Do you advise us to listen to the tapes of so and so? Shaykh 'Abdul-Laah bin 'Abdir-Raheem al-Bukhaaree

This is a question, "Do you advise us to listen to the tapes of fulaan (so and so) and fulaan?" He named some individuals here, and there is no need to mention them. I will give you a shorter answer:

Do you want to listen to tapes? Listen to the pure people of the Sunnah and the pure scholars of the Sunnah. For verily, in them there is contentment and sufficiency! There are many of scholars from the scholars of the Sunnah, so why do you ask about those about whom there are correct and clear statements [of the scholars] and who are far away from the Sunnah from every aspect? And you leave those who are from Ahl-us-Sunnah from every aspect? This is from the lack of fiqh (understanding).

I.e. for example: ash-Shaykh al-Imaam 'Abdul-'Azeez bin Baaz, may Allaah have mercy upon him, he has tapes with shuruhaat (explanations) and his tapes are many, correct? And our Shaykh, ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin 'Uthaymeen, may Allaah have mercy upon all of them, his tapes are many. And ash-Shaykh al-Imaam al-Albaanee, may Allaah have mercy upon him, [his tapes] are also many. And ash-Shaykh Ahmad an-Najmee [his tapes] are many. And Shaykh al-Fawzaan [his tapes] are also many, and other than them from the scholars of the Sunnah. Correct? How many are these? How many tapes? I.e. if we say: ash-Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez, ash-Shaykh bin 'Uthaymeen and al-Albaanee, may Allaah have mercy upon all of them... I say: al-Albaanee has around 5000 recorded tapes. And Shaykh Muhammad (bin 'Uthaymeen) and Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez, if we say that they both have 5000 tapes; how many tapes are these? 10,000 tapes. If you listen every day to one tape, then you have 10,000 days left. If you listen every day to two tapes, you have 5000 days left. Correct?

Then there also remain, as we said, many collections [of tapes] which you need thousands and thousands of days for. Believe me, if you listen - and I don't say 5000 or 2000 - if you listen to them only 360 days in a year... Are there 360 or 365 days [in a year]? (Audience replies with different answers) 60 or 65? Anyway, one full year. In one full year, you are not able to listen to other than them! If you listen to the scholars of the Sunnah, then you are - by Allaah - not able to listen to other than them!

Source: http://www.sahab.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=135671

Translated by: Yâsîn Abu Ibrâhîm

The Elite of the Elite from the People of Knowledge are The Ones who can Deal Justly Between Two Disputants Those Students of Knowledge or Common Muslims Less Than Them Should Stay Out of It

Questioner: What do you advise us with Shaikh, what do you advise concerning this issue, i.e., [that] some of the brothers abroad regard books like these … they do not examine them closely, books will come out and they’ll start looking at the title only, and [then] they’ll try to judge some of their brothers from the title alone, without close examination. So what is your advice in terms of [explaining the correct] da’wah and in terms of help and so on, may Allaah bless you.

Al-Albaani: I think that along with the answer for the previous question, it is possible for us to get an answer for this one.

Questioner: Yes.

Al-Albaani: Now, without doubt, we are living through a very big problem. Where, in recent times, disunity between the groups that affiliate themselves to the Book and the Sunnah has surfaced. So, from one angle, we advise the students of knowledge and especially the general masses of Muslims not to raise their heads towards such differences as these and from the other that they not be with one group against another.

Because firstly, it is not easy, ever, to distinguish what is correct from an error or the truth from falsehood. And secondly, and this is very important, not every person can judge with justice and fairness and stand by His Saying, the Most High, “… and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just–that is nearer to righteousness.”[Maa’idah 5:8]

Carrying out justice between two disputants, especially when a person’s desire is with one of the two, is very, very difficult. And from the authentic Sunnah we know that when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم sent Ali as a judge to Yemen he said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! You’re sending me to a people and I do not know how to judge?’ So he عليه السلام struck his chest and said to him, ‘Do not judge between two people until you have heard from both of them.’

Actualising this text in such differences which you referred to [in your question] and a part of which I have [already] explained, achieving justice, in fact, actualising the truth before justice–none except the most elite of the elite from the people of knowledge are capable of it.

Because they are the ones who have the capability to familiarise themselves with what these [disputants] say and what those others say and then compare the statement of this [group of people] with that, and then extract the correct [answer] from the two statements.

And sometimes there may be no [actual] difference between the two parties or statements except for, as the scholars say concerning some matters of dispute, that it is a, ‘Difference in wording.’

No one can do this except for a few individuals from the elite.

And [yet] there are people from the elite who cannot judge with justice–he knows where the truth is concerning the two parties, [he knows] whether there is a difference between them or not, [but still even] if there is a difference between them, the truth may be with the side which he does not feel affection for–and so he swerves away from justice, and for this reason He, the Most High, said, “… and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just–that is nearer to righteousness.”

For this reason, we advise the students of knowledge, let alone those less than them, not to delve into [such matters] in this way, and that they not take a stance except for the truth that they know before this problem occurs or before these differences appear.

Questioner: May Allaah bless you.

Al-Albaani: And you.

Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 674.

Uthaimeen On the Greater Type of Punishment

Shaikh Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Many people think that being punished [for one’s sins] is only in those things that are external, like the body, wealth and children, but the reality is that the punishment of the sickness of the heart and its corruption is more severe and greater than the punishment through those things.” Ahkaam minal-Qur’aanil-Karim, vol. 1, p. 87.