Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "Since the discussion of a specific issue may be subsumed under a general rule
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: "in some of what the Book, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus indicate regarding the command to differ from the disbelievers and the prohibition of imitating them in general"
The student: ...
The Shaykh : How?
The student: Since the discussion is of this specific issue.
The Shaykh : Yes, we said in our discussion of the specific issue.
The student: Clarify the meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: Clarify the meaning.
The Shaykh : Okay, fine, let's make it a copy, is it available in the mind?
The reader: It is not available, and it does not seem to be mentioned; it appears to be missing.
The Shaykh : Yes
The reader: It appears to be missing from it.
The Shaykh : Perhaps a copy, yes.
The reader: "Since the discussion of this specific issue may be subsumed under a general rule, we began by mentioning some of what the Book, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus indicate regarding the command to differ from the disbelievers, and the prohibition of imitating them in general, whether that is general in all types of differences or specific to some of them, and whether it is a command of obligation or a command of recommendation. Then we followed that with what indicates the prohibition of imitating them in their festivals specifically.
Here is a point I have drawn attention to in this book, which is: that the command to agree with a group or to differ from them may be because the very intention of agreeing with them"
The Shaykh : Because the very intention of
The reader: "because the very intention of agreeing with them, or the very act of agreeing with them, is a benefit, and likewise the very intention of differing from them, or the very act of differing from them, is a benefit, meaning: that that action contains a benefit for the servant, or a harm, even if that action by which the agreement or difference occurred, if it were stripped of the agreement and difference, would not contain that benefit or harm. For this reason, we benefit from our very following of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the predecessors in their deeds; had they not done them, perhaps there would have been no benefit for us, because of what that engenders of loving them and the harmony".
The Shaykh : In deeds, had they not, I said in their deeds.
The reader: Yes, in their deeds.
The Shaykh : Is there a pronoun in it?
The reader: No
"For this reason, we benefit from our very following of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the predecessors in their deeds; had they not done them, perhaps there would have been no benefit for us, because of what that engenders of loving them and the harmony"
The Shaykh : His saying: "because of what that engenders" is the reason for his saying: "we benefit from our very following", because the very following engenders love and the harmony of our hearts with their hearts, and so on. For this reason, it is prohibited to agree with the disbelievers, because agreeing with them may result in that, meaning it may result in love and the harmony of our hearts with their hearts. And the intention of differing is a prescribed matter sought by the Lawgiver, meaning the intention of differing from the disbelievers and the polytheists; the intention itself contains goodness and reward. So when the intention and the difference in the action occur, this becomes more emphatic, yes.
The reader: "because of what that engenders of loving them and the harmony of our hearts with their hearts, and that that invites us to agree with them in other matters".
The Shaykh : And even if that is with us, and that is better.
The student: "among other benefits".
The student: ...
The Shaykh : How?
The student: Since the discussion is of this specific issue.
The Shaykh : Yes, we said in our discussion of the specific issue.
The student: Clarify the meaning.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: Clarify the meaning.
The Shaykh : Okay, fine, let's make it a copy, is it available in the mind?
The reader: It is not available, and it does not seem to be mentioned; it appears to be missing.
The Shaykh : Yes
The reader: It appears to be missing from it.
The Shaykh : Perhaps a copy, yes.
The reader: "Since the discussion of this specific issue may be subsumed under a general rule, we began by mentioning some of what the Book, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus indicate regarding the command to differ from the disbelievers, and the prohibition of imitating them in general, whether that is general in all types of differences or specific to some of them, and whether it is a command of obligation or a command of recommendation. Then we followed that with what indicates the prohibition of imitating them in their festivals specifically.
Here is a point I have drawn attention to in this book, which is: that the command to agree with a group or to differ from them may be because the very intention of agreeing with them"
The Shaykh : Because the very intention of
The reader: "because the very intention of agreeing with them, or the very act of agreeing with them, is a benefit, and likewise the very intention of differing from them, or the very act of differing from them, is a benefit, meaning: that that action contains a benefit for the servant, or a harm, even if that action by which the agreement or difference occurred, if it were stripped of the agreement and difference, would not contain that benefit or harm. For this reason, we benefit from our very following of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the predecessors in their deeds; had they not done them, perhaps there would have been no benefit for us, because of what that engenders of loving them and the harmony".
The Shaykh : In deeds, had they not, I said in their deeds.
The reader: Yes, in their deeds.
The Shaykh : Is there a pronoun in it?
The reader: No
"For this reason, we benefit from our very following of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the predecessors in their deeds; had they not done them, perhaps there would have been no benefit for us, because of what that engenders of loving them and the harmony"
The Shaykh : His saying: "because of what that engenders" is the reason for his saying: "we benefit from our very following", because the very following engenders love and the harmony of our hearts with their hearts, and so on. For this reason, it is prohibited to agree with the disbelievers, because agreeing with them may result in that, meaning it may result in love and the harmony of our hearts with their hearts. And the intention of differing is a prescribed matter sought by the Lawgiver, meaning the intention of differing from the disbelievers and the polytheists; the intention itself contains goodness and reward. So when the intention and the difference in the action occur, this becomes more emphatic, yes.
The reader: "because of what that engenders of loving them and the harmony of our hearts with their hearts, and that that invites us to agree with them in other matters".
The Shaykh : And even if that is with us, and that is better.
The student: "among other benefits".