The ruling on criticizing students of knowledge and linking it to criticizing their shaykh
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This questioner says: What is your opinion of the one who says that criticizing the students of a shaykh is a criticism of the shaykh, even if they are deviating from the correct methodology?
Answer:
First, criticism and spreading slander, and this is not permissible. But if you see something, then advise the one it concerns, keeping it between you and him. As for spreading errors and spreading deficiencies among people, this is not permissible; this is backbiting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hujurat 49:12] This is backbiting of the general public, so how much more so is the backbiting of scholars? Backbiting scholars is more severe and more ugly. Yes.
This questioner says: What is your opinion of the one who says that criticizing the students of a shaykh is a criticism of the shaykh, even if they are deviating from the correct methodology?
Answer:
First, criticism and spreading slander, and this is not permissible. But if you see something, then advise the one it concerns, keeping it between you and him. As for spreading errors and spreading deficiencies among people, this is not permissible; this is backbiting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — Allah the Exalted said:
or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it.
وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ
Source
لقاء مفتوح في جامعة الإمام محمد بن سعود الإسلامية 1439/07/11هـ — af.org.sa (59:23)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.