AL MANHAJ WAL MINHAJ

Many people speak about the best manhaj to follow in order to accomplish our objective
or mission in this life, which is to please Allah (swt) in this Dunya by practicing and
establishing His deen in order to earn his pleasure and paradise in the hereafter.

The question however rises, 'what is the true manhaj?' Especially when every person is
following his own desires claiming that his desires are correct and in accordance to the
Qur'an and Sunnah while he innovates many issues in the deen, yet he exhausts utmost
effort to read the text and lay down it's neck in order to make it match with his
innovation. When that happens, it becomes essential for the scholars of Ahl Al Sunnah
Wal Jama'ah to lay down certain guidelines and frameworks to become a milestone for
their own belief and straight method, so that that can become a guide for anyone who
seeks to know the truth, and so that way can become known as Al Manhaj or Al Minhaj.

This article, we will highlight the meaning of the Manhaj linguistically and juristically
among Ahl Al Sunnah Wal Jama'ah. It has been reported in the Arabic dictionaries like
Mu'jam Maqayees Al Lugha for linguistic scholar ibn Faris v5 p361 and in Qanoos al
muheet for Fairuz Abadi p266 about the manhaj in the Arabic language,

"The manhaj and minhaj in it's origin meanings Tareeq ul wadih (the clear path) for Allah
says, "for each of you we made shari'ah and minhaj." [EMQ 5:48], the shari'ah is the deen
and the minhaj is the method of that deen."

Furthermore, Al Haafidh ibn Kathir in his tafseer v2 p66 said,

"The minhaj is the simple clear way (Al Tareeq Al Waadih Al Sahl)."

And Imam Shawkaani said the same thing and attributed it to the linguistic scholar ibn ul
Mubarrid.
As far as the juristic understanding, the Manhaj is

"Al Deen Al Islam and it's method."

Because Allah (swt) says,

"The deen with Allah is Al Islam." [EMQ 3: 19]

Therefore, the divine manhaj is Al Islam, which means the clear and simple path with the
divine Sunnah by it's main three pillars: (i) Holding to the revelation – the Qur'an and (ii)
the Sunnah, (iii) following what the companions of the messenger Muhammad (saw)
used to be upon.

Verily, the manhaj is the infallibility which Allah (swt) granted to whom he holds not to
fall on deviation and misguidance and it is the measurement that all the sayings and the
actions of the people will be measured with in order to distinguish between the good and
the bad, the Haq (truth) and the Batil (falsehood). That is the manhaj, and that manhaj is
called Ahl Al Sunnah Wal Jama'ah.

The evidences for the above three pillars for the manhaj of Ahl Al Sunnah are because
Allah (swt) says,

"O you who believe, Obey Allah and obey the messenger and those in authority among
you and if you dispute in any matter return back to Allah and his messenger if you
believe in Allah and the hereafter, that is better and the best understanding." [EMQ 4: 59]

In this Ayah Allah ordered us to refer to the Qur'an and Sunnah, and as for 'those in
authority among you', that is evidence for the third pillar. Many mufassireen from the
Ulemaa said,
"The obedience to ulil amr is to follow what the salaf from the ummah (pious
predecessors) from the Sahabah and those who followed them and what they have
consensus upon as a decisive proof, and whatever they differ in, attribute back to the
Qur'an and Sunnah."

This understanding is manifested clearly by Sheikh ul Islam ibn Taymiyyah in Majmou'

Al Fattawa v20 p164, where he combined in one sentence all the pillars of the manhaj of
Ahl Al Sunnah wal jama'ah:

"The deen of the Muslim is based on following the Qur'an and the Sunnah and what is
agreed upon amongst the Ummah (i.e. he also explained elsewhere that when he
mentions 'ummah' he means the Sahabah), this is the main three infallible foundations
and whenever there is a dispute amongst the ummah we will refer back to Allah and his
Messenger."

Therefore, we Muslims whom Allah blessed us with the Ni'ma (blessing) of Islam, we
must remember that Allah does not accept from us any deen except the deen of Islam and
Allah (swt) makes his book as the Furqan, the distinction between the people of Islam
from the people of Shirk, Kufr, Idols, Cross - for Allah (swt) says,

"Whosoever seeks any Deen instead of Al Islam, it will never be accepted from him."
[EMQ 3: 85]

So we must hold to the foundation of our Deen and ally with it's people and we must be
free and keep away and denounce the Kufr and the Shirk and it's people for Allah (swt)
says,

"O people fear your lord and repent to him, he will send to you from the heavens a lot of
provision and increase your strength with more strength and do not ally with the
disbelievers." [EMQ Hud: 52]
And Allah (swt) says,

"For those who respond to their lord is paradise and for those who did not respond to
him, they will have a bad accounting and their residence is hellfire and the worst
settlement even if they had all that is in the Earth and something similar to compensate it
will never be a ransom for them." [EMQ Ra'd: 18]

In addition, we must go forward and support the deen of Allah and implement it and fight
for it in order to fulfill his promise and grant us victory, for Allah (swt) says,

"O you who believe, if you support Allah, He will support you and make your feet firm."
[EMQ 47: 7]

And what is agreed upon among the Muslims without any dispute is that the meaning of
'if you support Allah' means that if you do what Allah has ordered you to do, He will
support you and grant you victory over your enemy. And Allah (swt) says,

"Allah promises those who obey him and do the good deeds to grant them power and
authority the way he granted authority to those before them and to make them strong in
the Deen – the one who He has chosen for them, and that He will replace their state from
fear to the security, 'they will worship me and will not associate any partners with me,
and whoever disbelieves after this they are the fasiqun. " [EMQ Nur: 55]

All victory is in the hands of Allah and He is the only one who can grant the victory, and
those who think that they can get victory from anywhere else are only fooling
themselves, Allah (swt) says,

"Those who think they have soldiers to support them instead of Allah, they are the
disbelievers and only in ghuroor (delusion)." [EMQ Mulk: 20]
The victory is only from Allah and only for those who deserve it, those who follow the
Deen and the manhaj of the Salaf and Imam Maalik commented on these two ayaat,

"Whatever was not at that time the Deen, cannot today become the Deen and there is no
way for the latter (generations) of the Ummah to recover except what has been recovered
from the first generations."