All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all that exists, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and companions. To proceed:

Recently, a statement attributed to one of the Salaf has been circulating on social media: “If I see one of my brothers with alcohol dripping from his beard, then I’ll say perhaps it spilled on him. And if I see him on top of a mountain saying, ‘I am your Lord, the Most High’, then I would say he is reciting the Quranic verse.”

However, despite my research using the sources available to me, I was unable to ascertain the origin of this statement. Nevertheless, I would like to address some points concerning the intention behind spreading this statement.

First Point:

Not all bad suspicions are prohibited, and the one who holds them is not necessarily deserving of sin. Allah, the Most High, says,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ

“O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed, some suspicions are sins.” (al-Hujurat 49:12)

This verse indicates that while some suspicions may constitute sin, not all do.

Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (rahimahullah) commented on this verse, stating, “Allah, the Most High, is advising believers to trust in Him and His Messenger and to refrain from harbouring excessive suspicions about fellow believers. This implies that not every suspicion is accurate or justified, as Allah said, ‘Avoid much suspicion,’ without saying ‘all suspicion.’ (Jami‘ al-Bayan 22/302)

As for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu ‘anhu) where the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Beware of suspicion, for indeed, suspicion is the most untruthful of speech, and do not spy on one another.’:

Al-Qurtubi (rahimahullah) commented on this hadith, “Our scholars have explained that the suspicion mentioned here and, in the verse, refers to baseless accusations. Therefore, the prohibition and warning apply specifically to unfounded accusations, such as accusing someone of committing adultery or consuming alcohol without any evidence to support the accusation. The evidence for this understanding is in Allah’s statement, ‘…and do not spy…’ This is because a person may initially harbour suspicions in their heart and then seek to verify them through spying, searching, observing, and eavesdropping. The Prophet ﷺ prohibited such behaviour.”

Second Point:

What is inferred from the statement being circulated is the importance of maintaining positive suspicions about people at all times, which is not supported by textual evidence. Allah’s statement, “…indeed, some suspicions are sins,” clearly indicates that harbouring such suspicions is prohibited, as previously mentioned. Similarly, the Prophet’s statement, “Don’t hurry! She is Safiyyah,” serves as clear evidence of the obligation for a believer to avoid situations that may lead others to harbour negative suspicions about them. Al-Khattabi (rahimahullah) commented on this hadith, stating, “We understand from this hadith that a person must be cautious of engaging in any behaviour that may be disliked or lead others to have negative suspicions about them. It is incumbent upon them to safeguard their reputation by openly disassociating themselves from anything that may give rise to doubt in the hearts of others.”

Third Point:

Whoever puts himself in a place of accusations should not rebuke or criticise those who have bad suspicions about him. Therefore, it is not appropriate to have good suspicions about those who innovate in religion, oppose the Sunnah, deviate from the straight path, and hold false principles. Having good suspicions about such individuals while they persist in this state is heedlessness, transgression, and a betrayal of the truth; it amounts to aiding falsehood.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said, as transmitted through various chains of narration, “Whoever puts himself in a place of accusations should not blame those who have bad suspicions about him.” (al-Zuhd of Abu Dawud)

The methodology of the Salaf is to warn against innovators and to stay away from them, especially after their true nature becomes clear and the truth is manifest and apparent. Al-Hasan (rahimahullah) said, “We lived in a time where having bad suspicions about people was forbidden, but now you live in a time where you should do good, remain quiet, and think about people however you wish.” By this statement, al-Hasan means that it is permissible to have bad suspicions about people based on indicators. Ibn Muflih (rahimahullah) said, “The author of Nihayat al-Mubtadi said, ‘It is commendable to have good suspicions about religious people, although what is apparent from al-Hasan’s statement is that it is not obligatory. What is also apparent is that having good suspicions about evil people is not advisable, and it seems that having evil thoughts about such people is not prohibited.’” (al-Adab al-Shar‘iyyah 1/88)

Shaykh ‘Allamah Muhammad Salih al-Uthaymin (rahimahullah) said, “If it is known from a person that he deserves bad suspicions, then there is no problem in having bad suspicions about them to protect oneself from harm, because having good thoughts about them might lead you to trust them excessively, which should not be the case.” (Explanation of al-Hilyah)

In this regard, Ibn Hazm (rahimahullah) said, “Regarding having bad suspicions, some people criticise it without restrictions, but it is only problematic if it leads to actions that are impermissible in religion or if it causes someone to treat others poorly. Otherwise, it is resoluteness and having resoluteness is virtuous.” (Mudawat al-Nufus pg. 109)

Fourth Point:

What we have mentioned is the detailed research of the scholars, they did not speak with generalised speech driven – at the very least – by emotion, if not motivated by silence towards innovators and spreading their falsehoods.

Ali ibn Abi Khalid said: I said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullah): “This Shaykh – who accompanied us – is my neighbour, and I have warned him about a certain man, and he would like to hear your opinion about him: Harith al-Qasir – meaning Harith al-Muhasibi. Many years ago you saw me with him and you said to me: ‘Do not sit with him.’ So what do you say about him?” At that, I saw Ahmad’s face turn red, his cheeks bulging, and his eyes widening, which I had never seen before. Then he started to get up, saying: ‘That person, may Allāh deal with him. No-one knows regarding that person except someone who is well-acquainted and knows him. Uwwih, Uwwih, Uwwih^[1]. No-one knows him except the one who is well-acquainted and knows him. Al-Maghāzilī, Ya‘qūb and so and so sat with him and he took them [away from the sunnah] to the opinion of Jahm, they were destroyed because of him. The man said: “O Abū Abdullāh, he narrates hadith, he is humble and has tranquility, and he is like this and like that. Abū Abdullāh became angry and said: “Do not be deceived by his humility, and gentleness, do not be misled by the lowering of his head, for he is an evil man, no-one knows him except the one who is well-acquainted with him. Do not talk to him and there is no honour for him. Do you sit with every innovator who narrates hadiths from the Messenger of Allāh?! No, and there is no honour for him!” then Imam Ahmad continued saying, “That man, that man…” [Tabaqat al-Hanabilah (1/234)]

Abdullah (rahimahullah) said in his book ‘Al-Sunnah’: “I heard my father (Imam Ahmad) saying, ‘Whoever says ‘my recitation of the Qur‘an is created’, this is a vile and wicked statement, and it is the speech of the Jahmiyyah.’” I said to him, ‘Husayn al-Karabisi says this.’ He replied, ‘He is lying. May Allah disgrace him, the vile one.’” [al-Sunnah (1/165)].

Ibn Muflih al-Maqdisi (rahimahullah) said: Ibn Hubayrah al-Wazir al-Hanbali said: “By Allah, it is not permissible to have good thoughts about those whom have taken the creed of the Rafidah, or those who oppose the Shariah.” What he means by ‘those who oppose the Shariah’ are the people of falsehood, and Allah knows best. [al-Adab al-Shar‘iyyah (1/60)]

Al-Allamah Ibn Baz (rahimahullah) said: Allah, the Most High, said, “O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed, some suspicions are sins.” So, Allah commands avoiding much suspicion, not all suspicion, and He said, “Indeed, some suspicions are sin,” and did not say all suspicion is sin. This indicates that having bad suspicions is permissible if its signs are apparent, and one sees its indicators. Bad thoughts are had regarding those who place themselves in positions of accusation and suspicion.

He also said: “It is not permissible for a person to have doubts and bad suspicions about his brother, unless he sees signs that permit it. There is no harm for him if he sees him placing himself in positions of accusation and associating with the wicked, as he is in a place of suspicion. As for a person whose outward appearance is good and righteous, then having bad suspicions in this case is not permissible…When one knows about a group of people that they place themselves in positions of accusation, associate with the wicked, and act inappropriately, then one should have bad suspicions regarding them until Allah guides them and they repent.”

Shaykh Zayd ibn Muhammad al-Madkhali (rahimahullah) said: “It is permissible to have bad suspicions about someone when there are reasons for it, such as if you see him becoming angry when the innovators are mentioned, criticised and warned against with a general warning or you hear him defend them as groups or individually. Or if there are indications showing that the person waters down the methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah. In such cases, do not promote him or advise taking knowledge from him until it becomes clear to you that he has left this way and only then you can guide the students of knowledge to take knowledge from him. If it becomes clear to you that he supports innovators even by promoting them and not criticising them, beware of him and warn against him.” [al-Ajwibah al-Athariyyah ‘an al-Masa’il al-Manhajiyyah pg. 93]

Al-Allamah al-Fawzan (hafidhahullah) said: “Having bad suspicions about the people of evil and corruption is required, as it leads to staying away from them and hating them.”

Side Benefit: The Hadith “Protect yourself from the people by having bad suspicions” is not authentic.

Al-Albani said in “Al-Silsilah al-Da‘ifah” under Hadith 156: “Very weak.”

Written by [Shaykh] Muhammad ibn Ghalib al-‘Umari

2/2/1436^AH (Corresponds with 24/11/2014)

Read the original Arabic article here

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Footnotes:

[1] A word which is said when displeased with something or someone.