We suffer in many areas from committed youth confronting one another, with one cursing the other and disavowing him, and the other doing the same. I seek your advice for us.

The questioner : We suffer in many areas from committed youth confronting one another, with one cursing the other and disavowing him, and the other doing the same. I seek your advice, O your Excellences?
What is your opinion on the proliferation of groups in our present time? Also, the Tabligh group has a great impact in calling people to Allah the Exalted. Do you advise us, or do you see that there is no harm in participating with them and going out with them, both domestically and abroad?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that what has happened to the brothers or the committed youth, namely their division, their misleading one another, and their harboring enmity and hatred toward those who do not agree with their methodology, is certainly sad and regrettable. It may lead to a great setback. Such division is the delight of the devils among humans and jinn, because the devils among humans and jinn do not wish for the people of good to unite on anything. They want them to be divided, because they know that division is the fragmentation of the strength that is achieved through commitment and turning to Allah the Exalted. This is indicated by the statement of Allah the Exalted: ,
، ، .
So Allah the Exalted has forbidden us from division and shown us its dire consequences. It is obligatory for us to be one nation and one word, even if our opinions differ on some issues or some means. It is obligatory for us to be one nation.
So division is corruption and scattering of the matter, and it is a cause of weakness, the weakness of the Islamic nation.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) had differences among them, but there was no division, no enmity, and no hatred.
Differences occurred among them even during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the Battle of the Confederates, Jibril came to him ordering him to go out to Banu Quraizah because they had broken the treaty. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his companions: . They left the city for Banu Quraizah, and the time for the 'Asr prayer arrived. What do you understand, may Allah bless you? Do you understand that we should remain and not pray 'Asr except in Banu Quraizah, even if the sun sets? Or do you understand from this that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) urged them to hasten so that the time for the 'Asr prayer would not arrive except while they were in Banu Quraizah?
The student: The second.

The Shaykh : The second is closer to the truth, but even so, the Companions differed. Some said, "We will not pray except in Banu Quraizah, even if the sun sets," because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So we say: We hear and we obey.
And some said: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) intended by that to hasten and speed up the departure, and when the time arrives, we pray it in any place.
This reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not rebuke any of them nor reprimand them for what they understood. And they themselves did not divide because of the difference of opinion in understanding the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And so it is obligatory for us not to divide and to be one nation.
As for division occurring where it is said: "This is from the Salafis," and "this is from the Ikhwan," and "this is from the Tablighis," and "this is from the Sunnis," and "this is from the followers of taqlid," and "this is from such and such," and "this is from such and such," and we divide, then its danger is great. The hope we hope for from this Islamic awakening and alertness will vanish, if we know that from this awakening there will be divided sects that mislead one another and belittle one another.
And the way or solution to this problem is: that we follow the path of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and that we know that this disagreement arising from ijtihad—in a place where ijtihad is permissible—does not affect us. In fact, it is a consensus.
How is that? I disagree with you on an issue because the implication of the evidence in my view is contrary to what you say, and you disagree with me on this issue because the implication of the evidence in your view is contrary to what I say. So are we actually different?
No, we all took what we saw based on the fact that this is the implication of the evidence.
So the implication of the evidence is before the eyes of us all, and none of us took his opinion except because it was the implication of the evidence. So I thank you and praise you because you dared to disagree with me, and I am your brother and companion, because this disagreement is the implication of the evidence in your view. So it is obligatory for me that there be nothing in my heart against you. Rather, I thank you for what you held, and you likewise.
And if we were to compel one of us to take the saying of the other, then my compelling him to take my saying is no more deserving of compelling him than his compelling me to take his saying.
And therefore I say: It is obligatory that we make this disagreement—based on ijtihad—not a disagreement but a consensus, so that the word is united and good is achieved.
But if someone says: This treatment may not be feasible for the general people, so what is the solution?
The solution is: that the leaders of the people and the notables of the people from every sect gather to look into and research the issues of disagreement among us, so that we are united and in agreement.
And a matter occurred that may be strange to you. It happened through me and some of the brothers while we were in Mina in one of the years. Two sects were brought, each sect consisting of three or four men. Each one said to the other that they are disbelievers and cursed. And they were pilgrims. What is the news?
The news is: One of the sects said: "This sect, when they stand to pray, they place the right hand over the left hand above the chest, and this is disbelief against the Sunnah. What is the Sunnah with you?"
They said: "The Sunnah with us is to let the hands hang down like this, leaving them on the thighs."
And the other said: "Letting the hands hang down on the thighs without placing the right hand over the left is a disbelief that permits the curse." And the dispute between them was very severe.
But through the efforts of the brothers and clarifying what the Islamic nation should be in terms of unity, they left, and each one of them was satisfied with the other. So look how Satan played with them.
This issue on which they differed, to the point that some of them declared the others disbelievers because of it, what is its ruling in Islam? It is a Sunnah from the Sunnahs, not from the pillars of Islam, nor from its obligations, nor from its duties. The most that can be said is that some scholars hold that placing the right hand over the left hand above the chest is the Sunnah, and others from the people of knowledge say: The Sunnah is to let the hands hang down. Even though the correct view, which the Sunnah indicates, is placing the right hand over the left arm, as Sa'd ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said, in what al-Bukhari narrated, he said: .
Is that clear, everyone?
So I hope that Allah the Exalted will bestow upon our brothers—who have different drinks and methodologies in the means of da'wah—unity, love, and the rectification of hearts. And if the intention is good, the treatment is easy. But if the intention is not good and each one of them is pleased with his own opinion and does not care about the others, then success will be far away.
Creedal issues must be corrected, and what is contrary to the methodology of the Salaf must be denounced, and it is obligatory to warn against those who follow what contradicts the methodology of the Salaf in the chapter of creeds.
The student: He says, and do you advise us and see that there is no harm in participating with them and going out with them domestically and abroad?

The Shaykh : Who?
The student: The Tabligh group.

The Shaykh : Regarding the Tabligh group, my opinion of them is: They are a group through whom Allah has brought great benefit. How many a sinner did Allah guide through their hands? Indeed, how many a disbeliever entered Islam through their hands? And their impact is not denied by anyone in reality. But there is no doubt that the people have much ignorance, and that they need the students of knowledge who participate with them and clarify to them what they are upon regarding some things they do, thinking that there is no harm in them and that they are beneficial, when in reality they need correction. Such as some of them restricting the going out to three days, or four days, or forty days, or six months, or the like of that.
They say: We do this as a means, not as an end in itself. That is, we do not believe that this is a prescribed matter or that it is a form of worship to Allah, but we believe that this assessment is for the sake of tightening a person’s resolve and commitment so that he adapts to the call, the truth, and moving away from luxury, and the like.
So what I see in them is: without a doubt, they have righteousness, and there is much benefit and good in them, but they have much ignorance, and they need the students of knowledge to clarify things for them.
I also criticize them for the fact that some of them—and I do not say all of them—if you enter into a discussion of knowledge with them, you find that he is not comfortable with it, and he does not like discussion or delving deep into knowledge. This is without a doubt an error, because it is obligatory for a person—and especially for the youth—to be eager for knowledge and to search into it, but with calmness and a seeking of the truth, not with argumentation, intensity, and violence as is found in some people. Some people, for example, come to discuss with you and say: I am going to debate you on this and I challenge you, bring the evidence, and the like.
This is not among the etiquettes of a student of knowledge.
So I say: Some of these people, I mean the Tabligh group, some of them do not like entering into a scholarly discussion and delving deep into knowledge, and this is without a doubt a deficiency.
I also wish that these groups would be in contact with their other brothers, and that they all gather on one word. This one learns the Islamic legal sciences from this one, and this one learns the morals, etiquettes, and leniency from this one. And Allah knows best.