A discussion on al-Suqaf’s book *Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi* (peace and blessings be upon him), and an explanation of al-Suqaf’s belief regarding the existence of Allah

The Shaykh: Now, I am seizing this opportunity to remind our brothers, and particularly some of those present here whom we recently heard praised, to remind all those present here that this man’s new book, which he titled *Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi* (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), this title alone, without the reader looking into its content, is sufficient to show that he is a hateful, envious man. As they say on such occasions, the book is evident from its title: he wrote this book to oppose my book, which has been in existence for more than thirty years, titled *Sifat Salat al-Nabi* (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) *From the Takbir to the Taslim, as if you were seeing it*. He came along and added *Sahih* (authentic). I wish, by Allah, that there were dozens and dozens and hundreds of people who are skilled in verification and who correct al-Albani—and in the Syrian expression, who put him in their pocket, meaning they are all Amr, having reached the age of eighty. I wish there were dozens of scholars stronger and more capable than me who would put me in their pocket, but I have nothing to mention. However, unfortunately, we do not find these scholars in the Islamic world except very rarely. This man, who has no knowledge of hadith, nor of fiqh, nor of anything worth mentioning except for chatter and talk, this man is one of two things, and there is no escape from one of them: either he is misguided, and this is inevitable, and he intends to seek guidance, or he is a misguided misleader who intends to mislead the Muslims. Because if his speech is followed, he is a disbeliever who has apostatized from the religion. Why? Because he denies the existence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), the Creator who was and nothing was before Him. He denies His existence, but not in the way of the atheists who declare their atheism and may even boast of it, but rather through evasion and circumlocution. Now, he declares and says: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not inside the world and not outside it. He declares this with complete clarity. Well, if he believes in the existence of Allah, not inside the world and not outside it, what remains? Nothing remains. So this means that for him, Allah is nothing, and rather, in the opinion of the atheists, there is nothing except matter, except matter. He does not intend this. Let us assume he is a Muslim and seeks guidance. Well, what does he intend? The mass-transmitted verses and hadiths are explicit that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has the attribute of elevation. He denies this attribute and misleads those around him who have not been given anything of fiqh and knowledge, especially in creed. He says that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not in a place. And we say, before him in time, that these Muslims who sit in a gathering, one of them says: Allah exists in every existence, Allah exists in every place. Allah is the Greatest, O people. We humans enter places we wish we did not enter, but on the principle that "one forced by his brother is not a hero," how can you say that Allah is in every place? He denies it and says that Allah is not in a place. But behind this denial is absolute *ta'til* (denial of the divine attributes). He does not want to purify Allah from being in these places that Allah created and brought into existence from nothing; rather, he wants behind that to deny the existence of Allah. This is if we assume the worst of him. And if we assume the best of him, that he was misguided behind the Mu'tazilah and behind the Asha'irah who say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world and not outside it. If I were asked to describe, in the most eloquent Arabic, and we are not [eloquent in] speech, describe to us the non-existent, the non-existent thing that has no existence, I would not be able to describe this non-existent with more than what these people describe their object of worship. This is absolute *ta'til*. And he reads the words of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and that he fights the contradictory Mu'tazilah and the *mushabbih* (those who liken Allah to creation), and he says: the *mu'tatil* (denier of attributes) worships the *mujassim* (one who ascribes a body to Allah), he worships an idol, and the *mu'tatil* worships nothing. This man is not a *mujassim* because he declares the *mujassim* disbelievers, in their claim. And there is no *mujassim* who says that Allah is like humans, far be it from Allah. But he accuses the Muslims of the righteous Salaf who affirm for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) the attributes that were established in the Book and the Sunnah with purification, as He said . So he is not a *mujassim*. But I say, I wish he were a *mujassim*, I wish he were a *mujassim*. Why? Because of the saying of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him): "The *mujassim* worships something, but he worships something likened," meaning he worships Allah, but he is misguided and wretched when he likens Him to a created body. I wish it were so. But he is a *mu'tatil* who says about his Lord: not inside the world and not outside it. And true is the one who said: "These are a people who have lost their Lord." The point is, he wrote this book *Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi* (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in order to show opposition and stubbornness. He did not say as al-Albani said before, "as if you were seeing it," but he said "as if you were looking at it." Glory be to Allah. Well, in any case, I wished that he really intended to take from the description of prayer, whether from my book or from all the books of the Sunnah, and he will absolutely not be able to reach it. I wished that he took the authentic and left the weak, which he considers weak due to his ignorance. But the truth, and the truth I say, is that this book can rightly be called *Sahih Sifat Salat al-Shafi'iyyah* (the Shafi'i school). The Shafi'i school, because the whole book is on the Shafi'i madhhab. But I correct myself and say that even this is not correct. That is, if he said *Sahih Sifat Salat al-Shafi'iyyah*, even this is not correct. Why? Because he contradicted the Shafi'is in many issues, and even contradicted Imam al-Nawawi, whom I can say that most of the material in this book is from al-Nawawi’s book. Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), following many of the early Shafi'is, says that verbalizing the intention is nothing (not required). But he says it is a *sunnah* (recommended practice). So when he placed this title *Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi* and mentioned in the book that verbalizing the intention is a *sunnah*, this means that he lied about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and then he contradicted the Imams of the Shafi'i school who say that it is nothing. The discussion on this is long, and I do not want to waste your time. But one thing reminds me of another, and I apologize to those who may consider me exaggerating when I say that it is one of the signs of the Hour, because in reality, this thing is common in the authentic Sunnah. And I conclude my speech by reminding you of the hadith whose authenticity is agreed upon betweenThe Shaykh : the two Shaykhs, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) . I am, in reality, most amazed by the goodness of the hearts of some of the young Muslims when they are deceived by the shouting of every shouter or the bellowing of every bellowing. When was this man known for knowledge? And when did he become famous for verification and weakening, and for fiqh and ijtihad, until some people are deceived by him and follow him in what he calls for, starting from deviation in creed to worship, and let us leave aside behavior, for that is another matter. Now, I want to hear your important questions. Let whoever has a question raise his hand. Please, go ahead.