Continuation of the explanation of the statement of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We have previously spoken about this great hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) confined sincere advice to these categories. We have previously spoken about sincere advice to Allah, to His Book, and to His Messenger. The fourth point, he said: "Al-A'imah" is the plural of "Imam," and the intended meaning of "Imam" is the one who is followed and whose command is obeyed. It is divided into two types: leadership in religion and leadership in authority. Leadership in religion is in the hands of the scholars. The scholars are the leaders of religion who guide people with the Book of Allah, lead them to it, and direct them to its Shari'ah. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said in the supplication of the servants of the Merciful: They did not ask Allah for authority. Regarding leadership in authority and governance, they asked Allah for leadership in religion, because they—namely, the servants of the Merciful—do not desire authority over people, nor do they seek governance. Rather, the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) said to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him): But they ask for leadership in religion, about which Allah said to them: So He said: Sincere advice to the leaders of the Muslims in religion and knowledge is that a person strives to receive the knowledge they possess, for they are the intermediary between the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Ummah. So he should strive to receive knowledge from them by every means. The means in our time, praise be to Allah, have multiplied: writing, recording, receiving, and so on. The means, praise be to Allah, are now numerous, so let him strive to receive knowledge from the scholars. Let his receiving of it be with deliberation, not haste, for if a person hastens in receiving knowledge, he may receive it in a manner different from how his Shaykh taught it. And Allah, the Exalted, taught the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) this etiquette, saying: Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would rush to Jibril (peace be upon him) when he recited the Qur'an to him; he would rush to read it. So Allah, the Exalted, said: Meaning: be silent, do not move your tongue, and do not recite secretly until Jibril finishes his recitation. Then, after that, recite it. The Lord, Mighty and Majestic, has guaranteed its explanation, meaning that you will not forget it, even though it is expected that if a person remains silent until the one reciting finishes, he might forget some of the phrases. But Allah, the Exalted, said: And also part of sincere advice to the scholars of the Muslims is that a person should not pursue their faults, their slips, and their errors, for they are not infallible; they may slip and they may err. Especially the one who receives knowledge; it is obligatory for him to be the most tolerant of people in bearing the errors his Shaykh makes and in pointing them out to him. How many people have benefited from their students pointing out to them some scientific error, some practical error, or many errors, for a person is human. But the most important thing is that he should not be eager to pursue slips. For it came in the hadith: This applies to Muslims in general, so how much more so to the scholars? Those who pick up the slips of the scholars to spread them are not only harming the scholars personally, but they are harming the scholars personally and the knowledge they carry, and they are harming the Shari'ah which is received from them. For if people do not trust the scholars, and if they look into their faults—which may not be faults except according to the view of this malicious person—then their trust in the scholars and the knowledge they possess will decrease. This becomes a crime against the Shari'ah which they carry from the Sunnah of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him). Therefore, part of your sincere advice to the leaders of the Muslims from among the scholars is that you defend their faults and cover them as much as you can, and that you do not remain silent. Point out, point out to the scholar, search with him, ask him. Perhaps things are attributed to him that are not correct. Things are attributed to us and to others that are not correct. But people, may Allah grant us well-being, if they have a bias and love something, and they know a scholar from among the people of knowledge whose words people accept, they attribute it to this scholar. They say, so-and-so said, so-and-so said. Then if you ask the very person to whom the statement was attributed, he says, "I never said such a thing." And the questioner may make a mistake in the formulation of the question, so the scholar answers according to the question, and the questioner understands it according to what is in his mind, so the error occurs. Or the scholar may answer correctly after understanding the question, but the questioner understands it in a way other than its intended meaning, so he errs in the transmission. In any case, the important thing, as part of sincere advice to the leaders of the Muslims in knowledge and religion, is that a person should not pursue their faults, but rather seek excuses for them. Rather, seek excuses for them and connect with them. There is no harm in connecting. Connect and say, "I heard such and such about you, is this correct?" If he says, "Yes," say, "By Allah, I think this is an error and a mistake," until he clarifies it to you. Perhaps he will explain something you do not know and you think he erred in it. Or perhaps something was hidden from him, so you alert him, and you will be thanked for this. And the first Imam in religion and authority in this Ummah after the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), when he delivered his first sermon, said to the people while addressing them, meaning speaking about himself: Meaning, a person is human. Correct your brother, especially the people of knowledge, for the scholar's danger is great. His danger is great: the danger of slipping and the danger of rising high. For the word "danger" applies to both rising and falling. His danger is great: if he hits the mark, he guides many of Allah's creation to his Ummah, and if he errs, many of Allah's creation go astray by his hand. So the slip of a scholar is among the greatest of slips. For this reason, I say: it is obligatory that we protect the honor of our scholars, that we protect it, and that we defend them and seek excuses for their errors. This does not prevent us from connecting with them, asking them, searching with them, and discussing with them. There is no harm, so that we are sincere and advising to the leaders of the Muslims. The second type of leaders of the Muslims: the leaders of authority, and they are the rulers. Rulers are generally more prone to error than scholars, because of their authority, arrogance may take them to sin, and they may want to impose their authority on both the correct and the incorrect. So the general state of the leaders of the Muslims in authority, who are the rulers, is that error is common among them, more so than among the scholars, except for whom Allah wills. Sincere advice to them is that we refrain from their bad deeds and do not spread them among people, and that we offer them sincere advice as much as we can, directly if we are able to approach them, or by writing if we are not able, or by contacting someone who contacts them if we are not able and cannot write. Sometimes a person cannot even write; if he writes, it will not reach the official. So he contacts someone who contacts the official and alerts him. This is part of sincere advice. As for publishing their bad deeds, it is not only a personal aggression against them, but it is a personal aggression against them and against the entire Ummah. For if the Ummah's hearts are filled with hatred toward their rulers, they will disobey the rulers and reject them. And at that time, chaos will occur, fear will prevail, and security will disappear. So if the awe of the rulers remains in the hearts, they will have awe, and their orders and regulations that do not contradict the Shari'ah will be protected. So the important thing is that the leaders of the Muslims include both types: the leaders of religion, who are the scholars, and the leaders of authority, who are the rulers. If you wish, say the leaders of explanation and the leaders of authority. The leaders of explanation are the scholars who explain to people, and the leaders of authority are the rulers who enforce the Shari'ah of Allah by the power of authority. And the rest of the speech on this hadith will come, if Allah wills.
The reader: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: "From Tamim al-Dari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

"The Religion is sincerity." We said, "To whom?" He said "To Allah, to His Book, To His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their masses."

الدين النصيحة قلنا لمن؟ قال: لله ولكتابه ولرسوله ولأئمة المسلمين وعامتهم

Sahih Muslim 55a

Narrated by Muslim" .