He spoke about the book (Liberation of Women), the endorsement of it by al-Qaradawi and al-Ghazali, and the discussion that took place with the author of the book.

The Shaykh : Perhaps some of our brothers present here remember a discussion that took place between me and the author of Liberation of... what? The Muslim Woman? Ah, Liberation of Women. Yes, have you seen the book?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Fine, this man was among those who fled from the tyranny of Abd al-Nasser, from the Muslim Brotherhood, and settled in Damascus.
Mashhur: ...Our Shaykh...

The Shaykh : No, he sent me a book and called me on the phone saying he wanted to meet me and visit me to get my opinion on the book. So the man came, and I was short on time, but I took care of the man and his book. As for my concern for the man, it was because he was an old friend and had been greatly influenced by the Salafi call. Over the years, I had forgotten the man and his name. When I looked at the first part of the book, I did not recognize that it was him. But when he sent it to me by mail and called me on the phone, I recognized him then. This is the first point. Second, I found his book very dangerous, especially since it was introduced by two people who now hold positions in the Islamic world, one of them being al-Ghazali and the other al-Qaradawi, and they praised the man highly and exaggerated about him. When I read the book, I found it far removed from this endorsement and praise of the book. In any case, he came, and some of our brothers present here attended some of the discussions that were taking place between me and him. Many discussions, I mean. Writing, as you know, is a big thing. The point of all this talk is, in short, I said to him: If someone asked you, "What is your madhhab (school of jurisprudence)?" He said, "Muslim." I said, "Is that sufficient?" He said, "It is sufficient." I said to him, "Well, do you not believe that our reality today is that Muslims are divided into various madhahib? Some of them you might declare to be disbelievers, and some you might declare to be misguided, and this misguidance has categories... and so on. Is there any doubt about this?" He said, "No." I said to him, "Then it is not sufficient to say, 'I am a Muslim,' because he might be a Druze Muslim, he might be an Alawi Muslim, he might be a Rafidi Muslim, he might be a Zaydi Muslim, and so on. So it is not sufficient; you have not identified yourself by...The questioner : ...He said, "I say I am a Muslim according to the Book and the Sunnah." I said, "Fine, is that sufficient?" He said, "The Book and the Sunnah are sufficient." I said to him, "The Islamic sects that believe in their Islam, not like the Druze, the Alawites, and the Nusayris, no, these believe in their Islam. I do not think you, for example, declare the Shi'ah to be disbelievers?" He said, "It is so." I said, "Fine, the Shi'ah and others from the other Islamic madhahib, do you know of anyone among them who says, 'Our madhhab is not according to the Book and the Sunnah'?" He said, "No." I said, "Then you have equated yourself with those you yourself declare to be misguided. Think about this for a long time." I said, "What do you think if we add a third stage to the second stage, regarding the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the pious predecessors (Salaf)? Is there any objection on your part?" He said, "No." I said to him, "If we wanted to summarize all these words and say 'Salafi,' is there any objection?" He had no choice but to submit completely.
Abu Layla : ...

The Shaykh : Did he laugh?

Another questioner : Yes, exactly.

The Shaykh : Ah, were you present?

Another questioner: Yes.

The questioner : Yes, on the occasion of mentioning his book, our Shaykh, I mean, the most dangerous thing he called for. The book is widespread, especially among intellectuals with modern Western culture that involves modernism.

The Shaykh : He expanded on granting freedom to women to work to the extent of being like men.

The questioner : Free mixing.

The Shaykh : That is it.

The questioner : Seclusion? Does he permit seclusion in his book?

The Shaykh : No, he does not say seclusion, he does not say seclusion, but he...

The questioner : In the presence of a group of men, with the presence of a woman, he does not consider it seclusion.

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : In the presence of a group of men, with the presence of a woman, he does not consider it seclusion.

The Shaykh : He does not advocate seclusion in its absolute sense, but with this condition, I am not recalling it now.

The questioner : I will ask a question with two parts, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.