There are some figures about whom opinions differ; we ask you, may Allah reward you, to briefly mention what you know about these figures.

The questioner : A question about some figures?

The Shaykh : About which figures?

The questioner : Contemporary figures.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner: Yes.
He says: There are some figures about whom opinions differ, so we ask you, may Allah reward you, to briefly mention what you know about these figures: "Jamal al-Din al-Afghani," "Muhammad 'Abduh," "Muhammad Rashid Rida," "al-Mawdudi," and "Sayyid Hasan al-Banna"?

The Shaykh : In my view, the best of these figures is "Muhammad Rashid Rida" (may Allah have mercy on him), because I believe he had a long reach and a broad scope in spreading the Salafi da'wah in general, and in drawing the attention of all Muslims, and specifically the students of knowledge among them, to caring for the Prophetic hadith on one hand, and to attempting to purify and cleanse it on the other hand, through his magazine which he published monthly and which he named "Al-Manar Magazine." We find its effects today even in some countries far from us, such as "India," "Pakistan," "Java," and "Sumatra," and the like. In addition to that, he was Salafi in methodology and creed, and yet he engaged in some politics, or perhaps it is more accurate to say: he became entangled; for he engaged in and dealt with politics against the Ottoman government when the Arab nationalists worked to try to break free and gain independence from the Ottoman state. He was even among the people who were sentenced to death. Perhaps this was one of his illusions and mistakes (may Allah have mercy on him). Although he differed from the other figures in his creed and in his service to Islam, I believe that anyone who cooperates with people who do not share in what is most precious to him, namely his creed, will be disappointed in his effort. This is what happened to the man in this political aspect. Had it not been for that, he would have been at the top of the reforming preachers on the methodology of the righteous Salaf, had it not been for a slight deviation regarding some of the unseen matters (ghaybiyyat). Perhaps he was influenced by his teacher "Muhammad 'Abduh" in this regard; for he used to doubt the authenticity of the hadiths of the Mahdi, and even the hadiths of 'Isa (peace be upon him). He did not believe in something called the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) or the emergence of the Mahdi at the end of time.
Similarly, in the beginning of his affair, from the jurisprudential aspect, he had leniency, or rather we say: laxity, in imitating the disbelievers. He did not see anything wrong with a Muslim wearing the clothes of the disbelievers, or wearing the brenita or the cap. But I noticed in the last issues of the magazine that he returned from some of that, and he began to issue rulings on the necessity of preserving our customs and traditions and not imitating our enemies. This is what the philosophy of clothing requires, as known among Western scholars. Had it not been for these small things, he would have been a man whose like is rare in this time.
As for "Muhammad 'Abduh," he is undoubtedly an Al-Azhar scholar who is not Salafi in creed and methodology; rather, he is influenced by 'ilm al-kalam (theology), and his treatise on tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is the greatest proof of that. But he... if the expression is correct, to shake Al-Azhar from its stagnation and its adherence to taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) of the madhahib (schools of jurisprudence), he introduced ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and insight into religion, and not being rigid in taqlid. So he has a merit in this renewal. In addition to that, he also had a very large participation in political aspects for the benefit of the Islamic world. He was the first student, and al-Afghani was in this aspect. But I do not believe that al-Afghani's efforts for "Muhammad 'Abduh" in the path of reforming the conditions of Muslims from the political aspect undoubtedly failed, and all the efforts undertaken by all Islamic preachers in any land of the world will fail unless they are based on what I call "purification and education"; meaning, on the basis of establishing the fundamental foundation for the establishment of the Islamic society and the Islamic state. This will never be achieved except through scientific and educational reform together. Therefore, there is no doubt that "al-Afghani," his student "Muhammad 'Abduh," and consequently "Sayyid Rashid Rida" revived the feeling of Islamic pride in the Islamic society, and stirred what was stagnant in the souls. But they did not reach, and cannot reach, what they were preparing for merely through enthusiasm and stirring the souls, without attempting to reform these souls and reform the hearts with correct knowledge and correct education. Knowing that correct education and spreading correct knowledge requires a long time and the cooperation of hundreds of sincere scholars of the Islamic da'wah until this movement bears its ripe fruits.
As for "Sayyid Qutb" and "Hasan al-Banna" (may Allah have mercy on him), I do not see much benefit in lengthening the speech about them. I have three tapes, about three hours, in speaking about them with all justice and fairness. But briefly, I say that "Hasan al-Banna" undoubtedly has his praiseworthy efforts in gathering the youth on Islam, even if the Islam was not clear in the minds of these youths, and if it was clarified later, and this is one of the positions that the Muslim Brotherhood has not taken until today. Yes, indeed, similarly "Sayyid Qutb"; for he has his merit in stirring these souls and bringing them to Islam. But it became clear to him later that the path taken by the Muslim Brotherhood is not the optimal path by which the optimal goal that every Muslim on this earth aims for is realized, namely realizing the Islamic society and establishing the Islamic government.
Recently... the third issue of "Al-Muslimun," which was recently published in Saudi Arabia, published a report by "Sayyid Qutb" (may Allah have mercy on him) while he was in prison, as if he had become one of the Salafis; for he calls to what we have been calling to for about fifty years, namely knowledge and acting upon it. He explicitly states that it is a mistake for Islamic groups to engage in political news and to demand that Islamic governments establish the rule of Allah on earth. He considers this a mistake; because this rule will not be established except as one of their preachers said: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you in your land." And it is regrettable that to this day we find in the Muslim Brotherhood a very large number who oppose the Salafi da'wah, first due to their ignorance of it, and second due to their partisanship for their group. Although there are, and praise be to Allah, many individuals who have become clear to them the reality of the Salafi da'wah, and they are walking with it slowly, as "Sayyid Qutb" (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in the aforementioned report.
So "Hasan al-Banna" has his praiseworthy effort in gathering the Muslims on the Islam we mentioned, and "Sayyid Qutb" later joined them and helped in that. But what I see and I still demand is that the duty of the Muslim Brotherhood in all lands of the world is to complete the path that "Hasan al-Banna" began to follow. "Hasan al-Banna" called for their da'wah to be based on the Book and the Sunnah. But it is necessary, as they say today, to put the dots on the letters: where are the Book and the Sunnah in the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood? You do not see any effect of them except an effect they quoted from others, and they are the Salafis and their like!
Are you recording now?
I do not wish to expand my answer to this question beyond what has already been said, for two reasons. The first reason is that I refer for the details to the tapes previously mentioned. The other reason is that I do not want to speak in a way that might be exploited again, as that speech was exploited despite its clarity, objectivity, and fairness; they cut it out of context, took excerpts from it, and raised false objections against them, publishing them in *Al-Mujtama' al-Kuwaiti* magazine. This was not enough, but then one of their prominent figures here, Dr. Abdullah Azzam, wrote a response to Al-Albani regarding his declaration of *takfir* (declaring someone a disbeliever) of Sayyid Qutb in the same magazine, in three articles across three consecutive issues. Although Dr. Azzam displays great respect for us, attends our sessions and meetings, and takes notes on the points he hears from us, and although he certainly knows that I do not declare Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever—in fact, I hold him in high regard and respect him, and this was explicitly discussed between us—he was pushed by his associates, as he later admitted to me, to write this response. He knows that I do not declare him a disbeliever, but rather I say that he has words in which, or under which, the claim of the unity of existence (*wahdat al-wujud*) is implied, and nothing more. They said this means that I am declaring Sayyid Qutb a disbeliever. I am the one who expressed satisfaction with him or invoked mercy upon him in some of my writings, including the introduction to *Mukhtasar al-'Ulu*. Therefore, I limit myself to the previous answer, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And to you.