Wickedness in Disputation

Culled from Nourishment of the Soul

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102

Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

Oh people:

I enjoin you and myself, to maintain consciousness of Allah, to adhere to the community, to cultivate pure hearts, and to break free from those hateful attachments that breed grudges, incite strife, and cloud a Muslim’s reason. Beware of discord and division, for they destroy communities and consume good character just as fire consumes wood:

وَمَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِن شَيْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبِّي عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ

Ash-Shura (42) 10: And in anything over which you differ – its verdict is [to be settled] by Allah. [Say], “That is Allah, my Lord; upon Him I have relied, and to Him I turn back.”

Conflict between people is an inevitable reality of life, except for those upon whom my Lord has shown mercy. This is because many associates transgress against one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and how few they are.

The natural state of humanity is the absence of conflict and dispute. However, discord arose ever since one of the sons of Adam killed the other. Since then, the situation shifted, making disputes and conflicts inescapable. This reality fluctuates and is in proportion to how close people are to their faith or how far they stray from it.

Disputes with adversaries are more intense than with friends. They are more severe between peers than between those who are distant. Among neighbors, they are harsher than within a single household. Between cousins, they are stronger than between siblings. And so it continues, conflicts tend to grow sharper the nearer people are to one another, especially when closeness is mixed with rivalry rather than affection.

For this reason, the radiant Shariah came to condemn dispute and resolve conflict. It warns against overstepping bounds during disagreements or deviating from the legitimate framework which is the pursuit of truth. The Shariah considers anyone who exceeds these limits to be tainted by a characteristic of the hypocrite namely, wickedness in dispute, which is the inclination toward falsehood and the transgression of limits and justice.

It is well known that human reality consists of either acts of worship or social dealings. Social dealings manifest as intentions, words, or deeds. Anyone who exceeds the limit in these three areas or violates them possesses a degree of “practical hypocrisy” proportional to what they have acquired of these traits. This is summarized in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ:

آيَةُ المُنَافِقِ ثَلاَثٌ: إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَانَ

The signs of a hypocrite are three: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays his trust. [Bukhari 33, Muslim 59]

In another narration—which is our focus here—it adds: “And whenever he disputes, he behaves wickedly.”

The wicked disputants are those who know that the truth is not on their side yet argue using falsehood. Thus, they fall into what Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, prohibited:

ولاَ تَأْكُلُواْ أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُواْ بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُواْ فَرِيقاً مِّنْ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ بِالإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Baqarah (2) 188: And do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin while you know [it is wrong].

Some of the righteous predecessors said: “This refers to a man who disputes without evidence while knowing that the right is against him.”

Since hypocrisy is baseness, then viciousness in disputes is a third of this baseness. It combines the ugliness of character with the vileness of speech. And thus baseness is followed by ugliness.

The fault does not lie in the mere existence of dispute itself. For conflict is an unavoidable reality among people, in matters of feelings and opinions, wealth and property, honor and reputation, and religion. For who is there that all people will be pleased with? And who is there that, if the noble and honorable are pleased with them, the base and ignoble will not be angered by them?

It is truly astonishing that some people find it easy to restrain themselves from consuming the forbidden, from adultery, oppression, and theft, yet find it nearly impossible to restrain their own tongues.

How often do we see someone who holds themselves above such indecencies and sins, yet their tongue tears through the honor of others without a second thought? They transgress against their opponent, while Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:

إِنَّ اللّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاء ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

An-Nahl (16) 90: Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If you reflect upon disagreements that occur within this Ummah, among its scholars, its worshippers, its leaders, and its authorities, you will find that most of it stems from this type of transgression, whether through misinterpretation or otherwise. The fundamental principle is that the blood, wealth, and honor of Muslims are sacred among them. They are not permissible except by the permission of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

Therefore, the wicked disputants recognize no limits or controls. To them, the end justifies the means, whether this wickedness occurs in matters of legal rights, core beliefs, or ethics.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَومٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْراً مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاء مِّن نِّسَاء عَسَى أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْراً مِّنْهُنَّ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ بِئْسَ الاِسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

Al-Hujurat (49) 11: O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one has returned to] faith. And whoever does not repent – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

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