A sister posted up some comments in terms of studying ‘aqeedah and so forth, and it got me thinking. By the way, I don’t personally know this sister, so please don’t take this as a personal attack or anything.
Respectfully, I disagree. I tend to agree with the statement ‘knowledge is power’. Because think of it like this, if I just make taqleed of say, Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi in my aqeedah, I could do that. But I’m doing that blindly, assuming that everything he says is correct and not knowing the points of views of other scholars or groups.
So when I meet someone of a different belief, and that person questions my ‘aqeedah and tries to bring me their arguments, I will either:
a) argue with them without knowledge
b) be totally confused
or
c) become shaky in my beliefs
Obviously, option c is the thing we should all be worried about. We don’t want to be shaky in our beliefs, but we want to be firm in our beliefs. So if I follow the opinions of Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi, yet I also know the arguments of the opposition and know why they say what they say, and why I believe (or know) that they’re wrong, my own ‘aqeedah will be much stronger and no one will be able to come along and shake my faith. And I can go around making takfeer of people (hey, I did say I like to be harsh sometimes). That is a huge benefit.
I do agree that people should have some level of basic knowledge before they delve into these issues. And I also feel that it’s better if they have a teacher to study under who can answer their questions when they arise.
But in general, I think to say researching these issues causes people to easily lose their Islam, is a little dramatic. If anything, I think it’s the opposite. Since I started reading some of the research of both sides on ‘aqeedah, honestly, I have felt that my own beliefs have become stronger.
But, if all else fails and I become a lost soul who starts to hold beliefs that cause people to call me a mushrik too, don’t worry about me inshallah. My husband’s a student at the U of Madinah. When he finishes I can bask in his newfound salafiness and get whipped right back into my salafi state.