Al-Furqān bayna Awliyāʾ al-Raḥmān wa-Awliyāʾ al-Shayṭān - Ibn Taimiya - (71)

Al-Furqān bayna Awliyāʾ al-Raḥmān wa-Awliyāʾ al-ShayṭānIbn Taimiya

No Spiritual Authority for Whoever Contradicts the Book and the Sunnah

For that reason ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to consult the Companions, debate with them, refer matters back to them, and they in turn would dispute with him over certain issues. He would present his proof from the Book and the Sunnah, and they would present theirs, and he acknowledged their right to challenge him. Never once did he say to them, “I am a muḥaddath, divinely inspired and addressed; you must therefore accept everything I say and refrain from opposing me.”

Accordingly, anyone who claims—or whose followers claim on his behalf—that he is a wali (a friend of Allah) who receives divine address, and that his disciples must accept whatever he says without objection and submit to his condition without first measuring it against the Book and the Sunnah, is laboring under a delusion and is in error. Such a person is among the most misguided of people. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, is superior to such a claimant; he was Commander of the Believers, yet Muslims contended with him and weighed his words—even when he was certain of them—against the Book and the Sunnah. The early generations of this community and its imams have unanimously agreed that the statement of any individual may be accepted or rejected—except the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace).

Only the Prophets Are to Be Obeyed in Everything They Command

This is one of the key distinctions between the prophets and all others. The prophets—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them—must be believed concerning everything they report from Allah, and they must be obeyed in everything they command. The awliyāʾ, however, are not to be obeyed in every command they issue, nor believed in everything they relate; rather, their actions and statements are to be weighed against the Book and the Sunnah. Whatever accords with the Book and the Sunnah must be accepted, and whatever contradicts the Book and the Sunnah must be rejected, even if its proponent is from

[لا ولاية لمن خالف الكتاب والسنة] ولهذا كان عمر رضي الله عنه يشاور الصحابة رضي الله عنهم، ويناظرهم ويرجع إليهم في بعض الأمور، وينازعونه في أشياء فيحتج عليهم ويحتجون عليه بالكتاب والسنة، ويقرهم على منازعته، ولا يقول لهم: أنا محدث ملهم مخاطب فينبغي لكم أن تقبلوا مني ولا تعارضوني، فأي أحد ادعى، أو ادعى له أصحابه أنه ولي لله، وأنه مخاطب يجب على أتباعه ان يقبلوا منه كل ما يقوله، ولا يعارضوه ويسلموا له حاله من غير اعتبار بالكتاب والسنة، فهو وهم مخطئون، ومثل هذا أضل الناس، فعمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه أفضل منه، وهو أمير المؤمنين، وكان المسلمون ينازعونه ويعرضون ما يقوله - وهو وهم - على الكتاب والسنة، وقد اتفق سلف الأمة وأئمتها على أن كل أحد يؤخذ من قوله ويترك، إلا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. [الأنبياء وحدهم يطاعون في كل ما يأمرون به] وهذا من الفروق بين الأنبياء وغيرهم، فإن الأنبياء صلوات الله عليهم وسلامه، يجب لهم الايمان بجميع ما يخبرون به عن الله عز وجل، وتجب طاعتهم فيما يأمرون به، بخلاف الأولياء، فإنهم لا تجب طاعتهم في كل ما يأمرون به، ولا الايمان بجميع ما يخبرون به، بل يعرض أمرهم وخبرهم على الكتاب والسنة، فما وافق الكتاب والسنة وجب قبوله، وما خالف الكتاب والسنة كان مردودا، وإن كان صاحبه من