Question Summary:
Harun Yahya – Is he reliable?

Question Detail:

I want to draw your kind attention to Harun Yahya. He started 
with refuting darwinism, materialism etc with his books. But now he is spreading poison through media and his influence is greatly increasing in turkey and sorrounding countries and especially the modern youth will take his example and say that this is islam.Some of his activities/ views are shortlisted1) His channel A9 started on March 21, 2011 shows his shows with nude women wearing tight clothes, sometimes showing cleavage.2) He says that hijab is not fard at all, a woman can wear whatever she wants3) He says the women who has to give dawah to unvieled women should also remain unvieled.4) He also plays pop music on the channel and dances with the nude girls on TV and say islam can co-exist with music, dance.5) Hazrat Eesaa (AS) has already come and he is influencing various political affairs.5) He says Imam mehdi (AS) has already come and is in Istambul.6) In one video he says Imam mehdi(AS) came in 1981 in istambul.7) He says it is turkish Islamic union which is important and not any other islamic union.8) He praises Mustafa Kamal ataturk and says he has done great service for modern islam in turkey.9) Islamic reform will come only by the urban modern, fashionable, educated men and women.
(All these facts are available in youtube videos and one can easily check).the information can be checked on these siteshttp://a9.com.tr/http://harunyahya.org/one can also watch a documentry "Harun yahya exposed!" by furkan vakfi, who exposes Harun yahya (but it is in turkish language).
I request esteemed Mufti Ebrahim Desai to look into tauaqeedah brothers also unanomously treat Harun yahya's books and documentries authentic.Please give a verdict about Harun Yahya and what common muslims should do, especially who are following his books.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
We have perused Harun Yahya’s official website www.harunyahya.com[1]. The website explicitly promotes a “modernist” view of Islām, and criticises and distorts orthodox interpretations of Sharī‘ah as well as the ‘ulamā’ who uphold them. As a result, he propagates a number of problematic views.
Furthermore, we have inquired from reliable sources and we are aware that Ahl e Haq in Turkey oppose him.
A few examples of the problematic views expressed on his website are:
He considers music to be absolutely permissible in Islām and claims those who regard it as impermissible do so without any sound basis, and have rather introduced an innovation into religion. Some of his comments on the website are:
 
“How is it that music, art and beauty is condemned, when music, art and beauty are gifts from God?”
“There is nothing from the Quran that prohibits music or the arts…This is bid'ah, or heresy, and those who introduce such things are committing a sin. As it says in the Quran…’ Say, 'Did God allow you to do this, or do you tell lies about God?’ (10: 59).”
“They spread the lie that music, paintings and dancing are forbidden in Islam.”
“Music, dance, having fun, being happy, art, science, paintings are all allowed for Muslims.” 
“Just like the Qur'an does not ban music, dance or entertainment, Prophet Mohammed (saas) did not do anything that would indicate something like that, either.”
 
By “music” here, he does not mean mere singing without instruments. But, as clear from other statements on his website, “music” includes the use of musical instruments. Musical instruments are strictly forbidden in Islām.[2] Rasūlullāh prophecised that there would be groups of people from his ummah who will falsely assert that musical instruments are halāl. (Sahīh al-Bukhārī)[3]
 
The view of the prohibition of musical instruments is upheld by all four orthodox madhhabs (schools) of Islamic jurisprudence.[4] Hence, his claim that music is permissible in Islām opposes the clear sayings of Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and the views of the vast majority of the fuqahā’ (jurists).
 
He claims: “Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) is someone who avoids war, a man of peace. Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) will cause the moral values of the Qur’an to rule the world through love, not through war.” It is clear from reading the full piece in which this was written that he believes Imām al-Mahdī will not engage in any battles whatsoever. This view opposes the clear sayings of Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam). For example, Imām Abū Dāwūd collects in his Sunan, under the chapter Kitāb al-Mahdī, that Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said while describing Mahdī that an army will be dispatched towards him which he will vanquish[5] The reason he supports this false description is to appease a non-Muslim and modernist audience.
 
He exaggerates Muslim behaviour towards non-Muslims. He claims: “According to the verses of the Qur’an, a Jew or a Christian is not a being to be hated but a loved companion whom he can spend his life with in this world and the hereafter… So the People of the Book - whom some people mention with hate - are actually friends and even companions of Muslims in the Qur’an.”
 
He arrives at this conclusion by twisting the meaning of some verses of Qur’ān.
 
While, certainly, we live peacefully and coexist with non-Muslims, we do not consider them “loved companions.” Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasalam) explicitly said:
 
 لا تصاحب إلا مؤمنا
 
“Do not keep the (prolonged) company of (anyone) besides a believer.” (Jāmi‘ al-Tirmidhī)[6]
 
Muslims jealously cherish their Īmān – their ticket to eternal salvation – to the point of not accompanying those who may negatively impact their faith in any way.
 
Furthermore, the People of the Book who have heard the message of Islām, yet did not accept it, will not enter Jannah and will reside in Hellfire; hence, to claim they will be companions of Muslims in the afterlife is a gross misrepresentation of Islamic doctrine. Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) clearly said:
 
والذي نفس محمد بيده لا يسمع بي أحد من هذه الأمة يهودي ولا نصراني ثم يموت ولم يؤمن بالذي أرسلت به إلا كان من أصحاب النار
 
“By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! No one from this ummah hears of me, neither a Jew, nor a Christian, and then dies having not believed that with which I was sent, except he will be from the inhabitants of Hellfire.” (Sahīh Muslim)[7]
He claims: “There is no sorrow in Islam: Islam is the religion of joy and happiness. Allah associates Muslims with laughter and happiness. Crying and sorrow are the qualities of the people of hell according to the Qur’an. Allah says of the people of hell  “…let them laugh little and weep much” (Surat at-Tawba, 82). Therefore a Muslim is responsible to live his life by laughing, being happy and pleased with Allah in complete joy.”
This is a skewed understanding of the Islamic perspective on joy and sorrow. The temporary abode of this life is neither one of joy nor sorrow, and a Muslim experiences both good times and bad times in this life.[8] However, a Muslim’s contentment resides in his heart, even if externally he is deprived and miserable.
In fact, Islām discourages outward expressions like laughter, which may suggest over-indulgence in this world and neglect of the afterlife. Rasūlullāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:
لا تكثروا الضحك فإن الضحك يميت القلب
“Do not laugh much as laughter causes death to the heart.” (Sunan Ibn Mājah)[9]
When taking excessive enjoyment and pleasure from this world, laughing and expressing joy, one is distracted from the transcendent reality of the divine and the eternal life hereafter, and this causes heedlessness and “the death of the heart.” A Muslim’s true focus is on the afterlife. And this is what we find in the examples of the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) himself and the best of generations, the Sahābah.
Harun Yahya advocates a view of moral relativity. He believes every person can behave however he or she pleases, whether or not it opposes religion, and yet remain an upright moral individual. He writes: “They (women) don’t want to wear headscarves. Fanatics do not allow it. Men want to shave, wear modern outfits and ties. Fanatics say they can’t do that.”
These are only some of the problematic views presented on Harun Yahya’s official website which stem from his modernist leanings.
One must avoid listening to his programmes or reading his books on religion. Imām Muhammad ibn Sīrīn (may Allāh Ta‘ālā have mercy on him) said:
إن هذا العلم دين فانظرو عمن تأخذون دينكم
“Verily, this knowledge is religion, so be mindful from whom you take your religion.”[10]
Hence, Muslims must avoid any material of Harun Yahya.
And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best
Zameelur Rahman
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai with the following comments: 
People with corrupt beliefs win the confidence of people through some interesting and commonly accepted programmes. Thereafter, they unleash their corrupt poisonous beliefs and philosophies. Harun Yahya also used this ploy through his programme of marvelling at the creation of Allah and then incorrectly assumed authority on religion. The general masses must always guard themselves from such ploys.
www.daruliftaa.net