A guiding address calling for the unification of words and the consolidation of the ranks.
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
We are opening this meeting, which is the second meeting of the month of Rabi' al-Thani, on Thursday, the twenty-first of Rabi' al-Thani, 1414 AH, and we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to bless us all in our lives and our deeds, and to make the best of our lives their endings, the best of our deeds their conclusions, and the best and happiest of our days the day we meet Him.
These blessed meetings among people, between the scholars and the students of knowledge, and between the students of knowledge and the general public, are undoubtedly beneficial and useful meetings. They cause people to gain insight into their religion, to bond with one another, and to confide in one another their needs and their calamities. There is nothing strange about this, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 2560Sahih (Darussalam).
And he said (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):, and this is the obligatory duty upon the Muslim community to be like one body; if one of its limbs suffers, the rest of the body suffers with it until it is healed and at peace.
Likewise, they must be like a structure in which each part strengthens the other.
: This is an indication that the structure is stronger the more its parts are tightly packed and fit together.
Our meetings, praise be to Allah, contain blessing. The attendees benefit from them, the listeners benefit from them, and the hearers benefit from them through what Allah has bestowed upon us in this time of the facilitation of the tapes that are widespread among people. A person can be driving his car while listening to the Shaykh speaking to him without fatigue and without boredom. A person can be lying in his bed while listening to knowledge. All of this is due to what Allah has bestowed upon us of these tapes. And so we see, praise be to Allah, the effects of these tapes in the homes, among the young and the old, the women and the men. This is undoubtedly a source of good and blessing.
It is our custom that we open the session, or we open the meeting, by speaking about verses from the Noble Qur'an. We began with Surat al-Naba' and have reached Surat al-Buruj. We chose this portion because it is frequently heard from people in the prayers.
The Noble Qur'an was not revealed merely for recitation, but it was revealed for recitation, for reflection, and for remembrance, as the Exalted said:[Sad 38:29]. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not move past ten verses until they learned them and the knowledge and practice contained in them. The one whose share of the Qur'an is only recitation is, in reality, illiterate, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:78], meaning: except for reading. So Allah described them as illiterate, even though they read.
Therefore, Muslims must learn the meanings of the Qur'an. The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book called *Introduction to the Science of Tafsir*: "If people were given a book to study in medicine or in any other science, they must understand its meaning in order to benefit from it". If this is the case with scientific books that are the speech of humans, how much more so with the mother of knowledge and the foundation of knowledge, which is the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic? It is more deserving and more worthy of our care, and of our knowing its meaning and its tafsir, and of receiving it from the imams of tafsir who are known for the soundness of their creed and the integrity of their methodology.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
We are opening this meeting, which is the second meeting of the month of Rabi' al-Thani, on Thursday, the twenty-first of Rabi' al-Thani, 1414 AH, and we ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to bless us all in our lives and our deeds, and to make the best of our lives their endings, the best of our deeds their conclusions, and the best and happiest of our days the day we meet Him.
These blessed meetings among people, between the scholars and the students of knowledge, and between the students of knowledge and the general public, are undoubtedly beneficial and useful meetings. They cause people to gain insight into their religion, to bond with one another, and to confide in one another their needs and their calamities. There is nothing strange about this, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The believers are like a building they support one another.
المؤمن للمؤمن كالبنيان يشد بعضُه بعضًاAnd he said (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
The likeness of the believers in their mutual love, mercy, and compassion is like that of one body; if one of its limbs suffers, the rest of the body responds to it with fever and sleeplessness.
مثل المؤمنين في توادهم وتراحمهم وتعاطفهم كمثل الجسد الواحد إذا اشتكى منه عضوٌ تداعى له سائر الجسد بالحمى والسهرLikewise, they must be like a structure in which each part strengthens the other.
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) interlaced his fingers.
وشبك النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم بين أصابعهOur meetings, praise be to Allah, contain blessing. The attendees benefit from them, the listeners benefit from them, and the hearers benefit from them through what Allah has bestowed upon us in this time of the facilitation of the tapes that are widespread among people. A person can be driving his car while listening to the Shaykh speaking to him without fatigue and without boredom. A person can be lying in his bed while listening to knowledge. All of this is due to what Allah has bestowed upon us of these tapes. And so we see, praise be to Allah, the effects of these tapes in the homes, among the young and the old, the women and the men. This is undoubtedly a source of good and blessing.
It is our custom that we open the session, or we open the meeting, by speaking about verses from the Noble Qur'an. We began with Surat al-Naba' and have reached Surat al-Buruj. We chose this portion because it is frequently heard from people in the prayers.
The Noble Qur'an was not revealed merely for recitation, but it was revealed for recitation, for reflection, and for remembrance, as the Exalted said:
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.
كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِAnd among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Scripture except in wishful thinking
وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّTherefore, Muslims must learn the meanings of the Qur'an. The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book called *Introduction to the Science of Tafsir*: "If people were given a book to study in medicine or in any other science, they must understand its meaning in order to benefit from it". If this is the case with scientific books that are the speech of humans, how much more so with the mother of knowledge and the foundation of knowledge, which is the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic? It is more deserving and more worthy of our care, and of our knowing its meaning and its tafsir, and of receiving it from the imams of tafsir who are known for the soundness of their creed and the integrity of their methodology.