BENEFIT 54: What is "Al-Muwāzanāt"?

It means that if someone criticises clear mistakes made by an individual, whether he is Salafi or not, they are not allowed to just mention the mistakes, but rather they must be fair and accompany that by mentioning his good deeds! This is a false and innovated principle, as the scholars have mentioned. If a Salafi makes a mistake and it spreads, and it is something that it is not permissible to remain silent concerning, then it is necessary to draw attention to that mistake and warn against it so that people do not attach to the religion of Allāh what is not from it, and so the ignorant ones do not begin to use that mistake as evidence because no one has criticised it. So in the context of refuting this mistake, it is not obligatory to mention the virtues and good deeds of this Salafi; because the whole objective is to point out the mistake in order for people to be cautious. An example of this is found in the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ when Fatima bint Qays consulted him regarding the proposals of Mu’āwiyah and Abu Jahm. The Prophet ﷺ said: “As for Mu’āwiyah, then he is a poor man who has no property, and as for Abu Jahm, then he beats women.” The Prophet did not mention their virtues because this speech came in the context of advising. Similarly, narrated ’Aishah: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) recited the Āyah:-- "It is He who has sent down to you the Book. In it are Āyāt that are entirely clear, they are the foundation of the Book, others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the Truth ). follow thereof that is not entirely clear seeking affliction and searching for its hidden meanings; but no one knows its hidden meanings but Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it (i.e. in the Qur'an) the whole of it (i.e. its clear and unclear Āyāt) are from our Lord. And none receive admonition except men of understanding." (3:7) Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, “If you see those who follow thereof that is not entirely clear, then they are those whom Allah has named [as having deviation (from the Truth)] 'So beware of them." [Sahih al-Bukhari, 4547] Did he ﷺ tell us to mention their virtues?! There are many more examples in the books of Jarh wa ta'deel to illustrate this. For example, when the scholars speak about Ibn Lahee’ah raḥimahullāh, they say (ضعيف في الحديث) - “Weak in ḥadīth”, and they stop at this without mentioning any of his virtues - despite him being a righteous man. In summary, you will not find this manhaj being applied in any of the previous eras, from the time of the Ṣaḥābah up until now. Moreover, if you look at the people of falsehood, you will find that they have some good traits with them, so do we have to mention these good traits when warning people against them?! If so, what effect do you think this will have, other than watering down their mistakes and presenting them in a less serious light?!! Sheikh Fawzān ḥafidhahullāh was asked: Do we need to mention the virtues of those we warn against? He responded: إذا ذكرت محاسنهم فمعناه أنك دعوت لهم، لا...لا، لا تذكر محاسنهم اذكر الخطأ الذى هم عليه فقط؛ لأنه ليس موكولا َََََ إليك أن تدرس وضعهم وتقوم، أنت موكول إليك بيان الخطأ الذى عندهم من أجل أن يتوبوا منه، ومن أجل أن يحذره غيرهم، أما إذا ذكرت محاسنهم قالوا: الله يجزاك خير، نحن هذا الذى نبغيه. “If you mention their virtues, it means that you are calling towards them. No...no, do not mention their virtues, mention only the mistake they made; Because you are not entrusted with studying their condition and giving an assessment. You are merely entrusted with clarifying the error they have in order for them to repent from it and in order for others to be aware of it. But if you mention their virtues, they (the people you are warning) will say: May Allah reward you with goodness. This is what we are seeking (i.e. These people you are warning against are the ones we want, due to the good and virtues you mentioned).” [Al-Ajwibah Al-Mufīdah ’Ala As'ilatil Manāhij Al-Jadeedah (p. 13)]