The Book of Adwa' al-Bayan: Some scholars say that only the well-versed should read it?

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the book Adwa' al-Bayan, you advised the beginner to read it, but we have heard some scholars of knowledge say that this book should not be read except by scholars. What is your opinion?

The Shaykh : There is nothing preventing its reading, because he is a distinguished scholar.

The questioner : Did you have a relationship with him, Shaykh?

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : Did you have a relationship with him during his lifetime?

The Shaykh : I met him or gathered with him when he was a teacher at the university. He was a teacher of Tafsir, and I was a teacher of Hadith. However, we did not meet in scholarly gatherings. But the truth, and I say the truth, is that he was a scholar of the sea, meaning in the Islamic sciences. Although, may Allah have mercy on him, he was weak in argumentation when confronted by some of the students; he could not maneuver and engage with them, even though he was a sea in knowledge. And this, Glorified and Exalted is He, is a quality by which some people distinguish themselves from others: fluency of tongue, eloquence of expression, recalling arguments against opponents, and the like. And some are in delivering the lesson as if it were recorded before them. In fact, when I listen to his lectures, I recall the biography of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, which stated that because of the strength of his memory, when he cited something from the Book, it was as if the Noble Qur'an was before him, taking from it what he wished. This was an example of that due to the abundance of his strong recollections. But in discussion, Glorified and Exalted is He, he was not as expected of those like him among the scholars and the virtuous. Then what is the meaning of specifying that this book is not read except by scholars? Every book, I mean, Tafsir Ibn Kathir now, and any book of jurisprudence, is not free from things that are criticized in it. As it is authentically narrated from Malik: "None of us is there who has not been refuted and responded to, except the occupant of this grave." So what is the meaning that this book is not read except by scholars, while the other books are read by others? I do not see this same opinion. But I advise that students of knowledge, whenever they read a book, should not be followers. They should not be, for example, followers of Al-Albani, or Ibn Baz, or Ibn Uthaymeen, or so on. Rather, they should read to gain insight into their religion. And it was narrated in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, traced to the Prophet, and the correct view is that it is stopped at a Companion: "Do not be followers, saying: If the people do good, we do good, and if they do evil, we do evil. But set your hearts to do good if they do good, and not to do evil if they do evil." Do not be followers, saying: If the people do good, we do good, and if they do evil, we do evil with them. What does the poet say? "Am I not from Ghazah? If Ghazah errs, I err, and if Ghazah is guided, I am guided." It is not befitting for a Muslim to be like this. Rather, as Allah the Exalted said: Anything else?