Requesting that the Shaykh offer advice to the brothers in Kuwait regarding the dispute that has arisen among them.

The Shaykh : Oh Allah.

The questioner : I would like to offer advice to some of the brothers, the students of knowledge, there in Kuwait. It is not hidden from you, Shaykh, the current situation regarding the trials that are befalling the youth of the awakening. Among them is the trial of the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, namely Safer and Salman, and so on, and those who support their position on some of the issues they are discussing. This matter has reached us, meaning to our areas in Kuwait, and now every party is pleased with what they have, and every person claims a connection to Layla, and each of them says, "I am on the straight path, and I am the standard-bearer of Salafiyyah, and I defend it." Now, in the hearts of the brothers who are, if Allah wills, on the path of Salafiyyah, Blessed and Exalted is He, because of these issues, we have left seeking knowledge, we have left the matter of memorizing the Book of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and we have left many other matters. Instead, we are preoccupied with this issue, and many of the young brothers have no concern other than this issue. They speak about the character of this man and that person, and this has become a mount for Salafi da'wah and the defense of the Sunnah. They speak about the character of so-and-so and so-and-so. Then the matter has reached the point of attacking these individuals, not just their errors. Our youth are young, and when a person comes, let me give you an example: what we know about the Muslim Brotherhood is that when a young man commits himself to the religion of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and adopts this path, they warn him about what? They warn him about the Salafis. The first thing they do when this young man comes to become religious is to warn him about the cassette of so-and-so and the cassette of so-and-so, and this is their main concern now. And this is the habit of many of the youth now, to the point that they distinguish and know that this one is an innovator, this one is misguided, this one has such-and-such, and this one has such-and-such. This one praises the people of innovation, and this one speaks about such-and-such. If we tell a man, "This is bad," I was once asked, and someone came to me and said, "What do you say about Sayyid Qutb?" I said, "My brother, I love him for the sake of Allah. He is a Muslim, and I dislike his errors. I love him as a Muslim, in general love, and I dislike his errors." Then they took this and praised the people of innovation, saying such-and-such about them, and said that one must be warned against these people. And this is the existing habit. Shaykh, what is your advice to these young men? May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : By Allah, my brother, my opinion is to avoid dealing with individuals who praise or criticize today. In truth, I receive questions on many nights from Kuwait, the Emirates, and elsewhere, asking, "What is your opinion of so-and-so, given what appears to be his inclination or his state?" I turn them away from such questions and say, "Ask, my brother, about what benefits you regarding the rectification of your creed, your worship, and the improvement of your character. Do not ask about Zayd, Bakr, or 'Umar, for this question adds fuel to the fire. He may be..."The questioner : ...with these people against those, or with those against these. If you praise this one, you have stung that one, or if you praise that one, you have stung this one. This increases the fire, as we said, in intensity and combustion. Therefore, we advise with a general word that reminds me of the word of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq on the occasion of the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He is the only person upon whom all Muslims agree in their love for him; otherwise, whoever deviates from this love commits disbelief, unlike their disagreement in their love for many of the Companions and their criticism of some of them, which is mostly open sinfulness and not disbelief. I want to say that although the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of mankind and the beloved of every Muslim, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq hastened to them when 'Umar stood up, agitated, against those who conveyed the news that the Messenger had died. You know the story. The point is that Abu Bakr said, "Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has died, and whoever used to worship Allah, then Allah is Ever-Living, Abiding, and does not die." So I do not see that each of these factions should take sides for so-and-so against so-and-so, or the exact opposite. Rather, I say with the word of the Lord of the Worlds: And those young people you referred to are the most deserving of this word over those who are agitated for Zayd against Bakr, or for Bakr against Zayd. They should focus on rectifying their creed, worship, and conduct, and not be fanatical for one of these individuals or against them, because such fanaticism is most like the worship of individuals, which is the worship that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq warned against in his previous statement: "Whoever used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad has died, and whoever used to worship Allah, then Allah is Ever-Living and does not die." So being agitated for these individuals is being agitated for those who are not infallible. The matter is as Imam Malik, the Imam of the City of Migration (may Allah have mercy on him), said: "None of us is there whose opinion is not rejected and who is not contradicted, except the one in this grave," and he pointed to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So any person who is fanatical for a person, a scholar, or a caller to Allah will find errors in him, or if he is fanatical against another, he will find correctness in him and will find good in him. Therefore, above all else, we advise those who disagreed and became the cause of the youth around them splitting into two factions or more. We advise these people who disagree with each other on some issues, and I thank Allah that this disagreement is, in my belief, not a disagreement of creed, but a disagreement on some issues that we can call, in the terminology of the later scholars, secondary issues, not fundamental or essential ones. If the scholars disagree, it is not befitting for those around them to split as the scholars split, because the matter is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So we advise these scholars or callers who disagree not to be harsh with one another, and to deal with each other based on his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: If Zayd among the people makes a mistake, it is upon us to clarify his mistake to him in the best manner, not in the worst manner. And each of the disagreeing parties should follow this path, because we all claim to be Salafis, meaning that we follow the righteous Salaf in their guidance, methodology, and conduct. We know that they disagreed on many issues, but this disagreement did not cause them to split or for some of them to become enemies of others. There are some statements that are authentic from some of the righteous Salaf which, if a person adopted them today incorrectly, because they have no basis in correctness, the Day of Resurrection would rise against him, but the Day of Resurrection did not rise against that Companion who deviated in an opinion on a ruling from the ruling adopted by the others.