Warning Against Blind Adherence to Anyone Other Than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
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The Shaykh : Therefore, we forbid all Muslims from blindly adhering to any man other than Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), for he is the one who was described by the saying of Allah the Exalted: [An-Najm 53:3-4].
And in reality, I acknowledge that I am a student of knowledge, and that I am a non-Arab, and that much of the understanding of the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) may be missed by me.
But at the same time, I strive to understand the truth and to follow it. If I am correct, it is from Allah, and if I am wrong, it is from myself. For this reason, in the reality that we acknowledge—that we err and we hit the mark—we do not permit any of our brothers to claim affiliation with me or to imitate me blindly. Nor do we permit any of our brothers to oppose me while being in error in that opposition. I prefer that he errs in his independent legal reasoning to following me blindly while being correct in his imitation. May this word be understood, if Allah wills.
The student: May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. Is there anything else, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Perhaps this is sufficient as an answer to this question. As for the one who actually claims affiliation with me, we disavow him. It is not permissible to claim affiliation except with Allah and His Messenger as a methodology, and as a person: he is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the one protected from error, who is always and forever surrounded by correctness.
The student: May Allah reward you with good.
(3) Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. (4) It is not but a revelation revealed,
وما ينطق عن الهوى * إن هو إلا وحي يوحىAnd in reality, I acknowledge that I am a student of knowledge, and that I am a non-Arab, and that much of the understanding of the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) may be missed by me.
But at the same time, I strive to understand the truth and to follow it. If I am correct, it is from Allah, and if I am wrong, it is from myself. For this reason, in the reality that we acknowledge—that we err and we hit the mark—we do not permit any of our brothers to claim affiliation with me or to imitate me blindly. Nor do we permit any of our brothers to oppose me while being in error in that opposition. I prefer that he errs in his independent legal reasoning to following me blindly while being correct in his imitation. May this word be understood, if Allah wills.
The student: May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. Is there anything else, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Perhaps this is sufficient as an answer to this question. As for the one who actually claims affiliation with me, we disavow him. It is not permissible to claim affiliation except with Allah and His Messenger as a methodology, and as a person: he is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the one protected from error, who is always and forever surrounded by correctness.
The student: May Allah reward you with good.