Continuation of the discussion on the hadith (Do not pray the 'Asr prayer except in Banu Quraizah) and the Shaykh's comment on dividing Islam into fundamentals and branches.

The Shaykh : ... because dividing Islam into fundamentals and branches first requires extensive knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah. And as you see, unfortunately, those qualified for this in this age are few, and very few. For most of those who are thought to be scholars are only scholars of a madhhab or of the madhahib. As for the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and the authentic Sunnah in particular, very few scholars of the present age possess this correct knowledge. I say that dividing or establishing Islam and making it into fundamentals and branches requires this extensive knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah. Second, is it possible for the Muslims, if they were to gather on one field and in one place, all the true scholars, if they were to gather on one field, is it possible for them to make Islam into two sections: fundamentals on which they agree and branches on which they agree? Or will there remain some matters where some of them include them in the first section and some include them in the second section? In that case, what is the state of the general Muslims? If the scholars differ, and as you see, until now, true is the Great Allah . So disagreement is of the nature of humans. If they were to gather on one field and wanted to clarify for people what may be in the first section and what may be in the second section, they would not be able to agree on that; rather, they would remain differing. Therefore, my firm belief is that it is not permissible to distinguish between one law and another, saying this is a fundamental that must not be neglected and this is a branch that may be neglected. Yes, if the intended meaning of branch and fundamental is what corresponds to the fard and what corresponds to the sunnah, this is undoubtedly a possible matter. But that is not the intended meaning. The intended meaning is what relates to 'aqidah and what relates to worship. What relates to 'aqidah is the fundamental, and it is that which must be relied upon and held to, and nothing of it should be neglected. And what relates to acts of worship, the matter is easy, especially since they brought the saying, "Whoever follows a scholar will meet Allah safe." Many people imagine this phrase is a hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but it has no basis even in the fabricated hadiths. There is no basis for this phrase, "Whoever follows a scholar will meet Allah safe," even in the fabricated hadiths. We can say this is a fresh fabrication, meaning a hadith from the present age. And this is one of the problems of this age: phrases are circulated that we have not found even in the fabricated hadiths. Where did they come from? From that source from which the old fabricated hadiths came, for which books of fabrications were written. The point is that those whom we referred to argue with the meaning of this phrase, "Whoever follows a scholar will meet Allah safe," with an authentic hadith. Their argument is exactly like, in terms of deviation from its correct meaning, the argument of the innovators when they say there is a good innovation in Islam, using the hadith . What is this authentic hadith that those who affirm disagreement and never want to lead the Muslims to the saying of the Lord of the Worlds relied upon? . Consider with me this verse: . It did not say 'aqidah and non-'aqidah, it did not say fundamental and branch, but rather in any matter of the rulings of the Shari'ah: . The verse. Those who do not want to set out with us to reform what the people before us corrupted say, "Our proof for that is the hadith of Banu Quraizah." When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a group of his Companions to Banu Quraizah, he said to them: . They set out in haste, and then the time of 'Asr overtook them. They split into two groups, into two opinions. Some said, "We must pray 'Asr before its time ends." And some said, "No, our Prophet said ." So they differed. Some of them actually prayed 'Asr at the usual time before the sun set, and some delayed the prayer. When they returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned the disagreement that occurred between them, the error now is from those people who narrate the hadith incorrectly, intentionally or by mistake, and their Lord knows them best. But the reality is that they say the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved both groups in their actions. This is an error in narration and understanding. As for the narration, because the hadith in the two Sahihs, as we mentioned, is from the narration of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both), he said that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard of their disagreement, Ibn 'Umar said, "So he did not rebuke any group of them." He did not rebuke any group of them. He did not approve them all; rather, he did not rebuke. And this is the requirement of the Shari'ah by its general rules, as you all know, if Allah wills, from his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . So the one who is rewarded is not rebuked. And from here we should take an etiquette. This is an interjection that may be a bit long, so please excuse me. From this hadith, we should take that if we see an imam from the imams of the Muslims who has contradicted one of the authentic sunan, it is not permissible for us to belittle him or to criticize him, but rather to seek an excuse for him. That is because he was a mujtahid. If he was correct, he has two rewards, and if he erred, he has one reward. Among the excuses that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) explained in his book "Raf' al-Malam 'an al-A'immah al-A'lam" (Lifting Blame from the Distinguished Imams) is an explanation of these causes: that the Sunnah had not been collected at that time. The Sunnah was scattered in the Islamic lands to which the first Companions, the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), had dispersed. And thus the Sunnah was scattered, and the Muslims, their scholars, were not able to collect this Sunnah until the end of the second century, and the third century, and so on...