Question
1) What does Allah mean in Quran, by saying something like some people takes their own desire as God?
2) Does someone go outside of islam by Having hope in something or someone more than Allah?Also, does someone go outside of islam if he/she believes that she/he should have more hope in something/someone other than Allah?
3) Can I intent for doing multiple deeds (for example, I intent to a bad deed first, then I will do a good deed. In this case, I intent to do 2 deeds, first doing the bad deed then doing the good deed). Or Is it something like, for example: I can intent for only one deed at a time in islam (regardless of good or bad)? is there a maximum number of deeds that I can intent for at once?
4) If someone says the shahada in order to enter islam, does it count as a good deed?( I am talking about a scenario, where someone is committing major kufr/major shirk (intentionally or unintentionally or both), then he enters islam by saying the shahada). So, each time he enters islam by saying the shahada, in this each time it will be counted as a good deed?
5) If I interpret and follow the Quran and hadith based on my own opinion and disregard the scholars of islam, do I go outside of islam?
6) What if someone rejects a sahih or hasan or weak hadith saying if prophet Muhammad said in front of him, he would accept it. Does this person goes outside of islam? (This person also believes that prophet Muhammad is a messenger of God).
7) What if someone rejects a sahih or hasan or weak hadith of prophet Muhammad that explains the Quran (I mean the hadiths that is doing the tafsir of the verses of the Quran) saying if prophet Muhammad said in front of him, he would accept it. Does this person goes outside of islam? (This person also believes that prophet Muhammad is a messenger of God).
8) By rejecting ijma, opinions of scholars, opinion of companion of prophet Muhammad, opinion of sahaba, tabeyin, tabe-tabeyin; you don’t go outside of islam, right? All you have to do is just obey the Quran and prophet Muhammad? Other than prophet Muhammad, anybody’s opinion can be rejected, right? As we know every human makes mistake.
9) I have heard a hadith which says: prophet Muhammad advised to follow the truth. If this is not possible, then follow what is closer to the truth. If this is not possible, then fear Allah as much as you can. Can you please correct me in wording of this hadith and let me know which book of hadith contains this hadith with the hadith number. Also, let me know if its hasan or weak.
10) We don’t have to follow weak hadiths, right? It is not fard, but if we follow, we get reward?
Answer
1. In surah 45 verse 23 Allah the Almighty says:
Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire…
In this verse Allah the Almighty is referring to those who let their desires guide them and they obey and act according to their desires as opposed to what Allah the Almighty wants from them. This verse teaches us that we need to suppress our own wants and desires, especially if it conflicts with the teachings of Allah the Almighty.
2. Allah the Almighty says in the Qur’an:
And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him. And if He touches you with good then He has power over all things. [6:17]
This verse teaches us that everything works in accordance with the will of Allah the Almighty. He has power over all things. Nothing can benefit us in any way if Allah the Almighty does not want it to help us. Hence, we should turn our attention to Him alone and seek all support and help from Him. This is why we read in surat al-Fatiha, “Only you do we worship and from only you do we seek help”.
If Allah the Almighty wanted to help us directly without any intermediary then He can do so. However, many times Allah will use an intermediary, so He often puts cure in the medication a patient is taking. We must realise that the cure is actually coming from Allah the Almighty and not from the medication.
Now if a person truly believes that something other than Allah is providing the actual benefit then this would be problematic and depending on what the matter is, could lead one out of the fold of Islam. In this instance they are placing their belief at direct conflict with their belief in Allah. However, if a person places their hope in something or someone else, knowing that it is just the means that Allah the Almighty is using then that would not be an issue.
3. Intention is an act of the heart. There is no reason to believe that a person cannot intend more than one thing at a time. In fact, when carrying out good deeds it is even possible to make multiple intentions at the same time for extra reward. For example, if a person performs two rakats when they enter the masjid, they can intend tahiyyat al-masjid and also salat al-hajat. Or if a person gives some money to a relative they can intend it as a charitable donation (sadaqah) and also an attempt to build relations with ones relative.
4. If a person says the shahadah and enters Islam then they are following the teachings of Islam and will undoubtedly be rewarded for this. We are not sure what you mean by ‘each time they enter Islam’. A person should not keep leaving and entering Islam. This is a big risk and if they die whilst outside the fold of Islam they will have died as a disbeliever.
5. A person will not leave the fold of Islam just by interpreting the Qur’an and sunnah themselves. However, if the interpretation is incorrect and conflicts with the correct meaning of the Qur’an and sunnah, then that incorrect belief or understanding could lead this person out of the fold of Islam.
6. Hadiths are of different categories. The impact on ones faith would depend on which type of hadith the person is rejecting. For example, the highest level hadiths are known as mutawatir. If a person rejects this types of hadith they will leave the fold of Islam. To say that one will not believe a hadith unless the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) himself said it in front of them is nonsensical as each hadith will have a chain of transmission going back to the Prophet, hence, ultimately it is the statement of the Prophet.
7. The answer is the same as question 6.
8. Primarily a Muslim will follow the Qur’an and sunnah. These two sources also teach us about taking information from else where. For example, the concept of ijma’ is derived from the Qur’an and sunnah. Similarly, following the companions is also known from the sunnah. For this reason, the matter of accepting and rejecting information is not as simple as, ‘I will just take from the Qur’an and sunnah and reject anything else.’ This requires a thorough study of the usul works. Links for this have been provided at the bottom for relevant courses.
9. We have not been able to locate this hadith.
10. It is not possible to give a simple answer of whether or not a weak hadith has to be followed. There are various types of weak hadith and if the weak hadith has support from other sources it becomes stronger. When we practice Islam, we do not just look at a hadith on its own and practice on it. Rather, we have to look at the full picture, taking into consideration the Qur’an, sunnah, ijma’ along with the commentaries of the scholars on each of these sources. To just pick out one hadith and decide whether one wants to act on it or not, would be incorrect.
Many of your questions refer to rejecting information especially hadith and opinions of scholars. A lot of this may be due to limited understanding of the sciences of Islam and how they work. We would advise that you take time out to study various Islamic sciences as this will help you understand the role of these sources of information. If you choose not to study in detail but still select and reject from the Qur’an and sunnah according to what you feel is right, then this can be extremely damaging to your faith. You may find some useful courses on the following websites:
https://rayyaninstitute.com/
تفسير ابن كثير ت سلامة (7/ 268)
ثُمَّ قَالَ [تَعَالَى] (8) {أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ} أَيْ: إِنَّمَا يَأْتَمِرُ بِهَوَاهُ، فَمَهْمَا رَآهُ حَسَنًا فَعَلَهُ، وَمَهْمَا رَآهُ قَبِيحًا تَرَكَهُ: وَهَذَا قَدْ يُسْتَدَلُّ بِهِ عَلَى الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ فِي قَوْلِهِمْ بِالتَّحْسِينِ وَالتَّقْبِيحِ الْعَقْلِيَّيْنِ.
وَعَنْ مَالِكٍ فِيمَا رُوِيَ عَنْهُ مِنَ التَّفْسِيرِ: لَا يَهْوَى شَيْئًا إِلَّا عَبَدَهُ
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel