A discussion on the succession of events, the eternity of the world, and the Shaykh’s defense of the Shaykh al-Islam.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The issue we originally came for is the issue of the eternity of the world in terms of type, and that Ibn Taymiyyah believes in it, and we have brought with us *Minhaj al-Sunnah* and so on. So far, we have not entered into the issue, so please let us stick to the topic.
The Shaykh : What do you want to enter into it for?
The questioner : We have a doubt.
The Shaykh : What is your doubt about?
The questioner : That Ibn Taymiyyah believes in the eternity of the world in terms of type, and that this is the issue.
The Shaykh : Do you understand what it means in this context?
The questioner : Ah
The Shaykh : Ah?
The questioner : Yes, I do.
The Shaykh : What does it mean in this context?
The questioner : It means that the world...
The Shaykh : Ah
The questioner : Its individuals are created, but the type is eternal.
The Shaykh : What does this statement mean? I did not understand it from you just now.
The questioner : This is Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement, not mine.
The Shaykh : Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement. You are now acting like a storyteller, like the recording. I want you to explain it to me.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I want you to explain it to me.
The questioner : I want to explain it to you. Ibn Taymiyyah believes that something other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is eternal, whatever it is, whether it is a type or...
The Shaykh : Well, that is not the point.
The questioner : That is what he believes.
The Shaykh : Eternal means not created?
The questioner : Yes, this could be taken in two ways. Ibn Taymiyyah is indeed contradictory in this matter. It is possible that he means eternal in the sense that it is not created, and it is possible that he says it is created but has no beginning. This is a contradiction, if it is not disbelief.
The Shaykh : Well, if someone is contradictory in his speech, what is obligatory for you, O Muslims?
The questioner : We will try.
The Shaykh : He interrupts him. Listen, listen. What is your duty, O Muslims, if you see two statements from a scholar of the Muslims, one of which is false, shirk, disbelief, or misguidance?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the other statement is faith. What is your duty in that case?
The questioner : That we try to interpret the ambiguous statement that suggests disbelief in the best possible way.
The Shaykh : Does your Shaykh do this?
The questioner : But we were not able to.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother, give the answer. May Allah guide you. Do not deviate. If you deviate, this is a very serious matter.
The questioner : My lord, you are asking me. I have nothing to do with my Shaykh in this.
The Shaykh : My brother, you are carrying his ideas. May Allah guide you. What do you know about the type, and what is the type?
The questioner : We are discussing the idea. We are not discussing...
The Shaykh : Do not argue. If you had been arguing in the past, you would not have understood anything, just like the others.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. Honestly, I want...
The Shaykh : I am giving you my opinion. I am telling you now that in this era, if it were not for this man, you would not have known about Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement on the eternity of the type, or whatever this philosophy is. Do you know that I refuted this?
The questioner : Yes, in the first authentic narration.
The Shaykh : Well, is it authentic, or is it a commentary on the *'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah* and so on? So now, what is your concern with the issue, since you are admitting that his statement is faith, and a statement you think is disbelief, even though we do not understand it?
The questioner : The statement of faith? No, we are not transferring it. We are talking about an ambiguous statement, a contradictory statement. For example, he says how he says it is created but has no beginning. This does not fit in the mind of any human being. How can it be created but have no beginning? Then he goes back and says the type is eternal and the individuals are created. That is to say, in my opinion, based on this statement, the least that can be said is that he is contradictory.
The Shaykh : Yes, contradictory. What does contradictory mean? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : It means he establishes the matter from one side and brings its opposite.
The Shaykh : Be patient. Is this man’s only book, statement, or fatwa this issue?
The questioner : There are others, of course.
The Shaykh : Well, are the others fewer or more?
The questioner : More.
The Shaykh : These are the majority. What does this testify to, that he is a disbeliever or a Muslim?
The questioner : By Allah, one could say a million words.
The Shaykh : I will not answer. I will not answer.
The questioner : That he is a Muslim.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you.
The questioner : That is the correct statement.
The Shaykh : Do you want to say to him, my brother, stay on the right path? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Well, is it permissible to accuse this Muslim with a word you understand to be contradictory? Is it permissible to negate what is certain with what is doubtful? Is this permissible in knowledge?
The questioner : Of course not. But we have something established, not doubtful. It is established a hundred percent.
The Shaykh : You are saying now that it is doubtful. You do not understand what is doubtful. You are saying it is contradictory in that it is created and in that it has no beginning. The point is that it is doubtful in terms of... not in its authenticity. I told you earlier that I refuted this statement. It is enough that his opponents exploit this statement. It is enough. It was not supposed to be spoken. It is enough. First, and second, he did not previously enter into this battle.
The questioner : And unfortunately, he did enter into it.
The Shaykh : Look, I was telling him that this is correct. He entered into it, but this does not give you the right to set hostility against him and deny his efforts, which are known, and which the enemy testifies to before the friend, and the hated one before the beloved. Why are you targeting his habit and the man’s habit? Because he said a word you cannot understand the meaning of. If the man says in events that have no beginning, the meaning of the statement you are saying is not clear. If the man says in events that have no beginning, and this is an error for me, and perhaps you remember that.
The questioner : Ah
The Shaykh : Well, and in addition to this, he adds his statement: "There is no created thing except that before it was a created thing, and after it follows another." Wait until he throws his weapon, then you throw yours.
The questioner : I wish, by Allah, you would repeat the question so I can understand.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : You are saying there is no created thing except that before it was a created thing.
The Shaykh : Yes. Am I now going to philosophize to you, you specifically? Listen, I am now going to philosophize to you.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So that you know that this struggle...
The questioner : By Allah, I wish you would explain it to me. By Allah, I liked this issue.
The Shaykh : He laughs. There is no power or strength except by Allah.
The questioner : It means a beautiful issue.
The Shaykh : My people, you are carrying the ladder sideways and walking.
The questioner : I mean, we agreed on this...The Shaykh : We have ideas and we want to discuss them.
The questioner : Resolve them for us.
The questioner : It is okay, but there is something I have not liked so far from...The Shaykh : I want to say it in front of him.
The questioner : Shaykh, let him say it.
The Shaykh : I am losing my patience now.
The questioner : That it was... it is possible. In my language, in my speech, it is like this, fast and heavy.
The Shaykh : laughs
The questioner : Is it that you described your friend as a boxer?
The questioner : It is okay.
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The questioner : I was like this in my life, so this has no bearing on the issue, but...The Shaykh : It became as if he is making me an opponent.
The Shaykh : Listen, what do you want?
The questioner : I am not coming as an opponent. We did not agree on that. We are coming, we want, we have ideas, meaning he supports us with all our ideas. I mean, right now, in my opinion, it is the same as my creed.
The questioner : You support his ideas, you mean?
The questioner : The point is, we are not doing it on purpose. We are not using the Shaykhs’ phrases now.
The questioner : But now you are pulling the plate toward you, and that is not the case.
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : Your creed is contrary to my creed.
The questioner: Why?
The Shaykh : Huh? I will prove to you why. First, you are declaring Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah a disbeliever with a phrase you did not understand.
The questioner : I still want to understand.
The Shaykh : Listen, listen.
The questioner : As a Muslim, to that.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother.
The questioner : As a Muslim, I want to know.
The Shaykh : Why are you turning to others? The conversation is between you and me, not between you and others?
The questioner : Yes, that is clear.
The Shaykh : Is the conversation between you and me, or between you and others?
The questioner : Between you and me.
The Shaykh : Then why are you ignoring me?
The questioner : But no, excuse me.
The Shaykh : Now, what is making you lose your patience?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, nothing is making me lose my patience. Who wants to lose their patience? The one who is angry.
The Shaykh : He laughs. But you are saying I saw...The Shaykh : You have not lost your patience until now. What is the issue you want?
The questioner : I did not say I lost my patience. I said...
The Shaykh : I understand it in my Syrian dialect.
The questioner : Yes, so what is the intention? My style...
The Shaykh : What do you want from me now?
The questioner : You treated me as an opponent and started attributing statements to me and binding me to them.
The Shaykh : O Abu al-Harith, what is this...
The questioner : So you, it is supposed to be...
The Shaykh : What do you want from me?
The questioner : We came for an issue. We want to see the issue of eternity. Was it established for Ibn Taymiyyah? Established that he affirms that there are created things that have no beginning.
The questioner : I mean, we are not declaring him a disbeliever.
The questioner : Or that he wants to affirm that there are created things with Allah that are not created, as if...
The questioner : My lord, we have a doubt whether the man is a disbeliever or not. We want to be sure. We are not declaring him a disbeliever.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. The answer to this matter has already been given.
The questioner : I mean, you...
The Shaykh : Interrupting: The answer to this has already been given. Fear Allah.
The questioner : There is no god but Allah.
The Shaykh : A man who is considered one of the great figures of the Muslims, but my brothers, you are now like a farmer living in a very small village, who does not know that there are cities and capitals in this world. And when he leaves the village, he sees a larger village, and he walks a bit more and sees...
The questioner : And this is what we have come to you with.
The Shaykh : This is your situation.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But my brothers, listen, may Allah guide you, you must know your state, who you are. You have not read the book by al-Hafiz Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi. What is its name, Abu al-Harith?
Abu al-Harith: Al-Radd al-Wafir 'ala man Zama' anna man Samma Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah Kafir (The Sufficient Response to One Who Claimed That Whoever Called Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah a Disbeliever Is a Disbeliever). These are the scholars, these are the scholars.
The questioner : We read it, meaning you advise us to read it.
The Shaykh : Yes? How?
The questioner : Do you advise them to read it, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, I advise you. How could I not?
The questioner : Tomorrow the book will be with me.
The Shaykh : Allow me, this is what I am using to point out to you: you are like, meaning, not great men in a small village, but small children in a small village, who see something after a while. This book was written by one of the great preservers of hadith, Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi, and he has gathered in it dozens of fatwas from the great scholars. You say, "We are with you that he knows that this person is a disbeliever, and if he does not declare him a disbeliever, he is a disbeliever," correct?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, what is your opinion of these scholars who are responding to those who declared Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah a disbeliever? Are these people disbelievers? When you rule that Ibn Taymiyyah is a disbeliever, it means you have declared disbelievers those who wrote this book in defense of Ibn Taymiyyah and in response to the claim that whoever said of Ibn Taymiyyah, "Shaykh al-Islam," is a disbeliever. Allahu Akbar. The point is, now you are saying that you have not reached [the truth]. I have finished with your companion, but I feel that your body is with us and your mind is not. I answered you an hour ago: What does Ibn Taymiyyah say? He says by type, he says about events that have no beginning. I said this is not reasonable, I do not comprehend it. And you, like my story, do not comprehend this thing. But the fact that you do not comprehend this thing does not mean that the one who said it is a disbeliever. Why? Because we have a hundred proofs, and proofs, indeed thousands and thousands, that this man is a noble scholar, and that Allah guided the great Muslims of his time and after his time through him. How can we boycott these signs and these decisive proofs that he is, first, a Muslim, second, a scholar, and third, one of the great Shaykhs of Islam? How can you declare him a disbeliever over an issue you did not understand? Okay...
The questioner : Forgive us, we did not declare him a disbeliever. We have a doubt and we want to remove it. We hope that the man is in the highest ranks of Paradise, my master.
The Shaykh : Listen, two people cannot speak at the same time.
The questioner : Okay, I am sorry, summarize our entire case in two words. Meaning, we found that Ibn Taymiyyah was declared a disbeliever by scholars of his time and those who came shortly after him, and by scholars of his time and those who came shortly after him, meaning in the eras in which he was and in which he died in a short period. Some scholars declared him a disbeliever, and some responded to them. So if we want to read the books of those who declared him a disbeliever, we say he is a disbeliever, and if we want to read the books of those who responded to them, we say he is the best of people after the Companions.
The Shaykh: Okay
The questioner : So here we want the criterion for this issue: to see whether the man committed disbelief.
The Shaykh : Insha'Allah. Okay, okay, be patient, insha'Allah you will be truthful in what you say.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Be patient. Have you finished your speech?
The questioner : This is a summary, meaning.
The Shaykh : Have you finished your speech?
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, now, is it a condition of Islam that you know that Ibn Taymiyyah, that those who declared him a disbeliever are right, or that those who called him Shaykh al-Islam are right?
The questioner : No, it is not a condition of Islam.
The Shaykh : I do not think you understood.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Please, now, take the speech. Here he is taking the speech. And I feel that he did not understand the question despite its clarity. What is your answer?
The questioner : I understand, I understood the question and I want to answer.
The Shaykh : Answer. And what am I asking you?
The questioner : You asked me whether it is a condition of Islam that we know that Ibn Taymiyyah is a disbeliever or not a disbeliever.
The Shaykh : No, no, that was not the question.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Did you see how it is now, meaning?
The questioner : The idea of the question, meaning, I want the meaning of the question.
The questioner : Bring the words themselves, because at the very least it distorts the answer.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
The questioner : We do not want to repeat the question, we want to answer directly.
The Shaykh : In any case, I want to give a piece of advice that has no relation to creed but has a relation to fiqh, perhaps you will accept it. My advice is that you change the cap to its proper place on your head, because this is a garment of showing off, and you know that the garment of showing off... listen, I am speaking about fiqh.
The questioner : Not at all.
The Shaykh : What did he say?
The questioner : He says that when I was young and wearing it, I asked him about the same color, he says the same color.
The Shaykh : And this confirms that you must change this color.
The questioner : Ah, that is how things go.
The Shaykh : He laughs. Did you see why things went that way?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because this color is showing off.
The questioner : No, but we are accustomed to it.
The Shaykh : So when people wear it, they say, "Look, this man is wearing a striped cap." This is like my story, a white cap, that is a turban, and so on. But you, among the people, are like a turkey.
The questioner : This is a joke from...The Shaykh
The questioner : No, no, I accept it, meaning.
The questioner : In the spirit of lightening the atmosphere. May Allah reward you with good, my Shaykh.
The questioner : Say it like that from the beginning.
The Shaykh : I want to repeat the question to you now so that you answer me.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Is it one of the pillars of Islam that you know that those who declared Shaykh al-Islam a disbeliever are right, or that those who said he is Shaykh al-Islam are right? Is this a condition of Islam?
The questioner : It is not a condition of Islam. No, it is not a condition of Islam.
The Shaykh: Yes
The questioner : But I have a word that interrupts him.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Look, your companion is better than you, because he has begun to feel that this is a scholarly method.
The questioner : The best of speech is what is little and effective. What do you want? Do you want to give a lecture... and so on. The important thing is that it is not a condition of Islam. We agree?
The questioner : Yes, we agree.
The Shaykh : A second question: Is it one of the obligations of Islam...
The Shaykh : What do you want to enter into it for?
The questioner : We have a doubt.
The Shaykh : What is your doubt about?
The questioner : That Ibn Taymiyyah believes in the eternity of the world in terms of type, and that this is the issue.
The Shaykh : Do you understand what it means in this context?
The questioner : Ah
The Shaykh : Ah?
The questioner : Yes, I do.
The Shaykh : What does it mean in this context?
The questioner : It means that the world...
The Shaykh : Ah
The questioner : Its individuals are created, but the type is eternal.
The Shaykh : What does this statement mean? I did not understand it from you just now.
The questioner : This is Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement, not mine.
The Shaykh : Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement. You are now acting like a storyteller, like the recording. I want you to explain it to me.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I want you to explain it to me.
The questioner : I want to explain it to you. Ibn Taymiyyah believes that something other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is eternal, whatever it is, whether it is a type or...
The Shaykh : Well, that is not the point.
The questioner : That is what he believes.
The Shaykh : Eternal means not created?
The questioner : Yes, this could be taken in two ways. Ibn Taymiyyah is indeed contradictory in this matter. It is possible that he means eternal in the sense that it is not created, and it is possible that he says it is created but has no beginning. This is a contradiction, if it is not disbelief.
The Shaykh : Well, if someone is contradictory in his speech, what is obligatory for you, O Muslims?
The questioner : We will try.
The Shaykh : He interrupts him. Listen, listen. What is your duty, O Muslims, if you see two statements from a scholar of the Muslims, one of which is false, shirk, disbelief, or misguidance?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the other statement is faith. What is your duty in that case?
The questioner : That we try to interpret the ambiguous statement that suggests disbelief in the best possible way.
The Shaykh : Does your Shaykh do this?
The questioner : But we were not able to.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother, give the answer. May Allah guide you. Do not deviate. If you deviate, this is a very serious matter.
The questioner : My lord, you are asking me. I have nothing to do with my Shaykh in this.
The Shaykh : My brother, you are carrying his ideas. May Allah guide you. What do you know about the type, and what is the type?
The questioner : We are discussing the idea. We are not discussing...
The Shaykh : Do not argue. If you had been arguing in the past, you would not have understood anything, just like the others.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. Honestly, I want...
The Shaykh : I am giving you my opinion. I am telling you now that in this era, if it were not for this man, you would not have known about Ibn Taymiyyah’s statement on the eternity of the type, or whatever this philosophy is. Do you know that I refuted this?
The questioner : Yes, in the first authentic narration.
The Shaykh : Well, is it authentic, or is it a commentary on the *'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah* and so on? So now, what is your concern with the issue, since you are admitting that his statement is faith, and a statement you think is disbelief, even though we do not understand it?
The questioner : The statement of faith? No, we are not transferring it. We are talking about an ambiguous statement, a contradictory statement. For example, he says how he says it is created but has no beginning. This does not fit in the mind of any human being. How can it be created but have no beginning? Then he goes back and says the type is eternal and the individuals are created. That is to say, in my opinion, based on this statement, the least that can be said is that he is contradictory.
The Shaykh : Yes, contradictory. What does contradictory mean? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : It means he establishes the matter from one side and brings its opposite.
The Shaykh : Be patient. Is this man’s only book, statement, or fatwa this issue?
The questioner : There are others, of course.
The Shaykh : Well, are the others fewer or more?
The questioner : More.
The Shaykh : These are the majority. What does this testify to, that he is a disbeliever or a Muslim?
The questioner : By Allah, one could say a million words.
The Shaykh : I will not answer. I will not answer.
The questioner : That he is a Muslim.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you.
The questioner : That is the correct statement.
The Shaykh : Do you want to say to him, my brother, stay on the right path? May Allah guide you.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Well, is it permissible to accuse this Muslim with a word you understand to be contradictory? Is it permissible to negate what is certain with what is doubtful? Is this permissible in knowledge?
The questioner : Of course not. But we have something established, not doubtful. It is established a hundred percent.
The Shaykh : You are saying now that it is doubtful. You do not understand what is doubtful. You are saying it is contradictory in that it is created and in that it has no beginning. The point is that it is doubtful in terms of... not in its authenticity. I told you earlier that I refuted this statement. It is enough that his opponents exploit this statement. It is enough. It was not supposed to be spoken. It is enough. First, and second, he did not previously enter into this battle.
The questioner : And unfortunately, he did enter into it.
The Shaykh : Look, I was telling him that this is correct. He entered into it, but this does not give you the right to set hostility against him and deny his efforts, which are known, and which the enemy testifies to before the friend, and the hated one before the beloved. Why are you targeting his habit and the man’s habit? Because he said a word you cannot understand the meaning of. If the man says in events that have no beginning, the meaning of the statement you are saying is not clear. If the man says in events that have no beginning, and this is an error for me, and perhaps you remember that.
The questioner : Ah
The Shaykh : Well, and in addition to this, he adds his statement: "There is no created thing except that before it was a created thing, and after it follows another." Wait until he throws his weapon, then you throw yours.
The questioner : I wish, by Allah, you would repeat the question so I can understand.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : You are saying there is no created thing except that before it was a created thing.
The Shaykh : Yes. Am I now going to philosophize to you, you specifically? Listen, I am now going to philosophize to you.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So that you know that this struggle...
The questioner : By Allah, I wish you would explain it to me. By Allah, I liked this issue.
The Shaykh : He laughs. There is no power or strength except by Allah.
The questioner : It means a beautiful issue.
The Shaykh : My people, you are carrying the ladder sideways and walking.
The questioner : I mean, we agreed on this...The Shaykh : We have ideas and we want to discuss them.
The questioner : Resolve them for us.
The questioner : It is okay, but there is something I have not liked so far from...The Shaykh : I want to say it in front of him.
The questioner : Shaykh, let him say it.
The Shaykh : I am losing my patience now.
The questioner : That it was... it is possible. In my language, in my speech, it is like this, fast and heavy.
The Shaykh : laughs
The questioner : Is it that you described your friend as a boxer?
The questioner : It is okay.
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The questioner : I was like this in my life, so this has no bearing on the issue, but...The Shaykh : It became as if he is making me an opponent.
The Shaykh : Listen, what do you want?
The questioner : I am not coming as an opponent. We did not agree on that. We are coming, we want, we have ideas, meaning he supports us with all our ideas. I mean, right now, in my opinion, it is the same as my creed.
The questioner : You support his ideas, you mean?
The questioner : The point is, we are not doing it on purpose. We are not using the Shaykhs’ phrases now.
The questioner : But now you are pulling the plate toward you, and that is not the case.
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : Your creed is contrary to my creed.
The questioner: Why?
The Shaykh : Huh? I will prove to you why. First, you are declaring Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah a disbeliever with a phrase you did not understand.
The questioner : I still want to understand.
The Shaykh : Listen, listen.
The questioner : As a Muslim, to that.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother.
The questioner : As a Muslim, I want to know.
The Shaykh : Why are you turning to others? The conversation is between you and me, not between you and others?
The questioner : Yes, that is clear.
The Shaykh : Is the conversation between you and me, or between you and others?
The questioner : Between you and me.
The Shaykh : Then why are you ignoring me?
The questioner : But no, excuse me.
The Shaykh : Now, what is making you lose your patience?
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, nothing is making me lose my patience. Who wants to lose their patience? The one who is angry.
The Shaykh : He laughs. But you are saying I saw...The Shaykh : You have not lost your patience until now. What is the issue you want?
The questioner : I did not say I lost my patience. I said...
The Shaykh : I understand it in my Syrian dialect.
The questioner : Yes, so what is the intention? My style...
The Shaykh : What do you want from me now?
The questioner : You treated me as an opponent and started attributing statements to me and binding me to them.
The Shaykh : O Abu al-Harith, what is this...
The questioner : So you, it is supposed to be...
The Shaykh : What do you want from me?
The questioner : We came for an issue. We want to see the issue of eternity. Was it established for Ibn Taymiyyah? Established that he affirms that there are created things that have no beginning.
The questioner : I mean, we are not declaring him a disbeliever.
The questioner : Or that he wants to affirm that there are created things with Allah that are not created, as if...
The questioner : My lord, we have a doubt whether the man is a disbeliever or not. We want to be sure. We are not declaring him a disbeliever.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. The answer to this matter has already been given.
The questioner : I mean, you...
The Shaykh : Interrupting: The answer to this has already been given. Fear Allah.
The questioner : There is no god but Allah.
The Shaykh : A man who is considered one of the great figures of the Muslims, but my brothers, you are now like a farmer living in a very small village, who does not know that there are cities and capitals in this world. And when he leaves the village, he sees a larger village, and he walks a bit more and sees...
The questioner : And this is what we have come to you with.
The Shaykh : This is your situation.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But my brothers, listen, may Allah guide you, you must know your state, who you are. You have not read the book by al-Hafiz Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi. What is its name, Abu al-Harith?
Abu al-Harith: Al-Radd al-Wafir 'ala man Zama' anna man Samma Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah Kafir (The Sufficient Response to One Who Claimed That Whoever Called Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah a Disbeliever Is a Disbeliever). These are the scholars, these are the scholars.
The questioner : We read it, meaning you advise us to read it.
The Shaykh : Yes? How?
The questioner : Do you advise them to read it, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, I advise you. How could I not?
The questioner : Tomorrow the book will be with me.
The Shaykh : Allow me, this is what I am using to point out to you: you are like, meaning, not great men in a small village, but small children in a small village, who see something after a while. This book was written by one of the great preservers of hadith, Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi, and he has gathered in it dozens of fatwas from the great scholars. You say, "We are with you that he knows that this person is a disbeliever, and if he does not declare him a disbeliever, he is a disbeliever," correct?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, what is your opinion of these scholars who are responding to those who declared Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah a disbeliever? Are these people disbelievers? When you rule that Ibn Taymiyyah is a disbeliever, it means you have declared disbelievers those who wrote this book in defense of Ibn Taymiyyah and in response to the claim that whoever said of Ibn Taymiyyah, "Shaykh al-Islam," is a disbeliever. Allahu Akbar. The point is, now you are saying that you have not reached [the truth]. I have finished with your companion, but I feel that your body is with us and your mind is not. I answered you an hour ago: What does Ibn Taymiyyah say? He says by type, he says about events that have no beginning. I said this is not reasonable, I do not comprehend it. And you, like my story, do not comprehend this thing. But the fact that you do not comprehend this thing does not mean that the one who said it is a disbeliever. Why? Because we have a hundred proofs, and proofs, indeed thousands and thousands, that this man is a noble scholar, and that Allah guided the great Muslims of his time and after his time through him. How can we boycott these signs and these decisive proofs that he is, first, a Muslim, second, a scholar, and third, one of the great Shaykhs of Islam? How can you declare him a disbeliever over an issue you did not understand? Okay...
The questioner : Forgive us, we did not declare him a disbeliever. We have a doubt and we want to remove it. We hope that the man is in the highest ranks of Paradise, my master.
The Shaykh : Listen, two people cannot speak at the same time.
The questioner : Okay, I am sorry, summarize our entire case in two words. Meaning, we found that Ibn Taymiyyah was declared a disbeliever by scholars of his time and those who came shortly after him, and by scholars of his time and those who came shortly after him, meaning in the eras in which he was and in which he died in a short period. Some scholars declared him a disbeliever, and some responded to them. So if we want to read the books of those who declared him a disbeliever, we say he is a disbeliever, and if we want to read the books of those who responded to them, we say he is the best of people after the Companions.
The Shaykh: Okay
The questioner : So here we want the criterion for this issue: to see whether the man committed disbelief.
The Shaykh : Insha'Allah. Okay, okay, be patient, insha'Allah you will be truthful in what you say.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Be patient. Have you finished your speech?
The questioner : This is a summary, meaning.
The Shaykh : Have you finished your speech?
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, now, is it a condition of Islam that you know that Ibn Taymiyyah, that those who declared him a disbeliever are right, or that those who called him Shaykh al-Islam are right?
The questioner : No, it is not a condition of Islam.
The Shaykh : I do not think you understood.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Please, now, take the speech. Here he is taking the speech. And I feel that he did not understand the question despite its clarity. What is your answer?
The questioner : I understand, I understood the question and I want to answer.
The Shaykh : Answer. And what am I asking you?
The questioner : You asked me whether it is a condition of Islam that we know that Ibn Taymiyyah is a disbeliever or not a disbeliever.
The Shaykh : No, no, that was not the question.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Did you see how it is now, meaning?
The questioner : The idea of the question, meaning, I want the meaning of the question.
The questioner : Bring the words themselves, because at the very least it distorts the answer.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.
The questioner : We do not want to repeat the question, we want to answer directly.
The Shaykh : In any case, I want to give a piece of advice that has no relation to creed but has a relation to fiqh, perhaps you will accept it. My advice is that you change the cap to its proper place on your head, because this is a garment of showing off, and you know that the garment of showing off... listen, I am speaking about fiqh.
The questioner : Not at all.
The Shaykh : What did he say?
The questioner : He says that when I was young and wearing it, I asked him about the same color, he says the same color.
The Shaykh : And this confirms that you must change this color.
The questioner : Ah, that is how things go.
The Shaykh : He laughs. Did you see why things went that way?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because this color is showing off.
The questioner : No, but we are accustomed to it.
The Shaykh : So when people wear it, they say, "Look, this man is wearing a striped cap." This is like my story, a white cap, that is a turban, and so on. But you, among the people, are like a turkey.
The questioner : This is a joke from...The Shaykh
The questioner : No, no, I accept it, meaning.
The questioner : In the spirit of lightening the atmosphere. May Allah reward you with good, my Shaykh.
The questioner : Say it like that from the beginning.
The Shaykh : I want to repeat the question to you now so that you answer me.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Is it one of the pillars of Islam that you know that those who declared Shaykh al-Islam a disbeliever are right, or that those who said he is Shaykh al-Islam are right? Is this a condition of Islam?
The questioner : It is not a condition of Islam. No, it is not a condition of Islam.
The Shaykh: Yes
The questioner : But I have a word that interrupts him.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Look, your companion is better than you, because he has begun to feel that this is a scholarly method.
The questioner : The best of speech is what is little and effective. What do you want? Do you want to give a lecture... and so on. The important thing is that it is not a condition of Islam. We agree?
The questioner : Yes, we agree.
The Shaykh : A second question: Is it one of the obligations of Islam...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.