The Shaykh mentioned the story of three Syrian brothers, the Banis, and the differences between them in their methodology.
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The Shaykh : We have three brothers in Damascus: one is a Salafi, another is a Naqshbandi, and the third is a Shaykhi from the group of Amin Shaykho. If you listen to him, you would call him an atheist, because for him the Shari'ah is only the Qur'an, and the hadiths are according to his own way; what is correct in his mind is what he considers correct, and so on. He had a disciple named Abdul Hadi al-Bani, whom he married to one of his daughters, and they died. It was shortly after his death, either by his will or by his group, and so on. Amin Shaykho was from the group of Amin Kiftaro, who is the father of Amin Shaykho.
The questioner : Muhammad Kiftaro.
The Shaykh : His father's name was Amin Kiftaro, the father of the Shaykh... the current Mufti of Syria. When Amin Kiftaro died, they appointed his son, who was a young man at the time, Ahmad Kiftaro, to succeed his father. Amin Shaykho was a brilliant student among the students of Ahmad Kiftaro.
The questioner : It is Amin.
The Shaykh : Amin, excuse me, Amin Shaykho was a brilliant student of his father Kiftaro, according to the traditions followed in the path. He was required not to submit to the new Shaykh. The new Shaykh, Ahmad Kiftaro, had raised his children. He lived for years—I no longer remember how many—while he was a student of Ahmad Kiftaro. I saw him once kissing his hand; he was a tall giant, and Kiftaro was not tall; he was closer to being short. After that, we were informed that he separated from Ahmad Kiftaro and took the lead of the group himself. One of his group was this Abdul Hadi al-Bani. Abdul Hadi al-Bani, from the group of Amin Shaykho, denies the intercession of the Messenger of Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and the prophets, and so on. That is, they are exactly like the Qadiyans; they have no system except the Qur'an according to their minds and understanding. Their second brother is named al-Bashir al-Bani, a student of Ahmad Kiftaro. Their third brother is from our Salafi brothers, Abd al-Rahman al-Bani, who is now in Riyadh. There are six brothers, each with his own inclination. I found these al-Ghamaris to be more than three, but I only knew three of them. I knew them personally: this Abdullah al-Ghamari, I met him in Tangier; Ahmad al-Ghamari came to Damascus as we mentioned; their third brother, Muhammad al-Zamzami, I visited him in his home more than once. Then a very sharp debate arose between him and me in the presence of Professor al-Banna regarding the attributes and Allah's rising above His Throne. He is an Ash'ari who denies the attributes.
The questioner : Is he in Syria?
The Shaykh : No, he is in Tangier. This Muhammad al-Zamzami is originally Muhammad al-Ghamari, the brother of Ahmad and Abdullah. Now, between Muhammad al-Zamzami and Abdullah al-Ghamari, there is a dispute over "what the blacksmith made", and the reason, Allah knows, is that they love it to be so that each one is distinct... Muhammad al-Zamzami wrote a treatise. Look at the contradictions; what is it called? The title is a bit long, yes: "The Great Danger for the Traveler Who Prays Behind the Resident Imam". Exactly, a great danger. He goes in his treatise to the point that if the traveler prays behind the follower...
The questioner : His prayer is invalid.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for him, yes, to shorten the prayer, otherwise his prayer is invalid! What does he argue with? With the hadith of Aisha. Yes, this one wants to demolish his evidence. That is from this misguidance, this deviation. There is a hadith in Sahih Muslim that one... his name is Musa, I no longer remember the son of whom? He asks Abdullah ibn Abbas, saying to him: "When we pray behind you, we complete the prayer, and when we pray in our camps, we shorten it." As if he is asking him: "What is your opinion?" He says to him: "It is the Sunnah of Abu al-Qasim." Muslim narrated it in his Sahih.
What does al-Zamzami do? Al-Zamzami twists the hadith and says... Ibn Abbas means only... The second point is that the traveler shortens. He brings this up, but as for the first phrase, that they pray behind him, exactly, this is not what Ibn Abbas meant. This is denial, like the denial in the verses of attributes and hadiths... because the intended meaning of denial is inverting the meanings.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And based on this interpretation, he says that the traveler must shorten the prayer behind the resident, relying on this authentic hadith of Aisha. Abdullah al-Ghamari refuted him in this treatise we mentioned. He weakened the hadith... and authenticated the hadith of Ibn Abbas that leads to the answer of what... that is, that the traveler must complete the prayer. So this one was correct here, and that one was wrong there. This one was correct in arguing with the hadith of Aisha that it is authentic, and that one was wrong in weakening this hadith. So, glory to Allah, I found these two to be contradictory. Their brother Ahmad is in the middle between this and that. There are many al-Ghamaris, excuse me, al-Zamzami, who is an al-Ghamari, but from... his brothers abolished this lineage. He set a special lineage, al-Zamzami. Many of our brothers there, when I visited them in Morocco for the first time, told me that this one is a Salafi.
The questioner : About al-Zamzami.
The Shaykh : About al-Zamzami, and I was aware of some of his works. I know from his Salafism that he is not a follower of a specific school, and I know from his Salafism that he denies the paths. As for Abdullah al-Ghamari and Ahmad al-Ghamari, these are Shaykhs of paths, yes. So their brother Muhammad al-Zamzami is the opposite of them in...
The questioner : the paths.
The Shaykh : The path, yes. And then, none of them have a school of jurisprudence, and this is a good thing if they had used this methodology well. When Ahmad al-Ghamari came to Damascus, and I once said to some of our brothers while I was talking about this meeting: I have never walked with a scholar in acknowledgment of his virtue. I have never walked with one because... you find between us, and if found, there is no such appreciation except for this Ahmad al-Ghamari. When he came to al-Zahiriyyah Library and the acquaintance took place between me and him, regarding some pure hadithic researches, during the way, I saw him off to the hotel, "al-Mirjal Hotel", they call it al-Mirjal there. And throughout the way, I was trying to know, meaning his creed, his starting point, and so on. The point I understood from him is that he has a book. Look at the exaggeration; he says he has a book he wrote in refuting the followers of a specific school, attributing all the verses that were revealed regarding the polytheists to the followers of a specific school... he says so, he has a book like this, yes.
The questioner : No, he means he conditioned... following a specific school, but...
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : ... three full brothers.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Three full brothers?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is one between them named Abdul Aziz, perhaps in Egypt. They may be more than four, yes, full brothers. Their father is a master of a path, whose name is Muhammad Sadiq, a master of a path.
The questioner : Muhammad Sadiq al-Ghamari.
The Shaykh : Yes, they received the path from him, and they also received the science of hadith from him, but it appears that they are like the Shi'ah, meaning they do not have the goal of adhering to the Sunnah; rather, they made it a means for prominence and to support what they are in.
The questioner : Muhammad Kiftaro.
The Shaykh : His father's name was Amin Kiftaro, the father of the Shaykh... the current Mufti of Syria. When Amin Kiftaro died, they appointed his son, who was a young man at the time, Ahmad Kiftaro, to succeed his father. Amin Shaykho was a brilliant student among the students of Ahmad Kiftaro.
The questioner : It is Amin.
The Shaykh : Amin, excuse me, Amin Shaykho was a brilliant student of his father Kiftaro, according to the traditions followed in the path. He was required not to submit to the new Shaykh. The new Shaykh, Ahmad Kiftaro, had raised his children. He lived for years—I no longer remember how many—while he was a student of Ahmad Kiftaro. I saw him once kissing his hand; he was a tall giant, and Kiftaro was not tall; he was closer to being short. After that, we were informed that he separated from Ahmad Kiftaro and took the lead of the group himself. One of his group was this Abdul Hadi al-Bani. Abdul Hadi al-Bani, from the group of Amin Shaykho, denies the intercession of the Messenger of Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and the prophets, and so on. That is, they are exactly like the Qadiyans; they have no system except the Qur'an according to their minds and understanding. Their second brother is named al-Bashir al-Bani, a student of Ahmad Kiftaro. Their third brother is from our Salafi brothers, Abd al-Rahman al-Bani, who is now in Riyadh. There are six brothers, each with his own inclination. I found these al-Ghamaris to be more than three, but I only knew three of them. I knew them personally: this Abdullah al-Ghamari, I met him in Tangier; Ahmad al-Ghamari came to Damascus as we mentioned; their third brother, Muhammad al-Zamzami, I visited him in his home more than once. Then a very sharp debate arose between him and me in the presence of Professor al-Banna regarding the attributes and Allah's rising above His Throne. He is an Ash'ari who denies the attributes.
The questioner : Is he in Syria?
The Shaykh : No, he is in Tangier. This Muhammad al-Zamzami is originally Muhammad al-Ghamari, the brother of Ahmad and Abdullah. Now, between Muhammad al-Zamzami and Abdullah al-Ghamari, there is a dispute over "what the blacksmith made", and the reason, Allah knows, is that they love it to be so that each one is distinct... Muhammad al-Zamzami wrote a treatise. Look at the contradictions; what is it called? The title is a bit long, yes: "The Great Danger for the Traveler Who Prays Behind the Resident Imam". Exactly, a great danger. He goes in his treatise to the point that if the traveler prays behind the follower...
The questioner : His prayer is invalid.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for him, yes, to shorten the prayer, otherwise his prayer is invalid! What does he argue with? With the hadith of Aisha. Yes, this one wants to demolish his evidence. That is from this misguidance, this deviation. There is a hadith in Sahih Muslim that one... his name is Musa, I no longer remember the son of whom? He asks Abdullah ibn Abbas, saying to him: "When we pray behind you, we complete the prayer, and when we pray in our camps, we shorten it." As if he is asking him: "What is your opinion?" He says to him: "It is the Sunnah of Abu al-Qasim." Muslim narrated it in his Sahih.
What does al-Zamzami do? Al-Zamzami twists the hadith and says... Ibn Abbas means only... The second point is that the traveler shortens. He brings this up, but as for the first phrase, that they pray behind him, exactly, this is not what Ibn Abbas meant. This is denial, like the denial in the verses of attributes and hadiths... because the intended meaning of denial is inverting the meanings.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And based on this interpretation, he says that the traveler must shorten the prayer behind the resident, relying on this authentic hadith of Aisha. Abdullah al-Ghamari refuted him in this treatise we mentioned. He weakened the hadith... and authenticated the hadith of Ibn Abbas that leads to the answer of what... that is, that the traveler must complete the prayer. So this one was correct here, and that one was wrong there. This one was correct in arguing with the hadith of Aisha that it is authentic, and that one was wrong in weakening this hadith. So, glory to Allah, I found these two to be contradictory. Their brother Ahmad is in the middle between this and that. There are many al-Ghamaris, excuse me, al-Zamzami, who is an al-Ghamari, but from... his brothers abolished this lineage. He set a special lineage, al-Zamzami. Many of our brothers there, when I visited them in Morocco for the first time, told me that this one is a Salafi.
The questioner : About al-Zamzami.
The Shaykh : About al-Zamzami, and I was aware of some of his works. I know from his Salafism that he is not a follower of a specific school, and I know from his Salafism that he denies the paths. As for Abdullah al-Ghamari and Ahmad al-Ghamari, these are Shaykhs of paths, yes. So their brother Muhammad al-Zamzami is the opposite of them in...
The questioner : the paths.
The Shaykh : The path, yes. And then, none of them have a school of jurisprudence, and this is a good thing if they had used this methodology well. When Ahmad al-Ghamari came to Damascus, and I once said to some of our brothers while I was talking about this meeting: I have never walked with a scholar in acknowledgment of his virtue. I have never walked with one because... you find between us, and if found, there is no such appreciation except for this Ahmad al-Ghamari. When he came to al-Zahiriyyah Library and the acquaintance took place between me and him, regarding some pure hadithic researches, during the way, I saw him off to the hotel, "al-Mirjal Hotel", they call it al-Mirjal there. And throughout the way, I was trying to know, meaning his creed, his starting point, and so on. The point I understood from him is that he has a book. Look at the exaggeration; he says he has a book he wrote in refuting the followers of a specific school, attributing all the verses that were revealed regarding the polytheists to the followers of a specific school... he says so, he has a book like this, yes.
The questioner : No, he means he conditioned... following a specific school, but...
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : ... three full brothers.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Three full brothers?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is one between them named Abdul Aziz, perhaps in Egypt. They may be more than four, yes, full brothers. Their father is a master of a path, whose name is Muhammad Sadiq, a master of a path.
The questioner : Muhammad Sadiq al-Ghamari.
The Shaykh : Yes, they received the path from him, and they also received the science of hadith from him, but it appears that they are like the Shi'ah, meaning they do not have the goal of adhering to the Sunnah; rather, they made it a means for prominence and to support what they are in.