Explaining the causes of victory and the causes that people assume to be its causes

The Shaykh : However, if we delve into the details, we will find that, unfortunately, Muslims today are in disagreement regarding this beneficial knowledge, which is the primary cause of Allah’s (Mighty and Majestic) victory for His believing servants. Why? Why is there disagreement over the definition of beneficial knowledge? That is because many centuries and numerous years have passed for the Muslims, during which they turned away from studying and understanding the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the understanding of the religion that our Prophet (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) intended, as mentioned in the authentic hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim: The understanding of the religion has taken on a specific definition, which is that a person understands the religion according to one of the schools of jurisprudence followed today. I am not referring now to the four schools, because my speech is not limited to the Muslims known as the people of the Sunnah; rather, my speech is directed at all Muslims who are united by the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Those who pray our prayer, face our qiblah, and eat our slaughtered animals are all of us, and they have what we have, and they are obligated to what we are obligated to. All these Muslims turned away. I do not mean, either, what might come to the mind of some, which I do not intend or mean. I do not mean the general Muslim individuals, but rather their specialists, when I say that they turned away from understanding the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to understanding within a very limited circle, namely the circle of narrow sectarianism. As for the people of the Sunnah, they follow four imams. As for the others, the story is endless, for they follow other imams who are undoubtedly among the best of the Muslim scholars. However, their statements and their jurisprudential deductions did not reach their followers through the correct scientific methods, as the statements of the four imams reached their followers from among the people of the Sunnah and the community. The point is: the specialists among the Muslims relied on sectarian taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), except for those whom Allah wills, and they are few. These people are undoubtedly a favor and grace that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) bestows upon His servants in every time and place, by providing for all Muslims individuals from among these scholars who take from the two pure sources: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But these people, as mentioned in the authentic hadith, are strangers.