Yusuf al-Qaradhawi Quotes

“Islam respects non-Muslims in Muslim society, and considers them in the dhimma (protection) of God, His Prophet, and the Muslims, i.e. protected under their trust and guarantee. This [word "dhimma"] is a religious term that means to the Muslim that he serves God by protecting the non-Muslims, defending them, acting kindly toward them and establishing justice with them. If they find this term hurtful, then it should not be used out of respect for their feelings, the important thing is the concept, not the name. Umar ibn al-Khattab had changed something more important when the Christians of Bani Taghlib told him they didn't like the word "jizyah" (tax) and that they wanted to pay it under the name of "sadaqah" (charity), which Umar accepted from them.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Many sheikhs and scholars live in books and do not live in reality ... because they have not read the book of life like they have read the books written by the ancients, for this reason their rulings seem to be coming out of the graves.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“A disputing group of Muslims asked him [the Imam Hasan al-Banna] about the taraweeh prayer (the voluntary prayer done on the nights of Ramadan), whether it is composed of 20 units, like it is common in Meccca and Medina and other places, and which is recommended by the Four Schools of Jurisprudence, or of 8 units, like some Salafi evangelists insist? The people of the village who asked this question were on the verge of fighting on this issue.

The Sheikh's ruling was that the taraweeh prayer is a voluntary act, while the unity of the Muslim community is obligatory, so how can an obligatory act be ignored for the sake of a voluntary act? [He advised that] it is better and more pious if they pray alone in their homes instead of disputing and fighting over the topic.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Umar [ibn al-Khattab] was asked about those who strongly desire to commit a sin but refrain from it. Umar said: "Those are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for al-taqwaa (consciousness of Allah), for them is forgiveness and a tremendous reward." [Quran 49:13]

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Which one is better during times of trials and the spread of sin and corruption: mixing with society and attempting to reform it, or secluding yourself from it and saving yourself?

As for the Sufis, the majority of them chose the second road. But as for the scholars who dedicated themselves to the way of God and strove in His way, they chose the way of the prophets, which is to mix with poeople and strive and patiently endure society's hurtfulness.

Ibn Umar narrates from the Prophet ﷺ: "The believer who mixes with people and endures the harm that comes from them is better than the Muslim who does not mix with people and does not endure their harm." [Bukhari, Ahmad and others]

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Imam al-Shafi`ee was asked: "What's better for the believer, to be tested, or to be given power (to do good)?" He said: "And how can one be given power for good without first being tested? Allah tested Yusuf, peace be upon him, then He gave him power."

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“al-Iman (faith) is that which puts man into motion; it directs him and creates in him tremendous powers that wouldn't manifest without it. It rebuilds him into a new creation, with a new spirit, a new mind, a new resolve, and a new philosophy in life. We saw this in the story of the magicians of the Pharaoh when they believed in the Lord of Moses and Aaron, challenged the tyranny of the Pharaoh, and with all the confidence in the world they said to him: "Then decide (regarding us) whatever you want to decide, your decision can only affect this worldly life." (Quran 20:72)

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“The scholars decided that those who dedicate themselves to worship will not be given a share of zakat (alms), as opposed to those who dedicate themselves to science (who do get a share), because there is no monasticism in Islam, and because those who dedicate themselves to worship are doing it for their own benefit, while those who seek knowledge benefit the entire nation.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“One of the criteria that we should refer to when deciding what is most deserving of attention and most deserving of prioritizing over other things: Giving something exactly the importance that the Quran gives to it.

Thus we should give priority to those things that it repeats in its chapters and verses, those that it stresses in its commandments and promises. We should give these things our full attention and base our lives upon them.

Of these things are, for example, faith in Allah, His revelations, the Afterlife and what it contains of reward and punishment.

As for the things that the Quran doesn't consider important, we should give them the same amount of importance and we should not exaggerate them, for example the night journey of the Prophet ﷺ, to which the Quran dedicates only one verse, as opposed to the campaigns and battles to which the Quran dedicates entire chapters.

And when it comes to the mawlid [birth] of the Prophet, the Quran does not give it any attention whatsoever, showing us that it is not a matter of importance in the Islamic life, for, unlike the birth of the Christ, there are no miracles related to it, and there are no deeds or acts of worship that are based upon it.

Thus the Quran is a criterion that never errs, for it is the pillar of the nation, the foundation of the religion, and the spring from which Islam flows. The hadith [Prophetic traditions and sayings] are only there to explain and elucidate it.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“... in this age, we need to rethink things that were said, and opinions that were held, in the previous ages; maybe they were appropriate for their time and for their situation, but they haven't remained appropriate for this age, with the tremendous amount of new situations and conditions that did not occur to the minds of the previous scholars, and uttering their opinion today takes away from Islam and its nation, and defaces the call of Islam.

Among these [outdated opinions]: Dividing the world into dar-al-Islam [Home of Islam] and dar-al-harb [Home of War], and assuming that the principle in the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims is war, and that armed struggle is an obligratory act upon the nation, and so on.

The truth is that these sayings are no longer fit for our time, and there are no authentic Islamic texts that back them, rather, there are many texts that contradict them.

Islam speaks about [amiable] relationships between all humanity: "And we made you nations and tribes so that you may know each other" [Quran 49:13].

And Islam considers peace and the avoidance of war a blessing. And it followed the Battle of the Trench with the saying: "Allah sent back the unbelievers in their rage, and they gained no good. Allah spared the believers from fighting" [Quran 33:25].

And it considers the peace treaty of Hudaibiyyah a great victory and it expects gratitude from the Prophet and the Muslims in this sura that it prevents the two parties from fighting, thus it says: "And He it is who, in the valley of Mecca, stayed their hands from you, and your hands from them, after He had enabled you to vanquish them" [Quran 48:24].

And the Prophet ﷺ dislikes the word "war" so much that he says: 'The best names are haarith ["one who strives"] and humaam ["one who has great resolve"], and the ugliest names are harb ["war"] and marrah ["bitter"]'.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“A scholar may recommend elaborate and difficult acts of worship to those who are religious and desirous of attaining the best rewards, but when it comes to the general populace, it is more fitting to recommend to them what is simple and easy.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“In the best centuries of the Ummah-the first three- high status and fame were for the scholar who was endowed with great knolwedge, while in the ages of deviation and backwardness, high status and fame were for the haafidh (memorizer of Quran and hadith). [i.e. the focus shifted from learning and understanding to thoughtless memorization]

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“And I have mentioned in other books and studies of mine: That statistics, planning and research before actions are all at the heart of Islam, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) was the first who ordered an organized census of those who had believed in him after his hijrah (migration) to al-Madinah. And the effects of planning can be seen in his life story in several scenes and situations.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Sometimes many different rulings are narrated from Imam Ahmad regarding the same issue, and this is for no reason other than the fact that his rulings changed based on changes in situations and circumstances.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned the verse: "Do not follow what you do not know" (Quran 17:36) as evidence for rejecting and prohibiting imitation, and he said: "Imitation is separate from knowledge, by the consensus of the people of knowledge." And in his I`laam al-Muwaqqi`een he stated more than eighty viewpoints toward proving imitation to be an invalid practice and countering the misconceptions of its supporters.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“And the sickness that many of those who have worked in the field of religion is this: They stayed on the surface and didn't dive to its depths, because they didn't have the necessary qualifications to swim in it and find its pearls. So appearances distracted them from the secrets and the purposes, and the branches took away their attention from the principles, and they presented the religion of Allah and the rules of its shariah as scattered groups without anything unifying them and without relating the rulings to purposes and end goals, and so the shariah ended up appearing on their tongues and pencils as if it was deficient at attaining what's beneficial to the creation. But the deficiency is not in the shariah, rather it is in their understanding.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Imam al-Bukhari titled a chapter in the Knowledge volume of his collection of sahih traditions "Knowledge Before Words and Deeds". The scholars who explained al-Bukhari's works say that by using this title he wanted to show that knowledge is a condition for the correctness of speech and actions, for these two cannot be judged without it, since knowledge is prior to them and determines the correctness of intentions and the correctness of actions. They said: This is what al-Bukhari wanted to say, so that it does not occur to people's minds--due to the common saying that knowledge is useless without action--that knowledge is of little value, and so that they may not neglect the importance of seeking it.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“It is said about him [Umar ibn al-Khattab] that one day he was sitting with his friends in a large house and he said to his friends: "Make wishes." One of them said: "I wish I had the fill of this house silver dirhams so that I may spend it in the way of Allah." Another wishes that he had gold the fill of the house to spend for the sake of Allah. But Umar said: I wish I had the fill of this house men like Abi Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Muadh ibn Jabal, and Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifah, so that I may use them in the service of Allah.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“The companions of the Prophet were extremely eager and insistent on knowing the best of deeds, so that they could become closer to Allah with these deeds, and for this reason their questions were in great numbers regarding the best among good deeds and the most loved actions to Allah, as in the questions of ibn Mas`ud, Abi Dhar, and others, and the Prophet's answer to their questions. For this reason in ahadith (the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) we read a lot of "the best of deeds is…" and "the most beloved deeds to Allah is this and this."

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“And I have seen sincere Muslim youth who studied at colleges of medicine, engineering, agriculture, or literature, or at other liberal arts and scientific colleges, and who were doing well and even very well, but then left to dedicate themselves to the work of dawah [calling people to Islam] and guiding others, even though their work in their specialties are of the foroodh al-kifayah [jobs that are obligatory on a certain percentage of every Muslim community according to Islamic law, for example every Muslim community should have enough physicians, engineers, etc.], jobs that if not done the entire community is harmed, even though they can make of their specialties an `ibadah (good deed) and jihad if done properly, with the right intent, and with regard to Allah's laws.

And if every Muslim left his or her job today then what would happen to Muslim interests? The Prophet ﷺ was sent when his Companions worked at various occupations, and he never asked anyone of them to leave his job to dedicate himself to dawah.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

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