BENEFIT 441: Tasfiyah, then Tarbiyah

Sheikh Abu Hazim Nafi' Al-Amoodi hafidahullah said (slightly paraphrased): "...In this is a refutation of those who merely gather people indiscriminately, whose main concern is assembling large numbers. It was never the way of the Prophet ﷺ to merely assemble people. His primary concern was Tasfiyah (purification) before Tarbiyah (cultivation). This is an authentic Prophetic methodology: the process of purifying before cultivating, and cleansing (of evil) before adorning (with good). Just as the first of the two pillars of Tawhid is to firstly negate (falsehood) before affirming (the truth), likewise, one must begin in their Da'wah with Tasfiyah before Tarbiyah. The first pillar of the the two pillars of Tawheed is negation, and this precedes affirmation (the second pillar). "There is no deity [worthy of worship] except Allah," begins with negation — “There is no deity” — and only then comes affirmation — “except Allah.” Negation, therefore, comes before affirmation; purification comes before adornment; correction before cultivation. One must first eliminate false beliefs and corrupt practices before instilling truth. If something pure and valuable is poured into a corrupted vessel, it will mix with the filth and lose its value — or even become harmful. For example, if you wish to offer someone a glass of milk or honey, but the cup is dirty, what should you do first? Clean the cup. Only then pour in the milk or honey so that it may benefit the one who drinks it. If you pour something precious — even pure honey or beneficial knowledge — into a filthy container, it may become harmful or poisonous. The recipient may not benefit from it at all. Thus, mixing truth with falsehood and combining sound doctrine with corrupt beliefs is not acceptable. One must first eliminate polytheistic practices, superstitions, and innovations before building the foundation of faith. This is contrary to the approach of some groups, such as Tablighi Jamaat, who emphasise participation regardless of the person’s beliefs. They might say, “It doesn’t matter if you wear amulets, hold superstitious beliefs, or even prostrate at graves — what matters is that you come with us and pray.” But this is unjust and deceitful. How can you allow someone to walk with you for forty days, still wearing charms and engaging in innovations, without knowing the essence of tawhid? What’s worse is when such a person is told, “It’s your turn to speak to the people,” even though he remains full of confusion and ignorance. What will such a person convey? What will he present when he himself hasn’t been purified? This contradicts the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ in Da'wah. It is very much similar to the way of Hizbiyyoon whose main concern is to call people and avoid pushing them away. No! This approach contradicts the way of the Prophet ﷺ, who was the most sincere and concerned for his ummah. Allah described him as: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” You cannot claim to be more compassionate than the Prophet ﷺ. He did not pledge allegiance to a man who wore a talisman until he removed it. He said, “Whoever wears a talisman has committed shirk.” Only after the man removed it did the Prophet ﷺ give him the pledge, and then began his nurturing and education. This is a refined and correct method: purification comes before cultivation. The emergence of today’s confusion and innovation in belief occurred when this principle was neglected. As a result, many people now carry mixed ideas and corrupted beliefs, and they neither benefit from the da'wah nor from knowledge — in fact, they may become a source of harm to others, especially fellow students of knowledge.