Is it permissible to point out a scholar's error and warn against it, even if I am not at his level? And is this considered backbiting?
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The questioner : We need a criterion, O Shaykh, for defining backbiting. If a scholar makes a mistake in an issue, no matter who this scholar is—meaning, with respect for him and appreciation of him and everything befitting his status—is it permissible to point out this error, even if I am not at his level of knowledge? For example, if someone says certain words to the effect that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not rising above His Throne, and I am not at his level of knowledge, is it permissible for me to clarify this issue and warn people against it, just because I am not at his level of knowledge? And is this considered backbiting? Is pointing out his error backbiting? Or is backbiting when I disparage a person and say his intention is bad or such, or is it clarifying the religious issues in which he erred? What is the criterion in this matter?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you, pointing out the error is obligatory; pointing out the error is obligatory. But if you say: "Whoever says that Allah rose above the Throne means He took control of it, then his statement is wrong, and his statement is deniable, and false implications follow from it," and I bring what I have of evidence here, I have not named anyone; I have not named anyone.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother! Generalization is better than specification; generalization is better than specification. Why? For two reasons:
The first reason is so that the one who thinks does not assume that I am biased against this person, especially if the person is prominent among people and respected, and has many good deeds.
The second thing is that this ruling applies to him and to others who shared in this religious innovation. For this reason, look at the believer from the family of Pharaoh:[Ghafir 40:28] What? ... The one who memorized the Qur'an: [Ghafir 40:28] He did not say: "Will you kill Musa?" Why? Because if he had named him, it would be said: there is a personal connection between them, and he wanted to defend him. It was as if he was an unknown man to him whom he did not know, [Ghafir 40:28].
As Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did with Quraysh in their treatment of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 3856.
So generalization is better than specification from these two aspects.
As for remaining silent about the error, that is an error, especially if the error comes from a prominent person whose words are taken and who is followed as an example. But before I point out his error,
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you, pointing out the error is obligatory; pointing out the error is obligatory. But if you say: "Whoever says that Allah rose above the Throne means He took control of it, then his statement is wrong, and his statement is deniable, and false implications follow from it," and I bring what I have of evidence here, I have not named anyone; I have not named anyone.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother! Generalization is better than specification; generalization is better than specification. Why? For two reasons:
The first reason is so that the one who thinks does not assume that I am biased against this person, especially if the person is prominent among people and respected, and has many good deeds.
The second thing is that this ruling applies to him and to others who shared in this religious innovation. For this reason, look at the believer from the family of Pharaoh:
And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said, "Do you kill a man
قَالَ رَجُلٌ مُؤْمِنٌ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَكْتُمُ إِيمَانَهُ أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلاًDo you kill a man [merely] because he says, 'My Lord is Allah'
أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلاً أَنْ يَقُولَ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُWill you kill a man
أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلاًbecause he says, 'My Lord is Allah'
أَنْ يَقُولَ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُAs Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did with Quraysh in their treatment of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he said:
Do you want to kill a man just because he says, 'My Lord is Allah?'
أتقتلون رجلاً أن يقول: ربي الله؟So generalization is better than specification from these two aspects.
As for remaining silent about the error, that is an error, especially if the error comes from a prominent person whose words are taken and who is followed as an example. But before I point out his error,