Continuation: Is organizing da'wah work considered a political party?

The Shaykh : As an idea, it cannot be depicted as purified, given that there are many sects, as we mentioned earlier: the Mu'tazilah, the Khawarij, the Ibadis, the Shi'ah, the Rafidah, and so on. All of these claim Islam. Therefore, the scholars must fulfill their duty to purify this Islam and present it to the people. We said earlier that Allah the Exalted said: Here there are two obligations. Each obligation is the responsibility of a specific group. The first group is the scholars. What knowledge do they study? This knowledge contains both authentic and weak material. Earlier, we received a phone call from one of them stating that he read in a book—and it is not necessary for me to name it now—that it was in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "There is no adhan or iqamah for women." This is a lie, and he read it from a book. So, this requires purification. There is no hadith in which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) warned women against the adhan and iqamah! This is just one example, and there are hundreds, indeed thousands, of things attributed to Islam from which Islam is innocent, as it is said, "as innocent as the wolf is of the blood of the son of Jacob." This is what we mean by purification. However, this is not sufficient; it must be accompanied by education. Many people today focus on one aspect, some on purification and others on education. Some people educate their group and those belonging to their party on certain ideas. These ideas may not exceed the number of fingers on one hand, because they relate to their party, not to their Islam. They stamp their members with certain ideas they adopt, contrary to what other Muslims are upon. I am not concerned right now whether they are correct or wrong in what they adopt, because that is not the subject of this discussion. But these ideas are such that it is rare for them to sit and adopt the whole of purified Islam. But are they capable of doing so? No, they are enthusiastic youths who adopted certain ideas to benefit their party. In contrast, another group educates themselves, or their group, or their students, or their squads, in a type of worship. For example, they may gather at certain times to recite the Qur'an, which is a good thing. They may gather on certain nights for night prayer, which is also a good thing. But something that contradicts the Sunnah creeps into this or that gathering. I will give one very easy example to understand: we find some of them gathering on Friday night for night prayer, even though the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Why do they do this? Because they have not purified their knowledge; they have not combined purification with education. Therefore, the duty of the scholars is to combine both: purifying Islam from what has entered it, and educating those around them in this purified Islam. This is so that the impact of adopting this Islam on this society is as it was in the beginning. As they say, history repeats itself. What was a cure for spiritual and psychological ailments in the past is the cure in every time and place. And it is nothing but the Qur'an with its interpretation, the methodology of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the addition of the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, as we mentioned. So, these individuals are engaged in conveying the da'wah with the correct concept and educating individuals in this correct concept. Whether it is purification or education, this requires organization. No one denies organization as an absolute term. But we may deny, and we are the first to deny, an organization that is not based on this foundation of purification and education. Is that clear? Good, anything else?

The questioner : Our Shaykh, it is known that many scholars, especially the earlier ones, have a role in distorting Islam, whether intentionally or unintentionally, because they include in their books many Isra'iliyyat or fabricated hadiths without clarifying, for example, the grade of the hadiths. Some of them are those in whom the Ummah trusts, and so on. So, when does a scholar become one whom the Ummah accepts as a leader, such that if he says, for example, in an issue that this is wrong, or this hadith is invalid, or such, he becomes worthy of purification? And does certification (tazkiyah) necessitate relocation, as some groups hold, that the patient must be taken to a faith-based environment and it is not proper to certify him in his current place because it is a place of heedlessness? They compare it to someone who, may Allah reward you, fell into a suction pit and cannot be purified in the same place until he is removed, even if a little water is poured on him to purify him. That is, he must be moved to an environment prepared for this certification or this reform. So, please benefit us, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : Excuse me, your question combined many questions, and it is difficult to separate them and answer each one individually. Perhaps you could start with one by one. The first question.