One vital lesson from 'this' is the fact that some of us who ascribe ourselves to Salafiyyah need to work on a very vital aspect of Salafiyyah which we have generally neglected: akhlaaq.
It is generally noticeable—‘here’ and ‘there’—that we have inadvertently allowed this moral vacuum to linger for far too long.
I think that, in this necessary crossfire—yes, necessary, because the likes of Ejigbo and Oniwiridi will not cease anytime soon to nurture more and more youths upon the dangerous path of ghuluww—we still need to work on our akhlaaq.
Books such as Riyaadus-Saaliheen, Saheeh at-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, Madaarij as-Saalikeen, Khutuwaat ilaa as-Sa‘aadah, etc., should not be considered too basic for us to read with the Muslim youths.
Yes, books of ‘aqeedah and manhaj are necessary, but they should be studied in stages. Al-Usool ath-Thalaathah, al-Qawaa‘id al-Arba‘, Nawaaqid al-Islaam, Kitaab at-Tawheed, etc.—when students are first nurtured upon these, and then we can proceed to the next levels: Haa’iyyah Ibn Abee Daawood, Yaa Saa’ilee, al-‘Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah, Muqaddimah ar-Risaalah of Ibn Abee Zayd, al-‘Aqeedah at-Tahaawiyyah, Usool as-Sunnah of Imaam Ahmad, etc.
By the time students have been nurtured upon the foregoing, they can proceed to Sharh as-Sunnah of al-Barbahaaree, ash-Sharee‘ah of al-Aajurree, al-Ibaanah al-Kubraa of al-‘Ukbaree, and the likes.
Yet, throughout this journey, books on akhlaaq and raqaa’iq, such as Riyaadus-Saaliheen, should be regularly revisited from time to time.
But when the order is turned upside down, then we should expect what we are seeing today.
I think it is not too late, ‘here’ or ‘there’, to have a rethink, lest we begin to see more espionage, investigative journalism, scandals, ambushes, paybacks, vendettas, and character assassination.
The bad news is that nobody will be left untouched, because the moral fabric has been mutually corrupted.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لعلكم تفلحون
May Allaah forgive all of us now and in advance if we don't heed.
Aboo Aamir.
