Al-Albani asks the student, acting on behalf of Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abd al-Khaliq, to end the dispute with Shaykh Abu Malik Shuqara.

The Shaykh : Therefore, I insist on two points in conclusion. If, as we hope and as we have a good opinion of him, Brother 'Abd al-Rahman is correct, he must publicly declare that his accusation against our brother Abu Malik—that he denies jihad in the path of Allah—was a mistake. This does not require a meeting or a discussion; I say this frankly: Are the Muslims today, who agree that jihad in the path of Allah is an individual obligation, prepared for jihad in the path of Allah or not? This is a matter for research. As for the question of whether jihad in the path of Allah is an obligation, anyone who doubts that is undoubtedly a disbeliever, especially given the new calamity that befalls the Muslims every day. This is not a matter for research. But whether the Muslims today have the moral and material readiness to fight in the path of Allah is a matter for research, and this is very important. Therefore, a meeting is necessary for this discussion and others. As for the accusation where the pen slipped, that does not require a meeting. So, the first step to removing the dispute, which every one who is zealous for his religion and his Islam has complained about, is to pause until the meeting takes place. Because this issue—that jihad in the path of Allah is an individual obligation—is a matter, as they say, in which no two people differ and no two bulls butt heads. If he persists in accusing a person of something he does not have, this will not lead to any good from a meeting. On the contrary, the dispute will intensify and intensify until it reaches a result that is not to be commended. On the contrary, if the one who made the mistake apologizes and says, "I made a mistake and I repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for what I accused my brother of—not just a Muslim, but my Muslim Salafi brother with whom I meet and who meets me in the call to the Book and the Sunnah and upon the methodology of the pious predecessors"—this admission is the first step toward understanding and meeting. This is my answer to what you asked, and I hope that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will guide us to the truth in which people have differed.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.