Advice for those who occupy themselves with the errors of scholars and disparaging them
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Your Eminence, may Allah preserve you. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. After that, what advice do you have for the one who occupies himself with the errors and stumbles of scholars, to the point that it leads him to disparage them?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
Do you have any books on that, or are you considering publishing a treatise?
The Shaykh:
I advise them, after that, to repent to Allah, and to be wary of the errors of their tongue and their writing, and to recognize the virtue of the people of knowledge. If he has knowledge and insight, he should point out the errors without the need for defaming or casting doubt on their integrity. He should point out what he knows of the knowledge, and point out, for example, that some people erred in such-and-such, and some people erred. If he has knowledge, he clarifies the knowledge, and calls to Allah the Exalted and Majestic without the need for wounding people and tarnishing the reputation of the people of good and guidance. He should clarify the truth if he has knowledge, without the need to speak about the scholars who are known for their sound creed and uprightness. Everyone makes mistakes; no one is free from them. Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “None of us is free from being wrong and having it refuted, except the occupant of this grave between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”
So it is obligatory for the believer to accept the truth from whoever brings it, and to be wary of thinking that he has reached the end and that he does not make mistakes. Every person makes mistakes; even this weak one makes mistakes and hits the mark. And al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The scholars agreed that if the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) becomes clear to a person, he has no right to leave it for the saying of any person, whoever he may be.”
So it is obligatory for the student of knowledge to gain understanding in the religion, to learn, to be discerning, to have proper conduct with the scholars, and to be wary of letting his tongue run loose regarding the scholars. As for the people of innovation, if their innovations and their evil are clarified, this is not obligatory; warning against innovations and their people, this is obligatory. May Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his companions.
Your Eminence, may Allah preserve you. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. After that, what advice do you have for the one who occupies himself with the errors and stumbles of scholars, to the point that it leads him to disparage them?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
Do you have any books on that, or are you considering publishing a treatise?
The Shaykh:
I advise them, after that, to repent to Allah, and to be wary of the errors of their tongue and their writing, and to recognize the virtue of the people of knowledge. If he has knowledge and insight, he should point out the errors without the need for defaming or casting doubt on their integrity. He should point out what he knows of the knowledge, and point out, for example, that some people erred in such-and-such, and some people erred. If he has knowledge, he clarifies the knowledge, and calls to Allah the Exalted and Majestic without the need for wounding people and tarnishing the reputation of the people of good and guidance. He should clarify the truth if he has knowledge, without the need to speak about the scholars who are known for their sound creed and uprightness. Everyone makes mistakes; no one is free from them. Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “None of us is free from being wrong and having it refuted, except the occupant of this grave between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”
So it is obligatory for the believer to accept the truth from whoever brings it, and to be wary of thinking that he has reached the end and that he does not make mistakes. Every person makes mistakes; even this weak one makes mistakes and hits the mark. And al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The scholars agreed that if the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) becomes clear to a person, he has no right to leave it for the saying of any person, whoever he may be.”
So it is obligatory for the student of knowledge to gain understanding in the religion, to learn, to be discerning, to have proper conduct with the scholars, and to be wary of letting his tongue run loose regarding the scholars. As for the people of innovation, if their innovations and their evil are clarified, this is not obligatory; warning against innovations and their people, this is obligatory. May Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his companions.
Source
رحلتي مع الكتاب — islamhouse.com (1:05:44)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.