There are responses to the Egyptian da'iyah Muhammad al-Ghazali; do you think these responses are the proper way of advising and guiding?

The questioner: All right, Shaykh, a question ... .

The Shaykh : And what is it?

The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : , ... al-Nazari announced al-Ghazali's book; some shaykhs and students of knowledge responded to this writer and his book ... between al-Ghazali and those who responded to him, and that is through his responses to them; do you think these responses are the proper way of advising and guiding? And did you respondThe Shaykh : to al-Ghazali?

The Shaykh: As for me, I did not respond to him, nor do I occupy myself with responding to him and his like. However, responding to him is obligatory, and people inevitably differ in their methods of responding to those who oppose them and those who deviate; some are moderate, some are very lenient, and some are strict, and ... the middle path is, as is known, the way in all matters. As for remaining silent about this book, there is no doubt that it is not permissible, and it is obligatory for one who has the scholarly ability and ... to gather his affairs and respond to him with a detailed response; because this man is neither a scholar of hadith nor a scholar of fiqh, contrary to what he claims or what those who are deceived by his sweet words claim. So responding is obligatory, but as He - the Exalted - said: , but our Lord - Mighty and Majestic - out of His mercy for His servants did not make it difficult for them, so He said in some circumstances: , and he certainly did not speak to clarify the truth from the error regarding some of the shaykhs, but rather he accused the majority of those concerned with the Sunnah, and he threw at them terms that it is not fitting for an Islamic writer or Islamic da'iyah, as they call them today, to utter such terms. If some harshness comes from some of those who responded to him in the very places where he was harsh with the people of the Sunnah, then that is permissible, even though the principle is that a person should seek the truth in a scholarly manner, and clarify the truth without spending his time seeking revenge for himself, even though this revenge is permissible if it is placed in its proper place. This is what we say now.