He spoke about the report of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the one who does not find water, stating that he does not perform dry ablution until he finds water, despite the disagreement of Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him)

The Shaykh : And the most remote of all this, and the issues are many, but the intention is only to give an example and to clarify, is that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to prohibit the traveling man who does not find water from performing dry ablution, and he would remain like this without prayer until he finds water, even though the verse, first of all, is explicit in its apparent indication: And it reached 'Umar ibn al-Khattab that Abu Musa al-Ash'ari was issuing a ruling in the time of 'Umar based on the apparent meaning of the verse that the traveler, if he does not find water, performs dry ablution. So he sent after him and said, "It has reached me that you say such and such." He said to him, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful. Do you not remember that we were on a journey and that we had major ritual impurity, so you and I rolled in the dust? And when we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of the matter, he said, 'It was sufficient for you to strike the ground with your hands once and wipe your face and your hands with them.'" Well, the intention is, do you not remember that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "It was sufficient for you to strike once and wipe your face and your hands with them"? He said, "I do not remember." He said, "Do I refrain from issuing a ruling?" He said, "No, I only appointed you to what you were appointed to," meaning, as they say today, "at your own responsibility," "on your own guarantee." I do not remember this story. It is not just you who forgets; this is the Commander of the Faithful who forgot.

The questioner : What is the evidence of 'Umar? What is the evidence of 'Umar that when he comes... .

The Shaykh : His evidence is the original principle. The original principle is water. The original is water. The important thing is that all this disagreement, and much more than that, was not a cause for dividing the Muslim community, because knowledge takes its course and the community remains behind its scholars. Whoever is convinced by this opinion is on guidance, and whoever is convinced by that opinion is on guidance. Because we say, on this occasion, a word that should be recorded and also published: just as the independent legal reasoner, if he is correct, has two rewards, and if he errs, has one reward, so the one who follows the independent legal reasoner has the ruling of the independent legal reasoner. That is, the one who follows a correct opinion, where the imam the independent legal reasoner was correct, has two rewards. So the one who followed him in this correctness is also rewarded with two rewards. Of course, the reward varies, but it is two rewards. As for the one who followed another imam and he was wrong, he is rewarded with one reward. So the one who followed him is rewarded with one reward. Therefore, if disagreement occurs among scholars, this disagreement should not be a cause of division between them, first, and it should not be a cause of division among the people, second, because they are all rewarded, whether the one who was correct or the one who was wrong. This was the way of our righteous predecessors, and we claim that we walk in their methodology and on their path. But I say, with great regret, that many of us claim this claim and apply it to a great extent, but they deviate in some of the application with a very serious deviation. And the effects of this are now appearing. In communities that we thought would be the model for other communities in mending and gathering these communities to follow the righteous predecessors, following the Book and the Sunnah, and on the methodology of the righteous predecessors, unfortunately, some division occurred. Therefore, we advise the disputants themselves, whether they are callers to Allah, or scholars, or students of knowledge, not to hate each other, but rather to love each other and to excuse each other, while adhering to reminding and advising in the best manner. We also advise the community in all its strata, those who are not among the scholars or the students of knowledge, but are from the general Muslims, that they also should not be affected by such disagreements that they see occurring among some callers to Allah. Because we read in the Noble Qur'an that division in religion is not of the nature of Muslims, but it is a characteristic of the polytheists: In the way of preserving the unity of the ranks and gathering the word, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as in Sahih al-Bukhari, regarding the imams who lead people in prayer: If you are the common person who does not enter into the category of scholars mentioned in His saying, the Exalted: These are the scholars. Rather, you enter into the second side of the verse: So you, O Muslims, who do not know, meaning you are not from the people of knowledge, it is obligatory upon you to ask the people of knowledge. It is not obligatory upon you to be fanatical for one of these scholars, except the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic, described rightly: We should remember on this occasion that no caller to Allah or any scholar can be claimed to be infallible, and it is not possible to claim that he is free from following his desire, even in one issue. Therefore, do not tie, O Muslim, your fate to one of the scholars or to one of the callers to Allah for two reasons. One is certain for everyone below the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which is error. And the other is possible, that he may have known the truth but followed his desire and issued a ruling other than what he knew of the truth and knowledge. Therefore, it is not permissible for the general Muslims to be fanatical for one caller to Allah over another. Rather, the matter is as He, the Exalted, said in the Noble Qur'an, and with this noble saying I conclude the answer to this issue, which is His saying, the Exalted: Just as we say regarding the four imams, we do not be fanatical for one of them, but rather we take the truth from each one of them, and the truth is shared among them. Similarly, it is necessary for everyone who claims to follow the righteous predecessors not to be a Zaydi and not to be an 'Umarite, but rather to take the truth from where he knows it from any person who brings it to him. This is how the general Muslims should be. And we ask Allah for guidance for us and for the general Muslims. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.