The Ruling on Condolences, Testifying to Good Character, and Traveling to Visit a Brother or Seek Knowledge from an Innovator
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This is not permissible; it is prohibited because it is a means of oppression.
The Shaykh:
Yes. There is no harm in it.
The questioner:
The same applies to condolences.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
The same applies to testifying to good character.
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory in matters such as traveling by car or visiting your brother whom you love for the sake of Allah.
The questioner:
If a student of knowledge seeks knowledge from an innovator, is there any harm? He should refute him, and it is not said, "There is no harm."
The Shaykh:
There is a distinction here. If the innovator is the only one who has that knowledge, and the student is compelled to ask him about it, there is no harm in doing so, provided he refutes the innovation and dislikes it to the extent of the innovator's deviation. However, if Allah has made him independent of others, praise be to Allah. Generally, if one is connected to him, or if he is close to him and his student, people may assume that he is on the same path as the innovator and that he is being led into his innovation. So, if there are others available, he should refute him and not say, "No." Rather, he should be told, "You should leave this matter so that people do not assume evil of you and so that you are not led into evil." All of this carries the risk that people assume evil of him or that he is led into evil. The least of its rulings is that it is disliked.
This is not permissible; it is prohibited because it is a means of oppression.
The Shaykh:
Yes. There is no harm in it.
The questioner:
The same applies to condolences.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
The same applies to testifying to good character.
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory in matters such as traveling by car or visiting your brother whom you love for the sake of Allah.
The questioner:
If a student of knowledge seeks knowledge from an innovator, is there any harm? He should refute him, and it is not said, "There is no harm."
The Shaykh:
There is a distinction here. If the innovator is the only one who has that knowledge, and the student is compelled to ask him about it, there is no harm in doing so, provided he refutes the innovation and dislikes it to the extent of the innovator's deviation. However, if Allah has made him independent of others, praise be to Allah. Generally, if one is connected to him, or if he is close to him and his student, people may assume that he is on the same path as the innovator and that he is being led into his innovation. So, if there are others available, he should refute him and not say, "No." Rather, he should be told, "You should leave this matter so that people do not assume evil of you and so that you are not led into evil." All of this carries the risk that people assume evil of him or that he is led into evil. The least of its rulings is that it is disliked.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام [ ابن باز ] [ الشرح الجديد ]، تتمة باب شروطه وما نهي عنه منه — islamhouse.com (12:59)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.