Continuing the discussion on an important issue, namely the etiquette of the student of knowledge in his life and dealings with those who disagree with him.

Mashhur: May Allah reward you with good. I have a difficulty with the beginning of your speech regarding the brother Abu Jabir. Did you say "a mujtahid innovator"?

The Shaykh : No, I do not say that he may have fallen into religious innovation. I do not say "a mujtahid innovator." I hope you will listen to the recording. If I said it that way, I will retract it. I say that a mujtahid may fall into religious innovation, so he should not be called an innovator. I hope you will listen to me, or else erase it. Rewind the tape...
The psychological state now prevents, whether the owner of this soul wants it or not, from reaching the truth. It stands between him and attaining knowledge of the truth. First, this is not sufficient, is it? Knowledge of the truth is not sufficient, because one must believe in it. Second, are you with me in this philosophy? Let us call it a philosophy for your sake. I want to see your mind, O Abu Jabir. I want to draw your attention to this, and it relates to creed: knowledge is one thing, and faith is another. Therefore, I say: do not look into what is in your hearts regarding this person or that person—what I mean is a settled feeling, hatred, or resentment, or the like. At the very least, there should be peace of mind regarding them. This psychological state does not help you in following the truth merely through knowledge, because attaining knowledge is not sufficient; it must be accompanied by faith. You know from the Noble Qur'an that the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He) described a group of disbelievers, namely the Jews, and said of them: They knew, without doubt or doubt, that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who was sent with the truth as a mercy to the worlds, was indeed he. It was not as they claimed in their best opinion that he was sent only to the Arabs, nor in their worst opinion that he claimed prophethood and was a liar. They knew him as they know their own sons, but despite that, they disbelieved in him. Therefore, Allah the Exalted said: This certainty is knowledge. If faith, which drives its owner to act upon it, is not accompanied by knowledge, what is the benefit of this knowledge? This is what I called a philosophy for your sake, but it is a legal reality. Therefore, if you hear from me an answer to an issue concerning him, and you see that my answer agrees with what he holds, something may make you hesitate or pause, even though you know that this speech is correct. But we do not want only knowledge; we also want the faith that kills [the doubt] with this knowledge. So I see that your questions, for this reason, have no relation to this person or that person. This is the first point. Second, the brother Abu Malik pointed out that, as they say, "we will put the patch on the torn garment" when you broadcast these tapes openly. You know that the public includes the righteous, the wicked, the Salafi, and the Khalafi—enemies of the da'wah, whether they carry the banner of this front or that front. This is because they know that these people return to the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih. Yet they differ among themselves. So expanding the circle of explanation for this difference is a weakness for the da'wah itself. If, for example, there were no recording, I have no objection. Without recording, so that you are on clear knowledge and awareness, and after knowledge comes faith, as I mentioned earlier, I have no objection. But with one condition: that you do not have things more important than this concerning yourselves. The scientific issues you need, for example, even the example I gave earlier, which is related to a very important rule that most scholars are unaware of, is the state of affairs. I and you have reached a very important point, which is: does what you quoted from Imam Ahmad mean that it is a Sunnah? I said no.