Discussion of the dangerous fatwas of the Tahrir Party regarding organization and scholarly disagreement

The Shaykh : And I tell them, I say to you, O people, you want to establish the Muslim state. The Muslim state is not established in this manner. You must understand the Islamic legal rulings, and before all else, the Islamic creed, in the correct way. And among their tragedies in reality is that if a party member has not adopted a branch ruling—for example, they hold that the Muslim woman votes and is elected—if one of them discusses this with them and rejects the opinion, he is expelled. And among their dangerous issues is that every opinion stated by a scholar of the Muslims, no matter how far it is from the truth, no matter how much it contradicts the evidence of the Sunnah and the Book, is an Islamic opinion, meaning it is permissible to adopt it and act upon it. And they proceed on this basis. This is a principle they establish to justify what? Their behavior...

The questioner : And this is written with them.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is written in the issue that every opinion stated by a scholar is an Islamic opinion. This is written with them.

The questioner : In which book...?

The Shaykh : By Allah... I do not remember. I remember... we gathered in al-Rusayfi, in al-Rusayfi, but I remember a discussion session in prison regarding the article itself. I did not read the article in a book; it is in the bulletin they call their special bulletin. So I know from my previous studies that this is their opinion, but I did not know that they made it a system and a guide for the community until I was in prison, and that it is written with them in a special bulletin. So a discussion took place between me and one of them, who is my fellow prisoner. I said to him, what is your opinion regarding intoxicants in their various types and many names? Are you not with us that, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ? He said: Yes. I said to him: Is there absolutely no doubt? He said: No, it is a clear issue. I said to him: But some of the great, great scholars of the Muslims hold the opposite of what this hadith states. They hold that the intoxicant extracted from grapes, whether little or much, is forbidden. As for what I said...

The questioner : The intoxicant... extracted from grapes.

The Shaykh : As for the intoxicant, I fear I made a mistake, sister, that error you warned me about.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : As for the intoxicant extracted from other than grapes, the much of it is forbidden, but the little of it is not forbidden. And the much is what intoxicates. So if a person drinks until he becomes intoxicated from the intoxicants extracted from other than grapes, that is the forbidden part. But if he drinks a small cup or two cups and does not become intoxicated, that is lawful. I said to him: And you say that the ruler, this is a second danger, the Muslim ruler eliminates disagreement. So if he adopts an opinion, it becomes obligatory for all Muslims to submit to this opinion. And I think you remember now, the Islamic book uses this weapon and places it in the wrong place.

The questioner : ...the Islamic group.

The Shaykh : This is a very, very serious matter.

The questioner : Very dangerous, and I hope that you write about it or speak about it.

The Shaykh : I wish I could. As for speaking, I speak, but as for devoting myself to writing about the issues, unfortunately, I am not able. The point is, they say that if the ruler adopts an opinion, he eliminates disagreement and submission to it becomes obligatory. I said to him: If a Muslim ruler comes and adopts an Islamic opinion, saying that the much of the intoxicant from other than grapes is forbidden and the little is lawful, and on this basis it is permissible to sell it, other than grape wine. So we classify the goods: wine from grapes, its sale, purchase, and drinking a drop of it is forbidden. But the intoxicant extracted from barley, corn, and so on, its ruling is different, and whoever drinks from it and does not become intoxicated, that is permissible and lawful. Would you adopt this opinion, O so-and-so, if this Muslim ruler adopted it? He said: Yes. I said to him: Where do you put his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ? Do you know how this hadith was interpreted? He said: No obedience to a creation in disobedience to the Creator. Disobedience that the one obeyed believes is disobedience, not what the one obeying believes. Do you understand what I mean? If the ruler orders something that the ruler himself believes is forbidden, then it is not permissible for you; it is forbidden. But if he orders something that he sees as permissible and lawful, and it is forbidden for you, then it is lawful for you. Matters that shake Islam from its root, from its foundation, and they have not even reached the ruling yet. This... and we ask Allah for safety. We were gathered about a month ago at the home of one of them... he got to know me when I first came here, and I sensed some soundness in him. One sign of that is that he let his beard grow. The Tahrir Party is very few, meaning if you see a person, it is like the base for me; if you see a person speaking about Islamic matters, you can say he is a party member as long as he is shaven, because of the scarcity of what? Those who emulate this Sunnah. So after getting to know him here, and he started attending some of our lessons, and we admonished him and reminded him, praise be to Allah, he joined. His father passed away. Was it him who passed away, or someone else?

The questioner : A relative of his.

The Shaykh : A relative of his. We went to offer condolences, of course. We found, as Allah willed, that the Islamic state, as they say, the bars, open sinfulness, and lewdness, and this can only be eliminated by what? By the Muslim state. And by Allah, that is true. But what is the path to establishing the Muslim state? If we, I like this phrase very much and mention it often: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you on your land." So I say to them: If we have not established the small state in our homes, how can we establish the big state? They take it with enthusiasm, and so on. And I am sitting in a gathering and a parlor room, and every so often my eye falls on a picture hanging on the wall: a woman in the French style, a wide dress, and naked, of course, hanging there. I said to him: O so-and-so, you want to establish the Muslim state? Establish this picture, establish it. He said: This is not mine, I do not know what I will do with it. I said to him: Someone else will come and turn it around. That is not how the Muslim state is established. So in terms of upbringing, they have no care. Here they differ completely from the Muslim Brotherhood. They do not even explicitly state their position regarding morals. They criticize Shawqi when he said: "Nations are only their morals, as long as they remain" "If their morals go, they go." He said this is not correct. Strange, meaning, so glory be to Allah.