A word by the Shaykh on the issue of thanking people and that it is part of thanking Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), along with mentioning the story of a man from Egypt who sought knowledge when he was forty years old.
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The Shaykh : First of all, I would like to verify a correct hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in this gathering that you have facilitated for us. That hadith is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1954Sahih (Darussalam) At the same time, after offering this obligatory thanks first to me, and then to our brothers.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I hope for you, in this place which we know, Doctor, that you recently acquired and that you have been working to green it, grow it, and plant in it, that Allah will make easy for you what you intended, and that this work of yours will benefit you in this world and the Hereafter. The benefit is either limited or not limited to one aspect; it is many and very many. Some of it applies to any land that has fruit, grain, or crops from which creatures benefit in their various forms, whether speaking or silent, whether human or animal. This is because it came in the authentic hadiths in al-Bukhari and others that a Muslim does not plant a plant except that a bird, animal, or human eats from it, and he has a reward for that, or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. The truth is, this is not what I intended with this word; rather, this is a kind of introduction. What I wish for you is that this land of yours becomes a green paradise with tall trees and abundant fruit, so that this place becomes a shelter for those seeking the gathering for knowledge and correct knowledge drawn from the Book and the Sunnah. I recall with this a man who had a very good impact... with a great difference between you and him now, and a difference that is negative and positive. When he began seeking knowledge, he was forty years old, and you, praise be to Allah, are not now beginning to seek knowledge. So this is where the difference between you and him lies. But there is a matter that creates another difference, and... I hope for you that it is realized in you in a better way than the way it was realized for him. For the man today has followers who number in the millions, and he was a caller to the Sunnah. But I must clarify that the Sunnah he called to was according to his understanding and the knowledge he gained from al-Azhar. Perhaps everyone knows that al-Azhar does not provide mature, correct knowledge. Therefore, we see that those who had a firm foundation in correct knowledge did not gain it from al-Azhar, as they call it "the Noble al-Azhar." This man entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, knowing absolutely nothing of reading or writing. What moved him to do so—and here is the similarity I hope will be realized between you and him on one side—was that he had a garden in Cairo, so he would invite the scholars from al-Azhar to enjoy a change of scenery in his garden. He was a kind and generous man, so he would honor them. He felt the need to listen to the hadiths that were discussed among them, so he would benefit from their method of bringing them to his garden and honoring them. He would benefit from them in knowledge. And because this action was repeated so often, the love of knowledge fell upon him, so he entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, not knowing, as they say in our Damascus, "the letter alif from the long stick". The long stick is the long stick with us, and then in northern Syria, "he does not distinguish between the number five and a smudge", a completely general term. Then he excelled in his studies until he obtained the degree they call the "worldly degree" there. It appears he was sincere, and Allah knows best. So he began calling people to what he knew of the Sunnah, and he came to have followers, and very many followers. I was destined to go to Cairo more than once, and I prayed in their mosque. Their mosque is perhaps the only mosque—I say perhaps the only one—that was built without a mihrab and without that long pulpit that actually cuts through the row or rows, in accordance with the Sunnah. They also care about maintaining their appearance, especially regarding the beard. You hardly see a shaven man among them, unlike our group, the supporters of the Sunnah, who, unfortunately, are mostly shaven.
The questioner : There is no power and no strength except with Allah
The Shaykh : Yes, and they are the supporters of the Sunnah, and the name of the association is the Association of the Supporters of the Muhammadan Sunnah. Glory be to Allah, how a person takes a lesson from both groups, and one should take the good that is with each of the two parties. You find that the supporters of the Sunnah care about the correct creed, especially what relates to it regarding tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the names and attributes. They are Salafi monotheists one hundred percent. Likewise, regarding the legal rulings, they try to take what is established in the Sunnah, without committing to a specific school of jurisprudence from the followed schools. The group of this man—and I forgot to introduce that the group has many names. The famous name there in Egypt is that they are called "al-Sunnis." They have a second name, the "Subkiyyah," named after the lineage of the Shaykh who followed them, and a third name, the "Khatibiyah," named after the father of the Shaykh, which is al-Khatib. So they are Mahmud ibn al-Khatib al-Subki. In terms of fame, the most famous among them is "al-Sunnis." This became widespread among the common people due to their concern with appearances. And this is undoubtedly something we care about, but we set for it the precise scientific scales. For example, as I said earlier, or I wanted to say, you do not find a shaven man among them. You do not find a man who is limited to just a cap, or like me, who must put on a turban. And the turban must have grandeur, because that was the turban of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And as you see, regarding food, they do not eat as some people do, and I am among them, with a spoon, but with their hands. This is how the Sunnah is. So they have excess and deficiency regarding the Sunnah. These matters, such as the cap, or the turban over the cap, or the "awzah" for the turban, are undoubtedly matters established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). But they have no relation... may Allah have mercy on you... they have no relation to what? To acts of worship. Some scholars call these "Sunnahs of custom." Likewise, eating with your hand, or eating with a spoon or fork or the like, these are customs that do not enter into acts of worship. However, if eating with the hand is done for the sake of the Sunnah, then all those who eat with their hand today are contrary to the Sunnah, because the Sunnah is to eat with three fingers. I do not see one of these people who are afflicted with contradicting the Sunnah by eating with their hand who agrees with the Sunnah by eating with three fingers of his hand. It is not like the one who eats with an invented tool, like any tool that makes the difficult easy and brings the far near, and the like. And this has no relation, as we said at the beginning of the session, to the Shari'ah. Rather, it is from what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created for His servants. So the strictness in this aspect fell upon those people. It is obligatory for them to have a turban, and for it to have grandeur. However, it is established in the Sunnah that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not always wear a turban. Sometimes he would wear a cap without a turban, sometimes a turban without a cap, and sometimes he would combine them. But the apparent thing, and for which they are thanked, is that if you meet one of them, you find in them sincerity, affection, and love, especially among themselves. In contrast to this exaggeration in adhering to the Sunnah, they have a very serious deviation in creed, in that they are Ash'aris in the attributes. They interpret the verses of attributes, to the extent that this Shaykh of theirs has a specific book on interpreting the verses of attributes and proving that the verse[Taha 20:5] means "he took control" and not "he rose above." The point is that this man has good deeds and he has deviations. With that, I do not know now, in Egypt, or I do not know now, the truth, because it has been more than ten years since I was able to go to Egypt. What I knew in the past is that they were counted in the millions because of the sincerity of this man in his calling. And this deviation, which we consider to be upon him, was perhaps from his ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) for which he will be rewarded, if Allah wills. In summary, I hope for you that this land becomes a green paradise that scholars and students of knowledge frequent, and that this place becomes a beacon for spreading the correct knowledge that conforms to the Book and the Sunnah. This is what I wanted to say on this occasion.
The audience: May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you likewise.
Whoever is not grateful to the people, he is not grateful to Allah.
من لا يشكر الناس لا يشكر اللهThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I hope for you, in this place which we know, Doctor, that you recently acquired and that you have been working to green it, grow it, and plant in it, that Allah will make easy for you what you intended, and that this work of yours will benefit you in this world and the Hereafter. The benefit is either limited or not limited to one aspect; it is many and very many. Some of it applies to any land that has fruit, grain, or crops from which creatures benefit in their various forms, whether speaking or silent, whether human or animal. This is because it came in the authentic hadiths in al-Bukhari and others that a Muslim does not plant a plant except that a bird, animal, or human eats from it, and he has a reward for that, or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. The truth is, this is not what I intended with this word; rather, this is a kind of introduction. What I wish for you is that this land of yours becomes a green paradise with tall trees and abundant fruit, so that this place becomes a shelter for those seeking the gathering for knowledge and correct knowledge drawn from the Book and the Sunnah. I recall with this a man who had a very good impact... with a great difference between you and him now, and a difference that is negative and positive. When he began seeking knowledge, he was forty years old, and you, praise be to Allah, are not now beginning to seek knowledge. So this is where the difference between you and him lies. But there is a matter that creates another difference, and... I hope for you that it is realized in you in a better way than the way it was realized for him. For the man today has followers who number in the millions, and he was a caller to the Sunnah. But I must clarify that the Sunnah he called to was according to his understanding and the knowledge he gained from al-Azhar. Perhaps everyone knows that al-Azhar does not provide mature, correct knowledge. Therefore, we see that those who had a firm foundation in correct knowledge did not gain it from al-Azhar, as they call it "the Noble al-Azhar." This man entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, knowing absolutely nothing of reading or writing. What moved him to do so—and here is the similarity I hope will be realized between you and him on one side—was that he had a garden in Cairo, so he would invite the scholars from al-Azhar to enjoy a change of scenery in his garden. He was a kind and generous man, so he would honor them. He felt the need to listen to the hadiths that were discussed among them, so he would benefit from their method of bringing them to his garden and honoring them. He would benefit from them in knowledge. And because this action was repeated so often, the love of knowledge fell upon him, so he entered al-Azhar at the age of forty, not knowing, as they say in our Damascus, "the letter alif from the long stick". The long stick is the long stick with us, and then in northern Syria, "he does not distinguish between the number five and a smudge", a completely general term. Then he excelled in his studies until he obtained the degree they call the "worldly degree" there. It appears he was sincere, and Allah knows best. So he began calling people to what he knew of the Sunnah, and he came to have followers, and very many followers. I was destined to go to Cairo more than once, and I prayed in their mosque. Their mosque is perhaps the only mosque—I say perhaps the only one—that was built without a mihrab and without that long pulpit that actually cuts through the row or rows, in accordance with the Sunnah. They also care about maintaining their appearance, especially regarding the beard. You hardly see a shaven man among them, unlike our group, the supporters of the Sunnah, who, unfortunately, are mostly shaven.
The questioner : There is no power and no strength except with Allah
The Shaykh : Yes, and they are the supporters of the Sunnah, and the name of the association is the Association of the Supporters of the Muhammadan Sunnah. Glory be to Allah, how a person takes a lesson from both groups, and one should take the good that is with each of the two parties. You find that the supporters of the Sunnah care about the correct creed, especially what relates to it regarding tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the names and attributes. They are Salafi monotheists one hundred percent. Likewise, regarding the legal rulings, they try to take what is established in the Sunnah, without committing to a specific school of jurisprudence from the followed schools. The group of this man—and I forgot to introduce that the group has many names. The famous name there in Egypt is that they are called "al-Sunnis." They have a second name, the "Subkiyyah," named after the lineage of the Shaykh who followed them, and a third name, the "Khatibiyah," named after the father of the Shaykh, which is al-Khatib. So they are Mahmud ibn al-Khatib al-Subki. In terms of fame, the most famous among them is "al-Sunnis." This became widespread among the common people due to their concern with appearances. And this is undoubtedly something we care about, but we set for it the precise scientific scales. For example, as I said earlier, or I wanted to say, you do not find a shaven man among them. You do not find a man who is limited to just a cap, or like me, who must put on a turban. And the turban must have grandeur, because that was the turban of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And as you see, regarding food, they do not eat as some people do, and I am among them, with a spoon, but with their hands. This is how the Sunnah is. So they have excess and deficiency regarding the Sunnah. These matters, such as the cap, or the turban over the cap, or the "awzah" for the turban, are undoubtedly matters established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). But they have no relation... may Allah have mercy on you... they have no relation to what? To acts of worship. Some scholars call these "Sunnahs of custom." Likewise, eating with your hand, or eating with a spoon or fork or the like, these are customs that do not enter into acts of worship. However, if eating with the hand is done for the sake of the Sunnah, then all those who eat with their hand today are contrary to the Sunnah, because the Sunnah is to eat with three fingers. I do not see one of these people who are afflicted with contradicting the Sunnah by eating with their hand who agrees with the Sunnah by eating with three fingers of his hand. It is not like the one who eats with an invented tool, like any tool that makes the difficult easy and brings the far near, and the like. And this has no relation, as we said at the beginning of the session, to the Shari'ah. Rather, it is from what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created for His servants. So the strictness in this aspect fell upon those people. It is obligatory for them to have a turban, and for it to have grandeur. However, it is established in the Sunnah that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not always wear a turban. Sometimes he would wear a cap without a turban, sometimes a turban without a cap, and sometimes he would combine them. But the apparent thing, and for which they are thanked, is that if you meet one of them, you find in them sincerity, affection, and love, especially among themselves. In contrast to this exaggeration in adhering to the Sunnah, they have a very serious deviation in creed, in that they are Ash'aris in the attributes. They interpret the verses of attributes, to the extent that this Shaykh of theirs has a specific book on interpreting the verses of attributes and proving that the verse
The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرحمان على العرش استوىThe audience: May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you likewise.