The Shaykh’s comment on Ibrahim Shuqqa’s praise of him, with a note on the weakness of the hadith (When a believer is praised, faith grows in his heart).

And then, my brothers, please, let the questions now be, if Allah wills, such that the question we select does not mean thatThe Shaykh : he does not want to answer the question that is not answered; because there are many questions and the time does not allow for answering such a large number of questions. Therefore, we will select questions, and perhaps one question may contain several other questions. From these questions that have reached us, please, our Shaykh, may Allah bless you.

The Shaykh: It was said to begin and answer the questions. I ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to benefit the attendees with this good sermon and the good reminder in which the honorable professor Abu Malik Shuqqa was generous, and which such scholarly gatherings rarely have the opportunity to hear, and to benefit me along with all the attendees with this reminder and this advice, and that I not be among those who are deluded by the praise you have heard, which I do not deserve except perhaps a small part. On this occasion, I mention a correct report that the first rightly guided caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), used to utter when he heard praise in his presence. He would say: "O Allah, do not hold me accountable for what they say, and make me better than what they think, and forgive me what they do not know." And our professor, may Allah bless him, says what he believes, and he may be exaggerating in what he said ; as for me, I fear, and I fear greatly, that I will be affected by such praise that we do not deserve. But I hope to be worthy of the good opinion, and that the hadith be true of me. Even though this hadith, and the fact that religion is advice, obligates me, if I mention it, to mention the weakness of its chain, even though its meaning is correct in some times and circumstances. It is the hadith narrated by Abu Abdullah al-Hakim in his Mustadrak from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: So I hope that this praise will be a cause for strengthening faith, not for weakening it, while acknowledging that I do not deserve it. But he, may Allah reward him with good, means he says what he believes and sees. And I hope that my Lord will make me, as you have heard, better than what they think, and forgive me what they do not know.