Advice from the Shaykh to the Salafis regarding not severing ties, turning away from one another, or envying one another.

Indeed, praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and from the badness of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.
As for what follows, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations. Every innovation is a religious innovation, every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
And after that, it is known to us all the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): We Muslims today are among the general public, and it is obligatory for every sincere person to offer them advice, and more specifically, we, the Salafis, who represent a large portion of this vast number of Muslims, take pride in the fact that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has favored them over many Muslims by making it easy for them to understand tawhid, which is the foundation of salvation in the Hereafter from eternal punishment. This tawhid, which we have studied and come to know well, and in which we have established our creed, but I feel, and my heart is filled with regret, that we became complacent with ourselves when we stopped at this creed and its necessary implications, which are known from acting upon the Book and the Sunnah and not judging by anything other than the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We stopped at this position, which is obligatory for every Muslim, of the correct understanding of tawhid and acting upon what is established in the Book and the Sunnah regarding fiqh, which has branched out into various schools and paths over these long years. But it appears, and this is what I have repeated on many occasions, that this Islamic world, including the Salafis themselves, has been preoccupied from an important aspect of this Islam that we have adopted ideologically as a comprehensive Islam for all aspects of life, and that includes conduct and uprightness on the path. Many of us do not care about this aspect of Islam, which is improving conduct and improving morals. We read in the authentic books of the Sunnah the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And we read in the Noble Qur'an that it is not of the Islamic character for Muslims to differ, especially us Salafis, among themselves over matters that do not necessitate disagreement and conflict. We read in that the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): And it is truly regrettable that we hear, not only in Islamic lands, that Muslims are divided into many sects and numerous parties, even in the ongoing battle between them and the disbelievers who have seized some of the lands, such as our brothers, for example, the Afghans. We all know that they are now in a battle with the communists, but unfortunately, they have divided into sects. And the cause of that is nothing but turning away from some of what came in Islam regarding the guidance to agreement and the rejection of discord and conflict. The previous verse is correct in that regard: I say that this disagreement and this conflict will not stop at the borders of distant lands, but it has reached us ourselves, us Salafis, who claim that we hold fast to the Book and the authentic Sunnah. We do not deny the favor of Allah upon us with what He has bestowed upon us of guidance to tawhid and to acting upon what is established in the Book and the Sunnah. But is it not established in the Book and the Sunnah that we should not envy one another, that we should not hate one another, and that we should be brothers as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded us in His Book and His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his Sunnah? Yes, that is what we have known intellectually, but we have not applied it practically. And perhaps we will apply it and strive toward it earnestly. It is regrettable that there is some division and some conflict for very trivial reasons. And therefore, we must keep in mind what is called today in the language of the modern age religious tolerance, but in the sense that Islam permits. Religious tolerance has expanded its scope to where Islam does not permit it, but we mean tolerance in the correct sense. And that is because if we see a person who is not a Salafi, let alone if he is a Salafi, that he has a particular opinion or a particular ijtihad, or rather, if we see that he has erred in some of his actions, we do not rush to rebuke him and then boycott him. Rather, it is obligatory for us to follow the path of advice, which we began this speech with the hadith: If we advise him and he responds to us, that is what we desire. And if he does not respond, we have no way over him, and it is not permissible for us to turn away from him or to cut him off. Rather, we must remain with him, following up with advice from time to time, between one occasion and another, until he is upright on the right path. We observe in many of our private gatherings, in addition to others, that two people are in conflict over an issue, each wanting to drag the topic to his own advantage. So he does not present it in a detached manner, as it should be, for the sake of reaching the truth that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) commanded, but rather to show that I am the one who is right and that one is the one who is wrong. And therefore, we must remember on this occasion some verses and some authentic hadiths, which I do not think any of us is unaware of in terms of knowledge, but they are hidden from them in terms of application and action. And therefore, I have recalled, seeking assistance for my weak memory, some texts from the noble verses that benefit us in this regard and return us, if Allah wills, to being one hand and one row, where none of us boycotts any of his brothers, but rather follows up with admonition and advice. We all know the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): Taqwa here is a general command to stay away from every disobedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and among that is following what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His Prophet commanded of guidance and light. And from that is what He presented before the command of taqwa: It is necessary to attempt to reconcile between brothers if there is a sign that indicates there is something that suggests division. And this division is not limited to only contradicting the creed, but also to contradicting the rulings of the Shari'ah that Islam brought. This is a verse: So the mercy that we all hope for from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is only achieved by the taqwa of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and among that is reconciling between those who differ. Also, it came in the Qur'an: There is no doubt that this verse was directed directly to the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for He addressed them by saying: By what was the salvation? Without a doubt, by sending the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to them with the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and with his explanation (peace and blessings be upon him). Do you think we have a share in this verse? We praise Allah that we have a share that is not to be underestimated in the address of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in this noble verse, especially in its middle: What united us and gathered us here and there? It is only the faith in the obligation of returning to the Book and to the Sunnah and judging by them always and forever, if there appears something that suggests disagreement and separation, as He said in the verse that you know well: This is from what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has bestowed upon us and favored us with, by His saying (Mighty and Majestic) addressing us with the generality of the text, while He addressed the Companions with the specificity of the text, which is His saying: We were, as we live today, like most Muslims, who are Muslims, but many of them, if not all, the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) applies to them: So we, praise be to Allah, have been saved by Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from shirk, indeed from all types of shirk. This is one of the greatest blessings upon us. But we must complete the blessing of Allah upon us by agreeing and not disagreeing, as this verse commands us in its beginning: This confirms, or this is a cause for maintaining the unity of the row and the unity of the word, even if something suggesting disagreement comes from there. I said earlier, mutual advice in the religion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but this advice must be as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded: We read this in the Qur'an always and forever, but unfortunately, we often deviate from the verse and do not apply it, and we do not call our brothers in the same drink and the Salafi methodology, let alone others, to this path. Rarely do we follow this path and this way that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) commanded us: Arguing with what is best requires what we said earlier, a bit of tolerance, a bit of tolerance. And this tolerance requires two things from us: The first thing is that we keep in mind, that each of us keeps in mind that revelation has not descended upon him with what he has of opinion, so he may be the one who is wrong, and the person who argues with him and discusses with him may be the one who is right. It is necessary for each of us when he discusses with his companion to keep in mind this self-evident fact that we are not infallible, no matter how learned or knowledgeable one of us is. Often the saying of the scholars is realized: "There may be in the inferior what is not in the superior." The scholar may be wrong and the student may be right. The student may be wrong and the illiterate who knows nothing may be right. And this keeping in mind of this reality is what makes a person cautious and gentle with his companion in discussion. And this is an etiquette taken from the Noble Qur'an, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned in His Book that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to address his polytheistic people, and how vast is the difference between the polytheists in their misguidance and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions in their guidance. And yet, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) taught him this noble etiquette, which we expressed as tolerance, and He said in the Noble Qur'an: This is the limit of tolerance during discussion, and it does not mean that the Muslim gives up his creed, but it includes the assumption that one of the two parties is wrong and the other is in misguidance. Which one is the party? He did not specify it here, but always and forever, when he calls them to faith and tells them that if they disbelieve in what came from Allah, he tells them: At the time when he makes clear to them his creed and their fate if they continue in their opposition, and he tells them when he argues with them: This is the address of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to the polytheists. So how should the address of one of us to another be? Without a doubt, he should be humble to him and tolerant with him, and not attack him with a fierce assault so that he distances himself from him as an enemy distances himself from his enemy. This verse is very important, and we must remember it well. And there are some authentic hadiths that we also need to remember practically, not just intellectually and in knowledge, and that is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . . Why does he boycott him out of hatred and envy? Not for a religious matter, not because he disobeyed Allah and His Messenger. If the worst that can be said is that he disobeyed Allah and His Messenger due to his misunderstanding, in my opinion, but he did not openly commit the disobedience and did not believe that this is disobedience. And yet, he is disobeying Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So one of us came and boycotted him. This boycott is prescribed, without a doubt, but the mutual turning away in the path of differences in ideas and concepts is from the turning away that is prohibited in the beginning of this hadith. Also, this creation or this character, which is envy, has crept in between some of our Salafi brothers. There is sometimes quarreling in some places over who will deliver the speech or the lesson, is it Bakr or 'Umar? No, I am more worthy. No, he is more worthy. O people, fear Allah in yourselves. If there is a person who has some knowledge and some learning and wants to deliver what he knows among the people, let him speak and help him in that, and do not look at yourselves with a lens of arrogance and pride over him, because you look at him as being below you in knowledge. And he may reverse the issue, and the discord begins and the conflict begins, and these matters that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited in this authentic hadith occur as a result. This boycott must be cut off and ended. This hadith is, in reality, from the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) upon His servants, for He did not prohibit boycott absolutely. He left room for some sick souls to vent their anger, hatred, and envy within a period of three days. It is enough for a person to quench his anger with these three days; he was permitted to do so. But if he exceeds them, he has committed what is forbidden. And as will come in some authentic hadiths, by that, meaning if he exceeds the three days in which the Lawgiver permitted him to boycott, he deserves to enter the Fire. It came in another hadith after his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Meaning, if it is difficult for this Muslim who boycotted his brother for three days as a concession, but he did not forget this severe warning from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that it is not permissible for him to continue after three days. The least that saves him from the boycott and the warning attached to it is that affection is realized between the two who boycotted each other after the three days in which they were boycotting each other. Immediately and directly, it is enough for salvation from this warning that he begins with his brother by greeting him. And after that, the greeting leads to conversation, and conversation leads to affection and visiting and the like. And as it is said, the first of the rain is a drop, then it pours down. So at least, the Muslim should take the initiative to greet his brother whom he boycotted for three days. And in that is salvation from the warning of boycotting for three days. Listen to this Prophetic text from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and what is in it of warning for the one who boycotts his brother without right. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): - Give us a little water, please - This is what we look forward to with good, because we are the callers to tawhid, and we are the ones who raise the banner of the call to tawhid and to rejecting the association of partners with Allah in any type of shirk. So I think that we entered Paradise immediately without reckoning or punishment, and as it is said today, transit, because we are monotheists and we do not associate anything with Allah. It is not so. Listen to this hadith, memorize it, and try to embody it in your starting point in your life: Meaning, be patient with them, do not forgive them until they reconcile and return to being brothers on thrones facing each other... Then he said (peace and blessings be upon him) in another hadith: Meaning, they are cutting each other off and turning away from each other. So the command of boycotting and turning away and leaving each other without a religious justification other than the difference in opinion, one of its bad effects is that the prayer is not raised to Allah and is not accepted, as He said: So the prayer of these two who are quarreling is not raised to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and is not accepted. Often, boycotting and quarreling occur due to the suspicions and illusions that come to a person's mind regarding his Muslim brother. So this last hadith came to warn us and prohibit us from thinking ill of the Muslim. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): In the beginning of the hadith, he prohibits us from thinking ill of the Muslim brother and explains that it is the most false of speech to say so-and-so is such and so-and-so is such, and you have no proof from Allah for that. And even if you had proof for that, it does not permit you to think ill of your brother. So it is not permissible for you to backbite him, but rather you must take the initiative, as we said at the beginning of this speech, to advise him and guide him and direct him in the direction that you see as conforming to the Shari'ah. And often, this bad suspicion drives the Muslim who has a bad opinion of his Muslim brother to commit these violations that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) linked to the prohibited thinking ill of the Muslim by saying: "And do not spy, and do not investigate." Spying is tracking the mistakes of the Muslim by hinting and criticizing him. And investigating, some scholars say that the two mean the same thing, but the truth is that investigating has a meaning different from the meaning of spying, because it is not correct in some cases to place the word spying in the place of investigating. In the Noble Qur'an, the saying of Ya'qub (peace be upon him) to his son: So investigating is tracking the news of a person and listening to that. So here, investigating is, as if in the hadith, more specific than spying. Spying can be in good and can be in evil. As for investigating, it is in evil alone. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this hadith prohibits both matters: he prohibits tracking the news of a person and spying on him, for matters are by their intentions. So if the intention of investigating is to reach good, there is no harm in it. As for spying, there is no good in it at all. Therefore, it is not permissible for the Muslim to investigate and to listen to the speech of the Muslim with the intention of tracking the mistake and the flaw and causing him to fall into what he does not like. And why does a person envy his Muslim brother? This is, unfortunately, almost innate in man. I say "almost" because I do not believe that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created man to envy his Muslim brother. And therefore, I said it is almost innate due to the prevalence of envy among people. And the truth is that the disease of envy is a chronic disease, and it often appears between the wealthy in material and financial wealth and the wealthy in knowledge. The wealthy in money is envied by his like, and the wealthy in knowledge is envied by his like. And then that becomes a cause for hatred to enter between the envious ones. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as an education: Meaning, in His saying: So this is a word and an admonition. We ask that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) benefit us with it and realize in us the sincere brotherhood that I feel we all need to realize. We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to help us in His obedience and in everything He commanded. And Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise, I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I turn to You in repentance.