The Story of the Shaykh’s Journey to Britain

The Shaykh : It was decreed for me to travel to some foreign countries, including Britain, for the sake of da'wah (calling others to Islam). There, we connected with many Islamic communities, including Arabs, non-Arabs, Turks, Pakistanis, Indians, and so on. I witnessed a very strange phenomenon there and quoted from the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): I drew from this hadith regarding that phenomenon. I found people who were rigidly attached to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence among the Turks, Indians, and Pakistanis. They rented a house from the disbelievers and turned it into a prayer hall where they prayed the Friday prayer. According to the consensus of the schools of jurisprudence, this prayer is invalid because it is in a house of disbelief. There is no permission from the imam. Who is the imam of the Muslims? Today, according to one of the opinions of the jurists, the Friday prayer is not valid in any Islamic country because there is no Muslim ruler. But, yes, may Allah save us from such opinions based on the Sunnah. So I said, these people were dragged into Paradise by grasping its means, despite their noses, and they contradicted their own school of jurisprudence because they did not find it reasonable that Muslims come to lands of disbelief and neglect establishing the Friday prayer once a week. Thus, they were compelled to adopt what is found in the Salafi jurisprudence. This is what most Islamic preachers do today: they take from our jurisprudence what they see as beneficial, not because the correct knowledge led them to this jurisprudence. As it is said here: "This difference between us is sufficient; every vessel emits what it contains." This is the answer to the question, distinct from the others.

The questioner : My Shaykh, this is related to the same issue, though it is, in a sense, a different chapter.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : One of our brothers called me yesterday with a little question. He asked me about some well-known scholars who issue fatwas here in Zarqa. He said he asked one of them where he prayed the 'Id prayer. He said, "By Allah, I prayed it in such-and-such a mosque because it was not feasible for me to go to the open prayer ground." The scholar said to him, "You did well." He asked, "Why? The Sunnah is to pray in the open prayer ground." The scholar said, "The Sunnah is to pray in the open prayer ground, but it is a condition to have the imam's permission to pray in the open prayer ground." So this means it is from the same previous chapter, also without any

The Shaykh : Yes, that is so.

The questioner : arbitrary ruling without evidence.

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, and Allah is the One to be sought for help.