Readings of the statements of the Imams of the Najdi Dawah regarding the rejection of madhhab fanaticism and the exhortation to follow the Book and the Sunnah, and Shaykh Al-Albani’s comments on them.

The questioner : Here, Shaykh, regarding our issue which began... may Allah have mercy on him, in matters of following a madhhab. Yes, we will read to you some of the excerpts we promised to read from his words and the words of his followers. Yes, because your opinion, Shaykh, on this matters to us very much.

The Shaykh : In what?

The questioner : In matters concerning following a madhhab and fanaticism.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Please proceed. And in any case, knowledge is shared among everyone.

The questioner : Yes, very well. Here, for example, in this example, yes, I am quoting a text from the words of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab.

The Shaykh : Before anything else, please, what is the name?

The questioner : Its name is *Al-Durar al-Saniyyah fi al-Ajwibat al-Najdiyyah* by 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Qasim al-'Asimi al-Qahatani al-Najdi, may Allah have mercy on him.

The Shaykh : This edition seems to be from an older printing.

The questioner : There are two editions: the Maktab al-Islami edition and the Dar al-Kutub al-'Arabiyyah edition.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Yes

The Shaykh : Very well.

The questioner : Do you have this book?

The Shaykh : I do not have this copy, but it seems to me that this name is in my memory.
Yes.

The questioner : All right, for example, here in the discussion regarding the Shaykh Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) speaking about, for instance, partisanship and following a school of jurisprudence, he says: "And the bottom line is that the form of the issue is: Is it obligatory for every Muslim to seek knowledge of what Allah revealed to His Messenger, and that no one is excused for leaving it off entirely? Or is it obligatory for him to follow, for example, *al-Tuhfah*? Know that the later scholars, and their masters among them like Ibn al-Qayyim, have denied this to the utmost degree, and that it is a change of the religion of Allah. They cited as evidence for this what is too long to describe from the clear Book of Allah and from the clear words of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for one whose heart Allah has illuminated. And those who permit it and make it obligatory cite weak doubts, but their greatest doubt, absolutely, is: 'We are not of the people of that.'" Meaning taking from the Book and the Sunnah, "and we are not able to do it, and no one is able to do it except the mujtahid, and we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are following in their footsteps. And the scholars of knowledge have what could fill a volume in refuting this doubt, and the clearest of it is the saying of Allah the Exalted:

They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah

اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله

[At-Tawbah 9:31]

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has interpreted this in the hadith of 'Adi by what you are upon today in the principles and branches. I do not know that they add to you the weight of a mustard seed, but rather they clarify the truth of His saying:

step by step

حذو القذة بالقذة

to the end of it. And the exegetes have also interpreted it, and I do not know of any disagreement among them. And the best of what was said is what Abu al-'Aliyah said: 'As for them, they did not worship them, and even if they had ordered them to do so, they would not have obeyed them. But they found the Book of Allah and said: We will not precede our scholars with anything. And what we were ordered, we obeyed, and what we were forbidden, we stopped.' This is from the words of the Shaykh, and his words are many on this issue up to page thirty-nine, and we are on page thirty-four. And also from the words of some of the contemporary scholars to him, from his followers, on page sixty-three, for example. Likewise, he says: "And as for the reality of ijtihad, we are followers of the Book and the Sunnah and the good Salaf of the Ummah, and what is relied upon from the sayings of the four Imams: Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man ibn Thabit, Malik ibn Anas, Muhammad ibn Idris, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on them all)." Then he mentioned words, yes. And also from the words of the Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, for example, on page sixty-five. I do not repeat the speech in it because it has passed, for example, his words. And on page, for example, one hundred and twenty-two, from the words of the Shaykh's sons, who are Muhammad, Husayn, and 'Abdullah. He says, or he says: "And the sons of the Shaykh Muhammad, Husayn, and 'Abdullah were asked about the Shaykh's creed in action and worship, so they answered: The Shaykh's creed (may Allah have mercy on him), by which he worships Allah, is our creed and our religion by which we worship Allah. And it is the creed of the Salaf of the Ummah and their Imams, from the Companions and the Tabi'un who followed them with excellence, and following what the evidence indicated from the Book of Allah the Exalted and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And we present the sayings of the scholars to that, so what agrees with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), we accept and issue rulings with it, and what contradicts that, we return it to its speaker. And this is the principle by which Allah has advised us in His Book where He said:

O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day

يا أيها الذين آمنوا أطيعوا الله وأطيعوا الرسول وأولي الأمر منكم فإن تنازعتم في شيء فردوه إلى الله والرسول إن كنتم تؤمنون بالله واليوم الآخر

[An-Nisa 4:59]

The exegetes have agreed that returning to Allah is returning to His Book, and that returning to the Messenger is returning to him in his lifetime and to his Sunnah after his death. And the evidences for this principle are many in the Book and the Sunnah; this is not the place to elaborate on them." Then he mentioned words that also agree with this, and likewise they mentioned words that agree with this. And also from the words of the Shaykh 'Abdullah, his son, likewise. And also from the words of the scholar Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Latif al-'Aal al-Shaykh, from their descendants, on page two hundred and ninety, for example: "And as for our madhhab, it is the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Imam of the people of the Sunnah in the branches and rulings. And we do not claim ijtihad. And if a sound Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) becomes clear to us, we act by it, and we do not prefer over it the saying of anyone, whoever he may be. Rather, we receive it with acceptance and submission, because the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is in our hearts more noble and greater than that we prefer over it the saying of anyone. So this is what we believe and by which we worship Allah. So whoever attributes to us a contradiction of that, or fabricates for us what we did not say, upon him is the curse of Allah and the angels and all the people. Allah does not accept from him any turning or any straightening. And our account and his account are with Allah, in whose presence secrets are revealed and the hidden things of hearts and consciences appear. And Allah says the truth, and He guides the way. And Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs."
And here there are also many texts from Ibn Ma'mar and others. I do not want to prolong this for you by mentioning them; rather, these are examples, and there are others that are more explicit and clearer than them. Also, Shaykh, in the issue, one might say that they, meaning, they leave the madhhab in agreement with Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, or Ibn al-Qayyim. Shaykh Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, has words on this issue, and also his son 'Abdullah. The essence of the words, I do not want to prolong this for you, he says: "As for Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on them both, they are Imams of truth and justice with us, but we do not follow them in every issue. So if the evidence becomes clear to us, we say with it and contradict with it," meaning, he intends, all people, or words to this effect.
Yes, Shaykh, this is in the issue of following a madhhab, until the time catches up with us. And also for Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Mutayr, may Allah have mercy on him. So I quoted to you their words from those who preceded them and those who came after, meaning from the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, and his grandchildren and the grandchildren of his grandchildren. And also the Imams of the Dawah. And also regarding the issue of takfir in general, I saw that most of the treatises of the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, mention this issue and address it and refute this doubt that the opponents of the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, used to raise, that they declare people disbelievers in general.

The Shaykh : Is it possible, before moving to this second issue, that we pause for a moment on some phrases related to the first issue? Do you not see a difference between the phrase of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and some of his followers?

The questioner : You mean the saying of Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Latif that it is upon the madhhab of Imam Ahmad, so if we find the evidence, we say with it.
Yes.

The Shaykh : Do you not see a difference between this and that?

The questioner : Shaykh, I see that it does not affect much the issue of fanaticism, which is what I mean.

The Shaykh : No, that is not sufficient for me. It is sufficient for me that following a madhhab is an abomination.

The questioner : Absolutely.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes. Of course, it is not from the general people, but from the people of knowledge. So the phrase of Imam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab is, if we do not say it is more correct than the phrase of 'Abdullah, did I say that?

The questioner : 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Latif...

The Shaykh : Yes, if we do not say "most correct" here, then this is more precise in expression, because there [the scholar] made his school the return to the Book and the Sunnah, and he considered the Imams equal in his view, whereas this [position] specifically designated the school of Imam Ahmad as the one to be followed. This is what constitutes fanaticism, and although fanaticism has degrees without a doubt, we know, for example, from the reality of the lives of those who follow scholars today that their fanaticism varies greatly. Some of those who follow scholars do not deviate from their school by a hair's breadth, while others depart from the school at the slightest opportunity, especially if they find in it a dispensation or something similar in terms of worldly benefits. There are ranks and ranks, and we have no need to go into detail. Some say, "I do not follow a specific school," and this is what we attribute to Allah, because we distinguish between following a scholar without knowing his evidence and adopting a school of jurisprudence. We see that following a scholar without knowing his evidence is something from which no scholar can be safe, let alone those below them. However, no scholar adopts following a specific Imam as a religion by which he draws near to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Here comes the statement of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) when he referred to the saying of Allah the Exalted: There is a great difference between one who adopts a school and then departs from it slightly when he finds himself facing a verse or a hadith, and one who says—and our words are not to be misunderstood regarding scholars, not regarding the general public—there is a difference between a scholar who adopts one of the four schools, whether it is the first, the second, the third, or the fourth, which is the school of Ahmad, and one who says, "I, the scholar, do not follow a specific school, but rather we follow the Book wherever it is, in any school." So this theoretical methodology that we are now depicting with few words, its application is what confirms that this process is very important. It means a scholar who lives his life moving between the schools following the evidence, and another scholar who settled on the school that appealed to him or that he found his father and grandfather upon. So whenever he sees, for example, an issue that contradicts the Qur'an or the hadith, he acts on it, but he does not look to see if this school, which he worships Allah with in all these branches he has lived with for many years, is contrary to the school or in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, and not contrary to the Book and the Sunnah. This is the difference between one who adopts the school as a religion, but not completely rigidly, but says that he is more pious to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to establish that a certain issue in his school contradicted the Book and the Sunnah, and he says, "No, I do not follow the Book and the Sunnah," so the verse applies to him exactly. As for Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, his expression is very clear, and this is what we call upon scholars to be upon, on a straight path, that the foundation of their call to the Shari'ah is not "I am a Hanafi," so if it is established for him that an issue in his school contradicted the Sunnah, he follows it and leaves his school, and the rest is measured accordingly. And if the scholars had walked for all these long centuries on what Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab mentioned, there would be no existence of four schools, but every group held fast to the school of their Imam, and then time passed and made them stricter in holding fast to following scholars without knowing their evidence, until the followers of the schools became sects and parties, and the matter reached the point where they refused to pray behind one another, and this is a known thing. So I noticed this paradox.