Then these
generations were succeeded by others among whom there were many
innovations and invented matters, where everyone who had an opinion was
enamoured of his opinion and forsook the texts of sharee’ah, and the
texts were deliberately misinterpreted and distorted to suit people’s
desires and ideas. Thus they went against the Trustworthy Messenger, and
followed a way other than that of the believers. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And
whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the right
path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the
believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn
him in Hell — what an evil destination!” [al-Nisaa’ 4:115]

 It is a
part of the grace of Allaah towards this Ummah that in each age He sends
to it scholars who are well versed in knowledge and who can stand up
against every kind of bid’ah that distorts the beauty of the faith and
contaminates its purity, and competes with or tries to destroy the Sunnah.
This is the fulfilment of Allaah to protect His religion and sharee’ah,
as He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily,
We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely,
We will guard it (from corruption)”
[al-Hijr 15:9]

 And
according to the hadeeth narrated in the books of Saheeh,
the Sunans, the Musnads and others, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:

“A group
of my ummah will continue to adhere to the commands of Allaah, and they
will not be harmed by those who let them down or oppose them, until the
Command of Allaah comes to pass, and they will be prevailing over the
people.” And there are other versions of this report.

 Thirdly:

During the
last quarter of the fourteenth century AH there emerged a group led by
‘Abd-Allaah al-Habashi, who moved from Ethiopia to Syria, taking his
miguidance with him, and he moved about in that region until he settled in
Lebanon, where he started to call people to his way. His number of
followers increased and his ideas – which are a mixture of the ideas of
the Jahamiyyah [a group which misinterpreted the attributes of Allaah],
the Mu’tazilah [a philosophical group many of whose ideas differ from
those of Ahl al-Sunnah], grave-worshippers and Sufis – began to spread.
He fanatically supported his ideas by engaging in debates and printing
books and leaflets which propagate them.

 Anyone
who reads what has been written and published by this group will see
clearly that their beliefs go beyond the pale of Islam, i.e. Jamaa’at
al-Muslimeen (Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah). Among their false beliefs,
for example are the following (this is not a complete list): 

1.                
With regard to the issue of faith, they follow the school of
thought of al-Irjaa’ [those who believe that sin does not matter so long
as one is a believer] which is condemned in Islam.

 It is
known that the belief of the Muslims, which was that followed by the
Sahaabah, the Taabi’een and those who follow their path until the
present day, is that faith (eemaan) is the matter of words spoken by the
tongue, beliefs held in the heart and actions done by the body. Belief
must be accompanied by submission to the laws of Islam, otherwise that
so-called faith is not valid.

There are many
reports from the Salaf which confirm this belief, for example the words of
Imaam al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have mercy on him): “Among the consensus
of the Sahaabah and the Taabi’een and those who came after them, and
those whom we have met, is that they say: faith is words, actions and
intentions; one of these three will not be complete without the others.”

 2.                
They allow seeking help from and seeking refuge with the dead, and
praying to them instead of to Allaah. This is shirk
akbar (major shirk)
according to the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and the consensus (ijmaa’)
of the Muslims. This shirk
is the same as the religion of the earlier mushrikeen, such as the kuffaar
of Quraysh and others, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings: 

"And they worship besides Allaah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say: 'These are our intercessors with Allaah'"
[Yoonus 10:18]

“Verily,
We have sent down the Book to you (O Muhammad) in truth. So worship Allaah
(Alone) by doing religious deeds sincerely for Allaah’s sake only.

Surely,
the religion (i.e. the worship and the obedience) is for Allaah only. And
those who take Auliyaa’ (protectors, helpers, lords, gods) besides Him
(say): ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near to
Allaah.’ Verily, Allaah will judge between them concerning that
wherein they differ. Truly, Allaah guides not him who is a liar, and a
disbeliever”

[al-Zumar
39:2-3]

“Say
(O Muhammad): ‘Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and the sea
(dangers like storms), (when) you call upon Him in humility and in secret
(saying): If He (Allaah) only saves us from this (danger), we shall truly,
be grateful.’” [al-An’aam 6:63]

“And
the mosques are for Allaah (Alone), so invoke not anyone along with
Allaah” [al-Jinn 72;18]

“Such
is Allaah, your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke or
call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmeer (the thin membrane over
the date stone).  If you
invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they
were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the
Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can
inform you (O Muhammad) like Him Who is the All‑Knower (of
everything)” [Faatir 35:13-14]

 And
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Du’aa’
(supplication) is worship.” This was narrated by the authors of Sunan
with a saheeh isnaad. And there are many aayaat and ahaadeeth which say
the same thing. This indicates that the earlier mushrikeen knew that
Allaah was the Creator and Provider, the One Who brings benefit or causes
harm, and they worshipped their gods so that they would intercede for them
with Allaah and bring them closer to Him. Thus they committed shirk.
Allaah ruled that they were guilty of kufr
and shirk, and commanded His
Prophet to fight them until all worship was for Allaah Alone, as Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And
fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism, i.e.
worshipping others besides Allaah), and the religion (worship) will all be
for Allaah Alone” [al-Anfaal 8:39]

 The
scholars have written many books on this topic in which they have
explained clearly the true Islam with which Allaah sent His Messengers and
revealed His Books. They also discussed the religion and beliefs of the
people of the Jaahiliyyah, and their actions which went against the laws
of Allaah. One of the best writers on this topic was Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), in his numerous books. One of the
most concise of his works is Qaa’idah
Jaliyyah fi’l-Tawassul wa’l-Waseelah.

 3.                
In their view, the Qur’aan is not the Word of Allaah in the true
sense.

 It is
known from the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and by the consensus of
the Muslims, that Allaah speaks whenever He wills, in a manner that befits
His Majesty, may He be glorified, and that the Qur’aan, both its letters
and meanings, is the word of Allaah in the true sense. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meanings):

“And
if anyone of the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers
in the Oneness of Allaah) seeks your protection then grant him protection
so that he may hear the Word of Allaah” [al-Tawbah 9:6] 

“and
to Moosa (Moses) Allaah spoke directly” [al-Nisaa’ 4:164]

 “And
the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice”
[al-An’aam 6:115]

 “a
party of them (Jewish rabbis) used to hear the Word of Allaah [the Tauraat
(Torah)], then they used to change it knowingly after they understood
it?”

[al-Baqarah
2:75]

 “They
want to change Allaah’s Words. Say: ‘You shall not follow us; thus
Allaah has said beforehand.’” [al-Fath 48:15]

 And there
are many well known aayaat which say the same thing. Numerous mutawaatir
reports from the Salaf confirm this belief, which is stated in the texts
of the Qur’aan and Sunnah – to Allaah be praise and blessings.

 4. They
think that it is obligatory to interpret the texts of the Qur’aan and
Sunnah which speak of the attributes of Allaah, may He be glorified and
exalted (i.e., to understand them differently from the apparent meaning).
This is contrary to the consensus of the Muslims, from the Sahaabah and
Taabi’een to those who follow their path until the present day. The
Muslims believe that it is obligatory to believe in what is stated in the
texts about the Names and attributes of Allaah, without distorting the
meanings, denying any of His attributes, discussing the hows and whys or
likening any of Allaah’s attributes to human attributes. They (the
Muslims) believe that there is none like unto Allaah and He is the
All-Hearing, All-Seeing; they do not deny any of the attributes with which
He has described himself. They do not change the words from their (right)
places or belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names or
signs. They do not discuss the nature of His attributes, or liken His
attributes to the attributes of His creation, because there is nothing
that can be compared to Him, and He has no equal or rival.

 Imaam
al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “I believe in Allaah
and in what has come from Allaah as Allaah meant it. I believe in the
Messenger of Allaah and in what has come from the Messenger of Allaah as
the Messenger of Allaah meant it.” Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said: “We believe in it; we do not reject anything that the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
and we do not describe Allaah with more than He has described Himself.”

 5.                
Among their false beliefs, they deny that Allaah is above His
creation.

 The
belief of the Muslims, as indicated by the verses of the Qur’aan, the
ahaadeeth of the Prophet, sound human nature and clear common sense is
that Allaah is above His creation, over His Throne, and nothing at all of
His creatures’ affairs is hidden from Him. Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“and
then He rose over (Istawaa) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His
Majesty)”. [al-A’raaf 7:54]
– this phrase appears seven times in the Qura’aan. And Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“To
Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (i.e.
the goodly words are not accepted by Allaah unless and until they are
followed by good deeds)” [Faatir 35:10]

“And
He is the Most High, the Most Great” [al-Baqarah 2:255]

“Glorify
the Name of your Lord, the Most High” [al-A’laa 87:1]

 “And
to Allaah prostrate all that is in the heavens and all that is in the
earth, of the moving (living) creatures and the angels, and they are not
proud [i.e. they worship their Lord (Allaah) with humility]. They fear
their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded” [al-Nahl
16:49-50] – and there
are other similar aayaat. 

And many saheeh
ahaadeeth have been narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) on this topic, for example: the story of the Mi’raaj
(ascent into the heavens), which is mutawaatir,
when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed
through the heavens one by one, until he reached his Lord, Who brought him
close or called to him, and enjoined fifty prayers upon him, then he kept
going back and forth between Moosa (peace be upon him) and his Lord. He
came down from the presence of his Lord to Moosa, and Moosa asked him,
“How many (prayers) have been enjoined upon you?” When he told him, he
said, “Go back to your Lord and ask Him to reduce them.” So he went
back up to his Lord and asked Him to reduce them.

 It was
reported in al-Saheehayn that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “When Allaah created His creation, He wrote in a Book
which is with Him, above the Throne: ‘My Mercy prevails over My
wrath.’”

 It was
reported in al-Saheehayn from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Do you not trust me, when I am the trustee of the One
Who is in the heaven?”

 In Saheeh
Ibn Khuzaymah and Sunan Abi
Dawood it is reported that the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Throne is above water, and
Allaah is above the Throne, and Allaah knows what you are doing.” 

In Saheeh
Muslim and elsewhere it is reported that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to the slave-girl,
“Where is Allaah?” She said, “In heaven.” He said, “Who am I?”
She said, “You are the Messenger of Allaah.” He said: “Set her free,
for she is a believer.”

 This is
the pure belief which was adhered to by the Muslims: the Sahaabah, the
Taabi’een and those who have followed them in truth until the present
day, praise be to Allaah. Because of the great importance of this topic
and the fact that so much evidence (daleel) – more than one thousand
aayaat and ahaadeeth – points to it, the scholars have devoted books to
it, e.g., al-Haafiz Abu ‘Abd-Allaah al-Dhahabi in al-‘Alu
li’l-‘Aliy al-Ghaffaar, and al-Haafiz Ibn al-Qayyim in Ijtimaa’
al-Juyoosh al-Islaamiyyah.

 6. They
speak of some of the Companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) in a manner that is not appropriate.

 An
example of that is their statement that Mu’aawiyah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) was a faasiq (rebellious evildoer). In this regard they
go along with the Raafidis (may Allaah curse them). The Muslims should not
discuss what happened among the Sahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them
all; they should refrain from speaking whilst believing that all of them
were good and had the virtue of having been companions of the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It was reported
that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Do not slander my Companions, for even if any of you were to spend (in
charity) gold equivalent to the size of Mount Uhud, he would never reach
their level, not even half way.” (Narrated
by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And
those who came after them say: Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who
have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against
those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most
Merciful.” [al-Hashr 59:10]

This
is the sound belief concerning the Companions of the Prophet
(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah
wa’l-Jamaa’ah throughout the centuries. Imaam Abu Ja’faar
al-Tahhaawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the beliefs of
Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah:

“We
love the companions of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), but we do not go to extremes in our love for any
of them, and we do not disown any of them. We hate those who hate them,
and we do not say anything but good about them (the companions). Love for
them is true religion, faith and goodness; hatred for them is kufr,
hypocrisy and transgression.”

 Fourthly:

What
we may note about this group is that they follow weird fatwas, and their
fatwas go against the shar’i texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Examples
of that include the following:

 They
permit gambling with the kuffaar in order to take away their money; they
permit stealing their crops and animals, on the condition that this
stealing will not cause fitnah (tribulation); they permit dealing in ribaa
when dealing with the kuffaar; they permit those who are in need to buy
lottery tickets, which is haraam.

 Other
ways in which they obviously go against the sharee’ah include:

They
permit looking at a non-mahram woman in a mirror or on a screen, even with
desire; they say that persisting in looking at a non-mahram woman is not
haraam; they say that for a man to look at any part of a woman who is not
permissible for him is not haraam; they say that if a woman goes out
wearing make-up and perfume but she does not have the intention of
attracting men, this is not haraam; they permit free mixing of men and
women; and they have other odd and outrageous fatwas which go against
sharee’ah and they consider things which are major sins to be
permissible. We ask Allaah to keep us safe from that which will provoke
His wrath and earn His punishment.

 Fifthly:

Some
of the outrageous means they use to turn people away from the scholars who
have deep knowledge, and put people off from reading their books or
referring to the reports transmitted from them, include: slandering them,
belittling them and undermining them, and even denouncing them as kaafirs.
Chief among the scholars whom they defame in this manner is the imaam and
mujaddid Shaykh al-Islam Abu’l-‘Abbaas Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Haleem ibn
‘Abd al-Salaam ibn Taymiyah, may Allaah have mercy on him. ‘Abd-Allaah
al-Habashi even wrote a book specifically about this reforming imaam, in
which he accused him of being misguided and misled; he attributed to him
words that he did not say, and fabricated other lies about him. Allaah
will deal with him, and it is before Allaah that all disputing parties
will ultimately meet.

 They
also slander the reforming imaam Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab,
may Allaah have mercy on him, and his call for reform which he undertook
in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, where he called people to follow
Tawheed and cast aside Shirk, to honour the texts of the Qur’aan and
Sunnah and to act upon them, and to uphold the Sunnah and do away with
bid’ah. Through him, Allaah revived the teachings of Islam that had been
forgotten, and He did away with whatever He willed of bid’ah and
innovation. The effects of this call – by the grace and blessings of
Allaah – spread throughout the Islamic world, and Allaah guided many
people thereby. But this misguided group have directed their arrows
against this call of the Sunnah and those who make this call; they have
fabricated lies and propagated doubts and confusion, and they have
rejected this clear call to follow the Qur’aan and Sunnah. They have
done all of this to put people off the truth and to prevent them from
following the straight path. We seek refuge with Allaah from that.

 No
doubt the hatred that this group has towards the great and blessed
scholars of this ummah is indicative of the hatred that they hold in their
hearts towards everyone who calls people to worship Allaah Alone and
adhere to Tawheed, which was the belief and way of the people of the best
generations. This group is far away from the essence of true Islam.

 Seventhly:

Based
on what we have said above, and other things that we have not mentioned
here, the Committee makes the following statements:

1-                     
Jamaa’at al-Ahbaash (the Habashis) is a misguided group which is
beyond the pale of the Muslim community (Jamaa’at al-Muslimeen, i.e.,
Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah). They must come back to the truth which
was followed by the Sahaabah and Taabi’een in all aspects of religion,
action and belief. This is better and more lasting for them.

2-                     
It is not permissible to follow the fatwas of this group, because
they adopt odd views which clearly contradict the Qur’aan and Sunnah,
and they follow some far-fetched and corrupt interpretations of some
shar’i texts. All of these are reasons why ordinary Muslims should not
trust their fatwas or believe them.

3-                     
What they say about the Ahaadeeth of the Prophet
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is not to be trusted, whether it has to
do with the isnaad or the meaning of a hadeeth.

4-                     
Muslims in all places must beware of this misguided group and warn
others against them. They must beware of falling into their traps under
any name or banner, and they should seek reward by advising their
followers who have been deceived by them, and explain the faults in their
way of thinking and their beliefs.

 Having
stated this clearly to the people, the Committee asks Allaah, may He be
exalted, by His Most Beautiful Names and Sublime Attributes to protect the
Muslims from all fitnahs (trials, temptations), both visible and
invisible, to guide those Muslims who have gone astray, to reform their
affairs, to turn the plots of the plotters against them, and to suffice
the Muslims against their evil. For Allaah is Able to do all things, and
He is most Generous in responding. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad
and his family and companions, and those who follow them in truth.