Umar ibn Al-Khattab said:
تَفَقَّهُوا قَبْلَ أَنْ تُسَوَّدُوا
“Gain an understanding of the religion before you are placed in the position of leadership (such as an Admin, or a judge, or etc).” [Saheeh Al-Bukhari . See http://www.sahab.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=141151]
It was reported from Al-Mustadhil bin Husayn: I heard 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab said: "I know and By the Lord of the Kabah, when will the arabs (he means to say Islam) perish: When the companions of the Prophet (s.a.w) will not be the guardian of their affairs and people who have never known ignorance"
[Ref: Musnaf ibn abi Shayaba 6/410,Ibn Sa'ad in al-Tabaqat 6/129, Mustadrak al-Hakim, 4/475, Shu'ab al-Iman 6/69, Abu Na'eem in Al-Hilya 7/243, Al-Haris bin Miskeen (al-Bidaya wan Nahaya 11/650]
قال ابن تيمية قَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ إنَّمَا تُنْقَضُ عُرَى الْإِسْلَامِ عُرْوَةً عُرْوَةً إذَا نَشَأَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ الْجَاهِلِيَّةَ
Ibn Taymiyyah reported: Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Verily, the foundations of Islam will undone one by one if there arises in Islam people who have never known (what ) ignorance (seems like or is).”
[Source: Majmu’ Al-Fatawa 10/301, Also Quoted by Ibn al-Qayyim in his Fawaaid .]
So if the person responsible or incharge is not well informed and educated about the Islamic principles, their Ahkaam, Qawaa'id, Furoo' and etc then how is he to be the admin of such a place? He may end up seeing falsehood to be truth and vice verse due to his ignorance , and this is what Umar (r.a) and Ibn Taymiyyah implied towards.
There are many requirements which an admin should fulfill from different angles however, I'll only stick to the warning section thereby keeping my message quick and up to the point In sha Allah.
When one opens a group or an Islamic page, (In today's world) it is more likely as if he has opened a madrasa or institution wherein he is Responsible for each and every thing that comes IN or goes OUT of the group.
Abdullah bin Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects: a man is the guardian of his family and is responsible for his subjects, a woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and of his children and is responsible for them, and the slave of a man is a guardian of his master’s property and is responsible for it. Surely, everyone of you is a shepherd and responsible for his flock.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 20, Number 4496]
"There is no person to whom Allaah has given people to take care of, and he fails to take care of them properly, but he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise." (Saheeh Bukhari no. 6731; Saheeh Muslim, no. 142)
Table of content:
Warning # 1 : The danger of Ambiguous posts and topics
Warning # 2 : Sharing inauthentic information attributing to any of the Islamic heads or sources
(i) Speaking or sharing (commenting, posting, etc) without confirmed knowledge about Allah or his deen
(ii) Speaking or sharing (commenting, posting, etc) without confirmed knowledge about the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (s.a.w)
(iii) Speaking or sharing (commenting, posting, etc) without confirmed knowledge about the Sahaabas and Imams of Muslims
Warning # 3: Interpreting the Qur'an , Hadeeth or Islamic rulings as per one's own perspective ,knowledge or logic
Warning # 4: Issuing a fatwa (opinion) or Answer without knowledge and refraining from saying I do not know
Warning # 5: Abstaining or hesitating from denouncing evil due to several reasons such as feeling shy, not wanting to oppose family,friends, or some other personal or communal reason and etc.
Tips and Tricks
Before i begin, Always remember :
Say: "This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me with sure knowledge ...[Qur`an Yoosuf 12:108]
So everything that you do, share, preach, correct, instruct, answer, question, or even follow something or some one make sure this verse is in your mind and you do it with SURE KNOWLEDGE. Do not speak, comment, type, reply, answer, etc until and unless you aren't sure. I remember an incident mentioned in the books of Ma`thoor, wherein one of our salaf who was corrected from his error said : " Shame in this world is better than fire in the after (i.e heareafter)"
So there is no shame in correcting yourself. For some it's very hard, but for some Allah has made this honesty and humility very easy. May allah enter us among them. Ameen
The Foll. are a few reasons which hold the admin guilty or responsible (apart from certain exceptions)
Warning # 1 : The danger of Ambiguous posts and topics that confuse the readers or topics that are not eligible to be shared among laymen
Consequence (i) If a person comes across a piece of information which is ambiguous (not clear) to him or others either because the admin or the one who posted that piece of information did not clarify its appropriate meaning or explain the whereabouts of its implications failing to which the individual perceived that texts to either mean something other than what it originally meant or he rejected that text due to confusion then the sin of this also falls upon the one responsible for that group or page for it is his responsibility to monitor and filter out what is wrong from what is right and to make sure a clear and complete understanding of that hadeeth/information is conveyed. Many a times people quote one hadeeth and start deriving rulings on their own or understand it based on their perspective but this in actuality could be wrong because in Islam the principles of deriving understanding are well laid down and very vast, thus one should always follow scholars and their understanding.
Consequence (ii) Also, if this person goes ahead to convey this information in his perspective or if he uses this to debate elsewhere, and maybe lead to deviating others as well then you have a part in this to play as well !!
Consequence (iii) If that individual or a group of such similar victims start practicing something based on this ambiguous information then also may allah forgive us, you have a hand in this
The Prophet said, "No human being is killed unjustly, but a part of responsibility for the crime is laid on the first son of Adam who invented the tradition of killing (murdering) on the earth. (It is said that he was Qabil). [Sahih Bukhaari, Volume 9, Book 83, Number 6]
"Whoever starts a bad thing and is followed by others, will bear the burden of his own sin and a burden equal to that of those who follow him, without it detracting from their burden in any way.'" (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2675. He said, This is a saheeh hasan hadeeth)
Some examples : Sharing ahadeeth or topics which require a detailed lengthy explanation to understand, which the laymen or common Muslims may mis-interpret or not completely understand, or sharing some supposedly Islamic "groups/pages" without verifying if these pages are authentic or not, so on and so forth
so beware brothers and sisters !!
The Solution to this Problem: Avoid speaking about such deep or ambiguous topics and refer back to scholars
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, entered upon us while we were arguing about the issue of providence (destiny/qadr); then, he became angry until his face became red as if a pomegranate were bursting from his cheeks. He said, “Is this what I have commanded of you? (or he said: Is this why I have been sent to you) Verily, the people before you were destroyed when they argued about this matter; I order you not to debate about it.”[Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Book of Providence, Number 2133, Hasan]
وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ حَدِّثُوا النَّاسَ، بِمَا يَعْرِفُونَ، أَتُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يُكَذَّبَ، اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
‘Ali b. Abi Taalib – Allah be pleased with him – said: "Narrate to people what they can understand; do you want Allah and His Messenger to be disbelieved?"
[Quoted by Al-Bukhaari, As-Sahih, Hadeeth no. Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 129; Chapter about a person preferring some people with certain knowledge to the exclusion of others. Or Whoever selected some people to teach them (religious) knowledge preferring them over others for fear that the others may not understand it; Chapter in Arabic : باب مَنْ خَصَّ بِالْعِلْمِ قَوْمًا دُونَ قَوْمٍ كَرَاهِيَةَ أَنْ لاَ يَفْهَمُوا ]
Ibn Mas’ood (radiallahu ‘anhu) said:
“No one relates something to a people which they do not understand, except that it puts some of them into trial and discord (fitnah).”
[related by Muslim in the introduction of his saheeh [1/11]
Ibn ‘Abbas (radiallaahu ‘anhuma) said:
“I used to teach the Qur’aan to some of the Muhaajiroon, amongst whom was ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf. Whilst I was in his house in Minaa, and he was with ‘Umar lbn al-Khattaab during his last Hajj, ‘Abdur-Rahmaan came to me and said: If only you had seen the man who came to the Leader of the Believers, saying: 0 Leader of the Believers, What do you say about such and such a person who says that if ‘Umar should die, I will give the bay’ah to such and such a person, and that – by Allaah – the bay’ah to Abu Bakr was nothing but a reaction, which afterwards became established. So ‘Umar became angry and said: If Allaah wills, I will stand before the people tonight and I will warn the people against those who desire to deprive the people of their rights. However, ‘Abdur-Rahmaan said: ‘O Leader of the Believers! Do not do this. For the Hajj season gathers the ra’aa (common people) and the ghawghaa (those who incline towards mischeif and evil), and it will be those who will gather closest to you when you stand to address the people. I fear that you will rise and address the people , but some of them will spread your words and will not understand them, and some will twist your words and take them out of context. So wait until you reach al-Madeenah, the land of Hijrah and the Sunnah. where you will be amongst the people of knowledgea nd understanding and the noblest of people. So there you may have to say what you wish to say, with confidence. Since the people of knowledge will understand your words and put them their correct context.’ So ‘Umar said: By Allaah! That is what I shall do in my first address to the people of al-Madeenah – if Allaah wills…” [al-Bukhari #6830]
Al-Haafidh lbn Hajar, (rahimahullaah), said:
“In this is a lesson that knowledge is not to be taken from other than the people of knowledge; nor to relate, except to one who has understanding; and not to relate to one who has little understanding, due to him not being able to comprehend.” [Fathul Baree 12/188]
According to another report, Ali (r.a) said: “People, do you want Allah and His Messenger to be disbelieved? Relate to the people what they can comprehend and do not relate that which they may find strange. “[Narrated by Muslim]
Note: this does not mean you avoid narrating important matters of creed such as the different faraaid and does not also mean that you stop or avoid refuting falsehood. This only means that the in-adeptness of any field be it maths or islam, should be taught slowly and gradually as it is clear from the below:
Ibn Hajar said in Fath Al-Baari, “[In this narration] there is evidence that ambiguous knowledge should not be mentioned amongst the general public.”
Shaykh Muhammad b. Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen – may Allah have mercy on him – explained this very important and often misunderstood point beautifully. After mentioning the narration of ‘Ali, he states:
"It is therefore an aspect of wisdom in da’wah that you should not surprise people with things they are not able to comprehend. Rather, you should call them in stages, bit by bit until their minds settle...”
.....(cont..) Now if it is said: Should we stop telling people things they cannot understand even if they need to know? The answer is: no, we do not leave this knowledge altogether, but we should tell them in a way that they will be able to understand. This is done by telling them stage by stage, bit by bit until they can accept the speech we want them to know and they can feel comfortable with it. We do not abandon knowledge that people cannot understand and just say ‘this is something they will reject or dislike so we will not speak about it.’
The same is the case with acting upon a Sunnah that people are not used to and which they might find objectionable. We should act by this Sunnah, but only after informing people about it, such that they will be able to accept it and feel comfortable about it.
We learn from this narration that it is important to employ wisdom in calling to Allah, and that it is incumbent upon anyone who calls to Allah to consider the level of understanding of those he is inviting, and that he should put everyone in their proper place."[Majmoo' Fataawaa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 10/140.]
Shaykh al-Albaani: When one speaks with ignorant people, one doesn’t say that the Hadith is odd (shadh) or deficient (ma’lul) since they do not understand that. Instead say directly that it is weak. (Silsilat-ul-Hudâ wan-Nûr Pg. 248)
He also says : ” The problem with the youths of today is, as soon as they have learned something new, they think that they know everything.” (Silsilat-ul-Hudâ wan-Nûr Pg. 861)
Warning # 2 : Sharing inauthentic information (be it a hadeeth, verse, some quote of a scholar, some facebook or social media pages, etc) attributing to any of the Islamic heads or sources
Consequence: Sharing or conveying an inauthentic piece of information or something that is fabricated or not proven and doubtful puts the admin in fault and if god forbid people believe or follow or further share this information the admin's guilt only increases ! and the below proofs shall explain this further.
(i) Speaking or sharing (commenting, posting, etc) without confirmed knowledge about Allah or his deen
"Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are, Al-Fawaahish (every kind of illegal sexual intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly,
He, the Most High then moved on to describe a more severe
"sin, unjust oppression"
Then to that sin which is even more severe:
"joining partners (in worship) with Allah (shirk), for which He gave no authority"
And then He, the All-Knowing punctuated it with that sin which most severe:
"and saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge. " [Al-A'araaf 7: 33]
In the Tafseer of this Aayah, the scholars of Islam have said that: "If speaking about Islam (Allah, the Most High) is not the greatest crime, then Allah certainly intended to emphasize it that way. Zinaa (fornication and adultery), the first mentioned (sin in the Aayah) is an act of one committing a sin on his/her own soul. Secondly: (Allah mentions) oppression, a sin committed against others. This is definitely a greater evil. Then He, the Most High mentions shirk (i.e. joining partners in worship with Allah), obviously a greater evil than the first two, and finally, speaking without knowledge in Islam; Every sin that followed was always greater than the previous one. Thus, if it (speaking about Allah without knowledge) is not the greatest of sins, as it was mentioned last, it was certainly intended (by Allah) to be understood that way."
It should be seriously noted that this very grave sin is only because of Satan's encouragement of the ignorant and sometimes arrogant seekers of name and fame.
Allah, the Most High said:
"Verily, it is indeed Satan that makes you do evil and say things about Allah (or His deen) of which you have no proper knowledge." [Al-Baqarah 2:169]
"And follow not, (O man i.e. do not say, act or witness) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily! The hearing, and the sight and the heart for each of those will you be questioned " [Al-Israa 17: 36]
And He, the Mighty also warns us not to speak about Him without knowledge:
"Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)): indeed the things that my Lord has forbidden are: (and from them is) saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge". [Al - A' araaf 7:33]
(ii) Speaking or sharing (commenting, posting, etc) without confirmed knowledge about the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (s.a.w)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Telling lies about me is not like telling lies about anyone else. Whoever tells lies about me deliberately let him take his place in Hell.” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1229. It was also narrated by Muslim in the introduction to his Saheeh collection.]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Whoever narrates a hadith from me that he thinks is false, (then he) is one of the liars.” [Narrated by Muslim]
Ibn Hibbaan said that everyone who doubts whether what he is relating is authentic or not is included in the apparent meaning of this hadith. [Ad-Du’afa’]
It was narrated that Hafs ibn ‘Aasim said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘It is enough lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears.’” [Narrated by Muslim in al-Muqaddimah, 6; Saheeh al-Jaami, 4482.]
The companions as well took utmost care in narrating something attributing it to the prophet (s.a.w) and the below examples shall suffice in sha allah
Narrated Anas, “The fact which stops me from narrating a great number of hadiths to you is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘Whoever tells a lie against me intentionally, then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire.’” [Bukhari]
Narrated `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr, “I said to my father, ‘I do not hear you relating any narrations (hadith) of Allah’s Messenger as this person and that person are narrating?!’” Az-Zubayr replied, “Verily, l was always with him (the Prophet), however, I heard him say: ‘Whoever tells a lie against me then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.’” [Bukhari]
‘Amr bin Maymoon said, “I used to visit Ibn Mas’ood every Thursday afternoon, but he never uttered the words, ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said.’ Then one evening he said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said’ and then he let his head hang down. I looked at him and saw that his shirt was unfastened, his eyes were filled with tears, and his veins were bulging out (with fear). He said, ‘Or more than that, or less than that, or close to that, or something similar.’” [Ibn Maajah]
See more such warning and examples from salafus saaliheen here : http://hadithchecker.blogspot.in/2013/03/a-message-to-khateebs-imams-and-shuyukh.html
See how our sahaaba and salaf VERIFIED everything before sharing it to the masses: http://the-finalrevelation.blogspot.com/2013/12/yes-sahaaba-and-salaf-used-to-verify.html
(iii) Speaking or sharing (commenting, posting, etc) without confirmed knowledge about the Sahaabas and Imams of Muslims
Abu al-Darda’ (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.”
[Related byTirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, Ibn Maja, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, and others] Ibn al-Mulaqqin, Zayla`i, Ibn Hajar, and others seemed it sound (hasan) or rigorously authentic (sahih)]
When Fudayl ibn Iyad (Allah be pleased with him) heard this hadith, he commented, “The people of spiritual wisdom (hukama’) are the inheritors of the prophets,” [Ibn Nu`aym, Hilyat al-Awliya, 8.92]
Imam al-Ayni (Allah have mercy on him) explained in his commentary on Sahih al-Bakhari, Umdat al-Qari (2.39) that this hadith is inspired from the words of Allah Most High, “Then We gave the Scripture as inheritance unto those whom We elected of Our servants.” [Qur'an, 35.32]The first and foremost of scholars were the Sahaabas (the companions of the prophet s.a.w) , and then the Taba'een (i.e those who learnt from the sahaabas) and then the Tab'a Taab'aeen (those who learnt from the Taab'aeen) and then so on and so forth.
See : THE OBLIGATION AND IMPORTANCE OF SEEKING KNOWLEDGE FROM THE SCHOLARS
It is but natural to understand the seriousness of attributing something which is false or fabricated to a sahaaba or any of the Imams of the Muslim nations for they are the inheritors of the prophet (s.a.w) and but naturally we take and learn from them, so if someone were to attribute a false ruling to an Imam and then it is circulated widespreadly, then the disasterous consequence of such an outcome is something to sought refuge in Allah with. Thus we should be very careful while attributing something to the sahaabas (r.a.a), the Imams of Muslims for they hold an authoritative position and thus lying upon them can deviate and misguide a person.
An Example of the above scenarios:
Many times people end up sharing some Islamic or Non Islamic page or group links on the walls of other Islamic groups or pages. Now what happens is that maybe the links shared by these members contain pages which may shell out wrong information, or may not be as serious in understanding the importance and danger of running an Islamic information page. I have personally seen pages having half a million + following and instead of sharing Qur'an and hadeeth or actual Islamic teachings, they end up sharing wallpapers and other stuff which opposes the very aim of running or having an Islamic page.
Apart from this there are many other dangers of allowing publicizing pages and groups without verifying them because if somoeone from your group/page ends up there and gets confused or deviated or etc, then you also have a part in that for you in the first placed allowed the sharing of that page.
The Solution to this Problem:
First gain knowledge yourself and when you have learnt the usools and ahkams of islamic knowledge UNDER SCHOLARS then open a group or a page. And meanwhile filter your group or page and allow only authentic posts to publish.
Warning # 3: Interpreting the Qur'an , Hadeeth or Islamic rulings as per one's own perspective ,knowledge or logic
Consequence: group discussions or debates may turn out to become a battle of egos wherein both the deviated and the ignorant would try to win each other out and thus end up in extents as much as interpreting the ayah and sunnah as per their own understanding and leaving what the salaaf us saaliheen and the scholars of this Ummah have spent their life understanding. This would lead to create more confusions and cast more doubts into the hearts of both laymen as well as students of knowledge. And if you have Non Muslims in your group or pages then Subhanallah !! the sin of the Admin also simply two-folds ! for he is responsible for controlling and monitoring his page/group.
Narrated: Ali ibn Abu Talib : If the religion were based on opinion (or logic only as per every man), it would be more important to wipe the under part of the shoe than the upper but I have seen the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) wiping over the upper part of his shoes. [Sunan Abu Dawood, Book of purification, Hadith no. 162, 164 and also see hadith no. 163 last part. Some graded it weak but Albani graded it as saheeh, However the matan is saheeh ]
“It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad SAW) the Book (this Qur'an). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkam (commandments, etc.), Al-Fara'id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudud (legal laws for the punishment of thieves, adulterers, etc.)]; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials, etc.), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding.” [Qur’aan , Aal-emraan , Surah 3:7]
From Sulaiman Ibn Yaasar who said : There was a man from the tribe of Ghunaym called Sabeegh ibn ‘Isl who came to al-Madeenah and he had books. So he began to ask about the mutashaabih (ambiguous or not explained in detail to mankind) in the Qur’an. So the news of that reached ‘Umar. So he called for him and prepared palm-tree branches for him (to hit him). So when he entered upon him and sat, he said “Who are you?” He said “I am ‘Abdullah Sabeegh”. ‘Umar said “ I am ‘Abdullah Umar” . Then he gestured towards him and began to beat him with those branches. and he did not cease beating him , until he split him open and blood poured down his face, so he (Sabeegh) said “ Enough Oh Leader of the believers – since by Allah , that which was in my head has left (i.e those thoughts and intentions of asking or pulling out ambiguous matters in Quran has left)
[Sunan al-Daarimi, ed. by ‘Abd-Allaah Haashim Yamaani, 1/51, no. 146, Sharh Usool I’tiqaad (3/635-636) of al Laalikaa’ee and taken from the notes of Shaikh Khaalid ibn Dahwee adh-Dhufayree]
Imam al-shatbi (d.777h) said : Everyone who follows the mutashaabihat (ambiguous) , or twists the underlying reasons, or gives a meaning to the ayat not given to it by the Salafus Saalih or clings on to the very weak and unauthentic ahadith, or takes that which is apparent as a proof for every action , saying or belief (which is) in agreement with his objectives and intentions, not finding a fundamental proof for understanding it in a manner- then this is the method of deduction and derivation which gives rise to innovations and those who innovate [al-I’tisaam (1/231) of as-Shatbi]
Ibn Hazm said: "What indicates a person’s weak religion and fear of God, is that he seeks for an opinion that suits his desire." [al-Ihkam 5/64]
‘Umar b. Al-Khattâb – Allâh be pleased with him – said:
Verily, the followers of opinion are the enemies of the Sunan (the teachings of Allâh’s Messenger as passed down in hadith): they were unable to preserve them and their meanings escaped them, and when asked [questions] they were too embarrassed to say ‘We don’t know,’ so they opposed the Sunan with their opinions.
[Ibn Abî Zamanîn, Usûl Al-Sunnah article 8; Al-Lâlakâ`î, Sharh Usûl I’tiqâd Ahl Al-Sunnah article 201 et al.]
Solution to this problem:
Mālik b. Mighwal said:
Al-Sha’bī once said to me, “When these [people] report to you from Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him, adhere to it; but when they merely opine, throw it in the trash.” [Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan 1:78]
Imaam Ibn ‘Abdul Haadi (d 745 H) : It is not permissible to invent an interpretation about an ayah or a sunnah which was not there in the time of Salaf, nor did they have any knowledge of it, nor explain it to the Ummah. Since this would mean that the salaf were ignorant of the truth in this matter and failed to reach it, whereas the late-coming opponent is somehow guided to the truth?! “ [As-Saarimul Munki (p.427) of Ibn ‘Abdul Haadi]
Imam Ibn al-Qayyum (d. 756) said : Inventing an explanation with regards to the book of Allah to which the salaf and the scholars are in opposition – necessitates one of the two things : (i) Either the explanation is in itself a mistake or (ii) that the sayings of the salaf which run (are in) contrary to it are in error ! And no one with an ounce of intellect would doubt that the one whose saying is in opposition to that of the salaf is (actually) the one who is mistaken and in error [Mukhtasar as-Sawaa’iqul –Mursalah (Z/128) of Ibn al-Qayyum]
Warning # 4: Issuing a fatwa (opinion) or Answer without knowledge and refraining from saying I do not know
Consequence: The Admins (or other Muslims as well) usually tend to hurry in answering a question so as to protect their Image and Honor !?, completely forgetting that one wrong statement or word which they utter could not only throw them in hellfire and if not then atleast burden them with mutiple sins starting from speaking without knowledge and ending at everyone who followed this answer and further shared it elsewhere !
The Prophet; said, "A slave (of Allah) may utter a word which pleases Allah without giving it much importance, and because of that Allah will raise him to degrees (of reward): a slave (of Allah) may utter a word (carelessly) which displeases Allah without thinking of its gravity and because of that he will be thrown into the Hell-Fire.
[Sahih BUkhari, Vol. 8 Book 76 Hadith 485]
Abu Huraira reported: He heard Allah’s Messenger, peace be upon him, say, “Verily, the servant may speak a single word for which he descends into the Fire farther than the distance between East and West.”
[Sahih Muslim, Book 42, Number 7120]
Ubaidullah ibn Abu Ja’far reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Those of you who are quick to make judgments (fatwa) are the quickest of you to enter the Hellfire.”
[Sunan Ad-Darimi, Introduction, Number 157, Hasan]
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Whoever is given a judgment not based upon knowledge, his sin falls upon the one who gave him the judgment.” Sulaiman added, “One who gives advice to his brother while knowing what is better lies elsewhere, he has betrayed him.”
[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book of Knowledge, Number 3657, Sahih, Also see a similar report in Ibn Maajah Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 53]
It is reported that ‘Alî b. Abî Tâlib – Allâh be pleased with him – said,
“The servant [of Allâh] should not fear except his sins, and should not hope except in his Lord. The ignorant should not be ashamed to ask, and the knowledgeable should not be ashamed to say – if he does not know something – ‘Allâh knows best.’ Patience (al-sabr) to faith (Al- Eemaan) is like the head to the rest of the body: if the head is cut off, the body will rot. And one who has no patience, has no faith.”
[Al-Bayhaqi, Shu’ab Al-Eemaan, Vol.12 p195]
Solution to this major problem:
Saying of Ibn Mas’ud – radiyallaahu ‘anhu -
يا أيها الناس من علم شيئا فليقل به ومن لم يعلم فليقل الله أعلم فإن من العلم أن يقول لما لا يعلم الله أعلم
“O People! Whoever knows something then let him say it (speak of it), and whoever doesn’t know then let him say ‘Allahu ‘A’lam’ (Allaah knows best), for it is a sign of having knowledge to say about that which one doesn’t know ‘Allahu ‘A’lam’”
[Saheeh al-Bukhari #4435. English Translation Online #4481 in Book of Exegesis of the Qur’an. Also found in Sahih Muslim #5007; English Translation Online Book 39, Ch. 8, #6720 – Sh. Ibn Uthaymin’s site provides more references.]
Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (rd) says: “Knowledge is of three types, the Book that is forever speaking (i.e the Quran), an established Sunnah (ahadeeth), and (to say) ‘I do not know’.”
[Ad-Daraqutni: Ghara’ib Mälik. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi: Asmä’ man rawa Abu Dawud. Kitab al-Fara’id, vol. 3, p. 164. Ibn Majah: in the lntroduction to his Sunan, chapter eight.]
Ibn 'Abbas said, "None of you should say about a thing which he does not know, 'Allah knows it' when Allah may know that it is other than what he said and thus he (tries to) teach Allah what he does not know. That is something terrible in Allah's sight."
[Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 764, Saheeh]
Imam Malik رحمه الله said,
“The shield of the scholar is, ‘I don’t know’, so If he leaves it down, his attacker will strike him”
{Yusuf Ibn Abd al-Barr رحمه الله in his al-Intiqa’ fi Fada’il at-Thalatha al-Fuqaha
Mālik b. Mighwal said:
Al-Sha’bī once said to me, “When these [people] report to you from Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him, adhere to it; but when they merely opine, throw it in the trash.” [Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan 1:78]
Imaam Ibn ‘Abdul Haadi (d 745 H) : It is not permissible to invent an interpretation about an ayah or a sunnah which was not there in the time of Salaf, nor did they have any knowledge of it, nor explain it to the Ummah. Since this would mean that the salaf were ignorant of the truth in this matter and failed to reach it, whereas the late-coming opponent is somehow guided to the truth?! “ [As-Saarimul Munki (p.427) of Ibn ‘Abdul Haadi]
Imam Ibn al-Qayyum (d. 756) said : Inventing an explanation with regards to the book of Allah to which the salaf and the scholars are in opposition – necessitates one of the two things : (i) Either the explanation is in itself a mistake or (ii) that the sayings of the salaf which run (are in) contrary to it are in error ! And no one with an ounce of intellect would doubt that the one whose saying is in opposition to that of the salaf is (actually) the one who is mistaken and in error [Mukhtasar as-Sawaa’iqul –Mursalah (Z/128) of Ibn al-Qayyum]
Warning # 5: Abstaining or hesitating from denouncing evil due to several reasons such as feeling shy, not wanting to oppose family,friends, or some other personal or communal reason and etc.
Consequence: Self explanatory
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “O people, you read this verse: O you who believe, your duty is to yourselves, those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided (5:105), and verily, I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: If the people see an oppressor (or an evil doer) and they do not seize his hand, then Allah will soon send punishment upon all of them.” [Musnad Ahmad, Number 31, Sahih]
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Allah did not send any Prophet in the nations before me except that he was given disciples and companions who followed his way and obeyed his command; then, after them came their successors who said what they did not practice, and who practiced what they were not commanded. He who strove against them with his hand was a believer, and he who strove against them with his tongue was a believer, and he who strove against them with his heart was a believer; beyond that there is no faith even the size of a mustard seed.”
[Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 81]
An example :
Tariq ibn Shihab said: The first to begin the sermon on the Day of Eid before prayer was Marwan. A man stood and said, “Prayer comes before the sermon.” Marwan said, “This has been done away.” Abu Sa’id remarked: This man has done his duty. I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “Whoever sees vice (evil), let him change it with his hand; and if he is unable, then with his tongue; and if he is unable, then with his heart, and that is the weakest level of faith.” [Sahih Muslim 49]
Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Allaah will ask His slave on the Day of Resurrection until He says: What prevented you, when you saw something evil, from denouncing it?'" According to another report: "One of you will be asked on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked: What prevented you from denouncing evil when you saw it?" (Reported by Imaam Ahmad and Ibn Maajah, 4017; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 1818).
Solution to this problem: Fear Allah alone and not anyone else !
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; if he cannot then with his heart [by hating it and feeling that it is wrong], and that is the weakest of faith.” [(Narrated by Muslim, 49).]
Tips & Tricks for the Admin:
1) Block the wall if you have many members who go on posting without verifying or you could choose the option wherein you get to allow which posts appear and which don't.
2) When someone posts something that you think may confuse the readers, then comment under it explaining that post
3) When a certain post tends to create nothing but chaos then delete that post.
4) Maintain a formal and strict ambience in the group thereby avoiding joking, chit chatting and more than requird mingling of males and females.
5) If possible create a separate Id to monitor and use the group/page so as to avoid people hacking or troubling your personal account.
6) Avoid posting information that may put you and others in trouble in the eyes of Govt or etc.
7) When doing Daw'ah to non Muslim make sure no matter how much ever they provoke , you are to maintain a decent and civilized environment and if you think the discussion would drift to abuses and swearing then delete it or after successive warnings bann the trouble makers.
8) More to come In sha Allah.
There are many more points but will add them later In sha Allah. May Allah enable me my brothers and sisters to strive in being responsible and careful over our duties. May Allah guide us all Aameen.
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