What are your instructions to us, O honorable Shaykh, regarding the method and manner of debating and refuting the aggressors and liars in the issue of the fatwa on emigration?

The Shaykh : And the other group, perhaps you have read, if it was available to you to read, that this Khalidi concluded his response.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : This is the one who has no trace of knowledge; he is the one who says or thinks, and I do not memorize his exact wording in any case, nor am I eager to do so; it is merely a quick provocation.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : He thinks that Shaykh Al-Albani reached the extreme old age where he does not know what he is speaking or saying. Can we say that he is a mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings) but he made a mistake? No, he is not one of those, because he is one of two people: either he knows Al-Albani personally, physically and intellectually and scientifically, or he does not know him. If it is the former, who testifies with him that he reached extreme old age?

The questioner : I had responded to this phrase on the plane; I wrote about it.

The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah reward you with good. My purpose is...

The questioner : ...about this verse.

The Shaykh : My point is that you should divide the group you want to meet into two sections: a first section and a second section. You should know how to deal with these, because you will face some difficulties and doubts. In that case, you do not enter into a scholarly battle with them; they are not [scholars]. You must distinguish between the two groups, and your speech should differ with this group from that group, and with that group from this one. This is a reminder that benefits the believers, if Allah wills.

The questioner : By Allah! I was going to come to you as my first step, but my brother Nidal surprised me by saying that he had already spoken to my brother Yusuf. I was reading in his presence, meaning I did not know about this, but, glory be to Allah, the matter was made easy. It is easy now, by Allah, O Shaykh, glory be to Allah the Great! What you said, Allah knows, and it is among the blessings of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). I am not a jurist and I am not a scholar, but rather Allah (Mighty and Majestic) inspired me with this approach, meaning while I was on the plane, these thoughts came to me.

The Shaykh : It is success from Allah.

The questioner : And I said to my brother Nidal about this matter. I said to my brother Nidal, "Right now, even if I were in a court of judgment, if I were in a court of judgment, I would not take both sides. I would set aside our Shaykh Al-Albani, but I would take the other side, even without looking at the text of your fatwa." I said to him, "The issue now is: Allah the Exalted, on the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), said: 'He has decreed a reward for the mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings) who errs, and two rewards if he is correct.'"

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : In either case, this is the favor of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which He grants to whom He wills. So who prevents the favor of Allah from people like these? You consider them people of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), if Allah wills. But I said to my brother Nidal, "As for the other side, I want to confront them with the evidence of their call and the teachings of Hassan al-Banna or others that they follow, if they are not new to this call, the call of the Muslim Brotherhood. I mean, they have not reached the point of saying, or if a person says or hears or imitates this, it is not befitting for him, because he is not qualified for ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) in these matters. These are the fundamental issues: how do they say, with what argument before Allah will they stand, that they [are correct], meaning, if Allah wills, and we do not praise you before Allah, except for what the scholars of this era have testified to you, and among those whom the Muslim Brotherhood respect and trust absolutely? And now they come and say this and publish it in the newspapers. So I said, it is one of three things, and we ask Allah for relief from these ailments: either ignorance, or envy, or arrogance."

The Shaykh : And all of them are combined.

The questioner : I said, by Allah, in my thoughts on the plane: "What if these three come together?!"

The Shaykh: Allah is the Greatest!

The questioner : If Allah wills, there will be nothing but good for you in it. By Allah, I originally intended to come to you to consult you about the matter, and praise be to Allah, now you have heard me say something that opened my chest, in what Allah the Exalted inspired me with.