A discussion of the book *The Path to the Muslim Brotherhood*.

The questioner : You mentioned in ... that you intend to refute the book *The Call of the Ikhwan: The Path to the Muslim Brotherhood*. Is that so?

Another questioner : We ask Allah to make it easy, my brother. This is a book that is a compilation of everything, but what they have defiled most is the publishers, the Kuwaitis. May Allah guide us and them. On the last page, our Shaykh, what did they write? They said, "It is a scientific book, such and such, good," and so on. And it is a scientific thesis submitted to the College of Hadith at the Islamic University. The Islamic University is the symbol of Salafism, or rather, the first stronghold of Salafism in the Islamic world. It is a book, such and such, and such and such. The book is nothing but a mixture of the Salafis and the supporters of the Sunnah, and it brings in the words of al-Sadiq Amin in his book *The Islamic Call*, and nothing else. Then it devotes three-quarters of the book to praising the Muslim Brotherhood, highlighting them, and presenting them as the head, as if he wants to say that the path to the Muslim Brotherhood is the Muslim Brotherhood. Glory be to Allah?

The questioner : This book is said to be a thesis that was discussed in the Department of the Sunnah. At the time of its discussion, Shaykh Hammad was present in the department. He was surprised by it and said, "We have not heard of it, nor have we seen it?"

Another questioner : Strange. I have not heard anything of this?

The questioner : ... In any case, those present at the university did not know about the discussion of this thesis. It was discussed in a hall, not the general hall, but rather in one of the buildings, or perhaps in the hall of graduate studies at the university. Only a small number attended or were invited to it. The supervisor and the examiner there are also known for their orientation?

Another questioner : Peace be upon you.

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

The questioner : Their orientation, and their orientation is known; it is not a Salafi orientation. Add to this that it was discussed during the time of some of the presidents of the Islamic University, who also support that thought and that orientation. So in reality, it is not good for our Kuwaiti brothers, nor for any of our other brothers, to say about this thesis that it is a thesis that agrees with the methodology of the university, or that the university supports what is in this thesis, or that the Shaykhs at the university adopt what is in this thesis. Rather, this thesis does not agree with the methodology of the university, and it is not, in reality, a precise scientific thesis. We do not do justice to its author. Rather, its author understands Islam within the framework of groups, and does not understand groups within the framework of Islam. So he tried to roam and wander, rejecting the groups and destroying them all, until only the Muslim Brotherhood remained. So he highlighted it as the totalitarian group, and the group that is suitable for, meaning,

The Shaykh : leading the Ummah.

The questioner : leading the Muslim Ummah, because it has such and such advantages. So the poor man is ignorant that the call of Islam, and that whoever brings a call must present it to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is one of the evils of these groups, one of the evils of the existence of these groups, that some of the simpletons, even students of knowledge, understand that the call of Islam does not go beyond these groups. Instead of thinking that these groups may go beyond the call of Islam, so they are presented to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the methodology of the Salaf, and all their defects become apparent, because they all adhere to religious innovations. These are the groups that have affiliation and leaders, and do not adhere to the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This man is of this type, and there are many of them. He thinks that the call of Islam does not go beyond the groups. So, if we assume the best of him, he thought that the call of Islam does not go beyond the groups, and that one must choose a group and make it the group of the Muslims. So he chose the Muslim Brotherhood after criticizing the other groups, and he did not touch the Muslim Brotherhood with criticism except for some very minor things, so as not to harm it. He wants to make it the group, the group of the Muslims. And as he says,The Shaykh : perhaps he scattered ash in the eyes. It should not be that this thesis has an echo among the students of knowledge, and that they write in refuting it and verify, even the circumstances in which it was discussed, and look at the supervisor and the examiner, so as to, meaning, exonerate the university from this. Perhaps someone will say, why does the university not disavow this thesis? We do not know. Perhaps the university will do so. But also, it does not harm the university that a thesis was discussed from a distant side and was forgotten, and that it does not get angry because a person, because he is one of the students of knowledge or scholars, comes and says that this thesis does not agree with the methodology of the university, and that the Shaykhs of the university do not approve it. Rather, this, by Allah, is a service to the university.

The Shaykh : When was this thesis discussed? How many years ago approximately?

The questioner : It is on the book, but I do not remember ... It is a bad thesis.

Another questioner : Very bad.

The questioner : And it has been printed many times and spread everywhere. The biggest thing that deceives people about the thesis is that they say it is a scientific thesis, and its author does not belong to any of the groups. It is a detached thesis; its author has no affiliation. And the students come to the university. I heard that when a student first arrives, they give it to him, especially if he comes from America or from those countries, and he knows nothing about these calls. They present to him a gift from this book ... The Ikhwan callers who are present try to welcome this person or go to him and present him with a copy of this book and say to him, "Read it." One of the American brothers in the Department of Arabic Language at the university mentioned that they brought him the book and said to him, "This book, read it. This book’s author does not belong to the groups, and it is a good book, and you will benefit from it." He said, "When I read it, I said, this is the call of the Ikhwan." They said, "How? No, absolutely not."

The Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on you.
The questioner: He had knowledge of the Ikhwan, so he returned the book to them and said, "No, this book is an Ikhwan book." They said, "Absolutely not, the author of this book does not belong." He said, "No, absolutely, this book is an Ikhwan book," before he knew it, before.

Another questioner : Everyone who reads this book feels this completely. It leads one with certainty to the fact that the man is an Ikhwan, meaning a fanatic about the things, our Shaykh, that he quoted from others who criticized the Salafis, let alone others. He says them as established facts and does not discuss anything. And especially the book that is known to everyone, which is *The Islamic Call and the Legal Obligations and the Emergence of Humanity* by Abdullah Azzam. The information in this book is weak, flimsy, and contradictory, and the error in it is very great. And yet, because it is a refutation of the Salafis, he quoted it verbatim and did not discuss anything of it.

The questioner : You mentioned, perhaps in *Tathirah wa Tarbiyah*, that you did not conclude that the book is by Abdullah Azzam. Ali Hasan al-Hamdani? That the book, meaning Abdullah Azzam, meaning it is said that the one who wrote it is Abdullah Azzam without certainty. But his wife, as we said in one of the issues of *Al-Muslimun*, mentioned that it was the first book of his books. She said, "But it is not agreed upon."
Another questioner: In the interview they conducted with her the morning after the death of the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him).

The questioner : What did she mention?

Another questioner : She mentioned that *The Islamic Call and the Legal Obligations* is by Shaykh Abdullah ...