HOW DO I DISTINGUISH BETWEEN AHLUL HAQ AND AHLUL BATIL?

ummtaalib · March 16, 2017

HOW DO I DISTINGUISH BETWEEN AHLUL HAQ AND AHLUL BATIL?

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MADH'HABI SCHOLARS

Question:

1. It is said, to know the people of truth(Haq), oneself has to know the truth(haq). But how can a layperson distinguish between haq and batil?, he has to learn from a teacher but what if the teacher is not from Ahlul Haq. What are the signs of ahlul haq? theoraticli and practicly

2. What great service for the ummah have the diffrent scholars from the 4 Madhabs done? Is there any hanafi scholar in madina or macca if not why? JazakAllahu khairan

(Query published as received)

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu 'alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The great scholar and well-known Tabi'ee, Muhammed ibn Sireen (Rahimahullah) mentioned:

إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِينٌ، فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِينَكُمْ

Verily this knowledge (the knowledge of Islam) is (your) religion; so look from whom you are taking your religion.

1. A persons actions are directed by his knowledge and understanding. If one has the correct understanding of Deen, his actions will follow in the correct direction. If his understanding is incorrect, his actions too will be incorrect.

It is therefore important to search for reliable and authentic Ulama and seek knowledge from them. The sign of a true Alim is mentioned in the Quran: Allah the Almighty states:

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ

"Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge." (Surah Fatir - Verse: 28) [1]

This means that for a person to be a true, reliable scholar of Deen, it is necessary that he have the fear and awareness of Allah the Almighty embedded in his heart. The knowledge and religious information one possesses is of no value without the consciousness and awareness of Allah Ta'ala. Amongst the various reasons for this, one is that a person who has the fear and awareness of Allah Ta'ala embedded in his heart, he will be honest and truthful when it comes to imparting his knowledge; he will not blur the lines between Haqq and Batil (truth and falsehood) for his gain or another person's gain. A person who fears Allah will not say anything about Shari'ah he does not know. He exercises extreme caution in issues of Shari'ah. Also, one should be vetted by Ulama of Haqq to fall in the category of Ulama.

In order to understand the 'Aqaa'id (Beliefs) of Ahlus-Sunnah wal- Jama'ah to be able to distinguish between Ahlul Haqq and Ahlul Batil,[2] we advise one to read the book al-'Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah, This book is a short treatise outlining the beliefs of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah and was compiled by Imam Abu Ja`far al-Tahawi (Rahimahullah). The book is a very accurate representation of the creed of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama'ah and has gained widespread popularity and acceptance. Kindly refer to the following link to read the book:

https://attahawi.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sharh-al-tahawiyya-fahim-hoosen.pdf

Furthermore, one may look for the following characteristics and signs of Ahlul Haq Ulama:[3]

He has sufficient knowledge of Deen.
He is conscious of Allah Ta'ala.
His beliefs, practices, and habits conform to the Sunnah and teachings of Shari'ah.
He does not have greed for worldly things.
The Ulama and the pious have confidence in him.
People with good foresight and good understanding of Deen follow him.
The majority of his followers are pious and renounce worldly gains.
He corrects his followers and stops them when they do wrong.

2. You query in regards to the services rendered by the Ulama of the four Madhaahib. The very existence of the Ummah today is the "service" rendered by the Ulama of the four Madhaahib. The Qur'an and the Hadith survived throughout the centuries only through the efforts of the Fuqaha (Jurists) and the Muhadditheen (Hadith Scholars) who spent their entire lives in the preservation and accurate dissemination of the Qur'an and the Hadith. In addition to their contribution in literature, they were Muqallideen (Followers of one of the four Madhaahib). You may refer to the following links to get a glimpse of the literary contributions of the Scholars of the four Madhaahib (Especially the Hanafi Scholars):

https://ahadithnotes.com/2014/11/23/chronological-list-of-prominent-hadith-scholars-english/

https://ahadithnotes.com/2014/06/02/english-chronological-order-of-major-hanafi-jurists/

https://ahadithnotes.com/2015/05/19/the-contribution-of-the-scholars-of-deoband-in-the-field-of-hadith-reviving-a-forgotten-legacy/

You also query if there are any Hanafi Scholars that reside in Makkah and Madinah. A great number of Hanafi Scholars have resided and continue to reside in Makkah and Madinah. A five volume book in the Arabic language titled Tarikh Ummah fi Siyar A'immah (History of the Ummah regarding the Biographies of the Imams) was prepared by Dr. Salih bin Abdullah Al-Humaid and published by The Center of Makkah History. [4] The book provides the biographies of all the Imams of the Haramain (Makkah and Madinah) since the era of the Sahabah and Tabi'een (Rahimahumullah) and is replete with Hanafi Scholars and Scholars of the three other Madhaahib.

Furthermore, a great number of the prominent Hanafi Scholars are buried in Jannat al-Baqi' (Madinah) and Jannat al-Mu'alla (Makkah) which denotes the fact that there were many Hanafi Scholars that lived in Makkah and Madinah.[5]

And Allah Ta'āla Knows Best

Abdullah ibn Mohammed Aijaz

Student Darul Iftaa
Baltimore, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 14)[1]

حَدَّثَنَا حَسَنُ بْنُ الرَّبِيعِ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، وَهِشَامٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَحَدَّثَنَا فُضَيْلٌ، عَنْ هِشَامٍ قَالَ: وَحَدَّثَنَا مَخْلَدُ بْنُ حُسَيْنٍ، عَنْ هِشَامٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، قَالَ: «إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِينٌ، فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِينَكُمْ»

[2]الفرق بين الفرق - كل الكتاب.

[3] Qasdus Sabeel PG.22

[4] http://www.worldlibrary.org/articles/salih_bin_abdullah_al_humaid

http://www.arabicbookshop.net/main/details.asp?id=229-177

http://makkah.org.sa/site/index.php/news/309-seyr-aimma.html

[5] http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?276680-Deobandi-Ulama-(rahimahullah)-Buried-in-Jannatul-Baqi