If you could clarify some of the objections raised against Shaykh al-Sha'rawi?
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The questioner : I have a question, if you please, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Please proceed.
The questioner : Brother Muhammad al-Badi' al-Thaniyan, the manager of the support services department here.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : Among those who love to listen to Shaykh al-Sha'rawi, and Shaykh al-Sha'rawi appears frequently on television, so we want a critique or some of the objections, meaning we have some objections to Shaykh al-Sha'rawi, so if you would be kind enough to clarify some of the objections against Shaykh al-Sha'rawi?
The Shaykh : By Allah, this is what we want to hear from him: what is it that makes him trust al-Sha'rawi's words now? Al-Sha'rawi, so that a path opens up for us to draw his attention to what he may say that agrees with or contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, because if we suddenly confront him with our opinion on the matter of al-Sha'rawi, his mind might be empty.
The questioner : Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi
The Shaykh : The well-known Egyptian from al-Azhar, because the al-Sha'rawi who passed away does not appear on television, but this is prior to the speech, prior to the word. So what we know about him is that he is a later-generation Ash'ari, a later-generation Ash'ari. So does the brother have a prior idea about the Asha'irah and the later generations who are in disagreement with what the Salaf were upon, or does he not know? Because this is the first time I am meeting him, so I want to know what information he has about this specific point.
The questioner : By Allah, my lord, as you were kind enough to say, the reality is that I previously met Shaykh al-Sha'rawi in Islamabad, and chance brought us together. I was an employee there, and chance brought us together with him, and the following conversation took place between me and him!
The Shaykh : Good.
The questioner : He said to me: Do you pray? I was at that time, this was twenty years ago, I said to him: I cut it off. He said: How do you mean you cut it off? I said to him: I am not committed to it.
The Shaykh : Meaning sometimes you pray and sometimes you leave it.
The questioner : So he said, my son: How many hours are there today? I said to him: Day and night, twenty-four hours.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He said: How do you divide it? I said to him: I divide it into three parts: a part for work, a part for sleep, and a part for neither work nor sleep. He said: Okay, how much of it does prayer take?
I said to him: By Allah, I estimate half an hour. He said: Is it not reasonable that you turn to your Creator and pray to Him for half an hour, intermittently, out of twenty-four hours?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Of course, I was very impressed by this speech, and from that time I committed to it and truly became convinced.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah that you became convinced.
The questioner : So my lord, now I see him on television, and frankly, the style in which he presents is an engaging style that mixes between literature and religion, and so on, so he attracts his viewer or listener in a way that he truly enjoys his talks.
Another questioner: Meaning he brings new things in tafsir.
Another questioner: New contemporary things that keep pace with the era.
The Shaykh : Okay.
The questioner : So I came to Brother Nasser and spoke, and to other brothers who said: No, my brother, this is dangerous, dangerous for you and for the generation. This man does not commit to anything and invents things during his speech, and it is possible that they are wrong, so do not commit to him.
Another questioner: Excuse me, in tafsir of the Qur'an.
The questioner : So on the occasion of your honoring us with your presence here, I hope to hear the appropriate thing, which is whether I should continue or stop?
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : Welcome.
The Shaykh : I say, may Allah bless you, and no blame, so I assume you are one of two men:
Either you are that man who, as they say now in the present age, has a scientific background in the Salafi creed, in which case, when you are like this and you have knowledge, for example, of what is authentic and what is not authentic from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then if you listen to such a person, you benefit, like the example you gave regarding prayer. His speech is captivating and attractive, and this is what makes the general public gather around him when he sits in a lecture or something similar, and then it is broadcast on television. But if you are the other man who does not have this scientific background and the religious insight that we were commanded to have in some verses of the Qur'an, like His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Yusuf 12:108], then when the person who listens to this thing is from the second category, it is feared that his foot will slip because he does not have what distinguishes his correctness from his error. And I mean, I do not blame you for being taken in by him, because the truth, as they say in some poetry:
"You are not the first traveler who was deceived by the moon".
There are many like you, even among our brothers, like our brother here and others, meaning our Salafi brothers, you hear this word, it must be!
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : It must be, yes.
The Shaykh : Please proceed.
The questioner : Brother Muhammad al-Badi' al-Thaniyan, the manager of the support services department here.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : Among those who love to listen to Shaykh al-Sha'rawi, and Shaykh al-Sha'rawi appears frequently on television, so we want a critique or some of the objections, meaning we have some objections to Shaykh al-Sha'rawi, so if you would be kind enough to clarify some of the objections against Shaykh al-Sha'rawi?
The Shaykh : By Allah, this is what we want to hear from him: what is it that makes him trust al-Sha'rawi's words now? Al-Sha'rawi, so that a path opens up for us to draw his attention to what he may say that agrees with or contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, because if we suddenly confront him with our opinion on the matter of al-Sha'rawi, his mind might be empty.
The questioner : Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi
The Shaykh : The well-known Egyptian from al-Azhar, because the al-Sha'rawi who passed away does not appear on television, but this is prior to the speech, prior to the word. So what we know about him is that he is a later-generation Ash'ari, a later-generation Ash'ari. So does the brother have a prior idea about the Asha'irah and the later generations who are in disagreement with what the Salaf were upon, or does he not know? Because this is the first time I am meeting him, so I want to know what information he has about this specific point.
The questioner : By Allah, my lord, as you were kind enough to say, the reality is that I previously met Shaykh al-Sha'rawi in Islamabad, and chance brought us together. I was an employee there, and chance brought us together with him, and the following conversation took place between me and him!
The Shaykh : Good.
The questioner : He said to me: Do you pray? I was at that time, this was twenty years ago, I said to him: I cut it off. He said: How do you mean you cut it off? I said to him: I am not committed to it.
The Shaykh : Meaning sometimes you pray and sometimes you leave it.
The questioner : So he said, my son: How many hours are there today? I said to him: Day and night, twenty-four hours.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He said: How do you divide it? I said to him: I divide it into three parts: a part for work, a part for sleep, and a part for neither work nor sleep. He said: Okay, how much of it does prayer take?
I said to him: By Allah, I estimate half an hour. He said: Is it not reasonable that you turn to your Creator and pray to Him for half an hour, intermittently, out of twenty-four hours?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Of course, I was very impressed by this speech, and from that time I committed to it and truly became convinced.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah that you became convinced.
The questioner : So my lord, now I see him on television, and frankly, the style in which he presents is an engaging style that mixes between literature and religion, and so on, so he attracts his viewer or listener in a way that he truly enjoys his talks.
Another questioner: Meaning he brings new things in tafsir.
Another questioner: New contemporary things that keep pace with the era.
The Shaykh : Okay.
The questioner : So I came to Brother Nasser and spoke, and to other brothers who said: No, my brother, this is dangerous, dangerous for you and for the generation. This man does not commit to anything and invents things during his speech, and it is possible that they are wrong, so do not commit to him.
Another questioner: Excuse me, in tafsir of the Qur'an.
The questioner : So on the occasion of your honoring us with your presence here, I hope to hear the appropriate thing, which is whether I should continue or stop?
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : Welcome.
The Shaykh : I say, may Allah bless you, and no blame, so I assume you are one of two men:
Either you are that man who, as they say now in the present age, has a scientific background in the Salafi creed, in which case, when you are like this and you have knowledge, for example, of what is authentic and what is not authentic from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then if you listen to such a person, you benefit, like the example you gave regarding prayer. His speech is captivating and attractive, and this is what makes the general public gather around him when he sits in a lecture or something similar, and then it is broadcast on television. But if you are the other man who does not have this scientific background and the religious insight that we were commanded to have in some verses of the Qur'an, like His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:
Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me. And exalted is Allah; and I am not of those who associate others with Him."
قل هذه سبيلي أدعو إلى الله على بصيرة أنا ومن اتبعني وسبحان الله وما أنا من المشركين"You are not the first traveler who was deceived by the moon".
There are many like you, even among our brothers, like our brother here and others, meaning our Salafi brothers, you hear this word, it must be!
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : It must be, yes.