Powerful Well Worded Advice For Salafi Youth In Particular And For All Salafis Generally – Shaykh Albaani (With Footnotes By Three Different Scholars)

Shaykh Albaani said, “…I advise [the youth] with a concise statement which [in fact] reminds me of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq’s statement when the Prophet passed away. He [i.e., the Prophet] is the one personality whose love all of the Muslims are united upon, whoever turns away from this love will have disbelieved, in contrast to their difference in their love for many of the Companions and their slander of some of them, in most cases this will be [regarded as] fisq [sinning] and not disbelief.

[So] what I want to say is that even though the Prophet  is the Chief of Mankind, and every Muslim’s beloved, when Umar stood up fervently against the one who reported the news that the Prophet had passed away, you know the story, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq proceeded to say, “Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has died, and whoever used to worship Allaah, then Allaah is Living, Eternal, and does not die.”

Thus I do not hold that each one of these [differing and disputing] factions [of Salafis] should be partisan to [Shaykh] so and so, against [Shaykh] so and so, or vice versa [i.e. they shouldn’t have any hizbiyyah (partisanship) towards a certain scholar who praised a certain shaykh, nor should they be against another scholar because he refuted the same shaykh the other scholar praised and vice versa].

Rather I advocate the statement of the Lord of the Worlds, “And be with the truthful,” [Tawbah 9:119],

Therefore these [Salafi] youth…are most deserving of [listening to] this statement. As it is upon these people who get all worked up [over scholarly disputes and differing in relation to the praise or criticism of an individual shaykh and thus divide into two opposing groups with hostility towards each other,] to correct their aqeedah [and their manhaj], their worship and their manners and not to become bigoted [biased] for one of these individuals [i.e. scholars] or against him [due to his praising or refuting a particular shaykh].

Because such fanaticism [towards any scholar]…is just like worshipping people/personalities, the type of worship which Abu Bakr as-Siddiq warned against in his previous statement, “Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has died, and whoever used to worship Allah, then Allah is Living and does not die.”

So becoming fanatical towards these people [i.e. a particular scholar or a particular group of scholars], is to become a fanatic over those who are not free from errors/mistakes, and the issue is as Imam Malik…once said, “There is none from us except that he rejects and is rejected, except for the companion of this grave,” and he pointed to the Prophet’s grave.

Therefore any person who becomes fanatical for another person, [whether that person be] a scholar or a caller [i.e. a student of knowledge], then he will find mistakes in him and [any person who] becomes fanatical against another [scholar or student of knowledge] will soon find that he [i.e., the person he is against] will have something correct and will soon find some good in him…

For this reason, before everything we advise these people [the Salafiyyoon] who have differed and who were the cause of the youth around them splitting into two factions or more, we advise these people who are at odds with each other in some issues…

If the scholars differ [regarding a particular shaykh] then it is not fitting that those people around them [i.e  Salafi students of knowledge and Salafi laymen], split due to the division of the scholars [regarding a particular shaykh].

As the issue is as he [the Prophet Mohammed] said, “If a judge passes judgment and makes ijtihad [strives hard researching Quran and Sunnah to come up with a scholarly ruling] and he is right then he will have two rewards and if he makes a mistake he will have one [reward].”(1)

Therefore we advise these scholars or callers [students of knowledge] who have differed not to discriminate/be prejudiced against each other and to deal with each based upon his [the Prophet Mohammeds] saying, “Beware of suspicion, for truly, suspicion is the most false of speech.”…”

Ref: Ref: Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 799 via shaikhalbaani.wordpress.com (with extra words in brackets for an easier understanding)

Footnote:

1) (My words – Abdul Kareem Ibn Ozzie – The reason Shaykh Albaani brought this hadeeth is to indirectly indicate that some of the Salafiyyeen are splitting into two opposing factions due to scholars differing over a particular shaykh, although the issue the scholars are differing in is jarh wa tadeel (praise and criticism of individuals) which is by its very nature an issue of ijtihad not an issue of irrefutable Quran and Sunnah evidences.

So its known that it’s not from the Salafi manhaj to become two opposing sides having hostility and animosity towards each other in relation to any ijtihad issue between the scholars, with each side trying force the other to accept his opinion.

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “…One of the distinguishing marks of the people of innovation is to make up a statement or action, then compel the people to take it up, (after that they) force them to adopt it and to show loyalty based upon it, (lastly they force them to have) enmity for leaving it…

For this reason the Imams of Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah would not compel the people with what they would say in issues of ijtihad, and they would not force a single person…” Ref: Al-Fataawaa al-Kubraa, vol. 6, p. 340

Shaykh Uthaymeen said, “…The solution to this problem (of differing in ijtihad issues) is that we traverse the way of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and that we know that this differing which is a result of ijtihad in an issue in which ijthad is permitted and is differing which does not have a (harmful) effect…

And if each of us were to force his opinion on the other, my forcing of my stance on you, would not be more binding than his forcing of his stance on me, for this reason I say that it is obligatory that we make this differing which is due to ijtihad not to be a cause of splitting but (a cause of) harmony.” Ref: Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Rasaa’il Fadilatish-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, vol. 27

Lastly I (Abdul Kareem Ibn Ozzie) leave you dear reader with the words of a shaykh, Shaykh Rabee himself praised explaining that jarh wa tadeel is an issue of ijtihad.

Shaykh Aboo Abdul Mu’iz Muhammad Ali Farkoos Al-Jazaa’iree said, “All praise is due to Allah and may peace and blessings be upon the one who he sent as a mercy to the believers, upon his family, companions till the Last Day, to proceed:

I say: The scholars in jarh wa tadeel, or in the speech of some of them about others, IS AN ISSUE OF IJTIHAD which can be either correct or incorrect.

The mujtahid (one who performs ijtihad) rewarded for his ijtihad and if he errs then he has one reward.

So he is rewarded in any case and the sin (of his incorrect jarh or tadeel) is raised from him based on what was stated by the Prophet: “If a judge makes a ruling and strives and turns out to be correct then he has two rewards but if he errs then he has one reward.” Reported by al-Bukhaaree…”

Taken from http://ahlusunnahwaljamaah.com/