Shaykh Salih As‐Suhaymi said, “My advice is for them (youth who ascribe themselves to knowledge and speak ill concerning some of the scholars) to seek knowledge and avoid the obstacles along the path, no matter which of the scholars is spoken about. It’s upon them to cling to the path, and to busy themselves with knowledge and worship.

Remember O slave of Allah! Tell them to remember Paradise, the Fire, the Reward, the Punishment and remember the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, {Man does not utter a single word except that with him is an observer prepared [to record].} (50:18)

And the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, {And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.} (17:36)

And His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, {O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice

And the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ), ((Whomsoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say that which is good or remain silent))

And his saying, (ﷺ) ((A person may utter a word (carelessly) which displeases Allah without thinking of its gravity and because of that he will be thrown into the Hell-fire the distance of seventy years.))

And his saying (ﷺ) to Mu’adh may Allah be pleased with him, ((Control this (your tongue))) Mu’adh said, “Will we be held accountable for that which we say with it O Messenger of Allah?” He said (ﷺ), ((May your mother be bereft of you O Mu’adh! Will the people be thrown into Hell on their faces or on their noses for anything other than the harvest of their tongues?))

And his saying (ﷺ), ((Whomsoever can guarantee me what is between his jaw bones and his legs, I will guarantee for him Paradise.))

So beware of entering into this fitna,(1) which many of the people have fallen victim to. Those who, towards Muslims, respect neither kinship nor treaty. Those who defame the scholars who nurture and cultivate [the people]. From them are those whose hair has become grey whilst he is calling to Allah upon clear insight. Be cautious of these people O servant of Allah! Distance yourselves from them and seek knowledge.

Busy yourself with that which will benefit you concerning the affair(s) of your religion and your worldly life. Convey my salaam to them and say to them, that it is binding that they fear Allah Blessed and Exalted is He.

How many people have been deprived of good?

How many knowledge-‐based seminars have been canceled due to their defamation of their brothers’ honour?

How many people’s honour have they eaten?

How many innocent people have they spoken [ill] about?

How many people have they harmed?!

And Allah will gather the opposing parties on the Day of Judgment [and everything will be settled].

Pay attention to this O servant of Allah! Leave off that which happens among the people, such as the bickering and arguing that occurs between some of the Salafis. Infallibility is for the Messengers. Beware of entering into it! We have clarified the guidelines for how to deal with one who has made a mistake.

Even the one who makes a mistake from among them… [the Shaykh did not finish his thought].

You have just heard the mistake made by some of the companions(2), very serious and dangerous allegations. Had they been said in this day and age, the hasty would have taken these words and warned against their brothers and harmed them due to these allegations. These allegations are more severe than that which is ascribed to some of the brothers who are warned against [today].

So we must be cautious! By Allah, there is an important lesson to be learned in the story of ‘Aisha; a lesson for those who take heed. In it are tremendous lessons for the believer who is free of whims and desires, fanaticism, self-‐love, conceit, the illness of retaliation, and the illness of character assassination.

Be cautious O servant of Allah! Be cautious! Do not get involved in that! Distance yourself from those who constantly defame the honour of their brothers, the scholars and students of knowledge in their gatherings.

Even the major scholars are not free from some of these people.(3) I heard one of them, via his dangerous websites, speak ill about our Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al ‘Uthaymeen and our Shaykh Abdul Muhsin al-Abbaad al Badr, saying that they do not know the correct manhaj, meaning that you should ask other than them about issues pertain to manhaj. Who is the one who knows manhaj if those [scholars] don’t know manhaj?! This situation is very dangerous!

Protect your tongue before there is a day wherein no monetary value will avail you! Before you become of the mufliseen (bankrupt)! Protect your tongue before you will be from among the mufliseen.

The Prophet (ﷺ), said: ((Do you all know who the muflis (bankrupt one) is?)) They said, “O Messenger of Allah. The muflis is he who has no wealth or property.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The muflis is he who comes on the Day of Judgment having performed Prayer, Zakat, Fasting and righteous actions. [However, he insulted this person, falsely accused another, unlawfully took the wealth of that one, spilt the blood of this one, and hit that one.] His good deeds will be taken and given to those he wronged. If his good deeds are exhausted, the sins [of the person he wronged] will be removed and thrown upon him, then he will be thrown into the Fire.”

Allah forbid!

Be careful of the gossipers!

Be careful of those who spread news, the hasty!

Be careful from believing those who cause fitna between the students of knowledge claiming that they are thiqat (reliable, trustworthy)!

Be careful of defaming the Muslims, particularly the scholars!

Allah the Mighty, the Majestic said, {Do not backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it.} (49:12)

Allah said, {O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin.} (49:12)

If you want to speak about your brother, remember death, remember Paradise, remember the Fire, remember the Reckoning, remember the Punishment, remember the Bridge, remember crossing the Bridge and the hooks on the right and left that pull the criminals into the Fire. Remember that you are held accountable for every word that you utter or say. Remember that the flesh of the scholars is poison and the Sunnah of Allah regarding those who defame the scholars is well known.

Some of the people in those countries wherein the Muslims are a minority, in Europe and America, they have no concern except to defame the honour of the students of knowledge. They categorize them as they please, describing them with erroneous descriptions. They even force them to take positions that are not correct, which results in great fitna, the magnitude of which only Allah knows…

Be warned O servant of Allah!

Be warned from this affair!

Know that you have two angels appointed over you, on your right and left. They write what you say, good or bad, and Allah knows all of this however this is from establishing the proof upon the children of Adam. Fear Allah and guard your tongue!

Note: no one should understand from me giving this advice about defaming the honour of the students of knowledge and scholars, because sometimes speech is misinterpreted and not understood according to the intent of the speaker (and Allah’s aid is sought) – nobody should understand from me that I prohibit refuting the deviants who are firmly rooted in deviance, those who were nurtured upon deviance, who got lost in groups and sects fighting one another, each group pleased with what it is upon. No, by Allah O servant of Allah, I don’t intend those people…

So fear Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and guard your tongue from defaming the honour of the Muslims! Beware of slandering the students of knowledge and the scholars who nurture and cultivate! Those who defend the Book of Allah from the distortion of the misinterpretations of the ignorant people. Guard your tongue! Guard your tongue!

Indeed, a man is known by two [things]: his heart and his tongue. Purify your heart for the believers, and guard your tongue from defaming their honour.

Place the taqwa (fear) of Allah at the forefront of your mind. If you want to speak, or you’ve been requested to speak, or someone transmits some speech to you concerning your Muslim brothers, particularly the students of knowledge and scholars who nurture and cultivate…”

Footnotes:

1. The Shaykh is referring to the fitna  of  speaking ill regarding the scholars.

2. The Shaykh is referring the lesson he just gave concerning the slander of our mother Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).

3. Even the major scholars are spoken ill about.

Translated by Ismaeel Beaumont

Ref: Translation of an answer to a question posed to Shaykh al-‘Allãmah Saalih as-Suhaymee in the Prophet’s Masjid, Saudi Arabia after Fajr on 5th December 2014 (13th Safar Rabi Al-‐Awal, 1436)

On: http://ahlusunnahwaljamaah.com/2014/12/21/golden-advice-concerning-manhaj-issues-shaykh-saalih-as-suhaymee/