Some imams, when they want to deliver a sermon or give a speech, say: "Allah the Exalted said" after "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." What is the ruling on this?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. Some imams, when they start to deliver a sermon or give a speech, say: "After I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, what is the ruling on this? May Allah reward you with good."

The Shaykh : This is undoubtedly a verbal error that many preachers, teachers, counselors, and preachers of caution fall into. They say: "Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: ." This is lying about Allah. Some of them say: "As you have heard, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: After I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: " or any other verse. This is a grave error, lying about Allah without them realizing it. Why? Because Allah did not say "After I seek refuge in Allah, so-and-so." It is the speaker who is saying it. So Allah did not say it, meaning it is as if a person said: "Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan: ." Is there such a verse in the Qur'an? There is no such verse. Therefore, one must not attribute to Allah what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) did not say. There is no difference between saying "Allah said, after I seek refuge" or "Allah said, I seek refuge so-and-so." All of this is wrong.

The questioner : He goes directly into the verse.

The Shaykh : Yes, well done. This is what I wanted to say. How did we know this error, and why do these people make it? The reason is that they did not live with the Sunnah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , . The one who studies the Sunnah, if he is dull, becomes alert; if he is ignorant, becomes a scholar; if he is foolish, becomes calm; and so on. This is because the Sunnah is all light. We find that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he admonished the Muslims, did not say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." For example, recall with me the Sermon of Need that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to have his Companions perform, and which he did not miss on Friday: , to the end of the second and third verses. There is no "I seek refuge in Allah from the Shaytan" in it. There is no "I seek refuge in Allah from the Shaytan." Therefore, there is a very useful treatise by al-Hafiz al-Suyuti on this topic, found in his book "Al-Hawi li al-Fatawa." It is a special treatise on this subject. He says: "The seeking of refuge is prescribed for recitation." This is the answer to the question you contained, and the answer is coming to you: "The seeking of refuge is prescribed for recitation, not for citing evidence." Because the one to whom was revealed did not seek refuge when he brought a verse to cite it as evidence. Thus, the practical Sunnah explains the Noble Qur'an and the sayings of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, the prescribed seeking of refuge is before recitation. That means, if you now want to make the attendees listen to ten verses of the Noble Qur'an, it is not permissible, even if you start from the beginning of the surah, to say: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate ." You must seek refuge in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the noble verse. But if I am talking to you, lecturing, and researching, and so on, and I say: "Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said, after I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan," that is lying about Allah. If I say: "Allah said, I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, so-and-so," that is lying about Allah. Therefore, I say: "Allah said," and I bring the verse directly without seeking refuge. This is not only an innovation, but also a lie.

The questioner : Saying about Allah what He did not say.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, that is correct.