A brother asks the Shaykh for advice on continuing his formal studies so that he can proceed with the research on the thesis "Proving the Attribute of Elevation for Allah, the One, the Overpowering"
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The questioner: Specifically regarding the studies, it concerns me. I don't know if I have finished with the Islamic studies in the field of da'wah; I completed the master's degree. Regarding 'aqidah, I completed what is called the diploma. I was writing, I was researching the thesis "Proving the Attribute of Elevation for Allah, the One, the Overpowering".
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: So the supervisor's method is strange, I mean.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner: No, by Allah, the 'aqidah supervisor had to be Saudi; it was impossible for him to be Egyptian, except in rare cases.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: I mean, in our appointment; I mean, very few when they needed them, then they stopped them. He is an imam of a mosque, not from the... but because he memorized the issues of 'aqidah, he said: He must be the one to supervise at the level of postgraduate studies. His name is the Shaykh... They approved my registration of the thesis as a study to research the manuscript "Proving the Attribute of Elevation", just as you say, for example, in Rajab or on the twentieth of Rajab, but I was traveling in Sha'ban, so I traveled and returned after the vacation; because it is a vacation, I mean, I would not benefit and was busy with the circumstances of the vacation, so the supervisor was very angry why I did not go back and return to him immediately. O son of the noble, I was traveling, he said: No, this is not acceptable. Okay; please, if you do not want to supervise me, give me the paper so someone else can supervise? He said: No, there is none.
The Shaykh : Again!
The questioner: The important thing is that the department intervened, and the dean of the college intervened, they appointed a temporary supervisor, they said: You, do not supervise, that is enough... because so-and-so... as a student...
-- The Shaykh: ... A brother from..., the one I know, they do not bequeath, but I do not have a study on the topic, I say: This is how they do it, but I do not have an opinion, yes, good, you are welcome, peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. --
The questioner: I mean... this must be for two years, then it is finished, the thesis is cancelled.
The Shaykh: Allah is the Greatest!
The questioner: And the period ended and they said: That is enough, the thesis was cancelled. You photographed the thesis and worked hard and started to research it, so the enthusiasm was cut off. I don't know, your advice to me, do you think I should stop at this limit of worldly certificates, or should I continue and search for a topic for studies, or?
The Shaykh: By Allah, this is up to your feeling; if you feel that you are gaining a scientific benefit from studying and researching this thesis, and not just to obtain the certificate; then continue and persist.
The questioner: The same person sometimes gets attached to...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: I mean, when there is a motivator or there is something, I mean, the field is there.
The Shaykh: I mean, there is more momentum.
The questioner: More momentum.
The Shaykh: Correct.
The questioner: This is only what happens, there is nothing I am intending, it is postponed, postponed, if Allah wills after a week, after a month, after such and such, unless they oblige you in a specific period for a specific review.
The Shaykh: Now the thesis was cancelled and it was cancelled?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: There is no hope?
The questioner: No, in Riyadh I don't think...
The Shaykh: Okay; another place?
The questioner: I did not try anything else like this.
The Shaykh: I mean, usually in the field?
The questioner: In the field... a diploma certificate is written.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: I mean, the diploma is not given except to one who submitted a thesis; because the thesis requires a long time to submit it, and if the period ended and he could not complete it.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: They did not agree to the extension, and gave him a diploma in..., so I don't know, as a topic, as a research and as a book, the topic, especially for the region of the Levant, I think it is a very important topic, proving the Attribute of Elevation, and especially in the refutation, I had a goal behind the refutation of a group, for example, of the Sufis, the mystics, considering I have a background on them, that they consider that Allah is in every place, and that Allah means.
The Shaykh: This is not only the Sufis, Professor, the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah and the Mu'tazilah, all of them are like this.
The questioner: The topic was truly sensitive and very sensitive, so I don't know if there is a means or a way for me to complete the topic and continue in it, or that my personal effort, I am not going to tell you I will persist in it a lot and I will not continue, I mean, I need a motivator or it needs a driver or it needs.
The Shaykh: Since there is a field other than the way of Riyadh?
The questioner: By Allah, I did not try, I mean.
The Shaykh: Continue, this is better than losing all the effort; approximately how many pages did you write?
The questioner: The manuscript as a research, I mean.
The Shaykh: Researching a book, I mean?
The questioner: Researching it, the whole manuscript is not large; I mean, approximately fifty pages.
The Shaykh: What is the manuscript?
The questioner: "Proving the Attribute of Elevation for Allah, the One, the Overpowering".
The Shaykh : To whom?
The questioner: By "Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi".
The Shaykh: Ah, is there a copy of it in the Zahiriyyah Library?
The questioner: I think so.
The Shaykh: Where did you obtain the copy from?
The questioner: I obtained a printed copy, a very old edition from more than fifty years ago.
The Shaykh: In India, I mean.
The questioner: It seems so, the press is not written, but it is old without research.
The Shaykh : Yes, of course.
The questioner: And a photocopied copy in the Department of Manuscripts at King Saud University.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: So I want to compare, I want to see where its origins are? And where it is located? And where such and such? These I found. I tried to look for it in the indexes and such, I did not find it.
The Shaykh: You did not find it?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: I think it is in Damascus, but it seems to me that there is a deficiency in it. You will certainly benefit from it in any case. Refer to "Index of Hadith Manuscripts in the Zahiriyyah" which I authored.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: You must find it there; because the Islamic University in the Holy City of Madinah had agreed with the Zahiriyyah Library that they would photograph all the manuscripts that come in Al-Albani's index.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Not all the manuscripts in general; because there are things that do not interest them, and it appears that they did that, you may find the copy there at the Islamic University in the Holy City of Madinah.
The questioner: The issue is that we are forbidden from traveling, I mean, you reside only in Riyadh, in Riyadh, you are forbidden to travel to any other place except with an official permission that specifies the reasons, I mean, if I want to travel to Madinah, except with an official permission.
The Shaykh: What is the reason?
The questioner: Security procedures, I mean, then you want to travel, you travel on Thursday and Friday, they will be closed; you will not benefit from this travel.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: This is what...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: So the supervisor's method is strange, I mean.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner: No, by Allah, the 'aqidah supervisor had to be Saudi; it was impossible for him to be Egyptian, except in rare cases.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: I mean, in our appointment; I mean, very few when they needed them, then they stopped them. He is an imam of a mosque, not from the... but because he memorized the issues of 'aqidah, he said: He must be the one to supervise at the level of postgraduate studies. His name is the Shaykh... They approved my registration of the thesis as a study to research the manuscript "Proving the Attribute of Elevation", just as you say, for example, in Rajab or on the twentieth of Rajab, but I was traveling in Sha'ban, so I traveled and returned after the vacation; because it is a vacation, I mean, I would not benefit and was busy with the circumstances of the vacation, so the supervisor was very angry why I did not go back and return to him immediately. O son of the noble, I was traveling, he said: No, this is not acceptable. Okay; please, if you do not want to supervise me, give me the paper so someone else can supervise? He said: No, there is none.
The Shaykh : Again!
The questioner: The important thing is that the department intervened, and the dean of the college intervened, they appointed a temporary supervisor, they said: You, do not supervise, that is enough... because so-and-so... as a student...
-- The Shaykh: ... A brother from..., the one I know, they do not bequeath, but I do not have a study on the topic, I say: This is how they do it, but I do not have an opinion, yes, good, you are welcome, peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. --
The questioner: I mean... this must be for two years, then it is finished, the thesis is cancelled.
The Shaykh: Allah is the Greatest!
The questioner: And the period ended and they said: That is enough, the thesis was cancelled. You photographed the thesis and worked hard and started to research it, so the enthusiasm was cut off. I don't know, your advice to me, do you think I should stop at this limit of worldly certificates, or should I continue and search for a topic for studies, or?
The Shaykh: By Allah, this is up to your feeling; if you feel that you are gaining a scientific benefit from studying and researching this thesis, and not just to obtain the certificate; then continue and persist.
The questioner: The same person sometimes gets attached to...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: I mean, when there is a motivator or there is something, I mean, the field is there.
The Shaykh: I mean, there is more momentum.
The questioner: More momentum.
The Shaykh: Correct.
The questioner: This is only what happens, there is nothing I am intending, it is postponed, postponed, if Allah wills after a week, after a month, after such and such, unless they oblige you in a specific period for a specific review.
The Shaykh: Now the thesis was cancelled and it was cancelled?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: There is no hope?
The questioner: No, in Riyadh I don't think...
The Shaykh: Okay; another place?
The questioner: I did not try anything else like this.
The Shaykh: I mean, usually in the field?
The questioner: In the field... a diploma certificate is written.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: I mean, the diploma is not given except to one who submitted a thesis; because the thesis requires a long time to submit it, and if the period ended and he could not complete it.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: They did not agree to the extension, and gave him a diploma in..., so I don't know, as a topic, as a research and as a book, the topic, especially for the region of the Levant, I think it is a very important topic, proving the Attribute of Elevation, and especially in the refutation, I had a goal behind the refutation of a group, for example, of the Sufis, the mystics, considering I have a background on them, that they consider that Allah is in every place, and that Allah means.
The Shaykh: This is not only the Sufis, Professor, the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah and the Mu'tazilah, all of them are like this.
The questioner: The topic was truly sensitive and very sensitive, so I don't know if there is a means or a way for me to complete the topic and continue in it, or that my personal effort, I am not going to tell you I will persist in it a lot and I will not continue, I mean, I need a motivator or it needs a driver or it needs.
The Shaykh: Since there is a field other than the way of Riyadh?
The questioner: By Allah, I did not try, I mean.
The Shaykh: Continue, this is better than losing all the effort; approximately how many pages did you write?
The questioner: The manuscript as a research, I mean.
The Shaykh: Researching a book, I mean?
The questioner: Researching it, the whole manuscript is not large; I mean, approximately fifty pages.
The Shaykh: What is the manuscript?
The questioner: "Proving the Attribute of Elevation for Allah, the One, the Overpowering".
The Shaykh : To whom?
The questioner: By "Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi".
The Shaykh: Ah, is there a copy of it in the Zahiriyyah Library?
The questioner: I think so.
The Shaykh: Where did you obtain the copy from?
The questioner: I obtained a printed copy, a very old edition from more than fifty years ago.
The Shaykh: In India, I mean.
The questioner: It seems so, the press is not written, but it is old without research.
The Shaykh : Yes, of course.
The questioner: And a photocopied copy in the Department of Manuscripts at King Saud University.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: So I want to compare, I want to see where its origins are? And where it is located? And where such and such? These I found. I tried to look for it in the indexes and such, I did not find it.
The Shaykh: You did not find it?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: I think it is in Damascus, but it seems to me that there is a deficiency in it. You will certainly benefit from it in any case. Refer to "Index of Hadith Manuscripts in the Zahiriyyah" which I authored.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: You must find it there; because the Islamic University in the Holy City of Madinah had agreed with the Zahiriyyah Library that they would photograph all the manuscripts that come in Al-Albani's index.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Not all the manuscripts in general; because there are things that do not interest them, and it appears that they did that, you may find the copy there at the Islamic University in the Holy City of Madinah.
The questioner: The issue is that we are forbidden from traveling, I mean, you reside only in Riyadh, in Riyadh, you are forbidden to travel to any other place except with an official permission that specifies the reasons, I mean, if I want to travel to Madinah, except with an official permission.
The Shaykh: What is the reason?
The questioner: Security procedures, I mean, then you want to travel, you travel on Thursday and Friday, they will be closed; you will not benefit from this travel.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: This is what...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.