Is it understood from some of your recordings that you declare the common people of the Shi'ah to be disbelievers?
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The questioner : Yes, very well. May Allah will it, this is the last question, O our Shaykh. It concerns what you also mentioned in one of the tapes, I think the last one, where you said: that there is no difference in your view between the Iraqi people as a Muslim people, even if there are Shi'ah in this people, and even if there are also deviant Sunnis.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Whether slightly or greatly from the Sunnah.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : So some of the brothers here seem to have understood that you declare the common people of the Shi'ah to be disbelievers and that you adopt what some scholars mentioned in other places, namely that the Iraqi people are a people of disbelief, half of them being Shi'ah and the other half being Sunnis who worship graves, and so on. Is this what you meant to say, or not?
The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant, but where did they get this sick understanding from? My words contain no slightest indication of such a declaration of disbelief. And I say: that the Iraqi people are Muslim and the Shi'ah people are Muslim. I have many recordings stating that it is not permissible to declare a specific Shi'ite a disbeliever. If you heard me just now say that it is not permissible to declare a Ba'athist party member a disbeliever, because he may be a Ba'athist for the sake of interest and not for the sake of creed, then a fortiori—as I said just now—I have multiple answers stating that it is not permissible to declare those who oppose the people of the Sunnah disbelievers in a lump. Do you understand "in a lump"?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : In a general sense, meaning it is not permissible to declare the Shi'ah disbelievers in a lump. Rather, every person is judged according to his own reality. And I know well that many of the common people of the Shi'ah are on a straighter path and more upright in speech than many of their specialists, because their specialists are educated, but their knowledge has harmed them, because they hold beliefs that contradict the Book and the Sunnah. As for the common people, they are safe from such beliefs that lead to disbelief. So I do not declare the Iranian people disbelievers because they are Shi'ah. Rather, I do not say, as they said about the Iraqi people, that they are between disbelieving Shi'ah and misguided grave-worshipping Sunnis. I do not say such words about the Iranians, because I know that there are many Sunnis in Iran. Indeed, I know that there are many Salafis in Iraq, to the extent that they may have been sent by those who declare them disbelievers. So when they declare the Iraqi people disbelievers, it means they are declaring Muslims disbelievers in a lump, meaning they are declaring the Shi'ah, the grave-worshipping Sunnis, and the monotheistic Sunnis disbelievers, because they cannot deny that there are monotheists who were sent at some point to be callers to the oneness of Allah. As for whether they were able to fulfill the duty of calling or not, that is another issue concerning the ruling of the Ba'ath regime, which did not approve of calling to Islam. And this is one of the evils of the Ba'ath. So now you have known from me explicitly that what some claimed, or what they asserted as an understanding from some of my tapes, is wrong. And it may be misguidance from some of them, intended to create confusion and to hunt, as it is said, in murky water. So let the present convey this to the absent.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.
The questioner : May Allah honor you, and hopefully we have not burdened you too much.
The Shaykh : You have lightened the burden for me, and may Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, and our greetings to the brothers with you and to the family. And perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will gather us with you soon, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah to accept from you.
The questioner : From everyone. Amen, O Lord of the worlds. Peace be upon you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Whether slightly or greatly from the Sunnah.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : So some of the brothers here seem to have understood that you declare the common people of the Shi'ah to be disbelievers and that you adopt what some scholars mentioned in other places, namely that the Iraqi people are a people of disbelief, half of them being Shi'ah and the other half being Sunnis who worship graves, and so on. Is this what you meant to say, or not?
The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant, but where did they get this sick understanding from? My words contain no slightest indication of such a declaration of disbelief. And I say: that the Iraqi people are Muslim and the Shi'ah people are Muslim. I have many recordings stating that it is not permissible to declare a specific Shi'ite a disbeliever. If you heard me just now say that it is not permissible to declare a Ba'athist party member a disbeliever, because he may be a Ba'athist for the sake of interest and not for the sake of creed, then a fortiori—as I said just now—I have multiple answers stating that it is not permissible to declare those who oppose the people of the Sunnah disbelievers in a lump. Do you understand "in a lump"?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : In a general sense, meaning it is not permissible to declare the Shi'ah disbelievers in a lump. Rather, every person is judged according to his own reality. And I know well that many of the common people of the Shi'ah are on a straighter path and more upright in speech than many of their specialists, because their specialists are educated, but their knowledge has harmed them, because they hold beliefs that contradict the Book and the Sunnah. As for the common people, they are safe from such beliefs that lead to disbelief. So I do not declare the Iranian people disbelievers because they are Shi'ah. Rather, I do not say, as they said about the Iraqi people, that they are between disbelieving Shi'ah and misguided grave-worshipping Sunnis. I do not say such words about the Iranians, because I know that there are many Sunnis in Iran. Indeed, I know that there are many Salafis in Iraq, to the extent that they may have been sent by those who declare them disbelievers. So when they declare the Iraqi people disbelievers, it means they are declaring Muslims disbelievers in a lump, meaning they are declaring the Shi'ah, the grave-worshipping Sunnis, and the monotheistic Sunnis disbelievers, because they cannot deny that there are monotheists who were sent at some point to be callers to the oneness of Allah. As for whether they were able to fulfill the duty of calling or not, that is another issue concerning the ruling of the Ba'ath regime, which did not approve of calling to Islam. And this is one of the evils of the Ba'ath. So now you have known from me explicitly that what some claimed, or what they asserted as an understanding from some of my tapes, is wrong. And it may be misguidance from some of them, intended to create confusion and to hunt, as it is said, in murky water. So let the present convey this to the absent.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.
The questioner : May Allah honor you, and hopefully we have not burdened you too much.
The Shaykh : You have lightened the burden for me, and may Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, and our greetings to the brothers with you and to the family. And perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will gather us with you soon, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : We ask Allah to accept from you.
The questioner : From everyone. Amen, O Lord of the worlds. Peace be upon you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.