A dialogue concerning the magazines al-Bayan and al-Sunnah, which are published in London.

The Shaykh : Now, you know the magazine al-Bayan.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : What is your opinion of the magazine al-Bayan? Does it contain misguidance?
The student : ... like the magazine al-Sunnah.

The Shaykh : No, the difference between them is vast.
The student : The magazine al-Sunnah is the same as al-Bayan.

The Shaykh: No.
The student : NoThe Shaykh : He is asking you about al-Bayan.
Another student: In al-Bayan, I saw good statements, first... these people.

The Shaykh : That is it. I have said more than once that the book al-Sunnah, or rather the magazine al-Sunnah, is a name without a substance. It contains nothing of the Sunnah; it contains politics.
The student : Yes, but it is not...

The Shaykh : Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
The student : So, in seven of its issues, it addressed...
Another student: They have an article called "The Lurkers." I read it; it is all insinuation...
Another student: Seven, seven issues.
The student : In another article... called "Applying the Sunnah: Between Exaggeration and Negligence," regarding the school of... details and superficialities, and other things.
Another student: It has some good things, but generally, the truth is that it is good.The Shaykh : He is asking about the general character, the overall tone.

The Shaykh : About what?
The student : About al-Bayan. You are asking if the general character means it is good.
Another student: Al-Bayan is undoubtedly good in terms of content, except that it serves a specific aspect that does not generally come to our minds. They must, but it serves a specific methodology, and al-Sunnah completes and strengthens it. Therefore, it was banned. And this brother can perhaps feel, as I felt, the position of the Saruriyyah and their stance toward the other groups and the Salaf.
Another student: Their attack on the Salafiyyah is severe, and yet you find that they and the Muslim Brotherhood are in very close proximity. They have private meetings, and the attack is severe on the Salafiyyah and on scholars like Ibn Baz, meaning the great scholars.

The Shaykh : What concerns us is to look into their statements, my brother, because these rumors are a great error. So we want to look into their articles. I distinguish between al-Sunnah and al-Bayan. Al-Sunnah contains nothing of the Sunnah; all its research is political. As for al-Bayan, it contains good scholarly research. And what I know is that they used to publish al-Bayan together, then they disagreed, and Sarur sided with a magazine he called al-Sunnah. This naming is a trap, otherwise it contains nothing of the Sunnah. He does not know; I mean, he is a man whose culture is modern. Then, those who write in al-Bayan are not the same as those who write in al-Sunnah, though few in number. So I wanted to remind you about al-Bayan that al-Bayan is also published in London.
The student : My question is still standing.

The Shaykh : No, this question does not need to be realized, because my brother, the disbelievers... Now I ask you a question: Do not those who are afflicted with travel from the lands of Islam to the lands of America and Europe take more freedom in da'wah than in the Islamic lands?
The student : Sometimes they do.

The Shaykh : We are speaking in general terms.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, do we say that this freedom given to them means they must serve the disbeliever who is in their lands? No.
The student : No, but this is an organized operation. This is an operation.

The Shaykh : No, no, an organized operation is fine, but my intention is to say there is no necessary connection.
The student : As individuals, there is no necessary connection. Individuals take their freedom, and everyone acknowledges this. But as an organized operation, based on institutions, serving a specific ideology, with independent apparatuses, serving against the interests of Britain?!

The Shaykh : O Shaykh, may Allah guide us and you. There are Islamic associations established in the West that call to the Salafi da'wah, and yet they take more freedom than in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and so on. Associations. This is a statement that cannot be denied. So we cannot say, by Allah, that these people serve a disbelieving policy. It is not necessary. The reason is that they have some freedom that we do not have.
The student : ...

The Shaykh : Yes?
The student : ...

The Shaykh : What is it?
The student : I mean, do we not take their presence in that place as an argument against them?

The Shaykh : No, O Shaykh, the misfortunes of a people... the presence of Muslims.
The student : In my opinion, I propose, based on our experience.

The Shaykh : The presence of Muslims? You say: We do not take it as an argument against them. Against whom?
The student : Against our brothers, those whom we mentioned.

The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah bless you. Do not blame me if I am frank with you. We are speaking here, then we move to there. We are speaking that the presence of a magazine or a da'wah in the lands of disbelief should not lead us to conclude that these people serve disbelief. I am speaking from America. What do you do in America? Before I hear his words, I say to him, what do you do in America? Get out of it. I am speaking from France, and so on. So our constant standard is to advise these people not to reside in the lands of disbelief. But this is not our discussion. Our discussion is that some Muslims, as individuals and groups, have more freedom in the lands of disbelief than in the lands of Islam. This is a fact. So it is not permissible for us to interpret this fact to mean that they all serve [disbelief]. There may be some among them who do, but to say that they all serve [disbelief] is not permissible.
The student : O brothers, let each one go to his place, may Allah be pleased with you, until I return to my place.