What is Fitnah? by The 'Allaamah Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan

Bismillaah Al-Hamdulillaah wa salatu wa salaamu 'ala rasulullaah
Amma-ba'd

Allaah said (what means): ...And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing... (Al-Baqarah, ayah 191)

Abu Al-'Aliyah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and Ar-Rabi' bin Anas said this means -----> "Shirk (polytheism) is worse than killing."

Allaah said (what means): And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allaah) and (all and every kind of) worship is for Allaah (Alone). But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against adh-Dhalimoon (the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.) (Al-Baqarah, ayah 193)

Allaah said (what means): Say: "Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allaah is to prevent mankind from following the Way of Allaah, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid-al-Haraam (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants, and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And they will never cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion (Islaamic Monotheism) if they can. And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein forever." (Al-Baqarah, ayah 217)

Regarding Allaah's statement in this ayah which means: and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing, it means -------> trying to force the Muslims to revert from their religion - and re-embrace Kufr after they had believed - is worse with Allaah than killing.

Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged Version.
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About Allaah's statement (what means): And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad) commandment beware, lest some Fitnah befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them. (An-Nur, ayah 63), Imam Ahmad (rahimahullaah) said, "Do you know what fitnah is? The Fitnah is Shirk."
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Imaam Al-Awzaa'ee (rahimahullaah) said, "When innovations emerge and the People of Knowledge do not show rejection against them, they become the sunnah [in the mind of the ignorant]." [Tahdheeb Sharaf Ashaabul-Hadeeth of al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee]

Shaikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) said, "In fact, the kufr of Jews and Christians is because of bid'ah. They introduced new things into the religion and those things took them completely away from the true message of Musa (Moses) and 'Eesa (Jesus) 'alaihumma salam."

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Shaikh Saalih Al-Fawzan (hafidhahullaah) said about those who don't enjoin good and forbid evil, "they want evil for the people."

And there are others who refuse to forbid shirk and bid'ah because they fear the people.

The Mosques of Allaah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allaah and the Last Day; establish As-Salat and give Zakaat and fear none but Allaah. It is they who are expected to be on true guidance. (At-Tawbah, ayah 18)

Allaah, 'Azza wa Jal, said: It is only Shaitan who suggests to you the fear of his Auliya' [supporters and friends (polytheists, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah and in His Messenger Muhammad], so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers. (Aali-'Imran, ayah 175)

Commenting on this verse, Shaikh Al-Fawzan said:

"In this verse, Allaah, The Exalted, states that shaytan aims at making the believers afraid of his (shaytan's) allies and supporters, so that the believers may not fight them, nor command them to do good and forbid them from committing evil. Besides, Allaah forbids us to fear them and commands us to fear Him Alone, for this is a requisite of true faith. The more the servant's faith gets stronger, the less he fears Satan's supporters and vice versa." [Concise commentary on the Book of Tawhid]

This is also supported by the Qudsee Hadith in which Allaah commanded us to not belittle ourselves. The hadith was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa'eed (radiallaahu 'anhu), who said that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: Let not any one of you belittle himself. They said: O Messenger of Allaah, how can any one of us belittle himself? He said: He finds a matter concerning Allaah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allaah (The Mighty and Sublime) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such? He says: [It was] out of fear of people. Then He [Allaah] says: Rather, it is I whom you should more properly fear. (Ibn Majah)