Is it permissible to categorize people, saying this one is from such a group and that one is from such a group?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. A questioner asks: Is it permissible to categorize people by saying this one is from such a group and that one is from such a group?

The Shaykh : It is permissible to categorize people by saying this one is a believer and that one is a disbeliever. The Jew is a Jewish disbeliever, the Christian is a Christian disbeliever, and the Communist is a disbeliever atheist. As for the Muslims, they are one nation, as Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: It is never permissible for Muslims to divide, so that this one is a Tablighi, this one is a Salafi, this one is a Muslim Brotherhood, and what else? Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, what?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : A jihadist, this one is a jihadist, and this one is an Islamic group. This falls under the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: May Allah protect the Messenger from them; I am not of them in any way. They are all and it constitutes a violation of the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: So my advice to these people is to fear Allah Mighty and Majestic in themselves and in their nation, and to be one nation with one heart. I believe that if you asked any one of them, "Are you on the right path? Do you seek the truth?" the answer would be affirmative or negative. The answer is affirmative: he says, "Yes, I believe I am on the right path and I seek the truth." We say, "Okay, is the truth what you desire, or what came in the Book and the Sunnah?" Yes, what came in the Book and the Sunnah. If he says, "What I desire," then that is the end; greet him, for there is no good in him. If he says, "What came in the Book and the Sunnah," we say, "Please, the Qur'an is full of commands to unite and remove disagreement, and it clarifies that it is obligatory for us to be one nation. Also, you say that you want the truth. Okay, please, come with the other person whom you have labeled as an innovator and a misguiding one. Come to the table of research and discussion. Research and discussion with good intentions must lead people to a result, a good result. If there is a dispute between two spouses and they appoint two arbitrators, if they want reconciliation, what happens? Allah reconciles between them. Likewise, a dispute in religion is more severe and more severe. As long as we all want the truth, it is obligatory for us to sit at the table of discussion. Of course, they might say, "I do not agree to be discussed with because he is my opponent." We say, "Dispute to whom you trust from the people of knowledge, because there must be people who are not of these or those. They say, 'We are a Muslim nation, one nation, and it is not permissible for us to divide, and it is not permissible for us to be hostile to one another.' And this is the obligatory duty. And I say that division by tongue today may become division by teeth tomorrow, may Allah keep us safe, because this disagreement may develop and expand until it becomes fighting, as has been found in the past and in the present. So the obligatory thing is to discard this matter and to renew ourselves, and not to waste our energies on one another. How good it was that we were pleased a few years ago with the direction of the youth toward one point, but unfortunately there was division. Now there is division arising from some of the elders. It may be that the young ones, meaning there is nothing in their hearts, but some of the elders sour the breasts, may Allah protect us, and then the people become chaotic. So my advice, and I hope that Allah the Exalted and Supreme will make it beneficial, is that we remove this completely. We say, "We are all a Muslim nation" And what is the benefit of you coming to sow evil, calamity, and treachery against your brother? And the enemies, I believe, are very pleased with this. They are pleased and say, "Praise be to Allah, with their arrows, what? Between them. We are satisfied to remain spectators. Three minutes have passed."

The questioner : Three minutes remaining.

The Shaykh : There is still good remaining, if Allah wills. There is no objection if you make the minute five minutes and say a quarter. Please, no, this is from the conditions upon you: good choice.