What is your opinion of those who say that your response to Ramadan al-Buti contained excessive harshness?

The questioner : There is a second question, and it is from one of our brothers in Yemen. He asked me to convey it to you, and I did not want to convey it to you. It is a question about your response to al-Buti. He said, in his expression, that it was somewhat harsh in tone.

Another questioner : You mean in defense of the Sunnah?

The questioner : No, no, he is correct. He is correct in his expression. But he is correct, yet our brother says—and it is not my words, I am just conveying them honestly to the Shaykh—that his expression was harsh in tone. His words may be correct, but his style was harsh. Al-Buti is a scholar among scholars, so he wants the style to be a bit lighter.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : I do not know the Shaykh’s response to that.

The Shaykh : Our response is that we say to this unknown brother of mine:

The questioner : His name is Abdullah.

The Shaykh : His name does not matter to me, because if you tell me his name, I will not know who he is.

The questioner : He wrote me a note in his own handwriting.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : About this word.

The Shaykh : Yes, I do not know this person. Did he know al-Buti? Did he know his position regarding the call to the truth? Certainly, he did not know. He is like a person who struck someone with his palm and hurt him, and a third man said, “He harmed him.” He is correct in saying he harmed him. Why? Because he saw a striker and a struck person. But if this third observer knew that the struck person was hit with one palm, would he say that the striker was an aggressor? Would he say he was extreme? No, if Allah wills, he would not say that. This person, when he knows the truth about al-Buti, would not say that. But I think this person—Allah knows best—is from the Muslim Brotherhood, either politically or ideologically. Listen, listen, half of what you say has no answer for us.

The questioner : But let us give you an idea.

The Shaykh : No, no, I say: either he is from the Muslim Brotherhood politically, or he is on their methodology ideologically. It must be one of the two.

The questioner : He is neither political nor ideological.

The Shaykh : No, that is not possible.

The questioner : Because he...

The Shaykh : It cannot be anything other than one of the two.

The questioner : He follows a Salafi path and takes his ideas from...The Shaykh : Ibn Baz.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The questioner : And he wrote *Al-Wala' wa al-Bara'* (Loyalty and Disavowal) and *Ma'alim al-Intilaq al-Kubra* (Landmarks of the Great Departure).

The Shaykh : It is all right, my brother, but either he knows al-Buti or he does not. If he does not know him, the answer has already been given.

The questioner : He may not know him.

The Shaykh : Listen to me. If he does not know him, the answer has already been given. And if he knows him, he is one of two men: either a Muslim Brotherhood member, or he is...

The questioner : No, he is against...

The Shaykh : Be patient, my brother. Half of what you say has no answer. May Allah be pleased with you. I am not saying to you “There is no God.” I told you, “There is no God in it.” Let me finish.

The questioner : Understood.

The Shaykh : Either he is a partisan, or he is on the methodology of the partisans. These people—what are they? Their policy is to gather people and group them together, and to be satisfied with the Salafi, the Khalafi, the partisan, and the Shi'i, and so on. This is their call. They deny the use of harshness absolutely. And this is not Islam. Denying the use of harshness absolutely is not Islam. What do you think?

The questioner : Your words are truly good.

The Shaykh : Good. I am now going to recite to you a hadith. Convey it to your friend. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And I think, given that he is from Yemen and they are known for jurisprudence, regarding the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): But because of the distance from that jurisprudence, he may not understand what is intended by the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): This is harshness, without doubt, of the utmost degree. “Whoever consoles with the consolation of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, bite him with his father’s bones.” But the one who used this harshness is the one who was addressed by the saying of Allah the Exalted: And it was said to him: So the one who possesses this great character is the one who said this phrase that people like this brother, who says, “I used harshness with al-Buti,” disapprove of. He does not know al-Buti, and that is the best assumption about him. And if he knows him, then the second possibility has arisen. Good. We need to pray.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.