Joining the Salafi Da’wah

A question was asked to Shaykh al-Na’san in August of 2007, which was as follows:

What is your opinion on the Salafī Daʿwah (call), and do you advise joining it—given that it is active and working to call to Allāh in this era?

The Shaykh responded:

All praise is to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds, and may the most perfect prayers and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. To proceed:

My advice to you, my dear brother, is to receive knowledge from its pure sources, without paying heed to labels. What matters is the reality the label refers to; what matters is adhering to the Book and the Sunnah, outwardly and inwardly.

Seek out an individual or a group who embody true following (ittibāʿ) in both their outer state and inner reality, and take knowledge from them. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family and Companions) pointed to some of the qualities of those from whom you should take your religion. As narrated by Abū Yaʿlā and Al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān—its narrators are the narrators of authentic hadīth, as mentioned in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid—from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allāh be pleased with them both), who said:

It was asked, “O Messenger of Allāh, which of our companions is best?”

He said: “The one whose sight reminds you of Allāh, whose speech increases your knowledge, and whose deeds remind you of the Hereafter.”

Shuʿab al-Īmān

Look for a man or a group whose state affects you before their words, whose actions you see conforming to their statements, and who, by their actions and words, remind you of standing before Allāh on the Day of Resurrection.

If such a man or group possesses these qualities, then stick to them, for they will influence you with a sound influence. The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family and Companions) only reached what they reached through their companionship with our master, the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions), who was a Qurʾān walking upon the earth.

Imām Muslim narrated in his Sahih, in the Book of Repentance, from Hanzalah al-Usayyidī—who was one of the scribes of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions)—who said:

Abū Bakr met me and said, “How are you, O Hanzalah?”

I said, “Hanzalah has become a hypocrite.”

He said, “Glory be to Allāh! What are you saying?”

I said, “We are with the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions); he reminds us of the Fire and Paradise until it is as if we are seeing it with our own eyes. But when we leave the presence of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions), we become occupied with our spouses, children, and livelihoods, and we forget much.”

Abū Bakr said, “By Allāh, we also experience the same.”

So Hanzalah and Abū Bakr went until they entered upon the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions). I said, “Hanzalah has become a hypocrite, O Messenger of Allāh.”

The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions) said: “And what is that?”

I said, “O Messenger of Allāh, we are with you, you remind us of the Fire and Paradise until it is as if we are seeing it with our own eyes. But when we leave your presence, we become occupied with our spouses, children, and livelihoods, and we forget much.”

The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him and his family and Companions) said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you were to remain in the state you are in when with me, and in constant remembrance, the angels would shake your hands on your beds and on your paths. But, O Hanzalah: for an hour and an hour” —three times.

Sahih Muslim 2750a

This is the influence of state and speech, through the blessing of the caller’s own adherence. So seek out the one who is committed, who stops at the limits set by Allāh, and who adheres to Prophetic etiquette in his dealings with all types of creation.

Therefore, my beloved brother: take this religion from one who is upright, outwardly and inwardly. Do not turn your attention to labels, for the label is not more important than what it signifies.

From Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, who said: “Indeed, this knowledge is religion, so consider carefully from whom you take your religion.” (Narrated by Imām Muslim, Mishkat al-Masabih 273)

And from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allāh be pleased with them both), that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family and Companions) said: “O Ibn ʿUmar, your religion, your religion! Verily, it is your flesh and your blood, so consider from whom you take it. Take from those who are upright, and do not take from those who have deviated.”

Cited by Al-Khaṭīb in Al-Kifāyah

And some of the rabbānī scholars say: “Knowledge is a spirit that is breathed in, not merely issues that are copied.” So let learners be careful from whom they take, and let scholars be careful to whom they give.

O Allāh, make us rightly guiding and rightly guided, not astray. Show us the truth as truth and grant us its following, and make us love it. Show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us its avoidance, and make us detest it. This is the answer, and Allāh the Exalted knows best.