Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak used to say, in front of people, “Leave the hadith of Amr ibn Thabit, for he used to curse the Salaf.” Is this contrary to the method of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in not mentioning people by name?
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The questioner : He said it in front of people. If someone were to say that the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was that when he stood on the pulpit, he would say, “What is the matter with a group of people who say such and such,” without naming so-and-so, or something similar to that?
The Shaykh : In this case, naming him is necessary, because people are taking from him. If the intention is to clarify the ruling, then the generalization I mentioned is sufficient, saying “a group of people.” But if the intention is to warn against a specific person, then it is necessary to name him.
The questioner : There may be harm in it.
The Shaykh : It is necessary to do this. Even if there were harm in it, I do not imagine that there could be greater harm than people taking from a liar or a fabricator and attributing it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : ... Perhaps he would increase in lying?
The Shaykh : In any case, we do not know about the second issue. But this man was known to people who were taking from him, and he was a liar, so he wanted to warn people against him. If you saw a person attributing hadiths to the Messenger of Allah, and people flocking to him in large numbers, we must clarify and say, “Beware of this man.” Yes.
The Shaykh : In this case, naming him is necessary, because people are taking from him. If the intention is to clarify the ruling, then the generalization I mentioned is sufficient, saying “a group of people.” But if the intention is to warn against a specific person, then it is necessary to name him.
The questioner : There may be harm in it.
The Shaykh : It is necessary to do this. Even if there were harm in it, I do not imagine that there could be greater harm than people taking from a liar or a fabricator and attributing it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : ... Perhaps he would increase in lying?
The Shaykh : In any case, we do not know about the second issue. But this man was known to people who were taking from him, and he was a liar, so he wanted to warn people against him. If you saw a person attributing hadiths to the Messenger of Allah, and people flocking to him in large numbers, we must clarify and say, “Beware of this man.” Yes.