Is it true that the Salafis have harshness in their da'wah?
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The questioner : All right, our Shaykh, in the discussions with Brother Kamil just now, the Salafis were described as having harshness and a lack of gentleness.
The Shaykh : We have already responded to that.
The questioner : And I said, my question now is...
The Shaykh : Please.
The questioner : I mean, I do not know if you see this characteristic as the trait of the vast majority of the sons of this victorious sect, if Allah wills, who are the strangers, or is it a feature of the da'wah of certain individuals? And what is your advice regarding this matter?
The Shaykh : By Allah, my brother, I believe that this accusation has some basis, but it is exaggerated. We cannot exonerate ourselves from such a flaw, but I also firmly believe that the opponents of the da'wah exaggerate in their assessment of it. There are reasons for this, some stemming from the nature of the group and some from the nature of its opponents. As for the nature of the group, if there is a group among the Muslims in general who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, it is this sect. Therefore, when they insist on certain matters through enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, this appears to others who are lax in performing this duty as harshness, extremism, and so on. Consequently, this global, disbelieving, and oppressive media labels these extremists as fundamentalists, because they have become distinguished from others by their utmost care to return their religion and their Islam to a state where it is a ruling that operates on the face of the earth. This is what pertains to the reality of these strangers, or the people of creed, or the victorious sect. There is another matter that may be a flaw in them or in some of them, and no sect or group is free from it: that they may sometimes exhibit some harshness that should not have been exhibited. However, this is exaggerated and generalized to everyone who claims affiliation with this correct methodology. Thus, the issue moves from reality to imagination. For these two reasons—one pertaining to the reality of those who perform a duty that others do not perform except rarely and exceptionally, and the other pertaining to their opponents who do not accept this methodology in which they proceed, especially when they address matters that others call secondary, or, if the expression is softened, otherwise they call them superficialities, or he called them a cause of division, and so on, expressions full of injustice—this is what I see as the answer to your question.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : We have already responded to that.
The questioner : And I said, my question now is...
The Shaykh : Please.
The questioner : I mean, I do not know if you see this characteristic as the trait of the vast majority of the sons of this victorious sect, if Allah wills, who are the strangers, or is it a feature of the da'wah of certain individuals? And what is your advice regarding this matter?
The Shaykh : By Allah, my brother, I believe that this accusation has some basis, but it is exaggerated. We cannot exonerate ourselves from such a flaw, but I also firmly believe that the opponents of the da'wah exaggerate in their assessment of it. There are reasons for this, some stemming from the nature of the group and some from the nature of its opponents. As for the nature of the group, if there is a group among the Muslims in general who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, it is this sect. Therefore, when they insist on certain matters through enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, this appears to others who are lax in performing this duty as harshness, extremism, and so on. Consequently, this global, disbelieving, and oppressive media labels these extremists as fundamentalists, because they have become distinguished from others by their utmost care to return their religion and their Islam to a state where it is a ruling that operates on the face of the earth. This is what pertains to the reality of these strangers, or the people of creed, or the victorious sect. There is another matter that may be a flaw in them or in some of them, and no sect or group is free from it: that they may sometimes exhibit some harshness that should not have been exhibited. However, this is exaggerated and generalized to everyone who claims affiliation with this correct methodology. Thus, the issue moves from reality to imagination. For these two reasons—one pertaining to the reality of those who perform a duty that others do not perform except rarely and exceptionally, and the other pertaining to their opponents who do not accept this methodology in which they proceed, especially when they address matters that others call secondary, or, if the expression is softened, otherwise they call them superficialities, or he called them a cause of division, and so on, expressions full of injustice—this is what I see as the answer to your question.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.