The Shaykh 'Ayd 'Abassi's speech, and an explanation of the distinctive feature of the Salafi call, which is that it is a call that invites to unity and gathering, not to division and disagreement.

The student : The other distinctive feature is that this call is unifying. We complain, and Muslims and the callers to Islam all complain about the division among Muslims and among the callers to Islam. We complain with them, and no sincere Muslim is pleased that the situation remains as it is. Division is evil, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forbids us from it; there is no doubt in that and no ambiguity. , , . All of this is known and accepted, and every Muslim believes in it, but despite that, they are divided. What is the way to gathering? What is the way to unity? What is the way to bringing the ranks together and unifying the word and gathering the scattered? He errs who sees any call other than this blessed call as unifying the ranks and gathering the people. There is no path to unity except through this call, when it calls all Muslims, despite their differences in methods, schools of thought, opinions, and groups, to follow the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and to understand their texts in light of the understanding of the righteous Salaf and in light of the language and style of the Arabs. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with that? Is there anything in these principles that allows a Muslim to differ in them? And then, if they do not agree on these foundations, I wonder, on what do they agree? When we call them, every holder of an opinion and every holder of an idea must abandon everything and hold fast to this noble principle: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, then following the guidance of the Salaf. This is the noble principle. Any opinion of any of these groups, if it supports and strengthens this, then it is obligatory for everyone to adopt it. There is no fanaticism for a school of thought, no fanaticism for a path, no preferring one group over another, and no preferring one methodology over another. Rather, this methodology alone is the true solution, the correct solution, and the solution that unifies everyone at the same time. All of them can unite on this. As for if you say, for example, that Muslims are on four or five schools of jurisprudence, what other proposed solution could there be besides this? If you say to them, "Come, let us adopt the Hanafi school," do you think or imagine that the holders of the other three or four schools would abandon their schools to follow that school? Never. In creed as well, the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah: if you adopt this school or that, the other party will be angry. But if you adopt this methodology—the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, and following the guidance of the righteous Salaf—it is the most upright opinion and the middle solution that satisfies everyone, and at the same time, it is the truth, and there is no truth other than it. So it is a unifying call; indeed, it is the only unifying call. We do not say only among the people of the Sunnah; even the other groups, such as the Khawarij or the Shi'ah, cannot agree with them except on this basis, if they are sincere, earnest, and fair. As our Lord said regarding the other religions, He called them and said to them: . So this is the middle call, this is the true call, this is the true word of balance. What do you want, O people of the religions? We call you to this path: that we do not worship except Allah, and we do not associate anything with Him, and we do not take some of us as lords besides Allah. And likewise, we say regarding the Islamic sects and Islamic schools: Come to a word of balance between us and you, that we do not take as our reference, judgment, and methodology anything except the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and we follow the guidance of the righteous Salaf, and we are enlightened and seek help in understanding the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet by the understanding of these noble Salaf, of whom we are proud, and we are honored to be associated with them, and we consider them the best of people in knowledge, action, character, sacrifice, faith, and steadfastness. This is the word of balance that unifies the ranks and gathers the people, and it can be the only way of salvation; indeed, it is confirmed to be the only way of salvation. Also, this blessed call is a realistic call, in addition to being an idealistic call at the same time. It is a realistic call: every problem has a realistic solution, not an imagined one, that is within the capability of humans and within the limits of their power and ability. At the same time, it represents the peak of idealism—the idealism that can be applied in human reality, not the imaginary idealism that is read in books and imagined by reformers, which cannot be something applied on the face of this earth. For example, all the known teachings of Islam: . When 'Umar ibn al-Husayn complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about hemorrhoids he had, and that they troubled him in prayer, he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): . They apply this methodology: the goal is noble and the means are noble. Lying is not permissible, deception is not permissible, and trickery is not permissible. The ruler is an advisor and shepherd to the people, and he judges between them with truth and justice, and he is truthful and frank with them in everything. So we do not call for something imaginary, but rather something realistic. It is enough for you in terms of realism that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made one of the recipients of zakah called "those whose hearts are to be reconciled." Money is paid to groups of people who may be Muslims, but their evil is feared, so we give them money to ward off their evil. This is the peak of realism. We do not say, "By Allah, these evildoers deserve nothing but the sword." Allah (Mighty and Majestic) clarified that giving them some money is better than spilling the blood of one Muslim. So evil-doing Muslims are given, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to give to some individuals of tribes who were dominated by evil, plundering, and robbery. He gave them money to protect the security of the town and the security of the people. Likewise, the share of "those whose hearts are to be reconciled" is given to disbelievers to lure them into Islam, encouraging them in this religion. In our time, for example, if an Islamic rule were established, it could give from the share of zakah, which is one of the acts of worship, to owners of newspapers in the West or the East. They are given money to bring them to Islam, to write about Islam, and to open up space for Islam, for the call to Islam. What realism is better than this and more worthy of a path? Look at how far realism has reached. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called some tribes; he called Thaqif to Islam. They were preventing people from it. They did not accept to submit to Islam except after they stipulated that they would not pray in a day except two prayers, and I think the other condition was that they would not fight in jihad or that they would not give charity. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their Islam on this condition, even though it was a defective condition, as al-Shawkani mentioned. He titled a number of hadiths with this title: "The validity of the Islam of a people with a defective condition." And all of this was out of desire to save them from the Fire, out of mercy for them, to free them from the anger of the Mighty One, and to bring them out of the darknesses into the light. Gradualism: to lead people step by step and drag them to their good, even with chains, as in the hadith: . A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): . He said to him: "I find myself averse to it." He said: . Submit even if you are averse, and your chest will be opened by the permission of Allah the Exalted, and by mixing with Muslims, and by performing acts of worship, and by looking into Islam and proceeding in it. So this is the peak of realism, and at the same time, there is nothing in it that attacks noble character and straight conduct. Also, I do not want to elaborate on that, but these are points and elements to remind us of these features that make us increase in faith, confidence, and certainty that this is the call of reform, and that it is the only call of salvation.