Is the entire Afghan people on a correct creed?
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The Shaykh : My brother, what are you saying about tawhid (the oneness of Allah)? May Allah reward you. Seven organizations? Four organizations that represent the Afghan people in tawhid? Why are you thinking about this? I have said it repeatedly, no, now why are you thinking about it?
The questioner : I gave you the answer the first time; it is as if I did not answer you on the tape...
The Shaykh : No, I answered you twice.
The questioner : Now I must understand the question.
The Shaykh : Please, let us repeat the question, as if the question had not occurred more than once. Do these four organizations, which you testify understand tawhid correctly, represent the Afghan people in creed?
The questioner : I can ask about this question: what do you mean by "represent"?
The Shaykh : Do you mean the Afghan people are with them in their understanding of this tawhid in the correct way?
The questioner : Among the four organizations, the Afghan people understand this matter, and those other than them do not understand it.
The Shaykh : Is this an answer?
The questioner : Shaykh, this answer I have is not political, nor...
The Shaykh : In any case, this is one of the benefits of exchanging opinions. Abu Mujahid, may Allah be pleased with you. Do not hold it against me; remind me of the famous saying, "And explain the water after the effort with water." The four organizations plus the Group of the Book and the Sunnah, are they not all people of tawhid?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, are all the Afghans with them in this tawhid?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Look, this answer has been repeated from you twice, and this is the third time, so why are you contradicting yourself?
The questioner : You did not say "all"; you said "represent" at the beginning.
The Shaykh : The people, O Shaykh! The Afghan people, after we have sifted out the communists for your sake, what remains? The Islamists remain. Okay, these Islamists, in another expression, I will divide them into two categories for you: scholars and laypeople, okay?
The questioner : Good.
The Shaykh : The scholars are the Group of Tawhid, whether they are the Group of the Quran and the Sunnah or the four organizations, okay?
The questioner : That is fine.
The Shaykh : All these are the Group of Pure Tawhid; these are the scholars. Is the rest of the people scholars?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Is the rest of the people monotheists?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : This is the answer, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Now look at the exaggeration.
The questioner : The thing I want to point out is that I fear this tape will go out and spread, the tape that will be recorded now, as happened previously. It may have spread, and my words may be taken as if I am now representing... in the Afghan jihad and in understanding the divisions. My understanding is according to what I have seen, so I fear the answers I am speaking for this reason.
The Shaykh : This is the partisanship that we fear. Does your affiliation to the jihad prevent you from saying the truth by which you profess your religion to Allah? You did not answer me. Tell me, does your affiliation to the jihad prevent you from saying the truth? Or do you believe that the completion of jihad is to say the truth, even if it is against yourself?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : So what are you afraid of? I mean, if it is published in this tape or another that Al-Albani criticizes Sayyaf and says there is exaggeration in his words, either my words are true or they are false, correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : So what harms you if the whole world hears Al-Albani's criticism of Shaykh Sayyaf on some points? Does it harm you?
The questioner : No, of course not.The Shaykh : A scholar.
The Shaykh : Be patient. I did not think you were a scholar; that is one thing. And to be with you and not against you, I did not think you represented Sayyaf, Hekmatyar, or anyone else. So what are you afraid of?
The questioner : I fear those who hear my words incorrectly; it may be so.
The Shaykh : Those who hear it, you fear they will misunderstand you or misunderstand me?
The questioner : No, that they misunderstand me, one thing. Or perhaps I have not reached the stage where I correctly accuse the branches of the jihad, and they may take my words...
The Shaykh : You are very mistaken. You are not speaking about the obscure politics that only specialists can understand. I am asking you about the Afghan people, and we said they are two categories. We are speaking now in terms of self-evident truths that do not accept discussion or debate. The Afghan people, like every people in the world, are scholars and laypeople, correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : Scholars who are monotheists, laypeople who are monotheists in word only, "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), but they do not understand the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah." So you, as a Muslim, no more, may be like us; unfortunately, you did not go to the land of jihad in Afghanistan. You may be of that, but we are asking you about your knowledge of this mixture in these years. Do you believe that the entire Afghan people, in their creed and their understanding of tawhid, are like the four organizations, which you testified to their tawhid and we praised Allah for that?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Okay, this which we heard from you repeatedly, do you fear that this will be published about you?
The questioner : Absolutely not.
The Shaykh : So what are you afraid of? Of illusion.
Al-Halabi : O our Shaykh, I have a small comment on the words of my brother Abu Mujahid. I fear it will be said that you were too gentleThe Shaykh : in discussing these people.
The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : I say, I fear it will be said thatThe Shaykh : you were gentle in this speech, meaningThe Shaykh : your speech is very gentle in this, and this is what we fear from your speech.The Shaykh : As for your speech regarding what you see, there is no harm, O Shaykh. You are deriving knowledge from this or something like that. You are speaking only about your observations or what you have heard, so you do not need to fear your speech.
The Shaykh : Clarify your opinion. Basat Ahmad, take your freedom.
The questioner : Leave the opinion with me; this is something that concerns me internally.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible[Ali 'Imran 3:71] In any case, it is not upon us except to remind [Al-Ghashiyah 88:22] We are reminding you: if you truly know, it is not permissible for you to conceal it. And if you do not know, you say "I do not know." We are not asking you a fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) issue; we are asking you about your observations. And you mentioned to us the story of the amulet and the story of that commander and what he did, and good was what he did. We believe that the one who cut the amulet and trampled it was mistaken, but his cutting it was correct. Yes, but throwing it on the ground while he did not know what was in it, that is a mistake on his part. Therefore, I liked the action of that commander. The truth is more worthy to be said and more worthy to be followed. As for you, O Abu Mujahid, why this reservation? Why did you hold back? The matter is not that I am asking you about the fiqh of a verse or hadith, as I sometimes ask, and sometimes I have not studied it, so I say "I do not know," but I do not say "I want to conceal in my heart what I know," because in this case it will be a problem of two, the bitterest of which is bitter: either I fall into the warning of His saying, the Exalted, [Al-Baqarah 2:159] or the other is that you asked me a question and I concealed the answer while I know it. You are not worthy to hear this answer. Perhaps you understood me well.
The questioner : I understood you, yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, so I am speaking about myself, and I love for my brother what I love for myself, so I do not want you to be me. You are me in the hypothetical, clear? Okay, so now it is your affair.
The questioner : My intention in this matter is that my answer now is not its time, meaning after...
The Shaykh : The answer to what?
The questioner : It is not an answer to the comment on the speech that was spoken aboutThe Shaykh : me. Now is not its time, because it will open the door, and I do not want this door to be opened now.
The Shaykh : Please, if what is not with you comes, come with it.
The questioner : I gave you the answer the first time; it is as if I did not answer you on the tape...
The Shaykh : No, I answered you twice.
The questioner : Now I must understand the question.
The Shaykh : Please, let us repeat the question, as if the question had not occurred more than once. Do these four organizations, which you testify understand tawhid correctly, represent the Afghan people in creed?
The questioner : I can ask about this question: what do you mean by "represent"?
The Shaykh : Do you mean the Afghan people are with them in their understanding of this tawhid in the correct way?
The questioner : Among the four organizations, the Afghan people understand this matter, and those other than them do not understand it.
The Shaykh : Is this an answer?
The questioner : Shaykh, this answer I have is not political, nor...
The Shaykh : In any case, this is one of the benefits of exchanging opinions. Abu Mujahid, may Allah be pleased with you. Do not hold it against me; remind me of the famous saying, "And explain the water after the effort with water." The four organizations plus the Group of the Book and the Sunnah, are they not all people of tawhid?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, are all the Afghans with them in this tawhid?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Look, this answer has been repeated from you twice, and this is the third time, so why are you contradicting yourself?
The questioner : You did not say "all"; you said "represent" at the beginning.
The Shaykh : The people, O Shaykh! The Afghan people, after we have sifted out the communists for your sake, what remains? The Islamists remain. Okay, these Islamists, in another expression, I will divide them into two categories for you: scholars and laypeople, okay?
The questioner : Good.
The Shaykh : The scholars are the Group of Tawhid, whether they are the Group of the Quran and the Sunnah or the four organizations, okay?
The questioner : That is fine.
The Shaykh : All these are the Group of Pure Tawhid; these are the scholars. Is the rest of the people scholars?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Is the rest of the people monotheists?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : This is the answer, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Now look at the exaggeration.
The questioner : The thing I want to point out is that I fear this tape will go out and spread, the tape that will be recorded now, as happened previously. It may have spread, and my words may be taken as if I am now representing... in the Afghan jihad and in understanding the divisions. My understanding is according to what I have seen, so I fear the answers I am speaking for this reason.
The Shaykh : This is the partisanship that we fear. Does your affiliation to the jihad prevent you from saying the truth by which you profess your religion to Allah? You did not answer me. Tell me, does your affiliation to the jihad prevent you from saying the truth? Or do you believe that the completion of jihad is to say the truth, even if it is against yourself?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : So what are you afraid of? I mean, if it is published in this tape or another that Al-Albani criticizes Sayyaf and says there is exaggeration in his words, either my words are true or they are false, correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : So what harms you if the whole world hears Al-Albani's criticism of Shaykh Sayyaf on some points? Does it harm you?
The questioner : No, of course not.The Shaykh : A scholar.
The Shaykh : Be patient. I did not think you were a scholar; that is one thing. And to be with you and not against you, I did not think you represented Sayyaf, Hekmatyar, or anyone else. So what are you afraid of?
The questioner : I fear those who hear my words incorrectly; it may be so.
The Shaykh : Those who hear it, you fear they will misunderstand you or misunderstand me?
The questioner : No, that they misunderstand me, one thing. Or perhaps I have not reached the stage where I correctly accuse the branches of the jihad, and they may take my words...
The Shaykh : You are very mistaken. You are not speaking about the obscure politics that only specialists can understand. I am asking you about the Afghan people, and we said they are two categories. We are speaking now in terms of self-evident truths that do not accept discussion or debate. The Afghan people, like every people in the world, are scholars and laypeople, correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : Scholars who are monotheists, laypeople who are monotheists in word only, "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), but they do not understand the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah." So you, as a Muslim, no more, may be like us; unfortunately, you did not go to the land of jihad in Afghanistan. You may be of that, but we are asking you about your knowledge of this mixture in these years. Do you believe that the entire Afghan people, in their creed and their understanding of tawhid, are like the four organizations, which you testified to their tawhid and we praised Allah for that?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Okay, this which we heard from you repeatedly, do you fear that this will be published about you?
The questioner : Absolutely not.
The Shaykh : So what are you afraid of? Of illusion.
Al-Halabi : O our Shaykh, I have a small comment on the words of my brother Abu Mujahid. I fear it will be said that you were too gentleThe Shaykh : in discussing these people.
The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : I say, I fear it will be said thatThe Shaykh : you were gentle in this speech, meaningThe Shaykh : your speech is very gentle in this, and this is what we fear from your speech.The Shaykh : As for your speech regarding what you see, there is no harm, O Shaykh. You are deriving knowledge from this or something like that. You are speaking only about your observations or what you have heard, so you do not need to fear your speech.
The Shaykh : Clarify your opinion. Basat Ahmad, take your freedom.
The questioner : Leave the opinion with me; this is something that concerns me internally.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible
and conceal the truth while you know [it]?
وتكتمون الحق وأنتم تعلمونYou are not over them a controller.
لست عليهم بمصيطرIndeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance
إن الذين يكتمون ما أنزلنا من البينات والهدىThe questioner : I understood you, yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, so I am speaking about myself, and I love for my brother what I love for myself, so I do not want you to be me. You are me in the hypothetical, clear? Okay, so now it is your affair.
The questioner : My intention in this matter is that my answer now is not its time, meaning after...
The Shaykh : The answer to what?
The questioner : It is not an answer to the comment on the speech that was spoken aboutThe Shaykh : me. Now is not its time, because it will open the door, and I do not want this door to be opened now.
The Shaykh : Please, if what is not with you comes, come with it.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.