Praise be to Allah the Sovereign, the Holy, and, the Source of Peace, (Ta'ala), for His great boons and blessings, and I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah Who is alone without a partner, and I bear witness that our Master and Prophet, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), is His servant and Messenger; he is an example to believers and master of all creatures. O, Allah, send Your Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy) Peace and Blessings upon your servant and messenger, Muhammad (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), and upon his family and Companions constant peace and blessings that last as long as day and night alternate.

O, Muslims!

     Fear Allah, Oh servants of Allah, and remember that you stand between His hands (Ta'ala): "The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail (88), Except him who brings to Allâh a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifâq (hypocrisy)." [Ash-Shu‘arâ : 88-89]

O, Muslims!

     Perfect precaution to ward off Fitnah (sedition) and vigilance not to follow its path or be exposed to the causes that lead to encountering it are but the customary practice of sagacious people and the road taken by those who fear the Almighty even though unseen. It is also the approach pursued by those servants of Allah prompted by the power of their certitude and the perfect nature of their faith in those texts and Hadiths that came from Allah and His Messenger, (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), warning against the consequences of this Fitnah, indicating how to escape its evils, and guiding the way that should be followed when it occurs.

     At the forefront of this is what Allah (Ta'ala) said in His warning against it and in His pointing out the general evils that result therein: And fear the Fitnah [affliction and trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people), and know that Allâh is Severe in punishment. [Al-Anfâl: 25]; and the words of our Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam): “There will be Fitnahs (seditions) during which a sitting person will be better than the one standing, and the one standing will be better than the one walking, and the one walking will be better than the one running, and whoever exposes himself to these Fitnahs will be destroyed.”

     The gist of which is that whoever faces these Fitnahs in person, will be exposed to their harm.

      The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) also said: “Whoever found a shelter or haven [to protect himself [in it] let him resort to it.” [Narrated by the two Sheikhs in their Saheehs.]

     The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) also said: “Rush to perform  good deeds now  before Fitnahs of pitch-black darkness (appears) wherein a man wakes up as a believer and becomes a disbeliever by nightfall, and another man goes to bed as a believer and wakes up as a disbeliever selling his religion for some worldly commodities.”  [Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh, from the hadiths compiled by Abi Hurairah ()]

     There is no doubt that knowing the truth about Fitnah signals the first stage in warding off its dangers and preserving oneself from getting burnt with its fire.

     Fitnah as Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, is of two kinds: “The Fitnah of misconception, which is the greater of the two, and the Fitnah of lusts or desires. They may both be found in one person, or an individual may suffer from only one. The Fitnah of misconception results from weak perception or deficient learning especially if combined with a corrupt intention and the subservience to whim; then, we have the major Fitnah and the greatest catastrophe.”  

     You can say as much as you want about a person who has deviated  from the right path with bad intentions and whose deviation is actuated  by whim and not by right guidance and is accompanied by weakness of perception and deficiency of knowledge of what Allah and His Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) have said. Such a person is one of those about whom Allah has said: They are but names which you have named – you and your fathers – for which Allâh has sent down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the Guidance from their Lord! [An-Najm: 23]

    Allah (Ta'ala) has informed us that following one’s whim leads to going astray. He said: O Dâwûd (David)! Verily! We have placed you as a successor on the earth; so judge you between men in truth (and justice) and follow not your desire – for it will mislead you from the Path of Allâh. Verily, those who wander astray from the Path of Allâh (shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning. [Sâd: 26]

     Fitnah, O servants of Allah, leads to infidelity and hypocrisy. It is the Fitnah of the hypocrites and innovators according to the degree of their innovations. There is no salvation from such a Fitnah except through following the guidance of the Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) and deference to his judgment on the minutest points of religion and on religion as a whole, what is apparent in it and what is hidden or ambiguous, its beliefs and actions, and its confirmed tenets and laws.

     Thus we can receive from him (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) the true facts about belief and the laws of Islam, and the attributes, actions and names which he affirms about Allah and those he negates about Him. We also receive from him the obligation to perform prayers, their times and number, the amounts of Zakat  (charity) we should pay and their recipients, the obligation to perform ablution, fast Ramadan, and go on pilgrimage to Allah’s House in Makkah for those who can, and other canonical laws that pertain to Islam.

     Allah did not charge him to be His Messenger about certain matters and not others: he is His Messenger for everything that the nation needs to observe concerning its actions and what it needs to know. Such knowledge and information can be received only from him (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam).

     As for the second kind of Fitnah, it is the Fitnah of lusts or desires. Allah (Ta'ala) mentioned the two kinds together when He said: Like those before you: they were mightier than you in power, and more abundant in wealth and children. They had enjoyed their portion (awhile), so enjoy your portion (awhile) as those before you enjoyed their portion (awhile)… [At-Taubah: 69]. That is, they enjoyed their share of the world and its pleasures [desires]. The word “Khalaq” in the verse means the predetermined share [allotted to each one]. Then He said: … and you indulged in play and pastime (and in telling lies against Allâh and His Messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) as they indulged in play and pastime … [At-Taubah: 69]. This “Khawdh” is “wrongful Khawdh [discussion, negotiation]” in other words, misconceptions.

     In this Ayah, Allah (Ta'ala) referred to the corruption that may overtake the hearts and religions as a result of enjoying one’s share of pleasures and engaging in falsehood because the corruption of religion occurs either when a person believes in falsehood and endorses it in his conversation or when, in his actions, he departs from true learning.

     The origin of every Fitnah can be found when personal opinion is given precedence over Shar’(canonical Islamic law) and whim over reason. Giving precedence to personal opinion over Shar’ is the origin of the Fitnah of misconception; whereas giving precedence to whim over reason is the origin of the Fitnah of lusts or desires. The Fitnah of misconception can be repelled by means of certitude, and the Fitnah of lusts or desires can be averted through patience.

     Therefore, Allah (Ta'ala) has made the imamate (the leading position) of the Religion contingent upon these two matters. Allah () says: "And We made from among them (Children of Israel), leaders, giving guidance under Our Command, when they were patient and used to believe with certainty in Our Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)" [As-Sajdah: 24]. It is a proof that with patience and firm conviction, the imamate (the leading position) of the religion is reached, a proof that the Fitnah of lusts is repelled with the perfection of mind and patience and a proof that the Fitnah of suspicious matters is repelled with perfect insight and firm conviction; that is with the clear proofs and guidance that came from Allah.

     Fear Allah, O servants of Allah! And verily beware of following the Fitnahs of suspicious matters and lusts. Beware of them!

     O Allah! We ask You to guide us to follow Your Religion and hold tight to Your sharia! And we ask You to protect us from the misleading Fitnahs, O You, Who hears and answers our prayers!

     May Allah benefit you and I of His Book's guidance and His Prophet's (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) Sunnah. This is said, I ask Allah, the Almighty, the Exalted to forgive my sins, yours and those of all Muslims; He is truly Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful!