On the topic of (Purifying the Prophetic Sunnah from Weak Hadiths), the Shaykh responded to al-Ghazali.
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The questioner: Well, in your request — may Allah reward you — meaning, the near and the far know — may Allah reward you and grant you a long life — your service to the Prophetic Sunnah.
The Shaykh: May Allah bless you, please go ahead.
Another questioner: Thank you, Shaykh.
The questioner: And today... today, my Shaykh, the *ruwaybidah* spoke and the Prophetic Sunnah was attacked, and newspapers like "Khudra' al-Daman," "al-Sharq al-Awsat," "al-Muslimun," and others opened up for it, and some of the *mu'ammamin* took the lead in the issue. You and all the people know that a conference was held titled: "Purifying the Prophetic Sunnah from Authentic Hadiths," and you are the knight of the arena, my Shaykh. Can we hope for an independent study on this topic?
The Shaykh: That is undoubtedly my duty, if you have a good opinion of me.
The questioner: May Allah honor you, may Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh: But the problem for me at this time, which requires me to perform this duty, is that many of my books are currently in press, so some of them need introductions, and some need indexes and proofreading of drafts and the like. Therefore, I cannot in any way turn to fulfilling this duty, which I feel I am capable of to the extent of my knowledge, and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Nevertheless, despite the tightness of this time, I have seized many opportunities to respond to the man in occasions I have taken advantage of. For example, in "The Description of Prayer," I addressed him in the introduction. I had previously quoted from one of his books an article or a part of it on the occasion of responding to the *muqallids*. He stated that a conference was held in America that gathered a group of Orientalists, and a discussion took place about Muslims and their callers. They naturally raised objections as to which Islam these Muslims are calling to? Is it Sunni Islam, or Shia Islam, or Zaydi Islam? Then is it Hanafi, or Maliki, or Shafi'i, or Hanbali Islam? He concluded the article with a word of truth, saying: "But the Islamic callers themselves are in confusion." I had quoted this word from him, and now that the cover has been removed and the man's reality has become clear, and before that you knew that I had traced his book and written that introduction for it, thereby revealing his plan at that time to critique the hadiths by authenticating and weakening them. But these features were not as clear as he has done now in the latest book.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Nevertheless, I responded to him to the extent that time allowed me. When I met him at the Islamic University in the Supreme Council, we used to meet with him in some years, so I conveyed my objection to him directly. And to complete his deviation, he is now printing "Fiqh al-Sirah" without the introduction!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Have you seen that, perhaps?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So I wrote a comment on the introduction, in which I mentioned his previous words, and I said at the beginning of the word: "It appears thatThe Shaykh : al-Ghazali is one of those confused callers!" And I continued for about a page and a half in small print. I also responded to him, I think, in the commentary on "Mukhtasar Muslim"; he is also printing now the hadith of Moses (peace be upon him) gouging out the eye of the Angel of Death. And so I seize the opportunity. As for turning to study the book and critique it with every sentence of his, unfortunately my time does not help me now, because the printing presses are out of order and the publishers also object, and they have the right to do so. So ask Allah for me to enable me to do what is obligatory upon me — if Allah wills.
The questioner: May Allah weigh your good deeds heavily with that.
The Shaykh : O Allah, amen.
The Shaykh: May Allah bless you, please go ahead.
Another questioner: Thank you, Shaykh.
The questioner: And today... today, my Shaykh, the *ruwaybidah* spoke and the Prophetic Sunnah was attacked, and newspapers like "Khudra' al-Daman," "al-Sharq al-Awsat," "al-Muslimun," and others opened up for it, and some of the *mu'ammamin* took the lead in the issue. You and all the people know that a conference was held titled: "Purifying the Prophetic Sunnah from Authentic Hadiths," and you are the knight of the arena, my Shaykh. Can we hope for an independent study on this topic?
The Shaykh: That is undoubtedly my duty, if you have a good opinion of me.
The questioner: May Allah honor you, may Allah preserve you.
The Shaykh: But the problem for me at this time, which requires me to perform this duty, is that many of my books are currently in press, so some of them need introductions, and some need indexes and proofreading of drafts and the like. Therefore, I cannot in any way turn to fulfilling this duty, which I feel I am capable of to the extent of my knowledge, and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Nevertheless, despite the tightness of this time, I have seized many opportunities to respond to the man in occasions I have taken advantage of. For example, in "The Description of Prayer," I addressed him in the introduction. I had previously quoted from one of his books an article or a part of it on the occasion of responding to the *muqallids*. He stated that a conference was held in America that gathered a group of Orientalists, and a discussion took place about Muslims and their callers. They naturally raised objections as to which Islam these Muslims are calling to? Is it Sunni Islam, or Shia Islam, or Zaydi Islam? Then is it Hanafi, or Maliki, or Shafi'i, or Hanbali Islam? He concluded the article with a word of truth, saying: "But the Islamic callers themselves are in confusion." I had quoted this word from him, and now that the cover has been removed and the man's reality has become clear, and before that you knew that I had traced his book and written that introduction for it, thereby revealing his plan at that time to critique the hadiths by authenticating and weakening them. But these features were not as clear as he has done now in the latest book.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Nevertheless, I responded to him to the extent that time allowed me. When I met him at the Islamic University in the Supreme Council, we used to meet with him in some years, so I conveyed my objection to him directly. And to complete his deviation, he is now printing "Fiqh al-Sirah" without the introduction!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Have you seen that, perhaps?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So I wrote a comment on the introduction, in which I mentioned his previous words, and I said at the beginning of the word: "It appears thatThe Shaykh : al-Ghazali is one of those confused callers!" And I continued for about a page and a half in small print. I also responded to him, I think, in the commentary on "Mukhtasar Muslim"; he is also printing now the hadith of Moses (peace be upon him) gouging out the eye of the Angel of Death. And so I seize the opportunity. As for turning to study the book and critique it with every sentence of his, unfortunately my time does not help me now, because the printing presses are out of order and the publishers also object, and they have the right to do so. So ask Allah for me to enable me to do what is obligatory upon me — if Allah wills.
The questioner: May Allah weigh your good deeds heavily with that.
The Shaykh : O Allah, amen.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.