Some people say that Ibn Hajar corrupted the commentary on Fath al-Bari with his figurative interpretations in creed. What is your opinion of those who attack Ibn Hajar, al-Nawawi, and Ibn al-Jawzi?

The questioner : The book Fath al-Bari

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : In the commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, some scholars consider it one of the greatest and most beneficial compendiums of Islam, and that a student of knowledge cannot do without it. There is another trend among some Salafi students of knowledge who believe that Ibn Hajar harmed and corrupted the Sahih by the figurative interpretations and distortions he included, which contradict the methodology of the Salaf and align with the beliefs of the innovators. These people do not welcome titles that praise Ibn Hajar, such as al-Hafiz and Shaykh al-Islam, and the like. They say that people like Ibn Hajar, al-Nawawi, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Ibn Hazm, and those who follow their path, are not worthy of praise, nor even of respect, but rather deserve hatred for the sake of Allah because of their unsound methodology. So what is your opinion, may Allah bless you?

The Shaykh : I say that this talk comes from the zealots, not from the scholars of the Muslims. These are a group who cannot be of assistance in establishing the Islamic society except by the sword. In our region in Sham, they say the phrase: "The religion of Muhammad is the religion of the sword." This is a lie. The religion of Muhammad is a religion of calling, guidance, and direction. And what else?
Al-Halabi : .

The Shaykh : They want a scholar with no flaw, a friend with no defect. Does a stick burn without smoke? This is impossible. The Hafiz is a Hafiz, whether they like it or not. The fact that he interpreted some verses, or some hadiths, or some attributes does not deprive him of this title, specifically in what he is known for and possesses. It is sufficient for us to acknowledge this man's knowledge and virtue, not only in hadith, but in hadith, language, literature, and knowledge of the schools of the scholars, the scholars of kalam, the scholars of fiqh, the sects, and so on. However, it is true that he has some deviation, and not all deviation from the Salafi methodology. We do not want to lose the virtue and knowledge of this man in the Islamic world because of the deviation present in him, with such exaggeration in speech that comes from people who recently emerged in the da'wah that we call the Salafi da'wah, the da'wah of returning to the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the righteous Salaf, but they have not studied the Book and the Sunnah. They do not know that any scholar they point to, they will find in the depths of his books or researches some deviation. And we take as an example now the book being commented on by this great commentator, which is Sahih al-Bukhari. Do you see what they say about what al-Bukhari did when he said it is permissible for a Muslim to say the words "The Qur'an is created"? We dismiss it from consideration and say this is an exaggeration regarding al-Bukhari. And when we said he is the Commander of the Faithful and the Imam of the Muhaddithin, and his book is the most authentic book because he said a word in which he contradicted his Imam in hadith and in creed, who is Ahmad ibn Hanbal, do we reject this virtue because of this slip, if it is a slip? Or is it possible to interpret it? But these extremists will undoubtedly see two Imams, a teacher and a student,The Shaykh : where the teacher denies what the student says, and the student affirms what the teacher denies.The Shaykh : A rational person must side with one of the two groups in this opinion, but that does not lead him to deny the right of each of the disputants, whether he is with this one or that one, in what they are famous for in knowledge and specialization, as Allah the Exalted said: These are not the pious. These are people of desires. These are from the old Khawarij who have not died. The rebellion has continued until it reached our day, and we still hear of it from time to time. Even if this interval is not necessarily for you to understand, whether it is a span, a period, two spans, or two meters, it may be that between one interval and another are many years, because this is an era where we see them rebel and corrupt the earth, and destroy the crops and offspring, and they were the cause of delaying the da'wah that was advancing because they rebelled like the raging horses of the sun, without awareness, without Islamic upbringing, without correct knowledge. The one who reads al-Bukhari and the commentary of al-Bukhari cannot help but say in praise of this man, but he should take caution from some of his figurative interpretations, and this, praise be to Allah, is possible.