What is the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And of the people is he who pleases you with his speech in the worldly life and he bears witness to Allah as to what is in his heart, but he is the most stubborn of opponents"?
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The questioner : A questioner says, O honorable Shaykh, Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:204]
The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah.
The questioner : O honorable Shaykh, what is the interpretation of this verse? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Its interpretation is that some people, when they speak, their speech pleases you and they bear witness to Allah as to what is in their hearts, but, may Allah protect us, they are the most stubborn of opponents; they have no concern except for argumentation. And whoever is given argumentation goes astray, may Allah protect us. Therefore, for example, if you say, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said such and such," he says, "The intended meaning is such and such," and he distorts the words from their proper places. If you say, "Allah said such and such," he says, "This does not bear that meaning; it bears many meanings." Then, when he speaks, his speech pleases you, but he speaks with falsehood to refute the truth, may Allah protect us. This is found frequently; you will find, for example, some students of knowledge who, when they see an opinion and you bring to him evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, say, "This is ambiguous." And if ambiguity is found, the argumentation is invalidated, or "The intended meaning of this is such and such," and he argues. Therefore, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, I think:. So, O my brother, you must submit to the texts of the Book and the Sunnah and take them by their apparent meaning, for Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
And of the people is he whose speech pleases you in worldly life, and he calls Allah to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the fiercest of opponents.
ومن الناس من يعجبك قوله في الحياة الدنيا ويشهد الله على ما في قلبه وهو ألد الخصامThe Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah.
The questioner : O honorable Shaykh, what is the interpretation of this verse? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Its interpretation is that some people, when they speak, their speech pleases you and they bear witness to Allah as to what is in their hearts, but, may Allah protect us, they are the most stubborn of opponents; they have no concern except for argumentation. And whoever is given argumentation goes astray, may Allah protect us. Therefore, for example, if you say, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said such and such," he says, "The intended meaning is such and such," and he distorts the words from their proper places. If you say, "Allah said such and such," he says, "This does not bear that meaning; it bears many meanings." Then, when he speaks, his speech pleases you, but he speaks with falsehood to refute the truth, may Allah protect us. This is found frequently; you will find, for example, some students of knowledge who, when they see an opinion and you bring to him evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, say, "This is ambiguous." And if ambiguity is found, the argumentation is invalidated, or "The intended meaning of this is such and such," and he argues. Therefore, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, I think:
No people were given argumentation except that they went astray
ما أوتي قوم الجدل إلا ضلواThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.