Jama’ah is a term used quite loosely these days to mean ‘majority’. When someone refers to the Jama’ah of Muslims they usually mean the majority of Muslims in a particular country or city. Its usage becomes frequent before the two Eids when Masjids and groups start blaming each other for creating division among Muslims and separating them from the Jama’ah because of celebrating Eids on different days. Without going into a Fiqhi discussion about when to celebrate Eid and whether to sight the moon globally, locally or use calculations, let us look at what Jama’ah actually means in Islam.
The following Hadith is often quoted to make the point that if one does not celebrate Eid on the same day as the majority are celebrating, or the day that the government or the local religious authority (e.g. board of Imams) has declared Eid, then he is separating himself from the Jama’ah:
“…he who separates himself from the community (Jama’ah) by even so much as a hand span and dies (in this state), he will die the death of Jahiliyyah.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
However, a look at the full text of the Hadith reveals what our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) meant when he prohibited separation from the Jama’ah:
“’The one who sees in his Ameer something which displeases him, let him remain patient, for he who separates himself from the community (Jama’ah) by even so much as a hand span and dies (in this state), he will die the death of Jahiliyyah.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
In the above Hadith, distancing oneself from the Ameer (leader) of the Muslims is referred to as separating oneself from the Jama’ah. Another very similar Hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas states this point more explicitly:
”If anybody sees in his Ameer something which displeases him, he should remain patient, for he who separates himself from the authority (Sultan) by even so much as a hand span and dies thereupon, he would die the death of the days of ignorance.” [Muslim]
These Hadith make it clear that the Jama’ah that we are commanded to stick to is not just any group or community of Muslims; nor is it the majority of the Muslims in a particular country or city. Rather, it is the Muslim Ummah as a whole united under an Islamic leadership. Therefore, the existence of a Jama’ah is essentially linked to the existence of a leader.
It must be understood, however, that in the above mentioned Hadith, ‘Ameer’ of the believers refers to a leader who implements the laws of Allah (SWT). Islam does not give legitimacy to the authority of those who do not rule by Islam. They are rather referred to as ‘kafir’ (disbeliever), ‘fasiq’ (rebellious) or ‘zalim’ (oppressor) in the Qur’an [Surah Ma’idah, verses 44, 45 & 47].
The absolute necessity of the existence of a leader over the Jama’ah of Muslims is further expounded in the following Hadith:
“Whoever removes himself from the Jama’at (the unified Muslim Ummah) by a hand span then he has taken Islam from his neck until he returns. Whoever dies and does not have a leader of the Jama’at over him then his death is a death of jahiliyya” [Hakim]
However, when there is no Imam, are we required to follow the majority? The Hadith of Hudhayfah bin al Yaman (RA) sheds some light on this matter:
Al-Bukhari narrated about Bisr ibn Obaydellah al-Hadhrami that he heard Abu Idrees al-Khoolani say that he heard Huthaifah ibn al-Yaman saying: “The people used to ask the Prophet of Allah (saw) about the good and I used to ask him about the bad in fear that it might catch me. So I said: O Prophet of Allah! We were in times of jahilliyah and mischief then Allah brought us this good, so is there any mischief after this good? He (saw) said: Yes. I said: Will there be any good after that mischief? He said: Yes, and it has smoke. I said: What is its smoke? He said: (Some) people guide without any guidance, you recognise some (from them) and deny some. I said: Will there be a mischief after that good? He said: Yes, (some) people who invite at the doors of hell, whoever accepted their invitation they throw him in it (hell). I said: O Prophet of Allah, describe them to us. He said: They are of our own skin (of our people) and talk our language. I said: What do you order me to do if that (matter) caught me? He said: Adhere to the jama’ah of Muslims and their Imam. I said: What if the Muslims have no jama’ah nor an Imam? He said: Then you abandon all those groups, even if you have to grab with your teeth the trunk of a tree till death comes to you as such.”
In the above Hadith, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about the time when there will be no Jama’ah and no Imam, he did not order us to follow the majority. This once again clarifies the point that Jama’ah does not mean majority.
Therefore, it is incorrect to accuse each other of breaking away from the Jama’ah if the difference exists only on Fiqhi matters. It is well known that Islam allows difference of opinion and the Sahabah and the early scholars had difference of opinions amongst themselves. However, Islam does not allow political disunity amongst Muslims and hence the stern warning against distancing oneself from the community of believers and their ‘Ameer. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered harsh punishment for anyone seeking to cause political disunity amongst the Muslims:
“When you all (Muslims) are united (as one block) under a single Khalifah, and a man comes up to disintegrate you and separate you into different groups, then kill that man.” [Muslim]
Also, there are many Hadith of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) condemning nationalism or tribalism. The following Hadith is one of them and it exemplifies the meaning of unity in Islam:
Whoever separates from the Jama’at and leaves obedience (to the leader of the Muslims) and dies then he dies the death of one of jahiliyya, and whoever sets out against my Ummah with his sword, and strikes the good of them and the evil of them, not keeping away from a believer due to his iman, and does not fulfil the covenant with the one who took it, then he is not from my Ummah and whoever is killed while under a flag of ignorance, getting angry for the sake of tribalism or fighting for the sake of tribalism or calling to tribalism then his death is that of jahiliyya. [Ahmed]
Therefore, unity means sticking to the Jama’ah of the Muslims, being obedient to the Khalifah, not fighting the Muslims and staying away from nationalism. The existence of different Fiqhi opinions amongst Muslims is not disunity. Rather the existence of different countries and states based on nationalism and the absence of a leader that rules according to the Book of Allah are the real causes of disunity – something that our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) has prohibited and warned us against over and over again.
This topic can be aptly concluded with the wise words of the second Khalifah of Islam, Ameer-ul-Mu’mineen, Umar ibn al Khattab (RA), who said:
”There is no Islam without Jamaa’ah and there is not Jamaa’ah without Imaarah (leadership). And there is no Imaarah (leadership) without obedience.” (Reported by ad-Darimi in his Sunan)
- Shafi
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