What is the way to strengthen the Islamic front and work toward a comprehensive understanding of the religion?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. There are certain matters, O our dear Shaykh, that work to weaken the Islamic front. Among them, for example and not by way of limitation, are the differences or disparities among Muslims in their understanding of their religion, and their disagreements over details in creed or in acts of worship, as well as the proliferation of Islamic groups. In your opinion, what is the way to strengthen the Islamic front and work toward a comprehensive understanding of Islam, rather than a partial one? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : The work, my brother, is for the specialists and the people of knowledge to return to understanding the rulings of the Shari'ah from its two pure sources, the Book and the Sunnah. I am sorry to say this plainly, but to this day, many Muslims do not know—and not only the common people, but also the specialists; many of them do not know the remedy for the disagreement and division they are in. This is despite the fact that there are explicit texts in the Book and the Sunnah, some of which explicitly state that contention and disagreement in the religion become a cause for the loss of the strength of the Muslims. Our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says in the noble verse: So every Muslim has some degree of culture, and you, among them in light of the question you raised, know that there is contention and disagreement. But the wonder is that the question comes asking, "What is the solution?" The solution is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an. After mentioning in the previous verse , He mentioned the remedy in another verse, saying: . "If you disagree about anything." I see it necessary to pause at this noble Quranic phrase, because do not hold it against me, but I have heard from many people that disagreement over details, whether creedal or otherwise... Our Lord says: meaning whether this matter is small or large, . To whom is the address? To those who believe in Allah and the Last Day. So it is a grave error to be heedless of the remedy, which is explicitly stated in the Noble Qur'an. And worse than that is not acknowledging this remedy, and that it is a decisive clarification of the division and disagreement that Muslims live in today. So we say, "Leave people as they are," as it was conveyed to me. And one thing reminds me of another. In the early days of my scholarly life, I used to visit some people in their homes and invite them. I went to one of them and found a cabinet about this size, with an oud on top of it. I realized the man was an oud player, so I discussed this matter with him and advised him, saying, "My brother, this is haram, it is not permissible. What do you do with this in your house?" and so on. He said to me:The Shaykh : So-and-so says that this is permissible. And some shaykhs use the drum in dhikr and the like. So I spoke with him a lot about some of the paths of the Sufis and so on. Later on, and we are not in this issue here, of course, but the point is, he said to me, "I met withThe Shaykh : So-and-so, and I mentioned some of your words to him. So his answer wasThe Shaykh : that, by Allah, this statement is correct, but the Messenger said: And I was a young novice at the time, without the knowledge to distinguish what is correct, what is good, what is weak, and what is fabricated, and so on. The hadith posed a problem for me, because if we took the hadith at least on its apparent meaning, we would have demolished all of Islam. What does enjoining good and forbidding evil mean if the Messenger says: I stayed up that night; I did not stay with this man, but went to my house and could not sleep until I had to search for this hadith. And soon I found it, and lo, the hadith, glory be to Allah, is in Sahih Muslim. With the addition and without the omission. The wording of the hadith in Sahih Muslim is . They altered this hadith, deleting the last phrase and putting in its place . So the hadith was reversed. The hadith was acceptable and in harmony with all the rulings of the Shari'ah. It became rejected. So what pains me most is that the answer is present in the Noble Qur'an: If some people, and among them some preachers, are heedless of this text, of this verse, but the greatest problem is that when they are reminded, their unspoken words say: "He did not say thatThe Shaykh : with his tongue. Leave people in their heedlessness. But in other words, they say, "This is not the time. It is not the time to stir up disagreements and these disputed issues. Some of them call them minor, they call them husks, and stick to the kernel. Leave us alone with the husks. This is permissible and this is not permissible, this is Sunnah and this is bid'ah, and so on." So what does the saying of the Exalted mean: The indefinite article here in the Arabic language means comprehensiveness, whatever it may be. So what do you say, my brother, when your question mentions, "even in creed"? How do we leave people not understanding the creed well? Here we are telling you, by way of argument, not creed, we tell you to leave people now, and their disagreement with the Book and the Sunnah in the matters of legal rulings, but in creed we leave them? How? Creed is the salvation of the Muslim. The first of the creeds is tawhid (the oneness of Allah). So what do you say when Muslims to this day do not know tawhid? What do you say when you know that many of the people, when people look at them superficially, and we among them say, "By Allah, these are more devoted than us, because they fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and perhaps they fast on such-and-such a day, and we are not like that. And they stand in the night and pray while people are sleeping, and we are not like that. But despite that, they go and call for aid to the dead and to the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and they pray at their graves. What is the benefit of this prayer and this fasting when they are, as the Lord of the Worlds said: in the Noble Qur'an? To this day, you do not hear anyone raising this verse against the Muslims, even though the Muslims are falling into it. To whom was this verse revealed? Many of them say, "The intended meaning is the first polytheists." Yes, the intended meaning is the first polytheists, but why did the Lord of the Worlds narrate it? Is it not a lesson for us, as He said: Our Lord narrates the rulings in which the polytheists before us and the nations before us fell, so that we do not fall into the like of it. So if we want to leave the Muslims in their deviation from the Book and the Sunnah, how will there be agreement? When our Lord said: "Come to a word of equal standing," does that mean we do not worship except Allah with understanding or without understanding? Undoubtedly, with understanding. So what do you say when today most Muslims, and among them some of the specialists, do not understand the meaning of this good word? So may Allah bless you. Do not be deceived by the one who says, "The problem of Muslims today is that they cannot bear stirring up what? Disagreements in rulings and creed. We must agree on what? If we do not agree on the first testimony with the correct understanding, on what do we agree?" It is not permissible, my brother, to leave people in their ignorance and their misguidance. Especially since he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who are the strangers? The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) described them by saying: Many people today want to leave everything as it is. They do not want reform. And some of them say a word of truth, which is: If we want to establish the Muslim state, we must create the foundation. What is the foundation? That we raise a generation of Muslims who understand the Islamic creed and the legal rulings correctly and apply them to themselves. This is the foundation upon which the Muslim state that every Muslim zealous for his religion desires can be established, despite their disagreement on the path that should be taken until the Muslim state is established. Have I answered your question?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.

The questioner : The price of the car is thirty thousand from Germany. We sent the amount from here to the bank to Germany so that they would send us the car. The car was delayed for a year and they did not send the car, and the money remained in the bank... The money has been in the bank for a year and there is interest on it... Is it permissible to take the interest and distribute it to the poor?

The Shaykh : But is this the situation you are asking about?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Why were you afraid?

The questioner : I was not afraid.

The Shaykh : Why are you not answering me then? There are pictures in the background behind you.

The questioner : No, there are no pictures.