The Shaykh’s discussion with a member of the Tabligh Jama'ah.

The questioner: ... a second village ... ?

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner: What is the difference if we go to a second village and it is the same mosque, we learn and it is the same mosque, what ... ?

The Shaykh: Listen, my dear, this is not the issue, may Allah be pleased with you, do not make us enter into points that are not in dispute. Perhaps you do not know me; when I was in Syria, I used to go to Homs, Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, and so on. What is the objection? You are asking me what is the objection? There is no objection, but I tell you: the closest people are more deserving of kindness, your family, your neighbors, and so on. Then, to whom are you calling? Your family, did you teach them? Now, I say to you—without offense—this discussion is private between you and me. Did you explain the creed to your family? Did you explain how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed? I tell you: No. Why? Because you are from the Tabligh Jama'ah. I do not know, but I assume you are from a group. The Tabligh Jama'ah do not learn how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, nor do they teach how to perform Hajj to the House of Allah, they do not learn nor teach, and so on. So, considering you are an individual from the Tabligh Jama'ah, your family, those you live with, and those who embrace you and you embrace them, and so on, are the closest people to you. Did you fulfill this obligation so that you can leave and go to another village and say to me: What is the objection? I tell you: There is no objection, but start with yourself, then with those next to you. Why do you leave your country? Meaning, the lack of knowledge in your country, so you go to another country, so you go to Europe? No, my brother, we have enough among us.
We need hundreds of scholars and preachers, hundreds, so that we are sufficient to fulfill the obligation. Then, by Allah, we move— for example—to Zarqa, to such and such, to such and such, not to Europe. Where are these preachers? This is our discussion, my brother. One who lacks a thing cannot give it.
We have a joke in the Levant that they mention. They say that a Kurdish man was enthusiastic about Islam, but he was a Kurd who knew only a little of Islam. He met a Jewish man on the road, and he had a dagger in his bosom. He drew the dagger and said to him: "Well, will you submit or shall I kill you?" He said: "What do you want me to say?" He said to him: "By Allah, I do not know!"
So, what did this enthusiasm benefit him? It did not benefit him. He did not know how to teach this Jewish man what Islam is. So we tell him: Before this enthusiasm, sit down—my brother—learn what Islam is, then convey it to people in the best manner. And this is sufficient, meaning in explaining what is taken against the Tabligh Jama'ah. Otherwise, entering into the details is not our concern; because the matter then requires historical research, and whether the chain of narration is authentic or not authentic, and we have no concern in this regard. But the thing that is completely clear is this going out with groups who know only a little of Islam.

The questioner: ... a minute of it ... because ... .

The Shaykh: Excuse me, define this accusation for me, please, so that I understand you?

The questioner: My brother, excuse me, first of all, the one who accuses the Dawah group of these accusations has not gone out with them to understand what their objectives are?

The Shaykh: Excuse me, I asked you, my brother, may Allah be pleased with you, let us leave aside these words that do not make the addressee understand. I asked you, define this accusation for me, what is this accusation?

The questioner: ... they do not pray as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prays ... .

The Shaykh: How is that an accusation? We do not see them!!

The questioner : How?

The Shaykh: How is that an accusation, my brother, may Allah guide you. Meaning, now—without offense—let us put you under the reality. Are you or someone else from the Tabligh Jama'ah?

The questioner: No, brother, not under the reality, and ... .

The Shaykh: So why are you saying this is an accusation, may Allah be pleased with you? We see them!

The questioner: First of all, if you find one, I want to speak with you. How do you know that I have been praying for two years? I was outside Saudi Arabia.

The Shaykh: It has been two years for you, what?

The questioner: It has been two years that I have been praying. I ... with you, it has been two years that I have been praying, and I got to know the Tabligh Jama'ah from our neighborhood. So, whatever imitation there is, I can answer you; because I have no objection ... sixty.

The Shaykh: Good.

The questioner: ... well, let me ... but I mean I went out with the group and sat with them, and I found how they pray. And I have the book, they say you are the one who wrote it, which is: ; and so we have among them carpenters, among them blacksmiths, among them workers, and teachers, but I mean they ... for this reason, and praise be to Allah, and ... when did you find one who has been out for a month, two months, a year, two years, who did not strive for himself in knowledge, but you come to judge me.

The Shaykh : Do you allow me?

The questioner: Go ahead.

The Shaykh: You are saying, first of all, this is an accusation. We do not accuse people, and we are the most eager people not to accuse a Muslim. Are the group living on Mars or living on our land?

The questioner: They are living on our land.

The Shaykh: They are living, are they praying in their mosques or in our mosques? What accusation? We see them. Then, your words support my previous words, but a person perhaps for the first time the words do not settle for the first time; and so it was the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that if he spoke a word, he repeated it three times so that it would be understood from him. I told you just now: If we find in the Tabligh Jama'ah someone who prays according to the Sunnah, this Sunnah did not come to them from their call, this Sunnah came to them from others. So we want this Sunnah to emanate from them. So you are now, as it came in the Qur'an: , you are saying it has been two years that you have been praying, praise be to Allah, and you are praying according to the book "The Description of the Prayer of the Messenger of Allah." Why are you not praying according to a book published by the Tabligh Jama'ah? Because there is no such book. Then we return to the most important thing, we return to the creed; you also see that we accuse them of not ... as long as they want to convey Islam, as long as they have this enthusiasm; so you are now saying: I am, meaning, new to Islam—without offense—and I have been praying for two years. Well, bring any person you believe has knowledge from the Tabligh Jama'ah to see then the truth of my words, and be far from accusing me of what is not in me; that I am accusing you of accusing them. I know them from the Levant, and I have sessions with them, and I know them here, and they come to visit me and discuss with me, and so on. So I am not ignorant of them or unaware of them, so that you say: It is not permissible to accuse them! But you are accusing us of accusing. We are speaking about knowledge, and especially you say you are new to connecting with prayer. So now, for the truths to be revealed to you truly, any person from our brothers, these are the Tabligh Jama'ah, whom you trust that he is a head in the call, meaning he has knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah, and so on. Let us sit and have a brotherly discussion, a brotherly discussion and a simple mat as they say, and we discuss the issue. And religion is advice, as you know from his saying (peace and blessings be upon him).

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner: People ... Dr. " ... Abu al-Layl " ... .

The Shaykh: Which doctor?

The questioner: Dr. " 'Imad Abu al-Layl ", a teacher at the City University.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: I told you that it has been ... .

The Shaykh: All right.

The questioner: And it has been ... .

The Shaykh : Correct, correct.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : But what is the point of the discussion? It drew the attention of some of the brothers who were with him that the Shaykh's statement is correct. So what have we gained? The Shaykh's statement is correct, but the Tabligh group, numbering in the millions, has no knowledge of this correctness? This is a problem. Now, the Tabligh group—my brother—in brief: We appreciate their enthusiasm, but we do not appreciate their impulsiveness. This is the best of speech: what is little and sufficient. This enthusiasm must be coupled with knowledge. And knowledge, as you heard in my first statement, is: Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said. So now, if we tell you that this Tabligh group has someone who alerts them, and this alert comes from within them, not like taking the prayer of the Messenger from others, an alert that this hadith is authentic and this hadith is weak, so that even the scholar from the Tabligh group is aware of their religion. There is not one of them from India to the Sind who has this care! There is not one of them who has this concern! Why? Because the path has deviated from the straight path: . Then, the language of emotions—Professor—does not benefit scientific research at all. When you tell me: I used not to pray, but I started praying thanks to them, I testify and sign a blank paper like you, there are dozens and hundreds of us, but what is the prayer of those who are praying? Is it the prayer that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed? No. The important thing is that he prays one of these prayers and the matter is over? No, this is not the call of Islam. What kind of prayer? How many are there who stand in prayer but have no prayer! How many are there who fast but have no fasting! And so on.