I think you know what happened with Salman al-Oudah and Safer al-Hawali regarding their suspension from preaching and teaching, so do you see the benefit in such people stopping?

The questioner : A second question, but our Shaykh, I think you know about the letter sent by some students of knowledge in Saudi Arabia to Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, like Salman al-Oudah and Safer al-Hawali, recently after they were banned from teaching in universities. They had been banned from sermons and lessons, but teaching in universities was not banned. Now a decision came to dismiss them even from their jobs, so they sent a letter to Shaykh Ibn Baz after they sought clarification of the matter and told him what was happening to them. The question here is: Shaykh, do you think it is in the interest of such students of knowledge to stop giving lessons, leave their positions, and obey the order that came to them to stop, because some of them said: "We were not appointed by the government, so why should we stop? These are lessons we give; we stopped for the sake of Allah for the students of knowledge who sit with us. We were not appointed, so why should we stop?" Do you think it is in the interest for them to stop, or to continue, even though their benefit has spread widely in many lands?

The Shaykh : Do you mean their stopping, or their being stopped?

The questioner : Their being stopped.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. There is a difference.

The questioner : Their stopping based on the stopping that came from themselves, meaning it would be...

The Shaykh : Okay, is it possible not to stop? My brothers, we must be realistic. The one who was stopped by the ruler, whether justly or unjustly, has a second party. Can he challenge the ruler?

The questioner : Some people imagine it this way.

The Shaykh : Here lies the error. Here lies the error. And this is what we always talk about. It leads us to the fitnah of the Khawarij, to the fitnah of shedding the blood of Muslims, between the ruler and the ruled. So here, if he is stopped, the hadith of the Messenger of Allah is well known: . What does it mean, does he stop or not stop? As long as it is an order, and let us say now, unjustly, that he not give any lesson, what can he do with his hands? They say in our land in Sham: "A thimble cannot be protected from the eye." So the one who does not stop will be shackled and put in prison. Is this heroism? Is this courage? Is this Islam? No, by Allah. Or as the common people say regarding material things: "Save your white dirham for your black day." So you preserve your strength for the day this crisis passes and you come out to the people with the same previous energy. We are in Syria, and I think the professor knows something of this. We were stopped repeatedly and repeatedly. Professor Abu Awfa here, yes, we were stopped repeatedly and repeatedly. So I would remember the policy of Mu'awiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and may He be pleased with him, that he said: "If there were a hair between me and the people, I would not let it break." It was said to him: How is that? He said: "If they tighten, I loosen, and if they loosen, I tighten." This is a policy that is necessary. As for resistance like this, it is a waste of the human spirit.
The student: Correct.

The Shaykh : Repeatedly, I was stopped, and I will tell you the story, there is a joke in it—bismillah. In one of the stages of the da'wah in Syria, I used to go to Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and Latakia. Then I was told that there is a village or town called Idlib, about sixty kilometers west of Aleppo, where there is a Shaykh, a noble scholar from the Muslim Brotherhood, in fact, he is their leader.
The student : May Allah have mercy on them.

The Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on him. And our brothers tell us that when they sit with him, they feel that he has a readiness to accept the da'wah. So it was said to me: If you went to him. And we have this phrase in Sham, and I use it a lot with our brothers. For example, if one of them invites me, I say: "I don't find a joke." Meaning, don't get involved, because a word might come out of you that is said. Because in our land in Syria, one person is walking and the other is in the shop, and he says to him: "Please," while he is busy with his work. If he says "please" and comes, he will be distracted from his work. He doesn't want this work, but a word is said, "Ah, but I don't find a joke." Don't say it to me.
The student : The one you invited will come.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is it. So it was said to me, and I said I am ready. The important thing is we went that day, and indeed we found the man, yes, a good man. The story is long and very long. The important thing is that the village had a scientific movement and amazing activity, with the dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood there. The town became divided into two parts: a part with this Shaykh who received the Salafi da'wah strongly, and another Shaykh who is the Mufti there. The important thing is that after about a year, a notification came to me from the Minister of the Interior requiring my presence to meet him. We went. Now, I could have hidden my face and not gone, but why not go? We went to the day when al-Jirah was in charge.
The student : As'ad.

The Shaykh : No, not As'ad al-Jirah. I remember his title. I used to hear that he was from the Muslim Brotherhood.
The student : Muhammad al-Jirah.

The Shaykh : Muhammad al-Jirah, yes.
The student : He is from Tala.

The Shaykh : Yes. The important thing is, by Allah, he met me very well and made an introduction that we know your da'wah, and your da'wah is correct, and so on. But it appears that the people do not have the readiness to accept this da'wah. And it was reported to us that you go to Idlib every Friday, for example, every two or three Fridays. So we wish that you do not go, because we have a request from whom—here is the point—from the Mufti of the Syrian Republic, Abu al-Yusr. May Allah forgive us and him. Abu al-Yusr 'Abdin. And he read me the text. And this is from his perfection, meaning from his generosity and responsiveness to me. What does this Abu al-Yusr say? That it was reported to us that he has activity in the Wahhabi da'wah, and he goes to Idlib, and he created fitnah, confusion, and disturbance there. Therefore, we request from you first: to remove the scientific attire. Hahaha, this is funny. The scientific attire means the turban and the robe. And as you see me, he does not know al-Albani. Remove the scientific attire first, and then exile him to al-Hasakah. He says to me, this al-Jirah, he says to me: "Of course, we will not respond to him, but we cannot defy him absolutely. Therefore, we ask you not to enter this town a second time." We said to him: Good, if Allah wills. So I really left and did not go again, until the matter became forgotten and I resumed the activity. And so repeatedly, they stop teaching in the same Damascus capital. I stop and I return, and so on. And praise be to Allah, the da'wah there was much more active than here before this Ba'ath rule took over, unfortunately. Now the news is very bad. So opposing, my brother, this is not from the Shari'ah policy at all. And so the Wise Lawgiver left a space for the Muslim, and He said: . So I believe that opposing the rulers in their injustice does not benefit the da'wah and the Muslims, but rather delays it years backward. This is the answer to your question. Good.