Advice for the young men who study the Sunnah and then put themselves forward before they are qualified.
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The Shaykh : We know that many of our young brothers today have not first gained experience in the science of hadith, and they are far removed from the jurisprudence of hadith. In reality, the jurisprudence of hadith is not derived solely from relying on the Arabic language, even if one is proficient in it and applies his understanding of that language to the Qur'an and the hadith. Rather, it is obligatory to study what is called today comparative jurisprudence. This comparative jurisprudence paves the way for the student of knowledge to distinguish the stronger position from the weaker positions.
So we know today that most of our young men who are enthusiastic about the science of hadith do not know how to write an Arabic phrase as it should be, because they are deficient in this regard. In fact, they may make errors in reciting the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), even though they mentioned in the science of terminology that it is obligatory for the student of this knowledge to be knowledgeable about the Arabic language and its literature, lest he make an error in a hadith he narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and thus fall into a prohibited matter:Musnad Ahmad 469Hasan (Darussalam).
Therefore, I have many, and very many, examples of what has been written in the present era by those to whom I advise to write for themselves. Then, when they feel their maturity in this knowledge, it is obligatory for them to publish it for the world so that people may benefit from the knowledge that Allah has granted them.
As for merely having some ideas and some observations appear to one of them, while he has not composed a treatise in his time and published it among the people, among the people of knowledge and virtue, to show them whether he is one who can be relied upon in this knowledge, or whether he is still, as they say in Syria: al-raqrāq. Do you use this word or not? Al-raqrāq, do you know the sea?
The questioner : It means the shallow water, in both form and meaning.
The Shaykh : In both form and meaning, exactly. The closer the sea water gets to the shore, the more it splashes and remains shallow for a little while. He has not yet entered the deep sea, so he is on the shallow part at the shore. So every person, as the Exalted said:[Al-Qiyamah 75:14], every person must evaluate himself. And I started speaking earlier in the car, but I did not continue with my speech because we were occupied with the car.
I have a book: *Al-Rawd al-Nadhir*, and I refer to it often. Its full name is: *Al-Rawd al-Nadhir fi Tartib wa Takhrij Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Saghir*. This book can be said to be the first book I composed, and it is in two large volumes. I composed it when I was less than twenty-five years old. If I had published it, it would have benefited people greatly and would have made it easier for them to benefit from *Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Saghir*, which was previously printed in India in a lithographic edition. You know that these editions have poor typography and flimsy paper that barely holds together when you touch it, but rather collapses and crumbles. Then it was printed in Egypt, I think by one of the owners of the Salafi bookstores in Madinah al-Munawwarah, and Allah knows best. Finally, it was printed in Amman.
So we know today that most of our young men who are enthusiastic about the science of hadith do not know how to write an Arabic phrase as it should be, because they are deficient in this regard. In fact, they may make errors in reciting the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), even though they mentioned in the science of terminology that it is obligatory for the student of this knowledge to be knowledgeable about the Arabic language and its literature, lest he make an error in a hadith he narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and thus fall into a prohibited matter:
Whoever says something about me that I did not say, let him take his place in Hell.
من قال علي ما لم أقل فليتبوّأ مقعده من النارTherefore, I have many, and very many, examples of what has been written in the present era by those to whom I advise to write for themselves. Then, when they feel their maturity in this knowledge, it is obligatory for them to publish it for the world so that people may benefit from the knowledge that Allah has granted them.
As for merely having some ideas and some observations appear to one of them, while he has not composed a treatise in his time and published it among the people, among the people of knowledge and virtue, to show them whether he is one who can be relied upon in this knowledge, or whether he is still, as they say in Syria: al-raqrāq. Do you use this word or not? Al-raqrāq, do you know the sea?
The questioner : It means the shallow water, in both form and meaning.
The Shaykh : In both form and meaning, exactly. The closer the sea water gets to the shore, the more it splashes and remains shallow for a little while. He has not yet entered the deep sea, so he is on the shallow part at the shore. So every person, as the Exalted said:
Rather, man, against himself, will be a witness,
بل الإنسان على نفسه بصيرةI have a book: *Al-Rawd al-Nadhir*, and I refer to it often. Its full name is: *Al-Rawd al-Nadhir fi Tartib wa Takhrij Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Saghir*. This book can be said to be the first book I composed, and it is in two large volumes. I composed it when I was less than twenty-five years old. If I had published it, it would have benefited people greatly and would have made it easier for them to benefit from *Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Saghir*, which was previously printed in India in a lithographic edition. You know that these editions have poor typography and flimsy paper that barely holds together when you touch it, but rather collapses and crumbles. Then it was printed in Egypt, I think by one of the owners of the Salafi bookstores in Madinah al-Munawwarah, and Allah knows best. Finally, it was printed in Amman.