Do you know what calamities have befallen Algeria because of the Khawarij who declare people disbelievers, who declare the police and the army disbelievers and went out to the mountains in the name of jihad?

The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The questioner : How are you, our dear Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.

The questioner : We are speaking to you from Algeria, O Shaykh!

The Shaykh : Welcome.

The questioner : How are you?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.

The questioner : By Allah, we love you for the sake of Allah, O Shaykh!

The Shaykh : May Allah love you for the sake of which you loved me, and may Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : I have an important case, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Go ahead.

The questioner : I ask the Shaykh to be patient with me, because it may require a lot of time, I mean?

The Shaykh : Yes, but I tell you: be brief, because this time is shared by every Muslim who has a question that concerns him, like you. So shorten it as much as you can.

The questioner : If Allah wills, O Shaykh. Do you know what happened in Algeria in the last few months regarding the large number of casualties?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Due to the great amount of bloodshed and trials of all kinds!

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Until the calmest person among them has become confused.

The Shaykh : Allah is the Helper.

The questioner : And the believer said: , and all of this is due to their frequent deviation from the guidance of the noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and then because our brothers turned away from the fatwas of the scholars, especially those among them who are the people of hadith. Some of the ignorant described them as not understanding reality, but by Allah, reality itself proves that the people of hadith are the most knowledgeable of people, the most knowledgeable of people regarding reality. But most people turn away from the truth. Because of the prevalence of this, the partisans emerged, and they heard the declaration of disbelief against the ruler, and they went up to the mountains after declaring the rulers, ministers, police, and army disbelievers, and they made their blood and wealth lawful. So they began carrying out attacks on state companies and barracks, stealing money and weapons, killing and shedding the blood of the police and the army. They also have a secret radio station through which they incite the people and ask them to fight these rulers and rise up against them, and not to listen to the Salafis, because they are agents of the sultan. In fact, they went so far as to rule that the Salafis are hypocrites, and even apostates, because they withdrew from jihad in their claim. Some of them did not go out to the mountains but hold the same belief, and they secretly collect money, medicine, and ammunition, and they shelter in their homes those who rose up against the rulers after carrying out Satanic operations to kill police and army men. So the evil of this trial befalls the righteous and the wicked, among those in the building where I reside, and especially some of the liars who shaved their beards and wore the clothes of the disbelievers, and entered the home of their brothers and their shelter, the rooftop apartment, through which he can watch French programs on the television that have reached the extreme limit of obscenity and evil. These neighbors do all of the aforementioned, and if the slightest complaint reaches the police and the army, God forbid, they destroy the entire building, including the righteous and the wicked, the young and the old. They may even destroy the whole neighborhood. Such an attack has happened before. I inform the Shaykh that I am about twenty-five years old, married, and have two children. I have no place to go with my family other than the residence I mentioned to the Shaykh. And many things have happened, but out of respect forThe Shaykh : I keep my Shaykh from mentioning them or hearing them. So give us a ruling, may Allah reward you with good, what should be done?

The Shaykh : What I heard is a sad thing, and a very natural matter, as it came in the details of your speech. It is a natural matter, due to the deviation from the Islamic rulings that the scholars know. But it is not hidden from you, if Allah wills, the saying of (Blessed and Exalted is He): . So your question is not a request for a ruling on an Islamic legal issue, so that we would tell you it is permissible or not permissible, or that it is obligatory or not obligatory. You are describing a blind, deaf, and dumb trial. What do you want from someone like me who possesses nothing but the good word? Either guidance for the questioner to the straight path if he is lost from it, or consolation with a good word if he is afflicted with injustice, oppression, or harm. So we say: as the Lord of the worlds said in the noble Qur'an: . As for what happened in Algeria, we previously advised our Algerian brothers who passed through us during the Gulf trial. We advised them to focus on purification and education, and that this work requires hundreds of scholars, scholars of the Book and the Sunnah. It requires carrying out purification and education for a people like the Algerian people, who number twenty million and more. It requires many years until they are able to, or until Allah (Mighty and Majestic) establishes them in the land. But there were those who did not adopt this advice, so what happened happened, like what happened in the Sacred Mosque of Makkah at the end or the beginning of this century in which we are, and as happens in many lands of Islam, with great regret. So I find no answer to what you asked except what you have heard, and Allah is the Helper.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.

The questioner : ... O Shaykh.