Important methodological questions from a visitor from Jordan and reading a memorandum from the brother Nizam Sukajha, the son-in-law of Shaykh Al-Albani, to the Shaykh for the purpose of participating in advice

The student: Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them. O honorable father.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen (may Allah preserve him and grant him piety): Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. We ask your permission, so we praise Allah the Exalted to you for His blessings and we call upon Him the Exalted for continued well-being.

The Shaykh : Ameen
The student: And strength of resolve, and may He the Mighty and Majestic increase you in His favor and guidance, and bless your life.

The Shaykh : And whoever heard
The student: And may He benefit the lands and the people with your efforts and your struggle, O our noble Shaykh. We praise Allah the Exalted for having helped us, by His success and His care, to make the journey to you from the sisterly country of Jordan, and to reach your gathering and your home in this blessed town, carrying to you what we carried to a select group of our distinguished Shaykhs in this blessed kingdom, passing through the Prophet’s city (may the best of prayers and peace be upon its inhabitant), then Jeddah and Riyadh, as a trust. We praise Allah the Exalted for having guided us, by His grace, to deliver it to them. Then praise be to Him the Exalted for having helped us to arrive at your home, and at the time of the convening of your customary weekly scholarly gathering on Thursday. And it was decreed by Allah the Exalted that the time of my arrival to you to deliver this trust, which I hold in my hands now, coincided with the time of the convening of this gathering with your students, your sons. I hope, and I insist on the hope, that your brothers and your sons in Jordan will join me in that. O our honorable father, and O his sons present, may Allah increase you in your eagerness for good, and provide us all with righteousness and piety.

The Shaykh : Ameen
The student: I hope to ask your permission, and this is the hope of your brothers in Jordan who entrusted me with this trust, to read it to your ears. It consists of two questions I pose to the honorable father. O honorable father, Allah the Exalted has guided the son-in-law of our honorable father, Shaykh Al-Albani, Professor Nizam Salama Sukajha, who is the owner of the Islamic library, to direct this invitation and this memorandum to five or fifty-five scholars from among the scholars of the Muslims in Jordan and outside Jordan. He specifically designated this kingdom with a select group of our Shaykhs to include them in this memorandum as well. And you, praise be to Allah, after we met a select group in the city, in Jeddah, and in Riyadh, at the head of whom was our honorable father, Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, who welcomed it and offered some of their guidance. With the help of Allah, the book will be printed under the title "Advice and Guidance from the Scholars of the Muslims to the Islamic Groups and Parties in the World." It is a book we hope Allah the Exalted will crown with a word, advice, and guidance from you. And our scholars in Riyadh have answered these questions.
And this is the first question: Allah the Exalted said: And He the Mighty and Majestic said: And He the Exalted said: And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O honorable father, in light of this noble divine guidance and that noble Prophetic direction, and by virtue of your experience and your long journey in the field of da'wah and Islamic work, may we be granted your guidance and suggestions, as your brothers, the scholars of the kingdom, have graciously done, to the leaders and members of the Islamic groups and parties working in the great Islamic homeland? This is in order to, even if it is just a first step, begin on the path and journey toward mending the rift, uniting the word, and unifying efforts among them, hoping for serious, organized work toward the single expected goal: the pleasure of Allah the Exalted, the support of His religion, and the exaltation of His word, and to stand as one row against those who lie in wait for this ummah, the ummah of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), so that there is no fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and the religion is entirely for Allah?
And as for the second question, it is from Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Majah with a sound chain. It is not hidden from your honor what status and rank knowledge and the people of knowledge have with Allah the Exalted, and then with people. And He the Exalted has clarified that knowledge is like the key to faith in Him the Exalted, and the straight path to knowing Him, uniting Him, and worshipping Him, as He the Exalted said: In light of the above, we request from your honor, in this second question, and since Allah has bestowed upon you the blessing of knowledge and insight, and we do not praise anyone over Allah, we request from you a clarification that explains to us the features and signs by which this type of scholars is distinguished, meaning the practicing scholars whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to and described with this noble description, that they are the heirs of the prophets, and who are suitable to be the good example in the lives of people.
And there is a third question, if you permit, and if the brothers permit. The three questions we posed to the Shaykhs and they answered, and you choose which question, and we hope you have the time to answer.

The Shaykh : Time for the brothers, if they permit this, there is no objection.
The student: I asked the brothers for permission.

The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: We benefit from this.
Another student: I asked the brothers and you for permission, because in truth I hope that Allah the Exalted will include in the answer to these questions what we are currently in, and I am the first of you. And we need this guidance, and this is, if Allah wills, in your scales.

The Shaykh : The important thing, in any case, if the brothers permit, there is no problem. Do you permit?
The student: Yes, O Shaykh.
Another student: May Allah bless you, and may Allah bless our father.
And the last question, the third one, O honorable father, is from Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in a narration: And as came from the Mother of the Believers, Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), her saying: "Place people in their proper stations." And without a doubt, the scholars, as we mentioned in the previous question, are the most deserving of people of appreciation, reverence, and respect, due to the honor of the knowledge they carry for creation. From this perspective, we request from your honor to offer your advice and guidance to your sons, the emerging youth from the students of knowledge, and especially to those among them who are enthusiastic for the religion and da'wah, given their zeal and eagerness for knowledge and jurisprudence. How does your honor see the straight path and the effective treatment that can be prescribed for this type of enthusiastic youth, so that their positions with the scholars of the ummah and the people of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) and opinion therein remain positions of reverence and respect, not positions of criticism and accusation? And we also request from you to clarify the obligation of the other party, meaning our fathers, the scholars and the great men of da'wah, toward their sons from this youth, so that the balance mentioned in the aforementioned noble hadith is achieved, between the mercy of the elder to the younger and the reverence of the younger to the elder. The text of the questions ends here, and we request your guidance. And this is an authorization from the brothers?

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. These are important questions that concern everyone in reality, and they need, I mean, a journey among the journeys, because they address a problem that is currently occurring.
As for the first question: it concerns the scattered, partisan groups that have surfaced on the water in this recent period, whereas the youth, years ago, had a sound direction; none of them believed that the other was opposed to him or that he was on one side while the other was on another. But recently, Satan has sown discord among our youth through partisanship and zeal for a specific sect or a specific person, until loyalty and disavowal became contingent upon whether this person loves someone or not. There is no doubt that this is a great stain and a fatal disease that melts the Ummah, tears its unity, and scatters its youth. My advice to my young sons and brothers is to abandon this partisanship and the classification of people, and not to focus on a specific person. Let loyalty and disavowal be contingent upon allegiance to the truth or disavowal of falsehood, and let them take hold of the truth wherever it is and abandon falsehood wherever it is. If a scholar errs, his error is upon himself; if he hits the mark, his success is for himself and for others. It is absolutely not permissible for us to believe that anyone is infallible from error in the religion of Allah except the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). What is the matter with us that we test people now, saying, "What do you say about such-and-such? What do you say about so-and-so? What do you say about such-and-such a sect?" Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) test people in this way? Or did the Companions test people in this way? This is the affair of the misguided people who want to divide people so that they do not become a firm mountain in the face of the challenges we hear every day and see in the newspapers and magazines from those who fight this religion and its people. If the youth who claim to care for Islam and be zealous for Islam become divided, who will argue for Islam? Who will refute these falsifiers?
I say, O youth, do you not know that this division is the delight of the eyes of the atheists, the secularists, and others, because they say, "We are sufficient without them." If any of these atheists, or even a nation of these atheists, wanted to divide the youth of Islam in this way and tear them apart, they would not be able to find a way to do so if the intention were pure and the work were sound. But now, the youth are in a situation that is a cause for regret. Therefore, I call upon them to fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic and to refrain from this partisanship and to be one Ummah. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: And let a person not be concerned with partisanship for so-and-so or so-and-so, or for such-and-such a sect or such-and-such a sect, but rather let him look at the path and carve his way to Allah. These partisanship groups and these arguments undoubtedly turn a person away from the religion of Allah. If you investigated the hearts of those who exaggerate regarding some persons and believe in their infallibility, and when an error occurs from them, they say, "Perhaps they have returned from this error," for the errors that occur from some people, if they admit of figurative interpretation, they interpret them in the correct sense, and if they do not admit of it, they say, "He has returned from it." This is a mistake. It is not our concern with this man who erred; his error is upon himself, and Allah is the One who will hold him accountable. It is for a person to look at his path to Allah the Mighty and Majestic: how he worships Allah and how he reaches His abode of honor. He has no concern with the people. This is with regard to the first question.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : I see that the goal must be unified and the work must be unified, and that our concern should not be fanaticism for a party, a sect, or a person. Let our concern be reaching the Shari'ah of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and let us unite upon it and agree upon it. This is one point.
As for the scholars, which is the second question, the scholars undoubtedly have a great role in spreading knowledge, in calling to Allah, and in working based on the Shari'ah of Allah, because the scholars are truly the leaders of the nations. The nations that follow the scholars are the satisfied and tranquil nations. As for the nations that submit only to authority, they undoubtedly will commit violations in secret, because authority, no matter how extensive its intelligence and police are, will not be able to seize the minds. But religious leadership is what seizes the minds, and when it seizes the minds, the limbs become righteous.
So the scholars have a great role, first, in seeking knowledge from its true sources, which are the Book, the Sunnah, and the practice of the Companions and the righteous Salaf. This is one point. Not from the opinion of so-and-so and so-and-so of the later scholars or those who are zealous with a wild zeal.
Second: they must be the first to act upon their knowledge to the extent possible, because if they know the truth and do not act upon it, their knowledge becomes a proof against them, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: It is not of intelligence or of the Shari'ah for a person to know that something is forbidden and do it, or that it is obligatory and leave it. So after seeking knowledge from its places and sources, they must act upon it.
Third: that they spread it among people to the extent possible, whether in study circles, in study classes, in the mosques to the general public, or in the newspapers or on the radio. The important thing is that all means of transmitting knowledge must be utilized by the scholar to the extent of his ability, because Allah the Exalted took a pledge from those who were given the Scripture to make it clear to the people and not to conceal it.
Third: that they call to Allah with insight. Calling to Allah with insight is from two aspects:
The first aspect is insight in the Shari'ah, so that one does not call to Allah in ignorance, because whoever calls the servants of Allah to the Shari'ah of Allah while he is ignorant of it corrupts more than he reforms. He must have insight in the Shari'ah of Allah so that he calls to it.
Insight in the manner of calling, and that is by following wisdom, because the objective is reaching the truth, not taking revenge or vindicating oneself. Many of the zealous brothers who call to Allah, you find that they do not use wisdom in calling, but their zeal carries them to violence, as if they want to take revenge on this violator, whether his violation is out of ignorance or stubbornness, or he wants to vindicate himself and his opinion. This is a mistake, because Allah says to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Not to my desire, my opinion, and my saying. Make your concern calling to Allah the Mighty and Majestic and to the path of Allah. And at that time, you must have insight in the manner of calling to Allah.
Then I say to you, does the one who calls to Allah not want to reform the one called? If so, he must follow the path that is a means to his reform. It is known that if you saw a violator and you shouted at him and got angry at him, this would only increase his aversion from you and from what you are calling to. But if you came to him with the best manner, with an easy, soft, and gentle style, you would achieve your objective. And be patient with what befalls you. Be patient with what befalls you, because something will surely befall you, even if it is psychological pressure. It may not be a word that wounds you or an action that hurts you, but psychological pressure. Be patient with it. You may see that you cannot bear to see this man in a forbidden state, and you are unable to be patient, and you become harsh and angry. But this is not the path of wisdom. Be patient with yourself and restrain it. The objective is the reform of the one called. We have tried this, and others have tried it, that whoever called with violence and excessive zeal did not achieve his objective, and whoever called with softness, gentleness, and ease achieved the objective.
As for the third question, which is the treatment of scholars toward the youth or the general people, the treatment must be with gentleness, softness, and humility. A person must place himself before the truth and be humble to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Also, he must not look down upon creation. He must not say, "This is a young boy and I am an old shaykh, I will not pay attention to him, I will not look at him, and I will not listen to this." This is a great mistake. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who was the highest of creation in status with Allah, used to joke with the young, greet the children, and carry the children while he was praying (peace and blessings be upon him). So humility undoubtedly has a profound effect in attracting people to a person.