He was asked about the issue of pressing the knee against the knee.

The Shaykh : Something else.

The questioner : In the context of discussing the application of the Sunnah, some people mentioned the actions of certain individuals, such as their extreme focus on straightening the rows, and pressing feet against feet and shoulders against shoulders. He said: I looked into the hadith, and the hadith is in al-Bukhari, and I saw that the Sunnah is to straighten the rows, whereas pressing shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot is not the Sunnah, but rather it is from the statement of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir: "We used to see that one of us would press..." He said: I examined the hadith and found that the Sunnah is straightening, not pressing. Therefore, those who are eager to occupy themselves and others with pressing shoulders and feet are clinging to something that is not from the Sunnah. What is your comment on this statement?

The Shaykh : My comment on it is that the man, based on what was reported, and the responsibility lies with the narrator.

The questioner : May Allah will it, we do not report except what we heard with our ears.

The Shaykh : Fine. The man has no knowledge of the principles of hadith and jurisprudence. If a hadith comes in which it is said that such and such is from the Sunnah, how does this man understand this word? It is not the speech of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but rather the speech of a Companion, saying that such and such is from the Sunnah. How does he understand this statement? If we return to the science of terminology, they say that the statement of a Companion specifically that such and such is from the Sunnah is in the ruling of a marfu' report. And there are many legal rulings taken from such authentic narrations, in which there is no mention of the Messenger that he ordered or did such and such, but it is merely a report from some of the Companions about the reality that existed in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him). If this man acknowledges this knowledge, then he is most wrong when he says what was reported from him. And if he does not acknowledge it or does not know it, then we say to him: let him learn.

The questioner : Can we say, O Shaykh, that this is from the Sunnah?

The Shaykh : If you permit. It is so, but I wanted to say something else. Do you think that what was done by the Companions, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to straighten the rows, was this their understanding or ignorance?

The questioner : It was their understanding.

The Shaykh : This is the first premise. The second premise is either we assume that this understanding accompanied by application was not seen by the Messenger (peace be upon him), so is our understanding, as the later generations, to be preferred over the understanding of those earliest generations, or is the opposite correct?

The questioner : Their understanding is preferred.

The Shaykh : Their understanding. Fine, this is on the assumption that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not see it. But we will say something else. If it is possible that this action they did behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seen by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is possible that he did not see it, which of the two possibilities is stronger? Did he see it or did he not see it?

The questioner : He saw it.

The Shaykh : Fine. Will this person, from whom you reported what you reported, argue against this fact? I think he will argue; because he has no knowledge of the Sunnah. This is what I say, and the responsibility is on you. Ah; because if he had knowledge of the Sunnah, I know from experience that one who has knowledge of the Sunnah, even if he has forgotten its narrations and wordings and so on, but he is saturated with its jurisprudence and understanding, then if a case falls upon him and he is compelled to prepare an answer for it, the divine computer in his mind gathers in moments the Sunnah in which he spent his life and time studying, and behold, the answer appears as it comes out of this device which thousands of scholars and very long years were required to provide, whereas he prepares the answer in moments. But this is the creation of the Lord of the Worlds, so it is stronger and more capable, and so on. And therefore I say that if this man were a student of the Sunnah, he would first know that everything that occurred in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and no denial or new legislation came from him, its ruling is the ruling of his approval and his seeing it, especially if it was in prayer...

The questioner : He would see them from behind him.

The Shaykh : This is what I wanted to prepare to reach, especially since the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: . Fine, it is said that this is the action of a Companion, may Allah forgive him, may Allah forgive him if he is a Salafi, but if he is...

The questioner : I do not want to mention the man's name, but he is a Salafi, and the problem currently existing from a recent period in Saudi Arabia specifically is that there is some extremism from some Salafi brothers.

The Shaykh : Yes, you may.

The questioner : So this has created in some of the noble scholars, until I give you an example of them, untilThe Shaykh : Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen began to say in reports with some flexibility, in their claim, that they want to encompass these deviations. But the man from whom I am reporting, first I want to reassure you, may Allah will it, that the report is correct, and that the man is at a level of knowledge of the Sunnah, and Salafi commitment, but evenThe Shaykh : Ibn Baz, may Allah reward him with good.

The Shaykh: Amen.

The questioner : He also began with some of these concessions, if the expression is correct, to encompass this phenomenon.

The Shaykh : Yes, do you know what the reason is?

The questioner : Allah and His Messenger know best, thenThe Shaykh .

The Shaykh : No, this is a mistake, this is a mistake,

Another questioner : He mentioned the reason.

The Shaykh : No, he did not mention the reason, he mentioned a reason, but the reason I am asking about is what is the reason that carries these nobles to attempt the encompassing that was mentioned? The reason, Professor, is that these Sunnahs were not practiced by those scholars themselves, rather they were imposed on them. And perhaps if you looked closely at them, you would find that they contradict these Sunnahs. And I do not know if you have considered this or if there was nothing to justify your consideration. They do not do these Sunnahs. So if they had, since their youth, since Allah opened their hearts to knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah, taken to live the Sunnah among their companions and groups, the result would have been as Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab did with the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah). Now, in Saudi Arabia, there is no one who denies the call to tawhid. But in other countries? The matter is still in Syria and Egypt and so on. And it is enough to say that this is Wahhabi and that is it. But if there were a widespread Sunnah among the people of knowledge, these practical Sunnahs, you would find the common people do not differ, do not clash, and do not quarrel. But the reason is that now, unfortunately, the scholars themselves are divided into two groups. Consequently, their followers are people who call to the Sunnah without any reservation. This is the Sunnah: . People say, my brother, we do not want to create confusion, we do not want to create division, and so on. My brother, look at what the cause of the division is. The cause of the division is not the Sunnah, but rather ignorance of the Sunnah. Ignorance of the Sunnah, so it is upon them to spread the Sunnah, and to call people in the best manner to applying the Sunnah. And I do not contradict them at all in that they employ wisdom in that. But that they fight the people of the Sunnah for the sake of those who contradict the Sunnah? No. And I say a word of truth here. Instead of saying to the followers of the Sunnah, meaning so-and-so from the people of knowledge, sees that this Sunnah is the Sunnah of straightening the rows, contrary to the opinion that was reported and which we have refuted, he sees that this is indeed from the Sunnah, but he finds that this Sunnah causes problems, and I am one of the people who know it best. Fine, so instead of denying these people who love this Sunnah, let him deny the ignorant ones. Let him say to them, O people, fear Allah. What these people do is the Sunnah. You did not know the Sunnah, and whoever is ignorant of something hates it. And I have no objection to the other side that they turn to the people of the Sunnah slowly, gently, and so on. But directly fighting the people of the Sunnah because they find division, and leaving the people of innovation who contradict the Sunnah. "Sa'd led the camel, and Sa'd was wrapped up. It is not like this, O Sa'd, that you lead the camels."

The questioner : O our Shaykh, may Allah bless you.
Abu Layla : O our Shaykh, a note on his saying "Allah and His Messenger know best"...

The questioner : Perhaps I made a mistake in it.

The Shaykh : I said this word to him, and it is recorded, meaning.