Discussion of some of the fatwas of the Shaykh of Islam and the stance toward them.

The questioner : I say to him, no, this is not the statement. Ibn Taymiyyah says this, and Ibn Taymiyyah has no evidence for it.

The Shaykh : Which statement?

The questioner : His statement that it was.

The Shaykh : That one follows.

The questioner : One follows the one who joins the prayer late, because once you asked me.

The Shaykh : Does not Ibn Taymiyyah say that a second Friday prayer is permissible?

The questioner : May Allah guide you.

Another questioner : May Allah have mercy on him.

The Shaykh : This is like following the Fajr prayer.

The questioner : May Allah reform him.

The Shaykh : May Allah reform him? He is dead, my brother, that is the end. The one who says "May Allah reform him" is dead; may Allah forgive him.

The questioner : I mean, Ibn Taymiyyah says in this issue that if a person enters and finds a man who joined the prayer late praying with him.

The Shaykh : Yes, this, my brother, is one of the mistakes of the scholars that are forgiven in light of their knowledge and virtue, and so on. In truth, returning to the Salaf, as it is said, "All good is in following those who came before, and all evil is in the innovation of those who came after." Comprehending the Islamic situation in the early periods, which are attested to be the best, is where the precise jurisprudence lies that only a few scholars understand. These individuals, like Ibn Taymiyyah, who understand these subtleties, sometimes overlook them. The reason is that he lived in a school-based environment; he was originally Hanbali, living in a school-based environment, and without doubt he was striving to rid himself of the remnants of this school-following. He succeeded to a great and very great extent, but some remnants remained that a person cannot rid himself of no matter how high he rises. Among these is his strictness regarding the woman, and Ibn al-Qayyim was with him in that. Therefore, the Najdis today are strict regarding the face of the woman and her hands, saying this is 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered). But if we return to the reality of the female Companions in the era of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we find in that some leeway. We find that woman who came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: What distinguishes her? As some of the Najdis say today, to her darkness, to her height and width, not to anything prominent of her. And what is this? It is the face. And so that old companion of yours coveted her and said, "O Messenger of Allah, marry me to her," to the end of the hadith.