Some students of knowledge and some shaykhs today, in a secondary issue, engage in boycotting, enmity, and back-and-forth disputes, and you find an issue in

The questioner : There is a principle that some people today... in a secondary issue, they engage in boycotting, enmity, and back-and-forth disputes, and an issue from the pillars of Islam or a principle of the religion... the disagreement, they do not care about it.

The Shaykh : Correct.

The questioner : Like now, the sitting of rest came with boycotting, it came with severing family ties, and it came with... they say declaring someone a disbeliever, and it is happening now. And like the prayer that passed us by, glory be to Allah, you do not say it passed by something.

The Shaykh : Abandoning the prayer.

The questioner : Yes, indeed, and it is, glory be to Allah the Great... and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)... there is a text from the Sunnah in it, and there are proofs from the verses of the Qur'an, and there is the statement of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and he said: "By Allah, if they prevented me from a thong, I would fight them for it" How did they abandon the prayer? We ask Allah for pardon and well-being. And the sitting of rest, what is its subject in the prayer?

The Shaykh : This is correct. I agree with the brother Salim that some people restrict loyalty and disavowal to a secondary issue; they show loyalty to a person because he agreed with them on this, and they disavow him because he disagreed with them on it, and it is a secondary issue. And I have mentioned to you a story that passed us by in Mina between two groups from Africa. Yes, each one curses the other and declares him a disbeliever, saying, "You are a disbeliever, cursed," and there was much dispute. They came to the General Secretary of Hajj Awareness while they were disputing, so he brought them to me. He said, "Look at the group, what is happening?" He said, "This man, when he stands in prayer, places his hands on his chest, and this is disbelief in Allah. I seek refuge in Allah, glory be to Allah, the Sunnah is disbelief?" And the other said, "This one, when he stands, lets his hands hang down, and this is disbelief in Allah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And on this, some of you declare others disbelievers. Fear Allah in your speech. And we said, this issue is a recommended practice; it is not obligatory, nor a pillar, nor a condition for validity. So let the dispute and the quarreling stop, and be convinced before us, and Allah knows best what is behind us. So this, as the brother Salim said, is truly a problem. Now, you find some of the brothers, unfortunately, respond to their brothers more than they respond to the atheists who are openly disbelievers. Yes, they are more hostile to them than to these people, and they publicize them with words that have no basis or truth, but it is envy and oppression. And without doubt, envy is from the character of whom? The Jews, the worst of Allah's servants. And the envious person does not benefit from it at all; rather, it only increases his sorrow, regret, and burning. Seek good for others, and good will come to you. And know that the favor of Allah is given to whom He wills. If you envy, you cannot prevent the favor of Allah. Perhaps you prevent the favor of Allah upon you by your love for the removal of the favor of Allah from others and your hatred of the blessing of Allah upon others. So you find some of the brothers have envy. And I think that the envious person, especially a student of knowledge, I doubt his intention or his sincerity in seeking knowledge, because he only envies because the other person has gained status among the people, has gained a word, and people have gathered around him, so he envied him. So it means that you want the worldly life. If you truly wanted the Hereafter, if you truly wanted knowledge, you would ask about this man around whom people have gathered and taken his word. You would ask about his knowledge to be like the people, so you also benefit from him. But to envy him, tarnish his reputation, and mention defects in him that are not in him, this is without doubt oppression, aggression, and a blameworthy trait. Then, as the brother Salim said, I hear here in al-Qasim and outside al-Qasim people who are hostile to each other and disavow each other, while they are all people of the Sunnah and all love what is good, as it appears. But Satan, may Allah protect us from him, divided them with this. Did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) agree on everything? They disagreed from the beginning of the life of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and they disagreed after his death. Did they wash? Did they strip him during the washing? They disagreed. In which place should he be buried? They disagreed. They disagreed on the caliph after him, and the opinion settled on what is in the good, and no one was hostile to the other or disavowed him. And they disagreed on many issues in the branches, and they were not hostile to each other. They disagreed even in the principles. Ibn Abbas held that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord, and A'ishah denied this with great denial. And yet, no one disavowed the other, nor did they hate him, nor did they dislike him. But we are truly the later generations. We ask Allah to protect us and you.