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Quantity of followers was never the tool to know/test the truth- Shaikh Al-Albani [rahimahullah] |
The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said,
“No Prophet from amongst the Prophets will have as many followers as me.Indeed, there will be from amongst the Prophets he who had no one believing in him, except one man.” [1]
Imaam Muhammad Naasirud-Deen al-Albaanee (d.1420H) commented upon this hadeeth, saying,
“In this hadeeth is a clear proof that the abundance of followers, or lack thereof is not the measuring standard that indicates whether the caller is upon truth or falsehood. So even though the da’wah of these Prophets – ’alayhimus-salaatu was-salaam – was one and their Religion was one, their varied with regards to the numbers of their followers. Some of them had many and some of them had a few, to the extent that some had no one to believe in them except one man. Rather, there was from amongst them he who had not a single follower!So in this is a profound lesson for the callers and those who are being called in this age of ours. So it is obligatory upon the caller to remember this reality. He must remain for a long time in the path of calling to Allaah the Exalted, and he must not pay any attention to the scarcity of those who answer him, because there is nothing upon him, except to convey the message clearly. And he has the best example in the previous Prophets who did not have anyone with them other than one or two men!So the one being called upon must not despair due to the scarcity of those who answer the caller, and he must not take that as a reason for doubting in the da’wah of truth and thus abandon eemaan (faith) in it, let alone that he would take that as an indication of the falsity of the da’wah with the argument that no one is following this caller, or that only a few are following him. And if his da’wah were truthful, the majority of the people would not follow him! Allaah the Mighty and Majestic said,“And most of mankind will not believe, even if you desire it eagerly.” [Soorah Yoosuf 12:103].” [2]
Footnotes:
[1]: Related by Muslim (1/130).
[2]: Refer to Silsilatul-Ahaadeethis-
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The Majority is not a Proof, by Shaikh Saalih Al-Fawzan (hafidhahullaah)
From
the characteristics of the people of the Days of Ignorance is that they
would view the majority as proof that something was true and the
minority as proof hat something was false. So according to them,
whatever the majority of the people was upon, that was the truth. And
whatever the minority was upon, that was not the truth. In their eyes,
this was the balance used to determine truth from falsehood.
However,
this is wrong, for Allah says: And if you obey most of those on earth,
they will mislead you far away from Allah’s path.
They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but lie. [Surah Al-An'aam, ayah 116]
And He says:
But most of mankind doesn’t know. [Surah Al-A'raaf, ayah 187]
And He says:
And most of them We found to be not true to their covenant, but most of them We found indeed to be evil sinners. [Surah Al-A'raaf, ayah 102]
So
the balance is not the majority and the minority. Rather, the balance
is the truth. So whoever is upon the truth – even if he is by himself –
he is the one who is correct and deserves to be emulated. And if the
majority of the people are upon falsehood, then it is obligatory to
reject them and not be deceived by them. So consideration is given to
the truth. This is why the scholars say: “Truth is not known by way of
men, but rather men are known by way of the truth.” So whoever is upon
the truth, then he is the one we must follow and emulate.
In Allaah’s stories about the prior nations, He informs us that it is always the minority that is upon the truth, as Allah says:
And no one believed with him except for a few. [Surah Hood, ayah 40]
And
in a hadeeth in which the nations were presented to the Prophet, he
(sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that he saw a prophet who had a
small group of followers with him, and a Prophet who had a man or two
men following him, and another Prophet who had no one with him. (Sahih
Al-Bukhari).
So
consideration is not given to which opinion or view has the most
followers. Rather, consideration is given to its being either true or
false. So whatever is true, even though a minority of the people or no
one is upon it – so long as it is the truth – it must be adhered to, for
indeed it is salvation. Falsehood is not aided by the fact that it has a
majority of people following it – ever. This is a determining measure
that the Muslim must always abide by.
The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Islam began strange and it will return back to being strange as it began.” (Saheeh Muslim)
This
will occur at the time when evil, calamities and misguidance increase.
So no one will remain upon the truth except for the strange ones amongst
the people and those who extract themselves from their tribes (for the
sake of their religion). They will become strangers in their society.
The
Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was sent while the whole world
was submersed in disbelief and misguidance. And when he called the
people, only one or two answered his call. It was only until later on
that they grew to be many. The tribe of Quraish, not to mention the
whole of the Arabian Peninsula and the whole world, was upon
misguidance. And the Messenger of Allaah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
was the only one calling the people. So those who followed him were few
with respect to the entire world.
So
consideration is not given to the majority. Consideration is only given
to what is correct and to achieving the truth. Yes, if the majority of
the people are upon correctness, then that is good. However, the way of
Allaah is that the majority of the people is always upon falsehood.
And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly. [Surah Yoosuf, ayah 103]
And
if you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you far away from
Allah’s path. They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing
but lie. [Surah Al-An'aam, ayah 116]
* [In his sharh (explanation) of Imam Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab's (rahimahullaah) statement:From
the greatest of their principles was that they would be deluded by the
majority, using that to determine the correctness of a matter. They
would also determine the falsehood of something if it was strange and
that its adherents were few. So Allaah brought them the opposite of
that, clarifying this in many places of the Qur`an.]
Source: Sharh Masaa’il-ul-Jaahiliyyah (pg. 60-62) of Shaikh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab (rahimahullaah), via al-Ibaanah.
May ALLAH Helps us all to understand His Deen better, as it was understood by Pious Predecessor [As Salaf As Saalih]. Aaameeeen
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