Al-Muwāzanah

Questioner: Adh-Dhahabi – may Allāh have mercy on him – said: "When a great scholar's correctness is abundant, his pursuit of the truth is known, his knowledge is much, his intellect is evident, his righteousness, piety, and adherence to the correct path are recognised, then his mistakes are forgiven, and we do not declare him to be misguided, discard him, or overloo his merits. Yes, we do not follow him in his innovation or his mistake, and we hope for his repentance from that." Do you, may Allāh preserve you, see in the previous words of Adh-Dhahabi the obligation of balancing the good deeds and bad deeds, or the obligation of mentioning both the negatives and positives when criticising individuals? Sheikh Albāni rahimahullah responds: We find in the biographies of the narrators of Hadith; some have a detailed biography, and others have a brief one. When the biography is detailed, the words of Adh-Dhahabi apply. For example, you may recall, if Allah wills, that many of the people of misguidance and innovation are considered by the scholars of Hadith as valid in narrating Hadith. Some are considered among the Khawarij, such as Imran ibn Hattan, and some are considered among the Mu'tazilah, for instance, and others among the Shi'ah. When these individuals are evaluated, both praise and criticism are mentioned. However, when their biographies are brief, it is said: 'So-and-so is a liar!' 'So-and-so has poor memorisation!' 'So-and-so is this,' etc., and the merits mentioned in the detailed biographies are not mentioned. Therefore, we feel that the words of Adh-Dhahabi, in the present time, are being placed, firstly, in the wrong context. Secondly, it is intended to water down what is known in Shari'ah as 'loving for the sake of Allāh and hating for the sake of Allāh.' This approach – exploiting such a text by this Imam – aligns with a famous saying from some modern-day callers of certain political groups, which states: 'We cooperate on what we agree upon, and we excuse each other on what we disagree about.' .... Therefore, the words of Adh-Dhahabi are being used to promote the idea of not supporting the call for truth. Hence, the practice that has been followed by all Muslims until today, except those who have deviated, is to be committed to the truth with everyone, and to combat falsehood whoever it may be, but this does not mean denying the truth that may come from a person of falsehood. The best thing that can be said regarding this phrase is that if we stand before a scholar of the Muslims – let alone an Imam of the Muslims – and find some mistakes in him, and it is not clear to us that this mistake was intentional, driven by desire, or a persistent error, then the words of Adh-Dhahabi apply perfectly. We support this by the well-known Hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari: 'When a judge makes an effort and is correct, he gets two rewards, and if he errs, he gets one reward.' However, if it becomes clear that a man, even if he is righteous and has participated in battles for the sake of Allāh – for example – but he has a deviation and the evidence has been established against him, then we oppose him and dislike him for the sake of Allāh – the Blessed and Exalted. This is what can be said in response to this question." _____ Related benefit ⤵️ https://t.me/almanhajussalafi/154