A talk about the Shaykh’s trip to Morocco and his meeting with Shaykh al-Ghamari.

The questioner : Last week, or the week before, they put out an advertisement thatThe Shaykh : Nasir al-Albani and Muhammad Shuqara would debate some of the Sufis, al-Ghamari, is that right?

The Shaykh : Al-Ghamari.

The questioner : Al-Ghamari, and some of them are senior Sufis, so they gathered the people. Look at the plan they made: there was to be a debate, so they gathered a very large number of people. They held a lecture, and they started spouting nonsense, saying, "No," meaning, among the questions, one of them asked: "If a Wahhabi comes, do we allow him to study in our mosque?" He said, "No, we do not allow him."

The questioner : Who said that?

The Shaykh : This was al-Ghamari.

Another questioner : Al-Ghamari came from Morocco, did he?

The questioner : Yes, they gathered a large number of people for a debate between Nasir al-Din al-Albani and...?

The Shaykh : In which mosque?

The questioner : In a place of theirs in Jabal al-Zuhur.

The Shaykh : I actually received a call from one of them, of course... by phone, and he said to me: "Is it true that...?"

The questioner : ...the water...?

The Shaykh : The water that stayed in the container.

The questioner : Praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : Blessed water, praise be to Allah.

The questioner : I think this stayed in it...

The Shaykh : Never mind, did you finish it all, or did you... if Allah wills? ...
This man asked me: "Is it true that you have a debate with al-Ghamari?" I told him: "No." Of course, I hung up the phone. I thought that there was some matter that had been decided in the dark, as they say. This al-Ghamari, and one thing reminds one of another, it was destined for me to travel to Morocco, and specifically to Tangier. There were many Salafi brothers there, praise be to Allah, and they said: "What do you think about us arranging a meeting between you andThe Shaykh : this al-Ghamari, whose name is Abdullah?" We told him: "There is no objection." So he came,The Shaykh : and some people came, and they askedThe Shaykh : to enter into a discussion on an issue, which I think was tawassul (seeking nearness to Allah through a means), because he and the whole al-Ghamari family are al-Ghamariyyun.

The questioner : They seek nearness to Allah through means.

The Shaykh : No, not only do they seek nearness to Allah through means, they have written treatises on this topic to respond to the supporters of the Sunnah. So he did not accept to enter into the discussion and debate, saying, "We came to greetThe Shaykh : and we did not come for a debate," so he shirked from the discussion. But the truth is that these people remind us of a Syrian proverb: "Every rooster is a crower in its own manure heap."

The questioner : A crower.

The Shaykh : A crower. Is this proverb known to you? Of course, its meaning is clear. What else do you have?