Discussion of al-Ghazali.

The questioner : May Allah guide al-Ghazali. He is, as it is said, the one carrying this banner among the contemporaries today. May Allah help us.

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed. *Kashf al-Qina'* in the introduction to *Fiqh al-Sirah*.

The questioner : I think your meeting with him introduced him a bit to al-Ghazali...

The Shaykh : But no effect appeared.

The questioner : Shaykh, the paper that our brother al-Shaybani quoted, which al-Ghazali sent to you, he placed its image as...

The Shaykh : It is a small paper.

The questioner : A small paper, yes. This is fine. It is not far off. I mean, it is not old.

The Shaykh : It is not old. This is from the year that... I went to the Emirates and went to Qatar. He was staying in a hotel there, so they put me in a room opposite his room. So we used to meet. This is one of the results of the communications that were between me and him.

The questioner : I mean, I noticed that the paper is very good.

The Shaykh : The paper, yes, indeed.

The questioner : It contained that he responded to you.

The Shaykh : A good spirit, but from the scholarly side, once we gathered for a ceremony. We were invited. This is what they call the Minister of Awqaf, or whatever it is. This is Abdullah Ibrahim al-Ansari. What is his role?

The questioner : Religious Affairs.

The Shaykh : Religious Affairs, yes. The important thing is that one of the senior employees there held an invitation for us on the occasion of praying two rak'ahs as a greeting to the mosque on Friday, and the imam was giving the sermon. He denied this prayer.

The questioner: Who?

The Shaykh : Al-Ghazali. What does it mean that the preacher is going to preach, and I do not like it that the preacher is going to preach while someone is praying. I said to him: Professor, after he finished speaking, I said to him: There is no independent legal reasoning in the place of an explicit text. This is not hidden from you. And if the report comes, the reasoning is void. And if the river of Allah comes, the river of Ma'qil is void. How do you know and believe his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . He said: Imam Malik does not see the two rak'ahs. They said: What if Imam Malik... Allahu Akbar. I mean, the discussion got a bit heated, but there was no heat and nothing like that, except that he did not retract despite the authentic and clear hadith. And he has many such positions against the Sunnah.
And so, less than a week ago, a letter came to me from Algeria containing questions, but you know, I cannot answer them. Among these questions, it is true thatThe Shaykh : Muhammad al-Ghazali is, I mean, he is not a Salafi? It appears they claim that there is some deviation from the Salafi line.

The questioner : And there, I met the doctor. He did not meet him.The Shaykh : A noble brother, and may Allah reward him with good. He mentions that al-Ghazali there, I mean, there was a clear campaign, and he stood and spoke, and there was no official or unofficial occasion, except that he spoke about these strict and repulsive young men, such and such. So, glory be to Allah. And this appears from his writings. His problems. His book *Dustur al-Wahdah al-Thaqafiyyah* (Constitution of Cultural Unity), *Humum Da'i* (Concerns of a Preacher), and so on. He is a caller. Allahu Akbar. I mean, it is something very strange. The book *Aqeedat al-Muslim* (The Muslim's Creed). These are from the old books, not the modern ones. They are all against the Salafis. The book *Dustur al-Wahdah al-Thaqafiyyah* was built on the Twenty Principles of Shaykh Hassan al-Banna. And you know his style. The man, I mean, if he writes...

The Shaykh : It is known to be good.

The questioner : It is good. Will Zaynab be her sister? Zaynab al-Ghazali, her sister? Her sister. Fine, Shaykh, our brother Ali saw her shaking hands with men. When she came here for a seminar on the Islamic Awakening, it was normal, I mean. But of course, they said: She is a need and she is old and so on. May Allah help us, I mean.

The Shaykh : Is she displaying her adornment?

The Shaykh : No, but even her clothing is not the clothing that she should be wearing. I mean, she does as the Egyptians do, a wrap like this and so on. And then she spoke, I mean, very colloquial speech, of course, with heat. I mean, she spoke with heat, but it was colloquial speech, not speech. It wasThe Shaykh : Al-Qaradawi at that time spoke very good words. Al-Qaradawi, yes. Because there were Ba'athists, nationalists, Marxists, and Christians present. So he, I mean, he brought the session together. May Allah reward him with good. And al-Qaradawi has efforts in this field that are not denied, I mean.

The Shaykh : There is no doubt.

The questioner : And without doubt, even in what I think is better in terms of the general methodology thanThe Shaykh : Al-Ghazali. I mean, his book *Al-'Ibadah fi al-Islam* (Worship in Islam). He speaks in it about the issue of religious innovation and that the original ruling for acts of worship is invalidity unless there is evidence. This is a principle that few know and pay attention to, I mean.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.