INTRODUCTION

Islaam is a perfect Deen. Allaah Ta`aalaa states this in the Qur’aan Kareem:

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِيْنَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِيْ وَرَضِيْتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِيْناً

{“On this day I have perfected your Deen, completed My Favour upon you and chosen for you Islaam as your Deen.”} [Soorah al-Maa’idah, 5:3]

When something is perfect, there can be no alterations to it: no additions or subtractions, as additions and subtractions are only necessary when something is imperfect, in order to make it better. Allaah Ta`aalaa revealed a Perfect Deen and it is impossible for anyone to “improve it”.

Furthermore, Allaah Ta`aalaa also promised to protect this Deen, and this promise is repeated several times in the Qur’aan Kareem:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

{“Verily, We revealed Adh-Dhikr (the Qur’aan Kareem) and We are its Protectors.”} [Soorah al-Hijr, 15:9]

And Allaah Ta`aalaa says:

يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللَّهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ

{“They (the Kuffaar and Munaafiqeen) desire to extinguish the Noor of Allaah (the Deen of Islaam) with their mouths, but Allaah refuses except to perfect His Noor even though the Kaafiroon detest it.”} [Soorah at-Tawbah, 9:32]

And Allaah Ta`aalaa says:

يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ

{“They (the Kuffaar and Munaafiqeen) desire to extinguish the Noor of Allaah (the Deen of Islaam) with their mouths, but Allaah shall perfect His Noor even though the Kaafiroon detest it.”} [Soorah as-Saff, 61:8]

Allaah Ta`aalaa gave this Perfect Deen to Rasoolullaah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and it is perfect from every imaginable aspect, be it in terms of the `Aqeedah of Islaam, or the Sharee`ah of Islaam, or the Akhlaaq, Mu`aamalaat (business dealings) and Mu`aasharaat (social etiquettes) taught by Islaam, or the aspect of Tasawwuf/Tazkiyah/Sulook. Every single aspect of this Deen was perfect in the very lifetime of Rasoolullaah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and Sahaabah-e-Kiraam رضوان الله عليهم inherited this Perfect Deen from Rasoolullaah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and they were the best of heirs, protecting and preserving every aspect of the Deen with their lives and their wealth.

From Sahaabah-e-Kiraam رضوان الله عليهم, it then passed down to their students: the Taabi`een, and they were shining stars. The Taabi`een passed this Deen on to their students: the Atbaa`-ut-Taabi`een (the followers of the Taabi`een). This entire era of Sahaabah-e-Kiraam, Taabi`een and Atbaa`-ut-Taabi`een is known as the Khayr-ul-Quroon (Best of Times), and they were known as the Salaf-us-Saaliheen (The Pious Predecessors). The `Ulamaa who lived in this era dedicated their entire lives to the protection and imparting of this Deen.

The Atbaa`-ut-Taabi`een passed the Deen on to their students, who passed it on to their Students, and so on and so forth, down the 1,440 years of Islaam until it reached us today. At no point in this glorious History of Islaam was the Deen ever “lost”. No part of the Deen was ever “lost”, not even what people would consider “minute”, let alone the most important part, which was the `Aqeedah (Beliefs) of Islaam.

The idea that Islaam has been lost for a thousand years only to emerge when some “Imaam” emerges from some pit is a ridiculous Shi`a belief which no Muslim would ever pay heed to. Yet, the Salafis peddle a similar belief when they attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of people and have them believe that after the time of the Salaf, the entire Ummah lost the true `Aqeedah and it only re-emerged with Imaam  ibn Taymiyyah. Then, after Imaam ibn Taymiyyah passed away it was again lost until Muhammad  ibn `Abdil Wahhaab an-Najdi brought back the “true `Aqeedah of the Salaf”.

The false ideas peddled by the Salafis resulted and continue to result in argumentation, fights and confusion the world over, and it prompted one brother to request a clarification on these issues, and that is what we will attempt to do in this brief Kitaab, In Shaa Allaah.

A Salafi by the name of Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq, who is a Madkhali living in Birmingham, wrote a series of articles on Aqidah.com, a very well-known Madkhali Salafi website, and in these articles he shamelessly attacks the Ash`ari and Maatureedi Madhaahib of `Aqeedah which have been followed by the Muslim Ummah for over a thousand years. This is no surprise, because according to many Salafis, the Ash`aris and Maatureedis are in fact Kuffaar and are in the same category as the Raafidhah. There are explicit texts from their scholars unequivocally proclaiming this, thus no one should dismiss this as an exaggeration. Later in this Kitaab, we shall present some of these statements, In Shaa Allaah.

The brother has requested clarification on some of the issues posed by the Salafis and by Abu Iyaad in particular, in these articles of his.

Time is very short and most people are too busy to invest much of it into reading very lengthy refutations, thus we intend to keep this rebuttal concise and avoid dragging it out unnecessarily, so that people may be able to read, understand and benefit, In Shaa Allaah.

In this book, we will briefly discuss the following issues:

1. Who are the Madkhalis?
2. Answering the Brother’s Questions
3. Refuting a Baatil Article
4. A Brief Biography of Imaam al-Ash`ari
5. A Brief Biography of Imaam al-Maatureedi
6. The Praises of the `Ulamaa for Imaam al-Ash`ari and Imaam al-Maatureedi
7. The Vast Majority of the Ummah were Ash`aris or Maatureedis
8. The Anthropomorphism (Tajseem) of the Salafis
9. The Salaf Were Not Mujassimah (Anthropomorphists)
10. The Contradictions of the Heads of Salafiyyah
11. Conclusion

May Allaah Ta`aalaa make this effort a means of benefit to us and to all of those who read it, and may Allaah Ta`aalaa accept it,

آمين يا رب العالمين