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All praise is due to Allāh, the Lord of the Worlds and may the ṣalāt and salām be upon the Messenger, to proceed: In a recent interview (see here) Yāsir Qādhi claimed that Salafi Islam is not "intellectually stimulating" enough for his liking and that the "Salafi movement" (Salafiyyah) is "not capable of addressing modern issues." In this series of short articles observations and comments are made regarding the implications of what Yāsir Qādhi has expressed.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: Sound intellect never opposes Salafiyyah (indicating that Yasir Qadhi's "intellectual stimulation" is from the shubuhaat (doubts) against the truth that are easily refuted. Read article here).
Before we enter into the topic of this article, it is important that you have read all previous parts to this series (see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3a, and Part 3b), as it is all connected and each article follows on from the previous one. Recall Yasir Qadhi's arrogance in that he considers himself of greater intellectual capacity and stimulation than "Salafi Islam" and that Salafiyyah cannot really solve modern problems. The observation was made in Part 3a regarding evaluation of the public security and economic welfare of Muslim cities and nations through Tawheed and Sunnah and in Part 3b, the placement by Allaah of rulers over Muslim nations upon what is necessitated by His adl (justice) and hikmah (wisdom) was discussed. And the intent behind all of that was to answer the question: Is aql (reason) and hikmah (wisdom) found in Salafiyyah which is based upon revealed texts upon the understanding of the Companions and the Salaf, which never opposes sound reason, and is synonymous, by definition, with pure, authentic, Islam or is it found in the fikr (thought) and ra'i (opinion) of Yasir Qadhi? Once you have recalled this and kept it in your mind, we can proceed: Yasir Qadhi's Fabrication Against the Prophetic Methodology
The greatest of which indicates Yasir Qadhi's dalaal (misguidance) and absence of aql (reason) is the following remark (cited below), and this is alongside his knowledge that the Prophetic methodology of reform (of societies and nations) begins with eliminating the injustice of Shirk (and not injustice in material matters), and this is plain and manifest in the account given of every Messenger in the Qur'an and what he called his people to. Refer to Surah al-A'raaf for example in which the first call of each Messenger is mentioned, (يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَـهٍ غَيْرُهُ), "O my people, worship Allaah alone, you have no deity (in truth) besides Him." Let us see how Yasir Qadhi characterizes the Egyptian demonstrations and protests:
 But there are some moral lessons that we can derive from the events that we are witnessing: Firstly, that the calls by the militants and even by the political Islamist parties did not, in and of themselves, bring about the type of protests that came from the hordes of masses. These groups have been calling for such demonstrations and wanting to see such protests for decades, yet they could not accomplish even a fraction of what the masses have done in this last week. And in this, we learn from the Prophetic methodology: change must begin at the ground level, bottom-up, and not top-down. Change begins in the heart and in the home, and it shall eventually reach the streets and shake the foundations of government.
There are numerous observations on this:
ONE: From the aql (reason) of Yasir Qadhi is to treat the demonstrations and protests of the Egyptian people [in what they comprise of Atheists, Communists, Socialists, Christians and Muslim sects such as the Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Soofiyyah, Ittihaadiyyah, Raafidah] as being in line with the Prophetic methodology of change from the "ground up." This is the greatest of what indicates the ignorance of Yasir Qadhi in the matter of the aqeedah of Tawheed and its necessities which penetrate into the arena of da'wah and rectification of the servant and the land. Why do we say "ignorance" here? We say this upon the understanding that true knowledge (ilm) is not just connections of neurons in the mind and is not limited to mere ma'rifah (mere acquaintance, factual knowledge), but knowledge is actual fiqh (grasping and understanding) and acting upon that fiqh and its necessities, being bound in all of that by the Book and the Sunnah. For Yasir Qadhi knows factually the aqeedah of Tawheed and he implements it on a personal level, and he may dazzle people with academic speech in these matters, so he is not ignorant from that perspective, but this is not what we are speaking of, we are speaking of something which extends beyond this, beyond the realm of the individual and into the realm of the society at large. It is in the application of what such knowledge necessitates in practical matters - especially in matters of da'wah which are from the greatest of the affairs of worship - that you come to realize truly whether the underlying knowledge held by a person is simply a) knowledge carried like tomes on the backs of donkeys or b) knowledge grasped and understood, having imparted wisdom to its holder on account of which he speaks and acts in the most appropriate way, being bound in all of that by the Book and Sunnah. And thus it becomes clear that outside of the personal realm, the aqeedah of Tawheed does not hold much worth or value to him in evaluating the plight and condition of nations, because if it did, it would have been centrepiece in his article. Instead, he confuses what is done of demonstrations and protests at the ground level as being in line with the Prophetic methodology of change at the ground level, an evil comparison indeed. And this is similar to the doctrine of Hizb al-Tahrir who portray the Prophetic methodology of da'wah as being a call to rouse the common people ideologically against the oppressive authorities, leading them from an ideological revolution to a physical revolution. And at the same time, these Tahriris, in their misguidance, claim that their change is "from the ground up" - which is the same deception of Yasir Qadhi. And this confusion from Yasir Qadhi has reasons behind it, refer to point FIVE further below for a little history of Yasir Qadhi in his days in Madeenah University in the late 1990s.
TWO: Yasir Qadhi's lie against the Prophetic methodology in da'wah and reform. For the methodology of the Prophets is to call to the worship of Allaah alone (see 7:59, 7:65, 7:73, 7:85 by way of example) and Egypt, just like countless other Muslim lands, is in dire need of this call on a broad scale. For it has been plagued, for over 1000 years since the time of the Baatiniyyah Ismaa'eeli Ubaydiyyah, with saint and idol-worship, and millions of Egyptians are upon this idol-worship today, worshipping the tombs of Sufi saints, in the presence of a collective consciousness in Egyptian society that the nation's well-being is tied to spiritual devotion to these "poles," meaning the Sufi saints. As for protesting against oppression in material matters this is from the ways of the Marxists, Communists and Socialists, who have an understanding of (social and economic) justice and injustice based on material matters. Those who followed them in their practical, physical methodologies were the likes of al-Mawdudi, al-Banna, al-Qutb and al-Nabahani, all of whom proposed revolutions of sorts as methods of reform, seeing the injustice of government and rule as being the first and most important of targets for reform - the falsehood of that was explained in Part 3a through amazing speech from the Prophetic Sunnah and from Ibn al-Qayyim. Shaykh Muhammad Khaleel Kharraas (a former Shaykh of al-Azhar who became Salafi) explains an important matter connected to the Tawheed of the Messengers which is highly relevant to Egypt and other lands, he says, in Da'wah al-Tawheed (p. 231):
And strange it is that these Ash'arites hold that the most specific and unique quality of al-Uloohiyyah is being singled out with creating and inventing!! It is known that being singled out in creating is Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah which the pagans used to affirm. As for the greatest, most important Tawheed - which is Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah - then they do not give it concern, and no mention of it is found in their books, and perhaps this is the secret behind many of them plunging into the innovation of tasawwuf and affirming ways and means comprising Shirk which are performed at the tombs of buried Shaykhs.
So here we see that Tawheed al-Asmaa wal-Sifaat and Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah are the true foundations for the rectification of the society because they address the greatest of dhulm (oppression) that has a direct bearing upon the public security and economic welfare of Muslim nations and societies by explicit textual evidence from the Qur'an. But of no concern is this to Yasir Qadhi in his praise of the Egyptian populace [and what it comprises of Atheists, Communists, Socialists, Christians and Muslim sects such as the Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Soofiyyah, Ittihaadiyyah, Raafidah] and their protest against material injustice!
THREE: The flaw in Yasir Qadhi's aql (reason) and the confusion in his mind, because the actual "change" in this scenario is that the Egyptian populace [in what it comprises of Atheists, Communists, Socialists, Christians and Muslim sects such as the Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Soofiyyah, Ittihaadiyyah, Raafidah] were aroused and mobilized because they wanted to change the government and its policies. The actual target and focus of change was the government. However, Yasir Qadhi does not portray it this way and says instead, in what is an indication of the confusion in his mind, "And in this, we learn from the Prophetic methodology: change must begin at the ground level, bottom-up, and not top-down. Change begins in the heart and in the home, and it shall eventually reach the streets and shake the foundations of government." And this shows either his ignorance or deception or both, for what is going on here is that these demonstrations and protests indicate no desire for change in the hearts of the people with respect to: a) eliminating idol-worship from their midst, and banishing innovations, and forbidding sin and disobedience to Allaah, and b) establishing the light of Tawheed and Sunnah and enjoining piety and humility to Allaah. This is the true and real change which begins in the heart, at the ground level, and this desired change is plain and manifest in the revealed texts and it is the methodology of the Prophets in calling to Allaah and in reforming societies and nations. The change they are after is change in government and establishment of justice in material matters. Yasir Qadhi, considers Egyptians [Atheists, Communists, Socialists, Christians and Muslim sects such as the Jahmiyyah, Mu'tazilah, Soofiyyah, Ittihaadiyyah, Raafidah] protesting against dhulm (oppression) in material matters to be a lesson learned from the Prophetic methodology. By Allaah what a great lie against the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and a lie against the Divine methodology. All Yasir Qadhi has done is to combine the misguidance of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimoon and Hizb al-Tahrir and the Jamaa'ah of al-Mawdudi and the Qutbiyyah and then throw it collectively at the Prophetic methodology through these cheap words which are aimed at winning the sentiments of his audience. A truthful word is bitter and brings with it scorn and rebuke and this is why only Salafi scholars will speak it - as they have done on this matter - because they speak with sound reason, and pseudo-intellectuals like Yasir Qadhi cannot speak it because the aqeedah of Tawheed is not venerated to the degree that it is in the hearts of Salafi Scholars and those upon their way - and that's the difference between the light of wahy (revelation) comprising true aql (reason) and hikmah (wisdom) and between the waverings and uncertainties inherent in the fikr (thought) and ra'i (opinion) of thinkers.
FOUR: Alongside our explanation of these matters, it does not mean that we do not wish for the Egyptian people or any other Muslim nation what Yasir Qadhi wishes for them (justice, peace, security), since wishing good for the Muslims is not the exclusive monopoly of the Ikhwanis, Tahriris, Qutbis and others from the Hizbiyyeen, as they claim. However, our mashrab (drinking place) is not the same drinking place as that of Yasir Qadhi or that of the various jamaa'aat (parties, groups) whose way Yasir Qadhi is following. Our drinking place is the methodology of the Prophets in da'wah which comprises aql (reason) and hikmah (wisdom) and Qadhi's drinking place is somewhere else.
FIVE: The intellectual confusion of Yasir Qadhi in this matter has history behind it. In the days that Yasir Qadhi, apparently, was upon the Salafi way (and there is doubt about that in fact) he made his now infamous remark in a gathering in the city of Madeenah, whilst he was a student in the late 90s, illustrating his ignorance even at that time, for he stated in a meeting arranged to discuss issues raised about him, that (منهجي ضعيف يا شيخ), "My manhaj is weak O Shaykh" and there is no doubt that even whilst he claimed to cling to the Salafi way, he was upon ignorance and confusion. For if his eyes and heart were actually open at that time, in the late 90s, he could not have failed to witness the intense and fierce war being made by those following the methodology of the Prophets, the methodology of the Salaf in da'wah and reform against those following the practical methods of the Marxists, Communists and Socialists from them, the Qutbiyyah and Surooriyyah, who had let loose in Saudi Arabia, the likes of Safar al-Hawali and Salman al-Awdah, puppets of Muhammad Qutb and Muhammad Suroor respectively. Which Salafi did not know of the book "The Methodology of the Prophets in Calling to Allaah, Which Contains Aql (Reason) and Hikmah (Wisdom)"? A monumental defence and exoneration of the methodology of the Prophets from the false claims of the Qutbiyyah and Surooriyyah who were trying to portray the Prophetic methodology as Marxist, Communist revolutions and all that they contain of secrecy, dissimulation, underground movements, pledges and allegiances and the murky world of party politics. So during that period, when this intense war was taking place, Yasir Qadhi was in the heart of the city where several notable Scholars were at the forefront of defending Sunnah and Salafiyyah from these sects and their extremist ideologies. He admitted his ignorance at that time, but unfortunately that jahl (ignorance) has remained with him. Except that it festered like a boil and mixed with hawaa (desire) and lo and behold - leave the Qutbiyyah and Surooriyyah to one side - ten years later he is hugs and kisses with the Jahmite grave-worshippers, enemies to Ahl al-Sunnah and combatants against the Tawheed of the Messengers in both Uloohiyyah and Asmaa wal-Sifaat, he signs agreements with them and lauds some of them and praises them. And this is what happens when the veneration of Tawhid and aqidah diminishes in the heart of an individual for if it was truly venerated and given its due right, we would have seen Yasir Qadhi write about it in his article, and make it centrepiece. Instead we see a confused aql (intellect) and misguided sentiments. There is doubt as to whether this man was Salafi in the first place, because knowing al-Ruboobiyyah, al-Uloohiyyah, al-Asmaa wal-Sifaat, and refuting the Sufis and the Shi'ites and others (academically) does not actually make you a Salafi. It is not until you hold practically to all of the usool (foundations) of the Sunnah in belief, speech and action, and shun the innovations, desires and their people, and thereafter remain steadfast upon that for time - being guided by the Scholars that were alluded to specifically in the Prophetic Sunnah, present in every time, carrying the authentic knowledge and sound religion, not being harmed by the deserters and opposers - only then can you be said to be upon the Salafi way. Yasir Qadhi openly frees himself from this way in his recent interview with Interfaith Radio, and this is sufficient in indicating his misguidance and absence of aql (see Ibn Taymiyyah), and this is whilst noting that we question his claim to Salafiyyah in the first place. This makes his own self-expulsion from Salafiyyah meaningless and nothing but vainglorious arrogant speech in reality.
SIX: In conclusion, Yasir Qadhi has proven through his statements regarding Egypt that aql is not with him and is in fact with Salafiyyah and is found in the methodology of the Prophets, alongside hikmah (wisdom) and that fikr (thought) and ra'i (opinion) of pseudo-intellectuals is no match for revelation, no match for the Prophetic Sunnah and no match for Salafiyyah which never opposes sound reason and which is pure Islaam, by definition.
This concludes our use of Yasir Qadhi's speech on Egypt as a means of analysis for his claim that Salafi Islam is not intellectually stimulating enough (for him and his likes) and cannot solve modern problems. Next, we will summarize the important lessons from these three articles (regarding Egypt) and then move onto the next issue, which is Yasir Qadhi's signed agreements with Jahmite grave-worshippers and use that as a second matter by which we determine whether aql (reason) is with Salafiyyah and the divinely revealed texts or with the fikr and ra'i of Yasir Qadhi.
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