Exposing Mujahid Ibn Razeen On His Lies Upon the Scholars of Ahlus Sunnah - Part 1

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Tamil Speaking world,

Mujahid Ibn Razeen is an Islamic speaker in the Tamil World who has been projecting himself as a Salafi Da’ee among the Tamil speaking audience. He is projecting himself to be upon the Manhajus Salaf but he is lying and rejecting many of the fundamentals of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah and its Scholars.

In this article, we have exposed his lies upon the Manhaj of Ahlus Sunnah and the Scholars of Ahlus Sunnah with evidences from his speech itself. We have taken this effort to refute this deviant caller so that the common people will be warned against him and to defend the Sunnah and its Callers.

Lies of Mujahid Ibn Razeen

Lie 1 – Click the player to listen

Excerpt and Translation of the Speech of Mujahid Ibn Razeen:

“The scholars bring different new concepts to keep their crowd of Muslims with them. The concept of Bay’ath (asking to pledge allegiance) was brought, Jama’at Ijthihaad concept was brought, and similarly this concept of Silsilah (Chain of Narration) which means the Scholars give recommendation to a person, praising him and his knowledge. And these Scholars have Silsilah going back to Sahabah and Prophet”.

Dear Muslims, Beware of this Liar! The words of Mujahid Ibn Razeen exposes his Ignorance about the fundamentals of Ahlus Sunnah. Listen to his words to find their deviance as Abu Darda Radiyallahu anhu said: “Allah gave us two ears to listen more and talk less”.

This liar is saying “Scholars bring new concepts to pull and attract crowd towards them to establish themselves as Scholars”. He is generally claiming that each Scholar will do something to identify himself to be an Aalim. This is an absolute lie that he says upon the Scholars of Sunnah.

In reality, attracting crowd with a skill is his own methodology and he does this by his oratorial skills and deceive people in the Tamil speaking world. Mujahid, the liar claims in generality that this is the way of the scholars in Sri Lanka, particularly Ash-Shaykh Yahya Silmy As-Saylani. Either way, he is lying. He has followed this methodology to showcase him as a Learned Scholar before the Tamil speaking Muslims.

SilSilah is a Fundamental of Ahlus Sunnah and let us now understand how Mujahid lies through his teeth regarding it:

Mujahid Ibn Razeen says:

“Silsilah is a new concept introduced by Scholars to Attract Muslim Crowd towards them”

First of all, Scholars of Sunnah and Students of Knowledge can understand from this statement of Mujahid ibn Razeen that this liar does not know his religion.

قَالَ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ الْمُبَارَكِ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: الْإِسْنَادُ مِن الدِّينِ، وَلَوْلَا الْإِسْنَادُ لَقَالَ مَنْ شَاءَ مَا شَاءَ

Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allāh have mercy upon him) said:

“The isnad (chain of narration) is part of the deen. If it were not for the isnad, then any person would have said (about Islam) whatever he wished”

(Source: Introduction to Ṣaḥeeḥ Muslim)

Imam Muhammad Ibn Sireen Rahimahullah said:

إن هذا العلم دين فانظروا عمن تأخذوا دينكم

“Indeed this knowledge is (a matter of) Deen, so look to the one (i.e. be careful who) you take your Deen from”

(Source: Introduction to Ṣaḥeeḥ Muslim)

Silsilah or Isnad is from our Deen. This is the methodology of the Salaf. It is obligatory upon us to follow the Salaf (the Sahabah, Tabi’een and those who followed them). The people who oppose this path are all misguided deviants. (Kindly refer to the lectures of Shaykh Al-Albani – “This is our call” and other Senior Scholars of Sunnah). But Mujahid Ibn Razeen is saying that this new concept is being used by Scholars as a bait for attracting people.

Without Silsilah, there is no guarantee that the religion preached by a person is authentic. You cannot take your religion from a person without Isnad. He must prove his knowledge’s validity by getting a Tazkiyah from a Scholar.

Secondly, from Mujahid ibn Razeen’s statement he is informing us that he is REJECTING the Prophetic Sunnah way of seeking knowledge and conveying it. The proof is,

أَنَّهُ حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ , قَالَ - وَهُوَ يَخْطُبُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ -: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ الله صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: " يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ: إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ بِالتَّعَلُّمِ , وَالْفِقْهُ بِالتَّفَقُّهِ , ومَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ , وَإِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ , وَلَنْ تَزَالَ أُمَّةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى النَّاسِ لَا يُبَالُونَ مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ , وَلَا مَنْ نَاوَأَهُمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ الله وَهُمْ ظَاهِرُونَ

On the authority of Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, he said - while he was addressing on the pulpit:

I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “Oh People! Knowledge is only by learning (from a scholar), and understanding is what is meant to be understood (by explanation of a scholar), and whoever Allah intends good for him, He gives him the understanding (Fiqh) in religion, and it is only those who know His slaves that fear Allah, A group of my Ummah will continue to prevail and they will never be harmed by those who forsake them, until the Hour begins.

(Musnad Ash-Shamiyeen)

It is clear from the above-mentioned Hadeeth that You cannot Seek Knowledge without sitting under a Scholar to learn it. Without learning it from the Scholars, you cannot convey it. Now we ask the Liar Mujahid Ibn Razeen,

From where did you take your religion? From whom you are carrying the methodology you are conveying to the Common Muslims? Who verified and validated your claims?

Mujahid Ibn Razeen is confusing the common Muslims without studying any of these fundamentals of the religion.

Thirdly, we have to be aware that the one who does not know how to seek knowledge cannot carry knowledge with him and become a Scholar or Da’ee. Mujahid Ibn Razeen rejects the Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Sahabah. We advise Muslims to stick to the advises of the Scholars of Sunnah and to stay away from such liars who create fitnah.

The knowledge of this Deenul Islam resides with the Scholars who have carried it from the Prophet and his Companions. The following hadeeth is a proof for it:

Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

 

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ انْتِزَاعًا يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنْ الْعِبَادِ وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ بِقَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالًا فَسُئِلُوا فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا

Verily, Allah does not withhold knowledge by snatching it away from his servants, but rather he withholds knowledge by taking the souls of the scholars, until no scholar remains and people follow ignorant leaders. They are asked and they issue judgments without knowledge. Thus, they are astray and lead others astray.

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 100

 

Knowledge of Quran and sunnah is carried by scholars. Therefore, it can only be obtained from them. The Fiqh of Deen must be attained from the Scholars by sitting under them in their gatherings. This Prophetic methodology of Seeking Knowledge and recommending the knowledgeable person to the ummah is to guide the common people towards the Authentic knowledge.

The following are the evidences that will give our readers more information on this subject. Also, it will expose the lies of those who stay away from the gatherings of Salafi scholars, self-learnt Da’ees in the Tamil speaking world and elsewhere.

Evidences for Sahabah’s methodology

We have established that Silsilah or Isnad is from the Deen and a Da’ee must possess it before conveying the religion to the people. Now we will look into the evidences which explains that the Sahabah followed this methodology of Recommending a person (Tazkiyah) to convey the knowledge or to seek from:

 

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ: «لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا أَتَاهُمُ الْعِلْمُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمِنْ أَكَابِرِهِمْ، فَإِذَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَصَاغِرِهِمْ فَذَلِكَ حِينَ هَلَكُوا

It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b. Masʿūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said:

The people will remain upon goodness as long as knowledge comes to them from the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him, and from their seniors. But when knowledge comes to them from their minors, that is when they will be destroyed.

Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm wa Fadlihi 1060.

It is reported from ‘Abdullâh b. ‘Abbâs – Allâh be pleased with them – that he said:

After Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – passed away, I said to a man from the Ansâr, “Come, let us ask [and learn from] the Prophet’s Companions, Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him, for they are many in number today” ………… (Part of the narration)

Al-Dârimî, Al-Sunan Vol. 2 p129.

It is reported that: ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn – Allāh have mercy on him – would enter the masjid and cut his way through the people until he would sit in the circle of Zayd b. Aslam. Nāfiʿ b. Jubayr said to him, “Allāh forgive you, you are the sayyid of the people, yet you come traversing the people to sit with this slave.” So ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn replied, “Knowledge is to be sought and come to and looked for wherever it is.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 4:388.

(Tazkiyah) Recommendation and advise of Sahabah and Tabi’een about the knowledgeable people to the next generations so that they can learn from them:

Ibn masud said: yes, Ibn Abbas is the interpreter for Al-Quran.

(Tafseer Ibn Katheer 1/8)

Ibn Umar said: Saeed ibn al-musayyib, by Allah, he is one of the muftis

Tadhkirathul Huffadh (1/44)

Qatadah said: I haven’t seen anyone more knowledgeable than Saeed ibn Al-Musayyib

Tadhkirathul Huffadh (1/44)

It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh have mercy on him – was asked, “When can a person issue an edict (fatwā)?” He replied, “When he is knowledgeable about the narrations (hadith and traditions of the Salaf), and has insight into [juristic] opinion. 

 

Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr, Jāmi’ Bayān Al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlihī article 1529.

These evidences show us that Silsilah or Isnad or Tazkiya are among the fundamentals of the Religion. Without these, a person might say whatever he wills and misguide the people. Mujahid Ibn Razeen has totally watered down these fundamentals and have deceived the common people. He is also in confusion about identifying scholars of sunnah which he himself acknowledges in the same video later. We shall expose them too in the upcoming articles, In shaa Allah.

The above evidences are sufficient enough for the people who are seeking the truth. We have to realise how far our Muslim community is in ignorance about the basics of the Deen. To give a simpler reference which enables us to understand better,

Sulaiman Bin Moosa (Rahimahullah) Said:

Do not take hadeeth from Suhufiyyeen (the one who takes knowledge only from books) and Al-Quran reading from Mushafiyyeen (the one who takes reading of Al-quran only from books).

Al-Jarah Wa Ta’Dheel – Ibn Abi Hatim 2/31

Al-Waleed ibn Muslim Rahimahullah said:

Do not take knowledge from suhufiyyeen (the one who takes knowledge only from books) and Al-Quran reading from mushafiyyeen (the one who takes reading of Al-quran only from books). (Learn) except from the one who learnt by listening to (i.e., Scholar) and learn the reading of (Al-Quran) from the one who learnt properly (i.e., Scholar).

Tareekh Ad-Dimishq 63/292

From these narrations we can understand that, those who study their religion directly from the books and come to preach must be abandoned. They must not be sought for taking knowledge as their understanding and implementation of Islamic evidences is not witnessed by their teachers. (it is like letting someone practice surgery without prior experience with qualified surgeon)

We want our brothers and sisters to be aware about the false propaganda and stay away from it. Hope you have understood the above evidences. The below questions will allow you to re-think and clear yourselves about misconceptions and lies spread.

Why did Imam Ash-Sha’bi meet more than 500 companions in his Lifetime? (Reference – Tadhkirathul hufaaz of Imam ad dhahabi)

Why did Imam Ash-Shafi’ee go to Imam Malik even after memorising Imam Malik’s book “Muwatta”? (Reference – Siyar A’laam An-Nubala)

How did the deviant group called Mu’tazilah emerge? A person called Wasil Ibn Ata’ distanced himself from the gatherings of Imam Hasan Al-Basri and came up with the misguided group Mu’tazilah.

What made Imam Malik restrain from giving fatwa? He engaged with answering a question from people only after 70 of his teachers gave permission for it (ijazah). (Reference – Siyar A’laam An-Nubala)

Why did Imam Bukhari and Muslim present their hadith compilation to the scholars of their time? Didn’t they seek Tazkiyah (purification and recommendation) for their book? Have we not read the biographies of the Scholars of hadith?

Don’t we see large number of teachers from whom our scholars from past and present learnt from?(Many Books of biographies of scholars where list of their teachers and students are available by the permission of Allah)

The scholars of hadeeth like the Muhaddith al-Allamah Muhammad Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri, Shaykh Badee’uddin Ar-Rashidi As-Sindhi, Ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin Ali Adam Al-Ethiopi, Ash-Shaykh Yahya ibn Yahya Al Mudarris Al-Mubarakfuree (May allah have mercy on them all) gave ijazah to many of their students.

Imam and Muhaddith, Ash-Shaykh Abul-‘Ala Muhammad bin Abdur-Rahmān Al-Mubārakfūri (d. 1353AH / 1934CE, rahimahullāh) gave ijazah (permission) to Ash-Shaykh Abul-Hasan ‘Ubaidullāh Ar-Rahmani who was his student, to narrate from him the books and compilations of Hadeeth with the chains of narration leading back to compilers of those great books such as Bukhāri, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, etc.

Ash-Shaykh Rabee bin Haadi requested for an Ijazah from Ash-Shaykh Abul-Hasan ‘Ubaidullāh Ar-Rahmani and he was given permission to narrate from him. Ash-Shaykh Rabee bin Haadi also has an ijazah from Al-Imām Badee’ ad-Deen Ar-Rāshidi As-Sindi (d. 1416AH, rahimahullāh).

Therefore, Ijazah/silsilah concept is not a new innovated Concept from Ash-Shaykh Yahya Silmy as salafi as saylani hafidahullah or any other Scholars. Rather Silsilah or Ijaza is among the fundamentals of Religion. It is a new concept for the liar Mujahid ibn razeen and his followers only. May Allah guide all of us to the correct understanding of the deen and protect us from fitnah.

With the above evidences, we hope people will understand that this fundamental of Silsilah came from those who followed the way of Sahabah.

Ignorant da’ees like mujahid ibn razeen and others must fear Allah, turn towards him in repentance for slandering the scholars, lying, and causing fitnah among Muslims. He has to stay away from Da’wah and must sit with the scholars of sunnah to learn the religion from its fundamentals.

The Salaf used to say,

“When Scholars Speak Knowledge will Spread but When an Ignorant speak Fitnah will Spread”

May Allah protect us from all false propaganda, make us firm upon deen and its true understanding.

We particular pray for us, the Tamil speaking Muslims who are influenced by these fitnah makers/callers of Misguidance and are far away from the true scholars of Sunnah. Those scholars and Da’ees who are silent upon such spreading of falsehood show their approval of it. We seek Allah’s Refuge from it.

We thank the noble brothers who have translated these many works of our scholars into English language. May Allah preserve them, keep them united and make them firm upon the path of the Salaf and forgive them for their mistakes.

With this, the first lie of Mujahid ibn Razeen has been exposed and clarified.

We have released this under the supervision of Ash-Shaykh Yahya Silmy Hafidahullah.