A Path That Promises Goodness, But Ends in Destruction

Among the bad impacts and consequences of subsequent slander is that whoever enters into the slander and is involved in it, usually ends in destruction and very bad impacts. He did not get any good from it; On the contrary, he actually loses because he doesn’t get any good at all.

Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah God bless has traced various slanderous incidents that occurred in the period before him. He observed it carefully, then delivered a very beautiful, concise, and very useful summary of how these slanders ended in his book, Minhaj as-Sunnah. He God bless said,

It is rare for anyone to rebel against a powerful priest, unless the harm he does is greater than the good he does.

“It is rare for someone to come out in rebellion against a leader who has power, unless the bad that arises from his actions is far greater than the expected good.”

He then mentioned many examples of slander phenomena that had occurred in the past, then summarized the results and impacts with very strong words,

They founded no religion, and did not preserve the world

“They were not successful in upholding religion, nor were they able to maintain world affairs.” (Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4: 527–528)

This means that people who get involved in these slanders and contribute to making them worse, ultimately fail to uphold their religion and are also unable to maintain world affairs. Because, when slander has occurred, the result will only be riots, murder, rampant chaos, people tyrannizing each other, various problems starting to emerge, and other bad impacts. The originators of this slander did not get any good from it at all.

The story of a group of people who ignored Imam Ahmad’s advice is also shown God blessas well as the story of a group of people who also ignored Hasan al-Basri’s advice God bless. In the end, for both one group and the other, they were the same, they failed to establish religion. The end of their journey was very tragic, some ended up in prison, some were killed, some ran away, and various other tragic endings. Conditions like this have continued to recur throughout history until now.

In the eighth volume of the book Buying and selling A’lam an-Nubala’, about the biography of al-Hakam bin Hisham ad-Dakhil al-Umawi, an Andalusian ruler, Imam adz-Dzahabi God bless mentions a long story which is not possible to mention here in detail. However, the complete story can be referenced in the book Sale of A’lam an-Nubala’ [1]. Imam Adz-Dzahabi God bless started by saying,

There were so many scholars in Andalusia during his reign – that is, the reign – that it is said that there were four thousand isolated scholars in Cordoba, who wore the uniform of scholars.

“During his reign, namely the al-Hakam period, the number of ulama in Andalusia was very large. In fact, it is said that in Cordoba alone there were around four thousand people who appeared like ulama, wearing the typical clothes of scholars.”

This means that at that time there were many scholars and seekers of knowledge, many of whom looked like people with knowledge. Then, he God bless continue,

When Allah willed them to be destroyed, He glorified them because of the ruler’s violation of sacred things, and they conspired to overthrow him, then they gathered an army against him, and there was a great strife in Andalusia against Islam and its people, so that there was no power except in God.

“When Allah willed destruction upon them, they felt heavy when they saw al-Hakam who was acting beyond his limits by trampling on the honor of the Muslims. They agreed to overthrow him, then mobilized troops to fight him. Finally there was a great slander in Andalusia which befell Islam and the Muslims.

After that Imam adz-Dzahabi God bless compose the story in length. At the end it is stated that many of them were killed, some escaped, and others were imprisoned. All of this happened, but no one succeeded in upholding their religion in the slightest through the slanders that were raised and inflamed like that. So the saying is true,

Blessed is he who learns from others

“A lucky person is a person who is willing to learn from other people’s mistakes.”

In fact, the number of people who got involved in this slander and fell into it was very large, and most of them ended up with very deep regrets. They hope that in the past they will not join in these slanders.

This kind of thing can be found a lot in history books and biographies of influential figures. Stories about people who participated in slander, then at the end of their lives regretted what they had done before.

Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah God bless said,

Therefore, most of the former people regretted the battle they experienced

“That’s how most of the previous people finally regretted their involvement in the slander (war).” (Minhaj as-Sunnah, 4: 316)

Then, Abu Bakar as-Sijistani God bless also said, when mentioning para read’ (a scholar of the Qur’an) who went out with Ibn al-Asy’ath, he said,

I do not know of any of them who was killed unless he willed his death, and not one of them survived except praise be to Allah who forgave him.

“I don’t know of any of those who were killed unless he didn’t really want to die. And there wasn’t a single survivor among those who got involved in that mess, unless he praised God for saving him.” (HR. Caliph bin Khayyath in date-his, p. 76)

Also read: The meaning of slander in the Koran

Among the interesting and educational stories in this discussion is the story of Zubaid bin al-Harits al-Yami. He is one of the narrators whose hadith is included in it Politikus Sittah and is also known as one of the most famous Islamic scholars. Zubaid was one of the people involved in the slander of Ibn al-Ash’at, but Allah saved him from the slander and he was not killed.

Muhammad bin Talhah narrated,

Zubaid saw me with Al-Alaa bin Abdul Karim and we laughed, then he said: If I had seen that skull, I would not have laughed.

“Zubaid once saw me with al-‘Ala’ bin ‘Abdul-Karim, and we were laughing. Then he said, ‘If you witnessed the incident of al-Jamajim, you would definitely not laugh again!'”

What is meant by al-Jamajim here is a collection of Muslim skulls, namely their heads that fell due to the hands of fellow Muslims. They kill each other.

Then Zubaid said,

I expected my hand – or he said: my right hand – to be cut off from my upper arm, but I didn’t witness it.

“Really! To the point that I hope my hand—or that is, my right hand—is cut off from the base of my shoulder, as long as I never witness that terrible and tragic event again.” (Caliphate Date, matter. 76)

After that, another slander emerged and Zubaid was again invited to take part. However, this time he had seen the impact and consequences for himself, so he woke up and took a stand. Pay attention to the intelligent, light, but meaningful answer he conveys, the answer of someone who is experienced and has learned from previous events. In some narrations it is stated that Mansur bin al-Mu’tamir often visited Zubaid. At one time, it was said that many Ahlul Bait people had been killed, so Mansur wanted to invite Zubaid to come out with Zaid bin ‘Ali and join in on the slander.

But Zubaid God bless answered firmly,

I am not outside except with a prophet, and I am not in his presence

“I will not go out except with a prophet, and I will not find him again.” (HR. Ya’qub bin Sufyan in Datehis, 3: 107; and by Ibn ‘Asakir in Dimasyq Date, 19:473).

That is, he will not find a single prophet (after the death of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) who helped fight alongside him. He said these words based on his knowledge, experience and direct observation of the bad impacts that come from these slanders.

[Bersambung]

BACK TO PART 2

***

Translator: Chrisna Tri Hartadi

Article Muslim.or.id

Footnote:

[1] Buying and selling A’lam an-Nubala’, 8: 253–260.

Reference:

Book Atsarul Fitan, Sheikh Abdurrazaq bin Abdul Muhsin Al-Badr lied hafizhahullahmatter. 27-32.