Explanation of the author's statement: ". . . How can the method of these bewildered people, who have admitted to themselves that they are misguided and lost, be more knowledgeable and wiser than the method of the Salaf, who are the standards of guidance and the lamps of the darkness, who were granted by Allah of knowledge and wisdom that by which they stood out above all the followers of the prophets, and who grasped of the realities of faith and the sciences that if it were combined with what was attained by others, the one seeking comparison would be ashamed, let alone judging that others are preferred over them? ! And by this it becomes clear that the method of the Salaf is safer, more knowledgeable, and wiser."
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The Shaykh : He said: "How can the method of these bewildered people, who have admitted to themselves that they are misguided and lost, be more knowledgeable and wiser than the method of the Salaf, who are the standards of guidance and the lamps of the darkness, who were granted by Allah of knowledge and wisdom that by which they stood out—may Allah have mercy on you—above all the followers of the prophets, and who grasped of the realities of faith and the sciences that if it were combined with what was attained by others, the one seeking comparison would be ashamed, let alone judging that others are preferred over them? ! And by this it becomes clear that the method of the Salaf is safer, more knowledgeable, and wiser", ... The aspects now are five, all of which indicate the invalidity of this statement, even though this statement exists and is circulated among people, especially among the Asha'irah, who say that the method of the Salaf is safer and the method of the Khalaf is more knowledgeable and wiser. But as you have seen now, it is a false and contradictory statement, and that the method of the Salaf is safer, more knowledgeable, and wiser. And Allah is the One to be sought for help...