The Shaykh was asked about those who call to the oneness of Allah in His lordship (tawhid al-hakimiyyah) and say that if the Prophets had called to this, they would not have found any opposition.

The questioner : In the name of Allah, and may prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. We have many brothers who have a very, very strong focus on the oneness of Allah in His lordship (tawhid al-hakimiyyah), and they belittle the matter of major shirk (associating partners with Allah), specifically the shirk of graves and shrines.

The Shaykh : This is what our companion mentioned about them in the recording.

The questioner : They describe it as a naive, primitive shirk.

The Shaykh : What do they call it?

The questioner : A naive, primitive shirk.

Another questioner : Naive.

The Shaykh : Naive.

The questioner : And they took this from their callers, saying that if the Prophets or the reformers up to the Day of Judgment had fought against the types of shirk that contradict the word "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), which is related only to popular customs, no one would have opposed them, and only a few would have stood against them.

The Shaykh : What Allah willed.

The questioner : What is your comment, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : My comment is that people opposing the caller is not the goal, nor is it the intention. The intention is to convey the call to the people. If they respond, that is good and excellent. If they do not respond, that is the way of those before them. Their statement makes the listener feel that religion requires a person to be confrontational and oppositional toward others. For example, if you call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) today, no one will oppose you. But if you engage in politics, they will oppose you, insult you, remove you, and so on. This is the greatest proof that this group, like many individuals among the Muslim Brothers, speak of what they do not know and utter what they do not understand. I have been asked more than once about the leader of the Muslim Brothers in Algeria, who says that if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were in this era today, he would wear a jacket and trousers and tie a necktie.

Another questioner : And he would run for elections. This is from me.

The Shaykh : This is from you. So, if a person speaks out of ignorance, nothing stands in the way of his ignorance. This speech is of that nature. The summary is: This is the intended meaning, and And the Messenger of Allah was addressed with the statement: So all the Prophets began with the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah). And I say that Noah (peace be upon him), who remained among his people for, by the text of the Qur'an, What did he do with those thousand years? These people, if they knew what they are saying, they would have committed disbelief and left the religion, because they are making mistakes regarding the Prophets in general and Noah (peace be upon him) in particular. He was distinguished from the other Prophets in that Allah the Exalted blessed his lifespan: We declare that the legislations that preceded the legislation of Islam did not have this extensive jurisprudence that covers all aspects of life. It was, so to speak, a simplified jurisprudence. Therefore, when Noah (peace be upon him) spent that long, extended, blessed lifespan, his concern was that they worship Allah and avoid the taghut (false deities). This statement contradicts that statement. Therefore, they are completely ignorant, and they are now following the path of the Muslim Brothers, who will have been around for a century without offering anything to Islam except shouting and screaming. They are on a military system: "Stay in your place." They do not advance at all. Therefore, I do not care about the speech of these people. And I am surprised by some of the speech of our brothers, the students of knowledge. They hardly hear any misguidance from any ignorant person, or from any person, without coming to you and saying, "What do you think of such-and-such? Who says this?" By Allah, a man was in a gathering with us.

The questioner : O Shaykh, the problem is that many people follow these individuals. They say things like this Algerian who said about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in... that if he were in our era, he would do such-and-such. These people, the one who said this speech, was very well-known and had many followers. Even some of his followers, if you tell them that so-and-so made a mistake, he is ready for you to say that 'Umar made a mistake, al-Shafi'i made a mistake, but as for so-and-so, he will raise the world and not let it settle.

The Shaykh : Okay, what do we do for them, my brother?

The questioner : Pray for their guidance.

The Shaykh : It is not our concern except to call with what is best. Knowledge is light. These people fall into these misguidances because of their ignorance of Islam. Therefore, it is not our concern except to have mercy on them, consider them as patients, and treat them with what we can, with wisdom and good admonition.