A friend claims to see another person's sins
2-6-2004 | IslamWeb
Question:
I have a matter, which has been troubling me for some time.
I have a friend who went into Tableeghi Jaamaat and went to America for studies. Still now he is with the Tableeghi Jamaat.
When he came to visit us and his family, I met him at the airport since I had gone to pick him up. He did not come straight away from America, but he stayed in Pakistan (Raiwind) for 4 months for the Chilla.
What troubled me greatly was that when he came out and met me, he hugged me in a very different way.
What he did was, he placed his right shoulder on my chest and bent down on the left, keeping his face to the left.
Now I asked him why did he do that, he straightly refused to tell me and upon insistence, he said that he will tell me later.
I kept on asking him everyday on the phone but he just kept on refusing and kept on telling me that he will tell me later. Upon my continuous insistence ,, he told me that he hugged me the way he did when he first met me in the airport was due to the fact the "he can see my sins" which are displayed to him by a person on my left shoulder. So that is why he bent towards his left and touched his right shoulder on my chest.
I was shocked at first. I asked who told him all this and the manner to hug. He said that he told his Ameer of the Jammat that he was able to see the sins of other people. So the Ameer told him strictly not to tell anyone and to bend towards the right and touch your shoulder when you hug anyone.
I asked him to produce proof from Qur'an and Hadith but he said that Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) and the Shahabah did not tell any one about this since they thought that people would become scared of them and would not approach them.
After a lot of thinking and reading about Islam, I came upon this seeing of Sins as baseless. Since what I have read in many Ahadith is that Rasool had mentioned in his lifetime as this person would go to heaven and this one to hell.
Then I thought that this is more frightening than telling people about their sins since Sins might be forgiven by Allah on the day of judgement but when Rasool said that this person would go to heaven and this one to Hell. This is final since it is not He (Rasool) who knows but it is Allah who tells him about their final fate.
Can you please, provide more insight on this? Is there any basic for seeing sins of another person in Islam and also not telling anyone about it since Rasool and Sahaabah did not tell anyone, as my friend says?
Now the second question is that my same Tableeghi friend also told me that there is no such thing as logic in Islam.
Can you please explain and give me details on the above two questions. Awaiting your reply.
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
What you have concluded following your research in Islamic resources, that this matter is a lie, is correct. This matter is purely a lie. Claiming to know the sins of a particular person in the manner you described is claiming the knowledge of the Unseen. Nobody knows the Unseen but Allah, the Most-High. This is something absolute in the religion of Islam. Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (unseen) except Allâh,…}[27:65]. Allah, who has no partners or associates is the Only One who knows the Unseen.
Allah also Says (interpretation of meaning): {And with Him are the keys of the Ghaib (all that is hidden), none knows them but He……}[6:59].
The people of knowledge authoritatively assert that if a person is asked whether he knows the unseen and he says 'yes,' he is a Kafir. Because what he says denies what the texts have determined. When Allah negates a quality from His creation and confirms it only to Himself, then it is not possible that He have a partner in that quality.
Nothing is reported from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam), or his companions, or the pious predecessors about what your friend is claiming. Far be it from them to claim the knowledge of the unseen. This is just a product of Satan to astray those who lack knowledge and are weak in religion.
As regards logic, it is "A mechanism that protects the mind from error in thinking".
Al-Akhdari said in his book Al-Sulam Al-Murawnaq: 'Logic for the soul is like the grammar for the language, it protects ideas from error, and takes the veil off for a clear understanding.'
The study of logic became demanded by some modern authors for the study of some sciences like the principles of Fiqh jurisprudence, because a lot of its publications are published in a logical form. It is impossible to grasp their meaning except with the study of logic. Some people of knowledge came to the above conclusion, and amongst them Al-Ghazali in his book Al-Mustaspha, as he said: 'There is no confidence in the knowledge of a person if he does not know logic.'
Ibn Sahlan said in his book Al-Bassair Fi Ilm Al-Mantiq: 'The need for the (science of) logic is compulsory.' Al-Damnahuri and Abdel Raheem al-Jundi in their interpretation of the 'Al-Sulam' concluded the same thing.
Muhammad Al-Amin Al-Shanqitti also came to the same conclusion in his book 'Adab Al-Bahth wal-Munadhara'. Abdurraheem Al-Jundi, who explained the book Al-Sulam said: 'The difference (of opinion) is in the logic which is mixed with the sayings of philosophers, as with regard to the pure logic, then there is no one who prohibited to study or teach it.'
Among the books of logic which are free from philosophy is 'Al-Sulam al-Murawnaq, and its interpretation by al-Damnahouri and Al-Jundi, and the text of Issaghougi, etc.
Allah knows best.