The Shaykh’s talk on the agreement of the sects that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and their disagreement in its application
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The questioner : ... regarding the disagreement among some of the brothers who read the book "Islamic Groups in the Book and the Sunnah," especially concerning the Tabligh Jama'ah. I wish you would clarify to us what you see ... of the defects or merits of the Tabligh Jama'ah?
The Shaykh : Yes, we are on our path that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and this is without doubt, and praise be to Allah, a text agreed upon by all Islamic groups. No one says the best guidance is the guidance of Abu Hanifa, or Malik, or al-Shafi'i, or Ahmad, and they all believe that these are people of knowledge and virtue, and their goal is to follow the Messenger (peace be upon him) and proceed on his guidance. So, is the principle agreed upon by all Muslims that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? With this agreement, there is disagreement in its application and in making this Prophetic principle a reality on the ground. Here the matter becomes disputed. We mentioned earlier regarding the topic of knowledge, what is it? We said that Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said. There is no disagreement in this either, but the reality of the matter today is that you rarely hear a scholar answering a questioner say to you, "Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said." Rather, as we mentioned earlier, he says to you, "So-and-so said." And his saying "So-and-so said" is not knowledge, as we mentioned earlier. So the important thing today is that Muslims agree on the agreed-upon legal principles and follow them, and do not set them aside. We say the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Then you see this one prays with one form of prayer, and this one with a second form, and this one and this one, and so on. Likewise, wudu, fasting, and Hajj, and so on. Why? What is the reason? The reason is that they did not apply the principle that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Why? Because making this principle a reality in our religious life requires knowledge of what Allah said and what the Messenger of Allah said, especially what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah, and avoiding what is not authentic from him. Where is this approach? And where is its application in our reality today?
The Shaykh : Yes, we are on our path that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and this is without doubt, and praise be to Allah, a text agreed upon by all Islamic groups. No one says the best guidance is the guidance of Abu Hanifa, or Malik, or al-Shafi'i, or Ahmad, and they all believe that these are people of knowledge and virtue, and their goal is to follow the Messenger (peace be upon him) and proceed on his guidance. So, is the principle agreed upon by all Muslims that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? With this agreement, there is disagreement in its application and in making this Prophetic principle a reality on the ground. Here the matter becomes disputed. We mentioned earlier regarding the topic of knowledge, what is it? We said that Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said. There is no disagreement in this either, but the reality of the matter today is that you rarely hear a scholar answering a questioner say to you, "Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said." Rather, as we mentioned earlier, he says to you, "So-and-so said." And his saying "So-and-so said" is not knowledge, as we mentioned earlier. So the important thing today is that Muslims agree on the agreed-upon legal principles and follow them, and do not set them aside. We say the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Then you see this one prays with one form of prayer, and this one with a second form, and this one and this one, and so on. Likewise, wudu, fasting, and Hajj, and so on. Why? What is the reason? The reason is that they did not apply the principle that the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Why? Because making this principle a reality in our religious life requires knowledge of what Allah said and what the Messenger of Allah said, especially what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah, and avoiding what is not authentic from him. Where is this approach? And where is its application in our reality today?