A New Phenomenon: Strategic Avoidance, Delegated Confrontation, and Control of Attention

عَجَباً لِلزَمانِ في حالَتَيهِ
وَبلاءٌ ذَهَبتُ مِنهُ إِلَيهِ
رُبَّ يَومٍ بَكَيتُ مِنهُ فَلَّما
صُرتُ في غَيرِهِ بَكَيتُ عَلَيهِ

After the recent passing of many upright and pious senior scholars, including Al-Allamah Rabee and Al-Allamah Ubaid, may Allah have mercy upon them all, we are now witnessing tactics such as “strategic avoidance, delegated confrontation, and control of attention.” Some individuals who commit serious offences against the Manhaj continue to evade the urgent need for clarification, retraction, and repentance. Instead, others rally to their defence, creating a great deal of noise in an attempt to distract attention from the matter at hand. Meanwhile, the persistent and obstinate offender waits for an opportune moment to raise issues such as the shape of the earth, exaggerating and sensationalising the matter in order to divert attention from his errors and calamities—errors and calamities that are as clear as the midday sun. As for the senior scholars—including Al-Allamah Rabee, may Allah have mercy upon him, they approached this matter (shape of the earth) with cautious piety, sagacity, integrity, and beautiful conduct.

Then, some across the Atlantic say to the noise-makers, “Well done!” Furthermore, some say to us, “Why do you not respond to the noise-makers?” We say: It is neither incumbent upon us nor befitting for us to respond to noise, nor to address those who encourage a noise-maker on behalf of a person whose offences are as clear as the midday sun. Rather, first and foremost, we ask Allah to grant the persistent and obstinate perpetrator tawfīq, cautious piety, and truthfulness, and to guide him to recant his errors and calamities. Secondly, what is upon us is to adhere to the principles that we have learned from the pious predecessors and upon which the pious contemporary senior scholars and their truthful students have proceeded. In this regard, to the one who wants us to respond, we will suffice with the following:

Amir Al-Muminin, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “People were (sometimes) judged by the revealing of a Divine revelation during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger but now there is no longer any more (new revelation). Now we judge you by the deeds you practice publicly, so we will trust and favour the one who does good deeds in front of us, and we will not call him to account about what he is really doing in secret, because Allah will judge him for that; but we will not trust or believe the one who presents to us an evil deed even if he claims that his intentions were good”. [1]

Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Sincere repentance is that the person shows regret for what has elapsed (of his sins) and is determined not to return to them”. Al-Kalbee, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “It is to seek Allah’s forgiveness with the tongue, being regretful in the heart and restrain the limbs.” [3]

We ask Allah:

اللهم آتِ نفسي تقواها أنت خيرُ مَن زكَّاها أنت وليُّها ومولاها أعوذُ بك من قلبٍ لا يخشعُ وعلمٍ لا ينفعُ ودعوةٍ لا يُستجابُ لها

O Allah! Grant my soul its piety, because You are the Best to purify it. You are its Protector and Guardian. I seek refuge in You from a heart that does not fear (You), the knowledge which does not benefit, and the supplication that is not responded to. [5]