When will we finish the call for purification and education so that we can determine the background of the Muslims?

The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah honor you. I have burdened you. I am pleased with the words you said, may Allah reward you for them, and if Allah wills, they are settled in my heart.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills.

The questioner : But there is a matter that we always, when we see you, are shy to ask you about, even though we are ignorant of it, but our shyness of you prevents us. But this time we ask, and we excuse ourselves with all the words you said; we accept them, if Allah wills, but the last point we want clarified: students of knowledge come and say, "We accept with you purification and education and all this talk, we accept it, but the question is: when does this stage end? And when, for example, am I a scholar..."

The Shaykh : This is a question that is not permissible. This question is not permissible because our case is not a material case like economic matters where they set five years and proceed on a methodology, and then what, do they move to a second methodology? These are matters related to heart matters and education, and so on. When? We must walk the path, but when will we arrive? We are not responsible for that.

The questioner : The intention is not the temporal aspect.

The Shaykh : Then what is the intention?

The questioner : You, as a scholar, for example, when do you determine that the Ummah is now prepared, for example, for the appointment of an Imam? Not a time period, I mean, the signs.

The Shaykh : The answer was given earlier. I told you: Did you know that a thousand men gathered on the basis of purification and education? What was your answer?

The questioner: No, of course not.

The Shaykh : Okay, I repeat the question to you, and you repeat it to those who asked you: When will these thousand gather for one purification and one education? When?

The questioner : Without a specific time.

The Shaykh : That is the answer. That is the answer. If there are a thousand men, we cannot say when. The Ummah is the one who must produce the Caliph and pledge allegiance to the Caliph, until our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, grants the Muslims victory over their enemies? I say...

The questioner : I mean, will the predominant characteristic of them be religiosity? Or a group that reaches, for example, twelve thousand, according to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "They will not be overcome..."

The Shaykh : I told you a thousand. I am satisfied with a thousand. If the thousand are not present, will twelve thousand be present?

The questioner : No, it is impossible, of course.

The Shaykh : It is impossible. Look, when I speak in some detail, and this man has recordings on this point, I say, I like on this occasion the poetry of the pre-Islamic Arab poet who says:
"My companion wept when he saw the road ahead of him, and he was certain that we would not catch up with the short distance."
"So I said to him: Do not weep, O your eye, for we are only trying for a kingdom, or we die and are excused."
The point is the last hemistich:
"Do not weep, O your eye, for we are only trying for a kingdom, or we die and are excused."
This is a man of the pre-Islamic age, and he is striving for a kingdom that brings no benefit and causes no harm, a disbeliever who associates partners with Allah. We must walk in what Allah has obligated upon us: learning the correct knowledge and educating ourselves and those who take refuge in us with the correct Islamic education. Then our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, will permit the Muslims to be granted victory. If we stopped at the verse that all Muslims mention but do not think about its implication, and how vast is this implication: What does it mean?
The questioner: If you apply the commands of Allah and walk on the path of Allah, His victory will descend upon you and He will honor you.

The Shaykh : Very good. This means a completely known meaning, but the unknown part for the Muslim scholar, except for a few individuals...
The questioner: The way of the Salaf.

The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: The way of the Salaf.

The Shaykh : Yes. Meaning, you act according to His rulings. What do you think? Today, these rulings have been entered into by making lawful what Allah has forbidden. Will they be granted victory?

The questioner : They will not be granted victory.

The Shaykh : So we do not need to think about when the victory of Allah will come, because the answer is But we must think about what is the path by which we deserve the victory of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. The path is very clear to me; it is what I refer to as purification and education. As for asking when? How long do we walk like this? Why do we not gather? Why do we not form parties? And we do not wait for it, and so on. That is because we, as individuals, have not organized ourselves. How can we organize as a group? There is a saying attributed to some contemporary Islamic callers who belong to it, who did not consider this wisdom: "Establish the state of Islam in your hearts, and it will be established for you on your land." Have you heard this wisdom or not?
The questioner: From you, from Sayyid Qutb.

The Shaykh : Good. Did the Muslims establish this wisdom in their souls?

The questioner : No, by Allah, we have not established it.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. So here we must work. We must not think now about when the time will come for us to expel the Jews from Palestine. We must think now about when we can establish the state of Islam in our hearts. When can you establish the state of Islam in your small state, in your home? And unfortunately, most of those who call for establishing the rule of Islam on the face of the earth do not establish the rule of Islam in their homes, in themselves, in their sons, in their daughters, in their women. One who lacks a thing cannot give it. Therefore, I think I have clarified it for you.

The questioner : Clear.

The Shaykh : What was difficult for you was that I do not support the Intifada because it is not based on

The questioner : I thought you meant due to the lack of ability, but now the matters have become clear. May Allah reward you with good.
Abu Layla : Our Shaykh, if Allah wills, we will add the six tapes that include all the Shaykh's words.

The questioner : On this topic.
Abu Layla : Topics, of course, all of them are good, especially regarding organization and partisanship.

The questioner : Originally, when we were in Abu Dhabi, these matters were not...

The Shaykh : ...clear.

The questioner : They existed, but they were not raised. When we first came to Egypt, in the first two months, it became famous among us in the town here. A Salafi came to us, a student of Al-Albani. I am not a student of Al-Albani or anything, but anyway, this thought spread among the youth, so they started coming and raising all these questions, and I answer them, and praise be to Allah, they are convinced. So I said, I will visit the Shaykh in Jordan, may Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : Welcome. Yes.