Commentary on the Manifestations of the Islamic Awakening

Question:
Shaykh Salih (may Allah preserve you), the reality is that many manifestations of return and reversion to Allah the Exalted and Glorious are currently prevailing in the Islamic world. These are promising signs, and praise be to Allah. Some people look at these trends with caution, believing they are not based on authentic Islamic knowledge, and therefore may disappear and fade away from time to time. Others look at this return, or what some call the Islamic awakening, with great optimism. Shaykh Salih, what is your comment on this matter?

Answer:
There is no doubt that this religion will prevail, no matter how the enemies pile up against it or how the people of evil stand against it; it will prevail and triumph, by the permission of Allah. Allah the Exalted said: So this religion must prevail with its authority, influence, or dominion, and with its evidence and clarity over the religions that contradict it and the opponents who oppose it. This is inevitable, and the truth must become clear to the people of intellect, no matter how the enemies falsify or how they spread lies against this religion. The sun of the truth will dispel the fog that the enemies of the religion have spread around this Islam and around this religion by which Allah sent His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as Allah the Exalted said: Indeed, the polytheists. This is inevitable. As for...
...what you mentioned regarding the awakening of the youth and their desire for good, the increase of those who repent and return to Allah, this is from the door we mentioned, from the manifestation of the religion and the manifestation of the truth. People are now tired of the other methodologies and schools of thought, and of the temptations, and they are tired of the lies and the charlatanism. They have turned to the truth, and there is no truth before them except this religion. The rest is all ornament, all nonsense, and all lies. So the return of people to this religion is a certainty, and this is something about which Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, informed us. Allah the Exalted said: He will make it prevail over all religions Indeed, the polytheists. This is a reality, a fixed thing.
The orientation of the youth and people toward this religion is something Allah the Exalted and Glorious has informed us about. However, the issue lies in utilizing this orientation. If this orientation of the youth and others toward the religion is utilized well, and they are taught the religion of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, and these youth and these repentants return to the scholars of knowledge and seek guidance from their opinions, then this return becomes genuine, sustained, and beneficial. But if this return is exploited by the people of evil and the people of hypocrisy, and they direct these returners to the religion in a bad way and distort the truths for them in the name of the religion, then the outcome will be bad.
The Khawarij previously had religion and enthusiasm; they had love for jihad in the path of Allah and other things related to the religion, and they had great worship, including fasting, prayer, and recitation of the Qur'an. But because they were not on the right path, and their orientation was not based on correct religion and understanding of the religion of Allah, it became a calamity for them; it became a calamity for them. And they suffered the disasters that befell them. All of this was due to the lack of correct orientation, the lack of returning to the scholars of knowledge, and the lack of returning to the jurists in the religion of Allah the Glorious and Exalted. When they relied on their own opinions and the evildoers incited them in the name of religion and zeal, they and others suffered the disaster that occurred.
So it is obligatory upon the people of the awakening and those who desire the religion of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic—may Allah increase them in good and increase them in steadfastness—but we want from them and advise them to turn to the correct knowledge, to the people of knowledge, to receiving knowledge from its rightful owners, and to taking advantage of the opportunity of the presence of scholars to drink from their knowledge and their guidance. They should also consult the people of opinion, the people of experience, and the people of sound minds, from the elderly and the people of experience. They should not rely solely on their own opinion, or allow their enemies among the evil ones to exploit them in the name of the religion. It is possible that the religion is employed to fight the religion; this is a reality. The name of the religion can be employed to fight the religion and eliminate it, as the hypocrites did before: The trick is old, and the exploitation of the religion to destroy the religion in its name is old. So we must be alert to this matter. If this return and this awakening are directed correctly, they become a good for their people and for others. But if they are exploited badly by the people of evil, the people of hypocrisy, and the callers to misguidance, or if these people of the awakening rely on themselves and their knowledge and disdain the knowledge of others, then evil and corruption will occur in the name of the religion, and there is no power nor strength except in Allah. Yes. May Allah reward you. You have done well, Shaykh Salih.