What is your opinion regarding some students of knowledge from the Salafis going out with the Tabligh group to teach tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the Sunnah, and to advise them as well?

The Shaykh : The Exalted Allah said to His Prophet, educating us in how He addresses him: . Therefore, it is not permissible for a Muslim, especially if he is a da'iyah (caller) who wants to teach those around him, to participate in the misguidance of people. It is sufficient for him to mix with them to teach and guide them, but to participate in their misguidance is the very essence of misguidance. Therefore, only one who has not been educated in what we call people to, from the Book and the Sunnah, on the methodology of the righteous Salaf, would commit such a violation of the Shari'ah. This is what I have as an answer to that question, and I hope I have not missed anything? So, let us move on to the second question.

The questioner : The question is: The Muslims have benefited greatly from your advice to the Tabligh group, and praise be to Allah. However, it appears that the foundations and behavior of this group are such that no one can change them. The question—may Allah reward you with good—is what is your opinion regarding some students of knowledge from the Salafis going out with the Tabligh group, not with the intention of going out, but to correct ideas, teach tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and spread the Sunnah among them, especially since they have noticed a response from those who went out with them? This is the question.

The Shaykh : Yes, what we know about this group, from the participation of some of our Salafi brothers with them in some of their trips and journeys, is that they do not accept their call to the Book and the Sunnah. Their situation in this is like that of all the other parties you mentioned earlier. They say, and what a bad thing they say: "Your call divides people." And we say: You are truthful. Our call is a call to the truth, so it divides between the truth and falsehood, and it truly divides between the one who is right and the one who is wrong. Therefore, it is no surprise that one of the names of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that these "Islamic" da'iyah do not know—claiming they are Islamic da'iyah—is al-Mufarriq (the Divider). They are ignorant, even to this hour, that one of the names of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is al-Mufarriq. If these people hear the word "Divider" as a name of the Messenger, their minds are confused and their voices are raised; that is because they do not understand Islam. The prophets and messengers did not come, and the books were not revealed to them, except for this division between the truth and falsehood, and so that the Muslims would be with the truth against falsehood. So they are dividers, without doubt, whether others wish it or not. Therefore, it is very natural that the other calls in the scene today, which are not established on this correct methodology, would not accept the call of an individual from among their public, because that would divert them from their methodology and their call; because it is established on the opposite of the call to the methodology of the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the righteous Salaf. This is what we know about them, or what we used to know about them. Perhaps they have developed somewhat, as mentioned in your question, and it has become clear to them that in reality, when they go out as they say in the path of Allah, they go out confused like the Jews and Christians, knowing nothing of their religion except a very little. If these people felt their ignorance of their Islam, their religion, and felt in addition that there is a group of Muslims who are called in some countries Salafis, in other countries supporters of the Sunnah, and in other countries people of the hadith, and all of them converge on this correct methodology, and they felt they are in need of their knowledge, it is possible that this means they have retreated from their previous negative stance and submitted to the participation of some Salafi individuals with them in their trips and journeys, as we said, and allowed them to call these confused groups to the Book and the Sunnah. In that case, I say it is obligatory for some of our Salafi brothers to go out with them, but on the condition that they raise the flag, that their call is a Salafi Islamic call, not a Salafi Islamic Sufi Tablighi call, as some of this was said in the past and may be added to recently. No, rather it is a pure Salafi call. If these or those Tablighis, or the Muslim Brotherhood, or the Tahrir Party, or others—there may be other parties there—allow some Salafi individuals to call those people to their call with complete clarity, and without restrictions or conditions, then at that time I see that it is obligatory for some Salafi da'iyah to mix with them. But they must, above all, alert them that we did not go out with you for three days because it is the Sunnah to go out for three days or forty days or any restriction or system they have established, which has no basis in the Book and the Sunnah. And even if their da'iyah try to justify such restrictions for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Recently, we were gathered with some individuals from this group whom we think have intellect, understanding, and sincerity. He was, of course, influenced by the nature of the case by the propaganda, or to put it more clearly, by the instructions of their leaders to these individuals. They teach them the arguments. If we say to them, for example, "Where do you get this going out? Groups like wasps, you go out like this in the dozens, and they are ignorant, knowing nothing of Islam," they answer you immediately. They are taught, yes, "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his time went out with seventy in the battle of... what? Mu'tah or what?"

The questioner : Bir Ma'unah

The Shaykh : Bir Ma'unah, seventy of the Companions were killed in the path of Allah. So we remind them, O people, fear Allah. These seventy were from the best of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and therefore it is said of them that they were from the reciters. And the Messenger, as we know, said: . So these were not from the ignorant as you do. Therefore, the evidence is not what is indicated, and the call is more specific than the evidence. The evidence does not include you at all. So, cover yourselves and cover your ignorance, and do not use as evidence what is against you and not for you. And this person said to me, and for the first time I heard this evidence from people like these. He said: "Is there not a man who killed, as mentioned in the authentic hadith, ninety-nine souls, and went to another country?" I said, "Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah), this man went out repentant to Allah, emigrating in the path of Allah, turning away from the country in which he was raised with a bad upbringing; because that scholar and the hadith you know, and we present to you its summary, because that scholar, truly and sincerely, said to him: How do you use this hadith as evidence? This man went to the country whose people are righteous. What did he say? He said: "He went out so that he would not return." He wants to prepare the ground that he went out to purify himself from sins in that country and then return to his country. I said: "Do you do this? You are the opposite of that. You go out to the lands of sin and corruption, to the lands of Europe and America and the like, so you have contradicted the hadith. He went out to purify himself, you go out to become impure. Then how do you return to the country since you have gone out of it as that man did? No, you are completely reversing it." And so a long discussion took place regarding their arguments which they are taught. If they allow some of our Salafi brothers to mix with them, advise them, and discuss with them in light of the Book and the Sunnah, then without doubt this is a new gain for the Salafi call. That is, a ground has been prepared for them and this ground has become ready to accept this rain sent to them by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), which is the Salafi call. I see no obstacle with this condition. Yes.