The Ruling on Discussion and Dispute During Hajj?

Al-Hawini: We are a group of young men who performed Hajj this year. It may happen that we discuss certain issues among ourselves, and debate arises regarding them. Does this count as dispute during Hajj?

The Shaykh : By Allah, this varies depending on the nature of the discussion and debate. Before I go into any detail regarding this, I want to say: When Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned in the previous verse: , His saying (the Exalted): , does not mean absolute dispute, but rather dispute with falsehood. Because (the Exalted) coupled dispute with lewdness and transgression, and without a doubt, both lewdness and transgression are sins, and major sins during Hajj. Therefore, it is inconceivable that the meaning is absolute dispute in Hajj; that is, even if the dispute were conducted in the manner of the Quranic etiquette: . If the dispute is with what is best, then this is a necessity in every place and at every time, so that Muslims may understand one another.
So now, when the question came regarding a group of pilgrims who discussed, I am unable to imagine how the discussion that took place among them was. But I know from experience that many young people, when they discuss, do so with excessive heat. This heat carries them beyond the limit of moderation and beyond debating with what is best. Therefore, I advise our young brothers, especially our brothers who are students of knowledge in general, and our Salafi brothers who follow the Book and the Sunnah in particular. Because with my long experience, I know that they become very enthusiastic during discussion, to the point that one of them does not know the one he is debating: is he older or younger? Is he more knowledgeable than him, equal to him, or less than him? You find him discussing with all heat and all departure from the etiquette of discussion and debate. This reminds us of the like of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . And we have often heard from many of these enthusiastic young people, when it is said to one of them: "My brother, you are saying this statement, and so-and-so the scholar says the opposite of you, so if you would be patient," he says: "We are men and they are men." And when he says "we are men," the well-known proverb in some lands may apply to him: he defecates before he urinates. He was born today, and he learned today, so how does he dare to say that we are men and they are men? They quoted this phrase from some of the Salaf, such as Abu Hanifah, who said: "When disagreement comes from the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), at that time we are not obligated to follow one of them over the others, but rather they are men and we are men." So where is this statement that came from this Imam compared to this statement when it comes from someone who perhaps it is not correct to call him a student of knowledge? Therefore, we advise our young brothers, the students of knowledge, not to become enthusiastic quickly in general—not only in Hajj—; that they not become enthusiastic in discussion, but rather that they should be patient, and that their aim should be to benefit from others, especially if they are more senior to them in knowledge, understanding, age, and the like. Their aim should not be to impose their opinion on others, but rather to benefit from others what may be added to what he himself has benefited.
This is what I can mention on this occasion.