Regarding the speech of Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī (رحمه الله):^[1]

This quote is from a risālah (treatise) in the first volume of his Majmūʿ on the subject of encouraging love and unity and warning from splitting and differing. It is a lecture addressed to students of knowledge at the Islāmic University, encouraging them to seek comprehension of the religion from its sources, to gain the fiqh of the Companions, from the Book, the Sunnah and the way of the Companions, doing so from the Salafī works, in creed, tafsīr and so on, and to bite on to that with the molar teeth. This includes having taqwā of Allāh, and combining knowledge and action, for which the people of knowledge are praised and raised in the Qurʾān.

Further, that those possessing knowledge should call others to this knowledge, and that they will be tested and tried in such efforts and must have patience. They must therefore, be upon the creed, methodology and manners of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), which include wisdom and gentleness but also other affairs that are sometimes necessary and required in the call of the messengers. Hence, once must guide himself by the way (sīrah) of the Prophet in his daʿwah, and beware of opposing him in his creed, methodology or daʿwah.

He also emphasised that we must not take parts of Islām and leave others, as in paths and approaches in daʿwah, while leaving others (that are also from it), as this can bring harm. He explains that the daʿwah spread to the masses with wisdom and he mentioned the necessity of gentleness towards them, overlooking the harms that come from the people and those whom they are misled by.

He speaks about the harshness that has harmed the Salafī daʿwah and split them—[and this is in the context of the fitnah of the Ikhwānīs and the Ḥaddādiyyah, which was prevalent at the time of the advice]—and places emphasis on calling to Allāh with proofs and evidences from the Book and the Sunnah and the speech of the Imāms of guidance and to use gentleness and wisdom when travelling to places such as Africa, Turkey, India and elsewhere, where there is much innovation and misguidance, and to quote scholars they are familiar with and respect, such as al-Bukhārī and Aḥmad, and not necessarily Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb whom they have been taught to dislike. So this is the use of wisdom.

The Shaykh explains how he used this approach in Sudān in a mosque where people were Ṣūfīs and misled by their local imam. So he simply quoted the Qurʾān and the Sunnah, and addressed the actual beliefs, without mentioning or reviling the Ṣūfīs and their leaders, and in this way many people accepted the truth.

The Shaykh then provides advice to the students: First: Love and brotherhood and the believers being like a strong building or a single body and to be remote from causes of division. Second: To avoid causes of hatred, division and aversion, especially given that there are people who desire to split the Salafīs, this being a reality.

It is here that the Shaykh states the following:

Notes

The advice is directed towards students at the Islāmic university who will return back to their countries where there is much innovation and misguidance. They are advised to win over the general folk, who are not evil and not stubborn, and who will be receptive to truth and to the call to Tawḥīd, Sunnah and Salafiyyah if they are treated in the right way, with good manners.

Further, there are Ikhwānīs who have agendas to bring down the scholars of the Salafī methodology. They target Salafīs and their scholars with a Khārijite-like tendency towards sin and error, and hence, to them: “whoever errs has perished”. Scholars or shaykhs who do not proceed upon this way are entered among the Mumayyiʿah, or they are accused of being agents and spies. This vile approach destroys unity and brotherhood if adopted, and Salafīs ought to strive for love, unity and brotherhood and avoid causes of difference in such circumstances.

Further, that the slips and shortcomings in the people being called to Salafiyyah or the average Salafī who is with us, is loyal and loves the Salafī creed and methodology, should be treated with gentleness and patience, given that the nature of most people is not one of stubbornness. We do not consider them perished because of such errors, otherwise no one will be left.

This last sentence has been made the focus of attention from the Shaykh’s speech, and requires some points:

01  This speech has been presented in the context of the discussion surrounding Sulaymān al-Ruḥaylī, who was warned against by Shaykh Rabīʿ for reasons and wisdoms necessitating that. Hence, the same shaykh who emphasised that we do not destroy the average Salafi due to his shortcomings and slips is the same one who issued warnings not just against Sulayman al-Ruḥaylī but others because of reasons necessitating that, and he is not contradicting his own speech or his own advice.

Likewise, he issued warnings against ʿAdnān Arūʿur and his followers, and al-Maʾribī and his followers, and Fāliḥ al-Ḥarbī and his followers, and al-Ḥalabī and his followers, and al-Ḥajūrī and his followers, and he refuted Ibrāḥim al-Ruḥaylī and his Tamyīʿī manhaj, and Ibn Hādī, his Ḥaddādī manhaj and his followers, and everyone who shows taḥazzub and ghuluww to personalities in defiance of the truth, or becomes a willing and deliberate obstacle and hindrance to such warnings and the legislated objectives behind them.

This is that same shaykh.

02  This takes us back to the issue of what are the mistakes, slips and shortcomings that are excusable and which require patience, and what are the mistakes that are not isolated slips, but indicative of an orientation, and require treating in a different manner, which can incorporate patience and gentleness as initial steps, but which may require other matters which are also from revealed guidance and in their proper place, this also being from wisdom.

03  Quoting this type of speech, whether from Shaykh Rabīʿ or others and focusing on one sentence, without looking at the sum whole of the Shaykh’s methodology—which includes gentleness in its rightful place, but also harshness in its rightful place, and drawing people close in its rightful place, and warning from others in its rightful place—then this not befitting and it can lead to misrepresenting the just, comprehensive methodology of the scholar(s) in question, and side-lining or neglecting important aspects which are also from wisdom.

04  As noted, the Shaykh was addressing university students who will return to their lands and be callers to Allāh in places steeped in innovation. He gave them examples from his own experience in Sudan, where he employed gentleness and wisdom. Instead of quoting from Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb to Ṣūfī audiences misled by their misguided scholars, imams and teachers, he quoted from Aḥmad, al-Shāfīʿī and others. So this is wisdom, and these people should not be treated harshly or put off with bad manners. We are all agreed here.

Likewise, the average Salafī who is loyal, loves the methodology, loves the truth, but he has shortcomings. He has some sins, he is addicted to gaming, or football, he misunderstood a matter, has unsavoury company, or is unclear on an issue and so on. We do not destroy him, but draw him near, give advice, treat him, and have patience and so on. This is what the Shaykh intends, and we are all agreed here as well.

05  All of this speech has its context and its place and is part and parcel of daʿwah, necessary to it. However, this is not all of the religion, and not all of the methodology. There are other affairs and other arenas where there are also specific types of conduct required, and these are also spoken of by Shaykh Rabīʿ, with all seriousness, in his tremendous writings. In fact, whole volumes are dedicated to such affairs.

06  Shaykh Rabīʿ mentioned in this speech that there are those who speak against him, pursuing the objective of bringing down this Salafī methodology that he calls to and defends. There are those who are very open in their enmity to the Salafī daʿwah and the methodology of Shaykh Rabīʿ and his brothers from among the scholars upon the same path, such as Shaykh Aḥmad al-Najmī, Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī, Shaykh Zayd al-Madkhalī (رحمهم الله).

Then there are those who may be averse to aspects of his Salafī methodology and the clarity (wuḍūḥ) that they bring, the criterion that this gives to Ahl al-Sunnah, because it allows a spotlight to be shined and scrutiny to be made of actions, positions, behaviours and loyalties that contradict this methodology (for example, flattery of the Ḥizbīs, going arm in arm with them, praising them, cooperating with them, and what is similar), and which may be indicative of an orientation.

However, they are unable to show overt opposition and displeasure to these aspects and resort to other means, all of which return to creating doubt and uncertainty and undermining his refutations, criticisms and warnings in various ways, thereby leaving Salafīs confused about what may be implied to be conflicting approaches and positions, such as advising with gentleness and patience, but then refuting and warning from others. There is no conflict in reality and these affairs are easily understood when the totality of the Shaykh’s methodology is looked at objectively and without isolation and bias, and we find that everything has its proper place, and are not led to reject one matter by affirming another or vice versa.

07  In the Shaykh’s 15 volume collection of his writings there are advices, there are fatāwā, there are refutations and warnings, and falsification of false principles and refutations of both the Ḥaddādiyyah and the Mumayyiʿah, and warnings and more. We should not look for isolated quotes stripped of context and meta-context as this may indicate supporting an orientation, rather than objective pursuit of truth.

08  Finally, while this not may be the intent, a person cannot be blamed for thinking that this appears to be a case of using the speech of Shaykh Rabīʿ (“no one will be left”) to refute Shaykh Rabīʿ (warning from Sulaymān al-Ruḥaylī), especially, when there is other speech surrounding the matter that gives a clear indication of questioning and undermining this warning in particular, but also in a more general sense, the validity of warning against people who ascribe to the Sunnah for wisdoms and legislated objectives. Hence, one must be careful with this type of speech.

Footnotes