“They are the basis of every Fasaad and Ifsaad” – By Shaikh Falah Ismaa’eel

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The Shaikh, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

One of the greatest (affairs) that shows their danger is that they will remain and continue to exist until the Day of Judgement. Indeed, they are the basis of every Fasaad [corruption] and Ifsaad [corrupting every matter by removing it from what it is supposed to be] in the earth—the basis of the spread of panic, the undermining of security in the land, and the basis of every deviation from the true methodology. This is because they abandon knowledge and the scholars, having been deceived by their outward deeds.

Due to this, the first thing Abdullah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, discredited them with was that there was not a single Companion of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, amongst them. The Companions are the original source of knowledge; it is neither permissible for anyone to emerge and take a position in religious matters except through them, nor to acquire knowledge except from them. This is because they are the most knowledgeable regarding that which Allah and His Messenger intend by way of the texts.

And that which is worthy that one should be aware of—in order to be acquainted with their danger—is that which Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wished if he were to meet them, and what he described regarding what he would do to them. He would have slaughtered them in a manner similar to the manner in which Aad and Thamud were slaughtered, even though they [i.e. Khawarij] are from the Ummah and the people of the Qiblah. [Footnote a]

This is especially so when one recalls the statement of Allah’s Messenger about dogs: “Had dogs not been a community amongst the communities, I would have commanded that all of them be killed.” [Sahih Al-Jami 9452]

Therefore, a sensible person compares and ponders regarding what the Messenger of guidance and mercy wished to do to these Khawaarij—despite their (devotion) in worship, prayer, fasting and recitation of the Qur’an—as opposed to what he forbade himself and others from doing to dogs.

Indeed, this is a great proof regarding the danger posed by the continuation of this thought and this type of people in the Ummah, because they weaken the Ummah and preoccupy it. [1]

A Brief Reminder From The Hadith

“Had dogs not been a community amongst the communities, I would have commanded that all of them be killed”. [Sahih Al-Jami 9452]

Al-Khattaabee—may Allah have mercy upon him—said:

The meaning of this statement is that the Prophet—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—hated that a community amongst the communities and a species amongst the creation would disappear until all of them cease to exist. This is because there is not a creature from Allah’s creatures except that there is some wisdom behind their existence and some welfare.

So, when this is the case regarding this matter, and there is no way of killing all of them, then kill the evil ones amongst them—the black ones—and leave the others, so that you benefit from them as guard dogs. (2)

NB: The other dogs which one is allowed to keep are: the hunting dog, the farm dog, the one utilised for herding livestock, or the guard dog.

Abdullah Ibn Umar—may Allah be pleased with him and his father—said: Allah’s Messenger—peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—said, “Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for herding livestock or a dog that is trained for hunting, two qiraats will be deducted from his reward each day.” [Al-Bukhari 5163 and Muslim 1574]

Imaam Muhammad Ibn Salih Al-Uthaymeen—may Allah have mercy upon him—said:

Due to this, if a house is located in the middle of the city, then there is no need to have a dog to guard it. Therefore, to have a dog for this reason in such circumstances is unlawful and impermissible, and it takes away one or two qiraats from a person’s reward each day.
However, if the house is located in the countryside and no one is present, then it is allowed to have a dog to guard the house and the people residing in it. To guard the people of a household is more important than guarding livestock or crops. (3)

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Footnote a: The Methodology of Ahlus Sunnah In Their Combat Against The Khawaarij: They are to be fought by the Muslim ruler https://salafidawahmanchester.com/2011/10/24/shaikh-fawzaan-the-methodology-of-ahlus-sunnah-in-their-combat-against-the-khawaarij/

[1] An Excerpt from Naz’at at-Takfeer. pages 24-25
[2]An Excerpt from Ma’alim As-Sunan 4/132
[3] An Excerpt from Majmu Fatawa Ibn Uthaymeen 4/246