The Shaykh Al-Albani’s advice to a student living in an environment dominated by Sufi shaykhs and their orders.

The questioner : One last question, just... Dr. Tahir mentions to us about shaykhs in Qamishli and in Syria who have students, and he says that they teach them the dhikr, that they teach them the dhikr according to the Sufi methods, the Naqshbandi method. So it seems he has a good opinion of these people, so I said I would refer the question to...The Shaykh : I mean, I would clarify, even if only a little.

The Shaykh : In any case, what is it that first deceived him? I mean, these dervishes see these scholars or these shaykhs and think that they are knowledgeable. Al-Shaqra: No, and then, I mean... Our Shaykh, the deception is the turbans... and the long beards and the wide robes. Where are we from that? I mean...

The Shaykh : The truth is, if I may seize this opportunity and advise our brother Abu Ali, the father of the doctor, I see that he should stay here for a few days, so he can live in an environment that is purer and clearer than the environment he lives in in Syria. Al-Shaqra: Our Shaykh, may Allah forgive you, what is the comparison? What is this comparison between...

The Shaykh : I mean, have you not seen that the sword’s value is diminished? No, I do not mean that because of the purity, there is nothing far from this. The important thing is that I advise Abu Ali to stay a little while here so that we can advise each other for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Because the truth is, if Abu Mu’adh is now offering to me that I speak with Abu Ali about one or two issues, this talk is not enough; it needs follow-up. And as they say about us in Syria, it needs a lot of back-and-forth, a lot of discussion, yes. And it is necessary that if you or someone else hears words like the word I told you today after the Friday prayer, that this is accepted by Allah but it has no basis in the Sunnah, it is necessary that questions do not turn in your mind: why, and what is in it, and so on. We used to be in Syria, and the mu’adhdhin would say, “May Allah be pleased with you,” the Habashi adhan, which the Messenger taught him, starts with Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, and ends with La ilaha illa Allah. Do not add to the adhan of Bilal, my brother. What is in it? Pray upon the Messenger. Allah said: ; meaning: they become having questions. So this treatment that is offered does not yield its benefit merely by being offered. The disease may be deeply rooted, so there must be giving and taking. Like this question now, what is in praying upon the Messenger? This needs a lecture, and perhaps that is not enough; it needs repetition in one way or another, and so on. So now, what can we do with our hands? We can say and speak with our brother Abu Ali regarding what Abu Mu’adh conveyed. There is no doubt that dhikr is commanded in the Qur’an and in the hadiths, but the dhikr is not according to our own way, O Abu Ali. It has to be according to the way of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who the dhikr was revealed to, and who taught us the dhikr. And were it not for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who was the intermediary between us and the Lord of mankind, we would not have known anything called Islam. So this prayer that we pray, you, like every Muslim, know that Fajr is two rak’ahs, and then four, four, four, three, and so on. Why is it like that? Why is it this way? The Messenger taught us to pray this way, and we do not say, “Yes,” and we do not say, like they say about us in Syria, “More good is better.” It is not like that. No, there is another saying of ours in Syria that is more correct than this first saying: “The one who adds is the brother of the one who subtracts. The one who adds is the brother of the one who subtracts.” Correct. If you prayed Fajr with two rak’ahs, that is the Shari’ah, but if you added a rak’ah or two rak’ahs...