Capítulo I

Chapter I

On the exposition of the idolatry, misguidance, and transgression that took place in those times in Najd, al-Aḥsā', and other adjacent regions

We say: Most people in that era were saturated with impurities, stained by the filth of abominations, to the point that they plunged into idolatry after the purifying Sunnah had become ruins, and the light of guidance was extinguished due to the disappearance of those who possessed insight and discernment, and of the luminous and illuminating minds. Ignorance and the ignorant prevailed, and those who followed their passions and misguidance rose to prominence. Thus, they carved out a rugged path on those ways, cast the Book of Allāh, Exalted be He, behind their backs, and committed falsehood, slander, and abandonment. Shayṭān adorned for them [the idea] that by this they would attain reward and achieve power and pride. Thus, he forcibly mounted them upon the steeds of their forefathers, and they rode upon their backs on those paths, by force. It seemed to them that [those ancestors] knew the true reality better and were more capable of charting the path of the Law. Therefore, they deviated towards the worship of saints and the pious, and cast off the yoke of monotheism and religion. They strove to supplicate them for aid in adversities and events, and in grave calamities and catastrophes. They turned to them to request needs and to alleviate sorrows and afflictions, both to the living and the dead. And many believed in the benefit and harm of inanimate objects, such as stones and trees, and frequented them often in most eras and moments, without turning or paying attention to any other. Thus, upon these idols they remained prostrate, and to them, most of the time, they remained attached. "They forgot Allāh, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient" [59:19].

Shayṭān toyed with their intellects and led them down the path of ruin, until he cast them into the depths of disgrace. They persisted in their transgression, wandering blindly. They reached from caprice the highest peak, and produced from misguidance the greatest trials. And they rejected, by Allāh!, the most excellent traditions. "Praise be to Allāh, Who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who disbelieve ascribe equals to their Lord" [6:1]. They invented acts of disbelief and debauchery, and of association in worship with the dwellers of graves, and directed supplications and votive offerings to them. "For he who invokes besides Allāh another deity – for which he has no proof – his account rests only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed" [23:117].

Their devils (shayāṭīn) prescribed for them from the religion what Allāh had not authorized, and assigned to others what is not lawful to direct to anyone else. Thus, they surpassed the people of pre-Islamic Ignorance; for they [in their distress] only invoked Him: "For when they board the ship, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion. But when He delivers them to the land, at once they associate others with Him" [29:65]. They filled their hearts with passion and love for them, and dedicated their lives and tongues to rejecting whoever showed them reproach, without busying themselves with Allāh, it being sufficient for His servant to place his desire in Him. If only they had at least equated [Allāh and the idols] in love and solicitude! "By Allāh, we were certainly in manifest error When we equated you with the Lord of the worlds. And no one misled us except the criminals" [26:97-99]. And this love coursed through the innermost heart and manifested on the countenance and tongue, and acts of idolatry spread through most regions. "And most of them believe not in Allāh except while they associate others with Him" [12:106].

Deviation, misguidance, and excess had already occurred, and change in the religion and disagreement had taken place since ancient times, without dispute. And after them came those who believed that the religion was that very misguidance and excess, because they found their fathers and forefathers upon it. "And similarly, We did not send before you any warner into a city except that its affluent said, 'Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are, in their footsteps, following'" [43:23]. Many eminent scholars have testified to this in their compiled works concerning the innovations and events that occurred among people, and what was altered of the landmarks of the religion and Islam. "But had your Lord willed, they would not have done so. So leave them and that which they invent" [6:112]. [They acted] striving and exerting themselves, and fascinated by the pure belief in them. "And Allāh has said, 'Do not take two gods. He is but one God. So fear only Me'" [16:51]. Is one invoked who possesses no benefit for himself, nor can repel harm from himself, while the Disposer of creation is abandoned, in granting and withholding? "And whatever you have of favor – it is from Allāh. Then when adversity touches you, to Him you cry for help" [16:53]. Thus, they went and came to them to fulfill needs, and beseeched them in supplication and vented, and permitted what Allāh had forbidden and considered it lawful. "Say, 'My Lord has only forbidden immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed – and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allāh that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allāh that which you do not know'" [7:33].

And in the lands of Najd this was something immense, and all remained in those conditions, and in that valley they dwelt, "Until the truth came and the command of Allāh appeared, although they disliked it" [9:48]. And they had been [there] – until the light of rectitude appeared – committing astonishing acts of idolatry, and approaching it from every door. And this multiplied among them at the tomb of Zayd ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, invoking him to relieve afflictions with eloquent speech, and asking him to dispel calamities without any doubt. "Say, 'Would you inform Allāh of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth?' Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him" [10:18].

And this was notorious in al-Jubaylah, and mentioned for the satisfaction of needs. So too, in a village of ad-Dir'iyyah they claimed that there were graves there, and that some Companions [of the Prophet] lay buried, so their share in their worship was abundant, and thus, in all circumstances, they prostrated upon them. "Is it other than Allāh that you desire, you people who know nothing?" [37:86]. And the inhabitants of that place had in their breasts a greater fear and reverence for Allāh, and a more solemn hope and longing for Him. Therefore, when they sought needs, they would begin by saying: "'Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are, in their footsteps, following'" [43:23].

And in Shu'ayb Ghurayrā, acts of absurdity and reprehensible nature were committed, the like of which is neither known nor can be imagined. And they claimed that the tomb of Ḍirār ibn al-Azwar was there, which is pure falsehood and fabricated slander, which Iblīs portrayed and imagined for them, without them perceiving it.

And in Bulaydah al-Fidā stands the famous palm tree known as al-Faḥḥāl. Women and men would come to it, visit it morning and evening, perform the most repugnant acts beside it, and seek blessing from it, believing [in its power]. And a woman would come to it when her marriage was delayed and no husbands came to wed her. She would then embrace it with her hands, in the presence [of others] and with hope for a solution, and say: "Oh Fertilizer of the fertilizers, I desire a husband before the year passes." Thus her saying has been faithfully transmitted. "For the Devil had made pleasing to them their [evil] deeds" [27:24].

And the Devil clung to and hung upon the tree of aṭ-Ṭarfiyyah, so groups and factions would visit it to seek blessing, and they would hang rags on it when a woman gave birth to a male child, perhaps thereby saving themselves from death.

And in the lower part of ad-Dirʿiyyah there is a large cave. They claim that Allāh, Exalted be He, created it in the mountain for a woman called «Bint al-Amīr», whom some libertine sought to wrong. She cried out and invoked Allāh, and the cave split open for her, by permission of the Most High, the Great. And He, Exalted be He, was for her a protector from that evil. Thus, they would send meat and bread to that cave as offerings. "Do you worship what you have carved, While Allāh created you and that which you do?" [37:95-96].

And among them was a man among the saints named Tāj, and they followed with him the method of the idolatrous tyrants, directing to him votive offerings and supplications, and believing that benefit, harm, and relief came from him. They came to him in groups for their affairs, and he would come to them in ad-Dirʿiyyah from his land, al-Kharj, to collect what he had of offerings and tributes. "And indeed they prevent them from the path [of Allāh] while they think they are rightly guided" [7:30]. And all the inhabitants of those lands, and the dwellers of those places and grounds, held the most immense regard for him. Every ruler, oppressor, and demon feared him, and every person trembled before his aides and his entourage. They did not confront them with what displeased them. And they attributed to him atrocious claims and ascribed to him repugnant and abominable tales, which their tongues disseminated and whose falsehood they propagated, and they believed them, despite their falsity and falsehood. Thus, they claimed he was blind and that he came from his land, al-Kharj, without a guide to lead him, and other similar stories that are a gathering place for idolaters, and beliefs by which they strayed from the straight path and turned away with them from sincerity in invoking the Lord of all the worlds, "Who responds to the distressed when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth. So is there a deity with Allāh? Little do you remember" [27:62].

As for what is done now in the Noble Sanctuary of Mecca –may Allāh increase its elevation and honor–, it surpasses and exceeds all else. In those purified and honored precincts, and those venerated and respected sites, is committed that which truly merits, upon witnessing it, the shedding of clouds of tears and the humiliation of eyes without restraint, and the kindling in the heart of the flames of grief, upon seeing what emanates in those places from those Bedouins, of depravity, misguidance, and disobedience, and the humiliation that has befallen the religion there. Indeed, the prohibitions and limits have been violated there, and the followers of falsehood have found therein occasion for permanence and settlement, just as is now evident and existing. Where is the saying of Allāh, Exalted be He? "And [mention, O Muḥammad], when We designated for Abraham the site of the House, [saying], 'Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for those who perform Tawāf and those who stand [in prayer] and those who bow and prostrate'" [22:26]. And whoever has seen it testifies to that, from among those who have a sound heart. "And whoever intends therein [commitment of] deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing – We will make him taste a painful punishment" [22:25]. And indeed, an innumerable multitude has openly manifested it among them, and a large group has been brazen with it in their gatherings. And the men of knowledge have not been able to remove it or change it; rather, they allied to clash against the clear truth, and sought to extinguish its luminous lamp and smother its brilliant radiance, and attempted to change the face of what is correct. "And they disputed by [using] falsehood to [attempt to] invalidate thereby the truth. So I seized them, and how [terrible] was My penalty" [40:5]. "Did We not grant you life enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste [the punishment], for there is not for the wrongdoers any helper" [35:37].

And from this proceeds what is done at the tomb of al-Maḥjūb and the dome of Abū Ṭālib. And they know that he was a transgressing and usurping ruling chief, who would go out to the lands of Najd and impose upon them tributes and monetary demands. If he was given what he wanted, he would leave; if not, he would become an enemy and combatant to them. They then go to his tomb with offerings and signs, to implore aid when calamities befall and disasters and catastrophes descend.
Likewise, at the tomb of al-Maḥjūb, they ask him for intercession for the forgiveness of sins, because he is the close and beloved one to them. Therefore, they feared his secret [power], and if a transgressor, thief, or usurper of wealth entered the tomb of one of them, no man dared to bother him, nor did he fear punishment or reprisal, nor could one reach him with what displeased him or apprehend him. In contrast, if a guilty person, even of the slightest offense, clung to the Kaʿbah, he would be dragged from it by the hems. Such was their extremity in their veneration. "And they have taken besides Allāh [false] deities that perhaps they would be helped. They are not able to help them, and they [themselves] are for them soldiers in attendance" [36:74-75].

And from this is what is done at the tomb of Maymūnah bint al-Ḥārith, the Mother of the Believers –may Allāh be pleased with her–, in Sarif, and at the tomb of Khadījah –may Allāh be pleased with her–, in al-Muʿallā; actions that no Muslim can consider lawful or permissible, let alone see as an act of devotion by which he attains reward and merit: the mixing of men and women, the commission of obscene and reprehensible acts, the raising of voices with supplications before them, and the occurrence of offerings and the notoriety of pleas for aid.
And at the tomb of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās –may Allāh be pleased with them both–, in aṭ-Ṭāʾif, occur matters that sicken the heart of the ignorant, let alone the knowledgeable! At his tomb, every distressed and fearful person stops, supplicating and imploring aid. And most vendors in the markets proclaim it without anyone reproaching or censuring it at all. And many of the people of idolatry and despair, and of the needy and ruined, say with an accent of a distressed and consumed heart: "Today [my affair is] upon Allāh and upon you, oh Ibn ʿAbbās!" And they ask him for needs and seek his provision. "Should I take other than Him [false] deities [while], if the Most Merciful intends for me some adversity, their intercession will not avail me at all, nor can they save me?" [36:23].

As for what is done at his (ﷺ) tomb, of the most grave prohibited actions: scraping cheeks [on the ground], bowing with submission and prostrating, and taking that grave as a day of festival –he (ﷺ) having cursed whoever does so, and that suffices as a rebuke and warning–, and the majority of scholars have severely forbidden what is done at it now, and have condemned it with a firm condemnation, it is something that is not hidden nor can be denied, and is greater than can be mentioned. In fame and dissemination, it is like the sun at the height of the day.

The tongue grows weary of recounting what is done at the tombs of Ḥamzah, al-Baqīʿ, and Qubāʾ of that same class, and the pen is incapacitated from detailing it, even if but little of it were mentioned:

As for what is done in Jeddah, of that which the calamity has become widespread, it has certainly reached the extreme limit in misguidance and obscenity. They have there a tomb sixty cubits in length, upon which is a dome. They claim it is the tomb of Ḥawwāʾ (Eve). Some devil established it from ancient times, prepared it, and arranged it. The custodians collect there, from wealth, each year what can scarcely pass the imagination. And no one enters to greet his mother without greeting, immediately giving some dirhams without delay. Would any of the miserly, let alone the generous, be stingy with giving some contemptible goods, and would he forgo entering where his mother is to greet her?

They have there an oratory called al-ʿAlawī, and they vied in its veneration with all creatures, and surpassed in extremism those other ways. If a murderer, usurper, or thief entered his tomb, no one would dare to bother him, neither believer nor sinner, and no one would dare to be the one to expel him by leading him away, or to hasten and compete to help him. Whoever sought refuge in his land would be protected, and no ruler or minister would stop before him.

In the year 1210 of the Hijrah, a famous merchant from among the people of Jeddah, from among the arriving Indian merchants and the people of al-Ḥasā, purchased abundant merchandise worth more than seventy thousand riyals, approximately. After a few days, bankruptcy, insolvency, and a change [of fortune] befell him, and he had nothing to confront half of what he owed, so he fled to it seeking refuge. None of them, neither noble nor commoner, small nor great, dared to approach him. He left his house and what was in it of money, and he was not harmed in little or much, until the merchants gathered and saw for him a method of deferment and facilitation, and made of that for him deferred payments in successive years. And some of the people of religion advised this course of action.

As for what is in the lands of Egypt and its Upper Egypt, of matters that a human being refrains from mentioning and enumerating, especially at the tombs of the pious and the devotees from among its masters and servants – as related by those trustworthy in transmitting the news and confirming them –: they go to the tomb of Aḥmad al-Badawī, and likewise to the tombs of other devotees and all the graves famous for goodness and asceticism, imploring aid, lamenting, and urging them to succor them, pressing them to remove from them misfortune and affliction. And they transmit among themselves stories, attribute cases to them, and recount in their gatherings events of the most abominable reprehensible actions and deviations. They say: "So-and-so implored aid from so-and-so and was aided immediately at that moment"; and "So-and-so complained to the owner of the tomb of his situation and his affair, and he aided him and removed his harm from him"; and "So-and-so presented his need to him and he eliminated his poverty," and similar nonsense that is falsehood and slander. And this discourse is emitted in those lands, while they are filled with scholars of the era and those who possess verification and knowledge, and that prohibition is not removed nor is the occurrence of those actions rebuked. Rather, perhaps some are pleased with it.

As for what was done in the lands of Yemen, of idolatry and seditions, before this time in this era, it is more than can be calculated or enumerated, counted or exhaustively investigated, or its extreme limit reached. From this is what the people of eastern Ṣanʿāʾ do at a tomb they have, called al-Hādī, and everyone goes to it back and forth to invoke it and implore its aid. A woman goes to it when pregnancy is difficult for her or she is sterile, and says at it an ugly and grave word. Glory to He who does not hasten to punish the crime!

As for the people of the locality of Buraʿ, they have al-Burʿī, a man to whom one travels to invoke him from any distant place of his site and his city, and one goes to him without difficulty, after days and nights of travel, to request aid and complain of impossibility. And they settle at his tomb for the visit, and draw near to Allāh with sacrifices at it, as the reports of those who witnessed his presence and his surroundings have confirmed.

As for the people of al-Hujariyyah and those who followed their footsteps, they have a tomb called Ibn ʿAlwān. And the common people turned to him in the calamities of the era, and everyone who was distressed implored his aid. Thus, they resort to him at every moment and occasion, and their rabble call him "the savior of the drowning," as some of those who heard it related. And most of the people of the desert and the sea among them rejoice upon hearing his mention, and implore his aid even if they do not reach his tomb. And votive offerings are made for him on sea and land. And among the people of his land and in his veneration there is what exceeds the power to enumerate. And they perform at his tomb religious singing sessions and birth celebrations, and gather at him types of disobedience and corruptions. There is in the regions of Yemen, in this era, no one who equals him in notoriety, not even in the other regions. And they have in his presence actions that they perform as religion, and they carry them out from time to time: they stab themselves with knives and pins – and it has been made for them an act of worship to Iblīs – and they say, while dancing and rejoicing with what they sing, with passion having filled their intellects and minds: "Oh my masters, my heart is anguished for you!"

As for the situation of Ḥaḍramawt, ash-Shiḥr, Yāfiʿ, and ʿAdan, deviation has certainly settled and dwelled in them. And they have al-ʿAydarūs: at his tomb is done such folly and grave misguidance that its summary dispenses with detail. And the speaker among them says: "Something for Allāh, oh ʿAydarūs! Something for Allāh, oh vivifier of the nafs!"

As for the lands of the coast, they have matters of this. Among the people of Makhā: ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar ash-Shādhilī. Most of them are afflicted with invoking him and imploring his aid. Their tongues do not cease mentioning him sitting or standing, and they visit his tomb alone or in groups.

As for the people of al-Ḥudaydah, they have ash-Shaykh Ṣiddīq. Every faction turned to venerate him and to go to extremes in him, and their situation and condition led them, and Shayṭān plunged them into an abyss of misguidance, to the point that no one who wishes to embark on the sea, or desires to disembark from it to land, can do so until he comes to him, greets him immediately, and asks him for help and aid in what he intends and seeks.

As for the people of al-Luḥayyah, they have az-Zaylaʿī, without confusion, and his name among them is "ash-Shams" (the Sun), because his tomb has no dome, but is uncovered. And to him were directed all votive offerings, and in this they are darker and more transgressing, and in his veneration and invocation more misguided and deviated. From the Bedouin people among them a story is related about them: that he was a messenger on an errand, and wished to enter his land with the sun declining towards sunset, his desire and objective being to enter by day. He then said to the sun: "Stop!" And it stopped, and listened to his saying and obeyed it. Thus mentioned it one of the men. And Allāh knows best about the truth of the situation.

And the tomb of Rābiʿah among them is famous: they do not swear a truthful oath except by it, and other similar things.

And they have the immense calamity, the grave affliction, which is in the lands of Najrān and the adjacent regions, and the Bedouins and desert dwellers around it: the leader known among them, the preeminent sayyid in his leadership and politics, the absolute and the restricted in it. Indeed, they reached in their veneration and respect for him, and in giving him precedence and priority in all matters, and in the ugliness of extremism and belief in him, what led them to the path of misguidance and heresy. Thus, they assigned to him a share of the types of worship, and placed upon him a mark of divinity, until they nearly made him an equal and a portion alongside Allāh. And among them, he was famous for that condition. Glory be to Allāh, far above what the wrongdoers say!

As for what is in Aleppo, Damascus, and the farthest reaches of Ash-Shām and its nearest part, it is of that for which no limit can be established, nor is it possible to determine its extent, nor is its measure and end known, even if a man exhausted his utmost effort in it, according to what is related by one who witnesses it or sees it: the devotion to the worship of tombs, the direction of offerings and vows to them, the ostentation in debauchery and indecency, and the collection of taxes and levies from the prostitutes from those dowries.

And in Mosul, the lands of the Kurds, and the other adjacent regions, as well as in Iraq, especially in al-Mashhad and Baghdad, there is that which requires neither enumeration nor counting. At the tomb of Imām Abī Ḥanīfah, Maʿrūf al-Karkhī, and ash-Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir –may Allāh, Exalted be He, be pleased with them– supplication and imploration of aid to them and through them is done in all times and eras, the likes of which are unknown in description or condition. Tears and weeping are shed beside them, and veneration and humiliation, submission and humility before them are produced, greater than what is offered before Allāh in prayer in presence and humility. Rather, many of those who have done that repeatedly and have tried it, are for fulfilling needs a proven antidote.

As for the sanctuary of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib –may Allāh be pleased with him–, indeed the Rāfiḍah have turned it into an idol that is worshipped. He is invoked with exclusive supplications, instead of the One Who created and originated the creatures. Prayer is made to him in his dome, bowing and prostration are performed. And there is not in the breasts of those misguided ones and others from among the ignorant, and those who have debauchery and misguidance, a tenth of the veneration, reverential fear, and glorification that they have for ʿAlī –may Allāh be pleased with him–, without any doubt, and without exaggeration or extremism in speech. Thus you see them swearing falsely by Allāh, and none of them fears his Lord, nor watches Him in secret or in public, nor fears Him. In contrast, they never swear falsely by ʿAlī, thus respecting his sanctuary, without violating or transgressing it. And they assert, without any doubt –may Allāh curse them!– that he possesses the keys of the unseen. Therefore, they say that visiting him is better than seventy pilgrimages. And what we have mentioned suffices as proof of their departure from Islam and their exclusion from the clear straight path. And indeed they went to extremes in him and reached in ugly idolatry something greater than what the Christians did with the Messiah, except for the claim of sonship, which did not arise from this community [of Muslims]. They equaled or surpassed them in the other reprehensible characteristics. And they adorned his tomb, which they call "the golden dome," contradicting his guidance –may Allāh be pleased with him– and his school. And indeed, in his lifetime, he burned some people who went to extremes in him, but that did not prevent them from following the path of misguidance and despair.

And similar to that is what is done of idolatry, reprehensible acts, and disgrace at the sanctuaries of al-Kāẓim and al-Ḥusayn. In them there is veneration, worship, and reverence for both, and constancy in it at dusk and dawn, and dedication to it in all circumstances, frequently, something more grandiose and abundant than what they have for Allāh, the One, the Dominant. And upon that disbelief, and that ugliness of reprehensible acts and debauchery, the rabble and children have been raised, and the youths among men have grown up in it. Thus, in all circumstances, among that vile rabble and those wretched misguided ones, no mention of the Lord of Majesty and Glory is heard. Their custom is only to mention ʿAlī, al-Ḥusayn, and the rest of the Family.

As for all the villages of the riverbank and al-Majarrah, they have indeed clothed themselves in the garments of idolatry, misguidance, and disgrace. Rather, they were its people, its origin, and its dwelling.

Likewise, what surrounds Basra and what is within it, of those domes and sanctuaries to which all come and head, especially the tomb of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and az-Zubayr –may Allāh be pleased with them both–. They seek relief in them, and direct to them worship, supplication, and imploration of aid in difficulties, and ask them for all benefits. And there is none to deny this or fight it, except what emanates and is observed in those lands of reprehensible acts, obscenities, and corruptions. And none denies it except one who disputes obstinately and opposes.

As for what is in al-Qaṭīf and Bahrain of Rāfiḍī innovations, ugly and idolatrous matters, sanctuaries venerated in a pagan manner, and what those misguided and impure ones do of deviation, misguidance, and despair, and what they commit of idolatry and filth, it is scarcely hidden from anyone among the people. Comprehension stops at the shore of enumerating it, and it is insufficient for what its organization demands in these writings. And none denies it except every lying transgressor.

And if every knower of the faith were to see their actions, and witness it with direct vision and observation, the strangeness of the religion in this era would become evident to him, and his insight into his religion and his certainty would increase. He would strive in obedience to his Lord and Master, and praise Him for what He has granted and bestowed upon him. He would hasten in His service and pleasure, and would rush to fulfill the obligations of servitude in what He commands and prohibits. He would multiply his gratitude to Him for what He has bestowed upon him of His favor and has gifted him. And he would ask Him to make him among His victorious party, those who are close to Him: "Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allāh there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve Who believed and were fearing Allāh" [10:62-63]. And he would mention among the people the grace of Allāh, and would obligate his breast, his tongue, and his mouth to it, and would call out with his raised voice and his mouth: "Say, 'In the bounty of Allāh and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate'" [10:58]. And he would ask his Lord and supplicate to Him – for He is the one who saved him from misguidance and delivered him, and caused him to follow the paths of guidance and rescued him –, and would say in supplication and intimate discourse: "'My Lord, do not leave me among the wrongdoing people.' And indeed, We are able to show you what We have promised them" [7:47-48].

Worldly gains and the desires of the nafs became for them the aim, the objective, and the purpose. And that – I seek refuge in Allāh! – was for them the secret of creation and existence. And they forgot what is in that of promise and threat: "Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments - We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived" [11:15]. And the expert knower, with an illuminated and discerning heart, reflects upon the separation of the two groups in the destination and the end: "A group [will be] in Paradise and a group in the Blaze" [42:7]; "Then is one who was a believer like one who was defiantly disobedient? They are not equal" [32:18].

Benefits:

First: It is obligatory for every sensible person – who is he who governs himself and works for what is after death – that he occupies himself with what Allāh, Exalted be He, has entrusted to him, and concerns himself with saving himself before death. And that he perseveres in what bequeaths to him eternal delight and honor, in the Abode of Permanence and Residence. And that is by dedicating monotheism to Allāh, Exalted be He, and divesting himself of idolatry and seeking salvation. And that he strives, rolling up his sleeves, to correct his situation, and observes what occurred of division in the religion and disagreement among the people of his era, and to what Shayṭān led them, seducing them and his accomplices, until he took them along the paths of his misguidance and abandonment, and cast them into the wilderness of his expulsion and humiliation. Thus, they drank from the pools of the fathers and grandfathers, and grazed in the meadows of prohibitions and limits. The majority took as religion innovations and caprice, and rejected the strong and firm rope of Allāh, and said: "We do not reach its meaning nor do we have the strength." And they saw that abandoning it and rejecting it was the supreme goal in adorning themselves with the garment of scrupulousness and piety. Thus they were cast from disgrace into the deepest depth, and that became, from Allāh, Exalted be He, something decreed and decided, and a preordained and eternal decree. And it is a clear and evident proof of what he (ﷺ) informed, and a confirmation of what he (ﷺ) promised, and His promise is fulfilled.

He (ﷺ) informed that his community would follow the ways of those who were before them, like the Jews, the Christians, Persia, and Rome. Thus it is confirmed in the two Ṣaḥīḥ and other books of ḥadīth, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī – may Allāh be pleased with him –, that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: "You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, handspan by handspan, cubit by cubit, to the extent that if they entered a lizard's hole, you would enter it." They said: "O Messenger of Allāh, the Jews and the Christians?" He said: "Then who else?"

Al-Bukhārī recorded in his Ṣaḥīḥ, from Abū Hurayrah – may Allāh be pleased with him –, that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: "The Hour will not be established until my community follows the ways of the previous nations, cubit by cubit and handspan by handspan." It was said: "O Messenger of Allāh, Persia and Rome?" He said: "And who are the people except those?"

Thus informed the Truthful One, whose truthfulness is confirmed, who does not speak from caprice, that his community would do as the Jews and Christians did – who are the People of the Book – and Persia and Rome – who are the non-Arabs –. And Allāh, Exalted be He, informed about them that "they divided their religion and became sects" [6:159]; that they worshipped the calf and the idols, and believed in magic and Ṭāghūt, "and followed what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon" [2:102] from the books of magic; that they said: "We hear and disobey" [2:93] and "Our hearts are wrapped" [2:88]; that they denied Muḥammad (ﷺ) and fought him and hated him after knowing him, and cast "the Book of Allāh behind their backs as if they did not know" [2:101]; that they believe in part and deny in part, and that "they say to those who disbelieve, 'These are better guided than the believers as to the way'" [4:51]; that they denied the religion of the Messenger (ﷺ) out of envy and jealousy towards the Arabs that Allāh, Exalted be He, had privileged them with this immense merit and this enormous grace – for they [the Jews] used to seek victory over the disbelieving Arabs through Muḥammad (ﷺ), and said: "The time of a Prophet has come whose time is near. We will follow him and kill you with him as 'Ād and Iram were killed" –, as mentioned by Ibn Isḥāq and others from the authors of biographies and military expeditions. When Allāh sent Muḥammad (ﷺ) from among the Arabs, and his followers were Arabs, they denied him and hated him out of envy and jealousy "that Allāh should send down His favor upon whom He wills of His servants" [2:90]. Therefore, it is inevitable that in this community will be found those who do as the Jews, the Christians, Persia, and Rome did.

And in the ḥadīth of ath-Thawrī and others, from ʿAbd al-Ḥamān ibn Ziyād ibn Anʿum al-Ifrīqī, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar – may Allāh be pleased with them both –, who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: "Certainly, what came upon the Children of Israel will come upon my community, shoe for shoe, to the extent that if there was among them one who openly had relations with his mother, there will be in my community one who does that. And the Children of Israel divided into seventy-two sects, and my community will divide into seventy-three sects, all of them in the Fire except one." They said: "Which one is it, O Messenger of Allāh?" He said: "The one upon which I am today, and my companions." It was collected by Abū ʿĪsā at-Tirmidhī, and he said: "This is a singular and explanatory ḥadīth; we do not know it except through this chain."

And this division is well-known from the Prophet (ﷺ) through the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah, Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, Muʿāwiyah, ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf al-Ashjaʿī, and others.

From Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, from Abū Salamah, from Abū Hurayrah – may Allāh be pleased with him –, that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: "The Jews divided into seventy-one or seventy-two sects, and the Christians similarly, and my community will divide into seventy-three sects." It was collected by Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, and at-Tirmidhī, who said: "It is good and authentic."

And from Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān – may Allāh be pleased with him –, who said: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: "Indeed, the People of the Book divided in their religion into seventy-two sects, and this community will divide into seventy-three sects" – referring to the people of innovations – "all of them in the Fire except one, and it is the Community (al-Jamāʿah)." And he said: "There will emerge in my community peoples upon whom innovations will lick as a dog licks its owner, until no vein or joint of his remains free from it. By Allāh, O community of Arabs! If you do not uphold what Muḥammad (ﷺ) brought, there will be other peoples more ready than you to abandon it."

This is a preserved ḥadīth from Ṣafwān ibn ʿAmr, from al-Azhar ibn ʿAbd Allāh ar-Rāzī, from Abū ʿĀmir ʿAbd Allāh ibn Luḥayy, from Muʿāwiyah. It was collected by more than one, among them Abū al-Yamān, Baqiyyah, and Abū al-Mughīrah. It was collected by Imām Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd in his Sunan.

Ibn Mājah collected this meaning through the ḥadīth of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAmr, from Rāshid ibn Saʿd, from ʿAwf ibn Mālik al-Ashjaʿī. And it is collected through other chains.

Indeed, he (ﷺ) informed of the division of his community into seventy-three sects. And there is no doubt that the seventy-two are those who immersed themselves as those who came before them immersed themselves. Says Allāh, Exalted be He: "Like those before you: they were stronger than you in power and more abundant in wealth and children. They enjoyed their portion [of worldly enjoyment], and you have enjoyed your portion as those before you enjoyed their portion, and you have engaged [in vanities] like that in which they engaged. Those [of them] – their deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and it is they who are the losers" [9:69].

And the authors of tafsīr mentioned, from Ibn ʿAbbās – may Allāh be pleased with them both –, that he said: "How similar this night is to the previous one! These – the Children of Israel – we resemble them. By the One in Whose hand is my nafs, you will certainly follow them, to the extent that if a man among them entered a lizard's hole, you would enter it!"

And from Ibn Masʿūd – may Allāh be pleased with him –: "You are the community most similar to the Children of Israel in demeanor and guidance. You follow their actions, handspan by handspan, except that I do not know whether you will worship the calf or not."

And from Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān – may Allāh be pleased with him –, who said: "The hypocrites among you today are worse than the hypocrites who were in the time of the Prophet (ﷺ)." We said: "How?" He said: "Those concealed their hypocrisy, and these have made it public."

Second: Said Shaykh al-Islām Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Ibn Taymiyyah, in his book "Iqtiḍāʾ aṣ-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm":

"This division about which the Prophet (ﷺ) informed is either in religion only, or in religion and worldly life together. Then it may lead to bloodshed. And it may be division in worldly life only. And this division mentioned in these aḥādīth is from that which Allāh, Exalted be He, prohibited in His saying, Most High: 'And do not be like those who became divided and disagreed after clear proofs had come to them' [3:105], and His saying: 'Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects – you, [O Muḥammad], are not [associated] with them in anything' [6:159], and His saying, Exalted be He: 'And, [moreover], this is My path, straight. So follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may become righteous' [6:153].

And the origin of this division comes, on one hand, from failure to act according to knowledge, like one who knows the truth from falsehood and distinguishes between them, but does not follow that in action, word, or deed. Or it comes from acting without knowledge, striving in types of worship without any law from Allāh, and speaking about Allāh, Exalted be He, without knowledge. The first is from resembling the Jews, about whom Allāh, Exalted be He, said: 'Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture – those are cursed by Allāh and cursed by those who curse' [2:159]. And the second is from resembling the Christians, who went to extremes in religion, said about it what is not true, and strayed from the straight path.'"

And indeed, Allāh, Exalted be He, tested factions of this community from among those who claim knowledge, with that with which He tested the Jews: love of worldly life and preferring it, and concealing the truth. For sometimes they conceal knowledge out of miserliness with it and rejecting that another should attain of merit what they attained. Other times, as compensation for leadership or wealth, they fear that showing it will diminish their leadership or wealth. Other times, they have disagreed with another in an issue and adhere to a faction that has been contradicted in an issue, so they conceal from knowledge that in which there is an argument for their opponent, even if they are not certain that their opponent is in error. Therefore, ʿAbd al-Ḥamān ibn Mahdī and others said: "The people of knowledge write what is for them and what is against them; the people of innovations write only what is for them." And the predecessors, Ibn ʿUyaynah and others, used to say: "Whoever becomes corrupt from among our scholars has a resemblance to the Jews; and whoever becomes corrupt from among our worshippers has a resemblance to the Christians." Thus ends his speech – may Allāh, Exalted be He, have mercy upon him.

It is not the intention to encompass all that occurred of division and separation, nor to exhaustively investigate what was produced therein of dispute and conflict, and what happened of imitation and emulation. This is something from which the steed of understanding shrinks from reaching even the slightest part, and its complete account is not possible without detail, especially if joined to it is the distortion of interpretation and the interpretation of Revelation. The objective of it is, rather, to bring a fragment in which the discerning person may immerse his reflection, and take from it his warning and precaution, in this era in which whoever holds fast to his religion in it will be like one who holds onto a live coal. It is obligatory for him to compel his nafs to patience in it, until his Master magnifies his reward for him. And let him supplicate to the Compassionate, the Merciful, to guide him to the straight path and keep him firm on the correct tradition: "But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion" [41:35].

Indeed, by Allāh!, the matter has become immense and enormous, the situation has worsened and grown greater. The trials (al-fitani) have prolonged, and the afflictions (al-miḥani) have extended in this moment and era. Support has been given to misguidance and innovations, and many have inclined to their way. Concern and interest in religion have diminished, and the multitude of those who champion falsehood has increased. And judgment has been passed, without proof or certainty, declaring as misguided the monotheistic preachers and invalidating that to which they devoted themselves: the call to the Lord of all the worlds. "Say, 'This is my way; I invite to Allāh with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allāh; and I am not of those who associate others with Him'" [12:108]. This is the call of the Lord of lords, which dispels doubts about intermediaries alongside Him. Through it, wealth and lives have been deemed lawful. And people have been divided by it between entry into the Garden and the good outcome, and eternal abode in the abyss, the dwelling of punishment, prepared for the enemies of Allāh from among the jinn and mankind, all together. "And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allāh is with the doers of good" [29:69].

And it is not improbable that our current era is included in the totality of the promised era. So I hope for whoever remains upright in it upon the praiseworthy traditions, that Allāh, Exalted be He, grants him in his work the reward of fifty [men], as has come from the lord of the messengers: "Say, 'This is my way; I invite to Allāh with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allāh; and I am not of those who associate others with Him'" [12:108]; "And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allāh is with the doers of good" [29:69]; "And those who believe and do righteous deeds – We will surely assign to them of Paradise [elevated] chambers beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. Excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers * Who have been patient and upon their Lord rely" [29:58-59].

Third Benefit: The community (ummah) has unanimously agreed, and the saying has concurred, that Allāh, Exalted be He, will not unite this community upon misguidance, nor cover it with folly and ignorance. Thus, its preservation is continuous until the end of the term. No one denies or rejects this, as it is confirmed in the authentic traditions, and transmitted by the righteous, virtuous ones, from the chosen Prophet.

And He also informed that in His community there will be people who will not cease to hold fast to His guidance, although in it – or rather, most of them – err and deviate from His guidance and His path. And this division and occurrence of deviation is something that Shayṭān adorned and the natures demanded, and the nafs hastened to it after deciding upon it, to the point that this is found in some scholars who ascribe themselves to one of the followed schools. Thus, they accept from the religion neither opinion nor transmission, except that upon which their companions have acted or have knowledge. He rejects the tradition (sunnah) that all people have been commanded to hold fast to and follow, and adopts the guidance or the choice of some followers. Even if the truth is clarified and known to him from another school other than his own, and made evident to him, he does not pause at it, nor accept it, nor incline to it, nor declare it openly.

And it is obligatory for every person who possesses the quality of faith to turn towards the truth and act according to it, regardless of its source. And let not the envy of the heart and sectarian desire lead him to obstinacy and partisanship, as is found in some of the people of the schools, whom fanaticism leads to criticize – I seek refuge in Allāh! – the imams and to seek their faults.

And you see many of those who claim knowledge and understanding, as well as some of the devotees and Sufis, who do not spare one another, and there is no rejection for their honors. Rather, that scholar does not consider them except misguided and ignorant, and the devotee sees the path of knowledge as folly and misguidance, and claims that the scholars did not drink a sip from the pure Law, nor reach its spring a draught, nor attain from the Presence access and connection, nor find from it acceptance and reception. And indeed, each of those arrived with falsehood, and, by Allāh!, they strayed with a far straying, and did not speak a correct saying. The truth and correctness is only what the Tradition and the Book brought, what the Companions said and did, and what the four followed imams, adhered to in the followed rulings, chose. Consensus has been established on the correctness of what they said, and none deviates from them except one who seeks the path of innovation. Whoever is guided by them after the Book and the Tradition has certainly been rightly guided and guided; and whoever deviates from that has certainly strayed and transgressed.

For the Imām Abū ʿUmar Yūsuf ibn ʿAbd al-Barr – whose knowledge spread throughout the regions and covered the earth in fame and notoriety – there is a compiled work he called "Kitāb al-ʿIlm" (The Book of Knowledge), in which he exhausted the discourse on the Tradition and the Qur'ān, and explicitly declared the obligation of holding fast to both for every person, especially for those who possess merit and standing, in every region, era, and time. And he did not consider blind following (taqlīd) part of the sound method, except in what is unavoidable and from which the person cannot do without when evidence is difficult to obtain or is entirely lacking.

And for Shams ad-Dīn Ibn al-Qayyim, in "Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn", there is what cures the breasts of those who exert juristic effort, by refuting the arguments of those who practice blind following.

And for al-Amīr Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl aṣ-Ṣanʿānī – who was famous for his knowledge and understanding, and had the most generous share of the art of poetry – there are numerous odes with this meaning, in which he traced the most excellent path. I liked to record among them the "Al-Bāʾiyyah" in this book, for what it contains of decisive discourse, and because he expressed himself in it aptly and hit the mark. Its text is:

Is it not time for you to repent from what you are doing?
And will you have, after estrangement, a return?
Your lifetimes consumed you in something other than obedience,
save for a deed that pleases you, though it is a mirage.
If your deed is not sincere for Allāh,
every construction you have built is ruin.
For the deed, sincerity is a condition when it comes,
and that it be concordant with the Tradition and the Book.
...And it was protected from every innovation.
And how is that,
when a flood has covered it across the horizons?
The water of a sea of innovation overflowed upon the people,
and no vessel nor passenger was saved from it.
Noah's flood had his people in the vessel,
and He saved them, and the drowned were destroyed.
How shall we have a vessel that saves?
Would that it flew with us from what we see, a crow!
And where? And where the destination?
And all that is upon it comes to you, astonishing.
We inquire about the lands of the Earth, traveling,
perhaps a region within it has guidance and correctness.
And each one reports the ugliness of what he saw,
and there is no repentance for its people.
Because they considered the ugliness of their action
as beauties in which reward is hoped for.
Like a people naked in the heights of Egypt:
you see upon their nakedness there no garment.
They circle within it, exposing a nakedness.
This has been transmitted; it is not said to be a lie.
They are considered in Egypt among their notables.
Their supplication in what they see is answered.
And there is in it, and there is in it,
all that the tongue cannot enumerate nor discourse approach.
And in every region there is something like Egypt,
only that each has a name, and all are wolves.
You see the religion like a sheep:
wolves have leaped upon it, and they have no portion of it.
Indeed, they tore it apart after every tearer,
and there remained of it neither body nor hide.
And the exile of the religion is only as you see.
Will there be after this exile a return?
O exile! Is a return expected from you,
so that the misfortune of this distance may be repaired?
He who hopes for the salvation of his religion has nothing left,
except seclusion, in which the companion is a book.
A book that contains all knowledge,
and all that it contains of noble knowledge is correct.
If you desire history, you will see wonders:
you will see Adam when he was, being dust.
And you will find Abel, slain by his brother,
buried when a crow saw him.
And you will see Noah in the vessel,
when he flooded the earth with water from the cloud, a deluge.
...And if you want all the Prophets and their people,
and what each of them said and they responded.
You will see all you desire, and among the people a believer,
and most of them denied him and failed.
The Gardens of Eden, their houris and their delight,
and a Fire in which for the transgressors there is punishment.
Those are for the owners of fear,
and this for every wretched one it contains, a punishment.
And if you desire the exhortation that, if you reflect upon it,
the tears of the eyes for it are an answer.
You will find it and what you desire of every drink:
for the spirit, from it there is nourishment and drink.
And if you desire to bring forth the proofs in that
which you want,
that to which you call is answered.
They indicate monotheism in it with conclusive proofs,
with which the necks of the impious were severed.

And in it is the cure for every disease.
Trust in it,
for, by Allāh!, no book replaces it.
And there is no aspiration except that its proof is in it,
and it has no veil for the discerning.
But the inhabitants of the earth have become
as if they were displeased with what it contains.
So they do not seek the truth in it;
rather, they say: whoever recites it is rewarded.
If a proof from it reaches them,
agreeing with that towards which the forefathers were headed,
they accept it; and if not, it is said: this is interpreted.
And one embarks on interpretation in it with difficulty.
You see it captive to every scholar who leads it
toward a school that his companions have established.
Do you turn away from it for fertile gardens,
and compensate with ignorance gardens for hills?
It shows you a straight path, and the rest,
are deserts of ignorance, all of them, and trails.
It surpasses in novelty the two new hides,
and its expressions, when you recite them, are torment.
And its verses, at every moment, are fresh,
and reach the greatest age while virginal.
In it is guidance for the worlds and mercy,
and in it is knowledge, argument, and reward.
Every discourse other than it is husk, not pith,
and all of that, for the discerning, is marrow.
Abandon all saying apart from it, and apart from what
came from the Messenger of Allāh, that is correct.
And bite upon it with the canine teeth,
and be patient upon it, even if no canine remains in the mouth.
You will see in it what you hope for from every aspiration,
if there is in you resolve and seeking.
Prolong your pause upon the seven long ones,
the clouds of knowledge will sprinkle upon you.
How many tens in the hundreds!
Be with them tens;
you will find what calculation did not encompass.
And within "Átinā" (Surah 2), the oft-repeated, are jewels,
its fragrance spreads and a door opens.
And how many sections in the Detailed (al-Mufaṣṣal) have contained principles
towards which the discerning have recourse!
And what existed in the era of the Messenger and his companions,
apart from it, the guidance for the worlds is a book.
He recited "Fuṣṣilat" (Surah 41) when a disputant came to him,
and he became desperate until he had no response.
He acknowledged that the Qur'ān has in it sweetness,
and it rises, and no discourse rises above it.
And he turned away from it, wandering in his misguidance,
planning what will be reproached to the people.
And the successor of the Chosen One said:
we have nothing except it, and what the sheath contains.
And what his Lord granted him of understanding
through His verses; ask, perhaps you will be answered.
Understanding is only from His gifts, nothing else.
Rather, all good, all good, is obtained from Him.
Solomon, He granted him understanding, so he called Him,
He answers you quickly; concerning it there is no veil.
And ask Him for success, gentleness, and mercy,
for those are towards the good end a return.

Fourth Benefit: On the exposition of what occurred in the exile of Islam, about which the best of men promised, and informed of its occurrence before the days were extinguished. And that was from him (ﷺ) by inspiration from Allāh, Exalted be He, to him and information. Thus it occurred and happened, and its face appeared and became manifest, just as the tradition expressed it and the news clearly declared.

Muslim collected in his Ṣaḥīḥ, through the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah – may Allāh be pleased with him –, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: "Islam began as something strange and will return strange as it began."

And Imām Aḥmad and Ibn Mājah collected it through the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd with an addition at the end, which is: It was said: "O Messenger of Allāh, who are the strangers?" He said: "Those who set things right when the people become corrupt."

And another collected it, and in his version: He said: "Those who flee with their religion from fear of the trials (al-fitani)."

And it was collected by at-Tirmidhī through the ḥadīth of Kathīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Muzanī, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet (ﷺ): "Indeed, religion began as something strange and will return strange. So glad tidings to the strangers who correct what the people have corrupted of my tradition!"

And it was collected by aṭ-Ṭabarānī through the ḥadīth of Jābir, from the Prophet (ﷺ), and in his ḥadīth: It was said: "And who are they, O Messenger of Allāh?" He said: "Those who set things right when the people become corrupt."

And he also collected it through the ḥadīth of Sharīk ibn Saʿd in a similar manner.

And it was collected by Imām Aḥmad through the ḥadīth of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, from the Prophet (ﷺ), in his ḥadīth: "So glad tidings to the strangers when the people become corrupt!"

And it was collected by Imām Aḥmad and aṭ-Ṭabarānī through the ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: "Glad tidings to the strangers!" We said: "And who are the strangers?" He said: "A righteous people, few among many evil people. Those who disobey them are more than those who obey them."

And it was transmitted from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, in both a raised (marfūʿ) and a stopped (mawqūf) form, in this ḥadīth: It was said: "And who are the strangers?" He said: "Those who flee with their religion. Allāh, Exalted be He, will resurrect them with ʿĪsá ibn Maryam – peace be upon him."

And the meaning of Islam appearing strange is that creation, before his mission (ﷺ), was in misguidance. So he called to Islam, and none responded to him except one after another from each tribe. And whoever responded to him feared his clan and his tribe, and was harassed, expelled, tortured, and killed, so they fled to distant lands, like Abyssinia, and then to Medina after the Hijrah. Thus, those who entered before the Hijrah were strangers. Then Allāh, Exalted be He, completed His favor upon the Muslims and perfected for them the religion, and the lord of the messengers was taken. And they remained in uprightness, mutual support, and victory during the caliphate of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar – may Allāh be pleased with them both –, until Shayṭān put his plots into practice against the Muslims, sowed enmity among them, and spread among them the trial of desires and doubts, thus ensnaring the majority with both or with one of them. And that was as the Prophet (ﷺ) informed.

In the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī, from ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: "By Allāh! It is not poverty that I fear for you, but I fear that worldly possessions will be spread out before you as they were spread out before those who came before you, and you will compete for them as they competed for them, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them."

In the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: "How will you be when the treasures of Persia and Rome are opened for you? What kind of people will you be?" ʿAbd ar-Ḥamān ibn ʿAwf said: "We will say as Allāh, Exalted be He, has commanded." He said: "Or something else? You will compete, then you will envy one another, then you will turn your backs on one another, then you will hate one another."

And in the two Ṣaḥīḥ, through the ḥadīth of ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir, from the Prophet (ﷺ), there is a similar meaning.

And when the treasures of Chosroes were opened before ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb – may Allāh be pleased with him –, he wept and said: "Indeed, this was never opened for a people without enmity being sown among them." Or words to that effect.

And the Prophet (ﷺ) feared for his community these two trials, as in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad, from Abū Barzah, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: "Indeed, I only fear for you the desires of deviation in your bellies and your private parts, and the misleading trials." And in one version: "and the misleading whims."

When the trial of desires became widespread in those times, and creation turned towards the adornment of the world, and it became their ultimate aspiration, and they strove to seek it, they committed sins and major transgressions, and fell into mutual hatred and turning their backs on each other, after having been brothers and helpers in mutual support.

As for the trial of doubts and misleading innovations, its cause is the division of the people of the qiblah, who became sects, factions, and parties, and the majority of them seekers of the paths of misguidance. They opened doors to innovations and deviation, and the trial cast them into the misguidance of corruptions, and into the wilderness of invention and alienation, and into the mire of estrangement and mutual envy, after having been with one heart. And they followed paths of destruction, and none were saved from those except the saved sect, who are those mentioned in his saying (ﷺ): "A group from my community will continue to prevail upon the truth, unharmed by those who oppose them or forsake them, until the command of Allāh comes and they are upon that." And they are the strangers mentioned in these aḥadīth, who set themselves right when the people become corrupt, and correct what the people have corrupted. And they are those who flee with their religion from the trials. And they are the ones extracted from the tribes.

And aṭ-Ṭabarānī collected through the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd, from the Prophet (ﷺ), concerning the signs of the Hour, who said: "And indeed, among its signs is that the believer in the tribe will be fewer than an-naqad," meaning, the small lambs.

And in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad, from ʿUbādah ibn aṣ-Ṣāmit, that he said to a man from his companions: "Soon, if your lives are prolonged, you will see a man who has recited the Qur'ān with the tongue of Muḥammad (ﷺ), and has remade and altered it, making lawful its lawful and forbidden its forbidden, and has established himself in its stations; he will be worth no more among you than the head of a donkey."

And from this is the saying of Ibn Masʿūd – may Allāh be pleased with him –: "There will come upon the people a time in which the believer will be more humiliated in it than a female slave."

And the humiliation of the believer in the latter times is due solely to his strangeness among the people of corruption, his difference in intention and purpose, and his contradiction with their accustomed way.

Said Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿĀṣim – who was among the great knowers in the time of Abū Sulaymān ad-Dārānī –: "Indeed, I have witnessed from the times a time in which Islam has again become strange, and the description of truth has again become strange, as it began. If you turn in it to a scholar, you find him fascinated by love of the world, loving glorification and leadership. And if you turn in it to a devout worshipper, you find him ignorant in his devotion, deceived, felled by his enemy Iblīs, who has raised him to the highest degrees of worship while he is ignorant of the lowest; how then would he know the highest?" To the end. It was collected by Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilyah.

And Abū ash-Shaykh al-Iṣbahānī collected with his chain to al-Ḥasan, who said: "If a man from the first period were resurrected today, he would not recognize anything of Islam except this prayer." Then he said: "By Allāh! If he were to live with these reprehensible actions, and see the follower of an innovation calling to his innovation, and the follower of the world calling to his world, and Allāh, Exalted be He, were to preserve him, and his heart were to yearn to mention the predecessors, and he were to follow their traces, and conform to their tradition, and follow their path, he would have a great reward."

Supplement:

Many of the predecessors praised the Tradition (as-Sunnah) and described it with strangeness, and described its people with scarcity.

Thus, al-Ḥasan – may Allāh, Exalted be He, have mercy on him – used to say to his companions: "O people of the Tradition! Be gentle – may Allāh have mercy on you – for you are among the scarcest of people."

And Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd said: "There is nothing stranger than the Tradition, and stranger than it is the one who knows it."

And from Sufyān ath-Thawrī, who said: "Commend yourselves well with the people of the Tradition, for they are strangers."

And the intention of these Imams by "the Tradition" is the way of the Prophet (ﷺ) upon which he and his companions were, free from doubts and desires. It is that for which it has been conveyed that whoever clings to it and acts according to it has the reward of fifty of those who preceded him, and that whoever holds fast to his religion is like one who holds onto a live coal.

Then, the Tradition, in the usage of many of the later scholars, came to be that which is free from doubts in beliefs, especially in the matters of faith in Allāh, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, as well as in the matters of divine decree and the merits of the companions. And they composed in this field works which they called "Books of the Tradition." And they specifically designated this knowledge with the name "the Tradition" because its danger is enormous, and whoever contradicts it is on the brink of a precipice.

And strangeness, for the people of the path (aṣ-ṣūfiyyah), is of two types: apparent and internal.

The apparent: the strangeness of the righteous people among the libertines, the strangeness of the upright among the people of ostentation and hypocrisy, the strangeness of the scholars among the people of ignorance and bad character, the strangeness of the scholars of the Hereafter among the scholars of this worldly life, from whom fear and compassion have been stripped, and the strangeness of the ascetics among those who desire what perishes and does not remain.

As for the internal strangeness: it is the strangeness of determination (al-himmah), which is the strangeness of the knowers (al-ʿārifūn) among all of creation, even among the scholars and the ascetics. For those stop at their worship, their knowledge, and their asceticism, while these stop at their Worshipped One, without deviating from Him.

الفصل الأول

في بيان ما جرى في تلك الأزمان من الشرك والضلال والطغيان في نجد والأحسا وغيرهما مما يليهما من البلدان

فنقول: كان غالب الناس في زمانه متضمخين بالأرجاس، متلطخين بوضر الأنجاس، حتى قد انهمكوا في الشرك بعد حلول السنة المطهرة بالأرماس، وأطفئ نور الهدى بالانطماس، بذهاب ذوي الأبصار والبصيرة، والألباب المضيئة المنيرة، وغلبة الجهل والجهال، واستعلاء ذوي الأهواء والضلال، حتى نهجوا في تلك الطرائق منهجًا وعرًا، ونبذوا كتاب الله تعالى وراءهم ظهرا، وأتوا زورا وبهتانا وهجرا، وزين لهم الشيطان أنهم ينالون بذلك أجرا، ويحوزون به عزا وفخرا، فأركبهم على مراكب الأسلاف قسرا، وامتطوا كواهلهم في ذلك السنن قهرا، وحسن لهم أن ذلك بحقيقة الحق أدرى، وأنهم بنهج منهج الشريعة أحرى، فعدلوا إلى عبادة الأولياء والصالحين، وخلعوا ربقة التوحيد والدين، فجدوا في الاستغاثة بهم في النوازل والحوادث، والخطوب المعضلة الكوارث، وأقبلوا عليهم في طلب الحاجات، وتفريج الشدائد والكربات، من الأحياء منهم والأموات، وكثير يعتقد النفع والإضرار في الجمادات، كالأحجار والأشجار، وينتابون ذلك في أغلب الأزمان والأوقات، ولم يكن لهم إلى غيرها إقبال ولا التفات، فهم على تلك الأوثان عاكفون، ولها في أكثر الأحايين ملازمون ﴿نَسُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَأَنسَىٰهُمۡ أَنفُسَهُمۡۚ أُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡفَـٰسِقُونَ﴾.

لعب بعقولهم الشيطان، وأخذ بهم منهج الخسران، حتى ألقاهم في قعر الهوان، فلجّوا في طغيانهم يعمهون، تسنّموا من الهوى أسمى فنن، وأتوا من الضلال أنمى فتن، ورفضوا والله أسنى سنن، ﴿ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِی خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰ⁠تِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ وَجَعَلَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ وَٱلنُّورَۖ ثُمَّ ٱلَّذِینَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِرَبِّهِمۡ یَعۡدِلُونَ﴾ أحدثوا من الكفر والفجور، والإشراك بعبادة أهل القبور، وصرف الدعاء لهم والنذور ﴿وَمَن یَدۡعُ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ لَا بُرۡهَـٰنَ لَهُۥ بِهِۦ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦۤۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا یُفۡلِحُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ﴾.

شرع لهم شياطينهم من الدين ما لم يأذن به الله، وجعلوا لغيره ما لا يجوز صرفه إلى سواه، وزادوا على أهل الجاهلية؛ فقد كانوا لا يدعون إذا مسهم الضر إلا إياه، ﴿فَإِذَا رَكِبُوا۟ فِی ٱلۡفُلۡكِ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخۡلِصِینَ لَهُ ٱلدِّینَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّىٰهُمۡ إِلَى ٱلۡبَرِّ إِذَا هُمۡ یُشۡرِكُونَ﴾، ملأوا قلوبهم له بالوجد والمحبة، وبذلوا أعمارهم وألسنتهم في دفع مَن أبدى لهم مَسَبَّة، ولم يشتغلوا بالله وكفى لعبده به رغبة، وليتهم سوّوا بينهم في المحبة والطلبة، ﴿تَٱللَّهِ إِن كُنَّا لَفِی ضَلَـٰلࣲ مُّبِینٍ (٩٧) إِذۡ نُسَوِّیكُم بِرَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِینَ (٩٨) وَمَاۤ أَضَلَّنَاۤ إِلَّا ٱلۡمُجۡرِمُونَ﴾، وكانت هذه المحبة في سويداء القلب سارية، وعلى صفحة الوجه واللسان بادية، وأفعال الشرك في غالب الأقطار جارية، ﴿وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ﴾.

وقد حدث الغي والإضلال والإسراف، ووقع التغيير في الدين والاختلاف، من زمان قديم من غير خلاف، وجاء بعدهم من اعتقد أن الدين هو ذلك الضلال والإسراف؛ لأنهم وجدوا عليه الآباء والأسلاف، ﴿وَكَذَ ٰ⁠لِكَ مَاۤ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مِن قَبۡلِكَ فِی قَرۡیَةࣲ مِّن نَّذِیرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتۡرَفُوهَاۤ إِنَّا وَجَدۡنَاۤ ءَابَاۤءَنَا عَلَىٰۤ أُمَّةࣲ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰۤ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم مُّقۡتَدُونَ﴾، وقد نصّ عليه كثير من العلماء الأعلام، في كتبهم المصنفة فيما حدث من البدع والحوادث من الأنام، وما غيّر من منار الدين والإسلام، ﴿وَلَوۡ شَاۤءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُۖ فَذَرۡهُمۡ وَمَا یَفۡتَرُونَ﴾. مُجِدّين مجتهدين، وبالاعتقاد المحض فيهم مفتونين ﴿وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ لَا تَتَّخِذُوۤا۟ إِلَـٰهَیۡنِ ٱثۡنَیۡنِۖ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَـٰهࣱ وَ ٰ⁠حِدࣱ فَإِيَّـٰیَ فَٱرۡهَبُونِ﴾ أيدعى مَن لا يملك لنفسه نفعًا؟ ولا يصرف عنها من السوء دفعًا، ويُترك مدبّر الخلائق إعطاءً ومنعًا ﴿وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعۡمَةࣲ فَمِنَ ٱللَّهِۖ ثُمَّ إِذَا مَسَّكُمُ ٱلضُّرُّ فَإِلَیۡهِ تَجۡـَٔرُونَ﴾ فغدوا عليها في قضاء الحاجات وراحوا، وابتهلوا لديهم في ذلك وباحوا، وأحلوا ما حرمه الله واستباحوا، ﴿قُلۡ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّیَ ٱلۡفَوَ ٰ⁠حِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنۡهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَٱلۡإِثۡمَ وَٱلۡبَغۡیَ بِغَیۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَأَن تُشۡرِكُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمۡ يُنَزِّلۡ بِهِۦ سُلۡطَـٰنࣰا وَأَن تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ﴾.

وكان في بلدان نجد من ذلك أمر عظيم، والكل على تلك الأحوال مقيم، وفي ذلك الوادي مُسيم ، ﴿حَتَّىٰ جَاۤءَ ٱلۡحَقُّ وَظَهَرَ أَمۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَهُمۡ كَـٰرِهُونَ﴾ وقد مَضَوا قبل بُدُوِّ نور الصواب، يأتون من الشرك بالعجاب، ويَنْسِلون إليه من كل باب، ويكثر ذلك منهم عند قبر زيد بن الخطاب، فيَدْعُونه لتفريج الكُرَب بفصيح الخطاب، ويسألونه كشف النُّوَب من غير ارتياب، ﴿قُلۡ أَتُنَبِّـُٔونَ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا لَا يَعۡلَمُ فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰ⁠تِ وَلَا فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ سُبۡحَـٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشۡرِكُونَ﴾.

وكان ذلك في الجُبَيْلَة مشهورًا، وبقضاء الحوائج مذكورًا، وكذلك قريوه في الدِّرْعِيَّة يزعمون أن فيها قبورًا، أصبح فيها بعض الصحابة مقبورًا، فصار حظهم في عبادتها موفورًا، فهم في سائر الأحوال عليها يعكفون، ﴿أَىِٕفۡكًا ءَالِهَةࣰ دُونَ ٱللَّهِ تُرِيدُونَ﴾ وكان أهل تلك التربة أعظم في صدورهم من الله خوفًا ورهبةً، وأفخم عندهم رجاءً ورغبةً، فلذلك كانوا في طلب الحاجات، فهم يبتدؤون ويقولون: ﴿إِنَّا وَجَدۡنَاۤ ءَابَاۤءَنَا عَلَىٰۤ أُمَّةࣲ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰۤ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم مُّهۡتَدُونَ﴾.

وفي شعيب غبيرا يُفعل من الهُجْر والمُنكر ما لا يُعهد مثله ولا يُتصور، ويزعمون أن فيه قبر ضرار بن الأزور، وذلك كذب محض وبهتانٌ مزوَّر، مثّله لهم إبليس وصوّر، ولم يكونوا به يشعرون.

وفي بُلَيْدَة الفدا ذكر النخل المعروف بالفحّال، يأتونه النساء والرجال، ويَفِدُون بالبُكُر والآصال، ويفعلون عنده أقبح الأفعال، ويتبركون به ويعتقدون، وتأتيه المرأة إذا تأخرت عن الزواج، ولم تأتها لنكاحها الأزواج، فتضمه بيديها بحضور ورجاء الانفراج، وتقول: يا فحل الفحول، أريد زوجًا قبل الحول. هكذا صح عنهم القول ﴿وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعۡمَلُونَ﴾.

وشجرة الطرفية تشبث بها الشيطان واعتلق، فكان ينتابها للتبرك طوائف وفِرَق، ويعلّقون فيها إذا ولدت المرأة ذكرًا الخِرَق، لعلهم عن الموت يَسْلَمون.

وفي أسفل الدرعية غار كبير، يزعمون أن الله تعالى خلقه في الجبل لامرأة تسمى «بنت الأمير» أراد بعض الفسقة أن يظلمها فصاحت ودعت الله فانفلق لها الغار بإذن العلي الكبير، وكان تعالى لها عن ذلك السوء مجير، فكانوا يرسلون إلى ذلك الغار اللحم والخبز ويهدون، ﴿أَتَعۡبُدُونَ مَا تَنۡحِتُونَ ۝٩٥ وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمۡ وَمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ﴾.

وعندهم رجل من الأولياء يسمى تاج، سلكوا فيه سبيل الطواغيت في الانتهاج، فصرفوا إليه النذر والدعاء واعتقدوا فيه النفع والضر والإفراج، وكانوا يأتون إليه لشأنهم أفواج، ويأتي إليهم في الدرعية من بلده الخرج لتحصيل ما له من النذور والخراج ﴿وَإِنَّهُمۡ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمۡ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَيَحۡسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهۡتَدُونَ﴾ وكان لجميع أهل تلك البلدان، وسكان تلك الأماكن والأعطان، فيه من الاعتقاد أعظم شان، فيخافه كل حاكم وظالم وشيطان، ويهاب أعوانه وحاشيته كلُّ إنسان، فلا يتعرضونهم بما يكرهون، ويَدَّعون فيه دعاوى فظيعة، وينسبون إليه حكايات قبيحة شنيعة، كانت ألسنتهم لها مذيعة، ولبهتانها مشيعة، وهم لِمَيْنِها وزُورها مصدقون، فيزعمون أنه أعمى ويأتي من بلده الخرج من غير قائد يقوده، وغير ذلك من الحكايات التي هي مَحَطُّ رحال المشركين، والاعتقادات التي ضلوا بسببها عن الصراط المستقيم، وأعرضوا بها عن إخلاص الدعاء لرب العالمين، الذي ﴿يُجِيبُ ٱلۡمُضۡطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكۡشِفُ ٱلسُّوءَ وَيَجۡعَلُكُمۡ خُلَفَاۤءَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ أَءِلَـٰهࣱ مَّعَ ٱللَّهِۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ﴾.

وأما ما يُفعل الآن في الحرم المكي الشريف، زاده الله رفعة وتشريف، فهو يزيد على غيره ويُنيف، فيُفعَلُ في تلك البقاع المطهرة المكرمة، والمواضع المعظمة المحترمة، ما يحق أن تُسفَح عند رؤيته سحائب العيون والأجفان، وتُذَال لأجله الدموع ولا تُصَان، وتلتهب في القلب لواعج الأحزان، إذا رأى ما يصدر في تلك الأماكن من أولئك العربان، من الفسوق والضلال والعصيان، وما عَرَا الدين فيه من الهوان، فلقد انتهكت فيه المحرمات والحدود، وكان لأهل الباطل فيه قيام وقعود، كما هو الآن مشاهد موجود، أين قوله تعالى: ﴿۞ وَإِذۡ بَوَّأۡنَا لِإِبۡرَ ٰ⁠هِیمَ مَكَانَ ٱلۡبَیۡتِ أَن لَّا تُشۡرِكۡ بِی شَیۡـࣰٔا وَطَهِّرۡ بَیۡتِیَ لِلطَّاۤىِٕفِینَ وَٱلۡقَاۤىِٕمِینَ وَٱلرُّكَّعِ ٱلسُّجُودِ﴾؟ ويشهد بذلك مَن رآه، مِمَّن كان له قلب سليم، ﴿وَمَن يُرِدۡ فِیهِ بِإِلۡحَادِۭ بِظُلۡمࣲ نُّذِقۡهُ مِنۡ عَذَابٍ أَلِیمٍ﴾. ولقد تظاهر بذلك فيهم جَمٌّ غفير، وتجاهر به بين أظهرهم جمع كثير، ولم يكن لأهل العلم إزالة ولا تغيير، بل تألَّبوا على مصادمة الحق الشهير، وراموا إطفاء مصباحه المنير، وإخماد ضيائه المستنير، وحاولوا تغيير مُحَيَّا الصواب ﴿وَجَـٰدَلُوا۟ بِٱلۡبَـٰطِلِ لِیُدۡحِضُوا۟ بِهِ ٱلۡحَقَّۖ فَأَخَذۡتُهُمۡۖ فَكَیۡفَ كَانَ عِقَابِ﴾. ﴿أَوَلَمۡ نُعَمِّرۡكُم مَّا یَتَذَكَّرُ فِیهِ مَن تَذَكَّرَ وَجَاۤءَكُمُ ٱلنَّذِیرُۖ فَذُوقُوا۟ فَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِینَ مِن نَّصِیرٍ﴾.

فمن ذلك ما يُفعل عند قبر المحجوب، وقبة أبي طالب، وهم يعلمون أنه شريف حاكم متعدٍّ غاصب، كان يخرج إلى بلدان نجد، ويضع عليهم من المال خراجًا ومطالب، فإن أُعطي ما أراد انصرف، وإلا أصبح لهم معاديًا محاربًا، فيأتون قبره بالسماعات والعلامات، للاستغاثة عند حلول المصائب، ونزول النُّوَب الكوارب.

وكذلك عند قبر المحجوب، يطلبونه الشفاعة لغفران الذنوب؛ لأنه عندهم المقرَّب المحبوب، فلهذا كانوا من سِرِّهِ يحذرون، وإن دخل متعدٍ أو سارقٌ أو غاصبٌ مالِ قبرِ أحدهما لم يتعرض له أحدٌ من الرجال، ولا يخشى معاقبة ولا إنكال، ولا يُتَوَصَّل إليه بما يَكْرَه ولا يُنال، وإن تعلَّق جانٍ ولو أقلَّ جناية بالكعبة سُحِبَ منها بالأذيال، فهم في تعظيمها مفرطون، ﴿وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ءَالِهَةࣰ لَّعَلَّهُمۡ يُنصَرُونَ ۝٧٤ لَا يَسۡتَطِيعُونَ نَصۡرَهُمۡ وَهُمۡ لَهُمۡ جُندࣱ مُّحۡضَرُونَ﴾.

ومن ذلك ما يُفعل عند قبر ميمونة بنت الحارث أم المؤمنين، رضي الله عنها، في سَرِف ، وعند قبر خديجة، رضي الله عنها، في المُعَلَّى، مما لا يسوغ لمسلم أن يُطلق. عليه إباحةً وحِلاً، فضلاً عن كونه يراه قربةً يُدرك بها أجرًا وفضلاً؛ من اختلاط النساء بالرجال، وفعل الفواحش والمنكرات، وارتفاع الأصوات عندهم بالدعوات، وحصول الفدية وشهرة الاستغاثات.

وعند قبر عبد الله بن عباس، رضي الله عنهما، في الطائف، من الأمور التي تشمئز منها نفس الجاهل، فكيف بالعارف؟ فيقف عند قبره متضرعًا مستغيثًا كلُّ مكروب وخائف، وينادي أكثر الباعة في الأسواق من غير نكير ولا زجر على الإطلاق، ويقول بلهجة قلب واحتراق، كثيرٌ من أهل الشرك والإبلاس، وذوي الفقر والإفلاس: اليوم على الله وعليك يا ابن عباس! ويسألونه الحاجات ويسترزقون، ﴿ءَأَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِۦۤ ءَالِهَةً إِن يُرِدۡنِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ بِضُرࣲّ لَّا تُغۡنِ عَنِّی شَفَـٰعَتُهُمۡ شَیۡـࣰٔا وَلَا يُنقِذُونِ﴾.

وأما ما يُفْعَلُ عند قبره، عليه الصلاة والسلام، من الأمور المحرَّمة العِظام؛ من تعفير الخدود، والانحناء بالخضوع والسجود، واتخاذ ذلك القبر عيدًا، وقد لَعَنَ عليه الصلاة والسلام فاعله وكفى بذلك زجرًا ووعيدًا، ونَهَى عمَّا يُفْعَلُ عنده الآن غالبُ العلماء نهيًا شديدًا، وغلَّظوا في ذلك تغليظًا أكيدًا، فهو مما لا يَخْفَى ولا يُنْكَر، وأعظم من أن يُذْكَر، فهو في الشهرة والانتشار، كالشمس في رابعة النهار.

وَيَكِلُّ اللسان عما يُفْعَلُ عند قبر حمزة والبقيع وقباً من ذلك القبيل، ويعجز القلم عن بيانه على التفصيل، ولو لم يُذْكَرُ منه إلا القليل:

وليس يصحُّ في الأذهان شيءٌ ** إذا احتاج النهارُ إلى دليلِ وأما ما يُفْعَلُ في جُدَّة مما عمت به البلوى، فقد بلغ من الضلال والفحش الغاية القصوى، وعندهم قبر طوله ستون ذراعًا عليه قبة، يزعمون أنه قبر حَوَّى، وضعه بعض الشياطين من قديم وهيأه وسوَّى، يَجْبُو عنده السَّدَنَةُ من الأموال، كل سنة ما لا يكاد يَخْطُر على البال، ولا يدخل يسلم على أمه كل إنسان، إلا مسلِّمًا دراهم عاجلاً من غير تَوَانٍ، أيَبخل أحد من اللئام فضلاً عن الكرام ببذل بعض الحطام، ويدع الدخول على أمه والسلام!

وعندهم معبد يُسمى العلوي، ونافسوا في تعظيمه جميع الخلائق، وأربوا في الغلو على تلك الطرائق، فلو دخل قبره قاتل نفس أو غاصب أو سارق، لم يُعْتَرَض بمكروه من مؤمن ولا فاسق، ولم يُجْسِر أحد أن يكون مُخْرِجًا له سائق، أو إلى المساعدة إليه مسارِع مسابق، فمن استجار بتربته أُجير، ولم يُعَرِّج عليه حاكم ولا وزير.

وفي سنة عشر بعد المائتين والألف اشترى تاجر من أهل جدة شهير، من أهل الهند التجار القادمين وأهل الحَسَا مالاً كثير، يزيد على سبعين ألف ريال في التقدير، فوقع عليه بعد أيام انكسار وإفلاس وتغيير، ولم يكن عنده ما يقابل شطر الذي عليه فهرب إليه مستجير، فلم يتقدم إليه منهم شريف ولا وضيع ولا صغير ولا كبير، وتُرِكَ بيته وما فيه من مال ولم يُرْزأ في قليل ولا كثير، حتى اجتمع التجار ورأوا له منهج الإنظار والتيسير، وجعلوا ذلك عليه نجومًا في سنين على التأخير، وكان بعض من أهل الدين بذلك الحال مشير.

وأما ما في بلدان مصر وصعيدها، من الأمور التي يُنزّه الإنسان عن ذكرها وتعديدها، خصوصًا عند قبور الصلحاء والعُبَّاد من سادتها وعبيدها، كما ذكرها الثقات في نقل الأخبار وتوكيدها، فيأتون قبر أحمد البدوي ، وكذا قبور غيره من العباد، وسائر تُرَب المشهورين بالخير والزهاد، فيستغيثون ويندبون ويعجلونهم بالإمداد، ويستحثونهم على زوال المصيبة عنهم والأنكاد، ويتداولون بينهم حكايات، وينسبون عنهم قضيات، ويحكون في محافلهم ماجريات، من أفحش المنكر والضلالات، فيقولون: فلان استغاث بفلان فأغيث فورًا في ذلك الأوان، وفلان شكا لصاحب القبر حاله وأمره فأغاثه وكشف عنه ضره، وفلان شكا إليه حاجته فأزال عنه فقره، وأمثال هذا الهذيان، الذي هو زور وبهتان، ويصدر هذا الكلام في تلك البلدان، وهي مملوءة بالعلماء من أهل الزمان، وذوي التحقيق والعرفان، ولا يُزال ذلك المحظور، ولا يُغار من صدور تلك الأمور، بل ربما تنشرح منهم له الصدور.

وأما ما يُفْعَل في بلدان اليمن، من الشرك والفتن، قبل هذا الوقت في هذا الزمن، فأكثر من أن يُحْسَب أو يُحصى، أو يُعَدَّ ويُسْتَقْصى، أو يُدْرَك له أقصى، فمن ذلك ما يفعله أهل شرقي صنعاء بقبر عندهم يسمى الهادي، والكل على دعوتِه والاستغاثة به رائحٌ غادٍ، فتأتيه المرأة إذا تعسّر عليها الحمل أو كانت عقيمة، فتقول عنده كلمة قبيحة عظيمة، فسبحان من لا يُعاجل بالمعاقبة على الجريمة.

وأما أهل بلد بُرَع، فعندهم البُرعي، رجلٌ يَرْحَل إلى دعوته، كلُّ ناءٍ عن محله وبلدته، ويؤتى إليه من غير إشكال، من مسيرة أيام وليال، لطلب الإغاثة وشكاية المحال، ويقيمون عند قبره للزيارة، ويتقربون بالذبائح عنده كما حقق أخباره، من شاهد حضرته واحتضاره.

وأما أهل الهجرية ومن حذا حذوهم، فعندهم قبر يسمى ابن علوان، وقد أقبل عليه العامة في نوائب الزمان، واستغاث به منهم كل لهفان، فهم يلجؤون به في كل وقت وأوان، ويسميه غوغاؤهم: مُنَجِّي الغارقين، كما حكاه بعض السامعين، وأغلب أهل البر منهم والبحر، يطربون عند سماع ذكره، ويستغيثون به وإن لم يصلوا إلى قبره، ويُنْذَر له في البحر والبر، وعند أهل بلده وتعظيمه ما يزيد على الحصر، ويفعلون عند قبره السماعات والموالد، ويجتمع عنده أنواع من المعاصي والمفاسد، فليس في أقطار اليمن، في هذا الزمن، من يساويه في الاشتهار، بل ولا في سائر الأقطار، ولهم في حضرته أمور يفعلونها دينًا، ويتوخَّونها حينًا فحينًا، يطعنون أنفسهم بالسكاكين والدبابيس، وقد جعلها لهم عبادة إبليس، ويقولون وهم يرقصون، وبما يغنيه طربون، قد ملأ الوجد منهم ألبابًا وذهنًا: يا سادتي قلبي بكم مُعَنَّى!

وأما حال حضرموت والشَّحْر، ويافع وعدن، فقد ثوى فيهم الغَيُّ وقَطَن، وعندهم العَيْدَرُوس، يُفعل عند قبره من السفه والضلال الوبيل، ما يغني مجمله عن التفصيل، ويقول قائلهم: شيء لله يا عيدروس، شيء لله يامحيي النفوس!

وأما بلدان الساحل، فعندهم من ذلك مسائل، فعند أهل المَخَا: علي بن عمر الشاذلي، أكثرهم بدعوته والاستغاثة به قد ابتُلي، لا تفتر ألسنتهم عن ذكره قعودًا أو قيامًا، وينتابون تربته وحدانًا وقيامًا.

وأما أهل الحُديدة، فعندهم الشيخ صِدِّيق، أقبل على تعظيمه والغلو فيه كل فريق، وقد أدى بهم الأمر والحال، وأوداهم الشيطان في هوة وضلال، إلى أنه لا يمكن أحد يريد ركوب البحر، أو يريد منه النزول إلى البر، حتى يجيء إليه، ويُسلم فورًا عليه، ويطلب منه الإعانة والمدد، فيما أراده وقصد.

وأما أهل اللُّحَيَّة، فعندهم الزيلعي من غير لبس، واسمه عندهم الشمس؛ لأن قبره ليس عليه قبة بل مكشوف، وكان إليه جميع النذر مصروف، وهم فيه أظلم وأطغى، وفي تعظيمه ودعوته أضل وأبغى، وأهل البادية منهم تؤثر حكاية عنهم، وهي أنه كان رسولاً في حاجة، فأراد أن يدخل بلده والشمس متدلية للغروب، وكان دخول النهار له مقصود ومطلوب، فقال للشمس: قفي. فوقفت، وسمعت قوله وامتثلت. هكذا ذكر بعض الرجال، والله أعلم بحقيقة الحال.

وقبر رابعة عندهم مشهور، لا يحلفون صدق اليمين إلا بها، وغير ذلك من الأمور.

وعندهم الطامة العظيمة، والمعضلة الجسيمة، وهي في أراضي نجران، وما يليها من البلدان، وما حولها من الأعراب والبدوان، وهو الرئيس المعروف عندهم، السيد المتقدم في رياستهم وسياستهم، والمطلق فيها والمقيد، فلقد أتوا من تعظيمه وتوقيره، وتقديمه في جميع الأمور وتصديره، وقبح الغلو فيه والاعتقاد، ما أفضى بهم إلى طريقة الضلال والإلحاد، فصرفوا له من أنواع العبادة سهمًا، وجعلوا فيه للألوهية وسمًا، حتى كادوا أن يجعلوه لله ندًّا وقسمًا، وكان عندهم بذلك الحال شهيرًا، فتعالى الله عما يقول الظالمون علوًا كبيرًا.

وأما ما في حلب ودمشق وأقصى الشام وأدناه، فهو مما لا يوقف له على حد، ولم يمكن ضبط أقصاه، ولا يُعرف قدره ومنتهاه، ولو استفرغ الإنسان في ذلك قُصاراه، بحسب ما يحكيه من يشاهد ذلك أو يراه، من العكوف على عبادة القبور، وصرف القربان إليها والنذور، والمجاهرة بالفسوق والفجور، وأخذ الأمكاس والدستور، ووضع الخراج على البغايا من تلك المهور

وفي الموصل وبلدان الأكراد، وما يليها من سائر البلاد، وكذا في العراق خصوصًا المشهد وبغداد، ما لا يحتاج إلى حصر وتعداد، فيُفعل عند قبر الإمام أبي حنيفة ومعروف الكرخي والشيخ عبد القادر، رضي الله تعالى عنهم، من الدعاء والاستغاثة بهم ومنهم في سائر الأوقات والأزمان، ما لا يُعرف له صفة ولا شأن، وتُسْفَح عندهم العبرات والدموع، ويحصل من التعظيم والتذلل عندهم والخضوع، أعظم مما يصدر بين يدي الله في الصلاة في الحضور والخشوع، بل كثير ممن فعل ذلك مرارًا وجرَّب، هم لقضاء الحوائج ترياق مُجرَّب.

وأما مشهد علي بن أبي طالب، رضي الله عنه، فقد صيرته الرافضة وثنا يُعبد، ويُدْعَى بخالص الدعاء دون من ذَرَأ الخلق وأوجد، ويُصَلَّى له في قبته ويُرْكَع ويُسْجَد، وليس في صدور أولئك الضلال وغيرهم من الجهال، وذوي الفسق والضلال، من التعظيم والهيبة والإجلال، لذي الفضل والنَّوال، مِعْشَار ما فيها لعلي رضي الله عنه، من غير إشكال، ولا إسراف ولا إفراط في المقال، فتراهم يحلفون الأيمان الكاذبة بالله، ولا يخاف أحدهم مولاه، ولا يراقبه سرًّا وجهرًا ولا يخشاه، ولا يحلف بعليٍّ كاذبًا أبدًا، يُعظم بذلك حِمَاه، فلا ينتهك ذلك ويتعداه، ويجزمون أن عنده مفاتح الغيب، من غير شك، قبحهم الله، ولا ريب؛ ولهذا يقولون إن زيارته أفضل من سبعين حجة، وكفى بما ذكرناه وفي خروجهم عن الإسلام حُجة، وإخراجهم عن واضح السُّنَن والمَحَجَّة، ولقد غَلَوْا فيه وأتَوْا من الشرك القبيح، أعظم مما فعل النصارى بالمسيح، سوى دعوى الولدية، فلم تصدر من هذه البرية، وساووهم أو زادوا عليهم في غيرها من الخصائل الردية، وزخرفوا على قبره الذي يدعونه قبة مذهبة، وخالفوا هديه رضي الله عنه ومذهبه، ولقد كان في حياته حَرَّق ممن غلا فيه أناس، فما أغناهم عن انتهاج منهج الضلال والإبلاس .

ومثل ذلك ما يُفعَل من الشرك والمنكر والشَّيْن، عند مشهد الكاظم ومشهد الحسين، فعندهم من التعظيم لهما والعبادة والوقار، والملازمة لذلك بالعشي والإبكار، والإقبال على ذلك سائر الأحوال والإكثار، أجَلّ وأكثر مما عندهم لله الواحد القهار، ولقد شَبّ فيهم على ذلك الكفر، وقبيح ذلك المنكر والفُجر، الرعاعُ والأطفال، وشاب عليه الصغار من الرجال، فلا يُسْمَع في سائر الأحوال، بين أولئك السفلة الأنذال، والأرذال الضُّلَّال، ذِكْرٌ لرب العزة والجلال، وإنما دَيْدَنُهُم ذكرُ عليٍّ والحسين وبقية الآل .

وأما جميع قرى الشط والمجرة، فقد لبسوا ثياب الشرك والضلال والمَعَرَّة، بل كانوا أهله وأصله ومَقَرَّه .

وكذلك ما حول البصرة وما توسط فيها، من تلك القُبَب والمشاهد، التي أصبح كلٌّ إليها مُقْبِل وقاصد، لا سيما قبر الحسن البصري والزبير، رضي الله عنهما، فقد طلبوا الفرج منهما، وصرفوا لهما من العبادة والدعاء والاستغاثة عند الشدائد، وطلبوا منهما جميع الفوائد، وليس لهذا مُنْكِر ولا جاهد، سوى ما يَصْدُر وما يُشَاهَد، في تلك البلدان من المنكرات والفواحش والمفاسد، ولا يَجْحَد ذلك إلا مُباهت معاند .

وأما ما في القَطِيف والبحرين من البدع الرفضية، والأمور القبيحة الشركية، والمشاهد المعظمة الوثنية، وما يفعله أولئك الضلال والأنجاس، من الضلال والغَيِّ والإبلاس، وما يأتون من الشرك والأرجاس، فلا يكاد يخفى على أحد من الناس، ويقف دون ساحل إحصائه الإدراك، ويُقصر عن مقتضاه ونظمه في هذه الأسلاك، وما يجحد ذلك إلا كُلُّ مُعْتَدٍ أَفَّاك .

وإذا رأى أفعالهم كل عارف بالإيمان، وشاهده بالرؤية والعيان، تبين له غربة الدين في هذا الزمان، وزاد بصيرة في دينه وإيقان، وجَدَّ في طاعة سيده ومولاه، وحمده على ما خوله وأعطاه، وسارع في خدمته ورضاه، وبادر إلى القيام بوظائف العبودية فيما أمره ونهاه، وأكثر من شكره على ما منحه من فضله وحباه، وجعله من حزبه الفائزين، الذين هم لديه مقربون ﴿أَلَا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ﴾ وتحدث لدى الناس بنعمة الله، وألزم بذلك جَنَانَه ولسانه وفاه، ونادى برفيع صوته وفاه: ﴿قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ﴾ وسأل ربه ودعاه، فهو الذي أنقذه من الضلال ونجاه، وسلك به سبل الهداية ونجاه، وقال في الدعاء والمناجاة: ﴿رَبِّ فَلَا تَجْعَلْنِي فِي الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ وَإِنَّا عَلَى أَنْ نُرِيَكَ مَا نَعِدُهُمْ لَقَادِرُونَ﴾ صارت الحظوظ الدنيوية، والشهوات النفسية، لهم هي الغاية والمقصد والمراد، وكان ذلك – والعياذ بالله – هو السر لهم في الخلق والإيجاد، وغفلوا عما في ذلك من الوعد والإيعاد، ﴿مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لَا يُبْخَسُونَ﴾ ويتأمل العارف الخبير، ذو القلب المنور البصير، افتراق الجزأين في المآل والمصير: ﴿فَرِيقٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَفَرِيقٌ فِي السَّعِيرِ﴾، ﴿أَفَمَنْ كَانَ مُؤْمِنًا كَمَنْ كَانَ فَاسِقًا لَا يَسْتَوُونَ﴾

فوائد:

الأولى: يجب على كل كَيِّس، وهو من دان نفسه وعمل لما بعد الموت، أن يهتم بما كلفه الله تعالى ويعتني بتخليص نفسه قبل الفوت، ويَدْأَب فيما يورثها النعيم السرمدي والكرامة، في دار الخلود والمقامة، وذلك بتجريد التوحيد لله تعالى والتنصل من الشرك والسلامة، ويسعى مُشَمِّرًا في إصلاح شأنه، وينظر ما وقع في التفرق في الدين والاختلاف في أهل زمانه، وما جرهم إليه الشيطان باستدراجه لهم وأعوانه، حتى أخذ بهم سَنن ضلاله وخذلانه، وطَوَّح بهم في بيداء طرده وهوانه، فَكَرَعُوا في حياض الآباء والجدود، ورَتَعُوا في رياض المحرمات والحدود، وتَدَيَّن الأكثر بالبدع والهوى، ورفضوا حبل الله المتين الأقوى، وقالوا: لا نصل إلى معناه ولا نقوى، ورأوا هجره ورفضه هو الغاية القصوى، في التحلي بحلية الورع والتقوى، فأُلْقُوا من الهوان في القعر الأهوى، وصار ذلك من الله تعالى حتمًا مقضيًا، وقدرًا مقدورًا أزليًا، وبرهانًا لما أخبر به ﷺ واضحًا جليًا، ومصداقًا لما وعد به ﷺ فوعده يكون مأتيًا.

فقد أخبر ﷺ أن أمته تتبع سَنَنَ مَن كان قبلهم، كاليهود والنصارى وفارس والروم، كما ثبت ذلك في الصحيحين وغيرهما من كتب الحديث عن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه، أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «لَتَتَّبِعُنَّ سَنَنَ مَنْ كان قبلكم حَذْوَ القُذَّة بالقُذَّة، حتى لو دخلوا جُحْرَ ضَبٍّ لدخلتموه» قالوا: يا رسول الله، اليهود والنصارى؟ قال: «فمن!».

وخَرَّج البخاري في صحيحه عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «لا تقوم الساعة حتى تأخذ أمتي بأخذ القرون قبلها، شبرًا بشبر وذراعًا بذراع» فقيل: يا رسول الله، فارس والروم؟ قال: «ومن الناس إلا أولئك!».

فأخبر الصادق المصدوق الذي لا ينطق عن الهوى، أن أمته تفعل كفعل اليهود والنصارى، وهم أهل الكتاب وفارس والروم، وهم الأعاجم، وقد أخبر الله تعالى عنهم أنهم ﴿فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا﴾، وأنهم عبدوا العجل والطواغيت، وآمنوا بالجبت والطاغوت، ﴿وَاتَّبَعُوا مَا تَتْلُوا الشَّيَاطِينُ عَلَى مُلْكِ سُلَيْمَانَ﴾ من كتب السحر، وأنهم قالوا: ﴿سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا﴾ و ﴿قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ﴾، وأنهم كفروا بمحمد ﷺ وعادوه وأبغضوه بعد معرفته، ونبذوا ﴿كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾، وأنهم يؤمنون ببعض ويكفرون ببعض، وأنهم ﴿وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا هَؤُلَاءِ أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا سَبِيلًا﴾، وأنهم كفروا بدين الرسول ﷺ بَغْيًا وحسدًا للعرب أن خصَّهم الله تعالى بهذه الفضيلة العظيمة، والمِنّة الجسيمة، لأنهم كانوا يستفتحون على كفار العرب بمحمد ﷺ ويقولون: هذا أوان نبي قد أظل زمانه، فنتبعه ونقتلكم معه قتل عاد وإرم. كما ذكر ذلك ابن إسحاق وغيره من أهل السير والمغازي فلما بعث الله محمدًا ﷺ من العرب، وصار أتباعه من العرب، كفروا به وأبغضوه بغيًا وحسدًا، ﴿أَنْ يُنَزِّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ﴾، فلا بد أن يوجد في هذه الأمة من يفعل فعل اليهود والنصارى وفارس والروم.

وفي حديث الثوري وغيره، عن عبد الرحمن بن زياد بن أنْعُم الأفريقي، عن عبد الله بن يزيد، عن عبد الله بن عمر، رضي الله عنهما، قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: «ليأتين على أمتي ما أتى على بني إسرائيل حذو النعل بالنعل، حتى إن كان منهم من أتى أمه علانية كان في أمتي من يفعل ذلك. وإن بني إسرائيل افترقت على ثنتين وسبعين ملة، وستفترق أمتي على ثلاث وسبعين ملة، كلهم في النار إلا واحدة» قالوا: من هي يا رسول الله؟ قال: «ما أنا عليه اليوم وأصحابي» رواه أبو عيسى الترمذي وقال: هذا حديث غريب مفسّر، لا نعرفه إلا من هذا الوجه .

وهذا الافتراق مشهور عن النبي ﷺ من حديث أبي هريرة وسعد بن أبي وقاص ومعاوية وعمرو بن عوف الأشجعي وغيرهم .

فعن محمد بن عمرو، عن أبي سلمة، عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «تفرقت اليهود على إحدى وسبعين فرقة أو اثنتين وسبعين فرقة، والنصارى مثل ذلك، وتفرقت أمتي على ثلاث وسبعين فرقة» رواه أبو داود وابن ماجه والترمذي وقال: هذا حسن صحيح.

وعن معاوية بن أبي سفيان رضي الله عنه، قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: «إن أهل الكتاب افترقوا في دينهم على اثنتين وسبعين ملة، وإن هذه الأمة ستفترق على ثلاث وسبعين ملة» يعني أهل الأهواء «كلها في النار إلا واحدة، وهي الجماعة»، وقال: «إنه سيخرج في أمتي أقوام تتجارى بهم الأهواء كما يتجارى الكَلَبُ بصاحبه، فلا يبقى منه عرق ولا مفصل إلا دخله، والله يا معشر العرب، لئن لم تقوموا بما جاء به محمد ﷺ لَغَيْرُكُم من الناس أحرى أن لا يقوم به».

هذا حديث محفوظ من حديث صفوان بن عمرو، عن الأزهر بن عبد الله الرازي، عن أبي عامر عبد الله بن لُحَيٍّ، عن معاوية.

ورواه غيرُ واحد، منهم أبو اليمان وبقية وأبو المغيرة، رواه الإمام أحمد، وأبو داود في سننه .

وقد روى ابن ماجه هذا المعنى من حديث صفوان بن عمرو، عن راشد بن سعد، عن عوف بن مالك الأشجعي.

ويُرْوَى من وجوه أُخَرَ.

فقد أخبر ﷺ بافتراق أمته على ثلاث وسبعين فرقة، والثنتان والسبعون لا ريب أنهم الذين خاضوا كخوض الذين من قبلهم، قال الله تعالى: ﴿كَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ كَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنكُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرَ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا فَاسْتَمْتَعُوا بِخَلَاقِهِمْ فَاسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِخَلَاقِكُمْ كَمَا اسْتَمْتَعَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُم بِخَلَاقِهِمْ وَخُضْتُمْ كَالَّذِي خَاضُوا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ﴾.

وقد ذكر أهل التفسير عن ابن عباس، رضي الله عنهما، أنه قال: ما أشبه الليلة بالبارحة! هؤلاء - بني إسرائيل - شُبهنا بهم، والذي نفسي بيده لَتَتَّبِعُنَّهُم، حتى لو دخل الرجل منهم جُحْرَ ضَبٍّ لدخلتموه!

وعن ابن مسعود، رضي الله عنه: أنتم أشبه الأمم ببني إسرائيل سَمْتًا وهديًا، تتبعون أعمالهم حَذْوَ القُذَّةِ بالقُذَّةِ، غير أني لا أدري أتعبدون العجل أم لا؟

وعن حذيفة بن اليمان رضي الله عنه، قال: المنافقون الذين منكم اليوم شر من المنافقين الذين كانوا على عهد النبي ﷺ. قلنا: وكيف؟ قال: أولئك كانوا يُخْفُونَ نفاقهم، وهؤلاء أعلنوه .

الثانية: قال شيخ الإسلام أبو العباس أحمد بن عبد الحليم بن تيمية، في كتابه «اقتضاء الصراط المستقيم»:

هذا الاختلاف الذي أخبر به النبي ﷺ إما في الدين فقط، وإما في الدين والدنيا معًا، ثم قد يؤول إلى سفك الدماء، وقد يكون الاختلاف في الدنيا فقط، وهذا الاختلاف الذي وردت به هذه الأحاديث هو مما نهى الله تعالى عنه في قوله عز وجل: ﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ﴾ الآية، وقوله: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ﴾ وقوله تعالى: ﴿وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾.

ومنشأ هذا الاختلاف من جهة عدم العمل بالعلم، كالذي يعرف الحق من الباطل ويميز بينهما، ولا يَتَّبِعُ ذلك فعلاً ولا قولاً ولا عملاً، وإما من جهة العمل بلا علم، فيجتهد في أصناف العبادة بلا شريعة من الله، ويقول على الله تعالى بلا علم، فالأول من مشابهة اليهود الذين قال الله تعالى فيهم: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَىٰ مِن بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ ۙ أُولَٰئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّاعِنُونَ﴾ والثاني من مشابهة النصارى الغالين في الدين، والقائلين فيه غير الحق، والضالين عن سواء السبيل.

وقد ابتلى الله تعالى طوائف من هذه الأمة من المنتسبين إلى العلم بما ابتلى اليهود؛ من حب الدنيا وإيثارها وكتم الحق، فإنهم تارة يكتمون العلم بُخلاً به، وكراهة أن ينال غيرُهم من الفضل ما نالوه، وتارة اعتياضًا برياسة أو مال، فيخاف من إظهاره انتقاصَ رياسته أو ماله، وتارة يكون قد خالف غيرَه في مسألة واعتزى إلى طائفة قد خُولِفَت في مسألة، فيكتُم من العلم ما فيه حجةٌ لمخالفه، وإن لم يتيقن أن مخالفه مُبْطِل، ولهذا قال عبد الرحمن بن مهدي وغيره: أهل العلم يكتبون ما لهم وما عليهم، وأهل الأهواء لا يكتبون إلا ما لهم. وكان السلف، ابن عيينة وغيره، يقولون: إن مَن فسد من علمائنا ففيه شَبَهٌ من اليهود، ومَن فَسَدَ مِن عُبَّادنا ففيه شَبَهٌ من النصارى. انتهى كلامه رحمه الله تعالى.

وليس الغرضُ استيعابَ ما وقع من الاختلاف والافتراق، واستقصاءَ ما صدر فيه النزاع والشقاق، وما وقعت فيه المشابهة والمضاهاة، فهذا يَحْجُم جَوَادُ الفهم عن دَرْكِ أدناه، ولا يَسَع استيفاؤه على الإجمال دون التفصيل، لا سيما إن انضم إلى ذلك تحريفُ التأويل، وتأويل التنزيل، وإنما القصدُ من ذلك جَلْبُ شَذْرَةٍ يُمْعن فيها اللبيب فِكْرَه، ويأخذ منه نِذَارَتَه وحَذَرَه، في هذا الزمان الذي مَن تمسَّك بدينه فيه يكون كالقابض على جَمْرِه، فيجب عليه أن يُلْزِمَ نفسه على ذلك صَبْرَه، حتى يُعَظِّمَ مولاه له أجْرَه، ويتضرع إلى الرحمن الرحيم، أن يهديه الصراط المستقيم، ويُقيمه على السَّنَن القويم ﴿وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ﴾.

فقد، والله، ضَخُمَ الأمرُ وجَسُم، وتفاقم الأمرُ وعَظُم، وأطلت الفتن، وأطلت المحن، في هذا الوقت والزمن، وظوهِرَ على الضلال والبدع، والكثير إلى منهاجها نَزَع، وقل الاكتراث والمبالاة في الدين، وكَثُرَ سَوَاد المُبْطِلين، وحُكِم على غير برهان ويقين، بتضليل الدعاة الموحّدين، وإبطال ما كانوا له متجردين، من الدعوة لرب العالمين ﴿قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ هذه دعوة رب الأرباب، التي نفت الوسائط دونه الارتياب، واستبيحت عندها الأموال والرقاب، وافترق الناس فيها بين حلول الجنة وحُسْنِ المآب، والخلود في الهاوية دار العذاب، المُعَدَّة لأعداء الله من الجنة والناس أجمعين ﴿وَالَّذِينَ جَهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿٦٩﴾ ولا يَبْعُدُ أن يكون زماننا هذا الموجود، داخلاً في جملة الزمان الموعود، فأرجو لِمَن استقام فيه على السُّنَنِ المحمود، أن يجعل الله تعالى له في العمل أجر خمسين، كما ورد عن سيد المرسلين ﴿قُلْ هَذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ﴾ ﴿وَالَّذِينَ جَهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾ ﴿وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُبَوِّئَنَّهُمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ غُرَفًا تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا نِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ ﴿٥٨﴾ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ﴾ .

الفائدة الثالثة: أطبقت الأمة، واتفقت المقالة، أن الله تعالى لا يجمع هذه الأمة على ضلالة، ولا يَعُمُّها بالسفاهة والجهالة، فعِصْمَتُها مستمرة إلى انقضاء الأمد، لا يُنْكِر ذلك ولا يَجْحَدُه أحد، كما ثبت ذلك في صحيح الأخبار، ونقلته العدول الأخيار، عن النبي المختار.

وأخبر أيضًا أن في أمته أناسًا لا يزالون بهديه يستمسكون وفيها بل أكثرهم مخطئون، وعن هديه ومنهاجه منحرفون، وهذا الاختلاف وصدور الانحراف، مما زينه الشيطان وتقاضته الطباع، وصار للنفوس إلى ذلك إسراع بعد إزماع، حتى إن ذلك يوجد من بعض العلماء المنتسبين إلى أحد المذاهب المتعصبين، فلا يقبلون من الدين رأيًا ولا روايةً، إلا ما كان لأصحابهم به عمل أو دراية، فيرفض السُّنَنَ الذي أُمِرَ جميعُ الناس بالاستمساك به والاتباع، ويأخذ بهدي أو اختيار بعض الأتباع، ولو تبين له وعرف الحق من غير مذهبه واتضح، ما عَرَّجَ عليه ولا ارتضاه ولا جَنَحَ، ولا صَدَعَ بذلك ولا صَدَحَ.

والواجب على كل إنسان ممن اتصف بصفة الإيمان، أن يُقبل على الحق ويعمل به ممن كان، ولا تحمله الغيرة القلبية، والشهوة المذهبية، على العناد والعصبية، كما يوجد من بعض أهل المذاهب، حَمَلَهُ التعصب على الطعن - والعياذ بالله - في الأئمة والمثالب.

وترى كثيرًا ممن يدعي العلم والمعرفة، وكذلك من المتعبدة والمتصوفة، لا يَسْلَم بعضهم من بعض، ولا يكون لأعراضهم رفض، بل لا يَعُدُّهم ذلك العالم إلا ضُلَّالًا جُهَّالًا، والعابدُ يرى طريقة العلم سفاهة وضلالًا، ويدعي أن العلماء لم يشربوا من صافي الشريعة زُلَالًا، ولم يَرِدُوا من مَعِينها سَلْسَالًا، ولم يدركوا من الحضرة وصولًا واتصالًا، ولم يُلْفُوا منه قبولًا وإقبالًا، ولقد جاء كلُّ من أولئك مُحَالًا، وقد ضلوا والله ضلالًا بعيدًا، ولم يقولوا قولًا سديدًا، وإنما الحق والصواب ما جاءت به السنة والكتاب، وما قاله وعمل به الأصحاب، وما اختاره الأئمة الأربعة المقلَّدة في الأحكام المتَّبعة، فقد انعقد على صحة ما قالوه الإجماع، ولا يخرج عنهم إلا مَن رام سَنَنَ الابتداع، فمَن اهتدى بهم بعد الكتاب والسنة فقد رَشَد واهتدى، ومَن فارق ذلك فقد ضَلَّ واعتدى.

وللإمام أبي عمر يوسف بن عبد البر، الذي شاع علمه في الأقطار، وطبق الأرض في الشهرة والاشتهار، مصنَّف سماه «كتاب العلم» أوعَبَ الكلام فيه على السنة والقرآن، وصرَّح بوجوب التمسك بهما على كل إنسان، خصوصًا ذوي الفضل والشأن، في كل قطر وعصر وزمان، ولم ير التقليد من المنهج السديد، إلا فيما لا بد منه ولا غنى للشخص منه عند تعسر الدليل وفقده، وعدم استيفاء له في وُجْدِه .

ولشمس الدين ابن القيم في «إعلام الموقعين» ما يَشْفِي صدور المجتهدين، من رَدِّ حُجَج المقلدين.

وللأمير محمد بن إسماعيل الصنعاني، وكان مشهورًا بالعلم والفهم، وله من صناعة الشعر أوفرُ سَهْم، قصائد كثيرة في هذا المعنى، نَهَجَ فيها المنهج الأسنى، فأحببت أن أُثبت فيها «البائية» في هذا الكتاب، لما حَوَتْهُ من فَصْلِ الخطاب، وأجاد القول فيها وأصاب، ونصها:

أَمَا آنَ عَمَّا أنت فيه مَتَابُ ... وهل لك من بَعْدِ البعاد إِيَابُ تَقَضَّتْ بك الأعمار في غير طاعة ... سوى عمل تَرْضاه وهو سرابُ إذا لم يكن لله فِعْلُك خالصًا ... فكل بناء قد بَنَيْتَ خرابُ فللعمل الإخلاص شرط إذ أتى ... وقد وافَقَتْهُ سنة وكتابُ ... وقد صِيـنَ عن كل ابـتـداع وكـيـف ذا ... وقد طَبَّـقَ الآفـاقَ منه عُبَابُ طغى الـماء من بـحر ابـتـداع على الورى ... فلم ينجُ منه مركب ولا ركابُ وطوفـان نـوح كـان في الـفـلـك أهـلـه ... فـنـجَّـاهـم والـغـارقـون تَبَابُ فـأَنَّـى لـنـا فَـلَـكٌ يُـنَـجِّـي وَلَـيْـتَـهُ ... يطـير بـنا عـمـا نـراه غُـرَابُ وأين إلى أين المـطـار وكـلُّ مـا ... على ظـهـرها يأتـيـك منه عُجَابُ نسـائل من دار الأراضـي سـياحة ... عسى بلدة فـيها هُدىً وصوابُ فـيُـخْـبِـر كُـلٌّ عـن قـبـائح مـا رأى ... ولـيس لأهـلـيـها يـكـون مَتَابُ لأنـهـمُ عَـدُّوا قـبـائح فـعـلـهـم ... مـحاسنَ يُـرْجَـى عـندهن ثـوابُ كقوم عراة في ذُرَا مصر مـا ترى ... على عورة منهم هـناك ثـيابُ يدورون فـيها كـاشـفـين لـعورة ... تَـوَاتَـرَ هـذا لا يُـقـال كِـذَابُ يَـعُـدُّونهم في مصر من فضـلائهم ... دعـاؤُهُـمُ فـيـما يَـرَون مُجَابُ وفـيها وفـيها كـلُّ مـا لا يَـعُـدُّه ... لـسـان ولا يدنو إليه خـطـابُ وفي كل مصر مثل مصر وإنـما ... لكلٍّ مسمى والـجمـيع ذئابُ ... ترى الدين مثل الشاة قد وثبت له ... ذئاب وما عنه لهن ذهاب لقد مزقته بعد كل ممزق ... فلم يبق منه جثة وإهاب وليس اغتراب الدين إلا كما ترى ... فهل بعد هذا الاغتراب إياب فيا غربة هل يرتجى منك أوبة ... فيجبر من هذا البعاد مصاب فلم يبق للراجي سلامة دينه ... سوى عزلة فيها الجليس كتاب كتاب حوى كل العلوم وكل ما ... حواه من العلم الشريف صواب فإن رمت تاريخا رأيت عجائبا ... ترى آدم إذ كان وهو تراب ولاقيت هابيلا قتيل شقيقه ... يواريه لما أن رآه غراب وتنظر نوحا وهو في الفلك إذ طغى ... على الأرض من ماء السحاب عباب ... وإن شئت كل الأنبياء وقومهم ... وما قال كلٌّ منهم وأجابوا ترى كل ما تَهْوَى وفي القوم مؤمن ... وأكثرهم قد كذبوه وخـابوا وجنات عدن حورها ونعيمها ... ونار بها للمسرفين عـذابُ فتلك لأرباب التقى و هـذه ... لكل شقيّ قد حواه عقـابُ وإن تُرِدِ الوعظ الذي إن عَقَلْتَهُ ... فإن دموع العين عنه جـوابُ تجده وما تهواه من كل مشرب ... فللروح منه مطعم وشـرابُ وإن رُمْتَ إبراز الأدلة في الذي ... تريد فما تدعو إليه تُـجـابُ تدل على التوحيد فيه قواطع ... بها قُطِعَت للملحدين رقـابُ وفيه الدواء من كل داء فَثِق به ... فوالله ما عنه ينوب كتـابُ وما مطلب إلا وفيه دليلـه ... وليس عليه للذكي حجـابُ ولكنَّ سكان البسيطة أصبحوا ... كأنهم عمَّا حواه غِـضَـابُ فلا يطلبون الحق منه وإنـما ... يقولون من يتلوه فهو مُثَـابُ فإن جاءهم فيه الدليل موافقًا ... لما كان للآباء إليه ذهـابُ رَضُوه وإلا قيل هذا مؤول ... ويركب في التأويل فيه صعابُ تراه أسيرًا كل حَبْر يقـوده ... إلى مذهب قد قررته صِحَـابُ ... أَتُعرض عنه عن رياض أريضة ... وتعتـاض جهلاً بالرياض هِضَابُ يريك صراطاً مستقيماً وغيره ... مفـاوز جهل كلهـا وشـعابُ يزيد على مَرِّ الجديـدَيـن جِدَّة ... فألفـاظـه مهمـا تَلَوْتَ عَـذَابُ وآيـاتـه في كل حيـن طـريـة ... وتبلغ أقصى العمر وهي كَعَابُ ففـيه هدى للعـالمين ورحمة ... وفـيه علـوم حجـة وثـوابُ فكل كلام دونه القشر لا سوى ... وذا كـلُّـه عند اللبيب لُـبَابُ دعوا كل قول غيره وسوى الذي ... أتى عن رسول الله فهو صوابُ ... وَعَضُّوا عليها بالنواجذ واصبروا ... عليه ولو لم يبق في الفم نابُ تروا فيه ما ترجون من كل مطلب ... إذا كان فيكم همة وطلابُ أطيلوا على السبع الطوال وقوفكم ... تَدِرُّ عليكم بالعلوم سحابُ فكم من ألوف في المئين فكن بها ... ألوفًا تجد ما ضاق عنه حسابُ وفي طي آتنا المثاني نفائس ... يطيب لها نشر ويُفتح بابُ وكم من فصول في المفصل قد حوت ... أصولًا إليها للذكي مآبُ وما كان في عصر الرسول وصحبه ... سواه الهدى للعالمين كتابُ تلا فُصِّلَت لما أتاه مجادل ... فأبلس حتى لا يكون جوابُ أقر بأن القرآن فيه طلاوة ... ويعلو ولا يعلو عليه خطابُ وأدبر عنه هائمًا في ضلاله ... يدبّر ما ذا في الأنام يُعابُ وقد قال وصي المصطفى ليس عندنا ... سواه وإلا ما حواه قِرابُ وإلا الذي أعطاه فهمًا إلهه ... بآياته فاسأل عساك تُجابُ فما الفهم إلا من عطاياه لا سوى ... بل الخير كل الخير منه يُصابُ سليمان قد أعطاه فهمًا فناده ... يجبك سريعًا ما عليه حجابُ وسل منه توفيقًا ولطفًا ورحمةً ... فتلك إلى حسن الختام مآبُ

الفائدة الرابعة: في بيان ما جرى في غربة الإسلام، التي وعد بها خير الأنام، وأخبر بوقوعها قبل انقراض الأيام، وكان ذلك منه عليه الصلاة والسلام بإلهام من الله تعالى له وإعلام، فوقع ذلك وصدر، وبدا محياه وظهر، كما نطق به الأثر، وأفصح به الخبر.

فقد روى مسلم في صحيحه من حديث أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، عن النبي ﷺ قال: «بدأ الإسلام غريبًا وسيعود غريبًا كما بدأ».

وقد رواه الإمام أحمد وابن ماجه من حديث ابن مسعود بزيادة في آخره، وهي: قيل: يا رسول الله، من الغرباء؟ قال: «الذين يُصْلِحُون إذا فسد الناس».

وخرَّجه غيره، وعنده: قال: «الذين يفرّون بدينهم خوف الفتن».

وخرجه الترمذي من حديث كثير بن عبد الله المزني، عن أبيه، عن جده، عن النبي ﷺ: «إن الدين بدأ غريبًا ويرجع غريبًا، فطوبى للغرباء الذين يُصلحون ما أفسد الناس من سنتي».

وخرجه الطبراني من حديث جابر عن النبي ﷺ وفي حديثه: قيل: ومن هم يا رسول الله؟ قال: «الذين يصلحون حين يفسد الناس».

وخرجه أيضًا من حديث شريك بن سعد بنحوه.

وخرجه الإمام أحمد من حديث سعد بن أبي وقاص عن النبي ﷺ حديثه:

«فطوبى يومئذ للغرباء إذا فسد الناس».

وخرج الإمام أحمد والطبراني من حديث عبد الله بن عمر عن النبي ﷺ قال:

«طوبى للغرباء» قلنا: وما الغرباء؟ قال: «قوم صالحون قليل في ناس سوء كثير، من يعصيهم أكثر ممن يطيعهم».

وروي عن عبد الله بن عمرو، مرفوعًا وموقوفًا، في هذا الحديث: قيل: ومن الغرباء؟ قال: «الفرارون بدينهم، يبعثهم الله تعالى مع عيسى بن مريم ﷺ».

ومعنى ظهور الإسلام غريبًا أن الخلق قبل مبعثه ﷺ على ضلالة، فدعا إلى الإسلام، فلم يستجب له إلا الواحد بعد الواحد من كل قبيلة، وكان المستجيب له خائفًا من عشيرته وقبيلته، ويؤذى ويشرد ويعذب ويقتل، فيهربون إلى البلاد النائية، كالحبشة، ثم إلى المدينة بعد الهجرة، فصار الداخلون قبل الهجرة غرباء، ثم أتم الله تعالى نعمته على المسلمين، وأكمل لهم الدين، وقُبِضَ سيد المرسلين، فاستمروا على الاستقامة والتعاضد والنصرة في خلافة أبي بكر وعمر رضي الله عنهما، حتى أعمل الشيطان مكائده على المسلمين، وألقى بأسهم بينهم، وأفشى فيهم فتنة الشهوات والشبهات، فاصطاد الأكثر بهما معًا أو بإحداهما، فكان ذلك كما أخبر به النبي ﷺ.

وفي صحيح البخاري عن عمرو بن عوف عن النبي ﷺ قال: «والله ما الفقر أخشى عليكم، ولكن أخشى أن تُبسط الدنيا عليكم، كما بُسطت على من كان قبلكم، فتنافسوها كما تنافسوها، فتُهلككم كما أهلكتهم».

وفي صحيح مسلم عن عبد الله بن عمرو، عن النبي ﷺ قال: «كيف أنتم إذا فُتحت عليكم خزائن فارس والروم! أي قوم أنتم!» قال عبد الرحمن بن عوف: نقول كما أمر الله تعالى. قال: «أو غير ذلك؛ تتنافسون، ثم تتحاسدون، ثم تتدابرون، ثم تتباغضون».

وفي الصحيحين من حديث عقبة بن عامر، عن النبي ﷺ معناه أيضًا.

ولما فُتحت كنوز كسرى على عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه، بكى، فقال: إن هذا لم يُفتح على قوم قط إلا جُعِلَ بأسهم بينهم. أو كما قال.

وكان النبي ﷺ يخشى على أمته هاتين الفتنتين، كما في مسند الإمام أحمد عن أبي برزة، عن النبي ﷺ قال: «إنما أخشى عليكم شهوات الغي في بطونكم وفروجكم، ومضلات الفتن» وفي رواية «ومضلات الهوى.

فلما عمت فتنة الشهوات في تلك الأوقات، وأصبح الخلق إلى زهرة الدنيا في التفات، وصار لهم منتهى المراد، وجَدُّوا لها في الارتياد، ارتكبوا المعاصي والكبائر، ووقعوا في التباغض والتدابر، بعد أن كانوا إخوانًا، وعلى التناصر أعوانًا.

وأما فتنة الشبهات والأهواء المضلّة، فسببها تفرق أهل القبلة، فصاروا شِيَعًا وفِرَقًا وأحزابًا، وأكثرهم لِسَنَنِ الضلال طُلابًا، وفتحوا من البدع والغي أبوابًا، وقذفتهم الفتنة في مضلة المفاسد، وبيداء الإبداع والتباعد، ومقفلة التقاطع والتحاسد، بعد أن كانوا على قلب رجل واحد، وانتهجوا من الردى مهالك، فلم ينج من أولئك إلا الفرقة الناجية، وهم المذكورون في قوله ﷺ: «لا تزال طائفة من أمتي ظاهرين على الحق، لا يضرهم من خذلهم أو خالفهم، حتى يأتي أمر الله وهم على ذلك» وهم الغرباء المذكورون في هذه الأحاديث، الذين يَصْلُحُون إذا فسد الناس، ويُصْلِحُون ما أفسد الناس، وهم الذين يفرون بدينهم من الفتن، وهم النُّزَّاع من القبائل.

وخرج الطبراني من حديث ابن مسعود عن النبي ﷺ في أشراط الساعة قال: «وإن من أشراطها أن يكون المؤمن في القبيلة أقلَّ من النَّقَد» أي: صغار الغنم.

وفي مسند الإمام أحمد عن عبادة بن الصامت، أنه قال لرجل من أصحابه: يوشك إن طالت بكم حياة أن ترى الرجل قد قرأ القرآن على لسان محمد ﷺ فأعاده وأبداء، فأحل حلاله، وحرم حرامه، ونزل عند منازله، ما يجوز فيكم إلا كما يجوز رأس الحمار.

ومنه قول ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه: سيأتي على الناس زمان يكون المؤمن أذلَّ فيه من الأَمَة.

وإنما ذلُّ المؤمن في آخر الزمان لغربته بين أهل الفساد، ومباينته في القصد والمراد، ومخالفته لطريقهم المعتاد.

قال أحمد بن أبي عاصم، وكان من كبار العارفين في زمن أبي سليمان الداراني: إني أدركت من الأزمنة زمانًا عاد فيه الإسلام غريبًا، وعاد وصف الحق غريبًا كما بدأ؛ إن ترغب فيه إلى عالم وَجَدْتَه مفتونًا بحب الدنيا، يحب التعظيم والرياسة، وإن ترغب فيه إلى عابد وَجَدْتَه جاهلاً في عبادته مخدوعًا، صريع عدوه إبليس، قد صعد به إلى أعلى درجات العبادة، وهو جاهل بأدناها، فكيف له بأعلاها... إلى آخره. خرجه أبو نعيم في الحلية.

وخرَّج أبو الشيخ الأصبهاني بإسناده إلى الحسن قال: لو أن رجلاً من الصدر الأول بُعِث اليوم، ما عرف من الإسلام شيئًا إلا هذه الصلاة. ثم قال: أما والله لئن عاش على هذه المنكرات، فرأى صاحب بدعة يدعو إلى بدعته، وصاحب دنيا يدعو إلى دنياه، فعصمه الله تعالى، وقلبه يحن إلى ذكر السلف، فيتبع آثارهم، ويَسْتَنُّ بسُنَّتهم، ويَتَّبِعُ سبيلهم، كان له أجر عظيم.

تتمة:

مَدَحَ كثير من السلف السُّنَّةَ، ووصفها بالغربة، ووصف أهلها بالقلة.

فكان الحسن، رحمه الله تعالى، يقول لأصحابه: يا أهل السنة، تَرَفَّقُوا رحمكم الله، فإنكم من أقل الناس.

وقال يونس بن عبيد: ليس شيء أغرَبَ من السُّنَّة، وأغرَبُ منها مَن يَعرفها.

وعن سفيان الثوري قال: استوصوا بأهل السنة خيرًا؛ فإنهم غرباء.

ومراد هؤلاء الأئمة بالسُّنَّةِ طريقةُ النبي ﷺ التي كان عليها هو وأصحابه، السالمةُ من الشبهات والشهوات، وهي التي وَرَدَ للمتمسِّكِ بها والعاملِ أجرُ خمسين ممن قبلهم، وأن المتمسِّك بدينه كالقابض على الجمر.

ثم صارت السُّنَّةُ، في عرف كثير من العلماء المتأخرين، هي السالمة من الشبهات في الاعتقادات، خاصة في مسائل الإيمان بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الآخر، وكذلك في مسائل القدر وفضائل الصحابة، وصنفوا في هذا الباب تصانيف سَمَّوْهَا «كتب السنة» وإنما خَصُّوا هذا العلم باسم «السُّنَّة» لأن خطره عظيم، والمخالف فيه على شفا جُرُفٍ.

والغربة عند أهل الطريقة غربتان: ظاهرة وباطنة:

فالظاهرة: غربة أهل الصلاح بين الفساق، وغربة الصالحين بين أهل الرياء والنفاق، وغربة العلماء بين أهل الجهل وسوء الأخلاق، وغربة علماء الآخرة بين علماء الدنيا الذين سُلِبُوا الخشية والإشفاق، وغربة الزاهدين بين الراغبين فيما يَنْفَدُ وليس بباق.

وأما الغربة الباطنة: فغربة الهمة، وهي غربة العارفين بين الخلق كلهم، حتى العلماء والزهاد، فإن أولئك واقفون مع عبادتهم وعلمهم وزهدهم، وهؤلاء واقفون مع معبودهم لا يُعَرِّجُون عنه.