The following is not intended to offend anyone; please read with an open heart and mind!
One of my respected Shaykhs, Mufti Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve
him), in a recent lecture, very passionately and sincerely highlighted
the wrong practices adopted by some folks who participate in the
organized effort of deen called, ‘Jama’ah Tabligh.’ He explained that
there are many different efforts of serving the deen of Allah – such as
teaching (ta’lim), conveying the message (da’wah & tabligh),
reforming souls (tazkiya), charity work, etc – and the objective of all
such efforts is to please Allah Most High. They are all different forms
of serving the deen of Allah. However, the problem arises when some
people get involved in a particular type of effort, and then think that
what they are involved in is the only ‘real’ effort; and all other
efforts are either not the efforts of deen or even if they are, they
don’t have much significance. This leads to deviation!
He particularly singled out those who become ‘extreme’ in the effort
of Jama’ah Tabligh. Some of them – due to lack of knowledge – become so
overzealous that they start disregarding all other efforts of deen such
as teaching ilm, charity work, etc… If teachers and students of a
Madrasa do not come out in their organized Tabligh effort, they think
that they are not really doing the work of deen! He then cited an
example where a Tablighi brother told his old mother and wife that, “I
do not have time to earn and provide for you, you earn and feed the
family; I need to go out for Tabligh!” This, he explained, is not what
Allah wants from us. In Islam, our family also has a right over us, and
one should do what is required at the given time. This is not what the
‘elders’ of Tabligh have taught, he explained.
He said that such people become so fanatical that if any scholar was
to give them sincere advice (nasiha) out of love and genuine concern,
they become extremely defensive and say things like, “You are
anti-Tabligh” and “How dare you point out our mistake” and “The mistakes
of one or two should not be taken to mean the whole effort is flawed”
and “The Tablighis do great work” etc… but when did anyone say the whole
work is flawed, and when did anyone deny the value of the effort?! It
seems they just do not want to hear anyone correcting their mistakes!
Finally, he said, the effort of Jama’ah Tabligh is very beneficial,
which has spread the message of Islam to far and distant lands. We
encourage people, especially the general masses, to participate in this
effort. However, the mistakes must be pointed out. If such extremism is
not avoided, it may lead this whole effort into becoming some kind of a
cult! Avoid such extremism, and save others from it! [End of Shaykh
al-Islam Mufti Taqi Usmani’s statement in my own words]
I would like to add that what the respected Shaykh has said was long
overdue. In my limited experience, the amount (literally in the
hundreds) of irresponsible and flawed statements made by ‘some’ of our
Jama’ah Tabligh brothers is astonishing. For example, one brother said,
“We are the only saved sect of the 73 mentioned by the Prophet!” Another
said, “Seeking knowledge (ilm) is of no benefit if you don’t go out in
Tabligh!” One friend said to me, “I was once in I’tikaf and a brother in
the Jama’ah said in his talk that we were wasting our time and should
be out there!” (La hawla wa la quwwa…..] This is the type of extremism
and sectarianism that people like Shaykh Taqi Usmani and others fear!
We need to realize that there are different methods of serving the
deen of Allah. Some people are involved in teaching children Qur’an and
basics of deen, some in teaching advanced sciences like tafsir, hadith
and fiqh, others in doing charity work, some spending their night and
day answering people’s questions and writing fatwas, some spending their
whole time authoring beneficial books, and some in lecturing and
advising people on how to reform their souls. These are all works of
deen, and it is wrong to deem that a particular effort is better than
the other.
Moreover, “Tabligh” basically means ‘to convey the message’, and this
‘conveying’ itself has many different forms. The individual spending 20
hours of his day and night writing a book is also conveying the message
and doing his share of Tabligh. The scholar traveling the globe
teaching courses in seminars is also involved in Tabligh! The Imam at
your local Masjid teaching kids is also doing his share of Tabligh! One
does not have to go out for 3 days, 40 days or 4 months 'in the
recognized way' to be regarded as doing Tabligh! Imam Abu Hanifa did not
go out for 3 or 40 days, Imam Bukhari did not go in Tabligh for 4
months, Imam Nawawi did not go round doing ‘ghasht’ like it is done
today, but they were all still involved in Tabligh.
This shows that one
does not have to become part of an organized system to be able to do
Tabligh. If some brothers think to themselves, let’s get together and go
out to another city and convey the message of Allah, by all means they
have a right to do so (as long as they fulfill the basic prerequisites
of doing da’wah), even if they have no connection with a local Markaz or
the ‘organized’ Tabligh groups!
It is true that this type of extremist mentality is found in other
groups too. However, it seems that it is more prevalent within the
Tabligh Jama’ah. This is due to two reasons: 1) Lack of knowledge, and
2) The excessive number of people participating in the effort. Whenever
there are more people, the risk of making mistakes is greater.
The above is not to offend anyone. It is written out of genuine
concern and sincerity, InshaAllah. People are encouraged to participate
in this very beneficial and blessed work to rectify themselves and
preach to others. The effort of Jama’ah at-Tabligh is a very blessed
effort, full of Baraka and blessings; and very effective in bringing
people to Islam. It has changed the lives of many, and scores of people
have benefitted from going out in the path of Allah. No one is denying
that, and no one is castigating the group as a whole!
But for the sake
of Allah, do not make this beautiful work into some kind of cult, where
you think this is the only real effort of deen, and everyone else is
wasting their time. Furthermore, this should not be used as an excuse to
not participate in this effort or look down upon those who do
participate. Those who make such mistakes should be explained in a
loving manner, with lots of dua’ for them insha Allah. May Allah protect
us and give us the correct understanding of deen, Ameen.
(Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari)
