Who are the Druze?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

The Druze are a Baatiniyyah sect who derived all their beliefs from the Ismaa‘eeliyyah sect. It was first established in Egypt and then moved to the Levant. The beliefs of this sect are a mixture of diverse religions and ideas. One of its principles is confidentiality in spreading its beliefs. They do not teach their beliefs to their followers until they are forty years old.

The founder of this sect was Hamzah ibn ‘Ali ibn Muhamad Az-Zawzani (375/430). He was the one who declared and called for the godship of Al-Haakim Bi’amrillaah in 408.

The most prominent Druze figures in the past were: the Fatimi Caliph, Abu ‘Ali Al-Mansoor ibn Al-‘Azeez Billaah, son of Al-Mu‘iz lddeen Allaah Al-Faatimi who was called Al-Haakim Bi’amrillaah  (the one who rules according to the rulings of Allaah The Almighty). In fact, he did not rule according to the orders of Allaah The Almighty, rather he issued orders according to his own whims. He was a cruel and malicious person who used to kill people for trivial reasons and his behavior and ideas were eccentric and bizarre.

The most prominent Druze figures nowadays are: Kamaal Janbalaat who was a Lebanese political figure who founded the Socialist Party. He was killed in 1977. Waleed Janbalaat who is the current leader, and Najeeb Al-‘Asraawi, the chief of the Brazilian Druze Association. 

Their beliefs:

1.       They believe that Al-Haakim Bi’amrillaah is a god. When he was killed they said that he was in hiding  and would return.

2.       They do not believe in Prophets and Messengers, may Allaah exalt their mention, and call them devils.

3.       They believe that their caller, Hamzah, is Christ.

4.       They detest all religions and hate Muslims. They say that it is lawful to take the lives and wealth of Muslims. They urge each other to cheat Muslims whenever possible.

5.       They believe in reincarnation, which is transmigration of souls either to other humans or animals. They do not believe in Paradise, Hell and all the Islamic rulings.

6.       They believe that Al-Haakim sent five prophets: Hamzah, Ismaa‘eel, Muhammad Al-Kalimah, Abu Al-Khayr and Bahaa’.

7.       They speak ill of the Companions as they say that immorality and evil are personified in Abu Bakr and ‘Umar .

Their books and messages:

•        They have sacred messages that are called the messages of wisdom (111) messages.

•        They have a  holy book that is called Al-Munfarid Bithaatih ('The Unique One').

•        An-Naqdh Al-Khafiyy ('The Implicit Revocation'). In this book, their leader has revoked the pillars of Islam and all Divine laws.

•        Adhwaa’ Ma‘a Maslak At-Tawheed by professor Saami Makaarim who is one of their contemporary members.

Their locations:

They live in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. Most of them are  based in Lebanon and those who live in Palestine were able to obtain Israeli citizenship. They have associations in Brazil and Australia. May Allaah The Almighty protect Muslims from the evils of such deviant sects.

Allaah Knows best.