The Shaykh's commentary on al-Bouti's attack on his Salafi brothers in his two books (Salafiyyah and Non-Madhhabism).

The questioner : Regarding the bookThe Shaykh : al-Bouti's Salafiyyah

The Shaykh : Yes

The questioner : What do you say about it?

The Shaykh : It is a bad book, naturally. It has a title that is from the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, but the title is very dangerous. He made veiled attacks and sarcasm against the Salafis. This was a message he issued in Syria, in which he described the Salafis as... how shall I put it? You know when dirty, filthy water flows into drains, we call them in the Levant "balali'."

The questioner : Yes, they are called "balali'" in Egypt.

The Shaykh : Also

The questioner : Yes

The Shaykh : Good. So he says that these people need to be drained into the "balali'" regarding the Salafis.

The questioner : Does he say this in the book, or...?

The Shaykh : In the book, in the message,The Shaykh : Do you know al-Ma'sumi? Or do you know anything of his works?

The questioner : I have heard of him.

The Shaykh : Ah, when I was first able to perform Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred, I visited him at his home... He had written useful messages for them, all concerning some aspects of Salafiyyah. One of them was a message on combating taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence). What was its title? It has slipped my mind, but it was to the land of Japan, meaning Japan. So we in Syria saw it in the interest of the da'wah (calling others to Islam) to print this message, in what is called today a popular, cheap edition.
Abu Layla : Our Shaykh, this speech is mentioned in some of my tapes. If you wish, since you are tired, you have tired us greatly, may Allah know, that is enough, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : We will conclude this. We printed it in a popular edition under a new title: "Is the Muslim obligated to follow a specific madhhab (school of jurisprudence)?" The message was published and Allah made it beneficial, and the taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) people, including al-Bouti, raised a commotion. So he wrote a message in response to it, concerning... its title is very dangerous. I do not remember the title well now, but its meaning is that non-madhhabism...

The questioner : al-Bouti's Non-Madhhabism

The Shaykh : Among the things the poor man wrote is that this is a small message, but it is for al-Ma'sumi.

The questioner : The Non-Madhhabism of Shaykh al-Ma'sumi.

The Shaykh : No, the messageThe Shaykh : al-Ma'sumi's is the response to the Japan one that we published under the title... it is a response to it. And among the things he said in the introduction is that this message was written byThe Shaykh : al-Albani and some of his companions, and it is not for al-Ma'sumi. This is an example of this man's aggression and recklessness in what he writes. And the message is with me, inThe Shaykh : al-Ma'sumi's handwriting, as a gift, meaning how, for example, they write here.
Abu Layla : Meaning like manuscripts, right?

The Shaykh : It is printed, meaning like this handwriting, that this author is in handwriting. Despite that, he claimed that we attributed this message to the man and made a grave error in it. He wrote a message in response to it...

The questioner : Abbas, we ask Allah to relieve him.

The Shaykh : What do you say about the book?

The questioner : The Innovation of the Age of Madhhabs is a good book, and many of the young people were pleased with it.

The Shaykh : So it is a response to al-Bouti's response to the message ofThe Shaykh : al-Ma'sumi. This is what I wanted to clarify.
Abu Layla : May Allah reward you with good, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.