What is the authenticity of the hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) found two circles, one for dhikr and the other for knowledge, so he sat in the circle of knowledge and did not prohibit
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : It is reported from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he found a circle of knowledge and a circle of dhikr, so he sat in the circle of knowledge. Is this correct? And if so, how did those who were in the circle of dhikr remember Allah, or what were they saying, while the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prevent them, but he preferred the circle of knowledge? And is this considered evidence that collective circles of dhikr are an innovation, even though the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in this hadith, if it is authentic, did not prohibit them from it, but rather avoided them?
The Shaykh : I do not know the authenticity of this hadith, and I do not think it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). However, gathering for knowledge is undoubtedly one of the best deeds, because knowledge is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, for the religion was established through knowledge, explanation, and fighting those who reject it, oppose it, and do not submit to its rulings. As for dhikr, gathering for dhikr is also not a problem, but it is not the gathering that some Sufis do, where they all gather and remember Allah the Exalted with one voice or something similar. Rather, if they gather to recite the Qur'an or something similar to this, such as one person reciting and the others listening to him, and then they take turns reciting among themselves, then there is no harm in that and no blame on them.
The Shaykh : I do not know the authenticity of this hadith, and I do not think it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). However, gathering for knowledge is undoubtedly one of the best deeds, because knowledge is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, for the religion was established through knowledge, explanation, and fighting those who reject it, oppose it, and do not submit to its rulings. As for dhikr, gathering for dhikr is also not a problem, but it is not the gathering that some Sufis do, where they all gather and remember Allah the Exalted with one voice or something similar. Rather, if they gather to recite the Qur'an or something similar to this, such as one person reciting and the others listening to him, and then they take turns reciting among themselves, then there is no harm in that and no blame on them.