Is there any advice for the Salafis to adhere to gentleness in da'wah?

The questioner : Many Salafis use harshness and do not use gentleness. They use harshness where it is not appropriate and do not use gentleness where it is appropriate, and they are not few. We say that all sects do this, but they are not few. And I am not comparing the Salafis to other sects in my question. I am not comparing the Salafis to other sects. What concerns me is the matter of the Salafis. Many Salafis, and they are not few, deter people from the Salafi methodology by the style of their da'wah to people, and they are not few. This is what I intended by the question that my brother Muhammad is recording: to give advice to those who have been afflicted with harshness and narrowness of chest. This is the purpose of the question.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. Giving advice does not require someone like me to direct it. The Salafis and non-Salafis know the verse we mentioned earlier, , and they read more than others the hadith of the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) when that Jew came greeting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with a twisted tongue, saying "As-sam 'alaykum" (Death be upon you). The Lady Aisha heard this twisted greeting and trembled behind the veil until she nearly split in two from anger. So her response was: "And upon you be death, curse, and anger, brothers of the apes and swine." As for the Messenger, he did not go beyond saying to him: . And when the Jew left the Messenger (peace be upon him), he (peace be upon him) rebuked her and said to her: . So the Lady Aisha, who was raised from the softness of her nails in the house of Prophethood and Messengership, could not do anything but use harshness in place of gentleness. So what do we say about the other Salafis, as you say, who were not raised in the house of Prophethood and Messengership? Rather, I say now a word that perhaps reached your ears one day from some of the recorded tapes from my tongue, or perhaps not: the affliction of the Muslim world today, in contrast to what is called the Islamic awakening, is that this awakening has not been accompanied by Islamic education. There is no Islamic education today. And so I believe that the effect of this scholarly awakening will take a long time before its educational effects appear in the generation now growing up within the limits of the Islamic awakening. It is merely the actions of individuals, but these individuals live under the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Some are close and some are far. And so, from the perspective of thought and scholarship, you will not find anyone who disputes you or contradicts you in that the original principle in da'wah is to be with gentleness and good admonition. But the important thing is application, and this application requires a guide, an educator who educates under him dozens of students of knowledge, and these students emerge from the hands of this educator as educators for others, and so Islamic education spreads gradually by the education of these guides for the students around them. And without doubt, the matter is as Allah the Exalted said: . And we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to make us of the middle nation, with no excess and no deficiency.

The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.

Another questioner : Shaykh, sometimes when a Sunni meets someone from the people of innovation who is arrogant and haughty, meaning as Allah the Exalted commanded Musa with gentleness toward Pharaoh, and yet He said to him: , meaningThe Shaykh : Our brother Ahmad Murshef in the college, by Allah, the professors used to mock us when we would say "The Messenger said..." They would mock the actions, how the Salafis pray, and by Allah, the things are funny. So if a person loses his temper and uses harshness with them, it is not called harshness here. And I like an example I heard here, O our Shaykh: "The wall said to the nail, 'When you split me, ask who hammers me.'"

The Shaykh : Authentic
Abu Layla : And likewise, O our Shaykh, we discussed some individuals from the Tahrir Party, as is not hidden from you. Their goal is the issue of the caliphate, and we, praise be to Allah, our goal is first of all creed and tawhid (the oneness of Allah). And when we started with them, O our Shaykh, basically in scholarly research as we learned from you, we started with the issue of the names and attributes. One of their senior members says, "We spend the whole night with his finger and his leg," meaning he mocked the attributes of Allah the Exalted. What do we say to this? What do we say to this?

The Shaykh : In any case, we ask Allah to grant us wisdom, which is to put every thing in its proper place.

The questioner : There is no doubt.

Another questioner : You mentioned in the rulings on funerals the statement of Ibn Mas'ud when the man said: "Seek forgiveness for your brother," and he said: "May Allah not forgive you."

The Shaykh : These are many examples. My brother Abu Abdullah mentions a report that a man from the Companions, perhaps Abdullah ibn Mas'ud or Abdullah ibn Umar.

Another questioner : Umar.

The Shaykh : Ibn Umar?

Another questioner : Umar himself.

The Shaykh : Umar himself?

Another questioner : Yes. When a man said: "Seek forgiveness for your brother," he said: "May Allah not forgive him."

The Shaykh : What do you think of this? No doubt, you are the first person if you saw me saying this word, you would sayThe Shaykh : I am harsh. But here, in the same forbidden act, there is zeal for the Shari'ah that drives him to be harsh in expression. The one who is just watching is not in the position of this zeal that stirred in the heart of this person, so this word comes out of him. And here they say in Syria, "What is this harshness, O Messenger of Allah?" This is a Syrian dialect error, but they address the Messenger as if this harshness came from whom? From the Messenger. And they mean this person. So, glory be to Allah, the matter should be considered from all aspects so that a person's judgment is just. And also, what appears to me now as a reason for spreading this accusation, if it is an accusation, against the Salafis: you know, the more a person speaks, the more his errors increase. Those who speak in legal matters are the Salafis, and so they must err because of how much they speak, and their errors become apparent. And from this error, the harshness is seen by others who do not wander or delve into these issues. But if you look at this harshness in the context of all the advice they issue regarding justice, fairness, and gentleness, you will find, like some of the examples we mentioned from some of the Salaf and before the Messenger (peace be upon him), there is harshness. But this harshness does not justify us in attributing to these Companions who fell into this harshness in a specific detail that they were harsh people. Rather, as I and you and others may fall into some harshness.

Another questioner : The criterion is the prominent characteristic.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : The criterion is the prominent characteristic. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the prominent characteristic was gentleness and kindness, even if he said "So-and-so lied" or "I made myself equal to Allah" or similar.