Fatwa's Insights - Aqidah

THE 67TH MEETING OF THE PERLIS STATE FATWA COMMITTEE / 2024

22 - 23 MAC 2024 / 11 - 12 RAMADHAN 1445H

POSITION ON DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE CREED OF AHL AL-SUNNAH WA AL-JAMĀ'AH & POSITION ON THE DIVERSITY WITHIN AHL AL-SUNNAH WA AL-JAMĀ'AH CONCERNING PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL

1. Position On Differences Within The Creed Of Ahl Al-Sunnah Wa Al-Jamā'ah

The creed that must be followed by Muslims is the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā'ah. At the same time, we acknowledge the existence of differences in interpretation among the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā'ah in matters of furū' (subsidiary branches) of creed.

The strand of Ahl al‑Sunnah wa al‑Jamā'ah adopted as our standard is the school of Ahl al‑Ḥadīth (أهل الحديث) or Ahl al‑Athar (أهل الأثر), because this more closely follows the methodology of the Salaf al‑Ṣāliḥ (السلف الصالح).

At the same time, this position does not declare deviant, let alone disbelieving, the other schools within the creed of Ahl al‑Sunnah wa al‑Jamā'ah, namely the al-Ashā'irah and the al-Māturīdiyyah. This stance does not prevent us from engaging in harmonious discussion on issues of furū‘ of creed without hostility.

We should deal with the followers of these schools as brothers in Islam, always cooperating in matters agreed upon and showing tolerance in matters of disagreement.

Any opinion or teaching that clearly contradicts the fundamental principles of creed (أصول العقائد), from whatever party it comes, must be rejected and its falsehood explained, without regard to the background of the group or the speaker.

Ahl al‑Sunnah wa al‑Jamā'ah, with their diversity of schools, should be able to build stronger brotherhood and cooperation in facing various challenges from deviant sects and threats to the ummah.

2. Position On The Diversity Within Ahl Al-Sunnah Wa Al-Jamā'ah Concerning Tazkiyah Al-Nafs

Tazkiyah al-Nafs (purification of the soul), or what is termed taṣawwuf, constitutes an essential component for a Muslim. Exoteric worship ('amaliyyah) without Tazkiyah al-Nafs will eliminate the value of iḥsān in the religious life of a Muslim.

The methodology of Tazkiyah al-Nafs must be guided by al-Qur'ān and al-Sunnah. Any method or teaching pertaining to Tazkiyah al-Nafs that clearly contravenes al-Qur'ān and al-Sunnah is rejected.

Fundamentally, spiritual practices such as reciting specific verses or chapters of the Qur’ān, dhikr, and salawāt are encouraged for an individual to perform, as long as there is evidence for them from the Qur’ān and the Sunnah.

Nevertheless, practices that have no established specification in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah regarding manner, number, place, or time—such as reciting particular verses of the Qur’ān, specific numbers of salawāt or dhikr, or particular wording of supplications and the like—are permissible for an individual to set for himself in terms of manner, number, place, or time, provided that they are not presented as religious obligations and do not contradict the Sharī‘ah.

The purpose of Tazkiyah al‑Nafs is to purify the soul from traits that Allah Azza Wajalla detests, such as hidden shirk, arrogance, self‑conceit, showing off, and the like. Tazkiyah al‑Nafs is not intended to obtain extraordinary phenomena, nor is it to be used as a medium of elevating one’s status to display piety to others, nor to gain worldly benefit.

The existence of genuine spiritual taste (dhawq), spiritual unveiling (kashf), inspiration (ilhām), dreams, charisma (karāmah), or the like is not denied. All such phenomena are not rejected as long as they do not contradict al-Qur'ān and al-Sunnah. These matters constitute divine gifts from Allah 'Azza Wajalla to His righteous servants and do not serve as evidence for believing in anything novel in creed or innovating practices in worship.

The highest karāmah for those whom Allah Azza Wajalla loves is steadfastness upon the correct creed, righteous deeds, and noble character.

One of the means for purifying the soul is visiting graves with the intention of remembering death, without engaging in practices that contradict the Sunnah, let alone those that corrupt creed.

ATTENDANCE AND APPROVAL BY:

1. Sahibus Samahah Professor Dato' Arif Perkasa Dr Mohd Asri Bin Zainul Abidin;

2. Sahibul Fadhilah Ustaz Tajul Urus bin Abdul Halim;

3. Sahibul Fadhilah Professor Dr. Muhamad Rozaimi bin Ramle;

4. Sahibul Fadhilah Professor Dr. Basri bin Ibrahim;

5. Sahibul Fadhilah Dr. Hj Zaharuddin bin Hj Abdul Rahman;

6. Sahibul Fadhilah Professor Dr. Azman Bin Mohd Noor;

7. Sahibul Fadhilah Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Akram bin Dato' Dahaman @ Dahlan;

8. Sahibul Fadhilah Dr. Ahmad Sufian bin Che Abdullah;

9. Sahibul Fadhilah Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Wifaq Bin Mokhtar;

10. Sahibul Fadhilah Ustaz Syed Abu Bakar bin Syed Kamal Bharin;

11. Sahibul Fadhilah Dr. Muhammad Lukman bin Mat Sin;

12. Sahibul Fadhilah Dr Zaitun bin Rasmin;

13. Sahibul Fadhilah Ustaz Aidil bin Abdul Rahman;

14. Al-Fadhil Ustaz Muhammad Khidhir bin Abdul Ghani – Secretary.