The Proper And Misguided Cleric: Knowing Whom To Take Your…

A Message to Muslims Religion is not taken from every person who wears a turban, cap, or jalabia. A person may possess religious clothing, use Arabic expressions, or claim spiritual powers without possessing sound Islamic knowledge. Muslims must therefore be careful about whom they trust and from whom they learn their religion. Allah says: “So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.”— Surah An-Nahl 16:43 A proper Muslim scholar calls people to Allah, sound knowledge, sincere worship, repentance, and obedience to the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah. A misguided religious pretender, however, may exploit people’s fears, hopes, illnesses, financial difficulties, marital problems, and desire for quick solutions. The distinction should be made according to clear evidence and established principles—not personal dislike, rumours, or unverified accusations. The Proper Cleric A trustworthy scholar or religious teacher: **calls people to worship Allah alone and avoid all forms of shirk; **teaches the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah according to the understanding of the Companions and the early generations; **encourages reliance upon Allah while permitting lawful practical means; **teaches repentance, prayer, honesty, patience, modesty, justice, and righteousness; **warns against open and hidden sins; **explains what is lawful and unlawful with evidence; **acknowledges the limits of human knowledge; **does not claim independent knowledge of the unseen; **avoids exploiting people financially or emotionally; **refers difficult matters to qualified scholars and appropriate professionals; and **directs people to Allah rather than making them permanently dependent upon himself. Allah says: “Say, ‘This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me.’”— Surah Yusuf 12:108 Allah also says: “And whoever relies upon Allah—then He is sufficient for him.” — Surah At-Talaq 65:3 The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever Allah intends good for, He gives him understanding of the religion.” — Sahih al-Bukhari 71; Sahih Muslim 1037 True religious teaching increases a person’s knowledge of Allah, strengthens his worship, improves his character, and encourages him to obey Allah—not to become enslaved to a personality. The Misguided Cleric or Religious Pretender A misguided cleric calls people away from sincere reliance upon Allah and toward superstition, deception, unlawful practices, or dependence on created beings. Some may deliberately exploit Islamic language and clothing in order to make un-Islamic practices appear religious. This does not mean that every person who makes a mistake should immediately be labelled a disbeliever or condemned without evidence. Rather, Muslims should identify practices that contradict Tawhid and the Sunnah, seek clarification, and refer serious cases to qualified scholars. The ruling upon a specific individual requires knowledge, fairness, and due process. Characteristics of a misguided religious practitioner may include: 1. Promoting shirk through charms and objects They may give people charms, amulets, written symbols, soap, oils, powders, water, or other objects while claiming that these guarantee a breakthrough, increased sales, marriage, children, protection, healing, or victory. A lawful remedy must be established by the Qur’an, authentic Sunnah, or permissible worldly means. No object independently possesses the power to bring benefit or repel harm. Allah says: “And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him; and if He touches you with good, then He is over all things competent.” — Surah Al-An‘am 6:17 2. Making people dependent upon them A deceptive practitioner may ensure that a person must continually return, pay more money, or perform new rituals for every problem. He presents himself as the indispensable solution instead of directing the person to prayer, lawful treatment, consultation, work, patience, and reliance upon Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said: “When you ask, ask Allah; and when you seek help, seek help from Allah...”— Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 2516; This does not prohibit seeking permissible help from people. It means that the heart must depend upon Allah, while created beings are only means. 3. Claiming knowledge of the unseen Some claim to know who caused a person’s illness, what will happen in the future, who has been affected by magic, or what is hidden in another person’s heart—without revelation or reliable evidence. it doesn't matter what they use for the divination whether prayer beads, the Qur'an, Sand in a tray, cowry shells, water or any other items. Allah says: “Say, ‘None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah.’” — Surah An-Naml 27:65 And He says: “He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except to a messenger whom He has chosen.” — Surah Al-Jinn 72:26–27 The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and asks him about something, no prayer will be accepted from him for forty nights.”— Sahih Muslim 2230 He ﷺ also said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer or a fortune-teller and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.” — Sunan Abi Dawud 3904; Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi 135 This warning concerns a serious matter. Muslims must not visit fortune-tellers, diviners, astrologers, or people who claim access to the unseen through jinn or secret knowledge. 4. Calling upon jinn, angels, the dead, or other created beings A person who directs supplication or acts of worship to other than Allah has violated the foundation of Tawhid. Angels, jinn, saints, ancestors, and religious figures are all created beings and cannot independently answer supplications or control the affairs of creation. Allah says: “And the places of worship are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone.”— Surah Al-Jinn 72:18 He also says: “And whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof—then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.”— Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:117 5. Performing unexplained rituals Muslims should be cautious when someone prescribes secret writings, blood sacrifices, buried objects, offerings, specified numbers, strange ceremonies, or words whose meaning is unknown. Such practices are not justified merely because the person uses Qur’anic verses or Islamic terminology. Ruqyah is permissible when it contains no shirk, uses understandable words, and the person believes that healing comes only from Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said: “There is nothing wrong with ruqyah so long as it does not involve shirk.”— Sahih Muslim 2200 6. Exploiting people financially A person who uses religion to deceive vulnerable people, demands excessive payments, promises guaranteed results, or threatens clients with invented spiritual consequences is abusing the trust placed in religious teachers. They usually have offices with nothing concrete to sell except falsehood. Islam permits payment for legitimate services in appropriate circumstances, but deception, fraud, coercion, and false promises are prohibited. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever deceives us is not one of us.”— Sahih Muslim 101 7. Lying about the Prophet ﷺ or attributing false teachings to Islam A person who invents religious claims, fabricated stories, or false hadiths to obtain money or influence is committing a grave offence. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his place in Hell.”— Sahih al-Bukhari 107; Sahih Muslim 3 Therefore, Muslims should ask for reliable references and should not accept every claim simply because it is delivered in a religious setting. 8. Concealing major wrongdoing behind religious status Religious clothing does not make unlawful conduct lawful. A teacher who commits sins, abuses people, exploits clients, or persists in serious wrongdoing should not be treated as a trustworthy authority merely because he presents himself as a cleric. At the same time, accusations of zina, fraud, ritual involvement, or other serious crimes must not be spread without evidence. Allah says: “O you who believe, avoid much suspicion. Indeed, some suspicion is sin. And do not spy or backbite one another.” — Surah Al-Hujurat 49:12 Do Not Confuse Ruqyah with Divination Not every person who treats people spiritually is a fortune-teller, and not every person who recites Qur’an is a fraud. Lawful ruqyah includes reciting the Qur’an and authentic supplications while believing that Allah alone cures. However, a person should be avoided when he: **claims guaranteed results; **asks for the name of one’s mother to reveal hidden information; **uses unknown symbols, coded writings, or unexplained words; **free-mixes with women in an enclosed place; **calls upon jinn or the dead; **prescribes sacrifices or offerings to other than Allah; **gives objects for supernatural protection; **claims certainty about the unseen; or **uses fear to compel repeated payments. A Muslim should also remember that illness may be physical, psychological, social, or spiritual. Seeking qualified medical or mental-health care is not a rejection of Tawakkul. Rather, using lawful means while relying upon Allah is part of sound Islamic conduct. A Warning to Muslims Dear Muslims, know whom you take your religion from. A sick person does not normally seek treatment from someone whose business is selling coffins. Likewise, someone who wants religious guidance should seek it from people known for knowledge, sound belief, upright character, and evidence—not from a marabout, priest, diviner, or occult practitioner merely because he wears Islamic clothing or speaks with religious language. Do not hand over your money, secrets, marriage decisions, health decisions, or future to someone who claims powers that belong only to Allah. Do not allow fear, desperation, infertility, business difficulty, marital problems, or illness to push you into shirk or deception. Allah says: “And whoever fears Allah—He will make for him a way out and provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah—then He is sufficient for him.”— Surah Al-Talaq 65:2–3 How to Identify a Trustworthy Teacher Before accepting religious guidance, ask: **Does this person call people to Allah or to himself? **Does he teach from the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah? **Does he respect the understanding of the Companions and early scholars? **Does he clearly reject shirk, divination, and superstition? **Does he admit when he does not know? **Are his treatments and instructions transparent? **Does he avoid guaranteed promises and manipulation? **Is his character consistent with what he preaches? **Are his claims supported by reliable evidence? **Does he encourage lawful medical, legal, financial, and family support when appropriate? No person is infallible after the Prophet ﷺ. Scholars can make mistakes, but there is a difference between an honest error made by a qualified teacher and a deliberate system of deception built upon shirk, fraud, and exploitation. The proper cleric calls people to Tawhid, sincere worship, reliance upon Allah, righteousness, repentance, and obedience to the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah. The misguided religious pretender calls people to superstition, dependence upon created beings, unlawful practices, deception, and sometimes shirk. The protection of the Nigerian Muslim community requires sound knowledge, careful verification, cooperation with trustworthy scholars, and courage to reject practices that contradict Islam. Let us not judge people merely by their clothing or titles. Let us judge claims and practices by revelation, evidence, sound scholarship, and upright conduct. May Allah protect the Muslims from shirk, deception, false religious claims, and exploitative practitioners, and guide us to sincere Tawhid and the authentic Sunnah. Amin.

The Proper And Misguided Cleric: Knowing Whom To Take Your Religion From!

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