If a student of knowledge finds no one to study with except the people of innovation, should he study with them?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. If in some lands a person can hardly find anyone to study under except those who have a bid'ah (religious innovation), whether in belief or in action, what is said to him? It is difficult for him to travel to the people of knowledge, the people of the Sunnah.
The Shaykh : Is it not possible for him to read from the books?
The questioner : Yes, it is possible, but his acquisition of knowledge will be much less than if he sat...
The Shaykh : In any case, a person must look at the benefits and harms. It is not possible to give a general ruling, neither of prohibition nor of permissibility. Yes.
The student: The time is up. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Is it over? Yes.
The reader: 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 His servant and our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*: "As for imitating the Persians and the Romans, this has entered this Ummah".
The Shaykh : Strange, Khalid. You say "the Muwaffaq said," and "the Imam al-Muwaffaq said in *Al-Kafi*," but you do not say "the Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said." What is the difference?
The student: The difference is twofold.
The Shaykh : Two differences.
The reader: Two differences. The first difference is that al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for the description of "Imam," whereas Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) is not known for that; rather, he is known as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. This is the difference.
The Shaykh : No, this is not established.
The reader: The second difference.
The Shaykh : No, no, it is not established. Enough. State the first difference.
The reader: The first difference is that al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) has followers, whereas that is not the case with Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
The Shaykh : This is not established, nor is it established that the followers of Shaykh al-Islam who adopted his opinions, especially in matters of creed and theology, are more numerous than those who followed him.
The reader: People depend on the books of al-Muwaffaq.
The Shaykh : They do not contradict him, and al-Muwaffaq depends on the books of al-Khiraqi and those before him, and so on. My intention in this is that it is not befitting for us to call every author an "Imam." Al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) is a follower (mقلid) whose Imam is Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Shaykh al-Islam is also a follower, but in the realm of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), he is much broader than al-Muwaffaq.
The Shaykh : Is it not possible for him to read from the books?
The questioner : Yes, it is possible, but his acquisition of knowledge will be much less than if he sat...
The Shaykh : In any case, a person must look at the benefits and harms. It is not possible to give a general ruling, neither of prohibition nor of permissibility. Yes.
The student: The time is up. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Is it over? Yes.
The reader: 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 His servant and our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*: "As for imitating the Persians and the Romans, this has entered this Ummah".
The Shaykh : Strange, Khalid. You say "the Muwaffaq said," and "the Imam al-Muwaffaq said in *Al-Kafi*," but you do not say "the Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said." What is the difference?
The student: The difference is twofold.
The Shaykh : Two differences.
The reader: Two differences. The first difference is that al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for the description of "Imam," whereas Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) is not known for that; rather, he is known as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. This is the difference.
The Shaykh : No, this is not established.
The reader: The second difference.
The Shaykh : No, no, it is not established. Enough. State the first difference.
The reader: The first difference is that al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) has followers, whereas that is not the case with Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
The Shaykh : This is not established, nor is it established that the followers of Shaykh al-Islam who adopted his opinions, especially in matters of creed and theology, are more numerous than those who followed him.
The reader: People depend on the books of al-Muwaffaq.
The Shaykh : They do not contradict him, and al-Muwaffaq depends on the books of al-Khiraqi and those before him, and so on. My intention in this is that it is not befitting for us to call every author an "Imam." Al-Muwaffaq (may Allah have mercy on him) is a follower (mقلid) whose Imam is Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Shaykh al-Islam is also a follower, but in the realm of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), he is much broader than al-Muwaffaq.