Farhat Hashmi and Zakir Naik: Their definition of Straight Path

A question that continues to bother most Muslims is, "Which Islamic group, party or organization is on the right path?". Zakir Naik and Farhat Hashmi have created a perception amongst Muslim's that "They (meaning Zakir and Farhat) are on the Truth and what they are telling the masses is the Absolute Clear Truth. Conversely, they have no hesitation in educating and brainwashing the masses by accusing "Maulvis", "Mullah's", Madrasa's, Hanafi's, Maliki's, Shafi's and Hanbali's of causing disunity and dissention in this Ummah."

A lot of Muslim's tend to get confused by this information. Who is telling the truth? Won't that be a fair question? Because Zakir and Farhat claim to follow the prestine Quranic and Sahih Hadith guidelines. The "fat" bellied "Mullah's" have been protrayed as Statues of Buddha who are supposedly feeding on the masses for their personal gains. These "Mullah's" are accused of creating "turf wars" within their mosques, and supposedly issuing fatwas about beard, cap, burqa and "fiddly" things that have nothing to do with Truth and Justice. But this is all an absolute lie! Muslims also get confused as to HOW can Zakir and Farhat be wrong? These people are contributing immensely towards the betterment of the deen, and people are changing their lives towards becoming better practicing Muslims. In this post I like to address this confusion.

The Litmus Test
We all have 5-senses. When we are out trying to buy oranges do we carry the Quran and Hadith to see what orange would match the principles of Quran and Hadith? Other than the fact that Orange is Halal we exercise our 5-senses (smell, taste, touch, sight & hearing) when buying Oranges. Right? This also applies in matter of deen. We have our 5-senses to gauge if a certain person is giving the whole truth, half truth or absolute garbage. This is the first thing we all need to apply when making certain simple decision's of life. Common sense is part of this exercise.

Secondly, the poplular Hadith of Rasullullah (Sallahu alayhi wa sallam) that there will be 72 sects in Islam, and only ONE will be on the right path. It is this particular hadith that Zakir and Farhat use to their advantage by giving people the idea that the Maulvi's the "followers of the four schools" are the misguided sects. Zakir and Farhat then boldly claim that they are "followers of Rasullullah sallahu alayhi wa sallam" and NOT the "followers of Imaam Abu Hanifa". In there catechism they ask the people, "WHO IS BETTER? A MUSLIM THAT TAKES RASULLULLAH (SALLAHU ALAYHI WA SALLAM) AS HIS/HER IMAAM OR THE ONE WHO FOLLOWS IMAAM ABU HANIFA?" May Allah forgive Zakir and Farhat Hashmi for misguiding people for causing confusion with this apparently very "clear" question.

The Answer:First and foremost, 100% of the time the Salafi's, including Zakir Naik and Farhat Hashmi NEVER tell their followers the full contents of the hadith that mentions the 72 sects in Islam and that only one (1) will be on the right path. The messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave a very precise and clear answer, unlike the misguided questions raised by Zakir and Farhat. So, who is the "Firqatun Naajiyah" (Rightly Guided Sect/Group)? The messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) answered as follows: "maa ana alayhi wa ashaabi" [(those who) follow my way and (the way of my) sahaaba]. He (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not say "Follow the Quran and Sahih Hadith?"He (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not say, "I am your Imaam, hence, only follow me?" Did he say that? No, he did not. So, where did Farhat Hashmi and Zakir Naik concoct questions that are designed to mislead people - meaning that their Imaam is the Messenger of Allah, whereas, Millions of other Muslims have different Imaams viz Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi & Hanbali. It is nothing but a blatant lie! This type of misleading information can not be excused. Till the day of judgment the truthful statement of rasullullahi sallahu alayhi wa sallam is etched in stone, "maa ana alayhi wa ashaabi". Thus, it is incumbent us to refute people like Zakir and Farhat for their negative propaganda.

If Zakir Naik and Farhat Hashmi are willing to lie and tell people that "their Imaam is Rasoolullah sallahu alayhi wa sallam and that they do not follow the opinion's of other men (like Abu Hanifa/Malik etc)," then why on earth do they blindly follow the research of Imaam Bukhari? Every single hadith has a chain of narrators. Hence, one has to blindly follow the narrator's words; one has to rely on the narrators information and research before one gets to read, "Qala Qala Rasullullah...."! In order to follow the messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) one has to follow Imaam Bukhari blindly, who was NOT AN ARAB (rather a non-Arab from Bukhara)! So, why are Zakir and Farhat following the Ajami Book from a non-Arab of Bukhara? Imaam Bukhari was not educated in Madinah University; or was he? When Zakir Naik and Farhat Hashmi blindly follow the research of Imaam Bukhari they never tell the people that we are following "Imaam Bukhari"; rather they lie and tell the people that their "Imaam is Rasullulahi sallahu alayhi wa sallam". But no one can claim to follow the messenger of Allah sallahua alayhi wa sallam until on agrees and accepts the research of the narrators of the Muhaditheen (like Imaam Bukhari and Imaam Muslim). But, when any other Muslim says we are following the research of Imaam Abu Hanifa, they are branded as a sect! This is a grave lie and a very misguiding concept presented to confuse people. May Allah protect us from such erroneous views.