Discussion on returning to the original sources in authorship.

The questioner : It has happened to you sometimes that you return to Ibn al-Qayyim without returning to the original source?

The Shaykh : You mean by the original source here, for example.

The questioner : Just now, you looked at the chain of narration in Ibn al-Qayyim but did not return to the original source.

The Shaykh : The original source was missing, may Allah reward you.

The questioner : Well, are there other matters like this, or is this the only one?

The Shaykh : Can this be avoided? It cannot be avoided. That is why I say that the greatest scholar in the world, in every time and place, must benefit from those who came before him. The great Companions used to benefit from the lesser ones, so what can we say about the lesser ones? They benefit even more from the great ones. We are the lesser ones, and those who preceded us are the great ones. Therefore, the lesser ones must benefit from the great ones in whatever they need.

The questioner : Because in *Tammam al-Mannah*, O Shaykh, I saw you criticizing Sayyid Sabiq for not returning to the original sources.

The Shaykh : Yes, certainly. Glory be to Allah, it seems his words are repeated.

The questioner : I am not being held accountable for this. As a student of knowledge now, I look at a hadith in al-Tirmidhi that is weak, and I find in the fatwas of Ibn Taymiyyah that he cited the chain of narration from al-Bayhaqi, and it was not printed for me to strengthen it with.

The Shaykh : If it is for me, why is it not for you?