The Shaykh’s mention of the mark of the saved sect that distinguishes it from the other sects, which is the methodology of the righteous Salaf and their understanding from the Companions and those who came after them from
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The Shaykh : The mark of the saved sect is not merely, as other groups claim in this time and before this time, that this sect’s mark is only that it belongs to acting upon the Book and the Sunnah. This belonging is something no one among the Muslims, even if they are from the sects that deviate from the saved sect, can disavow. No sect among those sects, ancient or modern, can disavow belonging to the Book and the Sunnah, because if it did, it would have raised the banner of exiting Islam. Therefore, all Islamic groups and all Islamic sects—these sects that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned or referred to in the previous hadith—all share in one word, which is belonging to the Book and the Sunnah. As for those we referred to at the beginning of this talk, the Salafis and others who follow their path, and who may be known by other names, these people differ from all other Islamic sects in that they belong to something else. This other thing is safety from deviating from the Book and the Sunnah under the name of adhering to the Book and the Sunnah, which is adhering to what the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) were upon, namely the emigrants and the helpers, and those who followed them in their following, and the followers of their followers, who are the centuries attested to as the best in the authentic hadith, indeed the mass-transmitted hadith, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, namely Sahih al-Bukhari 3651.
Following these first generations, the most radiant and purest generation of the Companions, and then those who came after them[Al-Hashr 59:10], is something that every person who wants to be from the saved sect must belong to by acting upon what these Companions and Successors were upon. They are the righteous Salaf whom we take as our model. This matter of the obligation to take these righteous Salaf as a model is not an innovated matter, but rather it is the obligatory matter to which there is a reference, indeed an explicit statement, in such as His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: [An-Nisa 4:115]. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, mentioned in this verse a severe warning against opposing the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and contending with him, and then He connected to that and said: [An-Nisa 4:115]. There is no doubt that these believers whom Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, warned the Muslims not to oppose the path of the believers, are without doubt those mentioned in the previous verse, the emigrants and the helpers, and those who followed them with excellence. Allah was pleased with them and they were pleased with their Lord. That is the criterion that distinguishes the Muslim who belongs to the Book and the Sunnah with his tongue, but may then contradict the Book and the Sunnah when he does not return to safety from contradicting the Book and the Sunnah, which is adhering to what the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were upon. So you are now facing a text from the verse and from the authentic hadith. The verse mentioned the path of the believers, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned his Companions, as he mentioned the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs in the other authentic hadith narrated by a group of the people of the Sunnah, among them Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Imam Ahmad, and others, from al-'Arba' ibn Sariyah (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that made our hearts tremble and our eyes shed tears. We said: O Messenger of Allah, it is as if it is a farewell sermon. So we said: Advise us, O Messenger of Allah. He said: . And in the other hadith: Sunan an-Nasa'i 1578Sahih (Darussalam).
You will find the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this hadith also connecting the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs to his Sunnah, peace and blessings be upon him. So this hadith meets with the hadith of the saved sect and meets with His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, in the second verse, which is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:[An-Nisa 4:115]. Therefore, it is not permissible for the Muslim, under the name of following the Book and the Sunnah, to follow opinions or statements that contradict what our righteous Salaf were upon. That is because what they were upon is an explanation of the Book and the Sunnah. And you all know that the Sunnah, by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an, is an explanation of the Noble Qur'an, as He said, Blessed and Exalted is He, addressing the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): [An-Nahl 16:44]. So just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took upon himself the explanation of the Qur'an with his Sunnah...
The best people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter
خير الناس قرني ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهمFollowing these first generations, the most radiant and purest generation of the Companions, and then those who came after them
And [there is a share for] those who came after them, saying, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful."
وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِلَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌAnd whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination.
وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ المُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًاand follows other than the way of the believers
وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ المُؤْمِنِينَI advise you to fear Allah, and to listen and obey, even if a slave of Habashan is appointed over you. And whoever lives among you will see much disagreement. So hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs who are guided after me. Cling to them with your teeth. And beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance.
أوصيكم بتقوى الله والسمع والطاعة وإن تأمر عليكم عبد حبشي وإنه من يعش منكم فسيرى اختلافا كثيرا فعليكم بسنتي وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين المهديين من بعدي عضوا عليها بالنواجذ وإياكم ومحدثات الأمور فإن كل بدعة محدقة بدعة وكل بدعة ضلالةand every going astray is in the Fire
وكل ضلالة في النارYou will find the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this hadith also connecting the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs to his Sunnah, peace and blessings be upon him. So this hadith meets with the hadith of the saved sect and meets with His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, in the second verse, which is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: