Aslam

Praise be to Allah.The most prominent characteristic of

the saved group is adherence to the way of the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in ‘aqeedah (belief), ‘ibaadah

(worship), manners and attitude, and dealings with others. The saved

group has distinct characteristics in these four areas.

In matters of ‘aqeedah you will find

that they adhere to that which is indicated by the Book of Allaah and

the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him), i.e., absolute Oneness (Tawheed)

of the Divinity and Lordship of Allaah, and of His Names and Attributes.

In matters of worship, you will find

that this group is distinguished by its total adherence to and application

of that which the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do with regard to different

kinds of acts of worship, how they are done, to what extent, where and

when, and for what reasons. You will not find them introducing innovations

into the religion of Allaah, rather they show the utmost respect towards

Allaah and His Messenger, so they do not put themselves forward before

Allaah and His Messenger (cf. al-Hujuraat 49:1) by suggesting

any innovated act of worship for which He has not granted permission.

In matters of manners and attitude, you

will also find that they differ from others by virtue of their good

attitudes such as wishing the Muslims well, being content, having a

cheerful countenance, speaking well, being generous, being courageous,

and other noble and good characteristics.

In matters of dealings with others, you will find that

they deal with others in an open and sincere manner.  They are

the ones to whom the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) referred when he said: “The two

parties (to a transaction) have the choice (of proceeding with the transaction

or cancelling it) until they separate. If they are sincere and open,

their transaction will be blessed for them, and if they are lying or

deceitful, the blessing will be lost.”

If a person is lacking in any of these characteristics,

then does not mean that he is not one of the saved group, but for all,

there will be degrees according to that which they did (cf. al-Ahqaaf

46:19). Falling short in matters of Tawheed may put a person outside

the saved group, such as lacking in ikhlaas (sincerity or purity

of intention). The same applies to bid’ah, as a person may do acts of

bid’ah which put him outside the saved group.

In matters of morals and dealings with others,

defects in such matters do not put a person outside this group, although

they may reduce him in status.

We

need to look in more detail at the matter of attitude and manners. One

of the most important matters of attitude and manners is unity and uniting

upon the truth. This is what Allaah urges us to do in the aayah

(interpretation of the meaning):

“He (Allaah) has ordained for you the same religion

(Islamic Monotheism) which He ordained for Nooh (Noah), and that which

We have revealed to you (O Muhammad),

and that which We ordained for Ibraaheem (Abraham), Moosa (Moses) and

‘Eesa (Jesus) saying you should establish religion (i.e. to do what

it orders you to do practically) and make no divisions in it (religion)

(i.e. various sects in religion)” [al-Shoora 42:13]

Allaah tells us that those who divide their religion

and break up into sects, Muhammad

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has nothing to do with them.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, those who divide their religion and break

up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammad) have

no concern in them in the least” [al-An’aam 6:159]

Unity and harmony are among the most

prominent characteristics of the saved sect – Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah.

If any dispute arises among them, stemming from ijtihaad in matters

where ijtihaad is permitted – they do not bear ill-will, enmity or grudges

against one another. Rather they regard one another as brothers even

though these differences arise between them. One of them will pray behind

another even if he thinks that he does not have wudoo’ whilst the imaam

thinks that he does have wudoo’. For example, one of them may pray behind

another who has eaten camel meat, and this imaam thinks that this does

not break wudoo’ whereas the person praying behind him thinks that it

does break wudoo’. So he believes that his prayer behind this imaam

is valid, but if he himself were to pray in that state on his own he

would think that his prayer is not valid. All this is because they believe

that differences which arise from ijtihaad in cases where ijtihaad is

allowed, are not really differences, because each of them has followed

evidence (daleel) as he is obliged to do, and which should not be ignored.

So they believe that if their brother differs from them with regard

to some action because he is following the evidence (daleel), then in

effect he is agreeing with them, because they advocate following the

evidence wherever it is. So although he differs from them, he is still

following evidence from the Book of Allaah or the Sunnah of the Messenger

of Allaah (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him). The scholars are not unaware of the differences

of this nature that arose among the Sahaabah even during the time of

the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him), but he did not rebuke them. When he

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from the campaign

of al-Ahzaab, and Jibreel came to him and told him to go out to Bani

Qurayzah, who had broken the treaty, the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told his companions, “None

of you should pray ‘Asr until he reaches Bani Qurayzah.” They set out

from Madeenah to Bani Qurayzah, and they were worried about missing

the ‘Asr prayer. Some of them delayed the ‘Asr prayer until they reached

Bani Qurayzah, and they prayed it after the time for the prayer had

passed, because the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had said, “None of you should pray

‘Asr until he reaches Bani Qurayzah.” Others prayed ‘Asr on time, saying

that all the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) had meant was that they should hasten

to go out (to Bani Qurayzah); he did not mean that they should delay

the prayer. These are the ones who were correct, but the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not rebuke either of

the two groups, and neither expressed enmity towards the other. The

Muslims who claim to follow the Sunnah should be one ummah and

not divide into groups, fighting one another verbally and arguing and

hating one another for a matter in which it is allowed to have different

opinions. There is no need to mention every group by name; the smart

person will understand what I mean.

I think that Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah

should unite even though they differ in the ways in which they understand

those texts which may be interpreted in different ways. That is a matter

in which there is room for differences, may Allaah be praised. What

matters is harmony and unity. No doubt the enemies of Islam want the

Muslims to be divided, whether they are enemies who express their enmity

openly or they are enemies who make an outward display of friendliness

towards Muslims and Islam, but that is not real. We must be distinguished

by this characteristic which is the characteristic of the saved group,

i.e., being united.