A reading of a book by Salman al-'Udah on "The Chapter on the Conflict between Public Benefit and Harm" and Shaykh al-Albani's commentary on it.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The student: And this is a bitter reality, I mean, regarding people, because this Shaykh considers all the new speech...
Everything the Shaykh requested on the topic, but it is just, I mean, a rambling about the duty of the Victorious Sect now, and how they should act in these times when calamities have overwhelmed them, and how they should treat the matter. He is speaking, I mean, in the sixth paragraph and after, about this topic, I mean, from his point of view, and how the Victorious Sect should handle its affairs in this bitter reality, the reality of the Muslims.
Another student: In any case, we are, as they say, wasting time. I will hurry tomorrow to carry out this thing and give you [the recording] to listen to it.
The student: I mean, he read important things about the characteristics of the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, and this is not, I mean, the most important thing in the first degree, but if he would speak about patience from these categories... then about the conflict between public benefit and harm in this chapter, this is, I mean, he speaks in good words that I would like you to hear, and we see the Shaykh's point of view on the topic, and also about the common errors today in the topic of public benefit and harm. This is speech that we would like to hear, I mean, the Shaykh's opinion on it as well. So either we start speaking about, I mean, the characteristics of the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, or we start speaking about the conflict between public benefit and harm. What do you think?
The Shaykh : ...
The student: It is enjoining good and forbidding evil... but...
Another student : ...
Another student: The conflict between harm and benefit.
Another student: Or we can make it from the characteristics of the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, we read the characteristic of patience, even though it is understood.
Another student: This is known, let's move to that one, it is better.
The reader: Okay, fine. "The conflict between public benefit and harm in this chapter" he says "And this topic is of the utmost importance, and the chapters in Islamic jurisprudence depend on it, resulting in many errors in action and abstention. This is because many people possess the ability to distinguish the clear public benefit that is hardly tainted by harm and not mixed with damage, and you see many people find it difficult or hard for them to distinguish the stronger of them and do what the Shari'ah requires. The more they become mixed and their amounts become close, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish between them and do the stronger of them. And if it is apparent that the further people are from the time of the Message, the more the alienation of the Shari'ahs increases, and the more the harms become apparent, and the more the public benefit becomes entangled with harm and difficult to obtain except by bearing a degree of damage, then this confirms the importance of the jurisprudence of this issue for those who undertake the call and accountability by enjoining and forbidding in this era. The general rule in this is that enjoining good and forbidding evil is among the greatest commanded acts by which Allah has made us worship, and the obligatory and recommended acts must have their public benefit stronger than their harm"
The Shaykh : And the obligatory, what?
The reader: "And the obligatory" Yes, "which Allah has made us worship by doing, and the obligatory and recommended" like this, "must have their public benefit stronger than their harm" ... by saying "and the obligatory and recommended" "and the obligatory and recommended must have their public benefit stronger than their harm, for by this the messengers were sent and the books were revealed, and everything Allah has commanded is rectitude, and Allah has praised rectitude, the righteous, and the reformers in more than one place" "And Allah has praised rectitude, the righteous, and the reformers in more than one place, and He has condemned corruption and the corrupters in more than one place, so where the harm of the command or prohibition"
The Shaykh : By Allah, repeat this phrase, how is it "in more than one place"?
The reader: Yes, I mean in many places, in more than one place.
The Shaykh : Repeat the phrase.
The reader: "And Allah has praised rectitude, the righteous, and the reformers in more than one place, and He has condemned corruption and the corrupters in more than one place" I mean in more than one place.
The Shaykh : Ah...
The reader: "So where the harm of the command or prohibition is greater than its benefit, it is not from what Allah has commanded, even if it entails leaving an obligatory act or doing a forbidden act, for the believer is required to fear Allah in His servants, and it is not upon him to guide them. And where the benefit of the command and prohibition is greater than its harm, it is from what Allah and His Messenger have commanded, for the Shari'ah came to bring public benefits and obtain them, and to repel harms and reduce them" Then, of course, he puts a reference and returns to the sources: al-Muwafaqat by al-Shatibi, Qawa'id al-Ahkam by al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam, Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din by al-Ghazali, I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in by Ibn al-Qayyim, and others.
"So when public benefits and harms, and good deeds and bad deeds, conflict or compete, it is obligatory to prefer the stronger of them. For even if the command and prohibition entails obtaining a public benefit and repelling a harm, one looks at what opposes it. If what is lost of the benefits or what is obtained of the harms is more, it is not commanded, but it becomes forbidden if its harm is more than its benefit. But considering the amounts of public benefits and harms is by the scale of the Shari'ah. So when a person is able to follow the texts, he does not deviate from them, and if not, he exerts his opinion by knowing the similar and analogous cases"
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
The reader: "And it is rare that the texts are lacking for one who is an expert in them and their indication of rulings. So if the person or the sect combines a good and an evil such that they do not distinguish between them, but either they do both or leave both, then it is nullified. If the good is more, they are commanded to do it, even if it entails what is less of the evil, and they are not forbidden from this entailed evil to lighten what is greater of the obedience. And if the evil is greater, they are forbidden from it, even if it entails the loss of what is less of the obedience, and they are not commanded to do this obedience that entails what is greater of it"
The student: ...
The reader: Yes, "and they are not commanded" "and if the evil is greater, they are forbidden from it" or "it is forbidden from it, even if it entails the loss of what is less of the obedience, and they are not commanded to do this obedience that entails what is greater of it from the evil. And if the matter is ambiguous, the believer is clear until the truth becomes clear to him, so he does not proceed to obedience except with knowledge and intention" And he says "Look at the fatwas of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah"
The Shaykh : Clear until it becomes clear to him...
The reader: "And if the matter is equal, the believer is clear"
The Shaykh : He is certain until
The student: "Clear": I mean, it means
Another student: This that he mentioned is more precise, I mean, the Shaykh... he pauses until it becomes clear to him.
The Shaykh : Instead of "clear," "pauses."
The student: No, he "clear" means, I mean, he searches until it becomes clear. The meaning of "clear" comes from "clarification."
The Shaykh : No, here it is for comprehensiveness.
The student: Comprehensiveness in the search, but "the believer is clear until the truth becomes clear to him," "clear" means he seeks the proofs. "So he does not proceed to obedience except with knowledge and intention" after it becomes clear. The concept, I mean, from his speech is that he pauses, he cannot...
The Shaykh : Okay, so put "that he pauses"...
The student: Okay, it will be its meaning, but in his speech, "clear" has something other than the topic of pausing, my Shaykh, it is the search.
The Shaykh : The pausing has something that is not in "clear"
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : But the sentence after it clarifies the meaning of the clarity that you are rambling about, but if he said "paused", it is as if he says he does not cut off with the opinion and pauses until it becomes clear to him.
The student: Yes, pausing and being clear would be better...
The reader: "So the conflict, then, is either between two good things that cannot be combined, so we prefer the best of them by establishing the reading, or between two bad things that cannot be repelled together, so we repel the worst of them by tolerating the other, or between a good and a bad thing that cannot be distinguished, and leaving one entails leaving the other, so we look at the stronger of the benefit of the good or the harm of the bad. And the chapter of conflict is very broad, especially in these times when the effects of revelation have decreased and the effects of alienation have increased and the caliphate of prophethood has passed, and this conflict"
The Shaykh : So decreased what?
The reader: "The effects of revelation decreased in them"
The Shaykh : Ah
The reader: "And the effects of estrangement have become great in it, and the caliphate of the Prophethood has passed away. This conflict and mixing between good deeds and bad deeds is among the causes of the wide disagreement among Muslims. So some people look at the good deeds"
The student: The caliphate of the Prophethood... what came after the Prophethood, and what else?
Another student: I mean, the Rightly Guided Caliphate; there is no Rightly Guided Caliphate now.
The Shaykh : There is no caliphate.
The student: I mean, there is no caliphate, and therefore...
The Shaykh : I mean, it would also be a caliphate that is not Rightly Guided.
The student: Heh heh heh.
Another student: If, for example...
The Shaykh : The evidence is in the hadith.
The student: So, from among the states of the caliphate, the caliphate of the Prophethood, the successor of the Messenger of Allah... like this.
The reader: Yes, he says: "And this conflict and mixing between good deeds and bad deeds is among the causes of the wide disagreement among Muslims. So some people look at the good deeds and prefer to attain them, even if they include great bad deeds. And some people look at the bad deeds and prefer to leave them, even if leaving them entails missing out on great good deeds. And the moderates are those who compare the amount of public benefit with the amount of harm, and they implement what is predominant in good, even if it includes some evil, and they abandon what is predominant in evil, even if it entails missing out on a little good. And if the matter becomes ambiguous to them, they stop until it becomes clear, without"
The Shaykh : They stopped now, did you notice?
The reader: "without blaming others in these matters of ijtihad where the views of the scholars differ." And he said: "Look at the Majmu' al-Fatawa and the chapters of the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) on the chapters of public benefit and harm, and their conditions and rules and examples. The place does not allow mentioning them or even a part of them, so I refer the eager reader seeking clarity to some of their locations, such as in the Fatawa, the chapter on the conflict between good deeds and bad deeds. Also in it is the economy in actions. Also a very important fatwa regarding the assumption of some positions of authority where there is oppression of the people, and the one in authority can alleviate this oppression. Also rules on the caliphate and kingship and obedience to the rulers, and the like. And look at useful words related to the topic by Imam al-Ghazali in Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, and by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in, and in Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah, and al-Da' wa al-Dawa', and Rawdat al-Muhibbin." Like this, now it comes to the errors. "From the common errors today in the topic of public benefit and harm" Do we continue or... do you have something to say here?
The Shaykh : how
The reader: We continue now from the common errors.
The Shaykh : But I have a note as well. Based on the disagreement he pointed to at the end of his research, where some people prefer public benefit over harm even though harm is predominant over benefit, and the opposite... as he pointed to in his last words, I would also like it to be said here and pointed out that the reason for this goes back to the disagreement of the disputants in their knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah and their understanding of them, and the understanding of reality, which must be known well so that one can distinguish what is predominant, whether it is good or evil. I would also like this issue to be decided, because many people, even beginners in seeking knowledge, even those who have no knowledge, you tell them, "My brother, there is benefit here" or "there is harm here," and they do not have this broad knowledge first in the Book and the Sunnah and their understanding, let alone knowledge of the reality of the Muslim community and its internal problems. May Allah reward you with good.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Perhaps you will grace us with something...
The student: I mean, I see from this speech he mentioned that... it would be more concise, even if it is concise in it... that would be better, because he...
Another student : ...
The student: He inserted speech upon speech... if it were concise, it would be clearer in this chapter...
Another student: In any case, I mean, this is a statement...
The student: ...he is still, I mean, for example, speaking about harms and benefits, or benefits or harms. I mean, if he had also given examples, he left it without examples.
Another student: Now, some of the speech will come about the common errors, he is trying to...
The student: Because the examples are actually very important. I mean, it is not enough because this is theoretical speech, and only the student of knowledge knows the examples, but the important thing is the example.
Another student: Now, in the errors, he may address some of it.
The reader: "From the common errors today in the topic of public benefit and harm, and this rule in the topic of the conflict of interests and harms is unknown to many people"
The student: Later, he, excuse me, I mean, this lengthening is not between... that this enters the explanation he explained, I mean, under his saying, peace and blessings be upon him,Sahih al-Bukhari 2051 I mean, this explanation and lengthening... because he mentioned stopping and doubtful matters and so on, and so forth. In any case, perhaps he will point to it.
The questioner : My Shaykh, I want to consult our Shaykh on a point. I naturally have no objection, Shaykh, I always tell you, don't be... Shaykh, don't be overly enthusiastic.
The Shaykh : I think you have a machine oiler?
The student: Oiler, oiler.
The Shaykh : Oiler.
Everything the Shaykh requested on the topic, but it is just, I mean, a rambling about the duty of the Victorious Sect now, and how they should act in these times when calamities have overwhelmed them, and how they should treat the matter. He is speaking, I mean, in the sixth paragraph and after, about this topic, I mean, from his point of view, and how the Victorious Sect should handle its affairs in this bitter reality, the reality of the Muslims.
Another student: In any case, we are, as they say, wasting time. I will hurry tomorrow to carry out this thing and give you [the recording] to listen to it.
The student: I mean, he read important things about the characteristics of the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, and this is not, I mean, the most important thing in the first degree, but if he would speak about patience from these categories... then about the conflict between public benefit and harm in this chapter, this is, I mean, he speaks in good words that I would like you to hear, and we see the Shaykh's point of view on the topic, and also about the common errors today in the topic of public benefit and harm. This is speech that we would like to hear, I mean, the Shaykh's opinion on it as well. So either we start speaking about, I mean, the characteristics of the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, or we start speaking about the conflict between public benefit and harm. What do you think?
The Shaykh : ...
The student: It is enjoining good and forbidding evil... but...
Another student : ...
Another student: The conflict between harm and benefit.
Another student: Or we can make it from the characteristics of the one who enjoins good and forbids evil, we read the characteristic of patience, even though it is understood.
Another student: This is known, let's move to that one, it is better.
The reader: Okay, fine. "The conflict between public benefit and harm in this chapter" he says "And this topic is of the utmost importance, and the chapters in Islamic jurisprudence depend on it, resulting in many errors in action and abstention. This is because many people possess the ability to distinguish the clear public benefit that is hardly tainted by harm and not mixed with damage, and you see many people find it difficult or hard for them to distinguish the stronger of them and do what the Shari'ah requires. The more they become mixed and their amounts become close, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish between them and do the stronger of them. And if it is apparent that the further people are from the time of the Message, the more the alienation of the Shari'ahs increases, and the more the harms become apparent, and the more the public benefit becomes entangled with harm and difficult to obtain except by bearing a degree of damage, then this confirms the importance of the jurisprudence of this issue for those who undertake the call and accountability by enjoining and forbidding in this era. The general rule in this is that enjoining good and forbidding evil is among the greatest commanded acts by which Allah has made us worship, and the obligatory and recommended acts must have their public benefit stronger than their harm"
The Shaykh : And the obligatory, what?
The reader: "And the obligatory" Yes, "which Allah has made us worship by doing, and the obligatory and recommended" like this, "must have their public benefit stronger than their harm" ... by saying "and the obligatory and recommended" "and the obligatory and recommended must have their public benefit stronger than their harm, for by this the messengers were sent and the books were revealed, and everything Allah has commanded is rectitude, and Allah has praised rectitude, the righteous, and the reformers in more than one place" "And Allah has praised rectitude, the righteous, and the reformers in more than one place, and He has condemned corruption and the corrupters in more than one place, so where the harm of the command or prohibition"
The Shaykh : By Allah, repeat this phrase, how is it "in more than one place"?
The reader: Yes, I mean in many places, in more than one place.
The Shaykh : Repeat the phrase.
The reader: "And Allah has praised rectitude, the righteous, and the reformers in more than one place, and He has condemned corruption and the corrupters in more than one place" I mean in more than one place.
The Shaykh : Ah...
The reader: "So where the harm of the command or prohibition is greater than its benefit, it is not from what Allah has commanded, even if it entails leaving an obligatory act or doing a forbidden act, for the believer is required to fear Allah in His servants, and it is not upon him to guide them. And where the benefit of the command and prohibition is greater than its harm, it is from what Allah and His Messenger have commanded, for the Shari'ah came to bring public benefits and obtain them, and to repel harms and reduce them" Then, of course, he puts a reference and returns to the sources: al-Muwafaqat by al-Shatibi, Qawa'id al-Ahkam by al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam, Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din by al-Ghazali, I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in by Ibn al-Qayyim, and others.
"So when public benefits and harms, and good deeds and bad deeds, conflict or compete, it is obligatory to prefer the stronger of them. For even if the command and prohibition entails obtaining a public benefit and repelling a harm, one looks at what opposes it. If what is lost of the benefits or what is obtained of the harms is more, it is not commanded, but it becomes forbidden if its harm is more than its benefit. But considering the amounts of public benefits and harms is by the scale of the Shari'ah. So when a person is able to follow the texts, he does not deviate from them, and if not, he exerts his opinion by knowing the similar and analogous cases"
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you.
The reader: "And it is rare that the texts are lacking for one who is an expert in them and their indication of rulings. So if the person or the sect combines a good and an evil such that they do not distinguish between them, but either they do both or leave both, then it is nullified. If the good is more, they are commanded to do it, even if it entails what is less of the evil, and they are not forbidden from this entailed evil to lighten what is greater of the obedience. And if the evil is greater, they are forbidden from it, even if it entails the loss of what is less of the obedience, and they are not commanded to do this obedience that entails what is greater of it"
The student: ...
The reader: Yes, "and they are not commanded" "and if the evil is greater, they are forbidden from it" or "it is forbidden from it, even if it entails the loss of what is less of the obedience, and they are not commanded to do this obedience that entails what is greater of it from the evil. And if the matter is ambiguous, the believer is clear until the truth becomes clear to him, so he does not proceed to obedience except with knowledge and intention" And he says "Look at the fatwas of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah"
The Shaykh : Clear until it becomes clear to him...
The reader: "And if the matter is equal, the believer is clear"
The Shaykh : He is certain until
The student: "Clear": I mean, it means
Another student: This that he mentioned is more precise, I mean, the Shaykh... he pauses until it becomes clear to him.
The Shaykh : Instead of "clear," "pauses."
The student: No, he "clear" means, I mean, he searches until it becomes clear. The meaning of "clear" comes from "clarification."
The Shaykh : No, here it is for comprehensiveness.
The student: Comprehensiveness in the search, but "the believer is clear until the truth becomes clear to him," "clear" means he seeks the proofs. "So he does not proceed to obedience except with knowledge and intention" after it becomes clear. The concept, I mean, from his speech is that he pauses, he cannot...
The Shaykh : Okay, so put "that he pauses"...
The student: Okay, it will be its meaning, but in his speech, "clear" has something other than the topic of pausing, my Shaykh, it is the search.
The Shaykh : The pausing has something that is not in "clear"
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : But the sentence after it clarifies the meaning of the clarity that you are rambling about, but if he said "paused", it is as if he says he does not cut off with the opinion and pauses until it becomes clear to him.
The student: Yes, pausing and being clear would be better...
The reader: "So the conflict, then, is either between two good things that cannot be combined, so we prefer the best of them by establishing the reading, or between two bad things that cannot be repelled together, so we repel the worst of them by tolerating the other, or between a good and a bad thing that cannot be distinguished, and leaving one entails leaving the other, so we look at the stronger of the benefit of the good or the harm of the bad. And the chapter of conflict is very broad, especially in these times when the effects of revelation have decreased and the effects of alienation have increased and the caliphate of prophethood has passed, and this conflict"
The Shaykh : So decreased what?
The reader: "The effects of revelation decreased in them"
The Shaykh : Ah
The reader: "And the effects of estrangement have become great in it, and the caliphate of the Prophethood has passed away. This conflict and mixing between good deeds and bad deeds is among the causes of the wide disagreement among Muslims. So some people look at the good deeds"
The student: The caliphate of the Prophethood... what came after the Prophethood, and what else?
Another student: I mean, the Rightly Guided Caliphate; there is no Rightly Guided Caliphate now.
The Shaykh : There is no caliphate.
The student: I mean, there is no caliphate, and therefore...
The Shaykh : I mean, it would also be a caliphate that is not Rightly Guided.
The student: Heh heh heh.
Another student: If, for example...
The Shaykh : The evidence is in the hadith.
The student: So, from among the states of the caliphate, the caliphate of the Prophethood, the successor of the Messenger of Allah... like this.
The reader: Yes, he says: "And this conflict and mixing between good deeds and bad deeds is among the causes of the wide disagreement among Muslims. So some people look at the good deeds and prefer to attain them, even if they include great bad deeds. And some people look at the bad deeds and prefer to leave them, even if leaving them entails missing out on great good deeds. And the moderates are those who compare the amount of public benefit with the amount of harm, and they implement what is predominant in good, even if it includes some evil, and they abandon what is predominant in evil, even if it entails missing out on a little good. And if the matter becomes ambiguous to them, they stop until it becomes clear, without"
The Shaykh : They stopped now, did you notice?
The reader: "without blaming others in these matters of ijtihad where the views of the scholars differ." And he said: "Look at the Majmu' al-Fatawa and the chapters of the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) on the chapters of public benefit and harm, and their conditions and rules and examples. The place does not allow mentioning them or even a part of them, so I refer the eager reader seeking clarity to some of their locations, such as in the Fatawa, the chapter on the conflict between good deeds and bad deeds. Also in it is the economy in actions. Also a very important fatwa regarding the assumption of some positions of authority where there is oppression of the people, and the one in authority can alleviate this oppression. Also rules on the caliphate and kingship and obedience to the rulers, and the like. And look at useful words related to the topic by Imam al-Ghazali in Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, and by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in I'lam al-Muwaqqi'in, and in Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah, and al-Da' wa al-Dawa', and Rawdat al-Muhibbin." Like this, now it comes to the errors. "From the common errors today in the topic of public benefit and harm" Do we continue or... do you have something to say here?
The Shaykh : how
The reader: We continue now from the common errors.
The Shaykh : But I have a note as well. Based on the disagreement he pointed to at the end of his research, where some people prefer public benefit over harm even though harm is predominant over benefit, and the opposite... as he pointed to in his last words, I would also like it to be said here and pointed out that the reason for this goes back to the disagreement of the disputants in their knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah and their understanding of them, and the understanding of reality, which must be known well so that one can distinguish what is predominant, whether it is good or evil. I would also like this issue to be decided, because many people, even beginners in seeking knowledge, even those who have no knowledge, you tell them, "My brother, there is benefit here" or "there is harm here," and they do not have this broad knowledge first in the Book and the Sunnah and their understanding, let alone knowledge of the reality of the Muslim community and its internal problems. May Allah reward you with good.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Perhaps you will grace us with something...
The student: I mean, I see from this speech he mentioned that... it would be more concise, even if it is concise in it... that would be better, because he...
Another student : ...
The student: He inserted speech upon speech... if it were concise, it would be clearer in this chapter...
Another student: In any case, I mean, this is a statement...
The student: ...he is still, I mean, for example, speaking about harms and benefits, or benefits or harms. I mean, if he had also given examples, he left it without examples.
Another student: Now, some of the speech will come about the common errors, he is trying to...
The student: Because the examples are actually very important. I mean, it is not enough because this is theoretical speech, and only the student of knowledge knows the examples, but the important thing is the example.
Another student: Now, in the errors, he may address some of it.
The reader: "From the common errors today in the topic of public benefit and harm, and this rule in the topic of the conflict of interests and harms is unknown to many people"
The student: Later, he, excuse me, I mean, this lengthening is not between... that this enters the explanation he explained, I mean, under his saying, peace and blessings be upon him,
Both legal and illegal things are obvious
الحلال بين والحرام بينThe questioner : My Shaykh, I want to consult our Shaykh on a point. I naturally have no objection, Shaykh, I always tell you, don't be... Shaykh, don't be overly enthusiastic.
The Shaykh : I think you have a machine oiler?
The student: Oiler, oiler.
The Shaykh : Oiler.