The Shaykh's response to the people of misguidance who cite the report from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Allah was, and there was no place..."
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The Shaykh : Another thing came to my mind when I heard you summarize what happened between you and that man. You mentioned that he cited a report from 'Ali
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : that He was in a place.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : At that time, we were busy listening to your summary until we reached the mosque. Otherwise, I would have said: Do you know where he took this misguidance from? He took it from *Musnad al-Rabi' ibn Habib al-Khariji*.
The student: Is he the Shaykh of the report "Allah was, and there was no place"? Is this in Musnad al-Rabi'?
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And al-Saqaf mentioned this in his notes on the doubts.
The student: Doubt...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The student: Yes, of course, you have certainly examined the chain of this report, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : It does not need examination. The mere fact that it is in *Musnad al-Rabi'* is enough for me to dismiss it, because he is, first of all, an obscure man with no mention in the biographical books of the scholars of the Khawarij, let alone the scholars of the Sunnah. When they speak of him, they use words that do not exist in the books of Islamic history, such as saying he was an imam, a memorizer, or a trustworthy man. As for the book they attribute to him, *Musnad al-Rabi'*, it contains hadiths narrated from people who came after al-Rabi' by many years. If it were said that this book is less authentic than *One Thousand and One Nights*, that would not be an exaggeration.
The questioner : Allahu Akbar.
The Shaykh : Many of the narrations in it are from people known to be abandoned and weak, and they are after al-Rabi'. So even if we assumed that the chain between al-Rabi' and 'Ali was as clear as the sun at noon, it would have no value, because al-Rabi' is an obscure man. It is not known whether he was a hadith scholar. And even if it were known that he was a hadith scholar, it is not known whether he was trustworthy, precise, or a memorizer. There is no way to know any of this.
And despite that, this al-Saqaf has a bias in his heart. He exalts this man to mislead people into thinking that he is a reference. He even said that among the Ibadis, he is like the four Imams among the people of the Sunnah.
The student: Allahu Akbar.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. Therefore, I would also like you to put this question before him: Where did he take this report from? First of all, from Musnad Ahmad, and God forbid. Well, is everything in the Musnad authentic? The answer is no. Well, is this from the authentic or from the weak?
The student: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace. ... He said, "I do not know." How can you argue with something that, if one were to be fair, would be said to be unknown? How can you argue in matters of creed with something whose authenticity you do not know, while you say that creeds are not established except by certainty and conviction? And you deny the certainty and conviction explicitly stated in the Qur'an and the Sunnah through figurative interpretation. The important thing is the babbling about Allah being neither inside the world nor outside it. If I were with you, I would not refrain from mocking him and saying to him: "Truthful is Allah the Mighty" when he says that Allah is neither inside the world nor outside it. I would say, "Truthful is Allah the Mighty." He would say, "No, no, this is not a verse." Is it definitely not a verse? Well, "Truthful is the Messenger of Allah." No, no, it is not a hadith. Well, if it is not a verse and not a hadith, where did you get it from? This is a creed. Allahu Akbar upon him.
The questioner : Beautiful, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Allah, who says,
The questioner : Allahu Akbar upon them.
The Shaykh : Allah, who says:[Taha 20:5] to the end of the verses and hadiths, and so on.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : that He was in a place.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : At that time, we were busy listening to your summary until we reached the mosque. Otherwise, I would have said: Do you know where he took this misguidance from? He took it from *Musnad al-Rabi' ibn Habib al-Khariji*.
The student: Is he the Shaykh of the report "Allah was, and there was no place"? Is this in Musnad al-Rabi'?
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And al-Saqaf mentioned this in his notes on the doubts.
The student: Doubt...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed
The student: Yes, of course, you have certainly examined the chain of this report, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : It does not need examination. The mere fact that it is in *Musnad al-Rabi'* is enough for me to dismiss it, because he is, first of all, an obscure man with no mention in the biographical books of the scholars of the Khawarij, let alone the scholars of the Sunnah. When they speak of him, they use words that do not exist in the books of Islamic history, such as saying he was an imam, a memorizer, or a trustworthy man. As for the book they attribute to him, *Musnad al-Rabi'*, it contains hadiths narrated from people who came after al-Rabi' by many years. If it were said that this book is less authentic than *One Thousand and One Nights*, that would not be an exaggeration.
The questioner : Allahu Akbar.
The Shaykh : Many of the narrations in it are from people known to be abandoned and weak, and they are after al-Rabi'. So even if we assumed that the chain between al-Rabi' and 'Ali was as clear as the sun at noon, it would have no value, because al-Rabi' is an obscure man. It is not known whether he was a hadith scholar. And even if it were known that he was a hadith scholar, it is not known whether he was trustworthy, precise, or a memorizer. There is no way to know any of this.
And despite that, this al-Saqaf has a bias in his heart. He exalts this man to mislead people into thinking that he is a reference. He even said that among the Ibadis, he is like the four Imams among the people of the Sunnah.
The student: Allahu Akbar.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right. Therefore, I would also like you to put this question before him: Where did he take this report from? First of all, from Musnad Ahmad, and God forbid. Well, is everything in the Musnad authentic? The answer is no. Well, is this from the authentic or from the weak?
The student: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace. ... He said, "I do not know." How can you argue with something that, if one were to be fair, would be said to be unknown? How can you argue in matters of creed with something whose authenticity you do not know, while you say that creeds are not established except by certainty and conviction? And you deny the certainty and conviction explicitly stated in the Qur'an and the Sunnah through figurative interpretation. The important thing is the babbling about Allah being neither inside the world nor outside it. If I were with you, I would not refrain from mocking him and saying to him: "Truthful is Allah the Mighty" when he says that Allah is neither inside the world nor outside it. I would say, "Truthful is Allah the Mighty." He would say, "No, no, this is not a verse." Is it definitely not a verse? Well, "Truthful is the Messenger of Allah." No, no, it is not a hadith. Well, if it is not a verse and not a hadith, where did you get it from? This is a creed. Allahu Akbar upon him.
The questioner : Beautiful, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Allah, who says,
The questioner : Allahu Akbar upon them.
The Shaykh : Allah, who says: