A word on the issue of thanking people, and that it is part of thanking Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)
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The Shaykh : Before anything else, I must verify a hadith from the authentic hadiths of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in this gathering that you have facilitated for us. That hadith is his saying (peace be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1954Sahih (Darussalam), at the same time as I offer this obligatory thanks, first to you and then to our brothers.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I hope for you, in this place which we know, Doctor, that you have recently acquired, and that you are striving to green it, make it grow, and plant in it; I hope that Allah will facilitate for you what you originally intended, and that this work of yours will benefit you in this world and the Hereafter. The benefit is either limited or unlimited in any way; it is vast and very vast. Some of it applies to every land that has fruit, grain, or crops from which creatures of all kinds benefit, whether speaking or silent, whether human or animal. This is because it came in the authentic hadiths in al-Bukhari and others that a Muslim does not plant a crop from which a bird, animal, or human does not eat, except that he has a reward for it—or as he (peace be upon him) said.
And the truth is, this is not what I intended with this word; rather, this is merely a kind of introduction. What I wish for you is that this land of yours becomes a green paradise with tall trees and abundant fruit, such that this place of yours becomes a haven for those who gather for knowledge and correct knowledge derived from the Book and the Sunnah. In doing so, I recall a man who had a very good impact... with a great difference between you and him now, a difference that is negative and positive. When he began seeking knowledge, he was forty years old, and you—praise be to Allah—are not now beginning to seek knowledge. From here comes the difference between you and him. But there is a matter where another difference exists... I hope it will be realized in you in a better way than the way it was realized for him. For that man today has followers who number in the millions, and he was a caller to the Sunnah. However, I must clarify that the Sunnah he called to, according to his understanding and the knowledge he gained from al-Azhar, is such that perhaps everyone knows that al-Azhar does not provide mature, correct knowledge. Therefore, we see that those who had a firm footing in correct knowledge did not gain it from al-Azhar, as they call it "the Noble al-Azhar." This man entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, knowing absolutely nothing of reading or writing. What moved him to do so—and here is the similarity I hope will be realized between you and him on one side—was that he had a garden in Cairo. He would invite scholars from al-Azhar to a picnic and a change of scenery in his garden. He was a kind and generous man, so he would honor them. He felt the need to listen to the hadiths that were discussed among them, so he benefited from their knowledge through the way he invited them to his garden and honored them. From the repetition of this practice, the love of knowledge was placed in his heart. So he entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, not knowing, as they say in our Damascus, "the alif from the mastighah," where "mastighah" is the long stick we have, and some in northern Syria say "he does not distinguish between the five and the tamseh." He was completely uneducated. Then he excelled in his studies until he obtained the "worldly degree" they call it there. It appears he was sincere, and Allah knows best, so he began calling people to what he knew of the Sunnah. He came to have many, many followers. I was destined to go to Cairo more than once, and I prayed in their mosque. Their mosque is perhaps the only mosque—I say: perhaps the only mosque—that was built without a mihrab and without that long minbar that cuts across the row or rows; truly, according to the Sunnah. They also take pride in maintaining their attire, especially regarding the beard, so you hardly see a shaven man among them, unlike our group, the supporters of the Sunnah—unfortunately—most of whom are shaven.
The questioner : There is no power nor strength except with Allah!
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, and they are the supporters of the Sunnah. The name of the association is "The Muhammadian Association of Supporters of the Sunnah." Glory be to Allah! How a person takes a lesson from both groups, and one should take the best from each of the two groups. You find that the supporters of the Sunnah take pride in the correct creed, especially what relates to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the names and attributes. They are Salafi monotheists one hundred percent. Likewise, regarding legal rulings, they try to take what is established in the Sunnah; that is, without committing to a specific school of jurisprudence among the followed schools.
This man's group, and I forgot to mention that the group has many names. The famous name for them in Egypt is "al-Sunnis." They have a second name derived from the lineage of Shaykh al-Subki who followed them, and a third name derived from the lineage of Abu al-Shaykh, which is al-Khattabiyyah. So they are "Mahmud ibn al-Khattab al-Subki." In terms of fame, they are most known to them as "al-Sunnis." This became widespread among the common people because of their concern for appearances. And without a doubt, we are concerned with this, but we set precise scientific scales for it. They—for example, as I said earlier or intended to say—you do not find a shaven man among them, you do not find a man who is content with just a skullcap or something like me; he must put on a turban, and then this turban must have an "athbah" (a specific fold or style); because that is how the turban of the Messenger (peace be upon him) was. And as you see, they do not eat as some people do—and I am one of them—with this spoon, but rather with their hands. This is the Sunnah. So they have excess and deficiency regarding the Sunnah. These matters, such as the skullcap, or the turban over the skullcap, or the "athbah" of the turban; these are undoubtedly matters established from the Messenger (peace be upon him), but they have no relation to... may Allah have mercy on you... they have no relation to what? To acts of worship. These are what some scholars call "Sunnahs of custom." Likewise, eating with your hand, or eating with a spoon or fork or similar, these are matters of custom that do not enter into acts of worship. However, if eating with the hand is done for the sake of the Sunnah, then all those who eat with their hand today are contradicting the Sunnah; because the Sunnah is to eat with three fingers. I do not see one of these people who are afflicted with contradicting the Sunnah by eating with their hand, I do not see any of them conforming to the Sunnah by eating with three fingers of their hand. It is not so for the one who eats with an invented tool, like any of the means that facilitate the difficult and bring the far near, and the like. And this has no relation, as we said at the beginning of the session, to the Shari'ah, but rather it is what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created for His servants.
So the strictness in this aspect led those people to fall into it; they are obligated to have a turban and an "athbah." Although it is established in the Sunnah that the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not always wear a turban; sometimes he would wear a skullcap without a turban, sometimes a turban without a skullcap, and sometimes he would combine both. But the apparent thing, and for which they are thanked, is that if you meet one of them, you find sincerity, affection, and love, especially among themselves. In contrast to this exaggeration in adhering to the Sunnah, they have a very serious deviation in creed; for they are Ash'aris in what? In the attributes. They interpret the verses of attributes, to the extent that this Shaykh of theirs has a specific book on interpreting the verses of attributes and proving that the verse:[Taha 20:5] means "he took control" and not "he rose above."
The point is: this man has good deeds, and he has deviations. However, I do not know the current situation in Egypt, for I have not been able to go to Egypt for more than ten years. What I know from the past is that they used to count the millions because of this man’s sincerity in his calling. And the deviation that we attribute to him may have been due to his independent legal reasoning, for which he may be rewarded, if Allah wills.
In summary: I hope that this land will become a green paradise frequented by scholars and students of knowledge, and that this place will be a beacon for spreading the correct knowledge in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah. This is what I wanted to say on this occasion.
Those present : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And to you.
Whoever is not grateful to the people, he is not grateful to Allah.
مَن لا يشكر الناس لا يشكر اللهThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I hope for you, in this place which we know, Doctor, that you have recently acquired, and that you are striving to green it, make it grow, and plant in it; I hope that Allah will facilitate for you what you originally intended, and that this work of yours will benefit you in this world and the Hereafter. The benefit is either limited or unlimited in any way; it is vast and very vast. Some of it applies to every land that has fruit, grain, or crops from which creatures of all kinds benefit, whether speaking or silent, whether human or animal. This is because it came in the authentic hadiths in al-Bukhari and others that a Muslim does not plant a crop from which a bird, animal, or human does not eat, except that he has a reward for it—or as he (peace be upon him) said.
And the truth is, this is not what I intended with this word; rather, this is merely a kind of introduction. What I wish for you is that this land of yours becomes a green paradise with tall trees and abundant fruit, such that this place of yours becomes a haven for those who gather for knowledge and correct knowledge derived from the Book and the Sunnah. In doing so, I recall a man who had a very good impact... with a great difference between you and him now, a difference that is negative and positive. When he began seeking knowledge, he was forty years old, and you—praise be to Allah—are not now beginning to seek knowledge. From here comes the difference between you and him. But there is a matter where another difference exists... I hope it will be realized in you in a better way than the way it was realized for him. For that man today has followers who number in the millions, and he was a caller to the Sunnah. However, I must clarify that the Sunnah he called to, according to his understanding and the knowledge he gained from al-Azhar, is such that perhaps everyone knows that al-Azhar does not provide mature, correct knowledge. Therefore, we see that those who had a firm footing in correct knowledge did not gain it from al-Azhar, as they call it "the Noble al-Azhar." This man entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, knowing absolutely nothing of reading or writing. What moved him to do so—and here is the similarity I hope will be realized between you and him on one side—was that he had a garden in Cairo. He would invite scholars from al-Azhar to a picnic and a change of scenery in his garden. He was a kind and generous man, so he would honor them. He felt the need to listen to the hadiths that were discussed among them, so he benefited from their knowledge through the way he invited them to his garden and honored them. From the repetition of this practice, the love of knowledge was placed in his heart. So he entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, not knowing, as they say in our Damascus, "the alif from the mastighah," where "mastighah" is the long stick we have, and some in northern Syria say "he does not distinguish between the five and the tamseh." He was completely uneducated. Then he excelled in his studies until he obtained the "worldly degree" they call it there. It appears he was sincere, and Allah knows best, so he began calling people to what he knew of the Sunnah. He came to have many, many followers. I was destined to go to Cairo more than once, and I prayed in their mosque. Their mosque is perhaps the only mosque—I say: perhaps the only mosque—that was built without a mihrab and without that long minbar that cuts across the row or rows; truly, according to the Sunnah. They also take pride in maintaining their attire, especially regarding the beard, so you hardly see a shaven man among them, unlike our group, the supporters of the Sunnah—unfortunately—most of whom are shaven.
The questioner : There is no power nor strength except with Allah!
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed, and they are the supporters of the Sunnah. The name of the association is "The Muhammadian Association of Supporters of the Sunnah." Glory be to Allah! How a person takes a lesson from both groups, and one should take the best from each of the two groups. You find that the supporters of the Sunnah take pride in the correct creed, especially what relates to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the names and attributes. They are Salafi monotheists one hundred percent. Likewise, regarding legal rulings, they try to take what is established in the Sunnah; that is, without committing to a specific school of jurisprudence among the followed schools.
This man's group, and I forgot to mention that the group has many names. The famous name for them in Egypt is "al-Sunnis." They have a second name derived from the lineage of Shaykh al-Subki who followed them, and a third name derived from the lineage of Abu al-Shaykh, which is al-Khattabiyyah. So they are "Mahmud ibn al-Khattab al-Subki." In terms of fame, they are most known to them as "al-Sunnis." This became widespread among the common people because of their concern for appearances. And without a doubt, we are concerned with this, but we set precise scientific scales for it. They—for example, as I said earlier or intended to say—you do not find a shaven man among them, you do not find a man who is content with just a skullcap or something like me; he must put on a turban, and then this turban must have an "athbah" (a specific fold or style); because that is how the turban of the Messenger (peace be upon him) was. And as you see, they do not eat as some people do—and I am one of them—with this spoon, but rather with their hands. This is the Sunnah. So they have excess and deficiency regarding the Sunnah. These matters, such as the skullcap, or the turban over the skullcap, or the "athbah" of the turban; these are undoubtedly matters established from the Messenger (peace be upon him), but they have no relation to... may Allah have mercy on you... they have no relation to what? To acts of worship. These are what some scholars call "Sunnahs of custom." Likewise, eating with your hand, or eating with a spoon or fork or similar, these are matters of custom that do not enter into acts of worship. However, if eating with the hand is done for the sake of the Sunnah, then all those who eat with their hand today are contradicting the Sunnah; because the Sunnah is to eat with three fingers. I do not see one of these people who are afflicted with contradicting the Sunnah by eating with their hand, I do not see any of them conforming to the Sunnah by eating with three fingers of their hand. It is not so for the one who eats with an invented tool, like any of the means that facilitate the difficult and bring the far near, and the like. And this has no relation, as we said at the beginning of the session, to the Shari'ah, but rather it is what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created for His servants.
So the strictness in this aspect led those people to fall into it; they are obligated to have a turban and an "athbah." Although it is established in the Sunnah that the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not always wear a turban; sometimes he would wear a skullcap without a turban, sometimes a turban without a skullcap, and sometimes he would combine both. But the apparent thing, and for which they are thanked, is that if you meet one of them, you find sincerity, affection, and love, especially among themselves. In contrast to this exaggeration in adhering to the Sunnah, they have a very serious deviation in creed; for they are Ash'aris in what? In the attributes. They interpret the verses of attributes, to the extent that this Shaykh of theirs has a specific book on interpreting the verses of attributes and proving that the verse:
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىThe point is: this man has good deeds, and he has deviations. However, I do not know the current situation in Egypt, for I have not been able to go to Egypt for more than ten years. What I know from the past is that they used to count the millions because of this man’s sincerity in his calling. And the deviation that we attribute to him may have been due to his independent legal reasoning, for which he may be rewarded, if Allah wills.
In summary: I hope that this land will become a green paradise frequented by scholars and students of knowledge, and that this place will be a beacon for spreading the correct knowledge in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah. This is what I wanted to say on this occasion.
Those present : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And to you.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.