The Mufti of Chechnya,
Salakh Mezhiyev hopes that a law banning Wahhabism in Russia could be reached.
In an interview with Interfax-Deen, he stated, "There is no future for
this notion, we issued a fatwa and adopted decisions and we went to Russia's
President Vladimir Putin to regard, on the basis of these decisions, Wahhabism is
considered a banned sect by law”.
In order to know the
truth behind Mezhiyev’s position, we must return to the issuance date of the
"fatwa," he referred to. At the end of last August, the so-called
World Conference of Muslim Scholars was held in the city of Grozny, Chechnya's
capital; in its conclusion the fatwa on "the existence of binding
considerations that make true Islam differs from delusion” was adopted.
The failure of this
conference was inevitable, because it was sponsored by the rulers of Chechnya
known for their adherence to the anti-Islam Russian policy, and for their
support for its criminal war in Syria. They confirmed their stance by issuing
this "fatwa", which states that supporters of Sufism that is spread
in Chechnya are the people of Sunnah (Ahl As-Sunnah) and the others are
followers of deviant movements. It must be emphasized that the logic of this
"fatwa" is in line with the understanding of the rulers of the
Republic of Chechnya of Islam. To elaborate, we will quote some phrases from
the text of the "fatwa" mentioned:
“The signs that Ahl As-Sunnah and Jamma’a (the
group) that are binding are three pillars: belief, Islam, and Ihsan, in full
they are:
1- Ahl As-Sunnah and
Jamma’a in terms of belief are the Ash’aris and Maturidis.
2- In terms of
obedience to Allah, they are followers of the four schools of thought: Hanafi,
Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali
3- Regarding Ihsan, Ahl
As-Sunnah are the ones who follow the course of ethics (Akhlaq) defined by
renowned Imams, the foremost being the Sufi Imam Abu al-Qasim Al-Junaidi bin
Muhammad Al-Baghdadi, Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani, Muhammad Khawaji Bahauddin
An-Naqshbandi and other worshippers.
Imam Al-Junaidi
Al-Baghdadi said about Sufism: "Our way is restricted by the foundations
of the Qur'an and Sunnah.”
Then followed the text
that lists those who do not meet those qualities, whether they are
"Salafis" or "Wahhabis" or deniers of the Sunnah,
"Quranists" under the agreed description "and their likes who do
not follow the path of truth from the sects."
Thus, the initiative by
the Chechen mufti, Mezhiyev, is pushing for the "fatwa", which
describes Muslims as Wahhabis or sectarians who go outside the limits of the
Sufi way. This is precisely what the Mufti Mezhiyev is advocating for to be
made a law in Russia.
The Mufti’s ambition
can be understood on the basis of the fact that people in Chechnya have left
following the Sufi way a long time ago. In order to legitimize the illegality
of the actions of the Chechen rulers against Muslims who are
"intellectually opposed" to them, we find the mufti pushing for
documenting of the so-called fatwa, to issue laws.
For various reasons,
the "Grozny Fatwa" has received criticism by some of the Muftis in
Russia. But due to the lack of a coherent and resolute stand against such a
"fatwa", it has led to discussing it as a possible basis for the
Russian policy that fights Islam.
Consequently, we want
to clarify the following:
1- Any division of the
Muslims is contrary to Islam and serves only the interests of the enemies of
the Islamic Ummah. Allah (swt) says: ﴿إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
إِخْوَةٌ﴾ “The believers are but brothers” [Al-Hujurat:
10].
2- Islam categorically forbids resolving
the Islamic internal differences by going against the rulings of Islam, so
worse still is to resort to man-made laws. Allah (swt) says: ﴿فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي
شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ
بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ﴾ “O you who have believed, obey
Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. “And if you
disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should
believe in Allah and the Last Day”
[An-Nisa’: 59]
Allah
(swt) said: ﴿فَلَا
وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ﴾ “But no, by your Lord, they
will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning
that over which they dispute among themselves”
[An-Nisa’: 65]
3- The sin is attached to all those who harm
Muslims even if by implication. The Prophet (saw) said: «المسلم
من سلم المسلمون من لسانه ويده» “A
Muslim is the one from (the harm of) whose tongue and hand (other) Muslims are
safe”.
4- From the signs
of sectarianism is regarding a certain movement of being the only one following
the right path (Haq) and to attach the description of "Dhaleen" (those
who are astray) to the rest of the Muslims.
We also warn the Mufti
from participating in the adoption of such "fatwas" due to the words
of Allah (swt):
﴿وَلَا
تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنْسَاهُمْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ
هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ﴾
“And be not like those who
forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly
disobedient.” [Al-Hashr: 19]
Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Russia
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