Ask Before Judging

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

AlhamduliLlah we are ṭarīqah. There is Naqshbandī, Qādiri, Rifāi, etc. All ṭarīqahs are the same. There is ṭarīqah but there must be knowledge also of sharī’ah. Sharī’ah has madhhab. There is no ṭarīqah without madhhab. There must be madhhab with ṭarīqah. There are four madhhabs: Hanafi, Shāfi’i, Māliki, Hanbali. Whichever you follow of these four madhhabs, you’ll be on this road.

We must say this. People here sometimes think that when the imām doesn’t say “BismiLlahi r-Rahmani r-Rahīm” loudly, that this is out of Islām, out of sharī’ah. So you must know. When you see something like this, you must ask, “What is this? What is that?” Not directly judging. If you judge without knowing, it’s a great wrong; it’s not good.

It is a sin also because if you’re considering that act out of sharī’ah and judging without knowledge, you’ll be punished for that. Because you make fitnah and without knowing it, you make people have doubt. There are four madhhabs. You ask each, “What is this? What do you do in this case? What’s the rule for this? What’s the judgement on that?” After that, you’ll know.

For this, you must be careful. Even our people, when they see something, they quickly become angry. Don’t do that. Just ask. Because half of knowledge is in asking. No need to get angry without knowing.

Because there are many people – especially those out of the four madhhabs – who say, “There’s no need for madhhab.” And of course about ṭarīqah, they say, “This is bid’ah. This is shirk.” But even about madhhabs, they say, “There’s no need for madhhab. You can act by yourself.” This is not true at all. Many people go out of īmān and out of Islām when following that.

So, don’t hurry [in judgment] about anything. Just ask if it’s really out of Islām. Then, you know, “This what we do is not good.” If you just had doubts and your doubts were wrong, you say, “AlhamduliLlah we didn’t say anything, so we won’t be asked [from Allāh ﷻ] for what we said.”

May Allāh ﷻ keep us on His ﷻ way. May Allāh ﷻ fill our hearts with īmān, nūr of īmān, light of īmān, in shā’a Llāh. Allāh ﷻ makes the Mu’min see with the light of Allāh ﷻ put in his heart. In shā’a Llāh, may Allāh ﷻ make all of us be like this, in shā’a Llāh.

We are not talking about everybody but there are people who do this. Once you see something like this, say you don’t know and ask about it. May Allāh ﷻ keep us, all of us, safe from shayṭān and his followers.

May we be a guide for others also, guidance for this beautiful country. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla made ‘Adam ‘alayhi s-salām take his first step on this land, on this Island. May Allāh ﷻ bless you. May we be together forever in shā’a Llāh.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

•⁠ ⁠Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbaniق

8 November 2026/ 28 Jumada al-Awwal1448

Fajr Prayer – Sri Lanka

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