Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan Asked About Whoever Twisted His Speech to Attack Shaykh Rabee: It is From His Own Desire and He Will Bear the Burden of Sin

In a very recent question and answer session that took place through a satellite channel, Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan was asked regarding a piece of advice he gave a year earlier and which people interpreted in a certain way in order to attack and malign Shaykh Rabee. Here is the audio (Download File):

Translation:

Questioner:

Our respected Shaykh, father, may Allaah preserve you, you directed, may Allaah preserve you, a precious word and beneficial advice at the end of the dawrah at the University of Malik Saud in Jeddah... and from what you advised with, after the taqwa of Allaah and persistence in seeking knowledge, was to abandon the quarrelling that is taking place now between the students of knowledge and which has split the ummah and has split the students of knowledge such that (it is said) so and so should be warned against and so and so should not be sat with and so and so should not be accompanied. And that it is obligatory to respect the Scholars and not speak ill of them and not to warn against them. And when separation occurs between the Scholars and students of knowledge, who will remain for the Ummah? So then some people - and regretfully O respected Shaykh, father - began to explain your speech that you intended by speech to warn against some Scholars, those whose refutations against the people of falsehood and callers to (their) desires are abundant, such as Shaykh Rabee' al-Madkhalee...

The Shaykh's answer:

The affair is as you mentioned that quarrelling (comprising hatred) is not permissible between the students of knowledge in that which is between them or between them and the scholars, for the students of knowledge and the scholars are the most worthy ones of spreading love and cordiality (brotherhood) for the sake of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and to abandon hatred and cutting off between themselves. However, when it is the case that a person errs, his (error) is made clear to him privately, or a letter is written to him, or he is spoken to through the means of communication, he is spoken to privately between the one who is advising and the one being advised and he is notified of the error which occurred from him. This is when he has an actual error, practically (i.e. an actual error has occurred). As for some students of knowledge and some of the tullaab (students) and some of the beginners, then everything is an error to them, and he does not know whether something is a mere error or an innovation (bid'ah). This matter is not permissible, to hasten in passing judgements and to hasten in speaking about people, or about scholars and students of knowledge. This is a rejected matter, Allaah, the Lofty and Exalted said, "O you who believe, if a faasiq (sinful person) comes to you with news, then verify it, harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done" (49:6). And in my speech that you alluded to I did not specify anyone, so whoever comes and specifies, then he specifies from his own desire, and its (burden of) sin is upon him.

Note

This practice has been very common ever since the first Gulf War when the extremist Qutbiyyah and Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Khaliq (see here) made their debut and attempted to bring the methodologies of Sayyid Qutb (takfir, haakimiyyah) and Hasan al-Banna (accommodation of groups, sects of innovation and misguidance) into Salafi audiences. Part and parcel of this was to attack and bring down the major scholars as being people ignorant of the realities (not having "fiqh al-waaqi"). When the Scholars, and at the head of them, Shaykh Rabee, stood to defend the Salafi creed and methodology, many of these figureheads and their followers began their shuttle missions to the Major scholars like Shaykh Ibn Baz and others, in order to complain and to elicit warnings from these Shaykhs against Shaykh Rabee. They were not successful, even though they managed to cause a great deal of confusion, but by the end of the century, just before the three Imaams passed away (al-Albani, Ibn Baz, Ibn al-Uthaymeen) each one of them had vindicated Shaykh Rabee and saw and recognized the truth of what he had been writing about, especially regarding Sayyid Qutb and the Ikhwan.

However, there appeared other figureheads who were upon doctrines similar to those of Sayyid Qutb or Hasan al-Banna, and they came out openly after the death of those three Imaams. And when they were refuted and spoken against, their followers did the same thing. They tried to elicit speech against Shaykh Rabee in order to defend their figureheads who were rightly criticised not just for mere errors, but actual innovations (bid'ah). Note how Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan made a distinction between genuine errors (on account of which their should never be splitting and separation and warning) and between what amount to innovations, the Scholars distinguish between things. So what Shaykh Rabee' refuted all those people for were major innovations, the innovations of the khawaarij, the innovation of attacking the honour of the Companions, the innovation of justifying splitting and the existence of groups, sects and parties in the Muslim Ummah, the innovations of the Jahmiyyah in the books of certain figureheads of the Harakiyyeen and so on.

When these people could not elicit speech directly, they then began to find generalized statements and advices from some of the Scholars and then tried to twist them and apply them in a way that the Shaykh did not intend. And history repeats itself, just go and read this article and how they tried this with Shaykh Ibn Baz (rahimahullaah) and it backfired upon them (see here), just like it has backfired upon them with respect to Shaykh Salih al-Fawzaan. So the one who tries to use the speech of Shaykh Salih al-Fawzaan and twist it and apply it in a way that the Shaykh does not intend, then he is following his desires and the burden of sin is upon him

Further, you can refer to the following articles too, just by way of example, there are plenty of similar statements out there:

• Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan's Support and Praise of Shaykh Rabee's Refutation of Hasan al-Maalikee - (see here)
• Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan Supported Shaykh Rabee Against Abdur-Rahmaan Abdul-Khaaliq (Refutation of Abdullaah al-Farsee, Abu Usaamah Khaleefah And Others) - (see here)
• Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan on Using the Labels of 'Jaamiyyah' and 'Madaakhilah' - (see here)

Finally, it is known full well about Shaykh Rabee' that he spends years and years of advising privately. Then he starts advising those who are close to an individual to start advising him as well to correct his mistakes. And when all of that fails, after many long years, he starts writing articles in order to correct the errors, and it is here that the reality of the invidual he tried to advise comes out in that person exposes himself as a stubborn opposer and follower of desires as happened with al-Ma'ribee, al-Maghrawi and the others that followed, ending with al-Hajuri most recently, who has been advised for seven years or so.